A Knight Who Eternally Regresses-Chapter 366: Not All Squires Are the Same

The Red Cloak Knight Order has three knights, and each of their squads is named after these knights, so it's obvious that their reputations are grand.

However, a knight order cannot be made up of only three knights.

The true backbone of the order is the squires, and there are more than twenty of them.

Among them, fewer than five remain in the capital.

There are about fifty squires, but fewer than ten remain in the capital.

This is according to Aisia's explanation.

“Well, there are a few with skills at the level of a knight. The Royal Guard captain is from the knight order, and the famous twin bodyguards of the Marquis are also from the order.”

“Were those two twins?”

In the middle of the conversation, Enkrid asked.

“You met the Marquis of Oсto, right? Oh, fraternal twins. They don’t look alike, huh? I was surprised too when I heard they were twins.”

Aisia was straightforward. This is how Andrew saw it.

Though the ends of her hair were slightly untidy, her orange hair seemed to highlight her lively nature.

She was carefree and energetic. She seemed like a farm girl who had grown up without worry.

That was the impression she gave.

While Esther, the sorceress, or Kin Baisar might be more impressive in terms of looks, Aisia, as a squire, must have set many men’s hearts aflame.

With such an appearance and such cheerfulness...

It felt incredibly attractive.

She didn’t hesitate to act friendly, showing no regard for distance. The word unreserved immediately came to mind.

She naturally joined the table, eating and drinking, behaving as if she had been here yesterday.

“Give me that bread.”

The funny thing was, Rem and the others treated her with no particular concern.

She was a squire from the Red Cloak Knight Order, after all.

Andrew thought it was hard to adjust, but soon he gave up all pretense of seriousness.

I don’t know anymore.

When Enkrid is involved, nothing goes as expected.

It was no different than when they first went on a mission with the commander.

Back then, Enkrid had only done the most unbelievable things.

Remember when he acted like he knew the enemy’s position in the bushes?

And then, they fought while setting fire to the camp, only to realize afterward that Enkrid was different.

Now, the scale of the work was bigger, and his position had risen, but nothing had really changed. Andrew decided that this was how it would be.

“Here.”

Aisia swiftly cut a round piece of bread and threw it. Rem caught it mid-air and spread marmalade on it before taking a bite.

Ragna sliced salted ham and cut the rough parts of the bread to eat only the soft interior.

“Fussy bastard.”

Rem said with a smirk as he watched.

“If you’re dying to fight after watching her, then wait. We’re eating right now, wild animal.”

Ragna shot back calmly.

“Not her, Aisia.”

Aisia raised her hand and interjected.

“Ah, right. Aisia.”

Ragna naturally dropped the formality. Aisia thanked Andrew for inviting her, although she hadn’t actually used the word invitation.

She had just barged in, sparred, and now was eating.

Andrew responded with a simple, “No problem,” without making her feel awkward.

“Her face is my type.”

Aisia said, glancing at Jaxon.

“Most women say that. Don’t be fooled. There are many women he meets.”

Rem added with a grin.

“They’re all friends.”

Rarely, Jaxon responded with a softer tone. Aisia thought he must have a lot of women following him.

It wasn’t that she instantly fell for his appearance because of that.

Aisia looked at Enkrid, who was chewing his bread across the table.

No matter how many times she saw him, he was a fascinating person.

“I don’t have many women I meet as friends.”

Enkrid, feeling Aisia’s gaze, spoke up.

“I didn’t ask.”

“Uh. Spar afterward?”

Aisia instinctively nodded.

“After digesting, of course.”

During the digestion process, they would sort out what needed to be done.

Aisia hadn’t come here to hang out.

“We’re hunting the Moonlight Beast, remember?”

“Already named it?”

“It only appears under the moonlight.”

Not all people in the capital were fools, idiots, or crazy.

They had identified the enemy’s appearance, location, and the time it emerged.

After listening to the explanation, Enkrid asked.

“Why have you left it alone until now?”

She had mentioned that there were only five squires left.

There were also guards and squires in the capital.

This was the capital of a kingdom. Was there no one who could handle this?

Of course, there were people who could, but they had missed it.

There were a few reasons for that.

The first was underestimating the enemy.

The second reason was that, aside from the knight order, others were reluctant to use their own power.

“Everyone is busy protecting their own safety. I understand, though.”

Aisia said with a relaxed tone, then added.

“One of the squires got seriously injured. He might not survive.”

If a squire was hurt, it was proof that the Moonlight ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Beast was truly dangerous.

“What about the priest?”

It wasn’t that they were injured, so why wasn’t there better treatment?

A squire was a talented individual, one out of hundreds or thousands who had been selected.

A knight was the symbol of strength.

And the knight order was made up of those who were preparing to become knights.

Naturally, they were treated very well. Not just well, but excellently.

A dedicated cook was provided, and they were also given prayers from the priest.

With sacred power, even a serious injury could be treated.

“They’ve been absent from the capital, though. The royal priests say that their sacred powers are hard to use for other reasons.”

Enkrid thought back to the temples he had seen around the capital.

There were several of them, not just one.

Naurillia didn’t persecute religion, so even the capital, Nauril, had quite a few temples.

It wasn’t a holy city like Legion, but there were still many temples.

But there was no priest using sacred power?

“More precisely, there’s no priest who can use sacred power. One of them was already taken down by the beast.”

When the Moonlight Beast first appeared, the response was slow.

The beast had immediately targeted a priest who could use sacred power.

As a result, the priest was now struggling for her life.

She was hanging on, holding on with every breath.

Some of the priests who could use sacred power had gone to the borders.

“Sacred power is precious.”

Thankfully, the royal palace’s healers had stepped in and were doing their best to help.

They even used alchemy to make potions.

“They won’t die.”

Aisia said.

Her tone was calm, but there was a depth of determination in her voice. It sounded almost like a vow to catch the beast.

“We will catch it.”

Rem reinforced her words with a confident tone, as if it was an obvious fact. It made sense, considering how accustomed Rem was to hunting.

“Thanks. Your name’s Rem, right?”

Enkrid found Aisia quite intriguing.

Had she always been this sociable?

He hadn’t really had the chance to talk much with her before, nor was the situation conducive to conversation.

Though, even back then, she didn’t give off a bad vibe.

“Today’s a cloudy day.”

Jaxon spoke in a neutral tone. And it was true.

The moon wouldn’t rise tonight either.

And more importantly, the beast wouldn’t necessarily appear just because the moon rose.

Why was that?

It was a mystery, but it was worth thinking about. Thinking could lead to forming hypotheses.

“So, a squire was killed and ran away, and one of the knights chased it but lost it. It’s got incredibly fast legs. If we try chasing from behind like before, it’ll be hard to catch.”

“Is there a reason why the knight order hasn’t intervened?”

After finishing his meal, Enkrid cleared his plate, and a maid brought over tea.

Aisia, who had just split an apricot in half and popped it into her mouth, made a face.

It seemed too sour for her.

“What do you think?”

There was no need to ask twice. The situation in the palace was the reason.

"We serve the Queen."

The royal guards are not the only ones entrusted with protecting the queen. It’s about guarding the throne.

"So, what about you?"

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

"With the Marquis's power, he could easily sneak a few knights away. He's been nurturing serpents in his belly for so long that he's called the Hydra’s guts," they said about him.

Andrew gave a knowing glance.

"See? Everyone calls him that."

That was the meaning of his gesture.

Enkrid nodded casually.

He had recognized immediately that the Marquis was not someone who easily revealed his intentions.

So what?

The key thing was that the Moonlight Beast was connected to the Black Blades, and finding the leader of the Black Blades was important.

"He's said to be the enemy of Jaxon."

Whether he captures it, kills it, tortures it, or turns it into jerky, that’s Jaxon’s business.

But the search itself is something Enkrid will pursue with determination.

It’s the responsibility of his unit. Though he didn’t say it out loud, it was almost as if he had been asked to do it.

That was the first reason to catch and deal with the Moonlight Beast.

The second reason was to protect the victims.

The third, somewhere along the lines, was the Marquis's request.

It didn’t matter whether the creature was Hydra’s guts, a serpent’s genitalia, or anything else.

"So, we have time until tomorrow, right?"

Enkrid asked. The moon had to rise for them to begin waiting for the beast.

Unless the clouds suddenly parted in the middle of the night, otherwise, even Aisia wouldn't have much to do.

"Yes."

"So?"

"Let’s give it a try."

As Aisia spoke, her eyes were blazing with intensity.

Enkrid wanted to experience her swordsmanship again.

"I want to fight you all too."

At this, Aisia’s fiery gaze grew stronger. If Shinar saw it, he might want to pour water on it right then and there.

Rem, Ragna, and Jaxon reacted to the heat.

"Sounds good."

"Anytime."

Neither of them were the type to avoid a challenge.

"Count me out."

Jaxon shook his head.

"I’ll join in."

At that moment, Dunbakel’s lower-toned voice joined in.

"Alright!"

Aisia responded with enthusiasm and headed outside.

The fight was on.

Everyone moved. Andrew joined in too.

The five trainees, though busy with their own training, watched the duel eagerly as it began.

Even Mack made time to watch.

A duel between squires was something not to be missed.

Of course, watching wouldn’t immediately make them any better.

But by watching, they could experience the imagined outcome firsthand. That was a huge difference.

For them, it was considered good fortune.

Enkrid was always serious.

Aisia, more excited than ever, trained, ate, drank, and took over a room in the mansion, as if she had been there yesterday.

The sky darkened, and eventually, the rain poured down.

It seemed unlikely they would see the moon for a while.

In the meantime, Enkrid kept learning, honing his skills.

"Hey, do all squires look the same? Do all knights look the same? Were mercenaries all the same? What about the soldier ranks in Naurillia? Just because they're low-ranking soldiers, does that mean all low-ranking ones are the same?"

No, they were different. Even among lower and mid-level soldiers, there were clear differences in skill. As you moved up, the gaps became even more pronounced.

"With squires, the differences can be quite vast. And I’m somewhere in the middle."

He had earned recognition for his talent, but his skill was average.

"Among actual squires, some are clumsy and can only last a few moves, but there are also some who can challenge knights."

Aisia's eyes sparkled as she spoke. It seemed like she was saying that she wouldn’t stop moving forward either.

"Yeah, I didn’t know that."

It had been too far and too high to see.

Only after climbing did he see the difference.

For example, to Andrew, Aisia, Enkrid, Rem, and Ragna were all the same type of monsters.

But during their duels, Aisia had never beaten either Rem or Ragna.

Sometimes, when Rem and Ragna fought, Rem never won against Ragna.

Enkrid...

"Is it right to insist on using a straight sword to break a curved sword?"

Aisia had defeated him time and again.

Enkrid had decided that winning against her in a duel was difficult.

"Curved sword."

He knew what technique she possessed. He had figured it out through contemplation and reflection.

She planted illusions, obscured the enemy’s vision, and distorted the sense of distance. Along with speed.

No, she hadn’t only added speed. Before, he had tried to counter it, only to be caught by her deceptive techniques.

The sword hidden within the illusion was a trap.

It was deception in its purest form.

She had perfected and wielded the curved sword style as a weapon.

When Enkrid saw it, he laughed. The more difficult it was, the more motivated he became. That was the essence of Enkrid’s character.

The rain lasted for four days.

Contemplation, reflection.

Duel, training.

After four days, the sky cleared up.

They rolled in the mud, trained, washed up, and chatted.

While discussing how to capture the Moonlight Beast, Aisia had gotten close to everyone.

"Wow, a sorceress? That’s amazing."

She even got along well with Estera.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

"Is this your work? What’s with your eyes? Can you understand me?"

She even greeted the one-eyed person.

It seemed like her ability to charm others wasn’t just a trait—it was her specialty.

Enkrid could occasionally hear her talk.

"I'm from a common family, you know. It’s a typical story. I grabbed a sword by chance when I was young. Realized my talent."

"I want something else, not just to be a knight."

"It’s not something I can say to anyone. You talk about all sorts of things. You’re strange. You have a way of making people let their guard down."

So, on the fourth day, late in the afternoon just before the sun set...

"The full moon will rise."

Jaxon said. It was the sky before the sunset. Enkrid looked up in the training yard. A clear, high sky without a cloud.

Jaxon’s words were correct. The sun had not yet set, but the faint shape of the moon was already visible.

It was a full, round moon.