Tidak lama setelah keluar dari ruangan, Kanna mengusir Gayle dan Doyle lalu bergabung dengan Yuder.
Mereka berjalan santai di koridor sambil berbicara.
"Dari yang kulihat sejauh ini, Hosanna secara fundamental orang yang tenang dan cukup baik. Namun, dia adalah orang yang akan melakukan apa pun demi Nahan," kata Kanna.
"Sama seperti yang digambarkan Gayle dan Doyle," setuju Yuder.
"Benar."
"Mengapa dia begitu setia pada Nahan?"
Merencanakan pertanyaan Yuder, Kanna terlibat pemikiran mendalam.
"Yah, Hosanna sering tidak sadar, dan bahkan saat terjaga, pikirannya tidak benar-benar jernih, sehingga sulit membaca informasi darinya. Tapi kalau harus ditebak, sepertinya mereka kenal sejak kecil. Itulah alasannya."
"Masa kecil?"
Masa kecil Nahan—kata-kata yang hanya bisa membuat imajinasi Yuder yang sudah kering semakin kering.
"Kalau aku ringkas informasi sedikit yang bisa kubaca dari Hosanna soal Nahan, bisa diungkapkan sangat sederhana: tuan muda yang kasihan."
Mata Yuder berubah dingin.
"Itu bukan pikiran yang biasa dimiliki bawahan."
"Hmm. Benar."
Kanna setuju.
"Selama dia terjaga, dia khawatir pada Nahan dan merasa bersalah atas dosa dirinya. Rasa bersalah itu begitu besar hingga aku tidak bisa membaca informasi apapun soal Sang Bijak, meski sepertinya dia tidak bermusuhan pada Sang Bijak, per se."
"Aneh bahwa Nahan, yang diketahui memiliki niat berbeda dari Sang Bijak, memiliki teman dekat yang tidak bermusuhan pada Sang Bijak."
"Itulah mengapa aku berencana menyelidiki lebih lanjut."
Lagi pula, Kanna berkata Hosanna tidak menaruh dendam pada Nahan, bahkan dalam keadaan ini. Dia bahkan berduga dia akan merasakan hal yang sama bahkan jika dia mati di sini.
Apakah pemulihannya yang lambat meski sudah sadar disebabkan kehilangan kehendak hidup? Yuder berpikir. Namun, dia tidak berniat membiarkan Hosanna mati dengan begitu menyedihkan.
"Merasa bersalah berarti dia sadar bahwa yang dilakukannya salah. Aku tidak punya niat membiarkannya mati secara pelarian. Jadi Kanna, aku mengandalkanmu untuk terus bekerja bagus dalam penyidikan selanjutnya."
Meski percakapan berlanjut seolah mereka merespons Gayle dan Doyle, sebenarnya semua yang dikatakan Kanna adalah informasi yang didapat Yuder melalui dia dari Hosanna.
Kabar bahwa Nahan belum tertangkap dan kabar tentang Bintang Nagran yang muncul di ibukota kemungkinan besar akan membingungkan Hosanna. Sebagai orang yang paling mengenal Nahan, dia mungkin tidak akan menerimanya dengan baik.
Kebingungan akan memudahkan Kanna membaca informasi dan berkooperasi dalam penyidikan. Oleh karena itu, Yuder berencana bocorkan informasi diam-diam ke Hosanna lewat Kanna setiap kali mereka mengetahui sesuatu tentang Sang Bijak atau Bintang Nagran, mengamati reaksinya.
Berbeda dengan orang sederhana seperti Gayle dan Doyle, Hosanna, sebagai salah satu orang terdekat Nahan, lebih mungkin mengetahui hal berbeda dari yang terkumpul sejauh ini.
"Tentu. Kalau aku perhatikan sesuatu aneh, aku akan hubungi kau segera."
Sudah pernah pengalaman serupa, Kanna menyeringai penuh percaya diri.
Dia mengangkat tangan untuk menepuk punggung Yuder seperti biasa, tapi terhenti di tengah jalan, lalu menawarkan senyum canggung sebelum pergi dengan langkah cepat.
"Heh heh, ahahaha. Aku duluan. Sampai jumpa."
"..."
Dan begitu, hari itu cepat berlalu saat mereka menangani berbagai urusan.
Setelah pesta, anggota Kavaleri kadang memandang Yuder dengan tatapan halus, tapi tidak ada yang menanyakan terbuka atau mengubah sikap. Karena itu, Yuder terus berlatih dan menjalankan tugas bersama mereka seolah tak ada yang berubah. Baik dia menerima gelar bangsawan, atau menari dengan Komandan, tak satu pun hal itu terasa penting di Kavaleri saat ini, yang merupakan kelegaan.
Momen pertama dia sendirian datang setelah dia membersikan debu yang menempel dari lapangan latihan dan memasuki kamarnya sendiri.
Melewati vas bunga kering yang tersebar di ruangan, Yuder mengambil tumpukan kertas di meja samping tempat tidur. Itu jurnal penelitian Adipati Tain Pertama yang diterjemahkan, yang belum sempat dibaca dengan benar.
Hari itu, saat berlatih, dia membawa anggota terluka ke divisi medis dan singkat bertemu Enon. Saat anggota terluka ditangani Lusan, Enon mendekati Yuder diam-diam dan berbisik, "Kau harus datang ketemu aku sebentar; aku sudah selesai membaca jurnalnya."
Ini menyiratkan Enon menemukan sesuatu yang mengkhawatirkan di jurnal. Jadi, Yuder tahu dia juga perlu membacanya secepatnya.
Terikat tali, halaman pertama tumpukan kertas menampilkan tulisan tangan yang bisa dikatakan sempurna seperti buku teks. Di bagian bawah tertulis tanggal, menunjukkan waktu hampir seribu tahun lalu. Siapa pun yang tidak tahu apa ini tidak akan menyadari itu jurnal penelitian.
Saat Yuder menatap jejak tinta pudar yang disalin Kishiar, dia dengan lembut menggosok jari di atasnya.
Kipas. Jarinya membalik halaman.
Kemajuan penelitianku yang berlangsung dinilai signifikan, sehingga aku memutuskan mendokumentasikannya dengan lebih detail.
Jurnal dimulai dengan kesingkatan total. Tidak ada pengantar megah penulis atau eksposisi mulia tentang tujuannya. Tak ada juga anekdot pribadi rumit yang biasa dimasukkan orang ke dalam diary, maupun catatan panjang tentang keadaan emosional saat penelitian.
Ini pasti sebabnya sulit langsung memastikan Adipati Tain Pertama adalah penulisnya—meski jelas seorang penyihir yang menuliskannya.
Dia pasti sangat praktis dan langsung, pikir Yuder.
Penulis menggunakan bagian awal jurnal merangkum penelitian sebelumnya. Dia mengklasifikasikan dan mengatur 'yang terkutuk'—yaitu monster—dan mencoba menentukan kekuatan dan kelemahan mereka secara magis.
Saat topik lain sesekali disebut, isinya soal betapa sibuknya penulis, menunda kemajuan penelitian. Memberi kesan betapa dalamnya obsesi penulis pada penelitian ini.
Vitalitas yang terkutuk umumnya jauh lebih kuat dari manusia. Bahkan tanpa sihir, mereka sering mengeksertakan kekuatan serupa. Tapi bukan berarti mereka tidak mati. Sumbernya masih tidak diketahui...
Hingga titik ini, informasi lebih cocok ditunjukkan ke Hellem daripada Yuder, karena itu penelitian monster umum. Namun, isi mulai berubah saat memasih bagian tengah.
Mulai titik tertentu, penulis tampak acak memulai dan menghentikan klasifikasi dan ringkasan monster. Kishiar menyalin bagian itu setepat mungkin, menambahkan catatan di bawah: "Tampaknya penulis sering menghentikan penulisannya."
Bercampur dengan catatan penelitian acak, mulai muncul konten yang mirip diary sejati.
Penulis sering konfrontasi dengan seseorang. Meski nama orang itu tidak disebut, tidak sulit menebak penulis telah mendalam berbagi dan bertukar pendapat soal penelitian ini dengan orang tersebut.
Namun, berbeda dengan penulis yang percaya pemahaman menyeluruh monster esensial untuk mencapai tujuannya, lawannya sepertinya berpikir penelitian saja tidak cukup.
Jika kita bisa menemukan asal usul makhluk terkutuk itu, waktu itu sendiri, yang tak kenal henti ke depan, juga bisa jadi pihak kita. Saat aku mengatakannya, ayah spiritualku tidak memberi respons.
Akhirnya, Kishiar menemukan bagian yang dibacanya dulu di Tainu. Itu bagian jurnal paling penuh refleksi pribadi.
Setelah membaca, Kishiar menambahkan catatan cepat, diikuti beberapa anotasi di bawah.
"Istilah 'makhluk terkutuk' untuk monster di sini ada di catatan kuno. Baru era Kaisar Kedua mereka mulai disebut sekadar 'monster', atau diberi nama yang diciptakan peneliti."
"Upaya mencari asal usul monster dianggap tidak biasa. Kitab suci sudah ada saat itu, menyatakan makhluk ini lahir dari darah terkutuk Bulan Hitam yang jatuh ke dunia. Jadi, mustahil mereka tidak mengetahuinya."
"Ayah spiritual adalah istilah lama di kalangan penyihir untuk merujuk pada guru atau mentor. Beberapa kesamaan tetap ada hari ini, tapi saat itu, ajaran guru dianggap mutlak. Penyihir tanpa guru tidak dianggap penyihir yang proper, dan catatan soal individu seperti itu langka."
Bagian terakhir yang menarik perhatian Yuder.
"Jika penulis jurnal ini memang Adipati Blake Van Tain, maka ayah spiritual yang dia sebut akan menjadi Penyihir Agung Luma, mentornya."
Kishiar cepat menyimpulkan ini lewat beberapa kata, berdasarkan spekulasi Yuder sendiri.
Yuder cepat membalik-balik jurnal. Istilah "ayah spiritual" muncul sesekali di seluruhnya. Penulis memiliki banyak konfrontasi dengan mentornya, mengeluh mentornya tidak tampak menemukan nilai dalam penelitiannya.
Penulis berpikir mentornya menyimpan pemikiran yang tidak dibagikannya, dan dia yakin dia diam-diam melakukan penelitian lain. Jika mentornya memang Luma, maka kecurigaannya kemungkinan besar tidak keliru."
Akhirnya, permusuhan lama antara penulis jurnal dan ayah spiritualnya berakhir, ditandai pernyataan bahwa dia kehilangan kontak dengan ayah spiritualnya untuk waktu yang lama.
Chapter 528
Not long after leaving the room, Kanna sent Gayle and Doyle away and joined Yuder.
They strolled down the corridor, engaged in conversation.
"From what I've observed so far, Hosanna is fundamentally a quiet and quite decent person. However, he's someone who would do anything for Nahan," Kanna said.
"Just as Gayle and Doyle described him," Yuder agreed.
"Exactly."
"Why is he so devoted to Nahan?"
Pondering Yuder's question, Kanna fell deep into thought.
"Well Hosanna is often unconscious, and even when he's awake, his mind isn't exactly clear, making it hard to read information from him. But if I had to guess, I'd say they've known each other since childhood. That seems to be the reason."
"Childhood?"
Nahan's childhoodwords that could only serve to further dry out Yuder's already barren imagination.
"If I were to summarize the scant information I can read from Hosanna about Nahan, it can be expressed very simply as the pitiful young lord."
Yuder's eyes turned icy.
"That's not a thought a subordinate typically harbors."
"Mm-hm. Exactly."
Kanna agreed.
"All the time he's awake, he worries about Nahan and feels guilt for his own sins. The guilt is so overwhelming that I can't even read any information about the Sage, although it doesn't seem like hes hostile toward the Sage, per se."
"It's strange that Nahan, who is known to have different intentions than the Sage, has a close comrade who isn't hostile toward the Sage."
"That's why I plan to investigate further."
Moreover, Kanna said that Hosanna harbored no resentment toward Nahan, even under these circumstances. She even speculated that he would feel the same even if he were to die here.
Is his slow recovery despite being awake due to his lack of will to live? Yuder thought. However, he had no intention of allowing Hosanna to die so pitifully.
"Feeling guilt means he's aware that what hes done is wrong. I have no intention of letting him die in an escapist manner. So Kanna, I'm counting on you to continue your good work in the subsequent investigations."
Though the conversation continued as if they were responding to Gayle and Doyle, in truth, everything Kanna had said was information Yuder had gleaned through her from Hosanna.
Both the news that Nahan had not yet been captured and the news about the Star of Nagran appearing in the capital would likely confuse Hosanna. As the person who knew Nahan the best, he probably wouldn't take it well.
Confusion would make it easier for Kanna to read information and cooperate in investigations. Therefore, Yuder planned to discreetly leak information to Hosanna through Kanna every time they learned something about the Sage or the Star of Nagran, observing his reactions.
Unlike simple-minded people like Gayle and Doyle, Hosanna, as one of Nahan's closest associates, was more likely to know something different from what they had gathered so far.
"Of course. If I notice anything strange, I'll call you immediately."
Having had similar experiences before, Kanna grinned, exuding confidence.
She reached up to pat Yuders back as she usually did, but paused mid-motion, then offered an awkward smile before striding away.
"Heh heh, ahahaha. I'll go ahead. See you later."
"..."
And so, the day quickly disappeared as they dealt with various matters.
After the party, the members of the Cavalry sometimes looked at Yuder with a subtle gaze, but no one openly questioned him or changed their attitude. For this reason, Yuder continued to train and perform his duties with them as if nothing had changed. Whether he had received a noble title, or had danced with the Commander, none of these things seemed to matter in the current Cavalry, which was a relief.
The first moment he had to be by himself came after he had washed off the dust that clung to him from the training grounds and entered his own room.
Walking past vases filled with dried flowers scattered around the room, Yuder picked up a bundle of papers that sat on his bedside table. It was the translated research journal of the First Duke Tain, which he hadn't had time to properly read yet.
Earlier that day, while training, he had taken an injured member to the medical division and briefly met with Enon. While the injured member was being treated by Lusan, Enon had stealthily approached Yuder and whispered, "You should come see me soon; I've finished reading the journal."
This implied that Enon had found something of concern in the journal. So, Yuder knew he also needed to read it as soon as possible.
Bound by a string, the very first page of the paper bundle displayed handwriting that could be considered textbook perfect. At the bottom was written a date, indicating a time almost a thousand years ago. Anyone who didn't know what this was wouldn't realize that it was a research journal.
As Yuder gazed at the faint ink traces that Kishiar had transcribed, he gently ran his finger over them.
Flutter. His finger turned the page.
The progress of my ongoing research has been deemed significant, and thus I have decided to document it in greater detail.
The journal began with utter brevity. There was no grand introduction of the author or lofty exposition about his objectives. Neither were there elaborate personal anecdotes that people commonly included in diaries, nor lengthy accounts of the emotional states experienced during the research.
This must be why it was hard to immediately confirm that the First Duke Tain was the authoreven if it was clear that a mage had written it.
He must have been incredibly practical and direct, Yuder thought.
The author had used the early parts of the journal to summarize his prior research. He had classified and organized 'the cursed ones'that is, monstersand had tried to magically determine their strengths and weaknesses.
Whenever other topics were occasionally mentioned, they were of the sort that stated how busy the author had been, delaying the progress of the research. It gave the sense of the author's deep obsession with this research.
The vitality of the cursed ones is generally far stronger than that of humans. Even without magic, they often exert a similar strength. But that doesn't mean they don't die. The source of this is still unknown...
Up until this point, the information would have been better shown to Hellem than Yuder, as it was general monster research. However, the content began to change as it moved into the middle sections.
From a certain point, the author seemed to haphazardly begin and discontinue his classifications and summaries of monsters. Kishiar had transcribed those sections as faithfully as possible, adding a note below that said, "It appears that the author frequently discontinued his writing."
Intermingled with the haphazard research notes, content resembling a true diary began to appear.
The author had frequent confrontations with someone. Although the name of this person was not mentioned, it wasn't hard to guess that the author had deeply shared and exchanged opinions about this research with that individual.
However, unlike the author who believed that a thorough understanding of monsters was essential for achieving his goals, his adversary seemed to think that research alone wouldn't suffice.
If we could discover where those cursed beings come from, time itself, unyielding in its forward march, could also be on our side. When I spoke thus, my spiritual father gave no response.
At last, Kishiar came across a passage he had read long ago in Tainu. It was the part of the journal most filled with personal reflections.
After reading, Kishiar added a quick note, followed by a few annotations at the bottom.
"The term 'cursed beings' used for monsters here is something I've seen in ancient records. It was only from the era of the Second Emperor that they began to be referred to simply as 'monsters,' or given names coined by researchers."
"The attempt to find out where monsters come from is considered unusual. Scriptures existed even back then, stating that these creatures were born from the cursed blood of the Black Moon that fell upon the world. So, it's unlikely that they would not have known this."
"Spiritual father is an old term used among mages to refer to a master or mentor. While some similarities remain today, at that time, the teachings of a master were considered absolute. A mage without a master was not considered a proper mage, and records about such individuals are scarce."
The last part was what captured Yuder's attention.
"If the author of this journal is indeed Duke Blake Van Tain, then the spiritual father he mentions would be the Archmage Luma, who was his mentor."
Kishiar had quickly discerned this through a few words, based on Yuder's own speculation.
Yuder quickly flipped through the journal. The term "spiritual father" appeared occasionally throughout. The author had multiple confrontations with his mentor, lamenting that his mentor did not seem to find value in his research.
The author thought that his mentor harbored thoughts that werent shared with him, and he was certain he was secretly conducting other research. If his mentor was indeed Luma, then his suspicion was likely not misplaced."
Eventually, the long-standing feud between the journal's author and his spiritual father came to an end, marked by a statement that he had lost contact with his spiritual father for an extended period.
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