Turning Chapter 1017

Chapter 1017

"You're back?"

Yuder's hand paused while opening the bedroom door silently. He had tried to be careful not to make a sound.

"You're not asleep yet," Yuder remarked.

"I wanted to check if you had an enjoyable time as soon as you returned."

Kishiar was sitting in front of the multicolored, burning magic stone fireplace, looking at a piece of paper. His smiling face as he turned to Yuder showed no signs of sleepiness. The man rose from his seat, as if he were a servant, and tried to assist Yuder in removing his outer coat from his shoulders. Yuder immediately twisted his body to refuse.

"I can take it off myself," Yuder said.

"I saw blood on your arm earlier during the sparring, so it's better not to use it if possible," Kishiar insisted.

"You already saw that the wound wasn't very deep, yet you're still saying that. Besides, Priest Lusan has already healed all the wounds."

"Is that so? Did the medical unit join you there as well?"

Instead of answering, Yuder pointed to his completely clean skin to show him.

"I learned for the first time today that a drunk priest transforms into a stubborn person who absolutely refuses to leave others' wounds untreated. He insisted on healing me like this even though I said it was unnecessary," Yuder explained.

"That must have been quite an amusing sight. But it seems our priest isn't the only stubborn one."

"Pardon?"

"Now that I can't use the wound as an excuse, I'll have to be honest. I thought it would be nice if I could be the one to welcome you most comfortably after you spent an enjoyable time with your colleagues for the first time since coming to the South. Helping you take off your coat is just the beginning. Still, am I not allowed to touch you?"

"..."

How could he refuse when he put it that way?

Yuder looked down at the half-removed coat, sighed, and slowly put it back on. Kishiar laughed heartily and stood in a polite posture facing Yuder, bending his waist and slowly removing the coat by pushing the hem back. Because they were facing each other, it felt as if he was embracing Yuder under the pretext of taking off his coat.

...No. He was actually being embraced.

"...This doesn't seem like you're just taking off my coat," Yuder pointed out.

"That's not true. Originally, it's a very important duty of servants to remove the master's coat when they return from outside and check the scent they brought back with them. They can learn a great deal of information through that," Kishiar denied with a hint of laughter in his voice.

It seemed unlikely that any servant would confirm the 'outside scent' in this manner while removing their master's coat, but Yuder simply remained silent. It was all just an excuse anyway. He was also pleased with the man's body temperature finally touching him after returning from a noisy place for a long time.

Yuder gazed at the man's golden hair buried between his shoulder and neck and spoke softly.

"So... what information have you gathered now?"

"Hmm... There's a strong scent of beer and food. It seems you ate a lot of shrimp and shellfish dishes. And there's a slight fresh lemon scent as well."

He accurately guessed the foods Yuder had eaten or come into contact with.

"The lemon is because of Enon. I didn't eat it myself, but I kept bringing it to him, so the scent must have lingered," Yuder explained.

"I thought so. Judging from the scent of dust and old wood, you must have moved around and wandered more than usual there, even if I'm not sure. The fact that traces of various scents are particularly noticeable around the sleeves and shoulders means there was also contact with an unspecified number of people... If such contact with other members occurred at a tavern, I can probably infer about two reasons," Kishiar said.

"What are they?"

"First, you knocked out those who were excessively drunk by handling them. And second..."

The man embraced Yuder's body a little more tightly, lifted his head to meet his gaze directly, and smiled secretively.

"Did you perhaps dance?"

Although Yuder had asked him to tell, he hadn't expected him to actually guess this far just by smelling. Yuder blinked and made a humming sound.

"Did you perhaps briefly visit outside the restaurant where we were staying?" Yuder asked.

"Judging from your response, it seems I guessed correctly," Kishiar said.

It wasn't just a guess; it was a level of deduction that gave Yuder goosebumps. He decided to give the smug-looking man a more detailed answer.

"It wasn't a dance that required a partner. Ever suddenly suggested we dance to the tune of the day spring arrives," Yuder explained.

"Oh my. You mentioned that first, considering your promise to me. I'm so touched, I might shed tears," Kishiar said.

The man lightly kissed the tip of Yuder's nose, his lips making a sound as they touched, and then pulled away. At some point, he had completely removed Yuder's coat and had it draped over his arm.

"Just hearing about it sounds fun. Did you all dance together? The dance moves passed down slightly differently in each region for the day spring arrives are also famous," Kishiar said.

"You knew about that?" Yuder asked.

"Of course I do. In Peletta, when winter passes, everyone gathers to dance before the full-scale spring fishing activities begin," Kishiar explained, humming a gentle tune. It was exactly the same melody Yuder had heard all night.

"It's about time for that again. I miss it," Kishiar said.

Yuder suddenly recalled Yergin Schiller, who had been curious about whether that dance was also performed at the Imperial Palace.

"Is that dance and song also passed down at the Imperial Palace?" Yuder asked.

"Hm? Haha. Who was curious about that?"

Like Kanna, Kishiar seemed to have an uncanny ability to discern Yuder Aile's remarks that he hadn't come up with himself.

"Yergin Schiller was curious," Yuder said.

"I see. There's nothing particularly passed down at the Imperial Palace. However, when spring arrives, we do hold a prayer session at the Grand Temple to pray for the empire's peace and commemorate new beginnings. His Majesty the Emperor has been unable to attend for a few years due to unavoidable circumstances, but he will likely be able to this time," Kishiar explained.

Is that so? In Yuder's previous life, Emperor Katchian had reduced or eliminated most of the old imperial family's traditions, claiming they were 'needlessly full of formalities,' so he had never done such a thing.

'That statement itself seemed to garner quite a bit of support from the people, but...'

The good atmosphere only lasted for the first few years. As the country gradually fell into chaos and he faced several assassination threats while venturing outside, Emperor Katchian banned all events where people might gather, citing the same reason of 'the old imperial family's formalities.'

The harvest festival, the large prayer meetings held at temples on holidays or quarterly, the parties welcoming spring, the events honoring ancient heroes, and many other things.

'...But this time, I'll get to see Emperor Keilusa take the lead.'

Yuder was quite looking forward to it. With that thought, he opened his mouth.

"If the day comes when I can answer Yergin, I'll tell her that," Yuder said.

"Yes. And were there any other fun things that happened there? I'd like to hear more details about the things my eyes and nose couldn't discern," Kishiar said.

He led Yuder to the warm magic stone fireplace. Yuder sat with him and slowly recounted all the events that had taken place at the restaurant. Kishiar listened attentively to Yuder's words without ever showing boredom, reacting to every story with laughter or a serious expression.

When he heard the part about relaying what Enon had told him to Kanna, and Kanna immediately realizing it wasn't something Yuder had thought of himself, Kishiar laughed so hard that Yuder almost regretted telling the story.

When the story reached the information related to Gyllandr Hill, Kishiar showed exceptional interest, more so than at any other time.

"It's truly surprising to learn that Gyllandr Hill, where Great Mage Luma resided, was in the Sanctuary. If the pharmacist said he would go there as soon as he returned, he would really do it," Kishiar said.

"Indeed," Yuder agreed.

"Is there perhaps room for one more person to join?"

"Are you also thinking of going together, Commander?"

"If the opportunity arises, of course I'd like to. I'm curious," Kishiar said.

After all, how could someone who knew and loved history so well not be curious about the hidden research lab of a Great Mage from a thousand years ago?

'Actually, when it comes to information related to magic, Kishiar would be much better at investigating than me. The same goes for ancient languages and old ruins.'

Yuder quickly finished his thought and nodded.

"I understand. I think it would be nice if you could also go together, so I'll ask Enon about it. ...Ah, then we should also look at that together in advance," Yuder said.

"That?"

"The translated pages hidden in the journal of the First Duke of Tain, which Enon brought when he came to the South. I wanted to check them immediately, but I haven't had the chance to read them properly due to all the commotion," Yuder explained.

"Aha. I see. We can read it on the way back," Kishiar readily agreed.

"Then... have you finished telling me everything now?"

"..."

Yuder gazed at the burning magic stone fireplace and hesitantly brought up his final words.

"Do you not find it regrettable?"