It wasn't a lie. The fact that Nahan had indeed disappeared with Hosanna without even attempting to save the two men was undeniable.
The two men stared at each other, their faces reflecting a brief moment of shocked dismay. They seemed at a loss for words, as the response they received was entirely different from what they had anticipated. After a pause, one of the men managed to utter a few words. Unlike before, his tone was hushed and respectful.
"So, you mean to say… Nahan and Hosanna… really left us behind?"
"They did mention going back first and saving you later."
"Lies!"
Unable to contain his anger, the second man interjected loudly, stomping his foot. Yuder calmly responded to their outrage.
"Do you think I'm lying? If you want, I can recite the exact conversation we had back then."
"No way. That's impossible. Hosanna…!"
"Enough, Doyle. Calm down."
The man who had initially spoken in a respectful tone lightly tapped the shoulder of his enraged friend, murmuring quietly.
"We already knew it was hard to trust Nahan, being a tricky foreigner from the south. Even though Hosanna seems kind, he always bows down to his words."
"So, Gayle, are you saying that you believe this stranger's words?"
"You're angry because you believe it too."
As Doyle shut his mouth with a slightly shocked expression, the man referred to as Gayle let out a deep sigh.
"What can we do? We lost and got captured. Since we've been fed, we might as well accept it."
"…"
"Excuse me, are you two brothers?"
The one naturally striking up a conversation with the disheartened men was Kanna.
"Gayle and Doyle. Your names are similar, and you look alike. Where are you from? Judging by your accent, the West, correct?"
In truth, Kanna had already obtained preliminary information from the weapons that Gayle and Doyle had been carrying before she arrived here. Although the information was scant, as the weapons seemed to have been given to them not too long ago, she was able to discern their names, place of origin, and their relationship.
'Impressive how she can so calmly ask about information she already knows. Her experience is certainly showing.'
While Yuder internally admired her, Gayle and Doyle, oblivious to Kanna's prior knowledge, responded to her question.
"Correct. We're brothers. I'm the elder, Gayle, and Doyle's my younger brother. We did live in the West, indeed…"
"Yuder mentioned you both possess the same ability? That's quite rare. When did you awaken it? How have you been training?"
"Um… Is it really that uncommon…? We're not sure… we've awakened less than a year ago…"
Among the barrage of rapid-fire questions, not a single one directly mentioned the Star of Nagran. Seemingly under the impression that it was fine to answer these personal questions, the stunned brothers slowly began to reply.
From a step back, Yuder observed as Kanna skillfully altered the atmosphere, blending the information she already knew with the newly learned facts, encouraging the brothers to naturally provide the needed details.
Gayle and Doyle, originally shepherd brothers from a rural area in the West, had been orphans. One day, they had bravely rushed to protect their flock from a beast with nothing but their staffs, and in doing so, they awakened the same ability simultaneously.
Afterward, they recounted how they were driven from their community because they possessed dangerous abilities. Starving and wandering aimlessly, they chanced upon a village where many Awakeners resided. It seemed this place was where the Star of Nagran gathered.
Kanna delicately shifted the conversation when the brothers did not wish to reveal the exact location of the village and who resided there.
"Earlier you mentioned Nahan and Hosanna, what's their relationship?"
"We don't really know. They were there before us. But since Hosanna always addresses Nahan as 'young master', we assume Hosanna used to be Nahan’s servant."
Gayle's response was followed by Doyle's grumble.
"I've heard that Nahan was a young noble in the South, but he had a near-death experience and came all the way here… I'm not sure if it's true. Anyway, I don't like Nahan. He's not just scary because of his scar, but his eyes are frightening."
"Right. Hosanna is so kind. Honestly, if it wasn't for his request, we wouldn't have come. Nahan never brings any food, yet always expects us to feed him."
"I bet Hosanna wanted to save us. But that guy must have said just let's go. Typical."
Despite their fondness for Hosanna, Gayle and Doyle didn't hold back in criticizing Nahan. Even though they hadn't witnessed the events themselves, Yuder surmised from their deductions that Nahan was severely lacking in credibility.
"Could someone else not have come? Why did Hosanna only ask you two?"
"Well, we're pretty strong. And the followers who are loyal to Nahan are still learning from 'him'…"
"Him?"
"…"
A look of sudden regret crossed the brothers' faces, who until then had been answering fluently.
"Ah, well, this is all lies. We didn't say anything!"
'Seeing them react like that, it seems that any matter related to 'him' is top secret?'
Yuder wanted to probe further, but Kanna judged it wasn't the right time to dig deeper and smoothly redirected the conversation with a smile.
"Understood. Then…"
It took considerably longer for the information extraction disguised as conversation to end. They still didn't know the objective of the Star of Nagran, or who 'he' was, but they had gained quite a lot of auxiliary information.
"The Star of Nagran seems to be a unique organization. Just from what the brothers said, it seems like a peaceful village created by the oppressed Awakeners, but it's not just that when it comes to Nahan. What do you think, Yuder?"
Kanna, having gathered clothes for them to change into, even collecting the garments worn by the brothers Gayle and Doyle, stepped outside and asked with a serious face.
"There's a high possibility that the organization is divided into two factions internally."
"Thought so? So Gayle and Doyle would be considered the moderate faction, and Nahan, the hardliner. Their relationship seems worse than expected. And from their conversation, it seems there are quite a few from the Southern region in the organization……"
The ability to quickly extract this much information from a disjointed conversation was something only Kanna could achieve. Yuder looked at Kanna, lost in thought with a slight frown, and sincerely thanked her.
"I'm so grateful you came with me."
"Isn't it? I told you to trust only me. Though the information I gleaned from the sword was limited, it was useful for our conversation."
With a confident pat on her shoulder, Kanna's expression quickly turned serious as she looked down at the worn clothes in her hand.
"But we haven't found out the most important thing yet, so next time we'll definitely figure it out. Until then, I have to hope that these clothes provide more readable information than the sword."
Upon hearing this, Kanna shared how she had continuously trained with the Sun God's scriptures, awake or asleep, and her ability to selectively read information had improved remarkably.
"My ability to read objects that have left my hand is still developing slowly, but being able to read the information in the scriptures much more carefully has made my senses much sharper when conversing with others."
"Your senses have sharpened?"
"Yes. How should I put it? I can feel others' emotions, or vaguely what they're thinking, through my skin."
Kanna smiled sheepishly, admitting that she hadn't told the others for fear of making them uncomfortable with her, but it was a relief to be able to tell Yuder. Yuder nodded, thinking that her recent concern for him was likely due to her power's development.
"Development is good, but if your ability affects your mind too much, it could harm your health. If you ever struggle or find it difficult related to your ability, come to me immediately."
"Of course. Don't worry about me and take better care of yourself, Yuder. You can't show up to the upcoming party looking as pale as you did this morning."
With an unwavering reply, Kanna then disappeared in the direction of her quarters.
'This morning… that reminds me of the dream I had last night.'
Yuder exhaled a small sigh, his brow furrowed. His mood had dipped slightly as the voice he'd finally pushed to the back of his memory resurfaced.
——
At last, the day that would conclude the harvest festival season had arrived.
The Cavalry, persistent till the end, defended their location from a variety of intricate incidents that happened upon them by chance and grasped a reputation incomparably larger than before. Though still not at the level of the prestigious Imperial Knights or Imperial Mages, the Cavalry's feats had left quite an impression on envoys from all over the continent, marking a successful start.
Dressed in a white formal suit, Yuder passed by the team members gathered in groups here and there, unable to hide their excitement, and ascended the upper floor stairs. Wearing the soft white suit, which wrapped his arms and legs too gently compared to his familiar and comfortable black uniform, gave him an odd sensation.
'I hope my attendance at such noisy parties ends this year.'
"Commander, it's Yuder Aile. I'm coming in."
Upon reaching the top floor, Yuder knocked on the door, counted to three silently, then pulled the handle.
"Oh, you're here."
Kishiar, standing by the sunlit window, turned his head with a smiling face. Like Yuder, he was also properly dressed in a formal suit for the party today.
However, unlike the team members' formal attire made entirely of white fabric, from outerwear to pants, his outfit was rather striking. His underclothes and trousers were white, but his overcoat bore a striking red color resembling his irises, and a traditional gold cape draped over his shoulders gave off an overwhelmingly powerful impression without a gap.
The man, who was conspicuous even when only wearing his usual white commander's uniform, had deliberately dressed in multiple layers of formal attire with gems, and it was to the extent that even the word 'splendid' lost its shine in front of him.