Turning Chapter 1048

Chapter 1048

"Huh. You're not late," Enon grumbled as soon as his eyes met Yuder's. He had been waiting with his arms crossed in front of the rear gate of the Cavalry headquarters in the early morning, just as the sun was rising. Yuder, as usual, silently moved his eyebrows once, and it was Kishiar beside him who answered.

"Haha. Well, well. Did the pharmacist expect us to be late?"

"Well, I heard there was a very important day yesterday, so..."

"That's right. I heard you gave Yuder some good advice. Thanks to that, we were able to spend a very happy day. I want to express my sincere gratitude."

Whether there was a hidden meaning in Enon's words or not, Kishiar responded with a cheeky attitude and reached out to hand over a well-packaged small bag. Enon received it with a disgruntled look and peeked inside, slightly twitching the muscles on his cheeks. In Yuder's experience, it was an expression of 'it's good, but I don't want to openly admit it.'

Naturally, what was inside the bag were lemons.

After a moment, Enon turned his eyes towards Yuder and spoke with his gaze.

'Did you ask for this?'

'No. He suddenly brought it on his own.'

It was the truth without a shred of falsehood, even if it was hard to believe.

When Yuder woke up this morning and was about to go to the dining hall to find lemons to give to Enon, he was quite surprised to see Kishiar handing over that bag as if he had been waiting. When asked how he knew Yuder was going to look for it, Kishiar smiled nonchalantly and answered, "Didn't you always send it as a gift after meeting the pharmacist?"

In other words, since Yuder had received help from Enon this time as well, Kishiar thought he would naturally look for lemons to send as a gift, so he had prepared them in advance.

'Thanks to that, I was saved some trouble, but...'

"...These are of better quality than the ones used in the Cavalry's dining hall," Enon commented.

Hearing Enon's evaluation, Kishiar stroked his cheek and smiled shyly yet shamelessly.

"I wasn't originally planning to join in where we're going this time, but I was able to accompany you with the pharmacist's generous permission. While looking for something to send as a token of gratitude, I heard that the pharmacist particularly enjoys lemons, so I contacted the Imperial Palace. I'd be happy if you enjoy eating them during the trip."

Enon, who had been looking down at the lemons, slowly picked one and chewed it whole, including the peel. If one didn't know it was a raw lemon, they might have suspected it was just a bread of similar shape, given how nonchalantly he ate it.

After a while, Enon's expression softened considerably as he moved his Adam's apple up and down.

"Let's go."

Kishiar smiled with great satisfaction as if he had received a tremendous permission.

They quietly left the Cavalry headquarters on horseback. It was only after passing through the northern gate of the capital that Enon opened his mouth again.

"No matter when I leave, I never feel good about leaving the capital."

Since all three of them knew well where their destination was, there was no need to explain the way separately. After riding for about an hour, a dense forest and a fence came into view not far away.

On the signboard attached to the front of the fence, the name 'Sanctuary Forest' was clearly visible along with the Imperial Family's coat of arms.

'As expected, there are no separate guards...'

Seeing it with his own eyes, it really hit home that the place was now just an ordinary forest with historical value.

After dismounting from their horses, they let the horses roam freely so they could graze on the grass. Yuder followed behind Enon, who was walking in with a dignified manner, gazing at the tranquil scenery where no human presence could be felt.

"Hmm. Even though it's been nearly a thousand years since I've been here, not much has changed."

"...Really?"

As expected, it felt quite strange to hear Enon casually mention a thousand years as a unit of time. It might have been even more so because his outward appearance looked so young. Kishiar, who loved history, seemed to find it interesting in a different sense and struck up a conversation with Enon.

"Does 'a thousand years' mean you haven't returned here even once since leaving?"

"Well, you could say that."

Enon, who would have usually just answered to that extent and moved on, rarely fell silent for a moment before continuing.

"It's not just that I didn't feel the need, but I didn't really want to come back. The last memory wasn't very pleasant."

"Yet you decided to come here this time."

"Because this time, I felt the necessity."

It was a concise tone, typical of Enon. However, a slight complexity of emotions was rarely felt within it. Kishiar seemed to sense it too and didn't ask further.

They continued to go deeper, listening to the chirping of birds. Yuder looked up at the sky and confirmed that they were entering the central area.

'At this rate, we'll soon see the statue of the First Emperor.'

It was just as he thought. Soon, the top of the head of a tall statue began to appear.

The statue of the First Emperor stood there, placed on a pedestal almost as tall as an average person. However, unlike his other statues found throughout the capital or the empire, the one in the Sanctuary Forest had the difference of not wearing armor or holding the Divine Sword. The traces of weathering over time were hardly repaired, so at first glance, it was difficult to think of it as the statue of the First Emperor, as it looked quite ordinary.

'But when you look closely, it's definitely the First Emperor.'

All the statues of the First Emperor were made after he became the emperor, and the mold was not remade until he died a few years later, so the face and hairstyle were identical.

Tall stature with short hair cut cleanly like a soldier. A majestic yet somehow expressionless face that seemed to be looking into the distance. Large scars on his hands and arms.

And, surprisingly, he also resembled Kishiar quite a bit. If one only looked at the features, Kishiar had a much more distinct and radiant beauty, making them different, but the shape of the face, overall impression, and above all, the height and build were similar, making them look more alike than expected.

'...That's what I thought in my previous life.'

Yuder stood in front of the statue of the First Emperor, which felt like he was seeing it for the first time in a very long time, and looked up at it. The face of the man, standing as if he had come out for a walk without holding a sword and gazing somewhere beyond the forest, had a faint smile but still remained expressionless.

It was difficult to know subtle information such as the direction of the gaze or the complexion since it was a statue, but the weary and exhausted look felt from that subtle expression was somehow very clearly imaginable.

It was similar to the expression that Kishiar in his previous life had shown more and more often as death approached.

On the base of the statue, a short phrase of praise for the hero who saved the world was engraved in an elegant font. The classic and beautiful border surrounding that phrase was the door that could open the secret space where the World Sphere was stored in the previous life.

As Yuder reached out his hand towards that border, Kishiar, who had come close, spoke in a low voice.

"You don't look like you're in a good mood."

"Do I look like that? I wasn't, but...?"

"No, the Commander is right. Is there something about that statue?"

Enon, who had been looking around, chimed in with a nonchalant attitude and asked. Yuder hesitated for a moment and then deftly touched the border of the statue. After pressing each corner in the way he remembered and pushing the inscription, a sound of moving stone was heard, and a hole appeared in a part of the base.

"Huh? What's that?"

"A secret space."

Naturally, the inside was completely empty. Yuder looked down at it, which seemed to be filled with only dust. He felt very strange.

"In the 'past,' I used to put something very important here. I protected it."