Turning
chapter-335

Unbeknownst to himself, Yuder wore a bitter smile, only to erase it shortly after.

No one was better at distinguishing between lies and truths than Enon. Though he claimed not to believe, the fact that he eventually said the exact opposite indicated which way his thoughts had been leaning.

Yuder had been the one to seek Enon's help in the hope that things would turn out this way from the beginning. However, once it actually came to pass, he strangely didn't feel as good about it as he had expected. He somewhat regretted not being able to maintain his usual composure when talking about his past life in front of Enon.

"Yes, you're right. As I've mentioned before, I know a bit more than others."

What Yuder knew was only the future he had witnessed in his own life. When he first turned back time, he felt joy for a moment, having grasped all possibilities. However, the more he twisted the past to change the outcome, the more he became aware of how many things in the world he didn't know.

But there was still much he could do with that limited information.

"But Enon, watching me closely over time, your thoughts couldn't have been solely that, right?"

"..."

"You are not the kind of person who will just leave the capital just because someone drags you along. Even now..."

"Stop right there."

"Alright. If you have thoughts of helping me a bit more, feel free to ask your questions. I'll tell you as much as I can within what I know. You make the decision."

Yuder ceased his speech, staring at Enon's face, his mouth firmly closed.

"But if that happens... I'd like you to tell me more about yourself."

"What's the use of knowing me in detail? Can you believe whatever I tell you?"

"I'll believe. Because you believed in me."

At his flat response, Enon momentarily stopped speaking. He looked away as if at a loss for words, then mumbled in a defeated tone.

"I said... I still don't believe."

"Yes, you did."

"I really don't know what you're thinking. I've never met a person like you since Luma."

Whether being compared to the legendary Archmage was good or bad, he didn't know. Enon raised his head towards the ceiling, then let out a deep sigh and returned to his original position.

"I need some time to think. I'm not sure at the moment."

"Understood. You can tell me when you've sorted things out."

"...But tell me, did I really die?"

Yuder quietly shook his head. Looking into Enon's seriously wide eyes, he somehow let out a bitter smile.

"No, not exactly. You disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"You said you had something to investigate and left a letter, then disappeared. You told me to mention the information you had given me if we met again and you didn't remember me."

He didn't realize it would be after he had died and returned.

"I never got to meet you again after that."

Hearing Yuder's words, Enon stroked his chin, a look of recognition in his eyes.

"...Then I guess I did die. Maybe different from the death you're thinking of."

Puzzled about what he meant, Yuder blinked, only to see Enon wince and give a grin.

"I'm not human."

"What?"

"See. You don't believe me, do you? Your words sound exactly like that to me."

"No..."

It was too sudden to fully comprehend, but Yuder decided to carefully ask again.

"I'll believe you. If you're not human... what are you then."

"I wonder."

In imitation, Enon replied briefly, then tilted his head to ask another question.

"What do you think it is?"

"..."

The Enon before him looked nothing more than a handsome young man with a youthful body, no matter how he looked. He had heard tales of a time when fairies, monsters, and other non-human entities had lived in this world alongside humans, but these stories only ever surfaced in ancient texts.

"You mentioned... The Guardian of Luma."

"Yeah, The Guardian of Luma. Honestly, even I find it difficult to precisely define myself. It's hard to simply explain how I was created for a purpose and received life through a contract. If I have to introduce myself, I'd say I'm The Guardian of Luma, but....."

Enon, who had been momentarily thoughtful, resumed speaking.

"To express it more accurately, I am an entity that has been linked by combining will and body through magic."

A long silence passed. Enon stared at Yuder and asked him pointedly,

"So, what do you think? You've heard what you wanted to hear, do you have anything else to say? What are your thoughts? Do you think it's nonsense not to believe? Or, are you scared? Do you think I'm a monster?"

"I was thinking about the Armor Knight of Luma in the palace."

Enon's expression changed as if he'd been caught off guard.

"What? That thing is still around?"

"I saw it last time."

Thinking about the Armor Knight, reputedly created by Luma, which he had seen moving perfectly fine, it didn't seem too strange to believe Enon's words. There was a being who had come back by turning back time after death, so what was so significant about a human created by magic? Yuder inspected Enon from head to toe, hesitated a bit, and asked,

"So, was that also created by Luma? Is it similar to you?"

"No."

Enon answered sharply, then shortly after, his mouth curled up into a slight grin. He looked at Yuder as if he didn't know what to say, then murmured in a low voice,

"You’re crazy... Yuder... You really believe me."

"There's a way to go back in time, so I guess an Archmage can create you."

Yuder found it odd that he was saying something that his past, incredibly practical self, Yuder Aile, would never have believed. Enon, hearing Yuder's words, made a face as if he was about to laugh but then quickly turned his head away.

"Damn. You believe too easily. This is even weirder."

"..."

"Did I really go wrong?"

Enon, who had been mumbling to himself, added that he still didn't fully trust Yuder's words. His voice was much weaker compared to before. He kept silent for a while before saying that he wanted to ask one question before sorting out his thoughts.

"How did you come back?"

Yuder had expected this question would be the first one. However, anticipating a question did not mean he could answer it well.

The day when petals were fluttering in the sky and the sky was unusually clear came to Yuder's mind. It was the day when everything ended for him and when everything began again.

"Honestly, I don't know."

"...You don't know?"

"I just came back here all of a sudden. I thought of it as an opportunity and thought I should do better this time."

Enon's gaze on him became even stranger.

Yuder had expected to be called a madman once again, but for some reason, Enon remained silent. After a moment, the words he uttered brought up an unexpected conversation from the past.

"Do you remember... a statement I made before?"

"What statement?"

"I said that even Luma couldn't turn back time."

Yuder seemed to recall something like that being said around the time Enon had refused to believe his claim about coming from the future. As Yuder nodded, Enon's expression darkened. In his eyes, an unknowable thought spiraled far away.

"Luma... he was obsessed with a magical research for a long time. He kept it a secret from others, but I knew it was research about time-reversing magic. But he failed. That's why he left. He left everything behind..."

Yuder just quietly listened to Enon's disjointed mumblings.

"I actually couldn't understand why he wanted to research that kind of magic. I was curious why he didn't give up despite the constant failures..."

Enon's gaze slowly returned to Yuder. He was looking at Yuder with an utterly unfamiliar expression.

"He said back then. If a god can do it, a human can too."

"..."

"I'm not saying I fully believe you yet. But I... Every time I see you, I keep thinking about that. Maybe the reason Luma was interested in that was because there was a precedent of someone spouting the same words, like you."

"Are you saying there was someone else who turned back time?"

"I don't know."

Enon answered briefly and rubbed his head.

"But somehow, I have that feeling."

Enon's questions ended there. Even though they had had a conversation that was hard for both of them to believe, Yuder strangely felt that they shared something deeper than before.

"Take this."

Enon took out an item from his bag and handed it to Yuder. It was a small potion with a transparent color.

"Your recovery seems slow probably because your body had somewhat adapted to the monster's blood before the magic spell succeeded, so I made a potion to stimulate your vitality."

"...What happens if I drink this?"

"It will likely influence your innate energy, so you might have trouble controlling your strength for a while. If it reacts well, you might have a fever, but there won't be any significant harm."

Enon answered along with a word that he was not completely certain.