Turning Chapter 1305

“Here, take these.”

Yuder selected two glass bottles from the neatly lined-up rows, as orderly as a formation of soldiers, and handed them to Kishiar.

“Hm? Don’t tell me... these are for me?”

“You waited just to be the first to taste it, and yet you didn’t expect this?”

The man who’d been so smug and teasing fell uncharacteristically silent. Yuder didn’t blink as he watched Kishiar subtly avert his gaze and touch his cheek as if trying to appear pitiful.

“To be honest, I figured you wouldn’t not give me any... but I thought you’d let me enjoy it at the end of the day as a reward.”

So that’s why he came early—to claim the first taste for himself. Once Yuder realized the childish motive behind the ever-dignified man’s actions, he couldn’t help but laugh softly. He savored the quiet triumph as he explained the meaning of the two bottles.

“They contain the powder made at the very beginning and the very end of the process.”

It wasn’t that they had a particularly different taste or significance.

But beginning and end—together—evoked a certain word.

Beginning and end.

Start and finish.

In the old tongue, it could be written as Yudrain—a word Kishiar himself had once taught Yuder.

The moment that memory returned to him, Yuder had decided to set aside those two bottles and give them to Kishiar.

Kishiar, now holding the two bottles, didn’t speak for a long time. When he finally looked up and met Yuder’s eyes, Yuder could tell without a word that Kishiar had understood everything he intended.

“...You never stop surprising me.”

Kishiar whispered softly. His lips curved into a subtle smile, laden with unspoken emotion, beneath his lowered lashes.

“Thank you. This feels far too precious to drink.”

“Just drink it. I can always make more.”

Kishiar smiled, blooming like a flower. He gently caressed the bottles and asked,

“The bottles themselves are beautiful too. Did you choose them yourself? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“I wish I could say yes... but no. Of course not.”

“Then was it Kanna Wand? Or Gakein Vollunbalt?”

Yuder hadn’t told him he was going out with those two, but Kishiar somehow already knew. However, neither was correct. Yuder quietly savored the joy of being able to surprise him again and gave the answer.

“It was Lord Hellem.”

“Hellem?”

“I ran into him by chance at the shop. When I said I was looking for small bottles, he helped me.”

Yuder didn’t mention the strange, indescribable feeling he’d had when he met Hellem—he didn’t quite understand it himself.

“Ah. Well, if it was Hellem... he wouldn’t have forced his tastes on you.”

Kishiar grinned knowingly.

“He might’ve made a few suggestions, but if you hadn’t truly liked them, you wouldn’t have picked them. Am I wrong?”

“...Were you secretly watching me?”

“Sadly, no.”

Laughing, Kishiar caressed the bottles with even more care.

“Then I can still say you chose them. I’m glad to learn another one of your preferences.”

Preferences, huh. Yuder hadn’t thought of it that way. When he chose those bottles, all he’d been thinking was...

“Rather than my own taste... I just thought you would like the way they looked.”

“Huh?”

Kishiar stared at Yuder blankly. His long golden eyelashes trembled slightly beneath furrowed brows, and then a deep blush spread across his cheeks and around his eyes. A brittle cracking sound escaped from the bottle in his hand. Flinching, he quickly blinked and set the bottle down.

“What was that?”

“Don’t provoke me like that. I nearly destroyed a masterpiece not even the gods have tasted.”

“Excuse me?”

“This won’t do. If I stay here any longer, I won’t be able to control myself—or I’ll get greedy and do something ridiculous.”

Kishiar shot to his feet. After tucking the bottles carefully into his coat, he pulled something from another pocket.

“Here. Give this to the apothecary.”

It was a palm-sized white seashell. If not for Inon’s name being mentioned earlier, Yuder would’ve thought Kishiar was playing another joke—because the shell looked just like the kind used in common southern seafood dishes.

“What is this? Don’t tell me...”

“It’s the ‘Voice of Dreams,’ just delivered from the Royal Mage Bureau. I finally persuaded them to hand it over.”

Of course it was. Yuder carefully picked up the seashell.

He had seen this artifact briefly once, back when Kishiar first acquired it, but hadn’t had the chance to examine it in detail. This was the first time he’d touched it directly, and it felt unexpectedly unfamiliar.

He had assumed it might just look like a seashell but be made from some other material. But no—it was a real seashell, fragile enough to crumble under slight pressure. For something said to be an ancient magical tool that had withstood centuries, it didn’t seem particularly sturdy or grand.

“It looks... different from what I expected.”

“I thought the same. Everyone has the same reaction.”

Kishiar shook his head, saying that some even suspected Nellarun had sent a fake.

“According to Nellarun, there’s a legend that a blind sage enchanted a shell he found on the beach. So, it’s a magical artifact from before the concept of ‘magical artifacts’ even existed.”

“I see.”

Neither Nellarun nor the Empire’s mages had figured out how to use it. Would Inon be able to?

While wondering, Yuder quietly summoned a bit of power. One of his eyes glowed as his Insight opened.

If this really is a magical artifact, maybe I’ll be able to see something with this eye...

He hadn’t expected much—but something appeared on the shell’s surface that hadn’t been visible before.

...A crack?

“Do you see something?”

Without needing to be told what Yuder was doing, Kishiar asked. Yuder turned the shell around in his hand, then released his power.

“It looks fine to the naked eye, but through Insight, it looks like it has a crack. I’m not sure what it means.”

“A crack, huh.”

Kishiar tilted his head.

“If it’s something your Insight sees, it must be a trace of magic... so it sounds like the artifact isn’t in perfect condition.”

“You said someone had used it long ago. Maybe it broke then, and that’s why no one has been able to use it since.”

“Possibly. But we can’t be sure. It might just be a crack, not complete destruction—so if we find a way to repair it, we might still be able to use it.”

Either way, they would need to meet with Inon to find out more.

Yuder nodded and carefully packed the shell. Kishiar smiled, leaned in, and kissed him again. His lowered eyes gleamed playfully.

“I’ll be working hard and waiting obediently until you return—so take care out there.”

Did he mean it? Or was he just telling Yuder to finish quickly and come back fast? Probably the former—but the fact that it felt like the latter said a lot about how deeply Yuder had fallen for this man.

“...Yes.”

Sensing the heat behind Yuder’s slightly subdued voice, Kishiar laughed.

***

What followed was a journey to distribute the jars of tea powder.

Yuder flung a sack full of small tea powder bottles across the training ground where the members were still in the middle of practice, and placed bottles—matching the number of people—outside the classrooms where the new recruits were groaning over their studies. Peeking through one of the windows, he saw Peya wedged between Gloe and Elpokins, groaning as she struggled through a problem.

He also stopped by the mages' research labs and handed each of them a bottle. Both of them reacted with far more gratitude than he had expected.

“Oh, this is unique. What did you use to make it? Did you ever consider trying it with mana grass?”

“Thanks, Yuder! The master says he’s going to try it with mana grass? Don’t worry. He does that with whatever he eats or drinks. Haha!”

The kitchen staff, who had cleared space so Yuder could prepare the powder, were no exception. Most of them had either been rescued by the Cavalry or were from Pelletta, so their reactions were even more intense.

“Huh? You made this here? Oh my goodness! Thank you so much!”

Among them were the Gael and Duel brothers, whose faces Yuder hadn’t seen properly in quite a while. The two of them froze when they received their bottles, and after Yuder explained, they suddenly began crying side by side, leaving him a bit flustered.

“I mean... we’re not usually the type to cry this much, but the tears just came out.”

“Sniff... When we first came here, you—no, Assistant Commander—were so scary... but now, not scary at all! Boohoo...”

Gathering their courage, the brothers even invited Yuder to visit the new home they had set up. Yuder told them he would come by when he had time.

Excluding the portions meant for those at the Imperial Palace or external personnel, there weren’t many bottles left now. As the sun dipped low, Yuder headed back toward his own quarters.

His destination was the rooms of those who stayed near his.

Knock knock. When he knocked on the first door, there was a loud crash inside, followed by the door flying open. The one who peeked out was Kiolle, his face and eyes red and puffy.

“What, what is it?”

“...What about you?”

“What?”

“Why’s your face like that? Did someone hit you?”

“Hit...! Of course not! What do you think I am?!”

Kiolle furiously rubbed his puffed-up face like a pouting fish.

“S-so what do you want?”

Yuder silently stared at his face for a moment, then pulled out one of the remaining bottles and handed it to him.

“...What’s this?”

“Tea powder.”

“If it’s tea, it’s tea. If it’s powder, it’s powder. What the hell is tea powder?”

“It’s just... a thing. Mix it with water and drink it.”

“W-wait, why are you giving this to me? Is it a poison? Or, or a healing potion? What is it?!”

“......”

Of all the reactions Yuder had seen and heard while handing out this powder, this was the first time someone asked if it was a poison. In a way, it was refreshingly new.