Chapter 1267

Just like Melvern’s dazed reaction earlier, Yuder found himself blurting out a stunned question. He couldn’t help it. What kind of meaning could have prompted such a question—and why would the response be envy?

More importantly... what in the world could Kishiar possibly envy?

As Yuder looked at him with that meaning in his eyes, Kishiar chuckled and answered.

“To be able to enjoy and receive instruction from a training session meticulously crafted by the Cavalry’s hero, made solely for one person... That’s an extraordinary opportunity. A once-in-a-lifetime gift. How could I not be jealous?”

“You still feel that way after seeing Melvern half-crawl his way out just now?”

“If I could be trained by you, I’d gladly crawl across the floor a hundred times, a thousand times.”

The outrageous remark made Yuder reflexively glance behind him. The mages were still engaged in their heated debate.

“I understand your sentiment, but unfortunately, Commander, there’s absolutely nothing you’re lacking at the moment. You’ve already achieved the perfect balance between training and advancement. If I tried to add anything to that, it’d only ruin what’s already complete.”

“Exactly.”

Kishiar sighed, resting his cheek in his palm, as if he too was well aware of that fact.

“To think the day would come when being good at everything would feel disappointing... I almost wish I were just a little less exceptional.”

If any of the Cavalry members had heard that, they might have forgotten he was their commander and exploded in rage. But the truth was the truth.

‘He really is the only Awakener without a single flaw to criticize.’

Still, even if Kishiar had shown some deficiency, could Yuder have trained him the same way he did others? That was a question without an answer.

Yuder was used to learning from Kishiar—but the reverse? He’d never even imagined it. It was hard to picture, and if it ever did happen, he had the sense it would feel unbearably strange.

‘Anyway... I guess what he meant is that I trained Melvern so thoroughly, it made him envious.’

That thought left Yuder feeling as if he’d just received the highest compliment imaginable.

“Was there any part of today’s training you felt was lacking?”

“Not at all.”

Kishiar answered firmly.

“If it continues like this, he’ll return as a completely different Awakener. I can already see the Crown Prince of Nellarun clapping in joy.”

The image of Ezein clapping joyfully—that was even harder to imagine than Kishiar being trained.

“I’m glad to hear that, but...”

“I really am in a dilemma. If the Crown Prince takes your hand and earnestly begs you to become the mentor of Nellarun’s Awakeners... What should I say? I’d better start thinking about it now.”

“...”

Was that a joke? Or serious?

Unable to answer, Yuder turned away and approached the mages.

“How was your observation of the training today?”

“The one being trained looked to be in quite a bit of pain, which was hard to watch... but personally, it was incredibly inspiring.”

Alik answered first, his face visibly flushed with excitement.

“Introducing changes to an Awakener’s environment to help them focus on manifesting their abilities—that’s a brilliant idea! Until now, my teacher and I have only focused on the manifestation and maintenance of abilities themselves. But now I’m really curious to experiment with how environmental changes affect enhancement. Of course, not in dangerous ways—but with controlled variables...”

Apparently, this was exactly what Alik and Tais had been so ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) fervently discussing earlier. Yuder nodded along to Alik’s enthusiastic explanation before turning to look at Tais.

The elder mage immediately asked, as if he’d been waiting:

“By the way, we still don’t know what exactly this Melvern fellow’s ability is. Would you mind giving us a hint?”

“No. I’d prefer you observe and deduce it yourselves. That would be far more helpful.”

“Hmm, fair enough. Knowing the answer from the start might lead to bias. That makes sense. I understand. Still...”

Tais Yulman’s gaze flicked between Yuder’s face and Kishiar standing in the distance.

“I figured the rumors that had reached me were all exaggerated nonsense... but now that I’ve seen things firsthand...”

He looked like he was about to say something further—but at the sight of Kishiar smiling, he simply shrugged and changed the subject.

“...I now think not all of them were false. Which is actually quite nice! With your level of swordsmanship, you must’ve made quite a name for yourself even before joining the Cavalry. Where did you learn it?”

This was the first time Tais had seen Yuder fight up close and for an extended period. After praising Yuder’s swordsmanship thoroughly, he even expressed personal interest in seeing his powers as an Awakener next time.

Still, compared to the research-obsessed madman of the past, this was a much more moderate and polite version of the old mage.

“Well, then. My apprentice and I will be heading off. We’ve got much to do.”

“If you happen to discover anything new after watching the training, feel free to share it at any time.”

“But of course. The more we uncover, the more we get to continue this enjoyable—ah, I mean, rewarding collaboration. I’ll probably be looking forward to these sessions more than anything else now.”

With that, Tais Yulman approached Kishiar and gave him a fairly polite bow. Alik took the opportunity to say his goodbye to Yuder.

“Ha ha, see you next time, Yuder.”

“Alik. One moment.”

Yuder gently held Alik back for a second, then leaned in to whisper in a voice only he could hear.

“Have you seen the Elder siblings again since then?”

“Ah... yes. They did drop by briefly.”

Alik hesitated, but answered honestly.

“After I met you, my workload doubled, so I haven’t done any proper research. They just came to check on me and left.”

“Did anything seem different about them?”

“Well... they seemed more thoughtful than usual, I suppose.”

“Got it. You can go.”

Now that he knew the Elder siblings were still visiting Alik’s lab, he planned to ask Ever to keep a close watch on that area.

The mages left. Only the two of them remained in the training hall. Yuder turned back to Kishiar.

“You mentioned wanting to visit Helrem. Are you going now?”

“I would, but Helrem’s out at the moment. I’m told she’ll be gone a few days, so that’ll have to wait.”

“Understood.”

There was plenty else to do in the meantime. As Yuder walked beside Kishiar, one person came to mind.

‘Kiole... that bastard must be hard at work in forced labor by now.’

He planned to leave him there for about a week. The question was, would the guy come to any realizations in that time? Kiole was always full of surprises—it was impossible to guess.

Still, even if he gained nothing else, at least he’d be safely out of Kironne’s reach during that time, which was a valuable side effect on its own.

***

Damn that Yuder Aile!

Kiole sat slumped against his shovel, half out of his mind. Normally, he would never do something like this—but he was just too exhausted.

The past few days had been the most shockingly brutal of his life.

The labor sentence he’d received was, quite literally, the same as working a construction site. All day long, he had to dig earth or plant trees with a shovel—without a moment’s rest outside of sleeping. If not that, he was relaying pavement stones or rebuilding crumbled walls.

Resisting was useless. No one could escape the watchful eyes of the terrifying overseer. On the first day, five men had tried to fake working and sneak away—only to be dragged back by that man. After witnessing what happened next, Kiole gave up all thoughts of escape.

The man didn’t even lay a finger on them. He simply made them hold absurd postures and stay still. But in just a few hours, those burly adult men were screaming like children. All the other inmates trembled in fear.

With a blank expression, the overseer muttered, “This is nothing. Actually, holding those postures daily builds great muscle. Try running from me again if you want more.”

It was the most terrifying thing Kiole had seen since Yuder Aile.

He had good stamina, being a former knight—but using tools was a different story. The shovel and hammer had rubbed raw all the spots his sword-calluses didn’t cover. After just two days of kneeling on the dirt, all his clothes were shredded. At night, his whole body ached so badly he’d groan until he passed out from pain. No matter how tired he was, the new muscle aches in unfamiliar places were unbearable.

Nobles and commoners alike—none were exempt from this hellish labor. Kiole had come to feel an odd sense of solidarity with the other inmates groaning around him. They were the only ones who could understand his pain.