Roman naturally ended up joining the group.
"People live in the Demonic Realm?"
Enkrid asked. Wasn't it a surprising statement?
Monsters and beasts were creatures that killed people. And Demonic Realms overflowed with various monsters and beasts, including unique individuals.
For people to survive in such lands was truly a distant prospect. Even the village of the Recluses had survived by prioritizing concealment and making maximum use of their surroundings, yet to be immediately visible to passing travelers?
"Yeah, I was surprised too."
Roman answered nonchalantly. He said it hadn't even been ten days since he'd been caught by the Parasites. Gauging the time, that seemed right. Audin had subtly conveyed that if his Will had been even slightly more disordered, he wouldn't have been able to wake up.
Of course, he'd said it loudly enough for everyone present to hear.
Half praise, but to Roman, it no longer sounded that way.
"Fine, let's say I'm a fool."
Roman gave up, knowing he couldn't persuade these people with words or force.
Seeing Rem giggle at those words, it was clear he was just trying to tease him.
So he was just telling them about the strange village he'd seen. It was an excellent attempt at changing the subject, and it succeeded.
As Enkrid walked, he broadened his thinking based on what Roman had said.
The continent was vast. Of that, how much had the intelligent races, including humans, claimed?
In the past, a scholar who'd held something like the title of Sage had said:
"In truth, this world may be surrounded by powerful beings we don't know about."
The basis for this claim was the very existence of Demonic Realms.
The Great Demonic Realm had been invaded but never collapsed, and within it lived six demons humans couldn't handle.
Moreover, looking around the continent, there were far too many monsters. With so many monsters, there were far too many beasts too.
And how many among the gathered monsters had developed into unique individuals?
Furthermore, before the Safe Roads were established around Border Guard and all the way to the former Molsen County, even within national territories, not just bandits but monsters had been everywhere.
'Even those bandits died out if they didn't band together and hold firm.'
So the very existence of such a village was simply mysterious.
"Your memory is intact even though you were caught by the Parasites and then woke up?"
The half-giant kept approaching for some reason to ask, and Roman nodded to answer that he was fine.
It wasn't easy to gauge the location, so Roman groaned as he searched for the way.
Still, his sense of direction was good enough to come here without a guide, and he properly oriented himself by looking at the sharp, distant red and black mountains.
Of course, whether it was the right direction would only be known once they got there. Watching Roman, Enkrid spoke.
"Want to have a bout?"
Looking at his gait, his stamina hadn't fully returned yet. He looked like someone who'd stayed up for two nights, with a subtle imbalance in his steps.
Still, as Rem had said, he was tough.
'He's holding up well.'
His head must be spinning, and breathing must feel somehow uncomfortable compared to usual. Audin had healed him with divinity, but it was after being caught once by the Parasites.
It would be stranger if he were in good condition.
'Still, what you fundamentally possess doesn't change.'
Being in worse condition than usual didn't greatly alter one's skill. For a Squire Knight, this was a natural quality.
You couldn't always fight in peak condition.
Being able to roughly display one's skills even in such situations was why you were called a Squire Knight.
"Right now?"
Roman asked back. He didn't seem unwilling.
Enkrid drew his sword. Opening, Heaven, Dawnforge.
The sword called by mixing three names gave off a pale blue light.
"An Inscribed Weapon."
Roman murmured. The present was so different from the past he'd known.
He'd resolved and steeled himself to climb first, but now he'd been left behind.
Red and black emotions seemed about to surge. Roman gripped his sword and thrust the greatsword's blade forward.
He hadn't properly maintained it, so the blade lacked sharpness, but with a greatsword of this size, even without an edge, it was a deadly weapon.
"What are you doing, stopping in the middle of walking?"
Rem chided.
His words were right. Not at a campsite, but stopping in the middle of walking from dawn—what was this about?
Still, he didn't speak further. The others said nothing at all.
Watching would be fun too, and they seemed to understand why Enkrid was doing this.
'It really is strange, I tell you.'
He grumbled out of habit, but Rem's inner thoughts were different. That guy had elevated Pel and Lawford to the rank of Knight. Of course, those two had sufficient talent, combined it with effort, and didn't lose their drive for improvement.
But if everyone with the above conditions became Knights, there would be ten times as many Knights on the continent as there were now.
'Though there are clearly more than before.'
The number was still extremely small.
So it was simply marvelous.
Ragna placed his hand on the hilt of Sunrise and indifferently observed the two.
The swordsman called Roman had many bad habits stuck to his swordsmanship. If they actually clashed, probably more problems would be revealed than were visible on the surface. Things you could know without being told.
'How will he fix those habits?'
It wouldn't be easy.
Luagarne was expectant, while Shinar and Jaxen weren't interested.
Pel, Lawford, and Teresa judged that watching and learning anything would be helpful, so they concentrated.
Then Roman's greatsword moved. Drawing a graceful line, it fell diagonally.
'Fast and strong, but he's too prepared for what's next.'
Pel's impression.
'His thinking speed is slow.'
This was Lawford's impression.
Enkrid saw it similarly.
Now then, what to do?
He stepped forward with his left foot. Taking a stance, he swung his sword. The motion itself was the same as cutting the monster, but—
'Control the force.'
He'd watched Jaxen remove the Parasite monster stuck to Roman's head.
It would be a lie to say he hadn't felt a thrill watching that blade-work.
'Delicacy beyond the pinnacle of precision.'
He'd practiced with hand gestures after seeing it once, and last night he'd trained in his dreams.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
The Ferryman had called several times, but Enkrid was absorbed and entranced by Jaxen's blade-work. Now, after watching and imitating a few times, he could mimic it. For Enkrid, this entire process was deeply enjoyable.
Clang!
Vortex—or more precisely, a sword strike imbued with limited rotation. It was also a powerful strike cleanly executed with the shoulder as the axis.
Roman's sword bounced back in one blow.
"Again, let's do it while walking."
After that, Enkrid repeated the same thing. Roman had to swing his sword without any instruction.
He wished there'd be some words, but there were none.
He just struck away the sword swung without thought in one blow.
To show off his skills?
But for that, wasn't his attitude and expression too indifferent?
Moreover, those watching were similar.
Roman tried to read the intention. There must be a reason for this.
Not a bout, but to torment him?
Then Enkrid showed a smile.
Hey, is this all? Just this?
At the same time, he heard such a voice. It should have been an auditory hallucination, but that voice, too real, stabbed at his heart.
It was around the fiftieth bout. His shoulders ached, his elbows ached, and honestly, there wasn't a place on his whole body that didn't hurt.
After being caught by the Parasites, his head was spinning too.
But along with Enkrid's smile, from somewhere the words "just this, just this, just this" echoed repeatedly.
Crack.
Roman bit his tongue.
Right, I get that you're great, but the time I've walked through wasn't trivial either.
I too trained, scraping my bones and risking my life.
To uphold Knight Oara, to keep his word.
Malice gathered. Blood gushed from his bitten tongue. That pain awakened his whole body. Veins stood out in Roman's eyes.
'In one strike.'
He drew on the blade-work he'd trained extensively before, with his left foot as the axis. That method of imitating a Knight's strike.
It had also been part of the experience when Enkrid created Vortex.
To swing a sword like a Knight at the Squire Knight level, you had to tighten and release all your muscles, pouring Will imbued with intent.
Once, Roman had taught this.
'Take this.'
Earnest hope led his Will. Roman swung his sword as he was. It felt like demolishing a dam that had been blocking his chest.
With relief and liberation, he swung his sword with full power for the first time in a very long while.
Boom!
Roman's sword fell, tearing through the air, and Enkrid received and deflected it with the Sword of Instinct.
Ting, da-da-da-da-da. Thud.
Roman's greatsword didn't achieve its purpose. The tip of the greatsword he held struck the ground with all its force drained. The sound was too feeble. It ended with a thud.
Then crack— a crack formed in the middle of the greatsword, and the sword split.
"Urgh!"
Roman vomited blood. It was pitch-black blood.
"Here."
Before anyone knew, Audin had approached and placed his hand on his back, and Teresa pressed close behind.
It was the process of erasing the traces the monster had left behind. Tearing off the Parasite and waking up wasn't the end.
The energy that monsters handled, commonly called demonic energy, remained in Roman's body.
It had come out mixed with the blood he just vomited.
If they'd tried to heal him outright with Divine Power, he would have become an idiot.
But now was perfect. Audin's gaze turned to Enkrid.
"Did you intend this?"
"Half of it."
You could say he was lucky.
Roman raised his head, which he'd bowed while vomiting blood.
He would understand best what this meant.
At the same time—
"You saw it, didn't you?"
He would also understand the meaning of Enkrid's question.
Roman had taken the wrong path during his training. He'd carved into his body the swordsmanship of Knight Oara—the leisurely flowing sword.
It was swordsmanship that drew graceful lines, not deciding victory in one strike.
Thanks to that, the man who'd been imitating a Knight's downward strike had solid fundamentals.
In Enkrid's eyes, he'd drawn a proper circle, but was that the right path?
Roman was born with a sturdy body.
His disposition was also toward putting force into one strike.
'Will is influenced by disposition.'
This was what experience had taught him.
Lawford had lived a life of putting others forward. He'd spent time observing and thinking alone. That time hadn't been painful because it matched his disposition.
Pel was the opposite.
He charged at what he wanted, even breaking out of the frame called shepherd.
Will was influenced by intent—by disposition. Going in the opposite direction made the path toward Knighthood distant.
"Thank you."
Roman said. And then he lost consciousness again.
"We've got another burden."
Rem said.
"What was that earlier?"
Enkrid asked back. Rem grinned and added.
"Wasn't it exactly the right moment?"
Is this all? Just this? What Roman had heard wasn't an auditory hallucination. Rem had used a hex to play tricks and whisper in his ear.
"Nice trick."
Enkrid said with inward admiration. Whispering in Roman's ear was one thing, but more surprising was his skill in reading Roman's state and prodding him.
"You flatter me."
When Rem grinned and spoke, Ragna nodded.
"You really do well at all sorts of useless things."
Was this praise or provocation?
"...What did you eat wrong?"
After the usual bickering, the two fought once in the realm of imagination and actually clashed sword and axe.
Before they knew it, dawn had broken, and the day was clear. Teresa carried Roman on her back. Then, in the afternoon, when Roman woke, he spoke.
"I feel like my mind is clear."
"Do you?"
They didn't have more bouts. Luagarne puffed her cheeks and stuck close to Enkrid's side.
"I'm curious how you learned the talent for teaching."
Enkrid conversed to satisfy the curious Frog's desire, and Roman guided them to the village he'd seen.
How should he put it—the first impression was more intense than anywhere he'd seen before.
"Should we just destroy everything and kill them?"
Rem asked, riding the atmosphere. Ragna placed his hand on Sunrise.
Enkrid looked at the sculpture erected in the village center, unconcealed.
Atop a long pole sat a blackly painted circle.
A black sun, a black solar form—it was one of the symbols of heretical cults.
It was no different from loudly proclaiming worship of the Demon-Lord.
"Didn't you say it was a village?"
Shinar was a Fairy. She was sensitive to the energy monsters emitted. Without forest vitality, Fairies couldn't display their full abilities.
"It is a village. They just live in a somewhat peculiar form."
Roman answered. Once they entered inside, it really was no ordinary peculiar place.
People coming and going were visible. Judging by city standards, their attire was close to paupers', but they didn't look like they'd been forcibly dragged here to live.
One of them blinked and approached.
If there was one biggest difference between Enkrid's group and the person before them, it would be skin color. The skin, neither black nor white, was a subtle purple hue.
"You've returned alive."
The approaching man looked at Roman and spoke, then surveyed the rest of the group.
"With plenty of guests too."
He gestured behind him. The village welcomed guests who'd come after a long time. Honestly speaking, it was a bit awkward.
Thinking of it as hospitality from a village worshipping the Demon-Lord, it couldn't be helped.