"Turn all the ministers to your side."
Krang recalled the Queen's words.
It was a meeting held in a secret location, not in the audience chamber.
'What was the first question back then?'
Krang thought back to that moment. It was when Encrid had spoken to the wild horse with mismatched eye colors.
"Shall we go?"
Ah, that crazy guy.
Where does he think he's going? And why does the wild horse nod as if it understands?
In that moment, the conversation he had with the Queen came back to him, word for word.
"Why should I give up the throne?"
The Queen had asked, and he had answered. He wasn't sure if it was the perfect answer.
He simply revealed what he believed.
"The one who swears to protect the Kingdom should be on the throne."
That was the final part of his brief response.
"There is still someone who will ask the same question as I did."
The Queen didn't evaluate his answer. She simply stated this calmly.
Out of respect for the Queen's intent, Krang bowed his head. The conversation that followed was more practical.
"There are factions among the nobility. Can you handle them all?"
"Even a wizard skilled in mind-reading magic wouldn't be able to do that."
Predicting changes in the weather is extremely difficult. You'd have to read the flow of water and understand the shifts in nature.
Even a wizard who could achieve such a difficult feat wouldn't be able to know the ever-changing minds of humans in real time.
"I could predict how much rain will fall next month, but I won't be able to understand the mind of the farmer standing before me, ready to till the land."
That's something a famous wizard once said, which became a renowned saying across the continent.
Whether those exact words were spoken is unknown, but the meaning the proverb conveys is clear.
Someone who swore loyalty to you yesterday could be swayed by a few gold coins tomorrow.
That's human nature.
Especially in the case of politicians, their hearts change in the morning, then again at lunch, and by evening, they shift once more. And come dawn, they could change again.
'It's unpredictable.'
How could anyone know the shifting hearts of humans one by one?
However, it's possible to lead them toward a desired outcome.
Through threats, intimidation, promises of rewards, by reading their desires and ambitions.
While a wizard may not be able to do this, a strategist or a politician—those whose forte lies in thinking—can read the minds of others. It's not magic but a skill driven by insight.
'Find out the factions, turn all the ministers to my side.'
Krang understood the Queen's intent.
Could he fill the audience chamber with people loyal to him?
It was difficult.
Any normal person would think it impossible.
How many factions exist in the Naurillia Royal Palace right now?
Even the Queen wouldn't know.
There are those who have become pawns of large merchant guilds.
Those who dream of founding their own Kingdom, using their noble territories as a base.
Others who have sworn loyalty to grander nobles.
And those who have steadfastly remained loyal to the Royal Family.
None of them were on Krang's side.
So, yes, it was extremely difficult.
However,
'The process will be grueling, exhausting.'
It certainly will be.
But there is a way. Krang nodded when he heard the Queen's words.
"As you command."
"May the Goddess of luck stay by your side."
The Goddess the Queen of Naurillia believed in was the Deity of the scales, who governed the sun and the moon.
A God of justice and fairness, never leaning to one side.
And yet, the Queen spoke of the Goddess of luck.
That was how much hardship Krang was expected to face in the days ahead.
"May fortune and the fairness of the scales be with you."
Krang concluded the conversation by invoking the deity his sister believed in.
The Queen had no children. So, there could be no heir.
Krang was the child of the previous King.
Why the previous King hid this child, born late in his life, is unclear.
At least, it wasn't in preparation to pass on the throne.
But things became tangled, then even more tangled, and the palace turned into a chaotic marketplace.
No, not a marketplace, but more like an arena.
Some swelled their bodies with false bravado, while others hid daggers behind their backs.
It was Krang who had stepped into such a place.
'Turn the ministers to your side.'
Those words from the Queen replayed in his mind repeatedly since their meeting.
For that purpose, Krang made dozens of plans each day, and decided on dozens of strategies.
There was a way, though the process would be arduous.
That's why he constantly felt a splitting headache.
Laughing out loud at Encrid helped ease it slightly, but the dull pain still throbbed in his head. Krang had grown used to it.
It was part of the path he was walking.
A path better described as thorny.
He knew it well, but that didn't mean he had any intention of turning back or giving up.
The man before him had shown him that, hadn't he?
"What do you want to become?"
"A Knight."
He asked, and he got an answer.
It wasn't laughable.
It was much better than hearing someone who'd spent their life lounging around some estate on the outskirts, reciting poems, now aiming for the throne.
Most importantly, the answer felt sincere.
The words of the Queen and Encrid swirled and mixed in Krang's mind.
It could have felt overwhelming, but he remained calm.
The headache should have gotten worse, but it didn't.
For the past fortnight, despite the threat of assassins, Krang felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
It was thanks to their abilities.
Was that why?
Had his heart found some room to breathe?
"He's going."
Encrid conversed with the horse and mounted the wild steed.
With a light leap, he was atop the horse, which didn't bother to lower its body.
Encrid kicked off the ground and lifted himself into the air.
His body rose sideways, and he stretched his legs backward, bending his upper body forward.
It was an odd posture to jump in.
It looked as though Encrid's body had paused just above the wild horse's back before landing perfectly.
With precise control of his strength, he lifted his body, perfectly controlling it, and then stopped at the peak before settling onto the horse.
It was an impressive feat.
With that, the weight of a fully equipped man pressed down on the wild horse with odd eyes.
There was a soft thud, but the wild horse didn't flinch.
It stood as firm as a statue beneath him.
The fact that the horse endured it was impressive, and so was the rider's movement.
'And he didn't even grab the mane?'
With a jump that resembled a stationary leap, he landed on a horse without a saddle.
"What are you doing?"
Behind him, Rem asked Encrid, while Ragna silently observed, Dunbachel watched with curiosity, and Jaxon looked on with an odd expression.
"I'm heading out."
Without turning back, Encrid's figure vanished.
Boom!
Krang's jaw dropped in shock.
What the hell was that?
It was as if the horse was breaking the ground as it galloped forward.
The wild horse took off at a speed that no ordinary horse could match, its hooves slamming the earth with explosive force, leaving a trail of dust behind.
Boom, boom—the sound of the ground erupting echoed, and soon, a single streak of motion could be seen.
Encrid had become one with the horse, lowering his body close to it.
At that moment, Krang felt as though half of his worries had been resolved.
It wasn't just the surprise. His mind felt clearer.
He had been agonizing over what was already a settled answer, wondering if there was a better one. His head had been in turmoil for days, leading to a persistent headache.
"Hah."
Krang let out a hollow laugh.
Encrid wasn't the type to agonize over anything.
It wasn't that he was chasing after the distant archer. The horse simply wanted to run, so he let it.
"That guy's crazy. Completely."
Krang remarked.
"You're just realizing that now?"
The gray-haired barbarian beside him agreed.
"Isn't he your leader?"
"Yeah, but being crazy is being crazy. Be careful around him. All of them are a bit off up here."
Rem twirled his finger near his temple, implying that the entire company was on the same level as Encrid.
Ragna, who had been watching the direction Encrid had sped off in, couldn't ignore that.
"That guy's hobby is splitting heads with an axe. He doesn't care if it's friend or foe, so be cautious."
"Don't be fooled. That one's got a lazy demon lounging inside him."
"Look who's talking."
Jaxon interjected, and Rem continued.
"He's like a guy with a dozen sly alley cats hiding inside him. You better be more careful around him. I'd recommend keeping your distance. Don't forget, that bastard might be plotting something against you, too."
"Wow, you're the one saying that?"
Dunbachel clicked her tongue.
"That guy's just a poor beastfolk who hurt her head. She got injured as a kid, so cut her some slack."
Rem added.
"Who hurt their head?!"
Ah, these people are all crazy.
Krang was the type of person who kept his thoughts to himself, even when thinking something like that.
"Isn't this the wrong time for fighting?"
With just one comment, he shifted their focus.
Krang's tone now held the same liveliness as when he had first met Encrid. Before, his speech had been weighed down with formality, but now, this was the true Krang speaking.
"In any case, be careful."
Rem shot a glance at Krang and managed to slip in one more remark.
Krang soon turned his head.
His eyes caught sight of the path where the wild horse carrying Encrid had sprinted.
A charge without a care in the world for worries.
The fog that had clouded his mind seemed to clear.
'Act instead of overthinking.'
As he headed toward the palace, dozens of unresolved problems that had loomed over him suddenly disappeared.
His headache vanished along with them.
He felt refreshed, as if he had just woken up after a good night's sleep to the warm rays of sunlight.
And, as if on cue, the sun was shining brightly around him.
"Quite the runner."
Krang remarked, impressed.
The man and horse that had become one were now just a dot in the distance.
"Yeah, for a wild horse, it sure seems to be running well with a rider, huh?"
Krang began to wonder why this guy, Rem, kept sticking close to him.
Honestly, he wanted him to keep some distance.
To Krang, this guy seemed the craziest of them all.
* * *
It wasn't that Encrid truly understood what the odd-eyed wild horse was saying.
To communicate with such beasts, you'd need a druid.
Esther knew that.
The half-closed eyes of the panther swept over Encrid's back.
She knew that what Encrid was doing had nothing to do with any magic or spell.
Encrid understood the horse's mismatched gaze by instinct.
It was possible because the horse's intelligence far surpassed that of ordinary animals.
The horse clearly expressed what it wanted and intended to do.
With a whinny and a series of gestures and movements.
Encrid understood and mounted the horse.
It was right after he signaled Rem to protect Krang.
Without the signal, they might have just stood by and watched as Krang got killed.
As he landed with a thud on the wild horse's back, Encrid felt a burning, searing energy—something you wouldn't feel in a typical ride.
It was an invisible force, coursing through the horse's mane, down to its downy hair and through its muscles.
'Will?'
It was something close to that, at least.
A sensation similar to the will of resistance, the burst of acceleration, and the Crushing Sword Technique he had experienced.
"What are you?"
No sooner had he whispered this from atop the horse.
His view lowered slightly.
'I'm going to run.'
This time, there was no movement or whinny, but the will was clearly conveyed.
Encrid immediately lowered his body, and the odd-eyed horse took off.
Bang!
Have you ever seen a horse tear up the ground as it ran?
'Now I'm riding one.'
It was too fast. The surroundings turned into lines as they rushed past.
It felt as if Encrid had activated his Will, extending the acceleration into a long sprint.
It wasn't hard to adapt.
"Damn!"
Before he knew it, he had caught up behind one of the archers, who shouted in alarm.
The horse the archer was riding was quite fast, but how could it compare to this half-beast, half-demon steed?
The odd-eyed horse closed in on the archer's mount in an instant, adjusting its speed.
It bent its knee joints and kicked the ground, reducing its pace. Then, it sidled up to the other horse and slammed into it with its body.
Thud!
From the archer's perspective, he had barely shouted "Damn!" before he found himself tilting sideways.
That was how fast and relentless the charge and impact were.
Despite the collision, Encrid, sitting atop the odd-eyed horse, felt almost no shock.
The horse had absorbed nearly all the impact, letting it pass through its body.
'You crazy horse.'
Thinking this, Encrid threw a cheap dagger.
With a swoosh, the dagger flew through the air and embedded itself in the archer's neck.
"Let's go."
And as he spoke, the horse whinnied.
It sounded like an acknowledgment.
He didn't know why the horse had suddenly decided to carry him and run.
Perhaps the sight of the fleeing men had ignited a sense of competition.
Encrid's guess was correct.
The odd-eyed wild horse, who wasn't fond of its name, was irritated by the sight of the fleeing men's backs.
It was as if they were taunting, saying, 'You can't catch us.'
A trivial reason, but to a beast that lived for the thrill of the chase, it was a valid one.
"Let's go."
Encrid caught four more archers. After that, no more such attempts were made. Even when returning to the group, the odd-eyed wild horse ran at double the speed of any other horse and stopped as smoothly as a feather landing on the ground.
It was a horse born to run.
"You did well. Is that horse used to carrying people?"
As soon as they rejoined the group, Krang asked.
Encrid noticed that Krang's tone had changed slightly.
He seemed more at ease.
Until now, he had acted like someone with a stone lodged in his throat.
Though he had still managed to joke around and do his job well enough.
'This suits him better.'
A brief observation.
As Encrid dismounted and they set off again, Krang struck up a conversation.
"What do you plan to do if you become a Knight?"
"I'll try to put an end to the war."
Krang's pupils contracted at those words.
"Just a single Knight?"
Can a Knight really be called 'just a single Knight'?
Only someone with a grand perspective would ask such a question.
"Why? Can't I?"
"No."
Krang shook his head, though he had been the one to speak in disbelief.
He couldn't help it.
They shared the same dream.
But to end it, they would need to start something much fiercer and grander.
It was a strange, contradictory feeling.
Well, that was just how it was.
Now, there were no more worries.
Oddly enough, after seeing that crazy Encrid riding the wild horse, many of his concerns felt unnecessary.
"Spar with me someday."
"Anytime."
Krang no longer seemed to care about the threat of assassins, engaging in conversation with Encrid and the others.
He quickly got along with everyone.
More accurately, he managed to exchange a few words with each of them.
"They say you often get lost?"
"No, I just prioritize going the right way over getting there quickly."
He spoke with Ragna.
"You're really kind of creepy."
"If a barbarian threatens you to do something, you can always wave a carrot."
He also had a chat with Jaxon while eating boiled carrots for dinner.
"I heard your hobby is planting axes in your superiors' heads?"
"Who says that? It's not a hobby, it's a specialty."
Krang and Rem laughed and bantered together.
"You seem a bit crazy."
"You know who's really the craziest? The leader is the craziest of all."
Rem even shared a secret.
"Are you really beastfolk? Not a weretiger?"
"My beast form is a white lion. If you say that in front of me, don't you think I might just want to bite you?"
"Enki will get mad."
"…You're pretty sly. Were you always like this?"
There were even moments when Krang teased Dunbachel.
After all this banter, they found themselves almost at the Capital of Naurillia.
They had arrived after riding for more than two weeks straight.
"Why won't it let me ride it?"
Rem had repeatedly tried to mount the odd-eyed wild horse but with no success.
Moreover, Encrid didn't try to ride it again either.
It seemed to suggest that they use other mounts when traveling at a normal pace.
And so, they reached the Capital.
A city with the sturdiest walls stretching long on either side, more than any other city.
The heart of Naurillia, where the King's chambers and the Royal Palace were located—the Capital city of Naurillia.
Krang, gazing at the Capital, straightened his back and squared his shoulders.
The dawn was breaking, and the sunlight began to shine on the walls. The walls, initially a dull dark gray, gradually brightened as they absorbed the light.
At night, those light-absorbing walls would emit a soft glow.
It was the ancient power of a spell.
The sight of the walls absorbing the sunlight was impressive. Krang, still standing straight, spoke up as he watched.
"I've figured it out."
"Figured out what?"
Encrid, who was also observing the walls nearby, asked.
Krang answered immediately.
"The craziest one is definitely you."
What kind of nonsense was this?
Had he been hanging out with Rem too much?
Encrid started to worry about Krang's mental state.