"Another one here?"
"You'll know when you see it, Finn."
Yuder flipped the paper, revealing the emblem sketched on the back. It was the emblem of a Southern tribe that Finn had discovered.
"Ah! That's the one I found!"
"What is it?"
"It's the emblem inside the lodging of the Southern merchants who came to Tainu! I sneaked in and found it on Yuder's request!"
In response to Devran's question, Finn proudly answered and then slightly tilted his head.
"But why? You never said anything about it after everything was over. So I thought it wasn't a big deal…"
"After personal investigation, I found out that this is the emblem of a certain tribe in the South."
The Southern merchants who had fled Tainu were currently being pursued by the Tainu Knights. Upon hearing that Yuder thought it best to conduct further investigations unique to their own Cavalry, the Eldore siblings and Devran's eyes sparkled to the point of being uncomfortable.
"That's true! They're Awakeners too, so it's good for us to take on this job!"
"It's a perfect start!"
"Did you do all this alone during your vacation, Yuder? You should have called us!"
Although what he had done during his vacation was a different matter, Yuder made no mention of it. Instead, he cautioned against making their investigation too flashy and reminded them not to neglect their training for this.
"Move in pairs or groups when conducting investigations. Except for Enon, everyone should be accompanied by either me or someone else. If you must leave alone for some unavoidable reason, leave a signal you learned during training."
"Wow... I've only learned it but never got to use it. This will be fun."
"Don't just think it'll be fun. This is the real deal."
"I know! I was just saying it’s exciting, Yuder!"
Finn raised his hand and grinned.
"Don’t worry! We'll start with the library!"
Although slightly worried, Yuder knew the Eldore siblings were incredibly reliable when it came to completing tasks, despite their mischievous demeanor in their past lives.
It wouldn’t be much different in this lifetime.
Yuder exhaled softly and flipped the paper back over. Information from Duke Diarca’s note was revealed again.
"Now, everyone, focus. I'll explain more about the parts written here."
He pointed to a line of numbers and text, capturing everyone's attention.
"It may look complicated with all the numbers, but the meaning is simple once you understand. This indicates the day this month when the water of the Sixth Wall's fountains will change, this is the time, and this is the address of the 148th building located on the 4th Knight’s road in the Fifth Wall. The last number is the amount: 500,000."
"So, it’s the details of a transaction?"
"Exactly."
Devran proudly shrugged, having guessed correctly.
"So who’s conducting this transaction?"
"The sender of this transaction promise is Duke Diarca, and the recipients are unidentified healers who are busy treating the Crown Prince, whose health is not good these days. The ones we need to investigate are those healers."
Eyes widened in unison among the members, surprised at the gravity of the source of the information.
"Diarca? The Duke?"
"The Crown Prince?"
"The day the fountains of the Twelve Sages in the Sixth Wall change their water is tomorrow. In other words, if we go to this address at the time indicated here, we will surely see them conducting the transaction."
"Uh... so we're going there too?"
"Yes."
"What do we have to do? Raid the deal and catch them?"
"No. What we're doing is surveilling the scene and following the healers. If I'm right, they're likely Awakeners, making it hard to track them. Don't underestimate the job."
A tense silence fell, punctuated by someone loudly swallowing their saliva.
"We'll meet after lunch tomorrow at the entrance of the Imperial Knights headquarters. Make sure you slip out without drawing attention. You can bring anything helpful, but do it discreetly."
"We'll wear civilian clothes, right?"
"Yes."
"Great! See you then!"
The members got up from their seats. Yuder tried to detain Gakane to ask about a concern he had, but just then, Enon spoke up.
"Don't you have something to talk about with me?"
Although Eldore siblings and Devran momentarily showed curious expressions, they courteously made themselves scarce. Gakane, who also wore a grim face, did the same.
'Darn, I missed my chance.'
As Yuder was watching his back, Enon clicked his tongue and spoke.
"If you're concerned about the redhead, catch him alone later. People like him get shy under public scrutiny. It would be counterproductive to talk now."
"How did you know I wanted to talk to Gakane?"
"Kids your age are an open book."
No point arguing about being called kids; it would never have made sense to Enon. Yuder decided to give up on detaining Gakane and sat back down.
"Alright, what did you want to talk about?"
"First, give me your hand. Take off your glove."
Enon straightened his posture and examined Yuder's hand, measured his forehead temperature, and scrutinized his face earnestly. Yuder could only speak after Enon finally let go of his hand.
"Is something wrong?"
"Your soul, actually."
Enon responded with a furrowed brow.
"It's in far better condition compared to before your vacation. What exactly have you been doing?"
'My soul is in better condition?'
Considering Enon had always warned about his soul's instability and possible dire consequences, this was unbelievable news. But something must have changed during the vacation.
'There's only one factor that comes to mind.'
Yuder hesitated briefly before speaking.
"The only unusual thing was spending time with the Commander."
"Commander? But you two shouldn’t have been together for the entire vacation. You weren't working. Even if you shared a room in the west... this is too much..."
"..."
Seeing Yuder's silent face, something seemed to click for Enon. His eyes twitched as if sensing something, then scrutinized Yuder once more with a piercing gaze.
"Wait. Could it be... you..."
"..."
Enon abruptly stood up from his seat.
"Another one here?"
"You'll know when you see it, Finn."
Yuder flipped the paper, revealing the emblem sketched on the back. It was the emblem of a Southern tribe that Finn had discovered.
"Ah! That's the one I found!"
"What is it?"
"It's the emblem inside the lodging of the Southern merchants who came to Tainu! I sneaked in and found it on Yuder's request!"
In response to Devran's question, Finn proudly answered and then slightly tilted his head.
"But why? You never said anything about it after everything was over. So I thought it wasn't a big deal…"
"After personal investigation, I found out that this is the emblem of a certain tribe in the South."
The Southern merchants who had fled Tainu were currently being pursued by the Tainu Knights. Upon hearing that Yuder thought it best to conduct further investigations unique to their own Cavalry, the Eldore siblings and Devran's eyes sparkled to the point of being uncomfortable.
"That's true! They're Awakeners too, so it's good for us to take on this job!"
"It's a perfect start!"
"Did you do all this alone during your vacation, Yuder? You should have called us!"
Although what he had done during his vacation was a different matter, Yuder made no mention of it. Instead, he cautioned against making their investigation too flashy and reminded them not to neglect their training for this.
"Move in pairs or groups when conducting investigations. Except for Enon, everyone should be accompanied by either me or someone else. If you must leave alone for some unavoidable reason, leave a signal you learned during training."
"Wow... I've only learned it but never got to use it. This will be fun."
"Don't just think it'll be fun. This is the real deal."
"I know! I was just saying it’s exciting, Yuder!"
Finn raised his hand and grinned.
"Don’t worry! We'll start with the library!"
Although slightly worried, Yuder knew the Eldore siblings were incredibly reliable when it came to completing tasks, despite their mischievous demeanor in their past lives.
It wouldn’t be much different in this lifetime.
Yuder exhaled softly and flipped the paper back over. Information from Duke Diarca’s note was revealed again.
"Now, everyone, focus. I'll explain more about the parts written here."
He pointed to a line of numbers and text, capturing everyone's attention.
"It may look complicated with all the numbers, but the meaning is simple once you understand. This indicates the day this month when the water of the Sixth Wall's fountains will change, this is the time, and this is the address of the 148th building located on the 4th Knight’s road in the Fifth Wall. The last number is the amount: 500,000."
"So, it’s the details of a transaction?"
"Exactly."
Devran proudly shrugged, having guessed correctly.
"So who’s conducting this transaction?"
"The sender of this transaction promise is Duke Diarca, and the recipients are unidentified healers who are busy treating the Crown Prince, whose health is not good these days. The ones we need to investigate are those healers."
Eyes widened in unison among the members, surprised at the gravity of the source of the information.
"Diarca? The Duke?"
"The Crown Prince?"
"The day the fountains of the Twelve Sages in the Sixth Wall change their water is tomorrow. In other words, if we go to this address at the time indicated here, we will surely see them conducting the transaction."
"Uh... so we're going there too?"
"Yes."
"What do we have to do? Raid the deal and catch them?"
"No. What we're doing is surveilling the scene and following the healers. If I'm right, they're likely Awakeners, making it hard to track them. Don't underestimate the job."
A tense silence fell, punctuated by someone loudly swallowing their saliva.
"We'll meet after lunch tomorrow at the entrance of the Imperial Knights headquarters. Make sure you slip out without drawing attention. You can bring anything helpful, but do it discreetly."
"We'll wear civilian clothes, right?"
"Yes."
"Great! See you then!"
The members got up from their seats. Yuder tried to detain Gakane to ask about a concern he had, but just then, Enon spoke up.
"Don't you have something to talk about with me?"
Although Eldore siblings and Devran momentarily showed curious expressions, they courteously made themselves scarce. Gakane, who also wore a grim face, did the same.
'Darn, I missed my chance.'
As Yuder was watching his back, Enon clicked his tongue and spoke.
"If you're concerned about the redhead, catch him alone later. People like him get shy under public scrutiny. It would be counterproductive to talk now."
"How did you know I wanted to talk to Gakane?"
"Kids your age are an open book."
No point arguing about being called kids; it would never have made sense to Enon. Yuder decided to give up on detaining Gakane and sat back down.
"Alright, what did you want to talk about?"
"First, give me your hand. Take off your glove."
Enon straightened his posture and examined Yuder's hand, measured his forehead temperature, and scrutinized his face earnestly. Yuder could only speak after Enon finally let go of his hand.
"Is something wrong?"
"Your soul, actually."
Enon responded with a furrowed brow.
"It's in far better condition compared to before your vacation. What exactly have you been doing?"
'My soul is in better condition?'
Considering Enon had always warned about his soul's instability and possible dire consequences, this was unbelievable news. But something must have changed during the vacation.
'There's only one factor that comes to mind.'
Yuder hesitated briefly before speaking.
"The only unusual thing was spending time with the Commander."
"Commander? But you two shouldn’t have been together for the entire vacation. You weren't working. Even if you shared a room in the west... this is too much..."
"..."
Seeing Yuder's silent face, something seemed to click for Enon. His eyes twitched as if sensing something, then scrutinized Yuder once more with a piercing gaze.
"Wait. Could it be... you..."
"..."
Enon abruptly stood up from his seat.
