Chapter 1004

“Fortunately, they both responded positively. They promised to keep it a secret, but I told them it wasn’t necessary.”

That had been the final conversation, exchanged after Yuder found himself embraced in an unfamiliar yet warm hug by Gakein and Kanna.

“Not necessary to keep it a secret? What do you mean, Yuder?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. I just meant there’s no need to go out of your way to struggle to keep it hidden.”

If even Kanna and Gakein had figured it out, it was only a matter of time before others in the Cavalry would begin to notice the truth—that what existed between him and Kishiar was no longer a fleeting ruse or temporary alliance for a grand cause.

He didn’t know how everyone would react when they eventually realized it. But he had no desire to delay that moment out of fear. Nor did he want his friends to burden themselves trying to keep his secret.

“I’m not going to back away. I’ll keep acting as I have been. So I just want you two... not to suffer because of it.”

“So you mean, don’t try too hard to keep a secret—just watch quietly from the side?”

Kanna, quick as ever, immediately understood what Yuder meant.

“Exactly.”

Upon hearing that, Kanna and Gakein exchanged a glance. Then, both of them chuckled softly and shrugged.

“Hmm... that’s kind of hard.”

“Yeah. Same here.”

“What’s hard about it?”

Yuder asked, confused. Kanna was the first to answer.

“Keeping a secret might be tough, sure! But just standing by and pretending not to notice when you might be in trouble—that’s even harder.”

“Kanna’s right. If not keeping it a secret means we’re supposed to stay distant like we don’t care... then that’s different. I want to be able to speak up when others talk about you unfairly, and I want to be the first to show that you have people on your side.”

“......”

“Of course, if ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) you really don’t want us to do that, we’ll try to hold back...”

Gakein trailed off with a gloomier tone, only for Kanna to give his broad back a firm slap and speak firmly in his place.

“But I’m not going to promise I won’t say anything at all. Just the idea of someone talking bad about you makes me furious! And if it were the other way around, you would’ve done the same for us. You already have.”

...

Yuder, after recounting that part of the conversation to Kishiar, fell into a long silence. He didn’t know how to express the emotions he felt in that moment—when Kanna had looked at him with unwavering resolve, and Gakein had nodded with a soft smile beside her.

“...So I ended up just telling them to do whatever they wanted.”

“I see.”

Kishiar nodded gently, his gaze tender.

“What do you think, Commander? If you felt that my response was somehow inappropriate or different from what you expected, please say so.”

“Hmm...”

Kishiar leaned back slightly in his chair.

“To be honest, I was a bit surprised when you said you told them it didn’t need to be a secret. But only because it reminded me of how worried you were about rumors back in the West. It just made me realize again how much has changed since then.”

“...”

“I know I’ve said something like this before, but... if you did it because you believed it was the right thing, then I’m fine with it. You don’t need to ask what I think.”

In his softly narrowed eyes, Yuder saw warmth and unshakable conviction.

“I’ll simply try my best to believe that whatever path you choose is the right one.”

His words sent a wave of heat through Yuder’s body. Yuder also recalled a similar exchange from before. Kishiar said he was surprised by how much Yuder had changed—but in truth, Yuder was more surprised by how unwavering Kishiar remained.

How could someone be like this?

How could someone remain so steady through all the chaos?

How could anyone not fall for someone like that?

Slowly, Yuder opened his mouth.

“...I want to do the same.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to prove that your choices are the right ones, too.”

Kishiar seemed momentarily stunned, lips parting slightly. Yuder, his red eyes fixed firmly on him without even blinking, spoke the words he hadn’t been able to say before.

“The success of the Cavalry in the previous campaign and the improved treatment of Second-Class Awakeners... all of that happened by laying the foundation on the path you created. Back then, I was the only one who knew it was the right path—but this time, it won’t just be me. Everyone will come to understand that the road you walk is the right one. I want to make that happen.”

Back when Kishiar had no idea Yuder had lived a previous life, he often found it strange that Yuder could speak so confidently about his path.

But the truth was simple. Yuder didn’t have some prophetic gift, nor was he blindly following emotion. He had already seen the results. He had seen Kishiar’s plans succeed, seen that everything he tried to do had been right.

So now, he wanted Kishiar to see it, too. He wanted everyone to see it—the trajectory of that path and the person standing at its end. And if anything stood in the way of that... even if it was himself, Yuder wouldn’t forgive it.

After hearing Yuder’s firm declaration, Kishiar finally blinked—as if breaking free from some spell. His long lashes trembled faintly, revealing eyes glowing with a light far more brilliant than before, more dazzling than any jewel.

Witnessing that fleeting beauty, Yuder’s mind blanked for a moment.

And then, in a voice meant only for him:

“You’ve always been the only one who gave me such certainty.”

Only you.

“Every time I realize that someone like you has that kind of conviction in me... it sends shivers through me I can’t describe. Some might call it the joy of being recognized. Others might call it pressure. But I...”

Kishiar’s lips, which had paused, lifted into a gentle arc.

“...I just want to say, this too, is happiness.”

And the moment he said that, Yuder felt that same emotion—like water flowing gently into his chest. That breathless tightness after running through darkness, and the heat filling every vessel of his body—

A light, a heat, that pointed only to one person.

If this was happiness, then surely Yuder was feeling it, too.

They sat in silence for a long time, quietly savoring what they both felt. Eventually, Kishiar broke the stillness with a playful glint in his eyes.

“Looks like I should make a good impression on Kanna and Gakein going forward. I already had a gift prepared for the pharmacist—guess I’ll be adding two more to the list.”

“...What? Why would you...?”

“There’s an old saying. If you want to win the favor of someone you love, start by fixing the fences around them.”

Yuder blinked, frowning.

“...Do I need to do something for Sir Zuckerman and His Majesty as well?”

He was dead serious, but Kishiar burst into laughter, like he’d just heard the cutest and funniest thing in the world.

“You don’t need to do anything.”

“But you’re preparing something...”

“Because I enjoy it. Let me keep that joy for myself.”

Yuder didn’t understand how that could be enjoyable—but since Kishiar said it was, he left it alone.

“Then all that’s left is to wrap everything up and prepare to return to the capital.”

“Yes. The news coming out of the capital has been rather exciting... I’m already looking forward to what awaits us once we return.”

***

In the scorching, arid winds of the desert, a man opened his eyes.

“---!!”

The surge of unintelligible voices around him stabbed at his skull like splitting pain. He groaned, trying to move limbs that felt strangely heavy.

“...Hosan...ra. It’s... too loud. Make them shut... up...”

“......”

His whisper barely formed words—but whoever had been so quick to silence the surroundings before now didn’t respond. The noise around him continued. And the clearer his mind became, the sharper the pain coursing through his entire body.

He tried once again to call the name of the one who had always freed him from noise.

And then—suddenly, he remembered.

The man once called Hosanra was already dead.

And he...

“...You’re awake?”

Naham opened his eyes.