A Knight Who Eternally Regresses - Chapter 445



Only Krnovel

445. Arm wrestling, alcohol, pride, duty, responsibility, end of Sabbath.

It was arm wrestling.

“Ruben, Ruben!

A man named Reuben lost. His wrist fell back with a thud.

Some of the crowd who had placed bets shouted for Reuben as if spitting blood.

The arm wrestling was going on outside. There were a few tables in front of the bar, and the owner shouted with a red nose.

“James wins!”

Someone shouted. The commotion grew even louder.

“Hey, let me join too!”

Oara stepped into the crowd without hesitation. Encred stood there blankly, turning his head to look at Asia.

“That’s just the way he is. Get used to it.”

As she spoke, Asia also headed towards the group.

It wasn’t like he particularly disliked moving together.

Encred also walked towards the bar.

The owner was so drunk that it was hard to tell whether he was selling alcohol or just drinking it, but Oara recognized him.

“That won’t do! It’s foul play. Come on!”

A knight is respected by all, but he will not force it on his friends.

Wouldn’t a knight have any friends?

The bar owner seemed to be exactly that kind of person. A friend, acquaintance, or acquaintance of Oara.

He spoke with a snort, and Oara rebelled.

“Oh, why!”

If you just look at her tantrums, she looks like a mercenary who’s been slashing around for a while, but that woman could kill everyone here with just a few slashes.

“Oh my, is that possible? I can’t bet on that.”

“I’m going to win,” said James. He ran his hand through his reddened hair. He looked like an angry octopus. There was no boundary between his forehead and his crown.

“Hey, you can say that after looking at these weak wrists?”

Oara kicked James, who was sitting in front of her, then climbed up on the chair and spoke.

The guy who was hit rolled down the floor, but quickly got up.

“Oh, why are you bitten?”

“It’s annoying!”

The man nodded at the firm answer.

Are you convinced?

Encred watched, asking himself.

The bar, after Prohibition was lifted, gave off a completely different vibe than when I first saw it.

It wasn’t a festival, but they seemed to be having fun and having fun.

“Oh, tell me, there’s no one who would attack me after seeing this wrist? Really?”

“No, there isn’t!”

“Oh, you’re a knight. Did you forget that?”

The bar owner also joined in. Oara turned her gaze. It was the look in her eyes of a hunter looking for someone who would say something to her liking.

Among them was a polite soldier carrying a wine glass.

It was the friend who had been complaining about Crona’s absence. It seemed like he had been working at the inn and had come all the way here on a business trip.

“Hey, do you think so too?”

Oara pointed to the soldier and spoke. The soldier rolled his eyes a few times and then answered.

“No. I think we should respect Lord Oara’s wishes.”

He had a quick-witted attitude. On the surface, he seemed very serious and sincere when he swore allegiance.

Oh Ara said with a smiling face.

“Bring that kid here and sit him down.”

Oara lightly jumped up from her spot, lifted her body, and then landed on the chair with a thud.

At her words, those around her grabbed the polite soldier.

“Hey, why, why are you doing this?”

“Shut up and sit down, kid.”

Oara said with a smile, and soon the soldier sat down across from Oara.

“It’s a bet! If you don’t like it, then don’t do it. If you beat the person I point out, you get three gold coins. If I do it myself, it’ll be fatal, right? So I won’t do it. If the person you point out wins, you get three gold coins. But if I win, you get to be the first in the next wave.”

“……yes?”

When dealing with a wave of demons, or the demons coming from the Demon Realm, being told to stand at the front line could be heard as an invitation to die.

Everyone laughed heartily at those words.

The soldier regretted not going out with Jack the Knife when he had asked him to do so earlier.

Of course, even if I were offered that offer again, I wouldn’t take it.

He loved a woman who worked in an alleyway, and he dreamed of taking her out and marrying her.

How about selling your body?

He knows that she only allows him to be by his side now.

“Hey, you punk, you die once, not twice? And you want to marry Rowena? You’re having a hard time without Crona?”

Oara said.

“Hey, do it, do it.”

“You little brat, if that’s so scary, give up Rowena!”

The soldiers became enraged at the shouting around them.

“Aren’t you going to shut up?”

He shouted, then asked with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

“Are you going to put forward someone from the Knights?”

“no.”

Oara shook her head.

“Oh, Lord Ara isn’t coming out either?”

The soldier asked again.

“absoluteness.”

Oara’s head moved vertically this time.

The soldier was cautious. No, he pretended to be cautious. Encred knew that the soldier had already made up his mind.

But he pretended to be timid and opened his mouth as if he was thinking hard. There are people who are like that by nature.

That doesn’t mean it looked bad.

What can I say, he was a really transparent kid. I could clearly see what he was thinking.

Oh Ara waited with her arms crossed and a grin on her face.

“I’ll ask Oliver.”

At those words, several soldiers jeered.

Encred saw among the soldiers a man with forearms twice as thick as the others.

He was a short man with a stocky body and a thick chin.

Although he was smaller than Oara, he was the strongest man in Thousand Bricks, Squire Oliver of the Knights.

“Isn’t that okay?”

The soldier asked, observing the situation. It was understandable for him to ask that, since he had chosen to be a squire instead of someone from the Knights Templar.

Oara shook her head.

“If you accept the challenge, then who shall I put forward?”

Oh Ara pretended to be worried like a soldier.

Squire Oliver touched the poor soldier’s shoulder. The soldier rose from his seat and Oliver sat down.

He seemed to have been born with great strength since he was young.

Aura pretended to be worried, resting her chin on her hand, then looked at Oliver and asked.

“Oliver, can you lose?”

“I don’t buy it.”

Oliver answered immediately, and Aura nodded as if she had made up her mind.

“I have chosen you as my champion. Come out!”

Her finger pointed to Asia’s side. That is, Encrid.

“Is that you?”

Encred, who had been watching, paused for a moment and asked again.

Oara spoke without paying attention to the answer that exquisitely broke the flow.

“Then should we send Asia out? Can’t you see her frail wrist?”

It seemed to be a habit of hers to lift her delicate wrists.

“If you’re scared, you can get out. If you do it wrong, you might get hurt.”

Oliver said. The opponent has a high reputation as a demon slayer. But I will not lose in strength.

Those were eyes full of such thoughts.

Encred looked at him for a moment, then stepped forward.

Oara smiled and stepped aside.

Encred, sitting down, looked at Oliver.

“I don’t think you have to worry, you won’t get hurt. Oh, not me, you. I’m going to be gentle.”

“Gently?”

Oliver’s expression hardened at Encred’s light provocation.

“He said he wouldn’t hurt you.”

Encred spoke again.

“Is that so?”

Oliver’s forehead was bloodshot without a trace of laughter. He was a very thick-veined fellow.

His forearms are also thick.

Encred rolled up his sleeves, revealing the sculpted muscles hidden beneath his thin shirt.

His arms, trained with isolation techniques, were not thin, but they looked thinner than Oliver’s.

But it was a muscle that was compressed, tightened, and of different quality through the technique of isolation and the teachings of Audín.

“Now, walk!”

Oara shouted. It was time for the bet. The number of onlookers had doubled. The guys who had been training nearby, the guys who had been playing around, and even the guys who had been rolling dice on one side all gathered.

“But is it right to bet on Sir Oliver?”

“The opponent is a knight. A demon slayer.”

“Don’t you know, Sir Oara said that even he couldn’t beat Sir Oliver in strength!”

“So? Sir Oliver can even crush the devil’s hand in arm wrestling! Don’t you know Oliver’s giant arms?”

The winning bet went to Oliver. Encred didn’t care.

Someone placed a beer mug next to them. The tin mug was filled with golden liquid and foam.

Oliver drank in gulps, let out a sigh, and propped his elbows on the table.

thud.

At first glance, it looked like a stone golem made in human form by some crazy wizard.

Encred also drank from the glass next to him. It was a bitter, yet savory beer. It was also refreshing.

After drinking his beer, Encred also raised his hand and took Oliver’s hand.

As I saw and felt, it was like the arm of a stone golem. It was so strong and heavy that it was almost stupid.

Oliver met her gaze and Encred looked down.

He quietly observed and concentrated on his inner self.

Is it because I don’t have a competitive spirit that I don’t mind losing? Is it because I don’t have a competitive spirit and am easygoing?

It was the opposite.

Encred was a man who would bite and hang on until he won.

That is, he absolutely hated losing.

Just use all that strength, all that will, to win next time.

So, if I could win right now, I had no intention of losing.

When the surrounding noise died down, Oara said.

“start.”

Oliver and Encred gave their strength at the same time.

Ppujik.

The table screamed but did not fall.

Oliver used what could be called brute strength.

Should I really say that?

Starting with the evil power, it was likely to be evaluated as truly crushing the devil’s hand.

However, the author sitting in front of him was a human who had learned the technique of isolation from a monster worse than Oliver, along with today’s repetition.

Encred burst his heart of strength and even mobilized Will.

A surge of strength surged through the muscles of my entire body.

I’ve never felt so strong in my life.

‘Strike of the Giant.’

He even mobilized the skills he learned while wielding a sword.

In Rem’s terms, it is the power of a giant’s milk.

“Ugh!”

A moan escaped Oliver’s lips.

Kkuddudududuk.

The table shook. Even though it was made from a single piece of solid wood, it cracked and cracked.

Oliver’s arm tilts sideways, just a little bit.

Bam!

Eventually, the table cracked and the part that was supporting Oliver’s elbows gave way.

Even though some parts were broken and the table was not functioning properly, Oliver tried to hold on.

“Is it a draw?”

One of the soldiers muttered.

Encrid stopped in that state.

Oliver caught his breath. After holding on for a moment, Oliver released his grip.

Encred also released his hands, while the soldiers watched.

“I lost.”

Oliver declared.

“no!”

One of the soldiers screamed. It was Rowena’s male friend.

Those who lost the bet instead burst into laughter. They cheered.

“Wow, you’re strong.”

“Brother, are you still strong at night?”

A few soldiers threw their farm supplies.

“What are you asking for?”

Who else would accept that?

“Soldier, I’ll give you one more chance. How about trying to win with alcohol?”

Oara extended a helping hand to the frustrated soldier. The poor soldier could not tell whether the hand was that of a devil or an angel.

“Let’s do it.”

The soldier burned with determination and Encred nodded at him.

Since we decided to hang out together once, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to see it through to the end.

A solo song has come out.

Encrid drank a drink whose name he didn’t even know.

The soldier’s eyes opened on the fourth drink, and he fell asleep, exclaiming, ‘I love you, Rowena.’

The soldiers who saw that chuckled.

Encrid chuckled, put down his glass, and said.

“next.”

He had no intention of losing even to alcohol.

“I will do it.”

Oliver stepped forward again. He passed out after one drink. Strong but weak on alcohol.

Aura also drank some soju, and Asia also drank some light fruit wine.

Someone next to me was playing dice, and someone else was making dirty jokes.

Encred happened to overhear the two women talking and inwardly stuck out his tongue at the thick joke.

Rem also got involved in the middle.

“Why is everyone else excited except me?”

He also mingled with the soldiers. Before he knew it, Luagarne and Dunbakel were with him.

The area in front of the bar was chaotic, as if some kind of festival was taking place.

“Isn’t it fun?”

Oara asked.

Encred answered half-drunk.

“It’s so nice.”

It’s exactly as I felt.

As the sun set, the glow of the sunset illuminated the city. The soldiers chattered through the glow of the sunset.

Some of the soldiers on duty shouted, “Why the hell is this so exciting and crazy today?”

“Unlucky bastards!”

Another soldier saw that and made fun of it.

The commander who commanded a hundred men even lamented and complained in front of Oara.

One of the squad leaders said that he respected Encred, but then got embarrassed when Oara chided him, saying, “Then does that mean I don’t respect him?”

Among them, there was a guy who said he fell in love with Asia at first sight and then got stabbed in the back.

It was really lovely.

The sunset, the city, the soldiers, everything.

Oara would go around drinking and listening to their grievances.

Instead of a broken table, he went out of town for a while and came back with a large tree that he had cut down.

“Bring me the big one!”

He carved the table himself with a chisel, but his skill was not all that great.

Then, the small female sergeant I had seen in the log cabin before jumped out and took over the blade and began carving the table. This one was good at it.

Everyone had fun and drank well.

“I like this town.”

Oara spoke while drunk. Encred, who had been staying for a few days, agreed with her words.

Instead of deserters continuing to emerge, the city is now left with only those who truly love it.

“The last bastion protecting the Demon Realm, isn’t it cool?”

They had pride.

“If we collapse, everyone living in the village behind will die. Do you know that? If the territory of the Demon Realm expands any further, this entire area will be destroyed.”

They had a sense of duty.

“It’s my job, so I do it. What’s the problem?”

They had a sense of responsibility.

The border area of ​​the Demon Realm was always full of threats, so if you weren’t strong, you couldn’t survive.

That didn’t just apply to the body, it also included the mind.

“Ouch, good!”

Oara shouted, and Encred also got drunk and clinked his glasses.

So the drunken night passed.

Encred went back to his quarters to sleep, and Rem joined in and had a big drink.

He was already sleeping.

Luagarne also drank alcohol and received a special meal made of bugs.

“It was a great taste.”

She was satisfied, and Dunbakel was already curled up in a corner, breathing heavily and sleeping.

Encred also closed his eyes.

In the dream the boatman asked:

“Is it fun?”

It was a question a hundred times more uncomfortable than the ominous words that were coming.

I was about to open my mouth to say something when my eyes opened.

I was now used to waking up at the same time.

I went out to warm up and sweat, and Luagarne followed me out, followed by Dunbakel later.

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

And around noon, Oara came again.

His attire was similar to yesterday’s, but he was carrying a thin, long sword.

“The Sabbath is over.”

She said it. It was a welcome thing to hear.