Turning Chapter 1151

The mont the two of them clasped hands, their bodies lifted smoothly into the air—as if sothing beneath their feet had pushed them upward—without even a mont’s pause to register surprise at the contact.

“Gasp...”

“Did our Commander always have that kind of ability...?”

Those seeing it for the first ti blinked in disbelief and swallowed hard, but the two themselves behaved as if this were sothing they’d done countless tis—utterly natural.

Kishiar glanced back one last ti, then smiled with the sly face of a fox hiding a secret and waved.

“I'm truly going to enjoy my vacation now. So while we're gone, I ask that all of you act so well that no one notices our absence.”

“Yes, sir! Don’t worry!”

“Have a safe trip, Duke.”

Amid the send-off from the retainers and Cavalry mbers, the two walked into the air. Though they were said to be ‘walking,’ the speed was so fast they beca re dots in an instant—too quick to leave even an aftertaste of awe behind. Those left behind, staring as if entranced, only ca back to their senses much later at Enk’s sharp voice.

“Didn't you hear just now? The Duke and Baron have not officially left Peleta. Get it together and return to your duties!”

“Ah... right. The Duke is just in disciplinary confinent.”

The fact that Kishiar had been put under disciplinary confinent wasn’t a secret. But if word got out about where exactly he was going, unnecessary obstructions could arise—so they had agreed to pretend he was still in Peleta, coordinating the story with the retainers.

Besides, even when he was in Peleta, Kishiar was always elusive, so hardly anyone would be suspicious just because he wasn’t seen for a while. Still, everyone in Peleta was ready to pretend he was present if it ant ensuring their lord’s happiness.

As everyone scattered in a mild panic, Mick Shuden tapped his glasses and sighed.

“If only I had the ability to move quickly over water or through the air like that, our trip up would’ve been a lot easier.”

“What? The Duke can walk on water too?”

Mick chuckled at Durney’s astonishnt.

“Did I never ntion it? Back in the South, the Duke took walking over the ocean. Compared to that, walking in the sky doesn’t even seem that impressive!”

Though both were astonishing, Mick exaggerated his own experience as being more mystical. Those listening to him wondered just what kind of powers the person they served really possessed—or laughed in disbelief—then went off to attend to their duties. Among them were Cavalry mbers engaged in an enthusiastic debate over what they had just witnessed from their Commander.

“By the way, that ability of the Commander’s... does he need to hold hands like that for it to activate?”

“Could be. Even those Elder guys had to hold hands to use their teleportation over long distances, right? Maybe it’s sothing like that?”

“Oh! That might be it. I an, if physical contact is a condition, when else would anyone get to hold hands with royalty? No wonder we didn’t know until now.”

“Yuder is amazing. Even if I were offered double pay, I don’t think I could bring myself to touch the Commander’s hand.”

“Sa here...”

“By the way, where were Yuder and the Commander going for their ‘disciplinary confinent’ trip again? Anyone rember?”

“Uh... now that you ntion it, I don’t think I ever heard. Do you rember, Edin?”

“...”

Edin kept his mouth shut. He knew all too well that if he just waited a little, his comrades—who were increasingly obsessed with training and growing simpler by the day—would soon forget such questions entirely.

“I... actually, after seeing Shuseiner give Yuder a snack earlier, I suddenly feel really hungry.”

“Gasp... too. Let’s go get snacks and then hit training.”

“Want to race to the branch base? No powers—just pure physical sprinting. Winner gets double snacks.”

“Hah. Trying to sche for more food, huh? Fine, I’ll take you on.”

“Double snacks? That’s mine. Back off!”

And so, another peaceful day flowed by in Peleta.

***

Though Yuder had experienced walking through the sky with Kishiar several tis now, it was the first ti they’d traveled such a long distance like this.

He said it wouldn’t use too much power, so I left it to him... but I didn’t expect it to be on this level.

Whatever improvents had been made, the force pushing them was now unbelievably fast and natural. From the outside, it might look like nothing much, but when you considered that Kishiar was currently using a triple-layered form of the pushing force, it beca nearly unbelievable that this was the power of a human.

First, he pushes from beneath to lift into the air, then from behind to maintain steady speed. He even diverts the resulting wind resistance in another direction so it doesn’t affect us... At this point, asking how he’s able to do this so easily feels aningless.

For an average person, just managing to lift themselves into the air would be their absolute limit. But the man now walking happily while holding Yuder’s hand looked like he was out for a light stroll.

“Why are you looking at like that? Is sothing bothering you?”

“No. I was just thinking that trying to guess how fast your abilities evolve is pointless.”

“For the great mind of the Cavalry to say that—it makes feel so flattered, I want to try even harder.”

Yuder had sowhat accepted it when other mbers started using that title, but hearing Kishiar call him that still felt strange. Seeing Yuder press his lips together, Kishiar laughed like a boy and fiddled with the hand he held before speaking.

“After my rut, I thought the elevated power level from the symptoms would return to normal. And it did, in terms of total power output... but sohow, I feel like I can move much more efficiently. My body feels incredibly light.”

“That’s... fortunate, then.”

“But don’t worry. I won’t let myself get drunk on that lightness anymore.”

After saying that lightly, Kishiar slightly increased their speed.

Looking down at the world zipping past far faster than any horse ride, Yuder wondered how surprised soone might be if they happened to glance up and see them.

Since we're moving so fast, they probably wouldn’t even realize it was a person... Still, it might spark ghost sightings or sothing.

The journey, unstoppable by anything, was both swift and comfortable. Kishiar would lead Yuder through the sky and land briefly whenever they found a beautiful spot to enjoy the food Shuseiner had packed.

And so, in just a single day—a feat that should have taken several—they successfully descended near Yuder’s hotown.

“If I rember correctly, it should be around here. Am I right?”

Yuder looked at the signpost standing before him. These signs were placed all around the vast mountains to prevent travelers from getting lost—and they were deeply familiar.

The Airik Mountain Range, which cuts vertically through the Empire’s center, was often called the backbone of the Empire because of its sheer size and length. Most people couldn’t grasp how vast it was, but in reality, it was a collection of diagonally branching ranges, like veins, and collectively referred to as the Rik Mountains.

Unless you live here, most people just lump everything together as Airik.

Among residents, the term “Airik” referred more precisely to the central, largest, and longest portion of the range.

And it was there—right in the heart of it—that Yuder’s hotown lay.