A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

The official reason for the King of the East, Anu, coming to the Border Guard was Martai, but, of course, he had another motive.

“Has Naurillia gone mad, or is it the newly crowned king who has lost his mind? I need to figure that out. But first, I want to see the so-called Demon Slayer’s face.”

Anu made his name at eighteen by hunting lions on the eastern plains. Before he turned fifty, he had gathered his people and founded a nation in the East—a hero in his own right.

Yet, he had one bad habit.

Whenever he found someone promising, he wanted to take them back to the East. He had an insatiable desire for talent.

That wasn’t necessarily a misfortune for those he took.

“Do you regret becoming my brother? Then you’re free to leave!”

After all, wasn’t he known across the continent for his boisterous nature?

Once they were brought along and had gone through enough, they inevitably became people of the East.

They would fall for his charm, become intoxicated by his ambition and dreams.

His dream was grand, soaring, and absurd, yet he was in the process of making it a reality.

By now, every frontier of the East had felt his touch, his presence.

Since the age of eighteen, he had thrown every moment of his life into pioneering the East.

Anyone who knew his life and saw him in action would have no choice but to acknowledge his magnetism.

‘He’s a bit stubborn and headstrong, though.’

His tan-skinned lieutenant, Asaluhi, adjusted his turban as he mused.

No matter what anyone said, he respected his king—a man as bold as he was free of lingering regrets.

Asaluhi believed his duty was to fill in the gaps left by his king.

“Let’s go see him. The man who dreams of slaying demons.”

By now, Enkrid’s rumors had twisted somewhat, but the King of the East held no prejudice.

A lunatic obsessed with killing demons?

That was possible.

Martai was just an excuse. He was clearly after talent.

Several recent events in the East had kept the king frantically busy, but now was a period of respite. The timing was perfect.

Getting to the Border Guard, making an excuse to enter the city, and finding this Enkrid fellow would be no trouble at all.

Even making it into the inner training grounds of the barracks wasn’t difficult.

“You mean anyone can request a duel, and it’ll be accepted? No exceptions?”

At Asaluhi’s question, the soldier scrutinized the two men but didn’t seem inclined to stop them by force.

If they had made it this far, it wasn’t as if a soldier could stop them anyway. A direct order had been given by the general:

Don’t interfere. Let them through.

Whether they were assassins or challengers, if they couldn’t be stopped, there was no need to get in their way.

Of course, there was a small addendum—if a soldier truly wanted to fight, they wouldn’t be stopped. But soldiers who were desperate to brawl were exceedingly rare.

The soldier spoke with the intent to let them pass.

“That’s correct.”

Anu laughed heartily and strode inside first. The soldier didn’t block him. Had he been a fresh recruit, he might have hesitated, but as a veteran, he understood well enough.

These were men who had already passed Frokk and Meelun, the ones guarding the city.