“Excuse me...”

As Kanna stepped in carefully, Kishiar welcomed her with a smile.

“I suppose I’ll get to see your ability in action again for the first time in a while. I’m quite looking forward to it.”

“Ah, haha. Y-Yes. I’ll do my best to meet your expectations!”

Her voice was full of hesitation, clearly unsure how to act around the Cavalry Commander outside of work hours. Kishiar smiled brightly, as if expecting just that, and winked playfully with one eye.

“There’s no need to meet my expectations. You’re here to help a friend, aren’t you? I’m just here as an observer, so you’re speaking to the wrong person.”

“Ah...”

Kanna’s tension visibly melted. She swallowed, exhaled deeply, closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. The tightness in her clenched fists eased, and her usual calm expression returned.

“Mm. You’re right. That makes sense. Yuder. I’ll show you what I can do today!”

Yuder gave a slow nod.

“Thank you. But like I said last time...”

“Don’t push myself to the point of collapsing, right? I remember!”

Kanna grinned. Kishiar clapped lightly.

“A strong start. Shall we go take a look at the items, then?”

The belongings from her grandfather had been laid out not in the main commander’s office but in one of the adjacent guest bedrooms. Kishiar had suggested conducting the session in a more secure and private setting.

Once they entered, Kishiar leaned against the door with his arms crossed, staying still—like a silent guardian declaring he would not intrude between the two of them.

‘He’s making sure nothing distracts Kanna.’

Even without being spoken, some gestures were easy to understand. Yuder blinked at him once—a silent gesture of thanks.

“Hmm... The types of things here are more varied than I expected.”

Kanna’s face took on a curious look as she examined the items spread across the wide table.

In truth, “varied” was a very polite word. The table was a strange jumble of things that looked full of history and others whose presence was downright baffling.

There were a few books his grandfather had collected and a ledger. That much could be considered typical keepsakes.

But the worn-out bag once owned by an old woman from a grocery shop, a notebook inside it, a baby swaddling cloth, a torn wizard’s robe, and a badge with a broken pin? All strange.

And then, completely out of nowhere, a child-sized chair sat claiming space at the end.

Still, Kanna didn’t say anything further. She quietly walked around the table, seriously examining each object with her eyes.

“What should I read first?”

“This book.”

Yuder pointed to one of the books his grandfather had collected.

It seemed best to start with something that didn’t appear to hold much.

“Hmm... What a title. Definitely not something ordinary people would read... Okay. I’ll begin.”

Kanna placed her hand on the book titled, “Contemplating the Blessings Dwelling in All Things within the Vastness of Nature – Focused on Trees, Flowers, Grass, and Soil.” It was the magical research book Kishiar had first discovered in the storage room.

“Hoo...”

As Kanna closed her eyes and inhaled, a faint shimmer of heat rose from beneath her hand. After a moment, her closed lids fluttered open, revealing her blue eyes.

They weren’t focused on the room, but on something far away—absorbing the information, not the sight.

“Hmm... This book seems to have wandered for a very long time. It was made in Eril and crossed borders ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) multiple times. It was made by mages. No one seems to have found its content particularly special, but... wait.”

Her words trailed off.

“Someone did find it useful. That must’ve been the most recent owner. I think... that was your grandfather?”

“Most likely. Can you tell why they found it useful?”

“That... I don’t know.”

“Then can you read the others beneath it? I think my grandfather collected them for similar reasons.”

Yuder slid the books closer to her. Kanna read the next three volumes in succession before withdrawing her hand and exhaling deeply. Her eyes regained focus and met his.

“They were all bought by the same person who believed they were useful. And the standard of usefulness was ‘whether it could help in everyday life.’ There’s a clear impression left behind that after reading the books, he wanted to go out and try using that knowledge.”

“...”

Yuder had suspected as much—but hearing Kanna confirm it with her ability made the weight of it feel different.

His grandfather really had used those magical research records to help the people of the village. Knowledge no one ever believed could be of any real use—he had put it to use anyway.

As Yuder swallowed the unfamiliar swell of emotion, Kanna smiled and asked:

“Alright. What’s next?”

“...This one.”

Yuder pointed at the child-sized chair. Kanna stepped forward, placed her hand on it, and smiled.

“Cute. If this is one of the keepsakes... hmm. Wait, could this be something you used?”

“Yeah.”

“W-Wow.”

“My grandfather made it for me.”

She seemed to misunderstand and think they had been wealthy enough to own such things, so Yuder clarified. But Kanna shook her head.

“No! That’s not what surprised me. It’s just... It’s hard to imagine you were ever small enough to sit in something like this...”

“...”

“I’m sorry if that was rude! I didn’t mean anything bad. It’s just... the you I know always felt like you were born as an adult.”

“Not sure why you’d think that, but... if that’s how you felt, then fine. I’m okay.”

“Hff.”

A stifled laugh came from the direction of the door. Even without turning, it was clear Kishiar had his hand over his mouth, struggling to hold in his laughter.

“Anyway, for your grandfather to have made this himself—he must’ve been really handy! And judging from the information we read earlier, he wasn’t an ordinary man. Alright, I’ll read it now.”

Quickly recovering her composure, Kanna placed her hand on the chair.

After a moment, her eyes opened, and she smiled.

“...He really put his heart into making this. There’s a clear emotion of joy—he was happy that the child had grown enough to need a new chair. And the one who sat here... in other words, you, Yuder—you really loved it.”

“...”

“Hmm. But I also read something a little sad.”

After recounting a forgotten memory between Yuder and his grandfather, Kanna’s expression darkened.

“While making this, he mentioned a few times that he didn’t know how many more chairs he’d be able to make. Like someone who already knew they didn’t have long left...”

Yuder nodded silently. Kanna cautiously asked:

“Did your grandfather... pass away early?”

“When I was about thirteen. He used to say often, even when I was a kid, that I shouldn’t be surprised if he died suddenly someday. So it wouldn’t be strange if he said something like that.”

“Ah... I see.”

Kanna seemed to wonder whether Yuder’s grandfather had died from an incurable illness. It wasn’t quite that—but Yuder decided to leave it at that for now.

“We’ve done a few normal ones now. Time for something real.”

This was enough of a warm-up. Yuder pointed to the old, tattered bag.

“Next, I want you to read this.”

“Alright.”

“It might be different from the others—so be careful.”

“Ah... So this is the one that had you worried? It doesn’t look dangerous... but I’ll take it slow.”

With a much more cautious approach, Kanna gently placed her hand on the bag. A faint shimmer of heat began rising from her hand again.

Kanna furrowed her brow. Her lashes twitched. And then, she spoke.

“...Fire.”

“...”

“There’s fire. That’s the strongest trace tied to this bag. It must’ve been in a huge blaze. I can feel the owner's fear... their intense sense of danger... Screams. Death... and blood.”

The shimmer of power flowing from her hand grew stronger. Her half-lowered blue eyes moved confusedly, scanning distant unseen scenes.

“The bag’s owner tried to grab something from it in the middle of the flames. But it was no use. A heavy sense of death wrapped around the bag...”

Kanna’s lips trembled.

“End.”