As dawn was about to break the next morning, Cale opened the creaking door. The first thing he saw was Julius. Covered only in a pair of shorts, the man lay sprawled across the small bed, his pillow and most of his blanket thrown on the floor. The open window, which brought in cool sea air, did not seem to bother him in the least. Even the fact that someone had entered the narrow room and was making noise did not wake him up.

  "Julius", Cale said, throwing his sword onto the empty bed next to Julius before he began to take off his clothes.

  After bringing his companion to the room, Cale himself had gone to the dining room for the next few hours to talk to some people. In doing so, he had learned something about the way of life of the people who settled in this area. It was no understatement that almost 90% of them were employed in the mine. But what Cale found more interesting was the fact that there were hardly any families here. Many spouses moved to the northwest as soon as the woman got pregnant to raise their children there. According to the guests, this was because there were often conflicts in the area, which simply made it a dangerous place for children. Cale did not explicitly ask whether children had disappeared in recent years, but the statement alone was reason enough to investigate the matter.

  "Julius, get up. We have to leave."

  "What time is it?", a grumpy voice asked indistinctly. Cale, on the other hand, had already slipped into his fresh clothes and made the rest disappear with his zero magic without Julius noticing.

  "We have to go in the next 30 minutes."

  "I understand", the man replied, slowly getting up from his bed. With his eyes half closed, Julius sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward, rubbing his face with both hands. He was silent for a few moments, but then he looked out the window and saw that the sky was already bright blue. "Doesn't feel like I slept at all."

  "No comment", Cale replied, simply to cover up the fact that he was absolutely right. Cale could roughly imagine how exhausted the man must be. The fact that he managed to sit up anyway was a testament to his true self-control.

  

  Cale reached for his sword, fastened it back to his waistband, and then turned his attention to the open window. He glanced briefly at the street below, but closed it moments later and turned to Julius.

  "Are you okay? Do you have a headache?"

  "No headache...", Julius began, also standing up as if he had realized that he didn't have much time left. "But I feel a little sick, I must say."

  "At least you admit it-unlike a certain white-haired princess", Cale muttered casually before leaning against the wall and thinking of Grischa, then reaching for the water bottle to his right. "Here, drink some water. I have a few pills with me if you need anything."

  "Maybe I'll come back to that later", Julius replied, gratefully accepting the water.

  "I talked to the guests for a bit, and I have to say, the whole area stinks. Your hunch seems to have really hit the mark - something's not right here. I would have suggested we go to Leszeben today while the others take a closer look at Palien and Ideran."

  "We're on the right track", Julius replied sleepily. He then took a big gulp and stood up before giving Cale an irritated look. "Wait, you talked to the guests here. Alone?"

  "Yes."

  "Don't do that. If something happens, I can't help you."

  "You'd just get in my way."

  "That's harsh."

  "You know what I meant. Don't take it the wrong way, but getting some sleep was more important than listening to me talk, Julius."

  "I understand what you mean, just don't overdo it", Julius replied in a concerned tone that made Cale open his eyes and look at the relatively thin man whose hair was completely disheveled.

  "If you've ever tried to get any sleep in Tsuke, then you understand what little sleep means. Don't worry about me, I'm used to much worse."

  "If you say so."

  After saying that, Julius turned his attention to his clothes, but after a minute he had to sit down again. Cale watched him silently until Julius began desperately combing his hair. He got stuck on a knot for a good minute, which prompted Cale to sit up.

  "Come, sit here", he announced, pulling a chair toward him at the same time, causing Julius to pause and look at Cale. Without a word, Julius followed the instruction and changed his seat. He threw his chest-length hair over the back of the chair and sat quietly while Cale took the hair in his hands and carefully tried to untangle it. For the first time, he noticed how much hair Julius actually had, even though it always looked so elegant and sparse.

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  "You have even longer hair than I used to have", Cale remarked quietly, running his fingers over his head to carefully untangle it.

  "You had long hair?"

  "Shoulder-length, yes."

  "I would have liked to see that. Why did you cut it?"

  "Because it no longer suited my appearance", Cale explained truthfully. He didn't mention that he had changed from a frail mage to a muscular swordsman.

  "Let it grow back, will you?"

  "It just gets in my way."

  "Oh, come on. You could tie it back."

  "Good point. Do you have a ribbon?"

  "Yes", Julius quickly replied, reaching for an almost black ribbon lying next to his bag. He handed it to Cale, who began to tie his hair into a ponytail.

  "Can I try out a hairstyle on you that I used to wear?"

  "Why not? Doesn't Ahri let you experiment on her hair?"

  "Ahri's hair is a little too long for that", Cale replied simply, letting part of the hair fall while pulling the rest up and beginning to shape it into a bump.

  He skillfully tied the cloth around the section of hair and adjusted a few strands before leaning forward slightly and looking down at Julius from above. "You're still pretty tired, aren't you?"

  "Totally", Julius replied without opening his eyes. He seemed to have enjoyed Cale running his fingers through his hair, but now that he was done, he yawned and stood up. There was no mirror in the room, so Julius turned to the window and looked at the result in the reflection of the glass. "It doesn't look too bad. Do people always wear their hair like this in your homeland?"

  "To be honest, I copied the hairstyle from Chief Merensen", Cale explained, pushing the chair back into its place. Since his first life, Ninett Merensen had been an important part of his life, and Cale had picked up some of his habits.

  "You know Chief Ninett Merensen?"

  "Knowing is such a broad word. I met him once, yes."

  "You have connections everywhere, don't you?"

  "I've been around a lot", Cale explained, pointing with one hand to the bag still lying on Julius's bed. "Do you think your stomach could handle some food?"

  "I don't want to take that risk."

  "Understandable", Cale replied. He grabbed his own bag and slung it over his shoulder, took his coat in his arm, and headed for the door. "Then we can get going right away. If that's okay."

  "Of course", Cale confirmed, appearing behind him. "What is Chief Merensen like, as a person, I mean?"

  "Have you never met him?"

  "I haven't had the opportunity yet."

  "You probably will", Cale muttered, opening the door. "He's a pretty nice and courteous man. Surprisingly calm, which you wouldn't expect at first glance. However, he has a strong protective instinct, especially when it comes to his family."

  "That explains, at least in part, why they don't want to have any contact with us."

  "In part", Cale repeated, turning into the hallway. Julius closed the door behind him and followed Cale to the end of the corridor before they descended the stairs together. "But you never know, maybe they'll surprise you."

  "Everything the healers in Frignez do is a surprise. You learn so little about them. Do you know why they hate humans so much?"

  "They don't hate humans, they're more afraid of them."

  "Afraid?", Julius repeated in surprise. "Why afraid?"

  "From what I've gathered, they're afraid that their abilities will be misused, although I can't really reveal any information about that", Cale explained, letting his gaze wander over the empty tables. Not a single soul was present, and even the owners seemed to have gone to bed. Since Julius had already paid for the room upon their arrival, they could leave without having to check out.

  "How is Frignez?"

  "You seem to be in a rather good mood for questions. What happened?"

  "You're the first person who can answer such questions for me."

  "Eh?", Cale replied in surprise, pausing in the half-open doorway, which he held open to let Julius pass through. "I can't imagine that. There are dozens of travelers in Bellator, one of whom could have answered that for you."

  "Because I, the king's advisor, am often seen on the streets of Bellator asking complete strangers about their impressions."

  "Did you just openly say that you are an advisor? Has someone come to terms with his position?"

  "Out of necessity", Julius replied simply, walking along the wall of the house before turning into the courtyard and heading for the large barn in the garden. As if the horses had noticed their presence, they already began to neigh. "So... will you answer the curious question of the ignorant advisor?"

  "If you're good and listen to me?"

  "Have I moved up from being your student to your daughter - or what?", Julius retorted, which made Cale laugh. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand and tried to remain quiet as he removed the wooden beam with his other hand and pushed the heavy door aside. Only when he spotted his horse did he calm down and take a deep breath.

  "Frignez is, as you always hear, an extremely cold place. Once you pass the twin mountains, the only thing you see is snow and ice. It feels like it rains all year round, and the wind becomes more relentless the further north you go. No wonder they built their cities underground."

  "Underground?", Julius replied. He was already holding his stallion's reins in his hands and stroking its head while Cale picked up the saddle blankets from the wooden fence and placed them on the horse's back.

  "Yes, their cities are all built underground."

  "Really, I didn't know that. They must never see daylight, right?"

  "That's the case in Frignez anyway. The nights there are much longer than here in Sylve, and with the frequent snowstorms, you don't necessarily want to be on the surface all the time. Although I have to say, after about three days of darkness, everyone voluntarily goes out for some fresh air."

  "Sounds like a place you really wouldn't want to be stuck in."

  "If you have no other choice, then you'll be glad to be there", Cale muttered quietly, but Julius understood him well enough.

  "What do you mean?", Julius's question snapped him out of his thoughts.

  Surprised, he looked up and realized that he had come to a standstill and had been remembering for a few moments the time he had experienced after the second wave. The time when he had lived in Frignez, learned their culture, and tried to be of help to the large family that had formed there.

  "Frignez is a very beautiful country, Julius", Cale quickly searched for a way out. "Visit it yourself and form your own opinion, then you'll understand what I meant."

  "If you say so", Julius replied irritably. "Which city did you visit back then?"

  "Actually, I visited all three major stands in Frignez", Cale continued, resuming his work. For the next few minutes he spent alone with Julius, Cale talked a lot about his life in Frignez and what he had seen and learned back then.