Turning
chapter-176

As he spoke, staring directly into Kishiar's slightly mischievous-looking red eyes, Kishiar's expression momentarily changed. A laugh slipped out from the confusion reflected in his gaze, as if he wanted to say something but wasn't sure what.

“…”

“I will take my leave then.”

As he bowed his head and turned away, no response came from Kishiar. But that was okay. His heart was significantly at ease.

“…Your Grace. Why aren’t you coming up, just standing there since you’ve returned?”

“Ah, Nathan.”

After being left behind, Kishiar called out the name of his adjutant who had appeared from the opposite corridor, a smile etched on his face.

“What should we do about this?”

“Pardon?”

“This is really troublesome. It’s been a long time since I’ve been pricked like this.”

“Do you mean you met an enemy on your way here?”

“I’m not sure if it was an enemy or not.”

Frowning, Nathan Zuckerman observed his Lord as he muttered something that sounded like a riddle.

“I remember you were supposed to return with Sir Aile… did you send him on ahead?”

“Yes. As planned, I sent him to the medical division. He's on a mandatory vacation for three days.”

Finally, a coherent response came from Kishiar. Yet, he soon burst into laughter again, shaking his head. Since he didn’t seem upset, Nathan put his worries about his Lord aside and followed him upstairs.

—---

After the party, it was known that Yuder Aile had been absent for a few days due to a secret mission assigned by Kishiar. However, he suddenly returned, greatly changed from before.

His colleagues, who had heard the news of Yuder’s return, were first shocked to learn he was lying in a bed in the newly formed ‘medical division’ on the east side of the first floor. Then, they were utterly surprised by the news of his manifestation as an Omega.

“No way, after the party ended, I did think it was strange that some wall had blocked off an area on the first floor's east side. But, a medical division?”

Devran, who had come to visit the ailing Yuder, shook his head as he looked around at the neatly prepared beds in the surrounding area. Honestly, visiting the sick was an excuse; he was overwhelmingly fascinated by the newly formed area.

“Yuder, are you really okay? It was all over in just two days? There’s nothing wrong with your body, right? You're really okay, right? I was laid up for a week, and honestly, my body still feels a bit sluggish…”

Standing beside him, Jimmy, on the contrary, couldn’t stop worrying about Yuder, with an almost tearful look on his face. The boy, who had recently manifested as an Alpha, shared the pain he had experienced during his manifestation over that week, deeply empathizing with the sudden pain Yuder must have suffered.

“I’m fine. I'm just here to monitor my condition for three more days, just in case. Even if you’re right next to me, I feel fine.”

“That’s right, Jimmy. I’m an Alpha too, and I’m here, but Yuder is fine.”

Gakane, who had been quietly sitting next to them, intervened. He had been the most surprised at the news of Yuder's manifestation as an Omega, but among those who had come to visit, he had managed to regain his composure fastest. Behind him, his shadow clone was diligently peeling the skin off the fruit he had brought for Yuder. However, it was the Eldore siblings who were excited because Yuder didn't even eat a bite.

"Gakane! I like apples!"

"Gakane! Carve it into the shape of a rabbit for me!"

"Hmm… I haven't yet tried such delicate work. I'll practice more. Sorry."

"Gakane, practice more!"

"Even though you lost to us in the last duel!"

Yuder silently exhaled, watching the Eldore siblings nonchalantly stabbing a dagger into Gakane's chest. This tumultuous scene was not the last of its kind. Ever since his return, members constantly swarmed him, so much so that he couldn't remember the last time he had a proper rest.

Aside from those who had just arrived, there were so many visitors that he thought every single one of the 330 members would visit at least once. No, it seemed they already had.

"Ah. It's time for training again. We have to go."

Everyone hurriedly got up when Hinn, who had devoured all the fruit carved by Gakane's shadow clone, suddenly stood up and declared this.

"Already? Time flies."

"Yuder! We'll come again later."

"Yuder. See you later."

After everyone had rushed out, only a few chairs and a plate piled with fruit peels were left in a messy state. Yuder sighed again and the white curtain hanging next to his bed was pushed aside, revealing a face.

"Those noisy fellows, it seems better to ban them from entering or to feed them laxatives, doesn't it?"

"I agree in spirit, but we can't, Master Enon."

When the young priest called out from behind him, the guardian of Luma, Enon, scratched his scruffy head and clicked his tongue.

"The basic courtesy when visiting the sick is to be quiet. If they want to visit the medical division that much, they should become patients themselves."

"But that's why I said we can't......"

Yuder recalled the shock he felt when he first entered the medical division upon seeing their faces. He could hardly believe that the green-haired priest Lusan, who had helped him at the previous festival, and Enon were part of the medical staff in the Cavalry. While he could understand Lusan, he could never have imagined Enon here, which surprised him to the point of losing his words.

In response to Yuder's question about why he was here, Enon calmly replied that he had come to watch over him. It was even more surprising to find out that he had been selected purely by passing the interviews and tests conducted by the Knights of Peletta and Nathan Zuckerman. On the contrary, Lusan had been promoted to an official priest only a few days after the festival where he had helped Yuder and Revlin, as he had caught the eye of Kishiar.

Despite meeting for the first time, Lusan and Enon got along quite well. Lusan, who was an orphan and was rejected by the senior priest due to his blunt attitude despite his high divine power, quickly followed Enon, who, despite his rough manner of speaking, was surprisingly mature and competent.

When Enon mentioned that he had closed his pharmacy in the capital to come here, Lusan's admiration grew even more. From Yuder's perspective, it was fortunate that neither of them seemed the type to spread stories about the Cavalry elsewhere.

"Yuder. I'm here."

At that moment, Kanna entered the medical division with a bright smile. Yuder turned his gaze away from Enon, who nodded and stepped back.

"Did you come up from the underground?"

"No, I've been talking with 'them' alongside Ever."

When she said 'underground', she referred to Thais Yulman who was studying the Red Stone, and 'them' indicated Nahan's colleagues, the Awakened Brothers Gayle and Doyle from the Star of Nagran.

When Yuder could no longer continue the interrogation due to his symptoms, Kishiar and Kanna assigned the task to Ever instead. Ever, a strong-willed country girl, quickly formed a rapport with them and was said to have provided substantial help in a short amount of time.

"We've gleaned more information from their clothes, weapons, and today's conversation. They said they were feeling cooped up and wanted to go outside, so after consulting the Commander, I allowed them to walk around our property. They seemed pleased."

"Really?"

"Yes. I can't help but feel a bit sorry for them. They seem like people who wouldn't have ended up in such a situation if life hadn't been so hard."

Yuder thought that Nahan and the Star of Nagran might sneak in while everyone was away at the party to retrieve them. But nothing like that happened. Did the Star of Nagran intend to abandon Gayle and Doyle so easily? Although not as adept as Jimmy, they were still Awakeners with commendable sword skills. To dispose of them so readily raised doubts about the existence of camaraderie.

After assuming that Gayle and Doyle would not cause significant trouble even if left alone, Kanna summarized the additional information she had gathered.

"The headquarters of the group called the Star of Nagran seems to be scattered across two or three locations. It doesn't seem to exist only within the Empire... but the resistance is so strong that I still can't discern the exact locations. And the person referred to as 'that person' is definitely from the Empire, not a Southerner. An elder who seems to serve as a spiritual pillar for the moderates like Gayle and Doyle, so it seems they refer to him as a sage."

"A spiritual pillar..."

"Neither Gayle nor Doyle seem to know exactly what the objective is. But they continue to gather Awakeners, wanting to form a large group, so we can't just leave them be. Especially Nahan."

A look of concern appeared on Kanna's face.

"I've only glimpsed the information, but it's too dangerous. Just as Yuder was attacked without hesitation... Even though Nahan and the Sage are together now, if their conflict continues, it may not last long."

"Most likely."

"The Commander seems to be considering employing Gayle and Doyle as Alpha Awakeners, like those brought from Apeto Mansion, if they agree. It hasn't been asked yet, but hopefully, it will work out."

Kanna mentioned that Gayle and Doyle seemed to desire a peaceful and stable life more than internal strife. Those who handed them the swords, arguing that since they had combat abilities, they naturally needed to train, were Nahan and his Star of Nagran colleagues.

"But Yuder, did you know? Gayle and Doyle must have had a very strong impression of you. Even though they've only seen you twice, your name seems to conjure a terrifying and enormous image of a demon in their minds."

"...Me?"

"Yes. It made conversation easier, though. I told Ever as well, and she found it amusing."