episode_0016

The sun, which has risen again without fail, is shining on the noble city of Frau. The streets of Frau, which are bright in the morning, are as peaceful as ever, despite the terrible commotion of last night. Although the incident of last night was undoubtedly a turning point in the history of the city and the country, if I were to summarize it very simply from the perspective of an ordinary citizen, I would say that the names of government officials whom I would see only once in my life have changed from who to who.

Later scholars have cited the minimal casualties among ordinary citizens as one of the factors in the coup’s success, and indeed, aside from the bloody palace, the only other civilian casualty was a man who fell to his death while trying to repair a roof somewhere in northern Praha in the middle of the night.

“I really need to go there again? And alone.”

After finishing all the inspections of the cart, Mila asks Ray again with worried eyes before setting off.

“I think we should at least talk again when you’re sober. Let’s say you had bad luck yesterday.”

Ray nods to her, who has been worrying about him all morning.

“… Then at least it would be good if we went together.”

“What about work? I remember the location, so it’s okay.”

“If he takes you to a dark place, don’t follow him. Remember that old man you saw last time? He’s Holt, so try to stick with him. He’s the only sane person in the house. And if anything happens… .”

Ray finds Mila, who keeps repeating the same story before going to bed and right after waking up, annoying, but also impressed by her concern. When she, unable to sit still, fumbles around in the cart and picks up a dagger to hand it to Ray, he waves his hand.

“… At least with this!”

“No, no, what do you want me to do with this! I said I understand… .”

Ray, who had seen the sharp blade of the dagger standing out, realized the identity of the sharp sound he had heard in the middle of the night. Mila reluctantly threw the dagger back into the cart. Mila’s expression was so serious that Ray, who had been worried for decades but had never been worried about it, began to feel a little uneasy. He even thought that he was really going to do something dangerous, just like she said.

“Do all Frau women really do things like Ms. Mila…?”

Ray Tan didn’t know the word for that behavior, so he just asked based on experience, but in Mila’s brain, it was interpreted as meaning that all women are like her.

“Ugh. Ah, I see… … . So that’s what the eyes see. Sigh… .”

Mila sighs in shame and embarrassment and adjusts her clothes for no reason.

“I’m just asking a few questions. Even if we go from here to there, it’s not even the size of our village’s wheat field.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll be home before dinner. I’ll take you to buy your mom a present tomorrow.”

“Milla! Wait a minute.”

He calls out to her as she tries to push the cart away. When he puts his hand to his mouth and gestures as if he has something to say, Mila bends down and puts her hand close to his ear.

‘side’

“… … !”

“Have a safe trip.”

Then, Mila decided to put aside her worries and walked down the street, pulling the cart with a hazy face, repeatedly recalling the remaining sensation on her right cheek. Ray waved until she turned the corner and disappeared from sight, and then thought to himself, “If I had known this would happen, I should have kissed her earlier.”

‘I told you, there’s nothing better than this before going to work.’

His prediction that he could imitate the romantic interest he wanted to have here seemed to be quite accurate. Why did he see his own shabby self from back when he had just been discharged from the military overlapping with Mila, who seemed like a successful model or actor on the outside? Somehow, since they were in a relationship, he also wanted to be of some help to that woman with low self-esteem.

“Smile… Haha. Phew.”

Stretching both arms toward the sky, Ray retightened his loose shoelaces, grabbed the bundle of rags he had carried with him when he left his hometown, and set off in the opposite direction Mila had walked.

When you cross the stone bridge over the river and reach the fork in the road, you can see the police station at the end of one road where you had to be tied up all day yesterday. Ray paused for a moment at the sight of people on horseback and soldiers lined up in front of it, and after looking around to see what was going on in the distance, he soon turned his steps in the direction of Algaet’s mansion.

Ray, looking at it again, thinks that the strange appearance of the mansion, which is four stories high, might be a foreshadowing of the personality of the homeowner. He lifts his crow’s foot and presses down on the button sticking out next to the front door.

There is a click, a click, and then a bell rings on the other side of the door. After waiting for a moment, the door opens with a creak, and an old man in a plain suit appears.

“… … … .”

Holt just stares blankly at Ray.

“Oh, hello! I’m Ray, who came to see Sir Algaet last time. Do you remember me? ”

“… … … .”

“I thought you were at home today. Um… Did I bother you?”

Ray smiled awkwardly when he saw that the facial expression of the person looking at him didn’t change at all.

“… … … .”

“… … ? Over there… .”

“… … Come in.”

Then the door creaks open. He is said to be the only normal person in this mansion, and it seems he is relatively normal.

As I entered the room following Holt’s inspiration, I saw the inspiration rewinding the rope right next to the entrance. It was not an electronic one, but a crudely made, manual one that looked like a doorbell.

Contrary to his expectations of a spacious interior, the entrance has a unique structure with stairs leading upstairs right in front of him and narrow hallways on both sides. Holt puts the doorbell back to its original state and walks down the narrow hallway along the right wall. Ray follows behind.

The place that the inspiration led them to was a room with a long table and a crackling fireplace. With every step they took, the dark wooden floor creaked, and only the antique chairs and candlesticks barely kept the atmosphere of a nobleman’s mansion alive. No matter where they looked, Algaet was nowhere to be seen, and Holt pulled out a chair, picked up an empty kettle, and disappeared around the corner again. Ray decided to sit down and wait.

Then, when I jumped up again and poked my head out where the inspiration had gone, a cozy kitchen appeared, different from the atmosphere of the entire mansion. I could see him speaking into a trumpet-shaped funnel at the end of a long metal pipe that stretched along the kitchen wall.

“… The guests are waiting.”

Then, not long after, a thump, thump sound begins to echo through the building. From the walls? Or from beneath the floor? No, it seems to be rising.

‘Thud!’

Startled by the sound of the door opening, I turn around to see that the door right next to the stairs leading up to the upper floor is wide open. A dark figure appears.

“Sseuu, hoooo.”

The dark figure lets out a hissing sound and slowly turns its head towards Ray.

‘gas mask?’

A black mask with a purifier attached to the goggles, upon closer inspection, it occurred to me that the rags on his body might also be some kind of protective clothing.

“The guest is surprised. Sir Algaet.”

Holt, holding his nose with one hand, speaks to the dark figure. Sniff sniff. Now that I think about it, it feels like a strange stench has been slowly mixing into the air since the door opened.

Click, swish, thud

As the dark figure removes the gas mask-like mask, Algaet’s face is revealed. Her curly hair is swaying with sweat.

“I’m currently researching something. Don’t be afraid even if it looks scary.”

“I’m not scared. What kind of research are you doing?”

“Can we talk after you take off your clothes? Phew, it’s hot.”

“Ugh… . Oh, ahem ahem.”

At her words about taking off his clothes, Ray instinctively covered his eyes, but when Algae took off the rags, a proper shirt and overalls were revealed, so he naturally lowered the hand covering his eyes and coughed.

Algaet, her shirt fluttering, walks to the table and pulls up the largest and most ornate chair, sitting down. Holt comes out with a steaming teapot and a tray with two sets of cups and saucers. Ray, who has been sitting on the chair, runs over and sits down.

“Yes, you looked a little sloppy yesterday. It’s an honor to see your noble face again.”

Ray nods his head, wondering if Algaet, who is leaning comfortably against the back of the chair and greeting him with an old-fashioned accent, is the drunkard he saw yesterday.

“… You remember too, right?”

He took a deep breath and spoke in English. It was obvious that he was from Earth, so he decided to reveal his identity in the most commonly used language for now, since there was no information about his origin.

“… … Amazing. It’s just as Holt said.”

“… !”

Algaet’s eyes widened at the words coming out of Ray’s mouth, then she smiled and glanced at the old man who was setting up teacups on the table.

“Please tell me how you did it. How do you know about my dream?”

“Is this a dream?”

“Yeah.”

“… What are you talking about? I also came from Earth. I died and woke up here again. ”

Algaet shook her head with a smile as Ray spoke to her again in English.

“Yeah, yeah, you speak the same language as the humans in your dreams. Unfortunately, I haven’t made any progress in figuring out what that means in over 20 years.”

“Oh my goodness, I only have fragmentary memories.”

“Did you say memory?”

Algaet, who had been leaning against the back of the chair, leans forward and places both elbows on the table to rest her chin.

“That’s probably a memory from a past life. The inventions you made, the things we used to take for granted in the world we used to live in.”

“… … How to prove it?”

“You ever tried to light a fire using lightning-like force inside a glass ball and failed? The incorruptible fruit you made a few years ago was preserved by boiling the fruit in sugar water and sealing it in a metal container. I also know that the etiquette injector you are making now is a lethal weapon that shoots iron balls by exploding gunpowder.”

A smile of admiration spread across Algaet’s face.

“… Amazing, I want to hold your baby.”