'But whatever happens, the stone must never fall into the hands of the Dukes... or the Crown Prince.'
'...'
"Sir, your tea has cooled. I will dispose of it and pour a fresh cup."
Kishiar, lost in thought over the Emperor's final words, blinked and straightened his posture. As Nathan pointed out, the tea in front of him had completely cooled.
The training occurring outside had taken a brief pause; Yuder, Gakane, and Kanna were all seated on the ground, deep in conversation.
"No, it's fine. I'll be leaving now."
Kishiar rose from his seat, his gaze lingering on the trio. He had purposely avoided making any noise, not wanting to disrupt their training, so none of them noticed his departure.
"Nathan, even in my absence, keep a few pairs of eyes on them. I want updates on how the training progresses."
"Understood."
Nathan bowed as he cleared away the cold tea. As Kishiar prepared to return to his quarters, a sudden thought made him pause.
"...Ah. And if my assistant shows any signs of abnormality, no matter how minor, report it immediately—without making any assumptions."
His gaze briefly rested on Yuder Aile's gloved hand before he turned and left.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
"That's it for today. Starting tomorrow, arrive an hour earlier. Run through the basic physical training regimen and be ready."
"..."
"Respond."
"Yes..."
"Understood..."
Exhausted, Gakane and Kanna barely managed to answer between labored breaths. They lay sprawled on the training ground, too tired to move.
Just as Yuder turned to leave, Nathan, who had been watching from afar, stepped forward as if waiting.
"The Duke has asked you to go to his quarters once the training is finished."
"...Understood."
Yuder had expected Nathan to accompany him, but the man had other duties and disappeared, leaving Yuder to climb the stairs alone.
Gakane and Kanna watched Yuder's retreating figure with awe, astonished by how he still stood strong after such grueling training . as if he were a monster. But in truth, Yuder was far from fine.
His body, pushed to the limit under the setting sun, ached with every step. A sharp headache pulsed at his temples, and a dull ache settled in the pit of his stomach where his mana core resided. He had pushed himself too far.
'If this were the old days, this wouldn't have felt so hard... Returning to the past has definitely affected my condition.'
"Commander, I'm here."
Yuder knocked on the door at the top of the stairs and immediately entered. Kishiar, seated at his desk reviewing documents, glanced up and smiled.
"You look exhausted."
"If it's not exhausting, it's not training."
"True."
Nodding, Kishiar rose from his seat. Casually lighting a magic stone, he walked around the warmth-radiating stove and seated himself in the guest chair.
"Come here."
Yuder moved slowly toward the chair opposite Kishiar, his gaze drifting toward the stove. His sword rested atop it, positioned with care as it had been earlier that day. Its aura was still as peculiar as before, yet now something about it felt... different.
'The energy... it's not the same as before.'
The strange energy that had previously reached out so aggressively, as if to guard against him, was absent today. Whether it was just his imagination or something temporary, Yuder wasn't sure. Kishiar, however, remained silent on the matter, either unaware or simply choosing not to comment.
Yuder sat down, deciding to wait quietly for Kishiar to speak, assuming the discussion would center around the day's training.
'He'll probably talk about today's session.'
"Take off your gloves."
As always, Kishiar defied Yuder's expectations. The sudden request made Yuder pause, his expression hardening in surprise.
"Pardon?"
"I'm talking about the gloves. The ones I gave you."
Kishiar repeated the request more clearly, assuming Yuder hadn't fully understood.
"Why the gloves, all of a sudden? Do I need to take them off?"
"I want to check something. Or is there a reason you can't?"
Yuder hesitated, unsure what to say. After all, it was Kishiar who had given him the gloves. There was no real argument against the request. Slowly, he began to remove his left glove, then tugged at the right one.
But halfway through pulling it off, he froze.
"Just as I suspected," Kishiar murmured, his eyes sweeping over the back of Yuder's hand.
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"
"How did you know?"
Yuder looked down at the purplish speckles spreading across his hand. He felt a strange mixture of unease and guilt, like a child caught hiding something. The situation wasn't all that different.
He quickly masked his surprise, replying as calmly as possible.
"I didn't think you had clairvoyant abilities."
"Of course not. But I figured now was the right time to check."
Kishiar gently tugged at the glove hanging from Yuder's fingertips, pulling it off completely.
"When you explained the circumstances of your injury, you mentioned the speckles started small and grew larger after defeating the intruders. I wondered if they might grow when you use your ability… But you haven't used your power since then, right?"
Kishiar was correct. Since retrieving the Red Stone and visiting the palace, Yuder hadn't needed to use his abilities. However, after forcing Count Gallon to leave, Yuder had noticed the speckles on his hand had grown slightly when he removed his gloves that night.
He had hoped it would recover on its own, but after a full day of strenuous training, it was clear Kishiar's suspicion was accurate: the speckles grew when Yuder used his abilities.
"Why didn't you report this after the incident with Count Gallon?"
"At the time, the change was minimal. I hadn't used my power in a long time, and there was no pain, so I thought it might be temporary... I'm sorry."
Despite his reasoning, an apology was necessary. Yuder bowed his head immediately, and Kishiar clicked his tongue lightly. It seemed he understood that Yuder wasn't used to reporting every personal issue.
"Do you still feel no pain? What if I press here?"
Before Yuder could respond, Kishiar took his hand and pressed his thumb firmly against the speckles.
"...It feels normal."
"Any unusual sensation when you use your power?"
"None."
Yuder responded promptly, but Kishiar, still doubtful, pressed various spots on the back of his hand repeatedly, as if testing Yuder's reaction. It wasn't until he confirmed that there was no change in Yuder's expression that Kishiar seemed to believe him, albeit reluctantly.
"Alright. Let's try healing it now."
"Are you sure? You told me to act as if this power doesn't exist."
Yuder asked cautiously, recalling Kishiar's earlier warning. Kishiar chuckled softly.
"I did say that. But where would you go to heal this injury? To a temple? A wound that doesn't fully heal is often seen as a sign of a curse. Even if the priests don't think you're cursed, they'll still find it strange enough to report it to their superiors."
"..."
"What do you think would happen then?" Kishiar, still holding Yuder's hand, let a soft white light emanate from his fingertips as he continued.
"You'd be dragged away without anyone noticing, straight to the depths of the main mountain of the Temple of the Sun God. There, under the pretense of noble sacrifice for humanity, you'd be placed on an experimental table."
"...You're not serious? If such things were happening, wouldn't there be rumors?"
Yuder, knowing more about the temple and priests than most due to his past life, had never heard of anything like Kishiar described. Skeptical, he questioned Kishiar's claim.
Kishiar let out a soft laugh. "Isn't it obvious? The dead don't speak, so there are no rumors."
With that single remark, the grand Temple of the Sun God morphed into a terrifying place that wouldn't hesitate to commit atrocities. Given that Kishiar, a member of the imperial family who held the power of the Sun God, was making the claim, the blasphemy was shocking.
"I've heard that priests who blaspheme against the gods lose their divine power, but I guess that's not true in your case."
"I'm not a priest," Kishiar replied smoothly.
"..."
Something about the conversation felt strange, but Yuder had no grounds to refute the statement. After a few more absurd exchanges, which left him momentarily speechless, Kishiar gathered the white light and slowly pulled his hand away.
"It's better now."
The speckles on Yuder's hand had significantly diminished, though they hadn't vanished completely. The affected area had reduced to about the size it had been when he first got injured.
"...Thank you."
"If you're truly grateful, come to me immediately the next time there's a change."
The implication was clear: every time Yuder used his power and the speckles grew, he would need to receive this type of treatment from Kishiar.
Yuder hesitated. Was it really necessary to go to such lengths when there was no pain, and the only issue was the spot getting slightly bigger? Now that he knew the cause and effect, and that Kishiar's treatment could reduce the size of the speckles, he wondered if it was something he could just monitor.
After a moment of silence, Yuder spoke. "Do I... really have to do that? There's no pain, and it seems alright to wait and observe the changes for a while."
"That's reckless. What if the spot spreads to your heart or vital organs, and it turns out to be a curse that kills you instantly? You only have one life, and I only have one assistant, so take the treatment when I offer it."
"But if we have to do this every time..."
Yuder trailed off, feeling the weight of relying on Kishiar's divine power. Divine power, after all, came at a cost—the user's vitality. Kishiar still appeared healthy, but the idea of being treated every time he used his abilities felt like a growing burden.
If he had to go through this healing process, Holding hands with Kishiar each time, he wouldn't be able to use his power freely when it truly mattered.
As Yuder swallowed his concerns, Kishiar smiled gently.