"Uh, um..."
Leonardo flinched, suddenly conscious of his breath at the affectionate gesture. As their foreheads and noses brushed, he reflexively lowered his eyes. A tingling sensation, as intense as when lips touched eyelids, spread down his spine.
There was no time to be aware that they were in front of people. Leonardo tucked in his chin and placed his hand on Hugo's forearm.
"There was some business."
Before he could properly look into the eyes of the other who was apologizing, saying he was sorry, a loyalty pledge to the great lord echoed in front of the gate.
"Salute to the Lord–!"
Due to the unhelpful resounding voice of the guard unit, the large hand that had cupped his cheek briefly rubbed his eyelids before quickly pulling away. Leonardo's gaze followed Hugo's eyes as they moved away. It was a fleeting greeting, to the point of regret.
"My Lord, you've arrived."
The person who appeared to be the guard captain approached Hugo, placed his hand on his left chest, and bowed his head with discipline. He glanced briefly at Leonardo, but only for a moment. Hugo, who had immediately reached out and patted his shoulder, asked the captain about the situation.
"You've worked hard. Is the control complete?"
"Yes, we've completed full control of the 2km radius around the gate. Ah, regarding the train passing under the bridge, there was cargo that absolutely had to be transported today..."
"That's fine. Good work."
Andreas, who had stepped back at the Commander's abrupt departure as soon as he arrived, made a shocked expression. He lowered his voice and tapped Loren's arm.
"Did you see that? Didn't I tell you?"
With a gesture pointing at Hugo and Leonardo standing close, he meant to ask if their greeting just now really seemed like mere rumors. However, Loren made no response. She might have been refraining from speaking, but it was difficult to discern her inner thoughts from her expression alone.
Finally, not receiving any agreement, Andreas crossed his arms alone with a "tsk" sound. On the other hand, he felt relieved that he hadn't approached Leonardo earlier.
Just then, Hugo, having finished his conversation with the guard captain, turned around and asked the two battalion commanders:
"Was there any trouble on the way?"
"What trouble could there be? With two battalion commanders accompanying, and on a road where not a single person passes."
Hugo responded with a nod to Andreas's subtle gaze, pretending not to notice. Then, looking around at the escort team members, he continued:
"You've all worked hard coming this far. Have you finished your goodbyes? We need to leave soon."
As he said this, he took Leonardo's hand and pulled him to his side. Loren's gaze fell on that spot but was quickly averted.
"We mostly wrapped up before you arrived. It seems only you're left."
"Is that so?"
Hugo looked down at Leonardo beside him. He caressed the hand he was holding, then interlocked their fingers and jerked his chin towards the stone gate.
"Shall we go then?"
"...Where?"
"Somewhere we can say goodbye quietly."
Though he looked puzzled, Leonardo allowed himself to be led by Hugo towards the stone gate. He no longer cared that they were holding hands in front of people. It seemed all his attention was focused solely on the man in front of him.
'His cheek...'
As the two moved, the guard unit members positioned nearby withdrew in unison.
Hugo carefully placed his palm on the lower center of the stone gate. It was near where it was written 'The gate that sees the sun.'
Wondering what he was going to do, Leonardo alternately stared at his hand and his profile.
A few seconds later. A chilly mana rose around Hugo, and his disheveled hair swayed slightly in the breeze.
"Grindsx."
Leonardo's eyes widened. Though he couldn't understand it well, it was undoubtedly an ancient command word.
His surprised gaze lasted only a moment before a dazzling light began to emanate from the entire intaglio.
"...!"
"W-What's this?"
Some of the escort team members covered their faces with their arms and stepped back. Loren and Andreas also half-turned their heads and closed their eyes tightly.
Leonardo also squinted but never took his eyes off the scene. Blue mana seeped into the intaglio, visualizing the complex pattern three-dimensionally. Along with it came a fierce wind that penetrated the lungs, but Leonardo's chest was filled with a sense of oppression.
Wondering if there was another problem with his heart, he was rubbing his left chest when a sound like rock splitting – pssst – pierced his ears. The ground vibrated enough to shake his legs, and the tightly closed stone gate was slowly splitting open, emitting a mysterious energy.
The intense light that leaked through illuminated the figures of the two people.
In the escort team's view, the two silhouettes swallowed by the backlight shimmered.
Kugung–
The stone gate, which had been opening vigorously, stopped moving after opening just enough for one or two people to pass through.
As old dust and stone fragments fell from the gate, Hugo covered Leonardo's head with his palm.
Leonardo couldn't take his eyes off the sight of the gate's interior revealed through the narrow gap. At the end of the straight corridor stretching out, the outside scenery shimmering like a heat haze captured his gaze.
"I'll say goodbye and come back, so wait here for a moment."
Hugo, half-turning his head, left these words for the entire escort team and stepped through the gap in the stone gate. Leonardo, following him, turned back with a sense of regret.
The Council members, arranged in a semicircle, were all staring this way.
Some members, including Loren, gave Leonardo a hand salute. Andreas, who had been staring blankly, belatedly noticed the situation and raised his hand edge in a formal manner.
Flynn, with whom his eyes met last, approached the stone gate and mouthed 'goodbye' as a farewell greeting.
As he waved his hand, Leonardo waved back in the same manner.
As if to prevent others from intruding, the massive stone gate closed tightly again with a heavy sound just as the last step crossed over.
* * *
When seen only through the gap, it wasn't noticeable at all, but inside the gate was a huge hall. On both sides of the straight path stretching down the middle, a space like a waiting room with high ceilings and various soft lights coming in unfolded.
Bronze chairs made for brief rests were sparsely arranged, wearing faded time. Delicate sculptures made of stone and marble, harmonizing with basins placed here and there, densely filled parts of the vast space.
He had wondered where the colorful lights were coming from, but their source was the large stained glass on the walls. In this majestic and wide space, there were only two people. Guards could be seen far away on the bridge, but the distance was too great to feel like they were in the same space.
The sound of water trickling from fountains and walls added peacefulness and loneliness to the atmosphere. Leonardo, crossing the strange space with Hugo, suddenly opened his mouth.
"What is this place for?"
Though he didn't speak very loudly, his voice echoed as if reverberating. With perfect timing, the whistle of a steam train was heard from the other side of the corridor. Black smoke rose from under the bridge leading outside the gate.
Hugo quietly gazed at the shadows the steam train's dissipating smoke drew on the light.
"Until 100 years ago, this place was also used as a station. Now only freight trains pass through, but we're preserving it because it would be a shame to erase the traces."
Leonardo also took in the same scene.
"Then it is a waiting room. I thought it was for a different purpose because the interior is so splendid. Like a temple."
"It's good for beginnings and endings to be beautiful. It's a suitable place for farewells."
At the word 'farewell,' Leonardo automatically stopped walking. Hugo also stopped and turned to look at him.
It was almost at the end of the waiting room. The two people standing like a picture in the middle of the long corridor stared at each other silently for a moment.
Just as the atmosphere began to feel a bit awkward, Hugo looked over Leonardo's welcome attire.
"It suits you well. Do you like it?"
Leonardo also looked down at the mage robe he was wearing.
"Yeah. It's almost the same as what I used to wear. You have a good memory for these things."
"Somehow it stayed in my memory. Clear as a photograph."
The blue eyes saying this were quite profound. Leonardo laughed softly at his contradictory statement.
In Hugo's view, the image of Leonardo he had faced just before departing for the peninsula faintly overlapped. His jawline had become sharper than then, and his eyes had softened to the point of looking sorrowful and pitiful.
Hugo, who was about to rub the golden eye area out of habit, suddenly stopped and reached into his inner pocket to take something out.
"The registration card came out well too. Take a look."
What Hugo held out was a mage registration card inserted in a leather case. It was slightly smaller than Leonardo's hand receiving it.
The registration card was shaped like a folded notebook, and when the blue cover engraved with a scale pattern was opened, the ID photo taken at the photo studio first caught the eye.
It was just the right expression, neither too stiff nor a wide smile. Below that, details like the name Leonardo Blaine, gender, rank, main magic attribute, and other information were stamped in ink.
Suddenly, Leonardo noticed the phrase 'War Veteran' engraved in silver letters under other information.
It was a term meaning a war veteran, indicating a person eligible for veterans' benefits in the empire.
He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
"I was dishonorably discharged, so this shouldn't apply to me."
"Everyone knows you're a war hero, so why wouldn't it? And the issuing authority is the Commander of the Council."
Leonardo laughed in disbelief at the man's answer, which gave an impression of stubbornness.
He seemed to have heard similar words before. 'Was it 'I'm a duke, so why wouldn't it be possible?'
As he recalled that memory anew, strength suddenly entered the back of his hand where those authoritative lips had touched. Leonardo, who was unconsciously pressing firmly on the phrase, turned his eyes to the Commander's signature scrawled above the issuing authority's seal in the lower right corner.
He remembered seeing many other people's registration cards, but there were hardly any cases where an agency official's signature was included. This meant that the signer was vouching for the registration card owner's personal information.
Along with that, 'Agrizendro Territory' was written in the 'Jurisdiction Territory' field below.
He knew that usually, the place of residence was entered here. But he didn't have any officially contracted house to speak of...
Leonardo's lips moved slightly. He looked up at Hugo with eyes asking what this meant.