"I've heard that you've gathered evidence of the horrifying experiments carried out in the Duke of Apeto's mansion. Is that true?"

"Who did you hear that from?"

At Yuder's question, the elderly mage simply laughed.

"Hehe. I have ears too. If that's true, could you perhaps give me a chance to look at it?"

"That can't be. The experiment is..."

Interrupting the sentence, Thais Yulman raised both of his hands and whispered in an even quieter voice.

"I have no impure intentions. I'm not interested in the purpose or the results of the experiment. However, if there are parts recorded in your investigation of the Awakeners' power, I thought that I might learn something more when examining the power of the Red Stone. That's all I want to verify. Is that too difficult?"

At the statement of wanting to find the correlation between the power of the Awakeners and the Red Stone, Yuder momentarily closed his mouth.

The fact that the Awakeners started to appear due to the aftermath of the power that burst out when the Red Stone fell was indisputable. So, he understood why he would say that.

'Of course, the Elder Priest Beltrail probably didn't conduct such a useful study...'

After the festival ended, the month that the Emperor had promised was nearing its end. Even if they couldn't discover everything about the Red Stone in that time, they had to find out at least some information about the power within it, in order to ask for more time, or perhaps to participate in the follow-up research.

Noticing Yuder's hesitation, the Elder Mage swiftly added a few more words.

"While my disciple was casting the protective circle, I wasn't just idling around. I have writings, albeit incomplete, that I've been recording while examining the correlation between magic and the power of the Red Stone. If necessary, I can give it to you now. Would you show it to the Duke? It might help when making a decision."

Sighing towards the Elder Mage who was eagerly awaiting an answer, he opened his mouth again.

"I don't think there will be anything you want among the things brought from Apeto. But... I'll bring it up to the Commander."

"Good, good. Now, take this."

Thais, with a grin, handed a few bundles of rolled up papers that were stacked near the table to Yuder. Yuder accepted them and stood up. Not long after he started to move, Alik ran after him and greeted him.

"Are you leaving now?"

"Yes. The tea was good."

"It's my pleasure. Seeing that you look much better than when you arrived here, I am glad."

"...Was my complexion that bad?"

Yuder asked, remembering Kanna who was worried about his complexion before he came down here. Then, Alik made a fuss as if he hadn't known.

"Oh, you didn't know? People who are sleep-deprived and tired usually have swollen eyes and a pale complexion. If left alone, it's likely to develop into a headache, so I intentionally put herbs that wake you up and clear your mind in the tea. It has a bit of an analgesic effect too."

Thinking about it, since waking up from a nightmare, his previously heavy head seemed to have lightened a bit. Yuder sincerely thanked him.

"Thank you. You seem to know quite a lot about this."

"Ha-ha. It's nothing, really. My Master dislikes visiting the shrine yet is quite a hypochondriac, so I've inevitably gained some knowledge in this area."

"Alik! Cut the pointless chatter."

Startled by Thais' sharp rebuke, Alik quickly closed his mouth. Yuder contemplated for a moment before addressing Alik with a question.

"Mr. Pelgin, may I ask you something?"

"There's no need to be so formal. Just call me casually. We'll be seeing each other regularly, and all the formality could get uncomfortable. In return, may I address you simply as Yuder?"

"Understood... Alik."

As Yuder called his name, Alik responded, "Great. What's your question?"

"Alik, you're a mage, so... if you happen to know someone who sells magic tools useful for defense, could you recommend them?"

"Defense tools? Does someone around need it?"

Alik seemed not to consider that Yuder himself might be the one in need of defensive magic tools. Since the reason for needing such toolsthe manifestation of his second genderwas hard to explain to others, Yuder chose not to correct Alik's misunderstanding.

"Yes."

"Hmm. I do have a few single-use items..."

"Single-use?"

"Before I came here with my Master, I asked a friend to make them for me because I was worried. They're tools that create a shield and provide invisibility for a certain period. However, compared to regular items, their duration and power are somewhat limited."

"That sounds more than sufficient. Would you be willing to sell them to me?"

"Why would you want to buy it? I've received a lot of help from you, so I'll just give them to you."

Alik gave a straightforward response and ran off to where his belongings were. After a while, he returned with a small bracelet made of tiny black stones.

"The usage is simple. If you crush one of these strung stones, it activates a shield once. It should protect the wearer from moderate attacks for a few minutes."

The bracelet was very crudely made. It didn't look like a magical tool at all, but Yuder thought this made it even more suited to his purpose.

"So I can use it five times since there are five stones?"

"That's right. These are fragile, so they can break with just a little force. Be careful."

"Thank you."

Yuder gratefully thanked Alik, resolving to repay him for this favor whenever possible. Magic tools were incredibly expensive, and finding a proper maker was challenging. He had been anticipating a significant expense, so he was relieved at how things turned out.

'It's a blessing that the mages are staying here after all.'

Upon leaving the basement, Yuder immediately strapped the bracelet to the inside of his wrist. Hidden by his uniform sleeve, no one else would notice its presence.

---

That evening, Yuder finally went to meet the two Awakeners from the Star of Nagran, accompanied by Kanna. Even though they had been awake for several hours, their meeting was delayed because they had expressed their wish to meet the Cavalrys person in charge before Yuder sought them out.

Two Cavalry members, who had been stationed in front of the room where the Awakeners were staying, looked up as Yuder and Kanna approached. They quickly recognized them and offered a salute.

"Ah, have you finally arrived? Does this mean we don't need to guard anymore? We were so bored without anything to do."

"No, just stay a little longer until we leave."

Upon hearing Yuder's request, the guards agreed without a hint of displeasure and sat back down.

"How are the people inside? They didn't make any trouble, did they?"

"No, they've been quiet even during meals. They sleep so much that it's suspicious."

"I see. Please open the door."

While they waited for the door, locked from the outside with three padlocks, to open, Kanna took a small breath beside Yuder.

"Phew. So it begins."

"Kanna, if you're nervous..."

"No, I'm not nervous at all. Trust me, Yuder. I'll show you the result of all my hard training today."

Kanna was not scared at all, even when she heard she would be meeting with the Awakeners from the Star of Nagran and would be extracting information from them. On the contrary, she seemed exhilarated at the prospect of finally demonstrating to Yuder the fruits of her training.

"The door is open. You may enter."

The two of them stepped through the open door. The interior was not much different from the other soldiers' quarters. The two men, who had been sitting side by side on the bed, sprang to their feet in surprise when they saw Yuder.

"We told you to bring someone important... "

"And so I did."

At Yuder's curt reply, the two men exchanged a look.

"Are you the most important person here? We heard that the highest-ranking person is the Commander..."

"I'm the Commander's assistant."

"What's an assistant?"

"I don't know either."

"It means someone who works at the Commander's side like a right hand."

As Kanna explained to the two bewildered men, their gaze shifted to her.

"And you... who are you?"

"I am the Deputy Commander."

Strictly speaking, she was one of several Deputy Commanders, but there was no need to go into that detail. Thankfully, they seemed satisfied and sat back down.

"So why did you ask to see someone important?"

"Well... you guys captured us, right? But you haven't beaten or tortured us yet, even fed us... so we wanted to ask when you were planning to lock us up and start torturing us..."

He seemed uncertain even as he was speaking, but one of the men managed to finish his sentence.

'Did these guys never receive any training on what to do in situations like this?'

Yuder bit his lip as he looked at the faces of the men who were much more naive than expected. They had fought well, but without their weapons, they were no different from the naive young men one might encounter in a rural area.

Kanna also had a strange look on her face, perhaps sharing his thoughts.

"First of all, I didn't capture you guys."

"What, then?"

"After I knocked you two unconscious, your comrades came."

"Nahan and Hosanna?!"

"Yes, them. But they didn't try to rescue you and just disappeared, so we brought you in because it would be strange to just leave you there. So technically, we didn't capture you."