"What do you mean by that?"
"Sinar's elder sister is over four hundred years old."
"That old?"
"Yeah."
"She could be called a grandmother, not an elder sister."
"Say that, and she'll get angry."
"Oh."
A gentleman never mocks a woman about her age. Krang nodded, his nod conveying a firm resolve never to tease her about it again.
"What are you going to do when you find her?"
"I'll ask her."
"Ask her what?"
"If fulfilling that duty is really what she wanted."
Some people might genuinely desire a life bound by duty. However, Encrid wanted to ask before making that assumption himself.
If asked for his reasoning.
"It’s a gut feeling."
Fragments of Sinar's past words and actions flashed through his mind.
Especially her words on the day before she left, which carried a heavy regret, like over-brewed tea with an unbearably bitter aftertaste.
At the time, he dismissed it as indifference, but now he realized that such indifference itself was a signal.
"It was fun while it lasted."
That meant she had enjoyed it up until then. And by extension, she didn’t expect to enjoy anything after that.
So, he would ask. He had to ask.
Encrid resolved himself to this.
"Do as you please."
Krang crossed his legs and replied. He, too, didn’t fully understand Sinar's intentions.
"Where is the city of the Fairy race?"
"I don’t know."
"I see."
Encrid nodded and started asking around about the Fairy city the next day.
First, he asked Krais.
"After Sinar disappeared, I mobilized the information guild. They say it’s hidden somewhere in the mountains, but it’s hard to find due to protective wards."
Krais frowned as he spoke. While he had tried to find it, he hadn’t been successful.
Encrid then asked everyone else.
"Do I look like I’d know?"
Rem was immediately disqualified.
"My knowledge doesn’t extend that far, brother. When the time is ripe, come again. I must attend to other matters now."
Audin didn’t know either.
Surprisingly, Ragna claimed to know something.
"The Fairy city? I’ve seen people dressed in leaves and branches before. Shall I guide you?"
Naturally, Encrid declined Ragna’s offer. Accepting his guidance might lead him to a Dwarven city instead, and the journey could take years.
"If you’re thinking of visiting another dimension, that sounds great."
Thanks to Rem’s interjection, Ragna and Rem ended up fighting again. Watching this, Jaxon shook his head.
"The Fairy tribes aren’t just one group. You’ll have to find the specific city Sinar is in."
From Jaxon’s explanation, finding the location itself was no simple task.
If it were, Krais would have already uncovered it through the information guild.
"Why did you even bother looking for where she went?"
Curious, Encrid asked Krais.
"Eh, no particular reason."
Maybe it was instinct, or perhaps an ingrained habit of collecting information.
"If the Captain ever decided to look for her, I’d have to say, ‘She’s there’. If I were to give a reason, that’d be it. I just couldn’t find it, which is unfortunate."
It’s said that wise men foresee the future, and Encrid felt this was one of those cases.
Krais, however, reacted as if he didn’t understand the compliment.
"It’s just luck from checking everything and leaving no stone unturned. Otherwise, I get uneasy."
He left it at that.
Perhaps Krais's information-gathering tendencies stemmed from his chronic anxiety.
While he claimed he wasn’t planning for the future, Encrid believed that preparing in itself was wisdom.
Would Sinar have made similar preparations?
What would she have needed to resolve her curse or fulfill her duty?
"I don’t know. The Fairy cities don’t welcome visitors."
Even Luagarne didn’t know, nor did anyone else.
"I’ve spent my life in the wilderness and now live here. My talents are limited to swordsmanship, not finding paths."
"I’m good at finding paths. I’ll guide you."
When Encrid asked Pel, Ragna interjected again.
"No, not you."
Encrid dismissed him politely. It wasn’t that Ragna was lying. He wasn’t the type to lie about such things.
Still, it was curious how he’d managed to lose his way to a Fairy city in the first place.
"Why am I getting mad?"
As Ragna muttered to himself, Rem, who was still grinding his teeth after being slightly overpowered in their previous fight, jumped in.
"Teaching you to find your way is harder than teaching a ghoul table manners."
"Huh? Didn’t catch that. Was it the ramblings of an idiot who smashed his shin with his axe?"
Rem had indeed struck his shin with the axe handle during their fight yesterday, but he’d done it intentionally to gain recoil. Ragna, of course, pounced on this.
They began fighting again.
Thinking about it, Ragna’s verbal sparring had improved significantly.
Watching them, Lawford muttered to himself as he replayed their exchanges in his mind.
"What are you doing?"
"Coming up with responses."
"Last time I lost an argument during a fight, and it’s been haunting me. It was too unfair to let go, even in my dreams."
He had been referring to an argument he lost to a group of Crusaders. Encrid's gaze seemed to say, “It’s just an argument. Why take it so seriously?”
"You wouldn’t understand, Captain."
Lawford’s words stung. Encrid wanted to retort.
He knew all too well what it felt like to be mocked by Sinar’s Fairy humor.
Being bombarded with nonsensical jokes was a rare but exhausting experience.
Despite spending all day asking around, Encrid didn’t neglect his routine tasks.
He trained, ate, cleaned himself, and maintained his weapons.
While polishing his silversteel sword with flaxseed oil, following Eitri’s advice, something happened.
As early twilight set in due to the shorter winter days, he heard footsteps amid the rustling leaves moved by the wind.
A shadow approached, blending with the sunlight on the ground until it merged with Encrid's own.
"You’re looking for the Fairy city?"
Why did her voice feel so cold? Was it just his imagination?
Encrid raised his head. A woman stood before him, wearing only an enchanted robe despite the bitter winter chill. She had long black hair, piercing blue eyes, pale skin, and crimson lips—a stunning beauty known as Esther, the Black Flower.
"More precisely, I’m looking for where Sinar went."
Encrid replied. If Esther asked why he was looking, he planned to repeat the joke he’d told Krang about Sinar waiting for him.
But Esther didn’t ask. Instead, she spoke without a hint of humor.
"Well, you should ask her."
"Hm?"
"When someone leaves, they have their reasons. If they don’t even explain those reasons, then the reasons must be significant. That’s what I think."
"Hmm?"
"So yes, you should ask. Why she had to leave. Why she left."
Esther spoke and then placed her hand on Encrid’s forehead. He didn’t resist. Her hand was icy cold.
"Lower your mental barriers for a moment."
"What?"
"If your psychic defenses are too strong, I can’t convey it."
"Convey what?"
"You’ll see."
The cold sensation wasn’t just his imagination. Esther’s hand was frigid, her breath didn’t form condensation, and the chill seeped through Encrid’s clothes.
She must have been practicing some spells recently.
Thinking about what “mental barriers” might mean, Encrid closed his eyes.
He visualized a wall in his mind, created a door in it, and opened it.
As he imagined this, what Esther spoke of seeped into his mind.
It was a map leading to a certain place, complete with directions and annotations for guidance.
"Sinar told me about her tribe before she left. This is where that Fairy lives."
Esther, as a witch, had once lived in a forest hut—a rite of passage for all witches.
The forest was an essential base for collecting materials for magical experiments, not just an aesthetic choice.
And the Fairies or Druids who occasionally lived nearby were natural neighbors.
Based on what Sinar had told her before leaving, Esther deduced the location of her city. While Sinar hadn’t been explicit, it was enough for Esther.
Though Sinar likely hadn’t anticipated this.
"Want to come along?"
Encrid opened his eyes and asked. Esther withdrew her hand and gave a faint smile.
"I’m busy."
"Ah, I see."
Encrid posed a similar question to others.
"Sorry to refuse such a sincere request, but something urgent has come up. I need to smash a pathfinder’s skull. Haven’t practiced for a few days, so it’s not going well. What about I catch up later?"
Listening to Rem’s excuse, Encrid asked.
"When did I make a sincere request?"
"You were clinging to my pants like that, begging. I’ll catch up later if time permits."
Yeah, you’re not coming.
Apparently, Ragna had gotten the better of Rem a few times during recent spars. That’s why Rem was focusing on training now.
Also, who said he’d been slacking?
Since a certain point, Rem had been pushing himself relentlessly, splitting his days into grueling routines.
In fact, that was how all the Mad Knights Order operated. It was Encrid’s influence.
"Sister Teresa is approaching a critical moment, and I’m laying the foundation for Sister Seiki. But if you insist, Brother, I suppose I could join you."
"I only asked a simple question. Stay here."
At some point, even Audin seemed to have picked up some of Rem’s traits. It was apparent to everyone that these traits weren’t exactly wholesome.
"Do you need a guide?"
Ragna’s offer was declined by Encrid immediately. Rem wouldn’t leave him alone anyway.
"Running away? Scared?"
"Did you hit your head too many times?"
"Never hit my head. You pathfinding idiot."
Yeah, just let those two be.
Their sparring seemed to be improving their skills significantly lately.
Though Encrid didn’t know, most people understood why the two were so intense.
It was because of what Encrid had shown during his sparring with Rem.
Even in practice, Encrid displayed an undeniable level of skill.
Not only did he not falter, but his strikes, imbued with concentrated willpower, were also devastating.
Seeing this, neither Ragna nor Rem could afford to slack off.
Audin’s subtle condescension towards them also played a role.
Having awakened to Divine Power, Audin was a step ahead of them for now.
Rem and Ragna were keenly aware of this.
"It must be lonely to travel alone, but I can’t. I have a date."
Jaxon also declined. In the end, Encrid decided to leave with Luagarne.
Pel joined them as well.
"How about some sparring on the way?"
Pel’s gaze now carried both respect and admiration, a change from before. Naturally, his tone reflected that as well.
"Sure."
"I regret I can’t join."
Lawford lamented but couldn’t abandon the training of the small sword unit left by Ragna.
It felt like they were on the cusp of something important. Even if not, Lawford was genuinely one of the busiest people in the Mad Knights.
"Well then."
Without hesitation, Encrid departed.
Krang, who had stayed for a few days, realized Encrid had left without saying a word.
He grabbed Krais and asked.
"He didn’t forget about me, did he?"
"Of course not."
Krais replied, but his tone wasn’t particularly convincing.
It seemed likely that Encrid had indeed forgotten about Krang.
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