After the relationship had settled, the warmth between them did not diminish. This persistent heat allowed Yuder to finally let the words within him flow smoothly.

"Earlier… Hosanra wanted to see me, so we met. He requested Naham's salvation. I thought it best to seize this opportunity to learn about their past from him, and I finally discovered what kind of brainwashing the Sage had used on Naham."

"What kind of brainwashing was it?"

"To devote oneself fully to the Star of Nagran."

Kishiar wasn't surprised.

"Devotion to a group and devotion to a person might seem similar but ultimately tell different stories. It seems the Sage at the time didn't understand that difference. Or maybe he did, and yet he felt it was the best option in his urgency."

"Yes. After the Sage had Naham name the group, he spoke those words and asked him, as Kanna believes that the act of naming played a part in reinforcing the brainwashing."

Yuder paused after speaking and closed his lips for a moment.

"Actually, the idea that merely naming something can grow trust in the words of someone you don't quite believe felt somewhat foreign to me. Perhaps because I've never really paid attention to such things."

"That's possible. Have you never named anything before?"

"Yes."

Kanna had said that the intentions and wishes of the person who names are embedded in the name. That mere responsibility, even deeper emotions, can be held in just a name.

Perhaps the thought that disturbed Yuder enough to give him nightmares had grown from that conversation.

Yuder felt Kishiar's breath tickling the nape of his neck and slowly opened his mouth.

"When I heard that story, I thought of the name I had been given."

Looking back now, he first remembered the name Yudrain, his second name, even though he also had his original name, Yuder.

"If a name carries the wishes of the person who named it, I wondered if there were wishes embedded in mine. Strange, isn't it? I've never been curious about it before."

Not only the intention behind it, but he had never even tried to understand the full meaning of his name until the moment of his death.

That seemingly insignificant thought, yet meaningless, quietly but overwhelmingly disturbed Yuder. He couldn't understand why he reacted so strongly, but it was indeed the truth.

"Perhaps that thought is what caused my sudden fatigue and led to the nightmare. But it won't happen again."

The one who had named him Yudrain in his previous life was Kishiar. Ordinarily, Yuder might have chosen not to discuss this matter with Kishiar.

However, the current Yuder knew how much concern his strange behaviors could evoke based on previous experiences. Although Kishiar hadn't said much, if his desperation was enough to connect to Yuder's dream, he surely felt a much greater concern than what was apparent. Therefore, Yuder wanted to at least communicate this much for the one who had rescued him from that dream.

Indeed, Kishiar's caressing hand paused for a moment, and a slightly different kind of silence followed.

"...I see."

"Yes."

"How about now that you're awake? Still don't want to know the answer?"

Yuder stared at the burning stove for a moment before responding.

"...It's something whose answer I can't possibly know. I think it's meaningless to dwell on it further."

"So you still want to know, though."

"..."

Picking up the subtle implication in the answer, Kishiar chuckled and kissed Yuder's shoulder. After the laughter subsided, his voice flowed low.

"Thinking that nothing else will happen just by thought isn't a realistic solution, it's more like a hope. Rather than suppressing and ignoring what's on your mind, sometimes it might be better to listen, even to unclear answers."

"An unclear answer like..."

"Like my thoughts, for instance."

Yuder was speechless at the flow of words, not expecting °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° such a response.

Kishiar continued to speak while gently stroking Yuder's body.

"I haven't named many things in my life, but I've always wracked my brain over it. I agree that naming involves responsibility and various emotions and wishes."

Yuder said nothing. The man who had named him Yudrain wasn't him, but it was still Kishiar.

"When I gave the name Nadan, I hoped his future would literally be blessed. I chose it from a southern proverb because I wanted him to be able to love his own roots. The surname Jukerman was chosen from a knightly family that had once produced the most valiant knight and had long been discontinued."

Kishiar gave a lengthy explanation that had not been asked for.

Then it was about the Cavalry.

"Naming the Cavalry was quite a trial too. Since there wasn't a single word that could explain our powers at once, I had to borrow from existing terms. Eventually, it was named to imply powers that are sometimes magical and sometimes like armaments. Did you know this?"

"I think I've heard it whenever the Cavalry was introduced externally."

As the first commander and founder, it was natural that Kishiar would have named it, but it was the first time Yuder heard him personally mention it.

"But if I go a bit further into my true feelings, actually, I wanted to convey that Awakeners are not any less than magicians and swordmasters, that they are as powerful as both combined."

Kishiar initially intended the second meaning when he first named the Cavalry. However, because such a name felt too audacious and could easily garner resentment, the emperor expressed concerns and toned it down to the first meaning. It was a backstory Yuder had not anticipated.

"That... seems like a wise decision by His Majesty."

"Oh. I thought you would understand this audacity."

Kishiar murmured playfully as he fiddled with Yuder's hand. Yuder let him manipulate him at will as he responded.

"I agree that Awakeners are no less powerful than anyone else, but if the second meaning had been promoted, we would have been subjected to decades of checks from the established powers before we could even start doing our proper work."

Kishiar's hand paused for a moment.

"That's... from experience."

"Yes."

In his previous life, the Cavalry reigned as the continent's most powerful force, constantly facing checks from swordmasters and magicians across the continent. If they had known the name held such a meaning from the start, they would have faced ten times the scrutiny.

'Of course, things are much different now.'

Back then, the magical organizations that were almost enemies are hard to see as the same ones given their attitudes toward today's Cavalry after the incidents in the west. Now that Kishiar is known as a Sword Master, the reactions of existing swordmasters would also change much faster than before.

Realizing he had regained his usual composure, Yuder was a bit surprised.

Kishiar's words, admittedly an 'unclear answer,' seemed to have been somewhat helpful to him, at least.

What intentions the man who named him Yudrain had was still unknowable. Even when he was dreaming of an endlessly repeating death, he had thought he would never want to know if that's what eternity meant.

However, the depth of thought, effort, and affection evident in Kishiar's voice as he mentioned the names he had given was undoubtedly sincere.

What then could 'eternity' mean to him?

Yuder took a deep breath and ventured to ask a question he thought he could never have posed before.

"Previously, you mentioned that the name Yudrain could be interpreted as 'eternity.' Do you remember?"

"Of course."

Kishiar's response was slightly delayed, but Yuder did not notice.

"In fact, that word feels too distant to me, so its meaning doesn't quite resonate. What do you think of that word, Commander?"