Alexandra had a habit of tormenting opponents during sparring.
Odinkar couldn't distinguish between real combat and practice when he got heated, and Grida had face blindness.
Rynox had a similar deficiency.
He lacked the ability to judge which side he should stand on. Should I say that if he didn't act according to his mood, he'd get restless and fidgety?
An incident from his youth when he wandered the continent as a mercenary was a good anecdote that revealed his bad habit.
"Why are you standing there?"
When yesterday's ally asked, Rynox confidently answered:
"Ah, I decided to side with this group starting today."
"What the fuck? Even if you're a mercenary sold to Krona, don't you have any business ethics?"
"Ah, I don't know."
Rynox attempted assassination by bursting the onlookers' clothes by closing his ears. Of course, he failed.
He had been an ally yesterday but became an enemy today, changing his allegiance for just a few drinks.
The more private reason only Rynox knew was that there was a friend he liked on the enemy side.
After crossing swords once, wasn't there someone too precious to kill?
So he switched sides.
Nobles were fighting over land, and eventually this incident caused the noble on the opposite side to unreasonably hire a famous mercenary company.
You could say anger slapped reason across the face.
Hearing this, the opposing noble couldn't fall behind and hired a similarly sized mercenary company, and what had been light combat among about ten people developed into large-scale battle.
And the end was truly desperate. Both nobles were ruined and it ended there.
One side lacked the Krona to pay the mercenary company, and the other had territorial citizens brought in who started a rebellion.
Well, this wouldn't have been a problem if Rynox or the mercenary company had intervened to suppress it, but since the fighting was almost over anyway, he thought there was no need to do so and pulled out.
It wasn't for nothing that Rynox earned the nickname "Destroyer."
Of course, it was because he specialized in breaking techniques, but sometimes it was also a nickname earned for causing catastrophe in situations entirely.
That's why he once earned the unpleasant nickname of "mercenary who could always become an enemy."
For these reasons, Rynox never made his own decisions. That's why he wasn't a pioneer.
He was someone who didn't walk his own path but watched others and followed.
Since he knew acting according to his mood would create a mess, it was also correct to say he couldn't become a head.
His question reflected his life and personality so far.
After explaining the situation, the head would make the judgment. That was Rynox's thought structure. And the words that came from the head's mouth were "let's fight."
Meanwhile, a fierce voice rang out from the divided group:
"You're saying our father did that?"
Whoooosh. The pouring rain masked part of his voice, but it wasn't to the degree that it couldn't be heard.
The reason for the division into two groups within Zaun was simple. No, should I say it was complicated?
One side was friends of those who had been wronged by Heskal.
The other side was those who believed Heskal couldn't have done such things.
They couldn't believe what Heskal had done to them all this time, how much care he had given them, no matter how much they were told of his deeds.
While the two groups were showing murderous intent toward each other, something in the sky squirmed and gathered like a lump, moved in an artificial form, and drew something resembling a human face.
What's this now?
Enkrid's head lifted naturally in curiosity. The downpour struck his eyes as he looked up at the sky sideways, and the thing that had formed into a large face shape above his head spoke:
"Those who harbor curses. I shall receive you into my embrace. Leave that place immediately and seek enlightenment. Those who do so shall live and obtain what they desire."
A spell.
And a threat.
Also, he felt an overwhelming presence. How could it be otherwise?
Suddenly a head larger than a training ground appeared above and was speaking.
Also, the will contained in those words was so tremendous that his skin tingled.
Swish.
Even a crude technique was mixed in. Everyone was looking at the head floating in the sky. A black shadow suddenly rose behind the head.
All four reacted. Enkrid stepped aside, the head turned his waist and swung his elbow, Rynox spread his hand blade and thrust, and Alexandra's sword came out of its sheath faster than anyone else's and went back in.
The downpour masked sounds and smells, dulling the five senses. In between, one Scaler had attempted assassination.
It was one with red scales mixed throughout its black scales.
Not quite a named one, but it seemed to be a special individual. So it would be a monster that had undergone evolution or metamorphosis.
Thwack!
The head struck with his elbow the head of the creature that had a hole in its neck from Alexandra's sword strike.
The struck creature flew away like a kite with its string cut and fell.
Thud, clatter!
The monster that rolled several times squirmed and got up again. Was it a tenacious one?
Getting up even after taking that?
Should I say its vitality was exceptional?
Rynox finished it. He retrieved his hand that had thrust at empty air and swiftly approached the creature.
"What are you again?"
Speaking, he drew a sword with a thin blade and completely cut off the holed neck. Slice—the severed neck rolled through the rainwater.
The drawn sword entered its sheath again at frightening speed.
"Tsk."
As he sheathed his sword, Rynox waved his hand in the air, and having sparred with him, one could tell his current condition wasn't normal.
The fact that the area where Heskal had struck him was black meant it was a poisoning symptom. That had affected Rynox.
"That damn bastard said the illness would severely worsen for two days starting today. I was even scratched by a poison-coated sword in the process. That crazy bastard even applied poison to his own engraved weapon."
An engraved weapon was one imbued with a knight's will. He applied poison to it? If it wasn't using poison from the start but chose such methods to win, wouldn't there be damage to his will?
Yet he did so.
One might become curious about what was in Heskal's head. Enkrid felt similarly.
And it didn't seem too difficult to guess.
The situations so far had piled up neatly in his head. His thinking ability organized what he had seen and heard based on what was accumulated.
'Schmidt came from the Empire and has no ulterior motives.'
But Heskal would have used him. As if urging them to sail in the same boat as the Empire.
You could tell by looking at Schmidt's expression now.
He looked like someone who had set out on a picnic smelling flowers only to step in horse dung.
He was angry at unexpected shenanigans.
'Using Schmidt's words to incite chaos.'
A simple structure, but easy to fall for if you didn't know. Actually, it seemed easy now that he looked back, but when he first saw it, even Enkrid had wondered if it wasn't the Empire's scheming.
'Heskal manages those traveling between the three villages and moves directly himself.'
So it would have been easy to hear news that Odinkar or Magrun were returning. Incidentally, he would have heard that he, Anne, and Ragna had joined as well.
'Why did they target Anne?'
That wasn't Heskal's work. He only assisted.
'Heskal opened the path and intended the direction, but it wasn't what he wanted.'
He had seen his swordsmanship. The meticulousness revealed in his swordsmanship suggested he had strengths in using his head in this manner.
So what wanted that was a sorcerer or wizard.
'There are wizards and sorcerers under his command.'
Or as collaborators.
'Not leaving coincidence as coincidence.'
Heskal did that. Coming this far, he understood. Even Enkrid himself had unknowingly been used by him.
'He made the head suspect me.'
Ragna, who returned after several years, immediately demanded the sunrise. The head and his wife, knowing the current crisis, probably couldn't hand over the sunrise or whatever immediately.
Then came suspicion. Might Enkrid of the Border Guard be backing someone targeting Zaun? Wasn't that worth suspecting?
From the outside, the Border Guard was a group that had suddenly emerged. To those who didn't know, it would seem like Naurillia had revealed hidden strength, just as Azfen had hidden knight forces.
Indeed, Naurillia, you hid a dagger.
Thoughts could conclude this way.
Zaun had power. Enough that Schmidt, a recruiting officer from the Empire, came directly to convey words.
Zaun would have always refused the calls of those demanding their strength. Sometimes they would have used force, sometimes they would have compromised.
Because such things repeated, they became sensitive to what the intentions of armed groups hiding their true nature might be.
Heskal would have cleverly made them suspect each other using this point.
'He deliberately showed Grida traces of monsters too.'
What had Heskal been doing behind the scenes all this time? Buying time. In other words, what happened on the way to Zaun also happened in Zaun.
'This hurts.'
He was properly caught.
Would he not have been caught if Krais or Audin were there?
He didn't know.
Now, he understood Heskal's thinking. Buying time. He didn't know the purpose. That couldn't be guessed.
Then what about the head?
If he asked Anne, the head had even postponed treatment. It was right to see it as refusing diagnosis. What he said then was "not now."
Only Anne heard that, and Anne only told him and Ragna. It was natural.
Ragna heard it directly while protecting her, but even if he hadn't, there probably wouldn't have been anyone else to converse with besides these two.
Anne said she came to cure a disease, not a curse, and stirred things up here and there.
Everyone didn't say anything, but they seemed somewhat uncomfortable.
An outsider who suddenly came asking how much coughing there had been.
'It would have seemed like ignoring Milleschia the healer too.'
Clever.
The head had conveyed "not now" to him or Ragna.
Through Anne, using his body's illness.
Was it a message that taking the sunrise wasn't for now?
Or was it asking to wait regardless of what the purpose of coming here was?
Realizing it now was a bit late, but every time he recalled that "not now," various thoughts arose, so it could be said the head's intention had worked to some degree.
This was one conclusion from finishing speculation up to this point.
'The head was also waiting for this.'
While coming to Zaun and facing veiled enemies, Odinkar had said it was frustrating.
'The head is the same. He wanted the enemy to reveal themselves.'
Knowing that leaving it alone would eventually fester and burst, he wanted to see the internal enemy as quickly as possible.
'Ah.'
The head had also used Enkrid. He had seen the reputation of Enkrid of the Border Guard and Ragna's skills.
He would have also arranged for Anne to move around within the family without inconvenience.
Even if not visible on the surface, he did so.
'He even had Alexandra teach me.'
The reason? It was a sign that this side was an ally.
If they were enemies, it couldn't be helped, but if Enkrid had coincidentally come at this timing.
'This side also didn't leave coincidence as coincidence.'
He pulled the rolling stone that suddenly interfered as much as possible to his side.
So whichever side held it would be even slightly advantageous.
The head made the enemy called Heskal reveal himself like that.
Heskal bought time to capture the moment he wanted.
The head had been in a battle of wits with an invisible enemy for several years.
"These bastards, really."
Enkrid muttered.
Meanwhile, the face floating in the air sinisterly sent a Scaler and yet shamelessly said:
"What difference would it make if just two swordsmen and one young girl were added? Tempest Zaun?"
Then Enkrid unknowingly smiled seeing what the head did.
The head raised his clenched fist toward the air and revealed the longest finger in the middle of his hand. Yes. He extended his middle finger.
Though culture differed by continent, it came across with the same meaning to everyone present.
Well, roughly "shut up and get lost."
Or asking how about you take out your penis and have a taste.
A gesture quite unsuited to his serious expression.
The head wasn't hiding emotions. Enkrid now understood that.
"Grida can't recognize people, and Alexandra has a disease where she gets hives if she doesn't torment people during sparring."
"It's not quite that bad."
Alexandra interjected from the side, but wouldn't others see such things better originally?
This was exactly the objective third-party perspective.
"Like Magrun couldn't hold back harsh words, you don't know how to show emotions."
The head looked at Enkrid and nodded. The emotion he had shown toward Ragna earlier would be real.
The worry was real and the joy was real too.
Crash.
Lightning of a different scale than before struck. White light split into dozens of streams above their heads and tore through the face floating in the air that had appeared from who knows where.
As lightning ripped through his face, only pitch-black storm clouds remained in the sky as before.
Ragna finally came out from inside and asked:
"There was an idiot targeting Anne so I cut him down and came out. What's happening?"
Enkrid gave a simple answer:
"A fight."
Ragna nodded. Though not clearly revealed, it was a nod that subtly showed anticipation.
Otherwise, he was the type who would listen with one ear and let it pass, asking "really?" casually.
For some reason, he looked frustrated as if he had some pent-up desires.
It also looked like that might be expressed as anger, but he seemed to be holding back well.
Conclusion: anyway, that bastard was also dying to fight.
Well, he could guess the reason for the anger.
'I'm not quite to that degree.'
Enkrid thought so and was excited at the thought of refuting what the face that had appeared in the sky earlier had said.
'Just two swordsmen.'
How far did the scope of that "just" extend? It was worth exploring.
Of course, there would be a mountain of things to do before that, but for now, stopping the groups in front who were about to tear each other apart would come first.