Turning Chapter 988

Chapter 988

"How does my assistant plan to rescue the beauty trapped in the tower?"

No matter how accustomed Yuder had become to Kishiar's words and actions, there were still times when he couldn't help but ask for clarification. This was one of those moments. "The beauty in the tower... you say?"

"Well, even if it's just a hand, the main body would still have the same face, right?"

"..."

Kishiar shamelessly tapped his own cheek with his finger and smiled. There wasn't a hint of embarrassment in his twinkling eyes. Yuder stared at that face and silently thought to himself.

'...Well, it's not wrong. If anything, it's a bit too fitting.'

The metaphor of the beauty in the tower originated from a famous anecdote about a woman who was imprisoned in the Regien Tower, where nobles were mainly confined, a long time ago. Even Beltrail, the priest of the Apeto family who was tortured by Nahan, had been imprisoned there until his death, showing how ancient the place was.

Anyway, the legendary woman in the story was renowned for her extraordinary beauty. When her beloved was falsely accused, she volunteered to go to prison in his stead until he could prove his innocence and return. Nowadays, it was rare for someone to be imprisoned in place of a criminal, but in the past, it seemed to have been quite common, like taking a hostage, so it wasn't unusual.

She was originally supposed to be confined in a regular prison, but due to several incidents caused by her excessively beautiful appearance, she was eventually moved to the top of the tower.

If only the reason for her imprisonment had been resolved well, she probably could have left that place and lived without any problems. The problem was that no matter how long she waited, the lover who had left to prove his innocence never returned. It was unknown whether he had run away or if something had happened to him, but since the criminal did not return, the woman found herself in a difficult situation. People who pitied her flocked like clouds, pleading for her release, and it almost happened. However, in the end, she never came out from the top of the tower.

The last words she left to the people were that she believed in her lover's innocence and had no intention of leaving there on her own until he returned. No one could forcibly drag out someone who refused to rely on the sympathy of others and chose to imprison herself in the tower.

Even now, when people mentioned the beauty in the tower, everyone thought of the beauty in that story.

A beautiful person who chose not to come out of the tower to uphold their intended purpose.

Even if that purpose was an eternal wait that could never be fulfilled, she chose to fade away and be forgotten there rather than express resentment towards anyone.

Doesn't it sound too similar to someone?

Yuder stared at Kishiar's smiling face for a moment before opening his mouth.

"Almost every time I went there, it was related to anomalous cracks."

Either a large anomalous crack had occurred and been resolved, or it was just before one was about to occur.

There were many times when Yuder's health condition wasn't very good, but the last time he saw it, he wasn't in such a state, so he excluded it from the commonalities for now.

"Although we managed to prevent the great southern earthquake this time, there are still many disasters that I remember. I can no longer be certain which of them will happen first... but didn't we learn something important that I didn't know back then?"

"The cause, you mean," Kishiar replied, emphasizing the word.

Yuder nodded.

"Yes. We learned that there were those who forcibly shook and distorted the balance of the southern lands, promoting the occurrence of anomalous cracks. I don't think they will stop doing such things just because they were thwarted this time."

The 'Wolf's Eye' tribe of the southern country, led by Aton.

If it was true that they had done the same things in the previous life, forcibly bringing about disasters, they would surely continue to attempt the same things this time as well.

'From what I heard, it wasn't something they prepared for just a day or two. If it was such a grand undertaking, they wouldn't easily give up just because they failed once or twice.'

If they were the type of people to do that, they wouldn't have even attempted it in the first place, spending such a long time. And Yuder was someone who had returned from a world where he already knew what had happened when their plans had all succeeded.

"As long as they continue to cause trouble, I will also continue to stop them, so there will be endless opportunities to encounter anomalous cracks."

"And each time, you'll have a chance to make contact with the beauty beyond the crack, I suppose?"

"For now, I believe that will be the case."

Although the white-gloved hand seemed to wish for Yuder not to come there again, what could be done?

"We'll need to seriously and extensively conduct research on anomalous cracks."

"That will also be necessary, but..."

Yuder paused for a moment after saying that, took a breath, and spoke more cautiously with a subdued gaze.

What he was about to say next was likely to be very unpleasant for Kishiar to hear.

"The next time I face an anomalous crack, I'm also considering making direct contact with it myself."

"...Direct contact?"

"If it's a crack without monsters emerging, it might be possible to cross over the gap while still having a physical body, don't you think?"

If he hadn't seen the crevice that seemed to be connected to the deep sea in the dream he had this time, he wouldn't have even thought of it.

Unlike ordinary cracks, anomalous cracks existed in one place for a considerably long time. If the other side was the same dark place where the white glove was, wouldn't it be possible to cross over and take a look if done well?

Of course, no one knew when, where, or how an anomalous crack would appear, and what would happen in the process.

"Of course, I know it's a reckless idea. But if we gather as much information as possible about the cracks in advance and find out how the cracks and this place are connected, and then try to find a way to attempt it..."

"You know it's reckless," Kishiar replied without changing his expression.

"And you're saying this knowing full well how dangerous it is, right?"

Of course, he knew. It was just a few days ago that he had directly seen and confronted a massive anomalous crack in the sea that was terrifying to even look at.

Whether large or small, the mere sight of a crack made one instinctively feel that its existence was something extremely wrong. It would be stranger not to feel a sense of ominousness and danger when looking at the surreal crevice that was like an egg sac containing monsters that would soon appear.

Even Yuder himself had felt the need to eliminate it immediately when he saw a crack, but he had never thought of wanting to approach it closely. Its existence inevitably made all living beings feel death.

In his previous life, when he was tracking anomalous cracks and searching for information, he had heard many stories, like ghost tales, of people who had recklessly approached them without knowing better and died or disappeared without a trace. He had only witnessed it directly once in that life, and even then, it was very brief and disappeared quickly, but the instinctive sense of ominousness he felt at that time remained vivid even after he had died and returned.

Even now, when he had come to witness many anomalous cracks, that thought hadn't changed. If anything, it had only grown stronger.

It was not an existence that would ever have a positive impact on this world. It was ominous and absolutely could not be left alone, the starting point of a fearsome disaster.

All of those things...

"Of course, I know, but I don't think it's a bad idea to consider this as one of the many possibilities. As you said, don't we need to do at least that much to bring back the beauty in the tower? Don't worry, I have no intention of risking my life."

"It sounds no different from saying you'd willingly jump off a cliff if there's even a possibility of looking down into the valley below, but I understand that's what you think for now."

"..."

Kishiar, who had given an extremely cold answer in a calm voice, stared at Yuder with a thoughtful expression.

"I'm glad I asked first, after all."

Kishiar's lips let out a sigh-like laugh as he looked at Yuder with eyes filled with various emotions that were difficult to fully grasp. The voice that followed was a bit softer than before.

"I haven't heard of anyone currently conducting research on cracks, but if we search, we might be able to find traces of similar research in the old archives of the Pearl Tower. And above all, don't we have... clues related to the research of the first Duke Tain and the research of the Great Mage Luma?"

"Yes. We definitely need to look into that as well."

"Right. Make sure to seek the opinion of the pharmacist as well. We can discuss the method together, so never act alone. This isn't an order, but a request."

He said it wasn't an order, but Yuder wondered if it was his imagination that there seemed to be emphasis on the word "make sure." He thought that perhaps it was a bit hasty of him to mention the method of contacting the crack first.