"Sir, I have a question... if I may."

Nahan turned to the worried voice emanating from the carriage, his hand still holding the reins of the horses.

"What is it?"

"If Gayle and Doyle decide to stay here next time, will you really... let them do as they wish?"

"I made a promise, so I guess I have to."

"But..."

The words of Hosanna, seemingly about to continue, did not follow for quite a while. Nahan exhaled softly through his nose, gripping the reins a bit tighter, and casually opened his mouth.

"If you have something to say, say it directly, Hosanna. You think I've left them for another reason, don't you?"

"No, that's not what I... "

"Actually, you're right. I want Gayle and Doyle to learn more about the Cavalry."

For a moment, the faint sound of Hosanna swallowing his breath could be heard.

"You don't mean to... oppose the Cavalry, do you?"

"No. Even if they belong somewhere else, the Cavalry members are still our brothers and sisters. There's no reason to oppose them. But that also doesn't mean we should continue to ignore them completely."

Nahan's pale, lifeless eyes scanned over the Imperial Knights passing by in the distance. None of them seemed to find this ordinary wagon unusual, but in Nahan's gaze, a limitless cold emotion filled him as he watched them.

"They're tracking us, so we need to know about them too."

"But the Sage said..."

"To eliminate internal threats, sometimes you have to deceive even your own hands and feet."

His emotionless voice was so cold that Hosanna involuntarily shivered.

"I'm just... I've heard a lot of people saying that you're not listening to the Sage these days... and I'm worried about what might happen if this issue is added to that... "

"Hosanna."

At the low call, Hosanna's body flinched.

"My belief has not changed since the day the Star of Nagran was created. Whatever I do, it's for all of us, not just for me. So, if it seems like someone among us has let go first, it would be the Sage, not me."

The rolling carriage was then enveloped in silence for a long time.

"So... after your trip to the West, are you planning to go back to Gayle and Doyle?"

"Yes."

Nahan responded briefly as he slipped out onto a side road where the knights were coming and going.

"Honestly, I don't think there's a need for such a divide over the issue of moving our base, but if we don't resolve this problem now, all of our brothers and sisters will continue to be confused."

"If the Cavalry is there, the Cavalry member we met before might be there too... please be careful."

Nahan immediately recognized the Cavalry member that Hosanna was talking about. A surge of interest bubbled up as he recalled the black-haired Cavalry member whom they had encountered by rare chance several times.

"...Alright."

---

"Yuder. Did you hear? It seems the mages have finally found something that might heal you."

Yuder turned his head towards Kanna who had entered through the door while he was eating breakfast in bed.

"They... found something?"

"The Commander instructed Gakane, Hinn, and Finn to investigate the Magic Spring Ruins. As soon as they finish checking the surroundings, they'll start preparing the magic."

Yuder immediately put down his spoon. Lusan, the priest who had been helping him eat, exclaimed in an excited voice, "That's great news!"

"They really managed to do it, didn't they? Disassembled that enormous monster carcass and dragged it all the way here, and after all sorts of struggles."

"That's what I'm saying. I'm astonished myself. We've finally found the real answer this time, haven't we?"

Kanna and Lusan chattered away happily for quite a while. Yuder heard their conversation, but hardly any of it really registered in his mind.

'Did they really...find a way to remove the traces of the amplification circle?'

Just as Kishiar had hoped for, they had indeed found the answer before the second dispatch team arrived. His determination was remarkable, yet it didn't seem quite real.

Lost in his tangled, trailing thoughts, he realized a bit later than usual that the two had left and someone else had entered.

"What are you thinking about so deeply?"

"..."

With a cool, pleasant scent, Kishiar sat down next to him, reaching out to gently touch his forehead and cheek, feeling for a fever as he often did.

"You're burning up. We need to put a damp cloth on you."

"Commander, is it true that you've found a way to remove the traces of the amplification circle?"

As he asked his question, he sensed a pause in Kishiar's movement beside him.

"Did you hear it from Kanna? Yes, it's true."

A cold, wet towel was placed on Yuder's forehead.

"We plan to execute the dispelling magic by tomorrow evening if all goes well."

"What should I do then?"

"What should you do?"

Kishiar, holding the wet towel, let out a short laugh as though he'd said something amusing.

"Of course, the subject himself doesn't need to do anything. The mages and I will take care of the preparations."

"I've also heard that you've ordered the inspection of the Magic Spring Ruins"

"From the time we've spent examining the spring, we've concluded that using its magic power wouldn't pose much risk. I intend to borrow from it, instead of using my own magic power."

After a moment of hesitation, Yuder quietly opened his mouth.

"The mages... they probably wouldn't like that."

"If they don't like it, what can they do? As long as the person I care about likes me, that's enough."

Everything else seemed superfluous. He felt an unusually warm and bright emotion emanating from the man who, muttering to himself, took Yuder's hand. He must have been pleased, having finally found an answer, even if it might not seem like it.

"And besides, this was originally an idea proposed by the Western Mage Union's leader. The only change is that the caster has switched from him to me, so they shouldn't have any complaints."

"That's a relief then..."

If Kishiar wasn't directly using his own magic power, it shouldn't put too much strain on his body. The thought of tampering with the Magic Spring was a bit worrying, but he supposed that would be considered by those who were more knowledgeable about magic, so he decided not to worry too much.

It was as if Kishiar had noticed Yuder's thoughts because he mentioned something similar.

"From their perspective, this situation isn't necessarily all bad. The casting of this magic might even provide an opportunity to understand the growth power of the Great Sarain Forest that has long been kept secret."

What did the dispelling magic have to do with the growth power of the Great Sarain Forest? After a moment of silence, a possible answer popped into Yuder's mind.

"Do you believe there's a connection... between the growth power of the Great Sarain Forest and the Magic Spring?"

"It's a hypothesis for now, but yes."

As the elegant voice explained a few things that it had discovered while observing the Magic Spring, Yuder momentarily lost his senses. He thought he only drifted off like this when he saw Kishiar's face directly, but nowadays he often found himself dazed even just by hearing his voice.

His entire senses were immediately drawn towards Kishiar with only the voice coming through his ears and the touch on his skin. The bias was so extreme that it was hard to notice anything else.

"...and also the fact that the strange crack no longer appears, I think maybe when the magic power gathered inside the spring fails to maintain a certain balance, problems like these occur."

His consciousness, which was floating intoxicated by the warm, pleasant voice, barely regained its footing at the mention of the crack.

"A crack... are you saying?"

"Yes. Didn't that crack look almost identical in shape to the ones that appear when monsters spawn? Of course, it was a little bigger and remained in place for a longer time, though."

"Yes."

"Old scriptures including Scripture of the Sun God often refer to the crack that appears when monsters spawn as a bad omen indicating the balance of the world is being disrupted. Magic is also one of the forces that maintain the balance of the world, so if it is disrupted, it could very well cause problems."

Balance of the world. Yuder mulled over the words. He thought he heard something similar when he was looking for a solution to the disaster in his previous life.

'Doomsday theorists who said that the reason for the constant appearances of great disasters and monsters is because the balance of the world has crumbled, and that eventually everyone will be destroyed, they often said things like that.'

"The spell I will cast tomorrow requires an immense amount of magic power. If we observe how the spring and the Great Sarain Forest change after draining a large amount of magic power that has been accumulating and amplifying for a long time, we may understand their relationship better. It's a good opportunity to closely observe the flow and changes of magic power."

"I see."

"It's a phenomenon that's almost impossible to observe now, but if you look at the journals of old mages, they say that in places where magic power of enormous scale occurred, sometimes changes occurred in the surrounding natural environment over a period of days, or even years. Either all the flowers and grasses would wither and die and not grow back, or the opposite would occur, or the seasons would change."

So, it seemed that Kishiar wanted to say that a similar phenomenon might have occurred between the Magic Spring and the Great Sarain Forest. Yuder let out a small breath as he listened to Kishiar's voice, who seemed to be quite intrigued by the story.

"...I'm glad to see you're in good spirits."

"Hmm? Was it that obvious?"

Instead of answering, Yuder nodded slightly. He heard Kishiar faintly laugh.

"Well, well. Even if you can't see, I can't deceive my assistant. As a reward... yes. Shall we go for a walk?"

Yuder paused at the sudden suggestion. It would be a lie if he said he didn't feel stuffy from being in the room all the time, but he wasn't sure whether it would be alright to go out considering his fever and weak physical state.

"Considering my condition... wouldn't it be difficult?"

"Don't worry about that."