Turning Chapter 1000

Chapter 1000

"Are you talking about... the power of Awakeners?"

"It could be, or it might be magic. Well, there are many possibilities."

Originally, Kanna didn't need to participate in this interrogation, but she ended up coming here when it was revealed that the part related to the fake invitation, which they had almost glossed over, was actually the most suspicious. If Kanna hadn't been there, it would have been difficult to quickly grasp the discrepancy between Megdolgen’s memory and the actual information.

Gakein averted his gaze from Megdolgen, who was pathetically trying to recall his memories, tears and snot running down his face. Honestly, it seemed like there was nothing more to get out of that guy now.

"If it was someone's intention to send that guy here, why was it him of all people? No matter how much I think about it, I don't understand. Kanna, what do you think?"

"Hmm... Maybe you're overthinking it?"

Kanna smiled, raising one corner of her lips at Gakane, who tilted his head.

"Think about it. It's a forged invitation that's easy to identify as a forgery once you know. But it definitely had an effect, and someone actually came in with it. On a hectic day like today, was that person the only one who came with a forged invitation?"

"You mean...?"

"There might have been other fake guests among the guests who came today that we didn't notice because they didn't cause trouble like that person."

It was a change in perspective. But it wasn't nonsensical.

"You mean there might have been guests who thought the invitation they received was genuine, but they had only received it from somewhere else, like Megdolgen."

"Yeah. And maybe among them, there were those who created that fake invitation."

"Why would they go through such a complicated process...?"

"Hmm... Let's say we're counterfeiters."

Kanna rummaged through her pocket and took out a silver coin.

"If we make and use just one fake coin, it's easy to get caught. But what if we made a hundred, used a few, and scattered the rest among unsuspecting people?"

"...Chaos would ensue as people unknowingly used the fakes, while the creator blends in and escapes easily." Gakane's expression turned serious.

"Exactly. I think the motive behind the fake invitations was similar. To avoid getting caught quickly, even if it meant enduring some inconvenience, it's a method worth trying."

"But even after going through all that, nothing happened at the succession ceremony..."

"Although it might just be my speculation since not much information could be read from that invitation... What if the purpose was to come and 'observe' this succession ceremony itself?"

Gakane's eyes sharpened for a moment at Kanna's words.

"Observing... You mean gathering information?"

"Yeah. It's a great opportunity to directly understand the changes happening in the Herne Duchy, one of the four ducal families. You can also see who came as guests, so that information alone is very useful."

"That's true. For example, our Cavalry... and the Awakener Brigade, which hasn't been widely known to the outside world until now. Ah, General Gino also came in person."

"If they aimed for the opportunity to see the most famous Awakeners in the empire in one place, today would have been the best in many ways. Especially since it's the first time the Awakener Brigade has officially revealed itself."

Gakane felt a slight chill running up the back of his neck.

Unknown enemies who could create fake invitations so sophisticated that they could deceive the eyes of those who had worked for the Herne family for a lifetime, send them to fake guests, and cleverly manipulate their memories so they couldn't even remember properly.

Such a feat was beyond the capability of just one or two people.

"Who... and where would they dare to do such a thing?"

In fact, there were some suspicions. The Diarca Duchy, which opposed the imperial family, and the southern tribes, whose existence they had recently begun to recognize in various ways, came to Gakane's mind.

Before he could voice that thought, Kanna whispered in a voice so small that no one could hear.

"Keep your thoughts as thoughts, Gakane."

"..."

"Even if you're sure about it, it's not our job to do that. Don't forget that reporting what we've found out so far to the Commander and Yuder comes first."

"...Yeah. You're right."

Even if there were suspicions, as Kanna said, voicing those thoughts and being certain about them was a completely different matter. Gakane also clearly remembered what kind of result the momentary carelessness and rashness of the Cavalry members had brought about on the day of the hail.

And in contrast to that dark memory, there was also the endless sense of relief that the names of the Commander and Yuder brought.

Gakane closed his eyes and opened them again. With his usual bright smile, he gestured to Kanna, pointing upwards.

"Then, shall we wrap up here and go back? It doesn't seem like there's anything more to find out from Megdolgen."

"Okay."

Despite most guests having left, the mansion remained bustling. Gakane, watching a group of musicians packing their instruments from afar, suddenly recalled the dance from a few hours earlier.

More precisely, he recalled two particular individuals among the many dancers who had caught his attention.

'Yuder... looked so at ease.'

His friend's face, not caring about the surprised looks of those who were startled by the fact that two men were dancing together, or the inevitable murmurs that came out, had a gentle glow that he had never seen before. Gone were the sharp alertness he always maintained and the unyielding firmness seen in life-or-death battles.

To Gakane, Yuder Aile was always someone he wanted to emulate, and at the same time, a friend he sometimes worried about in many ways. When he showed a superhuman side, leading the entire Cavalry with a level of skill that was hard to believe for someone of the same class, it was nothing but admirable. His superhuman ability to lead the entire Cavalry with seemingly effortless proficiency was admirable, but his almost despairing lack of social skills, attracting unnecessary hostility or recklessly charging into danger, was worrying.

In terms of human relationships, Yuder often felt like a child left by the water. But today, for the first time, he seemed like a much more adult-like, incomprehensible being compared to Gakane. Gakane thought he probably wasn't the only one who felt that way.

'I had always thought that Yuder's sharp tension was just his nature, but maybe it wasn't.'

The Yuder who was with the Commander looked like someone who didn't know how to be tense in that way at all.

Yuder Aile was capable of letting go of all tension and comfortably enjoying the moment. Or perhaps, away from the entity known as the Cavalry, his true self was originally such.

And the Commander, too, in his interactions with Yuder, wore a face unfamiliar to Gakane, different from any he had known before.

Not an inscrutable imperial family member or a great figure, but an astonishingly ordinary-looking Kishiar La Orr.

In front of that scene, which he wouldn't have believed if he hadn't seen it directly, Gakane felt the worry and concern he had been harboring weakly finally completely evaporate.

'...I had thought that I should keep pretending not to know what the Commander and Yuder did during the day of the hail, but I wonder if that is the right choice...'

"Gakane? What are you thinking about so deeply?"

Gakane's complex train of thought was interrupted by Kanna's call.

"Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about something else for a moment..."

"You can think, but you should take care of your belongings. You dropped your glove."

"Oh. You're right."

The party glove he had taken off and put in his pocket during Megdolgen's interrogation had fallen out of his pocket. Gakane quickly bent down, and his hand brushed against Kanna's, who was also trying to pick it up for him.

"...Ah!"

Kanna was startled and recoiled back as if she had been shocked by static electricity.

"Ah, sorry!"

Surprised by her reaction, Gakane also reflexively apologized, but she stared at her own hand for a long time as if she had been shocked by something.

"Kanna...? What's wrong?"

"...Ah, no. It's nothing... but..."

Kanna's face, which was fumbling with an expression that was not at all nothing, gradually turned pale. After a moment, she covered her face with her hands and exclaimed.

"Sorry, Gakane! I think I just unintentionally read something!"

"Huh? Wha-what...?"

"You... you knew about them too...?"

"Uh, what?"

"Yuder and the Commander..."

Sometimes, even without any subject or object, the tone of those words and the other person's gaze alone can make you realize something.

For Gakane Bolunwald and Kanna Wand, this moment was like that.

"...Ah... Could it be... Kanna, you too...?"

"Ah..."

"..."

"..."

"What are you two doing, standing there?"

And sometimes, the person you least want to appear at such a moment does appear.

Gakane and Kanna simultaneously turned their heads toward where the voice came from. Yuder Aile, whom they naturally thought had already returned with the Cavalry, was standing there alone.