Turning Chapter 1054

Chapter 1054

Yuder quickly turned his head.

"Did you finish reading?"

"Yes. As you said, it was indeed a letter left by Luma."

Yuder thought Enon would immediately discuss the letter's contents, but instead, he made an unexpected request.

"Give me your hand. This way."

Wondering what he meant, Yuder extended his hand that wasn't being held by Kishiar. Enon suddenly slapped Yuder's palm, making a loud smacking sound. It didn't hurt, but it was quite startling.

"...What was that for?"

"Why are you trembling? Are you afraid something will happen to this big brother once he sees it?"

As Yuder slowly blinked and looked down at his stinging palm, Kishiar burst into laughter.

"Hmm. That was truly a magnificent expression of anger. Thanks to that, the trembling in this hand has completely stopped as well."

Only then did Yuder realize that all the strength had completely drained from both of his hands.

"When you're having unnecessary thoughts, it's best to give a different shock to divert your attention. It's a good method, so try using it next time when that fellow is spacing out again."

"Thanks for the advice. But unfortunately, it seems too difficult for me to do. That method is probably only possible for a 'big brother' like you."

"Ah, is that so? Then figure out another method on your own. You're good at that sort of thing, aren't you? Flapping your mouth and showing off your face to suck out that fellow's soul."

"I was starting to lose confidence in that lately, thinking I wasn't as good at it as before, but hearing such recognition makes me feel good. I'll work hard at it."

Was it Yuder's imagination that Enon and Kishiar seemed to have gotten a bit closer in that brief moment?

While Yuder was puzzled, Enon turned his head and looked directly at him.

"Before I tell you what I've deduced from the letter's contents, I want to talk about the promise Luma and I made first. Let's sit down for now."

Both Yuder and Kishiar sat on new chairs. Enon fiddled with a piece of wood and began to speak.

"Hmm... Right. It started from the moment I first opened my eyes. A very long time ago, after I awoke here, I spent quite a long time living only inside this place. It was a quiet time when only Luma and I existed. Luma taught common sense to me, who was like a blank slate, and also told me what I should do. Once I grew enough and was ready, I was supposed to go to the capital and become the guardian protecting that place."

"..."

"Back then, I was no different from a newborn baby, so I didn't really understand what exactly Luma was researching or why he sometimes prevented me from leaving here and talked to other people upstairs. Now I think that other person was probably the first Duke Tain, but... there might have been someone else too."

"..."

"I don't know how long I lived like that. When I grew to be about as I am now, Luma started frequently leaving Gyllandr Hill. He said he needed to find clues related to his new research topic. And that he had almost finished the contract with the spirit that provided my soul, so he no longer had a reason to stay here as much as before."

It was difficult to read any particular emotion from Enon's expression. Usually, he was a very emotionally rich and straightforward being, but in this moment, he felt like a tree standing indifferently.

"To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. Luma was my entire world back then, but it felt like he saw me as just a task to be handled. So... what do you think I did?"

"...I don't know."

"It's either running away or picking a fight."

While Yuder, who had never felt any significant emotional hurt until his grandfather passed away, was lost in thought, Kishiar raised his hand and calmly responded.

"Because those are the most common forms of rebellion immature children can do."

Enon nodded and raised one eyebrow.

"Both are correct. If you call it a common rebellion, I guess you've done it a lot too?"

"Haha. I was the notorious troublemaker of the family. Even though I understood those who followed me around, pleading with me not to do anything for the sake of my body, I caused a lot of trouble out of a sense of injustice."

That was probably after the young Kishiar realized his body was damaged. It suddenly hit Yuder that even the man who was now infinitely strong had a painful childhood when it was difficult for him to accept his fate.

And the fact that Kishiar was casually mentioning such a sensitive story to Enon meant that he was offering his share of the price in exchange for the heavy secrets Enon was mentioning.

"Anyway, I got angry at Luma and ran away. And that was the first time I died and was regenerated. If Luma hadn't followed me, the guardian who was supposed to live for a thousand years would have become an idiot who died in less than a year."

Enon didn't elaborate further on that incident. He seemed to find it a bit embarrassing.

"When I woke up again, Luma returned my memories and taught me everything from the beginning again. And he honestly told me why he created me and why it had to be me."

"..."

"He said he wanted to keep the will of a dear friend who had passed away. To do that, he needed a means to protect the capital until the distant future that might come at any time, and I was the only one who could help him, so he asked for my assistance."

A faint smile appeared on Enon's lips. His lemon-colored eyes were looking at the empty tree beyond Yuder's back as if searching for something distant.

"That was the first and last time I went outside with Luma. We went to the capital, ate food like ordinary humans, mingled with other people, and tried sleeping. It wasn't as glamorous as it is now, but I felt it was a very comfortable and safe place. The world was still in chaos back then, as the turmoil hadn't completely disappeared. I told him I liked it there. Luma was genuinely happy for the first time since I opened my eyes. So much so that he finished the meal he had been barely eating out of fatigue in an instant."

As Yuder listened to Enon talk about the great mage from history whom he had never seen before, Luma started to feel like a person from the house next door. It was strange to feel this way about someone who was so incredible that their very existence felt almost fictional.

'That's probably... because Enon is speaking about Luma in such a familiar and casual way.'

Enon spoke without hesitation, as if he had already said these words hundreds or thousands of times, even though he had probably never told anyone before. It meant that he had been cherishing and remembering even the smallest words and actions of the other person as if they happened yesterday. Yuder couldn't even imagine what that feeling would be like.

"That was the first time I realized that Luma truly cherished the capital. If it was a place Luma wanted to protect so much that he created me, I thought it wouldn't be bad for me to try my best to protect it too. That was the moment I decided to truly become the guardian."

Enon looked down at his own hands. They were the hands of a pharmacist, with five fingers just like a human's.

"Even after I said I would become the guardian, Luma didn't accept it right away like before and was quite worried for a while. It seemed he realized that half of what makes me is human, based on the previous incident, and that weighed on his mind. Even when I said it would be fine now that I had made up my mind, he wouldn't believe me at all. So we made a promise."

"..."

"I would serve as the guardian on Luma's behalf, protecting the capital until the time comes. Luma would cooperate to ensure I can live as comfortably as possible as the guardian. The term would be until I deemed the place worthy of protecting, and if I judged it to be no longer valuable, the contract would end, and I would be free to leave."

"What did Luma mean by the 'time' he mentioned?"

Kishiar asked. Enon quietly answered.

"To put it in simple terms, it referred to a time when a crisis that could potentially bring down the seven walls protecting the capital arrived or a moment deemed as such."

"In other words, he entrusted all judgment to you."

"That's right."

After saying that, Enon let out a small sigh and continued.

"Luma seemed to think it wasn't right to tell me too much back then. On one hand, it seemed like even he wasn't confident if a day would really come when the seven walls might collapse. Anyway, we made that contract, and Luma left not long after. One day, I woke up and found that he had replaced my hand and left. He only left a message saying it was his last cooperation for me and left without saying goodbye. I was so angry."

"...Wait a minute. What did he replace?"

For a moment, Enon spoke about such an incredible story so casually that the words almost didn't register properly in Yuder's mind. Enon waved the hand he had placed on the desk, as if to show it off.

"The hand. This one."

"Exactly what and how did he replace it?"

"You already know that the root of my soul is a tree spirit, right? Then, have you ever thought about what my body was made of?"

"...No?"

Yuder had just accepted it as it was, thinking that a spirit's soul was connected to a human body, but now that he thought about it, where did that body actually come from? Enon provided the answer.

"According to Luma, it was very difficult to create a body that could contain a spirit's soul while also being capable of synchronization with the other seven walls. In other words, reabsorption and regeneration. After many trials and errors, the current body was ultimately made by mixing half of Luma's heart with an apple blossom. It was the only successful work that endured."

Even Kishiar, who had not been greatly surprised or startled by anything he heard so far, couldn't easily open his mouth at this moment. The same went for Yuder.

'...Mixing what with what?'

"Don't ask me exactly what he did and how. I don't know well either since it was before I was born. What's certain is that my body was based on Luma's heart, and before he left, he even cut off his own hand and attached it to me."

"Then does that mean Luma had to live without a hand? Why the hand of all things?"

"That's probably not the case. Would a mage capable of creating a living, moving human body live without a hand just because he cut it off? He must have made a prosthetic hand with something else and attached it. As for why it was the hand... it's because it's easy to move mana with this, even if you don't know how to use magic."

Enon raised the corner of his mouth in a frown.

"I know magic, but I'm not a mage. What do you think enabled me to easily move magic-enchanted objects and see through Luma's magic all this time?"

"..."

"Anyway, what Luma left for me in the letter is based on that promise. It's written under the assumption that the moment he hoped would never come has finally arrived after a long time, and I, still the guardian, have come all the way here to find a way to protect the capital."

Yuder's heart grew heavy. As if sensing that, Enon raised his voice and emphasized his words.

"But you know what? The important thing is not whether I follow Luma's final method or whatever he left behind. What's truly important is that this definitely didn't exist when I left this place. I think this is something Luma, who returned after I left, left behind."

For a moment, it felt like the air inside Luma's laboratory had changed. Yuder carefully looked at Enon and asked.

"Earlier, you said it was unlikely that Luma would have come back here. But you're still so sure about that?"

"Even though I didn't see it, I heard that Luma secretly visited when people he knew died, even after leaving the empire. In fact, this lemon blossom brooch was newly discovered too."

Enon took out an old lemon blossom brooch from his pocket. It was an item that had been found among the monster corpses in the ruins left behind by the first Duke Tain.