'He's certainly not an ordinary human.'
And Yuder, too, marveled anew at Kishiar's abilities during their brief conversation.
Swift action and decisiveness upon identifying the necessary skills. A privilege that seemed trivial but was likely the result of foresight into the future of the Cavalry. An unpretentious attitude, disregarding status. A mind capable of sincerely and unbiasedly receiving and considering others' words.
Having held the same position as Commander of the Cavalry, Yuder felt Kishiar's capabilities even more vividly.
During his time as commander, Yuder had met many kings and nobles, including the Emperor of the Orr Empire, and respected abilities within and outside the country.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he had met almost all the high-ranking individuals of the continent. However, possessing power and status did not necessarily mean one also had wisdom.
Those with power and status were suspicious of others. The more one had, the more human nature dictated the need to be wary of one's surroundings. Those who deviated from this norm were either uninterested in worldly affairs or displayed an indifferent attitude toward everything.
Yet, Kishiar didn't fit into either category.
'I think it was the same back then. I was often surprised because he was different from the image of the imperial family that I vaguely imagined.'
"..."
Suddenly, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He had recalled the reason why Kishiar had died so quickly.
"Alright, let's get moving again."
Before Yuder's thoughts could wander further, Kishiar announced the end of their break. The scattered members regrouped and reformed their ranks. Gakane, who had gone to drink water, also returned to Yuder's side.
"Yuder. What did you talk about with the commander?"
There was a look of disbelief in Gakane's eyes.
"We didn't talk about much."
"Even so...... It seems like you're not having any difficulty with him at all."
"I haven't done anything wrong, so why would it be difficult?"
"Well, I guess that's true."
Gakane sighed quietly, gazing at Kishiar's strong back as he walked ahead.
"I always feel scared when I stand before him. I must be a coward."
His last words were a whisper barely audible, but Yuder heard them clearly.
'Coward? Gakane Bolunwald, the social butterfly?'
Yuder found it laughable, almost as if a passing dog had spoken, but Gakane seemed to be quite sincere.
Gakane Bolunwald was tall and well-built, even among the 330 Cavalry members. He came from a reputable family, was cheerful, and had a dazzling appearance. He was even an Alpha, according to what he heard yesterday.
With such promising future prospects, it was hard to believe he was a coward. It felt as if he was being too modest.
'I didn't think he had a self-deprecating personality.'
But that wasn't a big problem. The Cavalry was only going to thrive from now on. Once Gakane adapted to that, he would change.
Reminiscing about how Gakane had actively represented the Cavalry, being pulled into all sorts of tasks from Yuder's past memories, he looked away from Gakane's worried expression.
Right now, something more important came to his mind after hearing that Gakane was an Alpha.
'Come to think of it, I haven't told Kishiar about the matter regarding the second gender manifestation.'
Even so, he was not worried because of what Kishiar had said earlier. He had said that it was okay to come and talk comfortably in the future, so he thought he could pass on the information whenever he had the time.
As they approached the place with the Red Stone, the mountain forest grew increasingly quiet. At first, they had felt no signs of beasts or birds, but now even the sounds of insects had ceased.
Around this time, the first signs of physical distress appeared. It was one of the Knights of Peletta.
"Guh... Hah...!"
"Lug!"
As one knight staggered and knelt, another knight who had been beside him called out his name in haste and supported him. Everyone stopped and turned to look at him. The fallen knight's face was terribly pale, and sweat poured from his forehead like rain.
"What happened?"
"S-sorry, Your Grace. Suddenly, it feels like something is pressing down on my head..."
When Kishiar approached and asked, the knight tried to force himself to stand. However, just as he said, it seemed as if something really was pressing him down, and he collapsed again. His face became even paler.
"Urgh..."
"Don't try to move forcefully."
Kishiar, who had reached out to prevent the knight from moving, turned his head and looked at General Gino. The general was calmly examining the knight.
"It begins now. They held on longer than my men, but we'll start to see dropouts soon."
"Do they all react as if they're feeling physical pressure?"
"Yes, it's similar. But it seems that knight endured too much."
"Didn't I tell them to step back as soon as it gets tough?"
At Kishiar's words, the knight's expression darkened.
"I apologize. But thinking I might be the first one to fall behind..."
The knight's gaze moved sequentially to Kishiar and General Gino, both with unblemished faces, and then to the horsemen beside them. Yuder thought his pointless stubbornness was foolish.
"General. You said it gets better as the distance increases, right?"
"Yes. It heals as if it were a lie."
"He doesn't seem capable of going down on his own. Someone has to help."
As Kishiar carefully surveyed the surroundings, his gaze halted at the Eldore siblings.
"Hinn Eldore, Finn Eldore."
"Yes."
"The ability you said could only be used when you're together, can you use it now?"
The siblings, who looked identical as if they were reflections in a mirror, looked at each other. The knights looked puzzled, but the Cavalry, who knew why the siblings had joined the journey, remained calm.
"It should be possible if it’s near the place where we rested by the spring earlier."
Hinn estimated the distance and asked her younger sibling, Finn, who responded with a nod.
"Good. Try it right away."
"Understood."
As the Eldore siblings approached the fallen knight, the knight seemed a little frightened.
"W-what ability is this? I can go back by myself. There's really no need to..."
"Don't worry. It's nothing. How can you say you can go back by yourself when you can't even stand?"
"We'll send you back to the spring where we were earlier in no time, rest there a bit and then go back."
The siblings easily quelled the knight's defiance with a single sentence and stood facing each other, enclosing him between them.
"I've heard about their development of movement abilities during their training, but it's the first time I'm seeing them use it in person. Do you think it'll work?" Kanna, who had moved closer to Yuder, murmured in a small voice, her expression filled with concern. However, Yuder wasn't particularly worried.
'There may be various restrictions when casting, but it should not be a problem in a situation like this. We're not in the middle of combat, and we're not pressed for time.'
The Eldore siblings had the ability to teleport entities or objects between them to any ground they both had previously set foot on.
However, the ability had its limitations. The teleportation distance was short, the casting took considerable time, and they couldn't use it while in transit, which made it not the most practical of abilities.
'So, their tasks mainly involved being deployed to places requiring combat power. The teleportation ability was used when they needed to relay tactical orders to the following forces. That would have been enough.'
Yuder had never undertaken a mission with them before. Although he had sent them on a few assignments since becoming the leader, he had hardly interacted with them personally, so the current situation felt quite novel.
'Well, let's see how well they do.'
Kishiar, too, seemingly shared his sentiment as he watched the siblings holding hands around the knight, his arms crossed casually. As Hinn and Finn closed their eyes to concentrate, the knight looked up at them with growing fear.
"Your Grace. Deputy Commander. I'll descend on my own. I'm truly sorry for being stubborn out of embarrassment. But this...!"
"Quiet. It's almost done, let's go!"
As Finn, who had just opened his eyes, shouted, a whirlwind of blue energy erupted from the hand they held together. As the energy enveloped the knight, a slight gust of wind blew, and the knight gasped as if he was about to faint.
"What is this? Wait. Just wait a moment...!"
But he couldn't finish his sentence, for the moment the blue whirlwind completely enveloped him, he vanished. When he disappeared, the wind subsided, and the blue energy that had been rippling was absorbed back between the hands of the siblings as if it was being sucked in.
"It's like the teleportation magic that was said to be used in ancient times."
General Gino, who had watched the scene, quietly made his comment. Seeing him show interest for the first time, having been composed all this while, a sense of pride spread across the faces of the Eldore siblings.
"I was wondering why such young-looking kids were brought along. Was it for this purpose?"
"I can't say that's the only reason, but you could say that. Their true abilities are more geared towards offense."
General Gino's gaze swept over the Cavalry members.
"I'm curious about the abilities the others possess, given Your Majesty's statement."
"Even at your age, your competitive spirit remains."
"Do I appear so? Rather than wanting to compete, it's merely curiosity."
At Kishiar's words, General Gino gave a faint smile.
"Well, you may deny it, but I see it all."
After saying that, Kishiar told the others that they would now resume their journey.
