Turning-Chapter 916

They couldn't be certain if it was true, but the group was convinced that the healers must have been Awakeners and the ones who had saved Naham.

‘But we didn’t have enough time to investigate those healers further.’

If the Cavalry had been in a more relaxed situation, they might have stayed longer. Or, they could have considered selecting personnel to send to the Southern Nation to establish a presence. However, as neither option was feasible at the moment, it was best to gather only that much information and return. The group completed the mission by simply establishing a means to contact the Southern merchant group that had formed the connection and then coming back.

Nathan Zuckerman's report, who oversaw this mission, ended there. And now, Kanna and Fruelle had come to supplement the report with more detailed observations from their perspectives.

Yuder judged that instead of standing and waiting until Kishiar arrived, it would be better to sit and have a conversation.

"Sit over here."

He asked if they would like some water, but both Kanna and Fruelle shook their heads and declined.

"Then what about Nipolen? I think there was some milk."

"Nippi just had a meal too, so it's fine... Oh. Nippi!"

As if recognizing his name, the kitten lifted its head and suddenly jumped out of its brother’s arms, approaching Yuder. Yuder looked down emotionlessly at the small back of the head that brushed against his ankle.

"I told you to stay still since everyone’s busy here. Come on, get back here."

"It's fine. Let him roam around."

Fruelle, who had hastily tried to retrieve his sibling at Yuder’s restraint, sat back down with an awkward smile.

"...Thank you. Ever since coming back from the desert, Nippi has become a bit more lively. He still doesn't turn into a human well... but I’m taking it as a good sign."

"We were really lucky. The merchant group we connected with viewed cats as sacred animals. It was fortunate for us during the mission too, but for Nipolen especially, it seemed like a great experience."

Kanna added with a smile. It was something Nathan Zuckerman hadn’t mentioned in his report—that the merchant group revered cats as sacred beings.

"Cats?"

"Yeah. Even though we must have seemed suspicious to them, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) they readily agreed to help because of Nipolen. Nipolen got really friendly with the cats they raised, to the point we worried they’d be sad when parting."

Luckily, Nipolen didn’t seem too affected. The kitten, who had been circling around Yuder’s ankles, leapt up onto his lap and carefully settled down. Fruelle was again startled, but Yuder only glanced briefly and paid no further attention.

"By the way, what’s the name of that merchant group?"

"Donavy Manaik. It means ‘Spotted Cat’s Whiskers.’ The tribe’s name is Navy Manaik. In Imperial language, I guess it would be ‘Cat Whiskers Tribe.’"

As expected, it was a name he had never heard in his previous life. They must have been a truly small tribe.

"I heard they had a connection with the Shuden merchant group. What was that about?"

"Oh, that. I didn’t hear it from them directly—I read it using my ability. It’s a bit of a long story... but I was going to report it to the Commander anyway."

According to Kanna’s account, the Spotted Cat’s Whiskers merchant group originally specialized in trading monster byproducts via sea routes. Then, by chance, they managed to establish a trading relationship with the Shuden group from a northern country. Since the Shuden merchant group also specialized in trading rare goods made from monster byproducts, it wasn’t unusual.

Merchant groups sharing the same trading partners naturally come to learn a lot about each other. It seemed that the Shuden merchant group, seeking to expand into the Southern Nation, had judged that the Cat Whiskers group could be a good partner.

"—So, Mr. Mik Shuden personally went there, met with them, and received a lot of help when expanding into the Southern Nation. I was able to read that because of their connection."

The fact that Mik Shuden, the merchant leader, personally met and decided to form a partnership spoke volumes. Mik was an Awakener who could see a person’s true nature. The fact that he met them in person and still chose to do business meant he had judged that the people of the Cat Whiskers group were not particularly dangerous.

‘The Shuden merchant group was famous for being almost the only prominent group to have established a branch in the Southern Nation... So this is how that connection was formed. Thinking about it, it would’ve been impossible to establish a branch there without local help.’

Actually, he had already known about the information since he first saw Kishiar casually using a Shuden merchant group identification tag when they met Rebelin Shan Apeto for the first time. He had thought it was simply because the merchant group was skillful, but he hadn't expected it would connect like this and prove useful.

"If that’s the case, it might be good to reach out to the Shuden merchant group. If we can establish long-term cooperation with the Cat Whiskers group, it would benefit us as well."

"Right? I was going to suggest the same to the Commander. From what I observed while staying there, their tribe’s attitude toward people from north of the desert was very positive. Honestly, among the Southern Nation people we met in the desert, there were none who treated us as kindly as they did. Probably, their meeting with the Shuden group had a big impact on them too."

Of course, the Cavalry would continue gathering information about Naham and the Southern Nation, but it was inevitable that locals would have better access to quality information. Especially in the Southern Nation, which was both closed-off and fragmented among different tribes.

‘According to Aton, the Wolf’s Eye Tribe is preparing to shake up the area north of the desert while attempting to unify other Southern tribes.’

Their momentum was so strong that Yuder had thought they might have already nearly completed their internal unification. But hearing Kanna’s account, it seemed that wasn’t the case yet.

‘Good news for us.’

Just knowing that made this mission an incredibly valuable achievement.

‘...The Wolf’s Eye Tribe. The tribe that owns the Owl’s Wing merchant group. And the Cat Whiskers Tribe. These three are what we need to investigate thoroughly going forward. Along with the Black Moon cult.’

A cold smile spread across Yuder’s lips as he organized his thoughts.

"You’ve worked hard, Kanna."

"U-uhm. Thank you for saying that, but... was there something... particularly special in the information I gave? You seem way too happy......."

"......Is that a happy face?"

Fruelle, who had been quietly listening, asked with a disbelieving look.

"You still can’t read Yuder’s expressions, can you, Elre? You should remember this: when he smiles like that, it means he’s in an exceptionally good mood. Honestly, until now, the only time he smiled like that was the night before he introduced a notoriously insane training program that’s still talked about today. The next day, we all experienced hell......."

Kanna whispered with a strangely warm yet hollow gaze. Fruelle’s face tensed. Yuder, feeling slightly speechless, decided not to comment.

He immediately recalled which training Kanna was talking about.

‘It was the comprehensive training before we went to the South.’

Back then, fewer than ten people managed to complete it within the time limit. Naturally, the first to finish was the creator of the program himself—Yuder Aile.

The reason his mood had been so good the night before launching that training was because, despite the Cavalry not even being a year old, he had realized all 330 members were skilled enough to attempt that level of training.

‘It was a training I had also implemented in my previous life, but only after about three years had passed.......’

In other words, the current members’ growth rate was about three times faster than in his previous life, and their individual willpower toward training was also much stronger. No matter how well Yuder prepared the training, if the members themselves weren’t willing to try, nothing would happen.

From Yuder’s perspective, even seeing those who failed held significant meaning. But it seemed the members perceived it quite differently.

"I-I see. I’ll look forward to future training......."

Fruelle swallowed nervously and forced a smile. At that moment, Yuder sensed something odd and turned his gaze to stare at his face.

"Elre."

"Hm?"

"You seem to have a bit of a fever."

"Ah... you noticed? I’ve had a slight fever since returning yesterday. I figured it was just fatigue accumulated during the desert trip, so I took medicine to lower it and planned to just report and rest since it wasn’t affecting my daily activities."

"No. Don’t do that. Go back now."

"...Why?"

Yuder carefully scanned the young man with his red hair falling loosely around his face. Though Fruelle himself hadn’t noticed yet, Yuder was sure of it.

He was...

"That’s not a normal fever. You’re about to start your Second Awakening. Go back immediately."

"...Second Awakening? Me?"