Turning Chapter 1340

“Right. A warm wish. If you calmly trace out what you want in that way, you’ll surely be able to find a path. Don’t forget what you just said now, and be sure to tell my aide as well, will you?”

Fay came to himself with a start as if waking from a dream. Now that he truly felt he had become Cavalry, the thought of Yuder Aile’s special personal training also began to come to him in a different way.

“Ah... Understood.”

‘A—am I really going to do it? With him... personal training.......’

Fay swallowed and steeled his resolve. It was training he would receive because he was lacking, but he wasn’t foolish enough not to know how tremendous an opportunity this was. Clenching his fist, he mustered his courage and spoke.

“I’ll work hard so as not to disappoint you, Commander!”

Fay didn’t know it, but at the moment he said that, the Commander’s eyes deepened in an unreadable way. Quietly fixing his gaze on Fay, he soon put on a small smile and spoke.

“Hm. No. I’d like you to work hard for my aide, not for me.”

“Sir?”

“I meant to keep this secret, but I suppose I should say it. The reason I decided I had to watch you to the end was, in truth, Yuder.”

The name Yuder flowing from the Commander’s lips somehow felt different from when he spoke other people’s names.

“Yuder knows better than anyone the meaning of a second chance. He was also the first person to mention, after meeting you in person, that your ability had an interesting potential.”

Fay’s eyes went wide. He had never been able to properly guess the meaning of that subtle expression Yuder had worn after hearing his explanation of his ability, but so he had, in fact, reported that to the Commander?

‘I—I acted really like an idiot then....... And he still looked that kindly on me.......’

“If not for Yuder, I probably wouldn’t have gone to that place myself that day. Originally, only my aide was to go on-site, and I was to remain at the Cavalry receiving reports and command.”

“Ah.......”

“And upon hearing of your voluntary attempt, instead of lamenting like others, true to his nickname as the spirit of the Cavalry, he proposed special training first. Isn’t that truly astonishing?”

Of course it was astonishing. But that was because of the Commander’s smiling face more than the content of his words.

He had continued smiling all this time, yet the smile he wore in that instant was, for a moment, so different that it left the three newcomers dazed.

‘The Commander... truly regards Senior Yuder more specially than anyone.’

Anyone who saw his expression now could not help but feel that.

The look in Kishiar’s eyes when he spoke of Yuder was that much softer and somehow tender. If one were to say that rather than bragging about the ability of a cherished aide, it felt as if he were speaking about someone he loved... would that be thinking too much?

‘...Come to think of it, there were widespread rumors that Senior Yuder is the Commander’s l—lover....... They said they even danced a few times at parties.......’

The Northern branch seniors had proudly said it was all part of the Commander and Yuder Aile’s grand plan for the Awakeners. After coming to the capital and actually meeting the Commander and Yuder, he had thought the seniors were indeed right, as it looked nothing like the sordid relationship of rumor.

But that smiling face of the Commander when he mentioned Yuder.......

Could one really say that gaze was only toward a cherished subordinate?

Thinking perhaps it was only he who felt that way, Fay furtively shifted his eyes just a little and found Glowe, who was simply rolling her eyes this way and that with an expression he couldn’t put into words. Elpokin, beside her, wore only a moved expression. It was certain Glowe had felt something similar to Fay.

“-So then, Fay.”

“Y—Yes!”

Because his thoughts had been carried far off, bewitched by the Commander’s smile and gaze, Fay’s answer was a beat late.

“I want you to prove that Yuder was right, for his sake, not mine.”

The Commander’s eyes said so—to prove that Yuder Aile’s confidence was ?? (Original source) not mistaken.

He had naturally intended that from the start, but after hearing the Commander’s words, the thought arose on its own that he ought to devote himself to the training even if it cost him his life.

The Commander, and Yuder. Fay owed the two a great debt he couldn’t repay even with his life. They were people he had respected originally, but now, including their very character, he revered truly everything about them.

‘Right. It’s only natural that the Commander would cherish someone like Senior Yuder especially. Who could dislike him....... If anyone does, from now on that person is my enemy.’

Fay nodded vigorously with his deepest sincerity.

“Yes! I will surely answer the confidence Senior has given me.”

“I’ll believe it.”

Only then did Kishiar smile as if he had heard an answer to his liking. Elpokin suddenly burst into loud tears beside them.

“......E—Elpokin?”

“Sorry. From the moment the Commander mentioned Senior Yuder, I kept feeling like I was going to cry, and now I can’t hold it back any longer.......”

Judging by his face, Elpokin’s tears were apparently from excessive emotion. Because he began to cry like a child, sniffling, the solemn mood of the ward suddenly turned comical. Glowe smiled as she handed Elpokin a handkerchief.

“Elpokin also got a second chance thanks to Senior Yuder and the Commander... so, of course, he’s moved differently.”

“Right....... It reminded me of that time....... Hff, snf. When Senior Yuder told me to fly in the fighting arena and mercilessly swept away those Nukijo bastards—when I remembered that....... Hnnng.”

Blowing his nose into the handkerchief, Elpokin agreed. Facing Matten and the merchants he had looked so reliable, and yet that this Elpokin crying like a child was the same person somehow felt unbelievable.

‘But I get it. If I can someday, in the distant future, recall what’s happening now in this way, I might cry even more than Elpokin.......’

Somehow it now truly felt that such a day could come. Feeling that, Fay too suddenly felt a little like crying, as if it were contagious from Elpokin.

When even Fay, who was patting Elpokin’s back, reddened his eyes and sniffled again, Glowe, exasperated, held out a new handkerchief.

“Don’t the two of you cry far too easily?”

“But Glowe, you said that, and your eyes filled up too......”

“.......”

It was true. In Glowe’s eyes as well, at some point, clear tears were heaving as if they would flow. Glowe wiped the corners of her eyes with a finger and turned her head.

“...No. It’s just, seeing that everything has been resolved well makes me relieved....... And I suddenly thought about what would have happened if I hadn’t met Senior Yuder when I took the Cavalry test, and then......”

“In that case, the four people here have all, each of us, received a second chance from Yuder.”

Kishiar suddenly cut in.

“Sir? Besides the three of us, who else.......”

“Four including me, of course.”

They wondered if it was a joke, but the Commander was smiling with a face that truly thought so.

“Has Senior Yuder ever saved you, Commander?”

“Of course. He’s saved me multiple times. If I had to pick the one among us who has received the greatest favor from Yuder, it would be me.”

All of them widened their eyes. Kishiar gave a low laugh, then told them about the other Cavalry members Yuder had saved. Hearing that the seniors, who had only seemed so grand, had all had their lives saved at least once thanks to Yuder, the three were freshly astonished.

As they immersed themselves and agreed with the story, which felt far more vivid and interesting than when heard by rumor, before they knew it the three newcomers were speaking so ardently about Yuder Aile that they even forgot Kishiar was the Commander.

That conversation was cut off by Inon’s bellow as he roughly yanked the curtain open.

“You’re noisy enough to kill a man. How long are you going to chatter here? I thought there was some kind of Yuder Aile praise oration being held outside!”

“S—Sorry!”

“Not you, Deer Antlers—the highest one needs to apologize!”

Inon’s fury swung toward Kishiar.

“Isn’t ‘Cavalry Commander’ a busy title? I figured, fine, you came yourself to see your injured subordinate—but you still haven’t finished talking?”

Good heavens. The newcomers had never in their lives seen anyone scold the Cavalry Commander so bluntly and fearsomely. It was enough to make even an onlooker afraid, yet Kishiar apologized neatly, smiling without the least sign of being offended.

“My apologies. I’m sorry. We got carried away with a pleasant talk for the first time in a while, and I lost track of time.”

Kishiar rose from his seat. He glanced over the faces of the three newcomers one by one, and let his gaze rest for a moment on Fay’s face. Fay felt that his eyes had grown considerably softer than when he had first come here.

“It was an enjoyable conversation. It was a useful time that showed me how much you respect and like Yuder. I hope we can talk again later. It would be even better if the pharmacist joined us then.”

“What?”

“Haha. If it’s stories about Yuder that others don’t know, the pharmacist will have a lot to say too, won’t he? He’s the only ‘hyungnim’ who’s known him since before he joined the Cavalry, and he’s even close enough to have received more and bigger tea powder than what he gave the Commander.”

“.......”

Inon’s eyebrow twitched. Fay thought the pharmacist, who didn’t know to be scared of the Commander, would let out another thunderous shout, but surprisingly, he only snorted once and turned his back.

“Hah. And when did you see that.”

“Wasn’t it set on the desk for us to see?”

“Well, since he remade it to give to me, getting that much is only natural, isn’t it. Anyway, now, out. It’s about time to start putting the patients to sleep.”

“Very well.”

Kishiar winked and left. After the door closed, the three finally scattered to their respective beds upon hearing the pharmacist’s scolding.

Fay lay there blankly, staring at his own hands. He felt as if he had just had a long, tumultuous dream. But now, the sensation was no longer frightening.

For the first time, he began to look forward to tomorrow, just a little.