"…I'll go out and assist," Yuder offered.
"There's no need," Nathan replied, "only a few were startled from their sleep and have come out. Instead, please take this."
He handed him a bundle of papers he was holding. Instinctively, Yuder scanned the contents written on it and was taken aback.
"This is…"
The papers were filled with observations concerning the interactions between Alpha Awakeners and Omega Awakeners. It was the research record of Beltrail, which Kishiar had promised to deliver on the day he returned from the Imperial Palace.
"The Duke said he had promised to give this to Sir Aile. He actually intended to give it to you as soon as today's business was concluded, but with things turning out like this, he asked me to deliver it."
"Thank you."
His leisurely reply sounded oddly unfamiliar. Yuder looked down at the papers in his hand and casually placed them aside. Right now, there were more pressing issues piled up like a mountain.
"May I ask something, Sir Zuckerman?"
"I was just about to ask something from Sir Aile as well. Go ahead."
After getting his permission, he promptly opened his mouth and quickly asked the question he was most curious about.
"Was the power the Commander used earlier… real?"
His question was vague enough that anyone overhearing wouldn't be able to discern its context. Yet both of us knew that 'power' referred to Kishiar's control over the magic circle.
"Yes, just as you saw."
As expected. He lightly bit his dry lips, recalling Kishiar's adept control of the magic circle, even more proficient than Alik.
'Awakener's power. Divine power. Sword aura. And now, magic?'
Although he was a human, Yuder never imagined he would be able to wield magic. He had shown himself using numerous magic tools, but that didn't necessarily mean he was a mage.
However, thinking about it, the fact that one person was using the other three powers was unbelievable in itself. If only one astonishing fact existed, it would be startling, but when several overlapped, the shock gradually numbed. That's why he wasn't as surprised as the others when he saw Kishiar stepping on and controlling the magic circle.
Among the information related to Kishiar that Enon showed him, there was a rumor that 'he learned magic from Imperial Mages in his childhood.' This flashed through his mind when he returned to the medical division and lay down again on the sickbed.
"I see. Thank you for your answer."
"Is that the only thing you're curious about?"
"Yes."
He could ask the rest to Kishiar himself. If he didn't answer right away, it would be as simple as stepping back.
Upon hearing his response, Nathan showed a rare expression on his distinctively red, soYudern face.
"…Then now, I'll ask my question. Just how did you, Sir Aile, manage to do what you did back then?"
His gaze fell on his right hand. His eyes, weighed down heavily, seemed to recall the moment when he had grabbed the end of the energy emanating from the Red Stone and stopped it.
"I'm not an Awakener, but that thing back then…"
"…"
"I can use sword aura too, and my lord is a somewhat extraordinary person, so I thought I had a good understanding of abilities that surpass ordinary people. But that was the first time I had seen something like that. Even just imagining for a moment what would happen if the person who could perform such a miracle was my enemy made me feel like I wouldn't be able to win."
"You have a good imagination."
"It's no joke."
Nathan replied in his terse manner.
"You mentioned before, you felt confident that given time, you could surpass me."
"Yes."
"Was that prediction made considering the power you now hold?"
A faint glimmer of suspicion and caution towards Yuder could be read deep within Nathan's eyes. He was worried about the uncertainty surrounding this unknown person. He was unsure whether Yuder could turn out to be an enemy of Kishiar, or even if he wasn't currently, whether he could ever be trusted fully.
Such emotions from Nathan were, however, greatly welcomed by Yuder. His doubts were natural responses from a knight loyal only to Kishiar. Had Nathan been easily overwhelmed or had his doubts quelled by the power Yuder demonstrated, Yuder would have deemed him untrustworthy.
Yuder found himself thinking back to the Nathan Zuckerman from his previous life. The loyal knight and formidable swordmaster was absent from Peletta Castle on the day of Kishiar's death. The Katchian Emperor had claimed it was the optimal day to execute their plans as Nathan Zuckerman had been away, obeying the orders of the Duke of Peletta.
What would have happened if Yuder had encountered him that day? The mission might not have been accomplished so easily…
"You're suspicious of me, Sir Zuckerman."
"I can't deny that."
"I told you those words before I injured my hand. I don't know why what happened today happened, but I guess it might have something to do with my injured hand."
"…"
"Just as you worry, I will never betray the Commander or become an enemy. However, I will not ask you to trust me. If you have doubts, keep observing me as much as you need."
The stronger his doubts and caution grew, the better it would help to prevent Kishiar La Orr from dying a fruitless death as in his previous life. Yuder gave a cold smile, feeling content.
"I don't understand you, Sir Aile."
A hollow voice finally escaped the lips of Nathan Zuckerman who had been looking at Yuder with a foreign gaze.
"You don't need to. Just continue as you have been."
"…"
Nathan Zuckerman did not respond. Before turning away from Yuder, he left one last statement.
"Nevertheless, you saved my life today. I will repay this debt someday. You should rest."
After he disappeared, Yuder closed his eyes to shake off the memories from his past that kept visiting him. What happened today would end with today. With so many tasks piled up ahead, there was no need to dwell on the past.
——
The following day, the mages, finally freed from their exhaustion, opened their eyes. Thais Yulman, with a face eager to say so much, circled around Yuder, but Yuder did not say a word to him.
Alik Pelgin was slightly amnesiac from the moments before he fainted. Having been extremely afraid that the experiment might have failed, he was elated to hear it had succeeded, but after hearing 'how' it was made possible, he chose to remain silent.
The simple explanation that Duke Peletta had stepped in to help Thais finish the work should have given an approximate idea of the unbelievable event that had occurred.
However, the unfortunate and astonishing incidents that happened to Alik did not end there.
"…Your magical power has changed peculiarly? Although you've recovered from exhaustion and depletion… I wonder why."
Lusan, standing by Alik's bedside, asked with a grave face. Alik shook his head anxiously and looked down at his hands.
"Something feels different from yesterday. Ever since I woke up, something inside me feels…odd, as if a foreign magic has entered. Priest, am I really okay?"
"Alik, why don't you try a basic magic operation again? Perhaps it will give us a clue."
Even in response to the advice of the elderly mage lying in the bed next to him, Alik's furrowed face remained unchanged.
"I've already tried that, Master. However, this unfamiliar energy and my original magic feel as if they're occupying my body separately, rendering it useless."
Having been lying down and listening to their conversation, Yuder suddenly had an intuition and sat up.
"…That power. Can you control it separately?"
Surprised by Yuder's sudden interruption, Alik nearly fell out of the bed, but soon he lowered his eyes and murmured a thoughtful "Hmm…"
"Well… It seems possible…"
"Don't try to control it like magic, just use it naturally as it flows."
"Naturally? How… Huh?"
In that instant, something astonishing happened before Alik's eyes. His mouth gaped open at the sight of droplets of water that had suddenly materialized before him.
"Water… elemental magic?"
"But Alik, you've never learned elemental magic. How is this possible?"
"I don't know, Master. I didn't even try to use any magic…"
"It's an awakening."
Yuder quietly revealed the cause of the situation to the two astonished mages.
"It seems you've awakened the ability to summon water."
"Me… I've awakened?"
Alik looked back and forth in disbelief between the hovering water droplets before him and Yuder's face. The elderly mage was equally astonished.
"An awakening? Are you certain? My disciple… has become an Awakener?"
"Isn't the power you just used the most solid evidence?"
Without predefined magic formulas or intensive training for manipulating mana, without gathering energy through years of sword training like a knight, a power that can be used as if it was innate since birth.
That was indeed the distinct characteristic that set the power of the Awakeners apart from all other abilities.
At Yuder's serene words, everyone's eyes were drawn to Alik. After repeating the action of summoning and vanishing water several times, Alik opened his trembling eyes.
"It seems… it's real. How can this be… I'm a mage, how can I become an Awakener?"
"There's no rule stating that a mage cannot be Awakener, Alik."
There were likely other mage Awakeners out there, just yet to be discovered. And although rare, more would continue to emerge in the future.
'Even though there was no famous individual who was a mage and an Awakener in my previous life…'
Alik had not been among them.