"Now that we know the cause, all that's left is to find a complete cure. If we can understand the power within the Red Stone, we may discover the answer. And if this seems too much for you, take this."
Kishiar, who had risen from his seat, walked over to the stove. Yuder watched, puzzled, as he detached one of the decorative gems from the sheath of his divine sword. It was a slender, rhombus-shaped red gem.
"This is imbued with divine power. Carrying it should slow the progression significantly."
"I'm not sure I can accept something so valuable..."
"If you don't, I'll have to come by and hold your hand every day. Or is that what you were hoping for?" Kishiar teased with a smile.
"Thank you for your kindness."
Yuder did not refuse a second time and accepted it with a quick bow. Kishiar laughed.
"I'll overlook this until the mark reaches past your elbow. It should be fine until then, but not beyond."
His tone was both gentle and firm. After all, He seemed determined to train the members to uncover the secrets of the Red Stone.
In the empire's long history, Kishiar might have been the only member of the imperial family to treat a subordinate of humble birth with such care. Yet, Yuder didn't find it particularly comforting.
Yuder's return had altered many aspects of Kishiar's behavior, but some things remained the same.
In his previous life, even after an unpleasant incident involving Yuder, Kishiar had always treated him with kindness. Though there had been barriers between them, he had always acted with fairness. Peculiar as he was, Kishiar was never a bad person.
But in the end, what did that change?
'I need to uncover everything I can before my vacation ends,'
If he wanted to avoid getting tangled up with Kishiar and protect his own life, he needed to understand him better than he had in the past. There was still too much he didn't know.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
For the next five days, Yuder trained Kanna and Gakane relentlessly, allowing no breaks except for meals and sleep.
Even the spectators were exhausted from just watching, but Yuder never showed any signs of fatigue. Naturally, Kanna and Gakane couldn't afford to display their own weariness either.
They soon realized that the training they'd experienced in the Cavalry was nothing compared to what Yuder's training. As soon as they became somewhat accustomed to one level, he would immediately increase the difficulty, pushing them even harder.
It was astonishing how easily he could come up with such brutal methods of training.
"That's enough for today. We'll take a day off tomorrow," Yuder finally announced on the sixth day, his expression as calm as ever. Kanna and Gakane collapsed on the training ground simultaneously.
"Ah... this must be what it feels like to die..."
"Gakane, I'm not close to dying. I'm already dead,"
Despite their words, the expressions of Kanna and Gakane, lying on the ground, were noticeably brighter. This was because they had seen tangible progress during the grueling six days of training.
Gakane had learned the true limitations of his shadow clone, but through Yuder's intense regimen, the clone's movements, attack power, and defense capabilities had improved to a level that was incomparable to before. This growth came after enduring countless beatings and relentless drills under Yuder's sword.
Kanna had also made significant strides. She had learned to selectively read only the information of a book, rather than the expansive knowledge of the heavens, from the immense tome she could access. Yuder then pushed her further, having her place both hands on two objects simultaneously and extract information from just one. When she succeeded at that, he started dropping the objects slightly from her fingertips to add a new challenge.
At first, she thought it would be impossible to read an object's information from a distance, but she quickly realized it was feasible. Kanna discovered that as long as an object merely touched the energy swirling from her hands, she could read its information without physically touching it.
Of course, the distance she could achieve was currently only about the length of a fingernail, and the success rate was low, but she knew she could improve with time and practice.
"Yuder, we're training with the other members starting the day after tomorrow, right?"
"Yes,"
"Haha. I'm really looking forward to it," Gakane said with a dust-covered smile. Yuder couldn't help but wonder if Gakane had grown a bit odd after six days of such intense training.
'If we keep this up, we won't face any sudden deaths, no matter where we go,'
Though Gakane's death hadn't happened yet, the future was constantly shifting, and no one could predict what would come next. But if Gakane maintained his determination to grow stronger and continued to train at this pace, his potential would far surpass what it had been in the past.
"But Yuder, we're taking a break tomorrow, right? Do you have any plans? If not, maybe we could—"
"Huh? I thought I heard noise in the training ground, and here everyone is!" A voice interrupted Gakane as he was about to make a suggestion.
Turning toward the sound, they saw Ever peeking out from the dormitory entrance. She had just returned from her vacation.
"Ever! You're back?" Kanna called out.
"Yeah, I came back early after visiting my family. But... what happened to you all?" Ever asked, her smile faltering as she approached and noticed their disheveled state.
"Ah, yeah. Hahaha. The three of us didn't take a vacation, so we decided to do some independent training... and ended up like this," Kanna explained with a nervous laugh, brushing dust from her clothes.
Ever raised an eyebrow. "What kind of training have you been doing to end up looking like that?"
Kanna hesitated, glancing at Yuder's face. It wasn't time to let the others know about the real reason for their intense training. Fortunately, Ever didn't pry further.
"Training is good and all, but don't overdo it. Still, if you've been here this whole time... have you noticed those strange people outside?" Ever asked, her tone shifting to seriousness as she turned toward Yuder.
"Strange people?" Yuder repeated, frowning slightly.
"Yeah. I saw a suspicious duo on my way back to the dormitory. They were roaming around the Imperial Knight's grounds, stopping people and asking about the Cavalry. I avoided them."
"A duo?"
"How could such people get in here?" Kanna and Gakane asked, their faces full of confusion. Hearing the word "duo," Yuder paused in thought before directing a question at Ever.
"Did you get a good look at their appearances?"
"One was an old man with a long beard, and the other was young. But they didn't seem like grandfather and grandson."
The look in Yuder's eyes changed instantly. He seemed to know who they were. It was Thais Yulman, the elder mage of the Pearl Tower, whom he had met at the imperial palace, and his apprentice. Kanna, recalling the same memory, turned to Yuder with surprise.
"Yuder, could they be the ones we saw at the imperial palace...? Did the Count send people again?"
"It has nothing to do with the Count," Yuder replied succinctly, shaking his head.
"But those people, they must be the ones. They said they were looking for the Cavalry. We should go meet them,"
"In that state?" Ever asked incredulously. Yuder glanced down at his uniform, now more dust-covered than its original black, and nodded.
"Yes."
"Yuder, I want to come with you,"
"Me too,"
Kanna and Gakane immediately rose to their feet, determined to follow Yuder. As they stood, clouds of dust puffed up from their clothes, causing Ever to wrinkle her nose.
"Nobody's going to believe the three of you are from the Cavalry in that state. I'll come too."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Cavalry's quarters were located in the most remote corner of the Imperial Knights' compound. The Knights, proud of their prestigious grounds, viewed the Cavalry as intruders and an eyesore. They practically ignored their presence, as if they didn't exist.
It was easy to enter the Knights' compound, but no one who visited for the first time could find their way to the Cavalry's quarters. None of the wandering Knights acknowledged the Cavalry's name, so visitors had to wander around aimlessly.
Respected elder Thais Yulman of the Pearl Tower and his apprentice, Alik Pelgin, were doing just that—roaming the vast compound since morning in search of the Cavalry.
"Master, wouldn't it have been better to send a formal letter to Duke Peletta beforehand, expressing our wish to visit? At this rate, we'll spend the whole day wandering around," Alik suggested hesitantly.
"You fool. Think for a moment. Do you really think if I announced I wanted to visit, the Duke of Peletta would welcome me with open arms? If the Red Stone is in their possession, they wouldn't allow any outsiders, especially mages from the Pearl Tower, anywhere near it! We're better off trying our luck like this,"
"But we need to actually find them before we can take a shot, right? And we aren't even certain the stone is really here,"
"We've already confirmed it's not in the palace. The information we received from the Duke of Diarca is as good as gold. They deliberately leaked it to me, so we have nothing to lose. Now stop complaining and move forward."
Alik sighed, feeling increasingly exasperated. Their purpose wasn't particularly suspicious, so why couldn't they just contact the Cavalry formally? He had long gotten used to his master's eccentricities, but being dragged around like this was still exhausting.
"There are some Knights over there. Go ask them,"
Ahead of them, a group of Knights with gleaming swords appeared, led by a particularly arrogant-looking Knight with sharp features, clearly from a noble family. He was guiding two young men.
Pushed by his master, Alik timidly approached the group.