With an inscrutable expression, Robel began his story.

He was one of the Awakeners who had surfaced not long after the Red Stone fell. Fleeing from his family and relatives who feared him, he eventually left his hometown. After much hardship, he met other Awakeners who helped him, and that place turned out to be the Star of Nagran.

When he first joined, the Star of Nagran was significantly smaller than it was now. To show his commitment, Robel met the Sage, and it was then that he first learned of Nahan.

"...Are you saying you met him back then?" Yuder asked, his eyes widening in surprise at this unexpected revelation from Robel's story.

"Yes, but only briefly. Back then, he was famous for blindly following the Sage. Rumor has it that the Sage saved him when he was on the brink of death."

According to Robel, Hosanna had also been with Nahan since that time. Robel did not know when they first joined the Star of Nagran since both had arrived before him. He had merely heard murmurs that the Sage had rescued them from a city near the southern desert even before naming the group.

At that time, they were concerned that if too many joined the Star of Nagran, it would attract attention. So, they were just establishing bases. Robel, being from the western region and wishing to live quietly, headed toward a base situated within the Great Sarain Forest.

Since then, he had lived as peacefully as possible, occasionally hearing news from other bases. Rumors reached him that Nahan was actively involved in rescuing and recruiting other Awakeners, but Robel considered it none of his business.

Neither the formation of the Cavalry nor the gradual shift in public perception of the Awakeners had anything to do with him.

But all that changed due to this recent incident.

"The Star of Nagran as I knew it wasn’t really an organization. It was just a place where people who wanted to survive could help each other. The Sage encouraged us to empower ourselves for self-defense, but never told us to misuse our abilities against others."

Robel had met the Sage only once when he first joined, but he held him in high esteem. Despite knowing little more than what he had just revealed, the sincerity in his eyes when he spoke was undeniable.

In contrast to Gayle and Doyle, the brothers who had been reticent about discussing the Sage, Robel was relatively open. Although his less-guarded demeanor indicated he wasn't deeply involved in the inner workings of the organization, the genuine reverence he showed was identical.

'It seems evident that the Sage, unlike Nahan, tends to keep information about himself concealed. Could he be someone capable of leading people?'

"Even if I could return there after all that’s happened, making enemies of those I considered comrades, I have no intention of doing so... But I do believe the Sage is a genuinely good person. Whether he knows about this situation or not, I can't say."

Well, did the Sage really not know about what was going on?

Whether or not the Sage was a good person as Robel believed, Yuder trusted his experiences from his past life a bit more. Even if many things had changed in this life, the internal strife beginning to unravel within the Star of Nagran had long been evident.

Nahan, who once blindly followed the Sage.

The Sage, who knew Nahan was going down a dangerously aggressive path but did nothing to intervene.

'Whether he can't or won’t intervene, I still don’t know…'

Something ambiguously connected between the two must have been the key to the internal strife and destruction in their past lives. Yuder's experience and intuition whispered that only by knowing the truth could they protect themselves and prevent Nahan from doing greater harm.

'And beyond that, I also want to find out if the identity of the so-called Sage has any connection to the person I met in my past life.'

"Thank you for sharing your honest opinion. It will be very helpful," Kishiar said, offering a grateful smile.

"If there's anything more you wish to say, feel free to do so now."

"Ah, in that case... please forgive me, but I have something to add."

With hands clenched tightly in tension, Robel cautiously began to speak.

"I am aware that you chose not to swiftly mete out punishment to the individuals captured by the Cavalry but instead conducted thorough investigations to determine the severity of their crimes, and even provided medical treatment for their injuries. Since learning this, I've wondered how things might have been different had I not fled from Great Sarain Forest and instead met with the Cavalry to exchange words. Now that I know more, I regret that decision."

The reason the Cavalry had begun chasing after the Star of Nagran was to find Nahan. They had no interest in indiscriminately capturing or punishing ordinary Awakeners simply because they belonged to the same organization.

However, people like Robel were not well-informed about what Nahan had done. They only knew that in the usual course of trying to rescue Awakeners, they had clashed with the Cavalry and casualties had ensued, putting the Star of Nagran in peril.

"Since this incident, I've felt firsthand a drastic change in how people from the West view Awakeners. I would never have known this without your help. Yet, the majority of people within the Star of Nagran are still unaware of this reality," Robel said, bowing politely.

After Robel left, Kishiar sank into contemplation. Yuder replayed their recent conversation, observing Kishiar's expression.

"The next in line is Sir Zuckerman... shall I call for him?"

"Before that, may I ask what you thought when you first became an Awakener?"

Instead of a reply, an unexpected question came back. Yuder paused, then searched his memory.

'What was it like back then?'

Unlike Kishiar, for whom only about two years had passed since Awakeners first appeared, for Yuder it had happened well over a decade ago. Recalling those times took effort.

Before awakening, Yuder was somewhat bored with his monotonous life in the mountains. Sometimes, his curiosity to see the wider world gripped him, but with no clear purpose, he simply continued on with his daily routine.

Things were much the same right after he Awakened. Initially, he was a bit startled, but with no family to witness his powers, there was no one to react. Life went on as usual. At most, cutting down trees and traversing mountains became a bit easier.

Until he heard about the recruitment for the Cavalry, Yuder had spent the two years post-awakening aimlessly wandering alone, devoid of excitement.

'I'd only heard rumors that many were Awakeners, but since I was the only Awakener around me, I didn't even think my powers were anything special.'

"I had no particular thoughts."

"Typical of my assistant."

After long contemplation, Kishiar chuckled as if he were joking upon hearing Yuder's conclusion.

"You probably already know, but for me, that was a tremendous blessing and a lifeline. But it might not be for others."

"…"

"Listening to his story reminded me of the content of the diary I read yesterday."

At the sudden mention of the diary related to the works of the first Duke Tain, the corners of Yuder's eyelashes subtly quivered.

"Wasn't that a time when magic had only recently started to take shape? The diary contained some speculation about the confusion that mages must have experienced. Strikingly, what we've heard isn't much different."

It was an entirely unexpected line of thought.

What did it mean that the initial experiences of mages, documented in a diary, mirrored the experiences of today's Awakeners?

"After having this conversation today… I feel like I need to read that diary once more."

Kishiar looked at Yuder as he spoke.

"Would you like to go through it together tonight?"

Was this an offer based on Yuder's displayed interest in the diary?

Slower than yesterday, yet still profoundly, Yuder's heart began to beat.