Kishiar hadn’t been wrong. Yuder felt a cold sensation running down his spine as he turned his head—but Kishiar was smiling calmly, without the slightest trace of alarm.

“What’s the reason for the support requests?”

“The situation was urgent, so I couldn’t get detailed information. But all the signal flares were red.”

“Then it’s highly likely that the same kind of rift that appeared in Peleta has appeared in those places as well.”

“That was our assessment, too.”

Kishiar nodded and gave a concise explanation, seemingly for Yuder’s benefit.

“You heard earlier that Peleta has contracts with various northern territories to carry out monster subjugations on their behalf, right?”

“Yes.”

“Now it’s gone beyond that. For those who pay more, we lend forces for other tasks that require manpower. To make it more efficient, I modified the color system of the magical flare signals used in emergencies so we could tell the nature of the request at a glance.”

When an enemy invades or a major disaster occurs, nearby regions send signals by launching flares created with magic tools. Kishiar used that system—and the colors of those flares—to let Peleta instantly identify what kind of help was being requested. That way, they could send appropriate reinforcements quickly. Since most territories already had the facilities, there was no need to invest in new infrastructure, and no special training was needed other than agreeing on the meaning of the flare colors—an efficient and cost-effective solution.

After implementing this system, Peleta’s profits increased further. Though expenditures rose slightly, more lords came to prefer outsourcing bothersome matters to others.

“So then, the meaning of the red flare is...”

“Monster appearance—or a monster-related emergency requiring immediate support.”

Enk answered smoothly, without hesitation.

“Right after we recognized the rift in Peleta and dispatched the knights, five red flares were launched simultaneously from other territories.”

Even though Yuder wasn’t technically a Peleta insider, Enk shared the information without any hesitation. Her attitude was no different than when reporting to Kishiar.

“Steward Enk!”

Just then, a soldier ran up in a rush. Spotting the duke and Yuder standing before the steward, he stopped in surprise and saluted.

“You’re here as well, Duke!”

“Skip the greeting and report. Has something else happened?”

“Ah, yes. Four more flares just came in from nearby areas. All of them...”

“Red, I presume.”

“Yes, all red!”

The soldier nodded with a surprised look, as if wondering whether the duke had suddenly developed the power of foresight.

Kishiar, oblivious or indifferent to the soldier’s awe, turned to Enk and gave his next command.

“Enk. Where is Commander Weliven now?” 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“When he received the report about the rift, he sent Nathan ahead and said he was heading to the Cavalry headquarters. He should be there now.”

“Send someone to inform him: divide the knights to dispatch according to the size and population of the regions that sent signals. But be sure to leave reserves, since more signals may still come in.”

“Yes, understood.”

“And I’ll go down to the village myself. I need to see the rift’s state with my own eyes.”

“Will Baron Aile be going with you as well? Shall I prepare a carriage?”

For the first time, Kishiar—who had been issuing commands without pause—hesitated slightly and glanced at Yuder. Yuder instantly understood that he was concerned about his condition.

Though the aftermath of what happened on the sofa still lingered a bit, that was all. Even if the dream hadn’t been a pleasant one, he’d slept and awakened—his condition wasn’t significantly different from usual.

And right now, this was a situation where abnormal rifts ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) had appeared not just in Peleta but possibly across other territories. Even if he were bleeding out with severed limbs, he would’ve insisted on going.

With that thought, Yuder widened his eyes and said firmly:

“Don’t even dream of going without me. You won’t be able to buy me off with candy this time.”

“...Right.”

Kishiar’s lips curved faintly, as if remembering the day in the west when he had left Yuder behind with three pieces of candy. That smile, which cracked through the dignified facade of a noble and commander, stirred Yuder deeply.

Kishiar turned back to Enk and gave his final instruction.

“Yuder will come with me. But we don’t need a carriage. Just bring two cloaks—it’s cold.”

“Understood.”

When Enk returned with the cloaks, Kishiar personally draped one over Yuder’s shoulders and tied it firmly. The cloak was standard Peleta-issued—thick and heavy like a training stone worn on the back, but excellent for insulation and warmth.

“Shall we?”

“Yes.”

Since Kishiar had declared he would use his ability to travel, Yuder took his offered hand.

The moment he did, his body shot forward with a recoil, as if being launched from the ground. The speed was intense—if he hadn’t been prepared, his neck might have snapped from the force. Of course, Yuder was completely unharmed.

Kishiar moved like a long jumper, pushing off the ground with explosive force and covering incredible distances in seconds. He skillfully managed the shared momentum so that Yuder, even while being pulled along, felt no jolts or discomfort.

He’s doing all this just with control over push-pull force and a Swordmaster’s inhuman physical ability?

It looked similar to Yuder’s wind-stepping technique, but the principles were entirely different. With only a few leaps, they reached their destination so fast it felt like the village was rushing toward them instead.

Kishiar stopped in the middle of the village, now blanketed in night. It seemed evacuation had been immediate—no lights, no signs of life. Knights in Peleta uniforms had cordoned off the area and were standing guard between the buildings.

Kishiar stepped forward and made his presence known.

“Where’s Nathan?”

“Duke!”

“Sir Zuckerman is further inside.”

The knights, looking both relieved and tense, pointed ahead.

“He left us to handle the evacuation and containment and went in to monitor the rift. He said if anything abnormal occurred, we should take the villagers and flee even further, but...”

“There’s no need for that. The containment can be lifted now.”

From behind the knight who was mid-report, a voice rang out from the darkness. Startled, everyone turned.

“Sir Zuckerman? Why are you already...?”

Nathan Zuckerman stepped into the light with his usual blank expression, looking completely uninjured. He walked past the gathered knights and saluted crisply to Kishiar and Yuder.

“You’ve arrived.”

“You say the containment can be lifted. What do you mean? Has the rift vanished?”

Nathan nodded.

“Yes. It disappeared before you arrived. No monsters emerged, and there’s no immediate sign of it returning, so I judged the emergency resolved.”

“Thank heavens! I was afraid something terrible would happen...”

A young knight, looking newly enlisted, exclaimed with a bright face. Kishiar blinked and let out a small breath, turning to Yuder.

“Well, I’m glad it disappeared quickly. Still, let’s take a look around just in case.”

“Yes.”

He didn’t need to be told—they were going to investigate, naturally. They stepped over the cordon between the buildings and followed Nathan to where the rift had been.

Between the village well and the square, nothing was visible—just an ordinary tree standing where it always had.

“Here. It was right here.”

“How large was it?”

“About the size of my forearm.”

The first to discover it had been a villager who came for water late at night. There were lanterns hanging from the trees to make the area visible even after dark, which helped them notice the rift quickly.

“Do you sense anything?”

Kishiar asked as Yuder walked around the area. Yuder shook his head slowly.

“Nothing now.”

“Same here.”

While they examined the site, several more knights hurried over from the castle.

“Duke! The regions that sent emergency signals have all launched blue flares!”

A blue flare meant the situation had normalized. So, as the rift vanished from Peleta, the ones in the other territories must have disappeared as well.

“What on earth is all this chaos in the middle of the night...”

Commander Weliven, arriving slightly behind the others, sighed and shook his head. His face still showed signs of having been woken up in a rush.

Kishiar looked out at the returning villagers, murmuring and murmuring now that the emergency was over, and spoke.

“Let’s keep rotating guards here. We’ll return to the castle and continue the discussion there.”