Chapter 1017

"You're back?"

Yuder's hand paused as he carefully opened the door to the bedroom without making a sound.

"You’re not asleep yet."

"I wanted to confirm something right after you returned—whether you had a good time."

Kishiar was seated in front of the glowing mana stone fireplace, multicolored flames flickering, scanning over some papers. There wasn’t a trace of sleepiness in the smile he turned toward Yuder. As he stood, the man moved to help remove the outer robe from Yuder’s shoulders as if he were some kind of attendant. Yuder quickly turned away to refuse.

"I can take it off myself."

"You bled from your arm during sparring earlier, so it’s better to avoid using it."

"You saw for yourself the wound wasn’t serious. And Priest Lusan already healed it."

"Really? The medical division joined the gathering too?"

Instead of replying, Yuder pointed at his fully healed skin.

"I just learned today that when that priest gets drunk, he turns into a stubborn man who can’t stand seeing others wounded. I told him it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted on healing it."

"That must’ve been an amusing sight. But ours isn't the only one who’s stubborn."

"Excuse me?"

"Now that you can’t use your injury as an excuse, I have no choice but to be honest. I wanted to be the first one to welcome you back warmly, after your first enjoyable evening with your comrades since arriving in the South. Helping you out of your coat—that was just the beginning. Even so, should I not touch you?"

"..."

How could he say something like that and expect to be refused?

Yuder looked down at the half-removed coat, let out a sigh, and then slowly put it back on. Kishiar, laughing heartily, stepped in front of him with respectful posture, reached for the hem of the coat, and slowly slipped it off. Since they stood face to face, it almost felt like an embrace disguised as assistance with the coat.

...No, it wasn’t just “like” an embrace.

"...This doesn’t feel like you’re just helping me take off my coat."

"Not at all. Checking the scent of the outside world on a master’s coat upon return is one of the most important tasks of an attendant. You can gather quite a bit of information from it."

Kishiar’s voice held a smile as he refuted calmly.

Yuder was fairly certain that no real attendant would ever sniff their master’s coat in such a manner, but he remained silent. After all, it was all just an excuse. Coming back from a loud crowd and finally feeling the familiar warmth of another—he didn’t dislike that either.

Looking at the golden hair resting between his shoulder and neck, Yuder asked softly,

"So... what information have you learned this time?"

"Hmm... You reek of beer and food. I’m guessing you had a lot of shrimp and clam dishes. And there’s a hint of fresh lemon as well."

He accurately guessed everything Yuder had eaten or come into contact with.

"The lemon is from Inon. I didn’t eat any myself, but he kept handing them to me, so the scent must’ve lingered."

"Figured as much. Judging by the smell of dust and old wood, you must’ve moved around more than usual, hmm? I also detect various scents around your sleeves and shoulders—signs of contact with multiple people. If that happened at a tavern with other members, I can imagine two possible explanations."

"And those are?"

"First, you knocked out some who drank too much. And second..."

Kishiar pulled Yuder slightly closer, lifting his head and locking eyes with him, a secretive smile spreading across his face.

"Did you perhaps... dance?"

He said he wanted to hear it, but Yuder hadn’t expected him to deduce it so precisely just from scent. He blinked, then let out a small hum.

"Are you sure you didn’t stop by outside the restaurant where we were?"

"Judging from that response, I must be right."

It wasn’t just a good guess—it was uncanny. Yuder decided to reward that proud look on the man’s face with a more detailed answer.

"It wasn’t a partnered dance. Ever suddenly suggested we dance to ‘Spring Comes Again.’"

"Oh dear. You thought of our agreement and told me that first? I might cry from the emotion."

Kishiar leaned in and kissed the tip of Yuder’s nose with a light smooch before pulling away. By then, Yuder’s coat was completely off and hanging over his arm.

"Just hearing about it makes it sound fun. Did everyone dance together? ‘Spring Comes Again’ is known for having different traditional steps depending on the region."

"You knew that?"

"Of course. In Pelleta, when winter ends and spring fishing begins, everyone gathers and dances to it."

Kishiar softly hummed the melody—exactly the same tune that had echoed through the night.

"It’s almost that time again. I miss it."

Yuder suddenly thought of Yergin Shiller, who’d been curious whether that dance was performed in the Imperial Palace too.

"Does the palace have any tradition of that dance or song?"

"Hm? Haha. Who was curious about that?"

Kanna had done the same—somehow both of them could instantly tell when Yuder said something he hadn’t come up with himself.

"Yergin Shiller was the one who asked."

"I see. Well, there’s nothing like that passed down in the palace. But when spring comes, we do hold a ceremony in the Grand Temple to pray for the Empire’s peace. His Majesty the Emperor hasn’t been able to attend the last few years due to unavoidable circumstances, but this time he probably can."

That made sense. In Yuder’s past life, Emperor Kachian had abolished or shrunk most royal traditions, calling them “pointless ceremonial fuss.” So nothing like that had ever taken place.

‘Although... the public had largely supported that sentiment at first.’

But the good times lasted only a few years. As the country became more unstable, and assassination attempts occurred while traveling outside the palace, Emperor Kachian banned all large gatherings—calling every one of them more “useless old customs” from the previous dynasty.

The harvest festivals, major temple prayers during holidays and seasonal transitions, the spring celebrations, the commemorations of old heroes—all of them disappeared.

‘...But this time, we’ll get to see Emperor Keillusa attend again.’

It was something to look forward to. Yuder nodded and spoke.

"If the day comes when I can answer Yergin’s question, I’ll tell him that."

"Good. So, was there anything else fun that happened? I’d like to hear things that even my nose and eyes couldn’t detect."

He gently pulled Yuder to sit near the warm mana stone fireplace. Yuder sat beside him and slowly recounted all the events from the restaurant. Kishiar never once grew bored—he listened intently, laughing at times and responding seriously at others.

When Yuder explained how he’d repeated Inon’s words to Kanna, and how Kanna instantly realized he hadn’t come up with them himself, Kishiar laughed so hard Yuder almost regretted telling the story.

But when the conversation reached the part ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) about the Hill of Gilandre, Kishiar showed deeper interest than ever before.

"The fact that Archmage Luma stayed in a place called the Hill of Gilandre, and that it was inside the Sanctuary Forest—that’s truly astonishing. If the pharmacist said he was going there the moment we return, I wouldn’t blame him."

"I imagine so."

"Is there perhaps... room for one more to join?"

"You want to come too, Commander?"

"If I get the chance, of course. I’m curious."

True, someone like him—so knowledgeable and fond of history—would naturally be fascinated by the hidden laboratory of a thousand-year-old archmage.

‘When it comes to magic-related information, Kishiar would probably be better suited to decipher it than I am. Especially if it involves ancient scripts or relics.’

Having reached a quick conclusion, Yuder nodded.

"Understood. I’d like to go together as well, so I’ll ask Inon. ...Ah, in that case, we should also go over that beforehand."

"What?"

"The translated page from the original Duke Ta-in’s journal that Inon brought with him to the South. I’ve been meaning to review it but haven’t had time."

"Ah. I see. Then let’s read it on the way back."

Kishiar nodded easily.

"Then... is that everything you needed to tell me?"

"......"

Yuder stared at the glowing mana stone flames, hesitated, and finally voiced the last thought on his mind.

"...Don’t you feel... even a little disappointed?"