A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

"WAAAAAAH!"@@novelbin@@

The moment they entered Border Guard, the cheers struck like a hammer.

The air itself shuddered with the force of it.

Every single person—men, women, soldiers, civilians—poured into the streets, roaring at the top of their lungs.

"Goddamn, my ears."

Amidst the exhausted soldiers and the falling snow, the people screamed their victory.

The Black Blade had threatened them. The Cult had marched on them.

Officially, it had been Viscount Tarnin’s army—

But that was like dressing up a ghoul in human clothes.

A sham.

Everyone had known. Even the damn innkeeper had known.

Azpen was still out there—

But there were moments that could not be passed over.

When was life most valuable?

When you had survived.

When you had overcome.

When you felt, down to your bones, that you were still alive.

And that’s what the Border Guard people felt now.

They had survived.

They had endured.

Some had fled in the night.

Some had abandoned their homes.

But those who had stayed—

They screamed with all the air in their lungs.

"YOU! You can have what I’ve kept safe for twenty years!"

The innkeeper, Vanessa, hollered.

She had lost her first husband at twenty-five and had never remarried, treating herself with care.

Anyone who tried anything funny got a cast-iron pot to the skull.

"WHO THE HELL WANTS THAT?!"

A towering mercenary shouted back.

Half his face was wrapped in bloodstained bandages, covering his left eye down to his jaw.

He had clearly been wounded in battle, but that didn’t stop him from howling with laughter.

His wound would split open again, but he didn’t seem to care.

"I WASN’T TALKING TO YOU!"

"SNAP OUT OF IT, INNKEEPER!"

Everyone laughed.

The mercenary bellowed, voice booming over the crowd.

"DAMN, YOU GUYS FIGHT LIKE MONSTERS!"

"FUCKING DEMONS ON THE FIELD!"

His cry was met with a chorus of roaring men.

And between them, women shrieked in something close to hysteria.

Everyone was drunk on victory.

"Hey, have you all forgotten Azpen is still out there?! Is this really the time?!"

Kraiss grumbled.