Volume 7: The Inverted Hanged Man Chapter 67: Present Presentation
All of a sudden, the muscles in Wendell’s back completely tightened up, showing a state of imminent explosion.
He was shocked and skeptical in his heart, and several speculations flashed through his mind with difficulty containing them:
”Are the inhabitants of Utopia all monsters in human skin, usually appearing normal, but as soon as they encounter a logical blind spot, they will show a side that is different from ordinary people, ignoring the areas where there are obviously problems?”
”Or maybe the station worker had already realized that I was lying and just didn’t want to deal with me, so he deliberately pretended not to see it and let me go? And why was that?”
”Well, carrying a suitcase to the station washroom can be completely explained by the fear of losing your luggage, but the entire station is covered, there’s no need to take out an umbrella ahead of time, and besides, the rain stopped a long time ago ……”
Wendel’s gaze subconsciously turned to the window, only to see the sun shining brightly on the current platform, with traveler after traveler waiting behind the cordon in a rather orderly fashion, a far cry from the dreary dimness that Utopia gave off.
Exhaling …… he exhaled, his body suddenly relaxing a little.
This is not Utopia …… I’ve already left …… Wendel muttered in his mind while raising his hand to wipe off the cold sweat that was seeping out of his forehead.
When he recalled his omission just now, it was as if he was caught in a nightmare that he couldn’t wake up from.
After a moment’s reprieve, Wendell stood up and decided to go to the platform for a soothing cigarette.
The tobacco soothed him nicely and made him look back once again on all his experiences in Utopia.
The process gave him an inspiration for what happened to him:
”Perhaps it was because I sincerely helped Tracy that the station worker deliberately ignored my questions and let me go?”
Wendel was more than happy to accept this explanation than the fact that the entire population of Utopia was monsters in human skin.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the conductor talking to a group of people in the corner.
Without a trace, Wendel leaned over a few steps to hear what they were saying.
With the help of his hearing that surpassed normal human hearing, he vaguely heard a conversation from a distance that did not arouse suspicion:
”We …… stood …… Utopia …… last night.”
”The kingdom …… did not ……”
”Please keep it a secret ……”
Wendel’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and combined with the description of the document in his arms, he probably understood what the group was saying to the conductor.
They were saying that there was no such station as Utopia in the Kingdom, and that the status of the steam train last night was “missing”!
At this moment, Wendell’s heart was once again filled with strong fear, and he felt that he was lucky to leave Utopia alive.
……
It took Alfred nearly a week to return to Birkeland from Port Escoson.
This was due to the fact that along the way he visited the families of his fallen comrades, former friends, elders who were vacationing back in their fiefdoms, and certain partners of the family.
”It’s even more exhausting than being involved in battle.” Alfred complained to his father, Earl Hall.
Earl Hall smiled and pointed to the stairway:
”Go back to your room first and rest, we’ll talk later in the study.”
He was quite pleased with his second son’s mental state and growth progress.
Alfred looked around and asked with a smile:
”Where is the brightest gem in Berkland?”
He paused and added:
”And, where is Hebert?”
Earl Hall laughed and said:
”Audrey’s gone to her foundation and won’t be back until this afternoon; she’s been complaining that you can’t provide a firm itinerary, leaving her with no way of knowing exactly when you’ll arrive.”
”Hebert is now the Cabinet Secretary and is very busy.”
Alfred nodded without further comment and went to his room to take a shower and change into a shirt, vest and formal attire.
”I prefer the casualness of East Byron.” He looked in the mirror and smiled at his adjutant.
”You’re more aristocratic that way.” His adjutant said as he handed over the document in his hand, “General, this is from Military Intelligence Division 9 for you.”
”Military Intelligence Division 9?” Alfred thoughtfully broke the seal of the paper bag, “Utopia’s findings so soon?”
Before the words left his mouth, he was already pulling out the file and flipping through it with a clatter.
During this process, Alfred turned the pages more and more slowly, and in the end, he went straight back to the beginning and read it again.
The main content of this investigation report was divided into two parts:
One was that the members of MI9 escorting Alfred’s report had mistakenly entered Utopia, witnessed a murder, and forcibly detached themselves in the middle of the night and returned to the steam train; the second was that Utopia did not exist as a station on any of the train routes from Dixie Bay to Bakerland, and there was no port of Utopia within the Sea of Berserk, and no traces of it had been found by the subsequent investigators.
Neither situation was more than Alfred could handle, and what surprised and stunned him was the perpetrator of that murder:
Her name was Tracy, she was the proprietor of an inn, had received a secondary education, had graduated from a grammar school, and, afterward, had become the mistress of some merchant, from which she had recently been trying to escape.
This was quite consistent with the portly innkeeper, Tracy, whom Alfred had met, and every detail had been matched.
Therefore, Alfred judged the culprit of the murder to be that same Tracy, the beauty who had received some education and blew out melancholy music at night.
”Is this the story behind her?” Alfred murmured silently to himself.
It made the inhabitants of that utopia seem extraordinarily real, not just an illusion as Alfred had expected.
In other words, when the outsiders left, the inhabitants of Utopia still had their own lives, their own loves, hates, pains, and sorrows, and all sorts of experiences.
Aside from the fact that Utopia doesn’t seem to exist in the real world, it’s pretty much like an ordinary town in the Kingdom of Rune.
Perhaps, Utopia really exists, and everyone there is real, only, to enter there, one must be in the right place at the right time …… Alfred nodded his head slightly unnoticeably, and rather emotionally put away the investigation report that was fed back from MI9.
As far as he was concerned, this matter was over here, and he had absolutely no idea of investigating it in depth.
One must know that in the Southern Continent, there are countless various weird things and phenomena, so if one is too curious, it will only bring danger beyond one’s imagination.
Tidying up his clothes and mood, Alfred arrived outside his father’s study and flexed his fingers to knock on the door of the room with the relief.
”Come in.” Earl Hall’s voice came out.
Alfred smoothed his blonde hair and pushed the door in, finding a seat.
Earl Hall looked at him with a smile and said:
”Already a man.”
”No one would say such a thing to a man.” Alfred responded with no restraint at all.
”In my mind, you’re still the same somewhat rebellious teenager.” Earl Hall smiled and said, “You are already a Sequence 5 Extraordinary?”
Alfred replied with a double entendre:
”Yes, I am already a true knight.”
Earl Hall nodded and suddenly sighed and said:
”You should have experienced a lot of pain.”
”As far as I know, whether it’s magic potions, or wars, they all bring serious damage to people, from the physical to the mental.”
”Everyone has many, many pains in their life.” Alfred said with a bit of a sigh.
He used a Rune-esque euphemism.
After a pause, he added:
”I am rather in a better state now than when I left Berkland. As long as I master the method, at my level, I don’t need to worry too much about the onslaught of madness yet.”
Earl Hall stopped mentioning this matter and turned to say:
”Your sister has also become an Extraordinary.”
”Hm?” Alfred was first startled, then remembered something and said with a bit of chagrin, “I thought she really had simply transformed her hobby.”
”It seems Audrey’s adventures had your help.” Earl Hall said in a slightly dazed manner, “I was hoping that you would talk to her and tell her how dangerous, crazy, and painful the path of Sequential Magic Potion is, so that she would just stay at the current level.”
Alfred responded without hesitation:
”I’ll do it.”
In the evening, inside the small study that was solely Audrey’s.
”Alfred, what is it you want to see me about?” Audrey, who had changed into her home clothes, led Suzy and opened the door to the room for her elder brother.
She had been waiting here for her brother for several minutes.
”There is something I want to remind you of.” Alfred stepped into the study and casually pulled out a chair and sat down.
Audrey smiled lightly and pointed to the large golden-haired dog:
”Do we need to let Susie out?”
Looking at the big golden furred dog that was already crouching obediently next to him with human eyes, Alfred couldn’t help but smile:
”It’s not necessary, I think it shouldn’t eavesdrop on our conversation.”
”She.” Audrey casually corrected.
Only when this noble maiden sat across the table did Alfred heartily lament in his heart:
After a few years of not seeing her, her sister had completely left her childishness, whether it was her appearance, or her temperament, she had reached a level that made her marvel, and was no longer that little girl from the past.
Alfred withdrew his gaze and asked in a seemingly casual manner:
”I heard that you became an extraordinary person?”
”Uh-huh.” Audrey nodded frankly.
Alfred was going to ask about the number of sequences already, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was too direct and would easily cause a backlash, so he weighed his words and said:
”You should be an extraordinary of the ‘audience’ pathway, right? The seven-colored lizard dragon has the ability of similar aspects.”
That seven-colored lizard dragon was exactly the gift that Alfred had given to his sister.
Waiting for Audrey to give an affirmative answer, Alfred asked in a joking tone:
”Can you do therapy in the psychological field now? The vast majority of extraordinary people, including me, need help in this area. Well, I forgot to tell you that I’m already a Sequence 5 ‘Knight of Discipline’ in the ‘Arbiter’ pathway.”
Audrey pursed her lips and smiled slightly:
”I’m a qualified psychiatrist with specialized training, which you can ask dad and mom for proof.”
Already Sequence 7 had …… Alfred’s expression gradually became serious:
”Audrey, there are some things I need to remind you, magic potions bring more than just power.”
Saying this, he paused for a moment to observe his sister’s reaction, and found that Audrey was not impatient at all, and listened attentively.
”Every magic potion contains madness that can lead to loss of control …… I’ve seen similar situations before, more than once …… They’ve happened to my enemies as well as to my friends, and no group is exempt from …… “Alfred spoke at length about the dangers of magic potions in the context of his various experiences in East Byron.
During this process, he noticed that not only his sister Audrey was listening with concentration, but also Susie, the big golden furred dog, was acting very quiet.