Chapter 571

Chapter 571

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Chapter 571

"Shall we begin the third round?"

Yuder's arm extended to spin the board effortlessly. Kishiar gracefully placed a white piece atop the now half-turned board.

It was the same move, at the same spot, as Kishiar had chosen to initiate the first game. Yuder's eyes flicked momentarily to the man's face.

'He isn't planning to concede this time around, obviously.'

Yuder had won both of the previous games, but to be accurate, it was more like Kishiar had willingly walked the path of defeat.

The fact that Kishiar had chosen the same initial move for the third game could only mean one thing.

'He wants to show his true style of gameplay now and compare it distinctly with what came before.'

Yuder took a short breath and rotated the board, picking up a black piece. He laid it down with a touch slower, yet more deliberate than in previous games. Kishiar's lips curled faintly at the corners, noticing the piece's position.

Then Kishiar spun the board again and made his next move. Yuder, too, looked intently at the board before placing his subsequent piece. The clattering sound of the stone pieces against the board echoed, mingling irregularly with the sound of the spinning board.

"..."

The tension that had been palpable at the start between the two players seemed to wane, but this time it was Yuder's black piece that was first to fall.

Yuder narrowed his eyes as he watched Kishiar pick up the black piece.

This meant it was time for Kishiar to ask his first question.

'What will he ask first?'

It was hard to guess just how far Kishiar's sharp mind had gone, now that he had the crucial answer in hand.

'The most likely question would be how I exist in this moment. That's what I would have asked too...'

"How old were you then?"

"...Excuse me?"

However, the question shattered Yuder's expectations.

"I have two dreams that I remember clearly. One where you were awkwardly practicing with a sword, and the other one... well, you know what it is."

Kishiar's eyes momentarily darkened as he referenced the moment when Yuder had been standing in front of a guillotine.

"While I can't be certain when the last dream took place, it definitely wasn't when you were practicing basic swordsmanship. If you were about the same age as you are now while practicing the sword, then during that moment... you definitely seemed more mature. Of course, you're an adult now, but you know what I'm trying to say."

The accuracy of his insight was eerie.

If Kishiar had deduced Yuder's identity from just a fleeting and blurry moment in a dream, how deep had he looked into it?

Faced with this unexpected first question, a blend of surprise and hesitation naturally arose. However, Yuder swallowed it all.

"As you said, Commander, I was the same age when practicing swordsmanship as I am now. And during that last moment... I was eleven years older."

"Thirty-one."

Kishiar mumbled, confirming the age.

"Yes."

"So, you're actually older than me now."

Technically... that would be correct.

The reason why Yuder, who had returned from death, did not regard Kishiar as a distant figure, was not only because he had once stood at the pinnacle of power where the status of an imperial family member or a Duke was not scary to him. His accrued wisdom with age played a significant role as well.

Even so, Yuder didn't feel about Kishiar as he had about the other members he'd encountered againa young junior Awakener he should guide and take care of. Rather, he was more struck by the robustness, youth, and warmth that flowed from Kishiar, a far cry from the dim memories of their previous lives.

As a result, the temporal distance Yuder felt between himself and Kishiar was in a peculiar state; it was simultaneously similar and dissimilar to their relationship in their previous life.

Caught in the uncertainty of how to describe this, Yuder remained silent until Kishiar abruptly broke the quiet.

"If you ever wish to be treated as older than me, just say the word. I'm fine either way."

'Revenge.'

He had entertained the thought while sorting out his mind, unable to sleep in the inn after his first death and resurrection. He knew all sorts of secret passages and mission routes; it wouldn't be impossible to storm into the palace and kill everyone, including Crown Prince Katchian, and then die in satisfaction.

If he survived that, he had even fantasized about escaping to some distant island in the far North and living out the rest of his life there.

But all those thoughts ended up as fleeting fantasies. The reason was simple.

"I don't think that could ever be a game. I've been given the opportunity to fulfill my true mission. Ruining that before it even starts would be no different from running away. So, it means nothing to me."

Yuder had a goal. He wanted to save Kishiar, rebuild the Cavalry, and protect the world this time.

If he could accomplish that, then nothing else mattered.

After that thought, Yuder had forgotten all the boiling emptiness that had left him lost.

Kishiar took some time, lost in thought, before speaking again. When he finally did, the question carried an emotion similar to before, yet somehow different.

"At the end of victory, what you gain is more important than mere revenge, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Kishiar had said something similar before. He was not one to deal with his enemies out of petty emotions; instead, he made his moves with an eye toward the distant future of the country and people he sought to protect.

It was unlikely that he would miss the underlying intent in Yuder's words.

A long, quivering breath tinged with suppressed pain escaped from between Kishiar's lips. He pulled Yuder into a deep embrace, resting his forehead on Yuder's shoulder.

"...If I taught you this game, I could have taught you anything else as well. No one knows the meaning of that as much as I do. And yet, while you were losing in the game, the fact that I did nothing..."

"... "

"I too was already absent there, wasn't I?"

Yuder closed his eyes.

"Yes."

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