The braid, separate from the wind, swayed.
It was caused by the movement of the opponent.
She was a woman who stood out with her deep brown glow in a world of gray.
There was a sense of vibrant energy about her.
In other words, the movement of drawing her axe from her waist looked as graceful as a dance.
What followed was a vertical axe strike.
Encrid's gaze followed the strike.
'No hesitation.'
It wasn't a particularly deadly killing intent, but at least she was clearly aiming to split something.
Beyond the axe falling like chopping wood, a sharp glint traced a long line in her eyes.
The axe cut through the air, advancing towards its target. In other words, to split Rem's skull.
At the same time, a harsh exclamation came from the West.
There wasn't even half a breath of time to spare, but of course, Rem responded. His axe, held in his hand, met the one flying toward him.
Thud, crunch.
Luagarne and Dunbachel's eyes darted around.
It was due to the changes brought by the clashing axes. Naturally, their eyes followed the battle between the two axes.
Encrid maintained a relatively calm gaze as he watched. He saw everything clearly.
The two axes locked together and bounced off each other. Thanks to Rem's clever twist of his wrist.
"Hmph!"
Rem's wife snorted.
She yanked the axe back using the strength of her arms.
Her forearms were wrapped tightly with leather straps, and it seemed as though the muscles were expanding, making the straps dig into her arms.
Thus, the axe leveled horizontally, aiming for Rem's jaw.
"Ayul."
Rem lightly twisted his body to evade and spoke. The woman called Ayul responded with her axe.
She pushed forward, extending the blade. Rem caught it with his bare palm and pushed it aside.
That's Audin's move.
Encrid recognized it instantly. The technique Rem just showed was a variation of the body slipping technique.
And he had done it barehanded.
While Encrid could defeat Rem, mimicking such movements instantly like that was not something he could do.
It was a difference in talent. You need a body capable of learning and perfectly executing such techniques.
Of course, Encrid could also deflect blades barehanded, but could he use it so spontaneously like just now?
That would be difficult.
It wasn't something thought out, but rather instinctual. That's what Rem's hand movements were like.
However, Encrid didn't feel any particular emotion. He didn't have any grand thoughts about it. He merely found the subtle technique interesting enough to store in his mind.
It would be good to practice later.
The hand movements, like deflecting or striking, flowed naturally.
"I have chosen my partner. I swear on my axe that I have not spread affection anywhere else."
Rem spoke in a calm tone.
After her axe missed, the woman called Ayul slowly placed her axe back on her waist and said,
"Fine, let's move on for now."
"Smelly beastwoman, and a Frog. Moreover, one of them is a man."
Rem spoke again.
It was his answer to the question of whether he had been involved with another woman.
It was a conversation anyone could piece together from the context.
Rem's words might have sounded like excuses, but they were the truth.
"If you need testimony, I'll provide it."
Encrid interjected.
It was the power of friendship. It was a word of support in recognition of the many battles they had fought together, risking their lives.
"I don't know who you are, but how about you stay out of this unless you want to add another decoration to your skull?"
Encrid decided to respect her opinion.
Dunbachel was about to say Rem wasn't her type, but closed her mouth.
The woman in front of her didn't seem like someone who would speak empty words.
Luagarne cast an intrigued glance.
'A female Rem.'
That's how she saw it.
Dunbachel had a similar thought.
'Two brutish axes.'
Encrid felt the same.
A female Rem.
Female Rem, Ayul, kept her hand on the axe as she stared at Rem. A heavy, silent killing intent settled in her eyes.
"Let's talk separately later."
Rem's complexion turned a bit pale.
"Alright."
There are some things in life that are unavoidable.
For instance, a husband who left home owed his waiting wife an explanation for why he left.
After Ayul's outburst with the axe was over, a few other Westerners who had been watching approached.
They didn't seem to feel any sense of danger. That's likely because they were familiar with Rem.
Among them, a man with patterns etched on his face, as if drawn with something sharp, came closer. It looked like pointed thorns had been carved into his cheek.
"This is unexpected. Grime must be weeping."
He seemed quite surprised.
Grime referred to the divine beast that lived as a shadow. It was something that appeared in Western mythology.
Encrid looked at him quietly. It was his habitual observation.
'Always observe and grasp everything.'
It was a habit he had picked up when he first started learning the sword.
Encrid's eyes scanned the man.
His skin was tanned, likely from the sun, though it seemed his natural skin color was closer to red.
There was a hint of reddish skin visible at the boundary between his hand and sleeve.
His face had high cheekbones and narrow eyes, but he didn't look cunning. Rather, there was a gentle air about him.
Overall, you could say he had handsome features. Quite a good-looking face.
Ayul was no different. She too had the appearance of a beauty.
From behind, the sound of Luagarne puffing out her cheeks could occasionally be heard. Frog liked attractive human appearances.
It was likely an expression of satisfaction.
It seemed to be a characteristic of this particular people. In contrast, Rem's appearance was closer to that of a continental person.
Why is that? It's because he was born differently.
Having seen just a few Westerners, Encrid had uncovered one of Rem's birth secrets.
It was just a guess, but it was probably correct.
Seeing how Rem alone looked different among similar appearances.
"Hey, it's been a while, hasn't it?"
Rem sheathed his axe in the holster at his waist and raised his hand.
"I almost lost count of how many times the rainy season has come."
"Six times."
Ayul spoke from behind. The man nodded.
"Yeah, it's been a while. What have you been up to?"
"At first, traveling. Then soldiering. Recently, fighting. I'm back to retrieve something now."
There were many words he didn't understand, but Encrid got the gist from the context.
"What's he saying?"
Dunbachel tilted her head in confusion.
Luagarne, who understood the Western dialect, seemed to comprehend.
"Well, there's only one thing to say at times like this. Welcome back, Rem."
One of the men said.
"I thought you'd died somewhere, but you made it back alive."
Ayul blessed Rem's return.
Finally, the man with the thorn pattern turned his gaze towards Encrid.
"Are you with Rem?"
Standing three paces away from Encrid, he asked. There was a hint of caution in his tone.
"Still debating whether it's better to acknowledge that or pretend I don't know him. Can I delay my answer a bit?"
Encrid replied, and the man laughed.
It seemed to be a joke that suited his taste.
"You're an amusing one. I'm Juol."
"Encrid, from the Border Guard."
"Encrid? That's a mouthful and a long name."
Although the entire continent spoke the same language spread by the Empire, there were often subtle differences in accents.
The way the man named Juol spoke reflected that.
The fact that he said the name was long and difficult to pronounce was due to the same reasons that dialects formed.
"Is that so?"
Encrid brushed it off casually.
Rem interrupted with a question.
"What's this about a village being attacked outside? I also ran into a Giant on my way."
It wasn't like he had just remembered. It was probably that in the midst of their reunion, he was only now bringing it up.
"That's a long story. First, let's head to the Big Wing. Ayul?"
Juol spoke, but Ayul remained expressionless as she stared at Rem, while the remaining Westerners stood still, just watching.
Encrid observed them and roughly guessed their relationships.
'Ayul is the decision-maker, and Juol is probably a squad leader.'
He was mostly right.
They were a group that had gone out to graze cattle and sheep while standing guard, and among them, Ayul was the best fighter.
"Alright."
Rem had returned.
Ayul was both glad and angry. In any case, it was clear that Rem's return at this time was something to be welcomed.
It was certainly something helped by the sky God.
"We're heading to where the Big Wing chieftain resides."
Soon, two remaining westerners whistled and herded the sheep and cattle.
They tapped the ground with long poles to line up the livestock and get them moving, showing a skill that would put the Shepherds of the Wilderness to shame.
When Encrid mentioned this as a casual remark, Luagarne puffed her cheeks and laughed.
"Nonsense. The Shepherds of the Wilderness don't herd sheep like that. You'll see if you watch them sometime. Or ask Pel when we get back."
"If we're still alive, I'll do that."
Encrid nodded. The premise of "if we're alive" might have sounded strange, but neither Luagarne nor Dunbachel seemed to think much of it.
In fact, one of the westerners walking beside them tilted his head in confusion.
Did I hear that right? If we're alive? Was it a continental joke? Or a dialect?
Of course, it was neither.
As they walked, Rem sidled up next to Encrid and whispered quietly enough that Ayul, walking ahead, couldn't hear.
"Man, I almost died."
"Wouldn't it have been better to just take the hit?"
Encrid whispered back.
It probably would've been better to take the hit.
"She'd have to go easy for that to happen."
Encrid agreed with that too.
She was swinging the axe with enough force to chop off an arm.
"Rem? Is that really you? The same Rem who left home?"
A westerner walking nearby observed closely and asked.
"Yeah, it's me."
"Was it because of the curse of the wandering star?"
"Who's spreading that rumor?"
"Ayul said so."
"And who are you?"
"I'm Ire."
Though his cheeks were hollow, his eyes were sharp, and his body, honed through controlled eating and repetitive labor, was as hard as a stone.
The way he tapped the ground with a long pole as he walked suggested he knew how to fight.
Though there was no sign of hostility, the signs of training were clear.
Encrid's eye for these things had grown significantly, and just by observing, he could gauge someone's skill.
This was an area where he was better than both Rem and Ragna.
Like the difference between someone who slowly ascends a mountain while observing every detail and someone who rushes to the top all at once.
For this reason, Encrid saw Ire's abilities more accurately than anyone else.
'If he joined the Border Guard, he'd be treated as an elite soldier.'
How he'd fare in real combat was uncertain, but his basic skills were at least that high.
You never know until you've faced someone in battle.
That was a thought that hadn't changed since he became a Junior-Knight or even when he was a low-ranking soldier.
In life-or-death combat, anything could happen.
In that sense, female Rem's skills were far superior.
At a glance, she seemed to be at least around the level of a Squire.
Rem answered the young, or rather, the boyish man's question.
"It wasn't anything like that."
It would take too long to explain what really happened back then, and it wasn't something he'd want to explain to someone who knew nothing.
"Hmph!"
Ayul snorted from the front.
She probably couldn't hear the whispers, but the current conversation was loud enough for her to catch.
Female Rem had sharp ears.
As they kept walking, they saw patches of grassland here and there, and groups of Westerners tending to livestock came into view.
They all looked up when they spotted the group approaching.
It was obvious that outsiders wandering around couldn't go unnoticed.
Among them, some recognized Rem.
As they walked, a smoky smell wafted from somewhere. It wasn't a pleasant scent.
When Encrid looked to the side, he saw Dunbachel twitching her nose.
If it was something he could smell, Dunbachel would have caught it first.
"What does it smell like to you?"
"Seems like they're burning some kind of grass."
Rem also raised his head as if he had noticed the same scent.
In the distance, gray smoke was rising into the sky.
"Something must have happened."
Rem said.
"We'll find out when we get there."
Ayul replied in a curt tone. She still seemed angry. Will she ever calm down? Encrid thought as he kept walking.
A gently sloping hill blocked their path, but once they crossed it, a wide clearing came into view.
"It's been a while since we've had outsiders. Welcome, strangers who've crossed the border."
Juol said.
The clearing was filled with numerous tents. Some were round, others angular.
There were so many that counting them would take a long time.
There were also just as many people. It was a large group of hundreds of people.
In other words, it was a city of the West.
"If you translated it into Continental terms, it'd be called Elder Bear, or something like that. We're all descendants of the Goddess who became a bear. That's the myth."
That's what Rem had told him before they arrived.
There were myths about a bear killing a Giant snake larger than a city, and tales of various animals gathering in a cave and turning into humans.
They said that the first human the bear gave birth to was the ancestor of the Western people.
Every tribe had its own myth, he had said.
Encrid's eyes took in the sight of the Western city that Rem had described.
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