Would it really be possible for an ordinary commoner to obtain multiple, relatively unknown magical research books? And not even from the same countryâthey were all published in different nations, with topics that lacked any clear connection?
Even Yuder, who had no real interest in magic, knew that this bordered on the impossible.
âSure, I suppose there might be someone out there who collects anything as long as itâs written by mages. But people like that are usually just satisfied with the act of collecting itself. They wouldnât leave behind signs of having read the books repeatedly like this.â
âYes. I think so too... but no matter how hard I try to recall, I just donât know.â
The grandfather in Yuderâs memory had never shown even the slightest interest in magic. He was utterly, absolutely ordinary. To think that there might have been a side of his grandfather hidden within these books that Yuder had never knownâhe felt confused and at a loss.
As if he had read those emotions, Kishiar stood with a soft smile.
âWell, the category I mentioned earlierââsomeone related to magicââcan actually include a wide range of professions. Not just mages, but also people hired by mages. And the number of individuals affiliated with institutions under the Court Mage Bureau or partners of the Pearl Tower is beyond counting.â
â...â
âItâs surprising, yesâbut honestly, I find it rather exciting.â
The man who loved tales of adventure had a glimmer in his eyes.
âIf we look closely, we might find some kind of hidden connection between these booksâsomething we havenât even guessed yet. And even if we donât... what does it matter? It doesnât change the fact that he was someone who loved you like family.â
Only then did Yuder feel a sense of peace. He nodded slowly and exhaled a long breath.
âYes. Youâre right.â
Yes. Kishiar was right.
What did it matter who his grandfather had been? He hadnât wondered about it before, and he had lived remembering only the grandfather heâd known. Learning more now wouldnât change anything.
The only thing that truly mattered was that this man had raised young Yuder with care and had loved him like his own grandson.
That was enough.
As Kishiar carefully gathered the scattered books and placed them in boxes, he asked politely,
âWould it be alright if I looked through the rest of the paper bundles here, including the ledgers?â
Yuder told him that he didnât need to ask for permissionâhe could look through whatever he liked. He decided to think of it as Kishiar finding a good way to spend his remaining few days here.
Then, Kishiar discovered the child-sized chair Yuder had pulled out and clapped a hand over his mouth in delight. Saying things like how unbearably cute it was and asking if Yuder wouldnât sit in it againâhis rapid-fire excitement made all of Yuderâs earlier surprise melt away like it had never existed.
***
Late that night.
After dinner, the two of them sat back to back, illuminated by the soft light of the oil lamp and the glowing mana stove, each working on their own tasks.
Yuder opened the bundle of letters heâd brought from Peleta. Since arriving here, heâd been reading and replying to a few every day. Just dealing with the official ones kept him busy, so he was only now starting to go through the personal ones.
Most of the personal letters were friendly notes from Cavalry members on vacation. Sending someone a letter during vacation... That was such a foreign concept to Yuder, who had never even had a proper break in his previous life.
âTo Yuder. Youâve probably already heard, but our family made it through that sudden anomaly incident without a scratch! My younger siblings, though... they keep talking about the Commander. They even asked how to become Awakeners. I didnât know they were so weak to good looks. I seriously have no idea where to even start teaching them. I asked around and the only advice I got was that maybe I should just focus on improving my looks. Useless jokes...
The letter from Gakein in the South was so vivid it was easy to picture his signature awkward smile while reading it.
âYuder. Iâm having a great time in the capital with Ever. Weâre all staying at Steberâs place, and inviting other people over to eat and hang out is so much fun. I mean, sure, Iâm technically working under a special summons from His Majesty, but honestly the fun outweighs the duty. Iâve eaten so much bread I feel like my stomach might explode every day. If you were here, everything would be perfect... Next time, come visit too!
Kannaâs letter, even though she was technically still working in the capital, was as bright and cheerful as everâso very like her.
âTo Yuder. These days Iâm following one of the knights of House Diarca under His Majestyâs orders. And this guy... as I felt before, heâs seriously too strange to comprehend. Every few minutes he looks around, saying heâs checking for assassins, yet heâs never once actually noticed any of us. Itâs suspicious enough to make me wonder if heâs doing it on purpose. Kanna and Steber both say itâs fine, but Iâm worried. Could you let me know if I should just leave him alone?
Ever, who had started doubting whether Kiole la Diarcaâs stupidity might actually be a disguised strategy, was also included.
âTo Senior Yuder! I asked the other seniors and they said itâs okay to write a letter, so here it is. This is my first letter. Iâm happy I learned how to write. Sorry for writing. But I will write again next time. Please allow it. Thank you. From Elpokin.
Elpokinâs letter, with its messy scrawl and complete lack of content, was followed by several others just like it from new recruits.
The Elder siblings had sent letters tooâfar more composed than before, though still filled with their usual cheekiness.
Members from the other branches also included their current status and questions for Yuder, alongside mentions of the recent anomaly. In one letter, Jimmy asked Yuder to explain in detail what it had been like going to Peleta with the Commander, which left Yuder a bit flustered.
âA long reply... I wouldnât even know where to start.
Still, letters from Cavalry members were easy enough to read and respond to. The hardest ones were those from people he didnât know how had even found the Northern branch address: Duke Mayra Hern, and the Empressâwho hadnât sent anything to Kishiar, but had sent one to Yuder.
Yuder suspected that at least half of what was in the Empressâs letter was probably meant for Kishiar. But after reading it, he realized every single word was clearly directed at him alone.
It was all strange and overwhelming, but not unpleasant.
After reading and replying to the letters, Yuder turned to his reading.
Heâd resumed reading Lumaâs journal since arriving hereâsomething he hadnât had time to examine properly before. So far, the content wasnât much different from what heâd already seen.
Rather than write about himself or people around him, Luma often scribbled disjointed thoughts. Most of them revolved around the status of mages during the early founding period of the Empire.
Tonightâs entry read:
âChildren born to priests or renowned knights, if they showed signs of magical power, were never allowed to speak of it. A young mage once said it was better to die than to live under such repression. How many more like him must there be?
âIs magic dangerous? Is it shameful?
âChange is hard. Human life is short. We must do whatever we can.
Honestly, it sounded so much like the things current Awakeners went through that if he hadnât known better, Yuder wouldâve believed it had been written in the present day.
Being called monsters, being driven from their homes, living in fear of their own power... Others who, in contrast, sought power and lost their humanityâor were consumed and killed by it. It all felt too familiar. It was almost eerie.
Was being an Awakener dangerous and shameful? How many times had Yuder Aile asked himself that question?
The belief that they had to do whatever it took to change public perceptionâYuder understood that feeling more than anyone. There was probably no mage in history who could grasp that sentence more deeply than he could.
âWho wouldâve thought Iâd feel this kind of kinship with a grand mage from a thousand years ago...
The feeling was surreal. But it made it all the easier to focus.
âI donât know if this was written before or after the founding of the Empire... But maybe if I keep reading, Iâll find out.
Maybe Kishiar would have figured it out with the amount of information so far. But he was currently absorbed in reading Yuderâs grandfatherâs books from the storage room. Yuder figured heâd wait and ask if things were still unclear after he finished more of the journal.
He continued slowly tracing the text with his finger.
Then he suddenly noticed the next page was completely blank.
âWhy is this part empty?
He turned the next page. Blank again. After flipping through more than ten empty pages, he finally found a new passage.
He hadnât activated his Insight yet, so he couldnât understand it, but even just looking at it, he could tell something was different. The handwriting was larger, rougherâless like scattered jottings and more like a proper entry, written to fill the entire page.
The moment he saw the densely filled sheet, he felt it clearly: this was something different from everything before.
He stared at the text for a moment, then carefully raised a finger. His Insight activated, and the words began to flow into his mind.
The first sentence read:
âOut of paper. Lucky I found an old notebook Iâd lost.
â...â
Yuder pulled his hand back and glared at the writing.
Surely Grand Mage Luma hadnât written this to mess with himâbut from the readerâs perspective, it felt ridiculous. If heâd created a special code that only he himself could read, why was this the kind of thing he wrote with it?
If the man were still alive and in front of him, Yuder wouldâve been tempted to say somethingâgrand mage or not.
âThough Inon would never have let me get away with that...
He took a deep breath to calm down, then raised his finger again and focused on the content.