Arrival

“Passengers, please disembark from the airship. Please check that you haven’t left any belongings behind…”

After a long wait, I finally arrived in Bern. It took two days to get from Astrakhan to Moscow, the capital of the Federation, and another two days to get here.

The National Diet building fire, which was just over a week away, now had only one day left.

“Oof.”

If that’s the case, I need to prepare quickly. I came out, stretching to loosen my muscles that had stiffened from sitting in the seat for so long.

“Buy a newspaper, newspaper!”

“Shoe repair for just 1 dena!”

“Take a carriage ride at a cheap price!”

“We’ll do our best to ensure the comfort of travelers visiting Bern!”

Then I was greeted by a crowd that could never be seen at the military academy. From little kids making a living to upper-class couples, elderly gentlemen leaning on canes, and so on.

Various types of people were gathered around the landing area.

There are elves and dwarves too.

Perhaps because it’s a time when other races aren’t yet greatly oppressed, non-human creatures were also sporadically visible on the streets.

“Haah!”

How much this smells of people living their lives. Unlike Astrakhan with its endless wasteland, looking around at the surroundings painted in rich colors made my heart feel refreshed in advance.

“How much does it cost for one ride?”

“10 dena, miss.”

“Here you go.”

“We’ll ensure a safe ride!”

First, to organize my luggage, I hailed a carriage on the street and moved towards my original home.

Clatter, rattle!

The scenes visible through the window along the way were, as expected, on the brink of explosion. The streets were not very peaceful, reflecting the Empire’s chaotic political situation.

“Catch that commie bastard!”

“Shut up! You lot who are eating away at this country!”

Even in broad daylight, storm troopers trying to block communist party rallies could be seen occasionally on the streets.

Bang, crack!

“Die, you bastard!”

“You think you can do anything like this?”

“Hey, drive them away!”

“Uwaaaah──!”

In a dark back alley that looked a bit unsafe, there was even a fistfight between communist party political thugs, who could be considered enemies of the Labor Party.

“Haha, I’ll pass through quickly.”

Just by the familiar tone of the carriage driver escaping the scene, it was clear this wasn’t limited to just today.

It’ll get worse at night.

It was obvious without looking. If this is the level now when they’re still conscious of citizens’ eyes, when it becomes dark and just right for committing all sorts of acts, it’ll be a mess. It will intensify at least until the general election.

I watched the group of storm troopers fighting and brawling, then shook my head and looked away from the window.

“We’ve arrived!”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

And after a short while, I got off the carriage at my destination.

At least it’s quiet here.

Perhaps because it was an alley where only one carriage could barely pass through and residential spaces were densely packed, there wasn’t the noise I was worried about. Fortunately, I wouldn’t have to lose sleep.

Let’s go in.

My house, that is, where Yena Freud lived with her family, was located inside a dilapidated building.

Creak, creeak!

Even the oak stairs were quite rotten, making an unpleasant sound with each step.

They really didn’t have money.

It was just a corridor I was passing through before entering the house, but I could already predict the living conditions. Unlike just encountering it as a setting, the poverty was vividly conveyed.

“Huah…”

It’s even cold, perhaps because it’s not well-insulated. When I opened the front door, the musty air that had been trapped inside brushed against my cheeks.

Still, the inside isn’t bad.

It’s decorated with typical Imperial-style sofas, tables, and wallpaper, and it’s better than the dormitory because it’s more spacious. It’s sufficient for spending one night.

Thud, poof!

When I put down the backpack I was carrying on the sofa, dust scattered. It seemed there was a need for cleaning.

“I’ll rest a bit first…”

My neck had stiffened from being in the truck for hours, I barely slept on the train, and I couldn’t get proper sleep due to the airsickness unique to airships.

The incident starts tomorrow night anyway, right? I can rest well until then.

“Yawn.”

Let’s sleep for just an hour and then wake up. As soon as I entered the house, I let my hair down and staggered towards the bedroom.

Thud, thud

Just as I was about to lie down immediately when the bed came into view, something placed on the wardrobe caught my eye.

“…Hm?”

It was a frame covered in dust. When I blew on it with a “whoo,” the photo that had settled revealed itself. The moment I confirmed its identity, my drowsiness completely disappeared.

Erich Freud, an unnamed woman who was probably the mother, and lastly, me. It was none other than a family photo.

It felt strange.

The brightly smiling Yena Freud in the film was clearly not me, yet it felt like me. These two people were not my parents, yet they felt like parents.

I was confused about where to place the definition of “me” now. Is Yena Freud the true self?

“Ugh, uugh──!”

Suddenly my head hurt as if it was about to split, but it quickly stabilized as if someone had given me an injection.

What on earth is this?

Uncharacteristically, I fell into bewilderment. Feeling a chill down my spine for no reason, I stepped back one or two steps.

Every time I looked at Yena in the photo, I felt a creepy and instinctive aversion. It was just a picture printed with ink, but for some reason, I felt uncomfortable and averted my gaze.

This never happened in the past? Did something affect me as I came to this world? The more deeply I pondered, the dizzier I became.

“…I should sleep.”

So I decided to stop thinking about it anymore.

The direction I need to go is just the Empire’s victory, right? Then whatever the case, I just need to live while working hard to achieve the goal.

Regarding family, let’s just visit the grave and pay respects as originally promised, and not think about anything more or less than that.

Click!

I flipped the frame so that I wouldn’t make eye contact with the photo anymore, then collapsed onto the bed and closed my eyelids.

“Arrest that guy!”

“Wh-What right do you have to do this!”

“The right to catch commies, bastard. Take him away!”

“You’re all crazy, crazy I tell you!”

Even on the night when the National Diet building fire incident was to occur, the streets were full of fistfights as always.

Just going into a slightly secluded back alley, it was full of storm troopers illegally occupying communist party facilities and trashing the interior, or randomly arresting people.

It was the fight using political thugs that I had only heard about.

Well, to be precise, it wasn’t a fight but one-sided beating. The ones being beaten were always the communist party faction.

“Hup.”

I took a moment to watch the interesting scene, then turned my eyes away and ran towards my destination, the Diet building.

Of course, not on the road but on the rooftops.

If I got caught by the storm troopers, I’d be annoyed with inspections, and then I might not arrive in time even if the arsonists came. It would be wasting the opportunity I had worked hard to create.

Patter patter!

Anyway, as I ran jumping from roof to roof, I was able to sprint at a very fast pace without any interference.

“Haah…”

Thanks to that, I could somewhat forget the strange experience from the previous day by breathing in the cold night air that seeped into my lungs.

It was really weird.

I wondered if this is what it feels like to be hypnotized, as I felt like I would be sucked in just by looking at the photo. Although there were no more strange occurrences after I flipped the frame, I couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling.

However, since there was no particular way to know why it happened, ignoring it was the best option.

Thud, rustle!

After dashing for about ten minutes, I finally stopped on the roof of a building. When I lowered my head slightly, I could see the Diet building.

It’s the best for surveillance.

From the main gate of the Diet building to the side door, the surrounding stone paths, and the guards stationed here and there. It was the optimal location to immediately grasp where the arsonist might enter from.

Of course, there was the disadvantage of not being able to see the back door, but I wasn’t worried because I knew the culprit’s route.

They came in by climbing the wall near the side door, right?

According to my memory, they had prepared by making notches in the wall in advance to make it easier to climb and then infiltrated the interior. The perpetrator was acting alone, so I just needed to keep watch there.

“Haah.”

So when are they coming? I shivered, my shoulders directly receiving the even colder wind due to the height of the building.

It had been at least an hour. By this point, random thoughts even crossed my mind, like maybe history had twisted and the fire incident wouldn’t happen at all, and the Labor Party wouldn’t come to power.

I should have had a warm cup of tea before coming. The only flaw is not knowing when they’ll arrive.

“Sniff.”

As midnight passed and it was nearing 1 AM, my nose started to run. Although they say waiting is an art for catching a big fish, this was taking too long.

Coming this far, I even thought about briefly breaking the cadet’s iron rule of refraining from using mana outside the military academy

“…They’ve finally come.”

However, fortunately, I didn’t have to take that risk.

Rustle, patter!

Because they had finally appeared.