The Northern House had taken me in without any hesitation, and I quickly grew accustomed to this warmth again. Although there were few that discriminated against me, they had mostly treated me the same way as when I was Hermann. At the same time of feeling appreciative to know that my old name is remembered, I felt a strong sense of estrangement whenever I heard it again.

In idleness, I quickly glanced at the ship figure on my shelf, which was an antique given to me by my father. Not only is it the ship that the ancients used as a festive prop, it faced a profound scrutiny: Is the ship the same every time it is rebuilt? I remain more agnostic on this issue now than ever.

I was called out by a noble figure of the army today whose name was not disclose to me by the messenger, and it seemed I had overslept albeit not late enough, I thought, to hear a scolding. I was called upon the 7th hour of Morning, seemingly coinciding with the regular time for morning assembly. It was clear that I had been called to attend as a novice.

I recalled with nostalgia of the early days I spent in the Eastern house, before I was transferred here. The training was tough enough that most people dropped out before their joining. Those who were lucky enough were sent out. I label them as fortunate as the incident rates are quite high there, and work is constantly available.

To my surprise, there was no one on the field. I felt a strong fear that I might have arrived late, as I used to during my stay at the Eastern house. While I spread out my arm to check my watch, I heard a voice come from the back.

A tall man stood to greet me, extending his hand outwards. I glanced at his face, and I remembered it was the Lieutenant’s personal attendant.

“A pleasure to meet you, Wilhelm. It has been a while.”

He let out a smile, and did not say any words of greeting. I recalled that he was of the quiet type.

“Hermann, come to the room of Lieutenant Klaus. He will meet you there.”

As I walked towards the Lieutenant’s room, which I remembered due to the repeated summons I had got, I encountered numerous changes of scenery. It seemed that this place had been renovated and made new. Now, I felt a sense of strangeness at this. Despite being fully aware that I was still in the same place, I could not shake it off.

Now that I had reached, I felt an uneasy anxiety outside the office. Despite being well associated with him, I still doubted if he would treat me the same way. I knocked at the door, hoping that this doubt was a fallacy.

“Come in.” A heavy voice came from within, an aged voice at that. For the time I had stayed away from the Northern house, and resided in the woods, he must have grown old. I was scared now without a good reason.

“Hermann, let’s be quick with this. I have an important discussion to have with you.”

I shook his hands, and sat down on the chair. I was reminded of the loss of enthusiasm in his voice, which felt oddly nostalgic.

“You must depart for the Eastern house at an instant, there has been an emergency invitation issued for your presence.”

I did not pay much attention to the contents, and conducted myself especially cautiously. I knew it was a made-up story. Someone was watching us. When the lieutenant’s voice concluded, I signaled him, and he tapped the table twice to activate the magic sequence to trap the person trying to overhear us. But, it did not work; the sequence stopped in between.

Now, we were stuck in between two magic sequences. The area around us seemed to have frozen in place, and the sequence to interfere with the peeker’s locality failed. We were now stuck in place of him, as the sequence was overwritten in its intermediate step. This must be the result of the ‘Rausch’ series, which in its ideal state, can lead up to complete overthrow of the user’s magic. It was a local specialty among the Kingdom’s bandits.

“It must be the Halliday’s at the front of this scheme.”

Klaus appeared from behind while I was busy scanning this complex contraption. It was quite plausible for the backers of the second-in-government, Field Marshall Jurgen, to play a key role. They had instant access to the facility, as well as them being experts solely composed of members who use this magic series. There would be no surprise, if that were true.

Upon looking at the place around, it now became clear that this was not the “Rausch” series, but psychological interference. The magic sequence must not have been overthrown. Rather, this was the sole purpose of this sequence. After all, psychological interference can only be cast by the highest order of magicians.

I quickly loaded my gun, and with haste, tried to fire at the Lieutenant. It was too late. He had already pointed a gun at me, ready to take my head anytime.

“It seems you have figured it out. Quite impressive to see that you looked under the Rausch series mixed over it.”

Then, a second voice interluded, and I saw resemblance in the gun he was holding.

“The Divine will rise on the Hour!”

Then, I saw a sight above, a person hanging from a rope. And then, there were many who were tied to a tree, and I heard them scream for freedom. Only the man who hung was free. It seemed time slowed down at that moment. I looked down in Klaus’ eyes, feeling a strange feeling from it. Now, I saw a sigil inside him. All I could find were mists around it, guarding it from someone else’s sight. 

I realized that this must not have been an intentional act from Lieutenant Klaus. He must too be trapped, and this must be a facade created from psychological interference. From a mere glance, I felt I knew what to do.

I chanted an incantation of “Mana Of Holy One” usually used to slow down possession, although it can be used against facades, or illusions, like this as well. The realm seemed to be expelled instantly.

My eyes opened in shock, and Lieutenant Klaus sat normally on the chair, though it felt he was ready to ask me about what happened.

“Did you see it? Remember well, dead men are the most free.”

He looked at me for a second, and I could see fear in his eyes. He had a family that he must take care of, and he could not afford to rot off now. 

He signaled me to be dismissed with his hands. 

The strong resemblance which I saw in the sigil must be the lead, I thought. It struck a similar feeling to that which I saw once in the Eastern house. I again felt a futileness at carrying out this mission. After all, what relevance does it hold to me? I could not tell. But, there was an instinctual feeling that told me that following this thread would be the best choice.

It was clear that there was some political involvement as well, which  the Lieutenant also wanted me to explore. At the same time, he seemed to have a grasp of my situation, his source I could not discern.

As I opened the door to Heinrich’s room, I saw his gun, and started to wonder about the gun that I saw in the earlier sight. It lingered for a while, but I dismissed it as baseless.

“Heinrich, I must depart to the Eastern house at an instant.”

He started to sort his papers, realizing that I had called him when he was on a busy schedule. He hastened to pick up his coat, and approached the exit of the room.

“Let us depart at an instant. The train leaves soon.”

I left the Northern house without a delay, with a mission at hand.