When Seren finished compiling her clothes and Felix's, she was about to reach for Felix's stacked underwear on the bed. Yeah, after this, it's all done. Suddenly, she glanced at the desk beside the bed, and she recalled something…
"The code!" Seren mutters as she turns her attention at the desk.
She analyzes the dusty wooden desk and opens its drawer. Oohh… found it. As she gazed inside the drawer, 3 papers and 1 pen were within; as for that, she took the decoded one.
At first impression, the shakiness of the writing is noticeable, which was unusual. Just as she is about to read, the door creaks, and she startle; hiding the paper behind her back.
Just as Felix stepped, Seren said, "I-I've compiled our clothing in the wardrobe. Now…" She pointed a finger at Felix's stacked underwear on the bed. "Do it yourself, please. That is… such an unwilling thing for me." She said dramatically.
Felix is slightly embarrassed in annoyance. "Fine. It's not like you had to."
After that, Seren takes a step sideways, covering her hand at her back; she's circling Felix while giving a slight cynical stare. Just as she reaches the door, she walks outside the bedroom and closes the door without a word nor showing her back—only a weak cynical stare.
W-what is this girl up to…?
Even though Felix was puzzled by her weird behavior, he quickly shook it off and went to compile his sensitive fabrics…. Haha.
Just as he finished filling them in the only large 4-door wardrobe, yeah, there's only one, but their wearings are separated. Okay, just as he finished filling them, suddenly, something rang—it sounded like a telephone. Of course, it took Felix's attention.
After closing the wardrobe, he reaches for the telephone on a small desk beside the wardrobe.
I never noticed there's a telephone here….
As he took the call, a familiar mature-sounding man spoke from the telephone, "Greetings, Mr. Felix Montclair." he greeted in German.
Huh!? Mr. Friedrich?
Felix replies in German, "Y-yes…, Mr. Friedrich?" he locked his attention fully to the telephone as he rested a hand on the desk.
"Ha-ha, it's been a while. How's your new house? All fine, right?" Mr. Friedrich casually brought up the topic.
"Well, yeah, I like it…. Thank you."
"Alright, then…" Mr. Friedrich clears his throat. "Now you've taken the letter…. Have you decoded it?" He said with a very low yet serious tone, which made the atmosphere tense.
Felix gulped. "...Yes, I apparently have read books related to those kinds of codes…."
"Ahh, good."
Not knowing what to say, Felix found him speechless for a while.
"If you have any questions, just let me know. I don't want you to have something that's bothering you."
"I- uh… what will happen to my sister, Seren?"
"In that case, we'll send a monthly cash for her. Trust me, both your life and Seren's are guaranteed fully because your life is mostly in the military base and battlefield." Mr. Friedrich explained in the most comprehensive way.
Felix pondered for a while before accepting. "Will I somehow get a vacation or some sort of?" He asked more questions to calm his anxiety down.
"Yes, that is possible. We do have backup units, so it is an acceptable wish."
"Ouh… great."
Mr. Friedrich smirked behind the phone. "Are you ready? For a new life in the military and serving the nation."
A new life? More likely a desperate new life…. In Felix's mind, he wasn't ready. However, he thought twice…, there's no other way; he has to let everything, including himself, flow on its current. "Yes, I certainly am on it." His voice is low but still keeping the courage feel.
"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Mr. Friedrich said with courage yet casually—just some mature manners. "I'll sign you up as a candidate, and we'll see how you perform in the training process."
"I see… I'll try my best, then."
"Alright, now, what kind of codename would you like? It's needed when you first sign up"
"A codename…?"
"Yeah, it's a name we used to call our soldiers. Well, a codename is typically chosen by the candidates, but I'd love to give you one."
"Uhmm, what is it…?" Felix ponders. A codename…. I guess something cool German-speaking.
"Äußere. That'll be your codename. Like it?"
Äußere…. The Outer? (Yeah, Äußere = 'the outer' in English). Does that refer to where I came from? Like, the outer behind the wall…? Well, I can't complain, though. "Äußere…. That's okay for me."
"O-kay, it's all set now. Since 2 of our soldiers have died on the battlefield as of today, we're left with 2 empty slots by now…."
"Right…?" Felix's got aware about what's coming next.
"Yeah, we need a new candidate fast to fill it. Remember the date of when we'll escort you?"
"Uhm, yes, it's 23rd February …." Felix felt a sense of unwillingness.
"Yeah, it's advanced to 14th February. The time is still at 10 am. So… good luck!"
"Wait—"
Mr. Friedrich unpleasantly closed the call while Felix was trying to say something. What the heck is wrong with this man??? He couldn't think of anything else. After quite a moment, he put the telephone down and sighed.
14…. It's tomorrow…. I must tell her.
Felix went to reach the door. When he pulled the door, he bumped into Seren, who was also about to open the door.
"Ah, uhh…"