Chapter 850 - The Dream Has Been Reached
The man had a thin build, with a scar clearly left on his face and slightly hollowed cheeks.
Krais observed him and asked, "What did you say his name was?"
At his words, Enkrid replied, "Edin Molsan."
"His appearance has changed a bit."
It had changed not just a bit, but a lot.
He had shed the mask of a profligate he had once worn, and the period of struggling to save his younger sister had passed.
Edin had responded to Enkrid's call, but he saw that there would be many difficulties.
Would the others welcome him?
Unlikely.
'If they refuse me here.'
Should he prove himself?
For what?
For the person who believed in him?
'Or should I be aware of my position and step back?'
Could Molsan, the son of that traitor, dare to be here?
It was a complicated feeling.
It might have been right to live in hiding.
If he hadn't come out into the world, this kind of trouble wouldn't have arisen.
'But.'
Is it enough to just live?
To cast aside any reason or meaning in life?
To turn away even if there is something he can do?
His eyes met his sister's.
Brown eyes with a reddish tint blinked and looked at him.
'If I'm allowed to dream.'
If what might be a last chance is within his grasp.
It was not a simple desire to show off his abilities.
Away from his father, what could the man named Edin do?
It was a challenge towards that.
"Is that the son of Count Molsan?"
The messenger from the capital was also present.
The messenger asked, looking at Edin.
His surprise was evident.
Weren't his eyes wide as he stared?
The civil war started by Count Molsan was an event that would be remembered for generations in Naurillian history.
The messenger didn't know that the Count had been possessed by a demon of the demon realm, but he knew what he had done.
He had tried to depose the queen and usurp the rightful throne of the king.
Krais looked at his commander and asked with his eyes.
What is this, and what are you thinking?
Enkrid's thoughts hadn't changed from when he had first seen Edin until now.
No, separate from Edin, he had had the same thought for a long time.
He supports a child whose dream is to be an herbalist.
He also supports a woman whose dream is to become an Remedy to all.
He just supports a man who wants to use his abilities to save people.
The messenger's eyes darted around.
Looking at the situation, it seemed as if something might explode at any moment.
"Prepare for continental conquest, Krais," Enkrid said.
The messenger couldn't even swallow his saliva.
What?
Treason?
Is that why he brought the son of a traitor?
If you think about it for a moment, it's a ridiculous thing.
Plotting treason and bringing the son of a traitor are two separate matters.
Also, why would he say that now?
The messenger's mind momentarily froze and didn't work properly.
But one thing was certain.
'To say this in front of me means?'
Isn't it the same as saying he will cut off my head soon?
"Continental conquest? Ah, you mean that?"
Krais's tone did not change, as if it were nothing.
In fact, with the war with the south just around the corner, what was so great about bringing in the son of a traitor?
Also, it was something Enkrid was doing.
There must be a reason.
And he had just told him a part of that reason.
"If that's what you want, then yes, let's do it," Krais nodded.
To understand the meaning of the conversation they had shared, Enkrid had told him to prepare a place for Edin, and Krais had replied that he understood.
Edin also understood, and his sister also understood.
Most just nodded their heads as if it were a matter of course.
Only those who were used to Enkrid's usual way of speaking were present.
Except for some who had no interest in this matter, like the Dragonkin or Ragna, most had roughly understood.
Of course, the messenger was not one of them.
He could barely breathe and was watching their expressions.
"Where do we start the continental conquest?" Rem said at a good time from behind the messenger.
The messenger felt his heart drop.
Of course, it was a joke, but if he were left alone any longer, he would die of a heart attack without anyone laying a hand on him.
Krais looked at Rem, then nonchalantly introduced the person in front of him and said, "Ah, this is a messenger from His Majesty. I have heard the whole story, and the messenger can go back and relay what he has just heard."
Cold sweat soaked his back.
The messenger barely opened his mouth to ask back, "...Yes?"
"You can tell him that the Border Guard will now be taking in Edin Molsan."
The messenger managed to take a step and went outside.
"His Majesty wished for you to depart for the south as soon as preparations are complete."
And yet, he said everything he had to say.
He said it with his head half-turned at the door.
His forehead was soaked with sweat.
Enkrid thought that Krang had picked a proper messenger.
If his lack of nerve was a flaw, it was a flaw.
Of course, it was rare for a great man to remain calm after hearing such a joke among the Madmen Knight Order.
Edin, watching from the side, was as surprised as the messenger.
Everything was so smooth.
Enkrid had decided, and the rest had followed.
It was similar to, yet different from, the time when his father had run the family.
At that time, too, when his father decided, everyone followed his decision.
No, they had to follow.
'To live.'
Fight to live.
'Edin, before you are my son, must I take in a man who does not even know how to fight?'
Memories become pain, and pain becomes suffering.
Edin had endured all of that and come here.
If he had intended to live forgetting his father, he would not have come out of hiding in the first place.
Enkrid was different from his father.
When he spoke, everyone naturally followed.
"Then shall we have a simple test? What will you do first?"
Krais was harsh.
He said it without telling him anything about the city's situation or anything else.
Abnaier quietly watched the situation and thought, 'It seems he doesn't like him very much.'
Krais knew how to handle people.
He knew by watching him deal with his own subordinates, even setting himself aside.
Entrusting a person with a job that matched their capabilities was Krais's greatest strength.
Was asking that man this now an intention to crush his spirit?
Edin blinked a few times and replied.
No matter how the situation turned out, if an opportunity came, he had to take it.
That's why he was standing here.
"First, please arrange a meeting with the market of the trade cities."
"I asked what you would do first."
"It's a long story if I explain it with words."
"Isn't it a skill to say that long story short and persuasively?"
Edin looked at Krais's large eyes.
Somehow, that bastard's eyes seem just as crazy as Enkrid's.
"Right now, the Border Guard lacks three things," Edin said, hooking his pinky with his right thumb and extending his index, middle, and ring fingers.
"First, crime. Second, magnanimity. Third, leisure."
Enkrid tilted his head.
Rem, looking interested, rounded his mouth and let out an "oho" of admiration as he watched.
At some point, all of the Madmen Knight Order had gathered around.
Having heard from the messenger about war and whatnot, their bodies were itching, and they couldn't stay still.
Jaxen glanced at Edin and looked away, and Audin smiled.
Ragna and Fel were fighters by nature.
They had no interest in administration.
They had heard the words Edin had just thrown out with one ear and let them out the other.
Ropord, having come from a knight order, had accumulated various experiences and had learned.
However, as he had experienced most of these in the army or as part of a knight order, he grasped the state of the city by the armament of the Border Guard's standing army.
'You can't maintain a standing army like this if you're not wealthy.'
The numbers were large, and even the training equipment was proper.
Would even the royal guards enjoy such a luxury?
'No, you have to be at least at the squire level…'
…to receive such treatment.
In the mercenary world, rumors were rampant that the Border Guard's standing army was a place where you received a generous salary and solid equipment.
'Of course, many run away because the training is so harsh.'
He could understand those who ran away.
A place where even those with some talent become ordinary, and those who had made a name for themselves in the city learn humility.
'That's the Border Guard.'
And there wasn't just one rumor.
In fact, it was a story based on fact: that fights and battles were frequent.
The Border Guard had fought a lot in the meantime.
Just recently, a Salamander had awakened, and a magician group had attacked.
It was natural for them to be treated as a main enemy, as they had also wiped out the Demon Realm Holy Land Cult that had appeared on the continent.
'The risk one must face is that much greater.'
This was the view of the mercenary world.
Ropord caught hold of his stray thoughts.
Whatever it was, most people knew of the Border Guard's wealth.
So what did he mean by there being no leisure?
And what about magnanimity?
"If you spend as much as you earn to maintain your army, you have to earn more," Edin said.
Was he saying it intentionally?
Probably not.
But they were words that Krais liked very much.
"Kin Baisar opened a dress shop and a teahouse in Rockfreed, and that teahouse has become a place where various stories are exchanged. That library was also impressive."
From here, even Enkrid only half-understood.
It was that condensed a story.
Why was Baisar's teahouse suddenly being mentioned here, and why was Vanessa's library being brought up?
"The Border Guard has three things," Krais received Edin's words.
He, like Edin, extended three fingers and said, "Security, military power, and location."
Edin was discussing the direction the city of the Border Guard should take.
To put it simply, he was suggesting expanding into a business that hadn't existed before.
The easiest way would be a salon or an exhibition.
The reason this was possible?
Krang had said it.
From Naurillia's perspective, the Border Guard is on the eastern side, but in other words…
'A city that has the Empire above it, is connected to the east, and is open to the west through the safe passage and the Stone Road.'
The Border Guard is a place where the Empire's hardliners come, aiming for Enkrid, and at the same time, he has ties with the eastern king, and is even a close friend of the Pope of Legion.
Is that it?
People from the Yohan family also come and go occasionally, and the path is open to the trade cities and the west.
On top of that, the solid security that makes it difficult for crime to occur has given a sense of stability to those who live in this city, and the existence of the Madmen Knight Order is a symbol of the military power that protects the city.
Edin saw that the Border Guard had all the conditions for soft power to take root.
How could Krais not have known this?
He had just left it alone because he had been too busy.
And now, he had hands and feet.
Hands and feet that think and move on their own.
The words 'continental conquest' were half a joke and half serious.
The serious half was about influencing the continent with culture.
'Culture.'
It could also be called art.
If art, architecture, crafts, and music flourish, the city of the Border Guard will become even wealthier.
And if one were to be a little more greedy…
'We can also bring the power that the trade cities possess.'
The basis of all this was that it was a city that had become independent through military power.
Edin was inwardly surprised.
It was because Krais had understood all of his words.
The salon that Krais dreamed of was not a place to simply drink and talk.
It was a place where one could listen to music, discuss paintings, and where architecture and crafts were established.
'Is this a dream that came about thanks to the commander?'
That's right.
If Enkrid brought about the end of the war as he said he would, then in the next era, such things would blossom.
The era of art would come.
That's how he saw it.
However, for now, there wasn't much capacity for that.
"It's difficult to talk without including the trade cities. We will give them opportunities and coexist."
The Border Guard is a hegemon.
It possessed the military power to swallow the surrounding cities.
Edin was saying not to show off that military power, but to live together.
"In the end, we will make them live together, intertwined, not in a fight to the death."
Enkrid's gaze was fixed on Edin.
This was an unexpected statement.
His dream had reached his own dream.
If Enkrid was forging his path with a sword, Edin was walking a different path.
He sees a way to live by intertwining with each other through administration and politics.
An adult had separated two fighting children with force.
If the adult looked away, the two children would soon fight again.
So, to prevent the children from fighting, you teach them coexistence.
Krais nodded and said, "Passed."
Edin somehow felt that Enkrid and this bastard had a similar way of speaking.
Enkrid looked straight at Edin and said, "Fight to live, Edin. Because if you give up now, it won't just be you who dies."
Fight to live, if you start, see it through to the end.
It was the only thing Edin had taken to heart among the things his father had taught him.
'Among the things my father said, this much seems right.'
Edin is the son of a traitor whose name has been forgotten.
He placed his left arm below his chest and bowed his head.
It was a nobleman's greeting.
"I will do so, my lord."
After that, since the Knight Order had gathered, Enkrid immediately declared that he would be deploying to the south.
"The standing army will protect the city."
Krais had already spoken and given the order.
In less than half a day, the preparations were complete.
The next day, Enkrid and the Knight Order left for the south.
While they were moving, the messenger who had left the Border Guard had an audience with the king.
"Your Majesty, the son of Count Molsan…"
When the messenger brought up the topic of continental conquest, Krang laughed out loud.
After a hearty laugh, he even showed tears.
"He's a man who is serious about teasing people. You've done well."
The king did not worry.
The messenger had also come with doubts.
If it had been necessary, it would have been no trouble at all to cut off his head, but hadn't he been let go?
"Taking in the son of Count Molsan will put us at a political disadvantage," Marquess Marcus Baisar said in his capacity as an advisor.
"Do you think that bastard cares about politics?"
"No, sir."
"If we win the fight with the south, it will be enough to worry about it then."
War was just around the corner.
Krang stood up, his cloak fluttering.
"Summon the Royal Guard."
Marcus bowed his head and followed the king's command.
Even if he couldn't fight on the front lines, he had no intention of just sitting back and watching.
Krang was that sort of king.
***
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