Kishiar chuckled at the sight of Yuder's grimace. He found it amusing that a commoner, neither royal nor noble, struggled to hide his displeasure over something so trivial.
"Understood... You were wondering what we'd do if we couldn't retrieve the Red Stone as it is. Is that right?"
"A way to retrieve it, huh?"
Yuder's tone was slightly prickly, but Kishiar didn't seem bothered in the slightest.
"Has that been worrying you?"
It was Yuder's first mission, after all, so it was natural to feel some concern. Kishiar guessed as much and met Yuder's gaze, his crimson eyes glinting.
"Ever since I received the report that the stone fell from the sky, I've been following its condition closely. We've come closer than anyone else, but that doesn't mean others haven't tried. Today, our main goal was observation."
"So, you're saying you're confident about retrieving it tomorrow?"
Yuder's black eyes, filled with skepticism, gleamed quietly in the darkness. Instead of giving a direct answer, Kishiar smiled.
"Curious, are you?"
"Of course, I am."
"Then how about accepting the position of deputy in the Shin Division?"
"I refuse."
"You said you wanted to know?"
"I'll find out tomorrow when I wake up, so there's no need to accept just to learn a few hours earlier."
It was a sharp, practical answer.
"Most people would've jumped at the chance for a higher position. You're quite obstinate. Why refuse?"
"As I've said before, I'm not fit for such a position."
Even to his own ears, Yuder's voice sounded cold. Yet, regardless of what Kishiar thought, he had no intention of taking the deputy position.
A commoner could never become a commander outright, not even if the commander died. But a deputy could potentially succeed the commander. And that was something Yuder had resolved never to do—never to become a commander again, as he once had been.
Sensing Yuder's firm resolve, Kishiar sighed softly.
"If we try again tomorrow and the current methods still fail, I plan to excavate the area around the stone and transport the entire thing in a box. As long as we don't touch it directly, it should be safe."
It was a strategy of physical isolation and transport, the same conclusion Yuder had reached.
"I expected you to find that ridiculous, but you seem surprisingly calm."
"It's not ridiculous. In fact, I could help with my ability if that's the route we take."
"That's reassuring."
Kishiar let out a low laugh.
"I'm counting on you for tomorrow."
"..."
One topic had ended, and now it was Kishiar's turn to speak. Meeting Yuder's silent gaze, Kishiar paused momentarily before breaking the silence.
"About what you told me earlier today."
There was only one thing Yuder had brought up earlier—the information about the unusually high number of awakeners among the Southern Army soldiers guarding the Red Stone.
'Has he already figured it out?'
"It turns out you were right."
Kishiar confirmed Yuder's suspicions without delay.
"And despite knowing, I never gave it much thought… I knew and yet I dismissed it…"
His smile wasn't the usual relaxed one. Instead, it was filled with incredulity, a hint of frustration behind it.
"Close call. If I had come and gone without realizing it..."
What would have happened? Kishiar might have been blindsided years later by the establishment of a special force centered on the awakening phenomenon.
Yuder, unable to voice the same thought, stayed silent. Kishiar would have reached the same conclusion regardless.
"Your insight and judgment are probably the most valuable skills for the Cavalry—and for me—right now. But no matter how tempting my offer is, you keep refusing... What am I supposed to do with you?"
Though it sounded like a casual complaint, there was undeniable truth behind his words.
"What do you need to do? If you require my abilities, I can assist as I am."
"But you won't let me get closer. You keep rejecting the deputy commander's position, always putting up walls… How far can I trust someone like that?"
"…"
Yuder had no immediate response. From the perspective of the Cavalry's commander, Yuder's consistent refusal might indeed seem like a lack of loyalty or trustworthiness.
As Yuder pondered how best to respond, Kishiar's next words shattered his train of thought.
"Well then, shall we spend the night together? I'm quite confident in that area. I could make you forget about time."
For a moment, Yuder wondered if he had misheard.
'What did you just say?'
"I think… I misheard you"
"It seems you heard correctly."
"Spend the night together? What does that even mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. Status and barriers mean nothing in bed. It's a great way to break down those walls between us. Or… is it that you've never spent the night with anyone at your age?"
Kishiar's gaze swept over Yuder in a way that would have warranted a physical reaction had it been anyone else.
Suppressing the urge to react, Yuder clenched his teeth, his mind reeling.
'Kishiar La Orr… What is on earth is he thinking?'
Yuder's shock wasn't simply due to the boldness of the proposition, coming from someone of Kishiar's noble standing, but also because it dredged up memories from a past he had long buried.
He remembered a similar offer, one made long ago:
…Now that we've reached this point, what can we do? I value your abilities and have no intention of discarding you. Isn't it fine if we just share the night whenever it's necessary?...
'Damn.'
Yuder swallowed the curse, forcing the memory from the past to dissipate. He had believed he would never hear those words again. Wasn't that why he had built up so many walls?
But Kishiar, whom he now faced again after years—after Yuder had killed him with his own hands—never acted as expected. He was unpredictable, his actions veering far from Yuder's assumptions.
Yuder looked at the nobleman's handsome face, a man of Imperial lineage, seriously proposing a relationship of sharing nights with a commoner like him. It wasn't a good sign.
Perhaps the present situation was even worse than it had been in the past. Back then, there had been unavoidable circumstances that had twisted their relationship, but now? Now, there was no such excuse.
His goal had been simple: to become a subordinate close enough to give advice, nothing more. But where had it all gone wrong?
'No, it's not over yet. It's not too late. What he just said was just a probe.'
Yuder took a deep breath, calming the shock that had rattled him. The absurdity of a proposal to share a bed being mixed with the offer of a deputy commander position was disorienting, but if anyone could blur those lines, it was Kishiar.
'Let's just consider it as him expressing interest in me to that degree.'
"I can't," Yuder flatly refused. It was rare for a commoner like him, a mere member of the unit, to so firmly reject such a personal proposal from Kishiar La Orr.
"Why? Are you uncomfortable with relationships between men? Or are you a devout follower of the Sun God? Maybe you left a lover back home?"
"Do you really think there has to be a reason?"
Kishiar was a nobleman, a duke, and commander of the Cavalry. If he had been leveraging his power to coerce Yuder, it would have been an understandable, if immoral, situation. But that wasn't the case.
"Even if it's just once?"
"I refuse."
"You're quite firm."
Fortunately, Kishiar didn't press the issue. He hadn't meant to place heavy significance on the offer of physical intimacy.
'But he's clearly aware that others could interpret it as something meaningful.'
That made the whole situation even more repugnant. No matter how visionary or talented Kishiar was, he remained an enigma—one Yuder had never fully understood.
"I quite liked your face and body. Pity."
"If you don't want me to quit voluntarily, then stop."
Yuder decided to be blunt. Kishiar chuckled, his usual lazy amusement returning.
"I won't push. But if you ever change your mind, let me know."
A long sigh escaped Yuder, unbidden. Kishiar was speaking like an Alpha only drawn to Omegas, which was both intriguing and unsettling.
While not widely known, Kishiar La Orr was indeed an Alpha. Although Alphas could mate with Betas or other genders, their most intense desires were typically reserved for Omegas. Which meant that, logically, Kishiar should not have felt any desire for Yuder, who had yet to manifest a second gender.
As that thought settled in Yuder's mind, he decided to shift the conversation to a more relevant topic.
"Instead of this, maybe we should talk about potential issues related to second genders among the Awakeners?"
It wasn't a problem that had fully emerged yet, but Yuder knew it would become an issue sooner or later. Reframing the conversation was tricky, but necessary.
"Problems related to the second gender?" Kishiar tilted his head, genuinely curious. It seemed he hadn't considered such complications yet.