Turning Chapter 1169

Yuder’s grandfather had passed away long ago. Unless he had left behind a record like Luma had, there was little chance of ever learning exactly what kind of man he had truly been.

That’s what Yuder had thought—until a clue appeared, unexpectedly and right nearby, just as such things always did.

"You’re leaving tomorrow? But it hasn’t even been that long since you ca back."

When Yuder went to inform the townspeople that he would be leaving the next day, many expressed regret. Among them was the elderly woman from the grocery shop—one of the first people he had visited after returning.

As always, she was half dozing alone at her usual spot. At Yuder’s greeting, she looked regretful, then sighed with a small smile.

"I want to tell you to stay longer... but looking at your eyes, it seems better not to."

"......"

"This isn’t your ho anymore, is it? Your ho is over there now, right?"

Not everyone gains deep insight simply from living a long life. But the old woman’s eyes were piercingly accurate.

Yuder quietly nodded.

"Yes."

"Then you should hurry ho. Your grandfather would’ve wanted that too. He always said he hoped his grandson would fly off toward his own path when the ti ca."

"He said sothing like that?"

"Of course. I rember him saying once that when you grew up, you’d end up doing sothing great. At the ti, I thought he was just a happy drunk, bragging about his grandson. But now that I see it... he wasn’t wrong. I wonder how proud he must be. Raising you with such care, only to pass on before seeing it—it must have pained him."

It sounded like a typical case of grandfatherly pride, but sohow, sothing about it felt strange.

Grandfather never once pressured to study, never told clearly what I should do when I grew up. But he told others I’d do sothing great?

He had always spoken about death as a natural thing and taught Yuder how to live on his own. But there had never been any kind of force behind those teachings. Rather than pushing him to learn to read, he’d helped him explore the forest freely. When Yuder caused trouble, he wouldn’t scold him but would ask why first. After hearing the reason, he’d usually just chuckle and let it go. Even his final words—“don’t be greedy”—had only been ant to ease the boy’s sorrow in the face of his death.

And yet, he’d said sothing like that with such certainty? That this boy—who had never once left the mountain—would go on to do sothing great?

Most people don’t say that kind of thing about a commoner child born to live their whole life chopping wood in the mountains.

Even if they loved their child deeply, there were limits. Most commoners expected their children to inherit their trade. At least from what Yuder had seen, no one ever spoke of greatness for children like him.

Even if it was just drunken rambling.

Was Yuder the only one who found this strange? He turned to look—Kishiar was narrowing his eyes, tilting his head thoughtfully. Just monts ago, he’d been standing back with a content smile, but now his expression was different. It ant he, too, sensed sothing unusual.

Hmm.

Yuder might have let it go before, when he had no particular curiosity about his grandfather. But now, after seeing the magical research papers the man had collected, things were different. And co to think of it, this old woman was now the oldest person in the village. As he rembered, she was even older than his grandfather had been. If anyone knew about his grandfather’s past, it would be her.

I don’t know when I’ll be back... I should at least ask.

After a mont of hesitation, Yuder opened his mouth.

"Ma’am... do you happen to rember what it was like when my grandfather and I first ca to this village?"

"When you first arrived?"

"I didn’t hear much about it from him."

The old woman didn’t ask why he was suddenly asking.

"Of course. Now that you’re an adult, it makes sense that you’d be curious. If you don’t mind hearing what little I rember, why don’t you sit down for so warm tea and stead sweet potatoes?"

She led them to the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) table in the corner of the grocery store, a place where she occasionally sat with people who stopped by for long conversations. After surprisingly generous snacks were laid out, she began speaking with a face deep in thought.

"Let’s see... It was the middle of spring, and everyone was busy. The weather was lovely, and soone ca into the village with sothing bundled in cloth held tightly to his chest. He was badly injured and hadn’t even treated the wounds. He looked a complete ss—at first, everyone thought he was a bandit or a thief."

"......"

Yuder had never heard this story before.

He said he’d taken in after getting word that I’d been orphaned during a monster attack in a distant village, and that so ti had passed since then... But wounds?

"People were too scared to approach at first, but then the man said he had a baby with him and asked if there was anywhere he could stay for a while. So we looked... and inside that bundle, there really was a baby. So small, not even crying—none of us realized it was a child at first. I was so surprised..."

She chuckled softly behind her hand.

"My eldest daughter had just married, so we had an extra room. I told him he could rest upstairs above the shop, if that was alright."

The old woman had asked if she should call a doctor, but Yuder’s grandfather refused. He seed far more concerned about the child than his own wounds. Left with no choice, she’d given him ointnt and nourishing food, and explained how to care for a baby.

"He stayed here for a few days and asked about this and that... and that’s when I learned sothing surprising."

"What was it?"

"Not long before your grandfather showed up with you in his arms, there had been a terrible incident in the neighboring territory. So strange monsters appeared out of season and devastated a village. Several high-ranking people had been in the mountains conducting research, and they were killed too. The lord was replaced in the aftermath, if I rember right..."

She fell silent for a mont and sighed.

"Anyway, your grandfather said he’d passed through there. He’d co to do so work, but then monsters appeared. He managed to survive and found you in that ruined village full of corpses. He said your parents were already gone, and that the two of you were the only ones left alive."

"......"

So... did that an his grandfather wasn’t actually a blood relative?

Yuder’s heart thumped once. But it wasn’t a painful shock—just mild surprise at learning sothing he hadn’t known.

After all, he’d already heard sothing from Kishiar that had prepared him well.

The love he showed was real. That’s all that matters.

He swallowed his surprise and continued to listen.

"Judging by how long he must have walked to get here, people realized they’d misunderstood his rough appearance. You were lucky—you were healthy. While he recovered, your grandfather helped with village work. He was clumsy at first, but he learned quickly and beca a reliable worker, which earned him so goodwill."

Everyone thought he would return to wherever he had co from once he healed. But instead, he asked if there was anywhere in the village he could settle down. The more remote, the better, he said. Without asking for any details, the old woman had recomnded the foresters’ shelter up the mountain.

And so, Yuder and his grandfather beca true mbers of the village.

"When he first arrived, he looked so ragged I didn’t notice—but he was actually wearing robes like the ones mages use. I heard those high-ranking people who died in the next village were mages too. Maybe he was the only one who survived and fled. And when you’re the only survivor... well, people expect you to take responsibility for all the others’ deaths."