A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

Since he couldn’t keep laughing forever, Encrid soon stopped.

Seeing this, Rem grabbed Encrid’s wrist and pulled out a bandage from his chest, wrapping it around tightly.

“Just stay behind me today. With your hand like this, you’re just asking to get yourself killed. If you tell the squad leader you got hurt during training, he’s going to flip out.”

“It’s fine.”

“What do you mean, it’s fine? You’ll die if you go to the battlefield with that hand. Is your lifelong dream to commit suicide? Because if it is, I won’t stop you.”

Rem wasn’t wrong. Going into battle with a hand like this would be asking for death.

However, for Encrid, it wasn’t a big problem. If he died one more time, it would just be the end of it.

Then, the hundred and twenty-fifth morning would dawn.

‘It’s not boring.’

Because he could end today’s repetition.

Encrid hadn’t only been honing his swordsmanship all this time.

By repeating the same day a hundred and twenty-four times, he had devised ways to get through ‘today’.

People often say that when a common soldier survives their first battle, it’s like they picked up a coin dropped by the goddess of luck.

If you don’t have exceptional talent, luck plays a huge role in keeping you alive.

By Encrid’s calculations, he would need such luck several times to avoid death.

‘But I can’t rely on luck alone.’

Encrid didn’t need to do that.

He knew what would happen on the battlefield, especially around him.

Therefore, he could prepare and brace himself.

On the one hundred and twenty-fourth time, Encrid was impaled through the neck again.

His hand was so messed up that he couldn’t properly counter with his sword.

Even so, not wanting to waste even a single day, he watched the enemy soldier’s thrust carefully. He took a deep breath and endured until the end.

He did that.

“It must hurt. That’s mercy.”

He endured the burning pain of the blade through his neck as he listened to the enemy soldier’s voice.

Something caught on his tongue, so just before he died, he spat it out. It was a broken molar.

It happened because he clenched his teeth so hard from the pain.

Yeah. It wasn’t boring.

He had spent the repetitive days meaningfully, and that made it enjoyable.

But no matter what reason he attached to it.

‘I don’t want to die.’

There was no way dying could be enjoyable.

Especially having to die at the hands of some sadistic bastard who enjoy others’ pain.

If he could end it, he would. The moment he realized he was trapped in a day, Encrid had made that decision.

And then.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The hundred and twenty-fifth morning dawned.

* * *

Encrid got up and picked up Rem’s shoes, shaking them out.

“What are you doing? Those are mine.”

“I know, they stink. If you throw them at the enemy, the smell alone would take out fifty of them.”

“Judging by your foul mood, did you have a good dream or something?”

A bug fell out of Rem’s boot with a thud. Encrid stepped on it, crushing it.

“I saw it go in this morning.”

“…Thanks.”

Rem chuckled and put his boots back on.

Leaving Rem behind, Encrid pushed aside the tent flap and stepped outside.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, a mix of dawn’s blue and the yellow of the rising sun.

The soldiers on the guard duty were busy clanging pots and pans.

The newly awakened soldiers either rubbed their eyes and grumbled or silently went about their tasks.

“Damn it, stop banging that. My head’s going to split.”

“Well, who told you to get drunk last night?”

It came from the tent in the back.

“Shut up. If they catch you drinking, you’re in for a punishment.”

“Whatever.”

It was a conversation between the guard on duty and a soldier who had gotten drunk the night before.

Listening to this, Encrid glanced back and looked at the face of the drunken soldier.

He was a squad leader in another unit. And that guy had a good mother.

On the sixty-sixth day, to remember that day, Encrid had struck up a conversation with him and pretended to be friendly.

“Aren’t you on morning duty?”

“You do it.”

As he glanced back, Encrid spoke abruptly to Rem, who had followed him.

“Why should I?”

“You could do it just once. I’ve covered for you more than five times.”

“Were you really counting that?”

“Yeah, just yours.”

“Why just mine?”

“Because you’re annoying.”

During the hundred and twenty-five times, Encrid hadn’t been able to leave a single scratch on Rem’s body.

Not that he resented him. If he had any feelings, it was gratitude.

Anyway, Rem would do it.

Leaving morning duty to Rem was the pattern that had the highest survival rate and started the day in the best condition.

“Fine. Damn it, I’ll do it.”

After some stretching to warm up, the cold morning air didn’t make him shiver.

While twisting his body this way and that, Encrid stayed in front of the barracks.

One by one, the squad members stepped outside.

The first was Jaxon. He was one of the more diligent squad members. Jaxon made eye contact and gave a nod.

Encrid nodded back, somewhat casually.

After a few more came out in succession, Encrid caught the last one, who was half-asleep.

“Hey, Big Eyes.”

“Huh?”

Nicknamed Big Eyes, his real name was Krais Olman.

He was a squad member with a delicate appearance.

And although the 444th squad was known for being full of misfits, Krais was the only one with below-average combat skills.

More precisely, he was someone even Encrid could beat up.

“Yawn, why are you bothering me so early? Waking up at dawn is torture for someone as elite as me.”

Krais said, opening his mouth wide enough to tear.

He hadn’t even wiped the sleep from his eyes or splashed water on his face, but it was a face worth looking at.

It was the kind of face that would catch the eye of anyone interested in men.

“Get me a few things.”

Krais tilted his head at Encrid’s words.

It was unusual for Encrid to make such requests, so he was curious.

“Did you start smoking? Or drinking? I can’t get you women. No matter how good I am, I can’t bring one here in these times.”

Krais was the unit’s black market dealer who could get anything.

“Do I look like I want a woman?”

“No. So what do you need?”

“Five throwing knives, oil-soaked leather, a large needle, deer leather gloves, ten white hellebore flowers, and a handful of alum.”

Encrid indicated the size of the leather with his hands, roughly enough to wrap around an adult man’s torso.

“…That’s a lot of things I can’t make sense of.”

“So, can’t you get them?”

Krais looked at Encrid for a moment and then nodded.

“There’s nothing I can’t get. But even if you’re the squad leader, it’s not free. You know that, right?”

“How much?”

“Seventeen silver coins.”

Scammer.

Five throwing knives could be bought at a blacksmith for one or two silver coins.

Of course, if the price of iron soared, it could exceed three coins, but that was rare.

Moreover, what Krais would procure wouldn’t be purely made of high-quality steel. Still, they would be decent enough to use.

Good leather could be expensive, but it wouldn’t be the kind that goes to renowned workshops.

The only items that would really cost money were the needle and the deer leather gloves.

Those would definitely cost at least three silver coins, even at the lowest price.

White horse flowers could be found in a village for a few pennies.

Alum could be acquired cheaply if there was a nearby leather workshop.

Even though Encrid had a good eye for these things, he didn’t argue.

Firstly, it was difficult to get such items within the unit without Krais.

Secondly, the odd price of seventeen coins suggested it was the fair rate Krais had set.

There was another reason as well.

“I can get them after breakfast, right?”

“You know that means I’ll have to skip breakfast?”

“You never ate properly anyway.”

“True. But as far as I know, squad leader, you’re not exactly swimming in silver, right?”

Krais made a round shape with his thumb and forefinger.

“Not right now.”

Sometimes he saved his wages, but recently he had spent it all on getting a new sword.

Right now, he was broke.

He would receive his pay after the battle, but asking for it in advance would make him look like a deserter.

“Damn, this is troublesome,” Krais said.

Encrid smiled in response.

It was the kind of smile that only someone with a solid backup plan could show.

“Lend me five copper coins.”

Krais generally didn’t trust people.

But it was different when it came to Encrid.

‘Because he’s the squad leader.’

From what Krais had seen, Encrid wasn’t the type to mess around.

Most importantly, Encrid had saved his life.

Krais took out five copper coins and handed them over.

Encrid, jingling the coins in his hand, headed to the adjacent barracks.

Inside, a group had already set up a game early in the morning.

It was a dice game involving the last night watch and a few others who preferred gambling over sleep.

They were surprised to see Encrid, but upon recognizing him, they looked puzzled.

“What’s this? Isn’t it the squad leader of the 444th?”

“Working hard early in the morning, I see.”

Krais, observing this, was impressed. He disliked gambling. He hated being swindled by con men, and he didn’t like the idea of leaving hard-earned money to luck, risking to gain or lose it.

Winning might be nice, but once someone gets a taste of it, they might get addicted to gambling.

Losing would just mean the pouch of money would disappear meaninglessly.

To Krais, gambling was something only fools did.

And yet, Encrid joined such a scene.

“Mind if I join?”

“Here?”

It was the last night duty guard of the neighboring barracks.

He rolled his eyes and glanced at his gambling companions before nodding.

“Sure.”

A fool is always welcome.

As Encrid moved to squat down, Krais grabbed his collar.

“You’re planning to waste my five copper coins here?”

His eyes were bright and large despite the sleep in them, staring at Encrid.

‘He must have made quite a few women cry.’

Encrid thought, pushing Krais’s hand away.

“Once borrowed, it’s my money now.”

With that, Encrid took a seat.

The gathered gamblers shifted to make room.

“You know how to play dice?”

A soldier rolling dice made from pig bones in a wooden cup asked.

“If you get the same number, it’s double. If you bet on higher or lower numbers, you get what you bet. Right?”

He had watched over the shoulder, but he had seen it a hundred and twenty-five times.

It was impossible not to know.

There were three dice in total.

The sum was 18.

So, you call whether the sum would be higher or lower than 9.

The guy in the middle was the dealer.

This side rolled the dice while the others placed their bets.

“Let’s go for the first round then.”

They played a quick game before breakfast.

The stakes weren’t high.

At least five copper coins, at most two silver coins.

Encrid placed a bet of five copper coins.

“Low.”

“High.”

“Low.”

“Low.”

“High.”

“High.”

“Low.”

In less than ten minutes, Encrid had two silver coins in his hand.

The charm of dice games is their speed.

It’s a game that’s enjoyable for its rapid, quick-paced nature.

That’s how they played.

At first, Encrid memorized the numbers that came up just for fun.

Would the dice always show the same numbers every day?

Even though it was a repeated day, things around him changed subtly.

So he knew.

The dice rolls were always the same.

“The goddess of fortune must have given you more than a coin; maybe even a kiss,” said the soldier acting as the dealer when the silver coins in Encrid’s hand exceeded ten.

“Isn’t this cheating?”

Originally, another soldier right next to him would have spoken, but the dealer beat him to it.

“No cheating here, just some good luck today. Seems like the goddess whispered in your ear.”

Encrid casually brushed off the suspicious glances.

They couldn’t argue with that.

The dealer rolls the dice.

Even though they joke and tease, this was a bit too much.

Moreover, from the middle onwards, Encrid subtly bet on the winning side, gaining an advantage.

“If it’s cheating, you’re the one rolling the dice.”

“Thought you were casting a curse or something.”

“Well, it seems to be working.”

“On other days, you’d go on like crazy, even if you kept losing.”

A soldier who had managed to make some money thanks to Encrid chuckled.

The dealer acknowledged and spun a few more rounds before saying, “Let’s wrap it up. Time’s short.”

Before they knew it, it was almost breakfast time.

Encrid rolled ten silver coins in his hand.

Starting with five copper coins, he had come this far.

It was all the dealer’s money.

“That was fun. How about I take these ten coins for the final round? Ready to take my winnings and leave.”

Originally, the maximum bet was five silver coins.

The dealer frowned at that. Given today’s accuracy, there was no reason to hand over the winnings.

“Then let’s bet the same amount and wrap it up.”

Encrid continued before the other person could respond.

“What are the odds of rolling three dice and getting the same number? The soldier rolling the dice had never seen it in all his years, let alone in an actual game. It was all just fooling around for Encrid, and he was ready to wager all his winnings. At least that’s how it sounded to him.

Suddenly, Krais stabbed Encrid’s back.

Krais made a face.

‘Crazy, right?’

No, not at all.

Encrid wasn’t crazy.

“Ten silver coins on the same number.”

“Alright.”

Clack!

The soldier rolled the dice and dropped them loudly on the floor.

Just to be safe, he gently rolled them, ready for any accident.

“Let’s see.”

With an expectant smile, the dealer opened the dice cup.

“Wow, damn.”

“Lady Luck came through, she did.”

“Is this for real?”

Everyone gathered was amazed.

Except Encrid.

Three.

The dice showed the same number.

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