Chapter 17: 17

Rather than measuring, Yuder decided to just answer honestly.

“There’s no way that you don’t know. Didn’t you judge the skills of the Imperial Knights without looking at them? For example, alright. What about Nathan behind me now?”

“That is…”

Yuder casually turned to Nathan standing behind Kishiar’s back. At this time in the past, he wouldn’t have known that Nathan was a swordmaster.

However, since he was believed to have a very good grasp of other people’s skills, he needed time to think about how to answer properly.

“I feel like your aide is a man of unwinnable strength, even compared to all the Imperial Knights I saw today.”

“Hoo, did you hear that, Nathan? He is regarding you very high.”

Kishiar smiled. Nathan Zuckerman’s gaze also touched Yuder’s face.

“And what if he’s compared to you?” 

“If compared to me…”

Yuder paused and let out a small sigh.

“… I don’t know if I can win right now, but I think it will change over time.”

‘I didn’t expect it to be this hard to answer what I can see.’

Nathan Zuckerman was definitely one of the best sword masters in the world, but Yuder was once a Cavalry commander praised for having no one matching his strength.

Currently, he hasn’t fully developed his skills, but if he achieved the same level of development as before, he was confident that he would win even if a few sword masters came all at once.

It used to take nearly 10 years to get to that level, but this time, he would walk faster on the path he’d taken once, so he would be able to develop in a much faster time.

“Hahaha. You said my aide seemed stronger than the mighty men of the Imperial Knights, and now you’re sure that my aide would be weaker than you. What confidence.”

Kishiar laughed very loudly. Yuder lowered his head slightly, wondering if that man had laughed so well before.

“But you cannot judge my skills?” 

“… No.”

Yuder had no choice but to say so.

“Hmm. Alright.”

Fortunately, Kishiar did not ask any more about him. Yuder felt that Kishiar’s red eyes looking at me seemed to be aiming for an interesting game.

“Then what about the Cavalry in your eyes? Can you tell me that, too?”

Yuder thought that man would tell him to go now, but Kishiar asked another question instead. Yuder was taken aback for a moment.

As long as he asked for opinions about individuals, he could answer them, but the answer to the entirety of the Cavalry could sound like the activity reviews of Commander Kishiar.

Yuder couldn’t understand why Kishiar would ask something he should ask other important people, not a member.

“That… I think other people could give you a better answer.”

“Of course, I’m also asking others. But I’m asking you because you look good enough. I have no intention, so feel free to answer me. Whatever you’ve felt while training. Or something regrettable. I’m not going to kick you out, so don’t worry.”

“…”

Yuder turned to Nathan Zuckerman, Kishiar’s aide. He was wondering if he would stop this dangerous conversation, but Nathan was just standing silently looking ahead as if nothing could be heard.

‘I don’t know why he’s doing this all of a sudden when I don’t remember it happening before. Of course, I will just have to give him a rough answer and get out of here.’

“The Cavalry is… a good place. Everyone hasn’t fully realized their ability yet, but I think it’s going to develop and complete the system as you wish and contribute to the safety of the Empire.”

“Yeah. Do you think so?”

“… Yes.”

Yuder already knew the future would be like that. Even when Kishiar died, the Cavalry developed and established itself as he said, and became the strongest organization ever before.

After a few years, it was only the Cavalry and the Awakeners, not the knights or mages, who could protect the empire and the world. So there was no doubt in answering that.

“That’s interesting. Everyone else says the opposite.” 

“Excuse me?”

Blinking back to the unexpected answer. Before he knew it, Kishiar lifted his finished teacup and turned it slightly to the side. Nathan Zuckerman, who approached him, took the teapot with both hands and filled the cup with red water again.

“Everyone says I’m going to fail. What can you do without any system and with people you don’t even know? It’s unprecedented because no one in other countries have tried it. We have to make rules and systems from beginning to end.”

In his eyes as red as tea water, a deep thought that Yuder couldn’t know passed by.

“There are already plenty of powerful mages and knights in this country, and all I have in me is my own strength and the support of the Emperor.”

After saying that, Kishiar suddenly smiled softly.

“But the promising member that passed the entrance test as the best said it doesn’t matter if he is kicked out of the Cavalry, but then he also said that he is sure the Cavalry I’ve created is a good place and will succeed. Isn’t that interesting?”

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“…”

It was too honest. A word Yuder never thought he would hear from him all in his previous memories.

Yuder momentarily doubted whether what I heard was really from Kishiar’s mouth. But the duke in front of him was still drinking tea with a drowsy smile.

“I’ve found you quite interesting from the start.”

Yuder lowered his head to avoid the red eyes, but this time he came to see the red water in the teacup in front of him. There was no escape from the red color.

“If anyone else said so, I would think it was just a good answer. But your eyes seem certain as if seeing what others can’t see. So somehow I’d like to believe it.”

With that said, Kishiar gazed through Yuder.

“So I don’t want you to say you’re leaving without any hesitation next time. That’s all I have to say.”

Yuder got up, bid goodbye, and left Kishiar’s quarters.

He felt a very strange feeling. He didn’t expect to have such a conversation with Kishiar la Orr. The only thing he had left about him was that he was a mysterious creature until the end.

‘What the hell are you thinking, Kishiar la Orr.’

A man who seemed so motivated. Or did he feel something from Yuder?

Yuder even wondered if he remembered it wrong because it was strangely different from the man Yuder knew. Or he thought he knew.

‘He was more pessimistic… More annoying… Anyway, I still didn’t know what he was thinking.’

But what was clear was that Kishiar on this side was not bad for Yuder.

‘If I do this well, I won’t be able to take over the commander position like before.’

He was sure that was a good thing. However, the strange feeling of seeing Kishiar’s strange appearance did not disappear until he fell asleep and remained deep in Yuder’s mind.

 

* * *

 

“Nathan.”

“Yes.”

After Yuder went out, Kishiar opened his mouth, looking at the cold teacup on the other side. Kishiar’s teacup was empty, but the one on the other side remained intact from the start.

“What does he look like to you?”

It was an unusual question. Nathan thought about it for a while and began to speak.

“If I hadn’t heard from you beforehand, I wouldn’t have thought he was a commoner.”

Nathan was told that Yuder was only twenty, a commoner and orphan, but he wasn’t intimidated at all not only in front of Nathan but also in front of a duke as precious as heaven.

Was that all? With a blank look on his face, he measured his opponent as if he were doing something quite natural.

It was a familiar look of judging something, and at the same time, it made him feel like he had long taken it for the upper hand.

When their gazes met earlier, Nathan thought briefly of the swordsmanship teacher who taught him as a child.

One might think he didn’t know courtesy because he was a commoner, but something was different. That person just went back without drinking a sip of tea like that.

Usually, when one thought someone greater than them had given them tea, they wouldn’t ignore it so comfortably and couldn’t stand up.

It’d only been two years since he realized his ability. Meanwhile, Nathan Zuckerman grew up rolling all kinds of rough spots with the sword.

He’d never seen anyone who’s trained for more than a few times as many years and had so much more.

Usually, when someone met Nathan or the Duke, they couldn’t even meet their gaze properly so they flinched and got scared.

So how could a 20-year-old man feel that way? The man was… strange because he wasn’t bold.

“He might have something to hide, so we’d better look into it.” 

“Actually, I’ve already done some investigation. There really wasn’t much.”

Kishiar smiled.

“He participates hard in training and has excellent grades. If he went to Sul division, I might have offered him the position of deputy commander right away.”

“If I do some investigation again, something might come up.”

“Well…”

His master that would normally instruct him to do so thoroughly had a somewhat subtle expression. A strange smile that he seemed to hold back appeared and disappeared.

“Maybe we need more people like him here.”

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