"Commander."

As if they had just returned from an outing somewhere, they lowered their heads to greet a carriage that was just disappearing behind them. Sunz and Emon, who were next to Yuder, also hurriedly lowered their heads and stretched out their hands to give an imperial military-style salute.

"Good day, Duke."

"We are honored to meet you, Duke."

"Lift your heads."

The reply was gentle, but Sunz and Emon struggled to comply. It was natural, considering this was likely their first time facing someone as high-ranking as Kishiar. If it had been any other noble, they would have understandably become angry upon being disregarded, but both Kishiar and Nathan, his steadfast adjutant, were exceptionally patient.

Only when the ensuing silence had made the two men grow even more uneasy, and they had fully raised their heads, did Kishiar speak again with a smile.

"Imperial soldiers, are you... From where?"

"I... I am Sunz, from the Southern Army, the Gulkan region!"

"I am Emon, also of the Gulkan region, Southern Army!"

Hearing the mention of the Southern Army, Kishiar slightly shifted his gaze, presumably guessing why they were accompanying Yuder. In response to Kishiar's meaningful look, Yuder gave a slight nod and stepped forward.

"They are acquaintances with whom I previously formed a bond. They were deployed as peacekeepers for the festival. Despite being busy, they wanted to see me before returning to Gulkan, so they paid a visit. Good men, indeed."

"Oh, I see. Are you also Awakeners, then?"

"Yes, y-yes, we are!"

Sunz answered in the most formal tone he had used yet.

"What abilities do you possess?"

"I have the modest ability of vision. Emon beside me can summon a large amount of fire very quickly!"

At that moment, Kishiar's eyes sparkled with renewed interest.

"You both possess valuable abilities. You will undoubtedly become significant pillars of the Imperial Army."

"I believe so as well."

Hearing Yuder align with Kishiar's praise, Sunz's face flushed beet red. If the person on the other side hadn't been Kishiar, one could have presumed him to be embarrassed. Emon, too, who had been keeping a calm demeanor, now bore a flustered expression as he offered his thanks.

"Th-thank you...."

"I've had discussions about the Awakened soldiers within the Imperial Army with General Gino. With the rapid changes across the continent, we agree that we need fresh blood like you."

"D-did the General say that?!"

The casual remark seemingly fell on deaf ears for the overwhelmed Sunz and Emon, but not for Yuder.

'As I thought.'

It seemed undeniable that Kishiar had informed General Gino about the Awakened soldiers, thereby altering the situation.

"Indeed... I hope to encounter brave soldiers with exceptional abilities for good causes again. You seemed to be about to leave - do you need guidance out of the grounds?"

"We're good, thank you!"

Sunz, having responded energetically, turned to Yuder, panting slightly.

"Yuder. Today... thank you. And, next time"

"Yes. Until we meet again. Remember, the offer I made earlier stands at any time."

The two men, who had stared at Yuder as if impressed by his dispassionate reply, quickly turned their bodies and promptly made a counter-response before scurrying away. As Yuder watched their backs disappear rapidly, he heard the sound of Kishiar's chuckling.

"Interesting characters, they are. Did you meet them during the retrieval operation?"

"Yes. I heard that the treatment of Awakened soldiers has suddenly changed within the Southern Army. By any chance, did you have a hand in that, Commander?"

"All I did was have a few words with General Gino after listening to you. How much influence could I possibly have on the army? But I'm glad that such a change occurred."

Kishiar, who vaguely responded, subtly hinted at future plans with a smile.

"By the way, General Gino was suggesting forming a group within the Southern Army, much like the Cavalry, composed of Awakeners. It might be that the Cavalry and the Awakened soldiers of the Southern Army will need to collaborate in the future, so we should maintain the connections that we've already built."

"Yes. Of course, I intend to do so."

Kishiar, too, had similar thoughts to Yuder and had been moving accordingly. In their shared gaze, brief moments of satisfaction and admiration for each other flickered past. Kishiar, who naturally reached his hand above Yuder's head while smiling at him, found himself just reaching air.

"I didn't even need to give specific instructions for our actions to align so well. I must say, I chose my assistant wisely."

"Thanks for the compliment, but I won't fall for it a third time."

Yuder quickly stepped back before Kishiar could ruffle his hair.

"Ah, that's a shame."

Kishiar, looking at his empty hand, turned his body and stepped into the entrance of the lodging building. Nathan Zuckerman followed behind him. Yuder only noticed the two boxes that Nathan had been holding. Lowering his voice, he asked,

"Come to think of it... where did you go?"

"After meeting with the Peletta Knights, we went to the Imperial Mage building."

Nathan replied flatly in place of Kishiar.

"Well, there were some things to pick up."

Kishiar's explanation only deepened the mystery. If the knights from the Peletta Knight Order were not invited to the Cavalry and Kishiar had to go and fetch the items himself, then whatever was inside must be highly confidential. Moreover, it was from the Imperial Mage building. Yuder couldn't fathom the answer, no matter how much he thought about it.

"Curious?"

"Yes."

"Not even refusing once, typical of you."

Kishiar, finding something amusing, chuckled once again and beckoned Yuder to come closer.

"Follow me. I was planning to call you and explain anyway."

As soon as Kishiar entered his office, he took off his cloak and handed it to Nathan Zuckerman.

"Nathan, clean this up and then carry on with the task I gave you earlier."

"Understood."

After Nathan had carefully placed the boxes on the table and left, Kishiar took a deep breath and sat down. A faint sign of fatigue, which was not apparent until now, could be seen on his face as he moved his head to loosen his muscles.

"Going out early and coming back, I'm finally a bit relaxed. How is the training progress going? Is it going well?"

"Yes. So far, there have been no problems."

"When do you plan to participate in the group training?"

"According to the schedule... it would be in two weeks."

The second gender manifestation had ended, and his body had fully recovered, but the reason Yuder did not participate in the group training that day was due to the internal rules Kishiar had previously established and announced. According to these rules, Cavalry members could not participate in intense training or assignments for two weeks following their manifestation.

Yuder had initially planned to stand back for a while, observing how the training was progressing and making corrections as necessary, so this didn't pose a problem, although it was a bit disappointing. Kishiar seemed to catch Yuder's slight regret and gave a faint smile.

"When I made that rule, I didn't have any particular thoughts, but it has turned out to be quite useful. I should thank the legal scholars who worked hard with me."

"..."

"Anyway, I'm glad to hear things are going well. I'll be preoccupied with the trial of the Apeto family and the issues arising from it, so you'll have to work hard with the Deputy Commanders in the meantime."

"Yes."

Yuder had expected this. That very morning, the members had been fervently discussing the news that the disrupted trial of the Apeto family was to resume in three days. Thanks to them, Yuder learned that the rumor about Kishiar killing the second son of the Apeto family, Lenore, had now changed into a rumor about the Crown Prince.

Although the members who spread the rumor believed in Kishiar's innocence and were mostly angered towards the Crown Prince, the public opinion was not necessarily the same.

"So, did you collect the items in those boxes in connection with that?"

"Yes. Um... one of them is."

Kishiar gave a curious answer and turned his gaze to the small, sturdy wooden boxes on the table. As he opened the lid of the white box on the right, a thick dust smell quickly filled the air.

"What is this?"

"This is the poison ingredient you found on Lenore Shand Apeto's corpse and in his letter."

The first box contained a dried white mushroom bundle.

"When I checked it, this mushroom hardly grows in the capital and its vicinity. As you said, commoners sometimes use it as medicine, not poison, so there were almost no cases where it was properly harvested and brought in a refined form."

Kishiar reached out and fiddled with the outside of the opened box.

"The Peletta Knights and the informants have worked quite hard to trace where the Crown Prince got the poison. This is the result."

Yuder immediately straightened up and closely examined the mushroom.

"Did you succeed in tracking it down?"

"They were pretty cunning... but yes, we've found a lead."

The red eyes of Kishiar narrowed, glinting with a cold light.