A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

"Hey, King Eyeball."

Enkrid called out to Kraiss, who had been rambling on.

Blink.

The guy blinked at him, staring.

Why was he being consumed by anxiety?@@novelbin@@

It was simple. He had spent his entire life getting trampled on. One wrong step meant either dying or suffering a wound that was close enough.

'I've heard there are people out there who would go for their own ass if things went south.'

Scratch. Enkrid scratched his cheek.

The world does not welcome the untainted.

The pure are bound to be stained sooner or later.

Once you spill ink on a blank canvas, it can never be undone. The same went for Kraiss.

To avoid the worst-case scenario, he always predicted the worst.

Because he constantly envisioned disaster, his mind shut down when actually cornered. It happened the first time he froze up on the battlefield and nearly got himself killed.

Enkrid knew this because he had experienced it firsthand.

This bastard’s brain had short-circuited again.

Of course, it was all just speculation. If he was wrong, then so be it, but if he was right, it would make persuading Kraiss a lot easier.

"Shut up. If we fight, we fight. If we die, we die."

Dunbakel, who had been listening from the side, spoke. Her tone and demeanor were blunt and to the point.

It must have rubbed him the wrong way. She was talking as if they were all going to drop dead any second.

Well, that wasn't entirely wrong.

People died all the time in battle, taking blind strikes from stray blades.

Enkrid knew that well.

He could die, but he also might not.

Not everything went the way one wanted, but he could at least try to make things go as planned.

For that, he needed King Eyeball.

More specifically, he needed King Eyeball when he wasn’t malfunctioning.

"That bastard’s possessed. Smack him, knock some sense into him."

Lying on his side like a caterpillar, Rem muttered from his cot.

Winter turned barbarians into caterpillars. It was a sight Enkrid saw every year.

A reasonable suggestion, but unnecessary violence.

He had already tried.