“Hey, kid!” A voice suddenly jarred Shinso, making him flinch involuntarily. He turned his head, seeing Mr. Ryujin running down the street.

  His eyes were wide, and a sheen of sweat coursed over his body; he looked terrified. Mr. Ryujin paused in front of him, heaving in and out to catch his breath.

  “What happened to you?” Shinso took a step back.

  Mr. Ryujin looked up at Shinso, breathlessly explaining. “You guys never returned home after yesterday! I figured you had gone out to eat or something, but after midnight I began to feel worried. After checking on Ayumi and putting Damien to sleep, I immediately began searching for you guys.”

  Shinso gazed at him with perplexion. “I don’t know what happened to us, but I woke up and we were inside this bar.” Shinso pointed behind him, where the duo could clearly see everyone asleep.

  “Oh god, are you drunk?” Mr. Ryujin put both hands on Shinso’s shoulders, his grip twitching and trembling.

  “I’d never drink.” Shinso shrugged his hands off, rolling his shoulders. “They’re most likely though.”

  Mr. Ryujin looked into the bar with concern. “This is the first time anyone here has gotten drunk when I’ve seen it.”

  He fell silent for a moment, sighing shakily. “They’re all still sad; I can feel it. I am too… but drinking because Isaac’s gone won’t help anything.”

  Shinso suddenly recalled a torrent of information, his eyes widening. “I don’t think it’s that. From what I can faintly remember from yesterday, we had… won the court case regarding Catherine and Carter.”

  “Wait, you guys won?” Mr. Ryujin abruptly shifted the topic.

  Shinso nodded, a twitching smile on his face. “Yeah… we probably went out for a meal to celebrate. I don’t know why you weren’t invited though.”

  “No hard feelings; I went out with Damien and Ayumi for a bite to eat… although, there wasn’t much to eat to begin with.”

  “Huh? Not much to eat?” Shinso suddenly felt a little bewildered.

  Mr. Ryujin recalled the night in detail. “We visited a restaurant near the center of the city and ordered some food, but we only received half of our meals. When we inquired with the staff of the restaurant, they complained about food shortages originating from the countryside outside the kingdom. Allegedly, the snow’s piles so high the crops are beginning to grow hard to manage.”

  Shinso immediately remembered back to his journey into the forest with Humphrey, who had taken note of the quantity of snow. Having witnessed this firsthand, Shinso could confirm the suspicions of Mr. Ryujin. Before he continued on the topic, he looked back to the others inside the bar, sighing.

  “What should we do with them?” Mr. Ryujin asked.

  Shinso walked forward, entering the bar and approaching Humphrey. With a sharp shake of his shoulder, the man rustled awake, habitually defending himself. After regaining his sense of reality, he immediately glanced at Shinso and Mr. Ryjin, before scanning the entirety of the bar, taking notice of the sleeping bodies scattered across the counter.

  “What happened?” he groaned, rubbing his forehead.

  Shinso hoisted Humphrey to his feet, replying immediately. “Wake up the captain.”

  …

  “The Pollinators should be able to get everything settled.” Shinso looked down at the pocket watch in his hands, following the direction the hands pointed in. Mr. Ryujin walked beside him, following the boy in his tracks.

  “Where are we going?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “I suspected that this artifact’s unique connection to me could supply us with some clues regarding what happened to us. But after remembering all of that, the pocket watches hands continue to point in this direction.”

  “So… you’re following the watch on instinct and curiosity?" Mr. Ryujin couldn’t help but chuckle self-depracatingly.

  Shinso nodded. “I may not know exactly where it’s going, but I have a feeling it’s important. I just consumed my next potion, perhaps this connected to it to an extent.”

  Shinso began to analyze his role as an Altruist. The potion demanded selflessness in the face of adversity. He was supposed to put others before himself; he had to know what it was like for him to digest the potion completely. Suddenly, the hands on the watch swung to the left when the duo reached an intersection, turning down the left side of the kingdom.

  “We’re going that way.”

  Mr. Ryujin and Shinso pressed forward, scanning both ends of the road. At a glance, it all appeared familiar and normal. As more and more of the sun shone through the mountains, more and more of the kingdom was illuminated by golden light. As they both walked, following the pocket watch’s direction, Shinso’s mind began to buzz on the edges.

  He felt an inclination to pause, turning left again to face a building. It was among the taller ones in the kingdom. It was a white stone building with pillars extruding up from the ground below a balcony. The grandeur of the building seemed to exceed even that of the courthouse. Shinso slowly ascended the stone staircase, pausing in front of the pair of tall wooden doors.

  Shinso glanced back at Mr. Ryujin, silently asking him if this action was a logical one. Mr. Ryujin—standing at the bottom of the stairs—slowly huffed and followed him up. Shinso knocked once on the door, but was surprised to see it immediately open at this time of day. A figure stood in the hallway which was barely illuminated.

  His frame was tall and lean, with two fox-like ears sticking out of his head of long black hair. A bushy tail stuck out from his lower back, which habitually coiled around his bare leg. This imposing figure stepped into the light, clasping his hands together as he smiled.

  “May I ask what you’re doing here so early in the morning?”

  Shinso paused, his body tensing slightly. He felt a cold wash rush over him, making goosebumps strike up his neck. He felt the urge to defend himself, his grip on the pocket watch tightening until his knuckles turned a pale white.

  “My… watch told me to come here, who are you?”

  When they entered the light, Shinso saw that they were a man with black hair and fox-like features. “My name is Branson, it’s my pleasure to accommodate you.”

  The enigmatic man turned around, clasping his hands behind his back. “Follow me, I’ll make early-morning tea.”

  As they made their way down the dimly-lit corridor. Shinso looked along the hallways, noticing the portraits lining the walls. Some of them showed historical figures most likely influential in the history of Seraphis Kingdom, while others depicted tranquil scenes like falling leaves and pleasant meadows. But as they walked farther through the chambers, Shinso saw one figure appearing again and again.

  His hair was crimson and neatly combed. In some of the paintings, he sat on sofas, sipped expensive wines, and was often seen splayed naked in a myriad of poses, each as explicit as the last. Shinso's face flushed as he looked away, asking in a low voice.

  “I keep seeing this man in the portraits, who is he?”

  The man with ears and a tail didn’t respond, rounding a corner and stopping by a door. The door was dark brown and made of wood. It had a metallic knocker hanging near the top of it, above where Shinso could barely reach. Shinso immediately grasped the idea that this door knocker was to be used by people even taller than he was.

  As the door slowly opened inwards, revealing the space, Shinso walked into the room and looked around. He was the thick curtains which sunlight failed to permeate, a thick rug made out of animal hide, with the animal's original head splayed at the end, alongside its front and back paws. Upon closer inspection, Shinso could validate that it was a bear.

  “What do you fancy?” Branson’s voice suddenly emanated from the nearest corner, where a small kitchenette gave off heat and an almost homey feeling.

  “Uhm… I don’t mind anything; I’m just here to talk with you,” Shinso responded.

  “Well then… have you ever tried Raddican tea?”

  Upon hearing the unfamiliar name, Shinso felt a burst of curiosity. “No, I haven’t.”

  “Well then, I’d say you’re quite the tough glutton if ya’ wanna try this stuff.”

  Shinso watched in silence as the fox-like man took out a berry the size of an apple, squishing it in between his fingers. The paste inside the berry seemed to resemble jam, which he let drip into the teacups. After sprinkling some sugar and stirring it with a small spoon, he approached the two of them and set the cups down, smiling with his fangs out.

  “Now tell me, what brings you chaps here?”

  Shinso adjusted his posture as he sat down, sipping the tea. “My pocket watch here led me to this house of yours… I feel some kind of spiritual connection here.”

  Upon hearing this, the fox-like man arched an eyebrow, chuckling under his breath. “Well, I’d say you have no reason to be here. I don’t know who you are, and you don’t know who I am.”

  “It’s strange though, I’d trust a mystical artifact with as much certainty as I can.” Shinso smiled as he chuckled self-depracatingly, siping his tea again.

  “Mystical artifact… you’re one of those Seeker thingies, aren’t you?”

  Shinso nodded his head. “I am, why do you ask?”

  Branson folded his hands together and took a deep breath. “Justice pathway, Order 8 Altrusit. Is that right?”

  Shinso felt his body freeze, hands and toes turning cold and numb as if they had been frozen over for an unknown reason. That strange urge to defend himself regained clarity in his mind. Just then, a wave of overwhelming nausea crashed over him, making him grit his teeth and fall back in the chair.

  “What the hell is in that tea?” Shinso sputtered out.

  Suddenly, Shinso’s mind flashed with wave after wave of information. His eyes widened, and he felt his teacup crash to the floor.

  “It’s you… Laselzo.”

  Hearing his other name, Branson’s smile widened, bordering on animalistic. Shinso recalled more information, more and more thoughts circulating in his mind.

  “You have countless names for countless identities. Laselzo probably isn’t even your real name, isn't it? You controlled my friends with your powers, hypnotizing them into doing what you wanted… you bastard!”

  Even amidst the dizziness, Shinso’s body shot up, his bronze pocket watch turning into the Sword of Judgement, the blade emanating orange and blue colored flames. Losalzo stepped back, raising his hands defensively.

  “A brilliant deduction, lad.”

  Mr. Ryujin turned to Shinso, mouth agape. “How do you know that?”

  “I-I don’t really know, but I just remembered all that. Deep down, we have similar abilities; we can both brainwash people!”

  “Unfortunately, I can't have people like you interfering with my business operations in the kingdom. If I remember correctly, more of my friends are to show up soon.”

  “I’ll have the Pollinators show up to your doorstep and they’ll deal with the rest.” Shinso’s sword was inches from Losalzo’s throat, the blade burning with flames.

  The fox-like man didn’t fret or cower, instead he smirked. With a sudden thrust, he slammed his foot into Shinso’s chest, sending him back onto the ground.