Turning Chapter 1053

Chapter 1053

"I felt like it was difficult for me to fully grasp the contents even after reading it, but it wouldn't be the same for you. Read it. It seems like there might be a clue to the information we've been looking for," Yuder said, lowering his gaze towards the wooden piece in Enon's hand. He stood up from his seat and pulled Enon towards him.

"And if possible, read it here."

"Why again?"

"Just because. It feels like that's the right thing to do."

Enon frowned, attempting to decipher Yuder's expression, then sighed deeply, relinquishing any further questions or nagging comments. Only after confirming that Enon had slowly sat down and tightly grasped the wooden piece did Yuder step back. Seeing Enon close his eyes and concentrate, it seemed that this was one of the preparations for reading Luma's records.

'I doubt what I read was the entirety of the letter inscribed there. But...'

There were certainly things that could be inferred from even that small amount of information.

Yuder recalled the time before Enon's disappearance in his previous life.

It was when the West and South had become a mess, and disasters had begun to sporadically spread throughout the entire empire. The entire Cavalry had to scatter daily to carry out missions to handle the situation, but all they could do was plug the already burst dams. No one could predict where the next disaster would strike or what calamity would occur next. They could only trail the aftermath, salvaging the injured and aiding the remaining populace to evade further danger.

It was around that time when Yuder, amidst the chaos, began to pursue the anomalous cracks that he thought were the most reliable evidence. It was no easy task to investigate, but he felt he had to do something. Emperor Katchian, in the midst of the turbulent times, wanted Yudrain to stay by his side to protect himself, and because Yuder did not comply, the atmosphere grew worse day by day.

Emperor Katchian, who became more irritable and suspicious as days passed. Nobles who took advantage of the situation to fulfill their selfish desires. The public sentiment that grew discontented as life became difficult. Those who raised their heads and deceived the masses as if the chaotic world was an opportunity for them. The endless onslaught of incidents.

Amidst all that, it was extremely difficult to gather information and move around with one's own strength alone. Therefore, Yuder asked Enon for information several times. Despite Enon's mysterious and dubious identity, the information he provided had never been false. Yuder had no choice but to acknowledge that the words Enon casually mentioned were better than the information guilds that only took money and turned their backs, so he often visited Enon's pharmacy while taking risks and maintaining vigilance.

Of course, even the Enon of that time was not very cooperative.

“Rumors about those who witnessed strange cracks? The recent status of mages from the Pearl Tower? What outlandish queries. I've never left the capital; how would I know such specifics? You don't think I know every story across the entire continent, do you? Did you damage your brain when your knee was injured last time?”

He said something like that and looked at Yuder as if he were a madman. However, even while calling him a madman, he eventually gathered rumors from somewhere or brought useful stories from somewhere. Although the accuracy was much lower compared to the information Yuder had received from Enon until then, it was still valuable to Yuder, who was moving alone.

Perhaps Enon himself also felt the rapidly changing situation of the continent in that process. As he gazed at Yuder, who had visited, he suddenly said,

“You always go alone, and always come back injured. How many times has it been already? Don't you have anyone to help you?”

“What's the point of knowing?”

“Look at this rude kid. I'm telling you this because you don't seem to value your life and keep going around even though what I tell you won't be of much help to you anyway. Get someone around you to do it. Or ask for help.”

“It's fine. It's better than nothing.”

“Are you that eager to die?”

"..."

“When I look at you, sometimes I wonder if I'm too late. I think maybe if I had paid attention to the outside world a little earlier, something might have been different... These days, my thoughts are very complicated.”

After saying that, Enon closed his mouth. Then he sighed.

“Forget it. What am I doing, talking to someone who won't understand what I'm saying and won't even ask for help anyway? I'm so frustrated, I'll just go and do something myself.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I think I need to go out and find out something!”

Yuder didn't take those words to heart. It was because he had to leave the very next day to eliminate those who were dreaming of rebellion, which was considered ominous, and take care of the disasters that had occurred in that area.

A few months later, when Yuder visited Enon's pharmacy again, the pharmacy, which was the only place in the Seventh Wall District that didn't smell of blood, had its door locked. People said that the pharmacist who lived there had suddenly closed the pharmacy and disappeared, saying he was going somewhere. No one knew exactly where he went or with whom he went. They couldn't even properly remember Enon's name and face, even though they had always been indebted to him, but Yuder wasn't in a position to curse them for it.

Yuder harbored suspicions that Enon truly was a spy from a foreign land and had seized the opportunity to escape. When he forcibly opened the door and entered the pharmacy, it was completely empty, void of anything. While looking around inside with a strange feeling, he went to the place where Enon used to fold the prescription papers, and there was a small folded prescription paper lying there.

It was the letter Enon had written to himself about his identity.

Even after seeing it, Yuder initially didn't fully believe its contents. After all, it was hard to believe that he wasn't an ordinary person but a guardian who had made a contract with Luma. He had no idea what kind of existence that was, so he couldn't even guess what it meant.

However, even if he tried not to believe all of that, one thing was clear.

The moment he read that letter, he could clearly recall Enon's existence and name, which had been hazy as if shrouded in fog. It happened so naturally that he didn't even realize it himself.

After that, Enon never returned. The disasters pushed their way to the vicinity of the capital, but strangely, they could never cross the seven walls of the capital. The capital was the last bastion and the hope of all people. Emperor Katchian expressed deep joy at the words of the sage Diemon, who said that his legitimacy was being recognized through the power of the seven walls. The land prices in the capital rose day by day. The poor people who lived within the seven walls were driven out, and their places were filled by nobles who had fled from the provinces.

Even when Yuder was captured and died, the capital remained firm. In his cell, he occasionally pondered the missing pharmacist. Where had he gone, and what had he sought to uncover?

If he truly wasn't human and was connected to the great mage from a thousand years ago, wouldn't he have grasped the clues to all these disasters by now? If they had been in a close relationship, exchanging information with each other, the situation might have been better than it was now. He had said that even if he left, he would help Yuder when they met again.

Although the situation was completely ruined, Yuder thought it might have been quite good if that had been the case. He thought this even though he knew it was a futile thought for him, who hadn't trusted Enon until the end.

Regret is always futile and comes too late. Now, when he could guess Enon's destination, which he hadn't known back then, a new regret was born and pierced Yuder's heart. The moment he read the letter Luma had left for Enon, that regret grew even stronger, giving him a pain that seemed to strangle his entire body.

'If you want to protect this land, shed your body.'

He hoped he had misread it. But no matter how much he thought about it, it didn't seem to be the case.

There was no clearer reason to explain why the Enon of his previous life had never appeared again after his disappearance.

When the current Enon was told about what had happened to his past self, he had said, "He probably died," with an indifferent attitude. Had he experienced involuntary reabsorption and regeneration over the long years? And had there ever been an intentional instance?

Yuder didn't know for sure, but it seemed unlikely for the Enon he knew.

What difference would there be between abandoning one's body intentionally and not doing so? If the Enon of his previous life had chosen that path, what would have happened to him? Could it be that he had been very close, but Yuder had failed to notice until the end?

"Yuder."

A low, subdued voice was heard from beside him. Before Yuder could answer, the man's hand grasped Yuder's hand. Only then did Yuder realize that he had been clenching his fist tightly. He had put too much strength into it, causing his hand to tremble slightly.

"If you use that much force, you'll hurt your hand."

"...I didn't know."

"I want to ask what you read, but it would be better to do that after the pharmacist has seen everything."

"..."

"But even without reading it, I can guess one thing: whatever it is, the pharmacist would be angry to see you like this."

Before Yuder could even ask what he meant, Enon's blunt voice was heard.

"Yes. You're absolutely right."