Chapter 139.

PART 1.

Hatori approaches the house. This is his first solo assignment, so he has to talk to the client by himself and handle every detail which Munshi usually does. The necromancer is with him to make sure to provide help if necessary, and to ensure that Hatori won’t be run off by this family in a mistaken belief that he is some sham kid out to scam them with Munshi’s name.

He knocks at the door with his sweaty palms, and a woman opens it. “Yes?” she asked, Hatori noted that her voice was very high-pitched. If it weren’t for her looks, he might have mistaken her for an old teenage girl.

“I’m Hatori Eagle, and this is my master, Munshi.” Introduced Hatori. “We received a letter from you about certain events in your house, which you want us to investigate. Is that correct, miss?”

“Aabha.” Said the woman with a smile. “And yes, we did send that letter. Please do come in.”

“Thank you very much,” said Hatori, falling on the polite lessons that his mother drilled into him from a very early age. Now that he has thought about her, maybe he should talk to her in his free time.

Soon enough, the entire family is seated at a table. Munshi and Hatori on one side, and the Nair family on the other side. Devakaran, the husband of Aabha was the one who sent the letter to Munshi requesting his help, their kid, who looks like he is no older than seven sits in the middle of his parents.

“Now,” said Hatori, bringing out his notebook, “Please describe the kind of incidents you have gone through, do not leave any details out. even the smallest of the details can be important.”

Devakaran is not sure what to make of this. The necromancer is quiet, but this boy is talking with them, noting things down with a dictation pen. But he is not speaking any words. Maybe some enchantment? But he decides not to worry about that. “I believe you should go first, dear.” He prompted his wife to share her experiences.

“It was quite odd. We all heard noises at first,” she said, and Hatori noted the details, “But we didn’t think of it much at first. But then, the voices got increasingly specific, we could not call them normal day-to-day noises of animals or things in or around our house. Then, one day, while my husband was at work, I was attacked with a flying teacup, which shattered on my forehead. I needed immediate healing assistance to fix the damage.”

Hatori noted that, unlike his world, there is no sign of that injury on her head. No mark, no scar at all. “Then the other day, when my husband was just preparing to leave for work, I took a bath. But I felt as if someone came from behind me, and started to strangle me.” it was clear to Hatori from her tone that Aabha was unsettled to recall this incident.

“Just to be clear, the noises are heard by all of you?” asked Hatori.

“Yes,” they all answer together. “But the teacup shattering on my forehead, and the strangling are unique to me.” clarified Aabha.

“What about you, sir?” asked Hatori.

“Only one incident for me,” said Devakaran. “A pen flew from the table and nearly stabbed me in my throat. I later checked it for enchantments, and it had a sharpening one on it, which none of us know how to put on an object.”

“Mom—” the kid tried to speak, but the parents shushed him.

“Son, grown-ups are talking right now,” said Devakaran.

Hatori thinks that if his father ever spoke to him like that, he would have left the room immediately, consequences be damned. But it is unlikely that they will let him speak with the kid. And he even told them that even the smallest of details can be important. Despite that, they are not letting their son share anything with him. ‘Well, that’s their problem… for now.’ he thought. If things continue like this, it could end up becoming his own problem in the future.

“In the letter,” said Hatori, ignoring the entire incident, “You also mentioned some sighting of a strange apparition. Is that correct?”

“Indeed.” Nodded Devakaran. “We have all seen a ghastly person in this house observing us.”

PART 2.

Shin is leaving. Professor Sangita will be here in an hour to pick him up. “Do take these items with you,” said Zeko, giving him some enchanted rings, “They might become useful.”

Hatori doesn’t like to wear anything like a ring. This makes it harder for Zeko to enchant proper items for him. But Shin does not have the same dislike. “Of course, be careful, and listen to your master.”

“Yes, master Zeko.” Said Shin. He does not know why everyone calls him master. But Shin doesn’t want to think too deeply about it, so decides to roll with it. besides, given how many years he knows the old mage, it is kind of late to call him anything else.

As he leaves for the airport, Shin feels odd. No one has done something like that for him, even his orphanage staff, who treated him with much warmth, did not treat him like this. He is not sure how to react.

PART 3.

After questioning them, Hatori decides to take a tour of the house. He senses the signs of a soul but does not know where it is coming from. He is unable to pinpoint its location. He considered the basement, but it was locked, not that it would stop a soul, much less Hatori himself. After all, he can easily blow up the doors and walls in his way.

The point is, the basement is locked, and has remained so before they purchased this house. “Do you know the history of this house?” asked Hatori, turning to Devakaran. They are currently standing on the roof, as the sun has started to set.

Devakaran thinks for a moment. “The house was built by another banker 130 years ago, and the only thing which I know about him is that he met a violent end. Ever since, this house has passed from one owner to another, until we came along.”

“Didn’t that strike you as odd?” asked Hatori.

“Not at all.” Said Devakaran. “We needed a good house, and we actually found this one, which is double the size of the house we were thinking to buy, and at a much cheaper rate. Now I’m getting the idea why it was sold so cheap to us.”

Hatori strokes his chin deep in the thought of something. After a while, he speaks once more. “Maybe this could be the soul of that banker? He probably didn’t want anyone else living in his house, since the soul may consider it to be its property, even after the death.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“That would be believable if the person whom we saw in the form of an apparition was a man. but despite the unclear features to recognize the person, we are certain that this phantom is a woman.” Said Devakaran.

“That disproves my theory then.” Said Hatori.

Once they go down from the roof, Hatori talks with Munshi. “Master,” he said to him. “Could you find out more about that banker who built this house 130 years ago? In the meantime, I will keep an eye on this place.” He whispered to him.

“Sure.” He agreed. “In the meantime,” said Munshi a little louder, “You should all wear these lockets. They will keep you safe from a soul. Do not remove them under any circumstances, even outside of the home. souls can, and do follow their victims, after all.”

“But sir,” said Aabha, “We’re worried about Dhruv.”

“Don’t worry mam,” said Hatori, “I will keep an eye on him. I have experience in looking after the kids.” He said with a smile, remembering the case a few months ago when he kept a bunch of kids safe from a vengeful soul.

“Do not worry.” Said Munshi to the couple. “I have all the confidence in my student. he can keep your child safe.”

the parents look more assured after hearing those words from Munshi.

PART 4.

James has left for the Academy today, recalled by the healer Slaughter. ‘Who names themselves Slaughter, while working as a healer?’ he thought.

But the bigger mystery is who attacked James in the broad daylight, using spirits of all things. This might be a mystery for the authorities, but Jimmy knows who did that. ‘I may not have a proof, but I know you did that, Shakuntala. But tough luck. James is not here anymore. and you can’t reach him in the Academy.’ smiled Jimmy with a nasty edge to it.

This does two things. it gives maximum safety to James while allowing him to continue his education while putting salt on the wounds of Shakuntala. If he were a lesser person, he might even try to shove her face into this failure. But Jimmy won’t do that. not only it is uncouth, but any communication with a party against whom you have filed a lawsuit can end up biting you in the future.

Therefore, he must contain his gloating to himself.

PART 5.

Slaughter watches, as James works on repairing the broken bones of an arm of a student who freshly got out of a duel, and managed to reach the infirmary. Slaughter is making James perform this task to make sure he has not forgotten anything over the summer.

“Done sir,” said James. “She might have trouble in moving her arm for a few days though.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Said Slaughter, and dismissed the girl.

So far, James is coming along wonderfully. ‘If things continue like this until the end of this year, I will offer him a permanent apprenticeship under me.’ thinks Slaughter.

After all, talent like that does not come so very often.

PART 6.

“Here, have half of my biscuits.” Said Dhruv, sharing the pack of the biscuits with Hatori.

“Thanks, but you really don’t need to share with me,” said Hatori.

“Nah, I had much fun listening to your stories.” Said the kid, bouncing on his bed while remembering Hatori’s adventure.

Hatori of course, made sure to include all the violence he has experienced, for the proper mage upbringing requires a hefty amount of horror and violence. “So, you led a bunch of animals in the school, what happened after that?”

“A lot of trampling.” Said Hatori, biting the biscuit with a crunch. “They fail to learn their lesson though, hunting me the very next year.”

“What did you do then?” asked Dhruv.

“Crashed the New Year party, dueled the professor, and destroyed him. I haven’t heard of him ever since.” Said Hatori.

In hindsight, he should have killed him then and there, it would have meant one less enemy. But alas, he couldn’t kill him after the duel was over. Though he doubts anyone would have minded if he did. Accidents do happen, after all.

Looking outside, Hatori sees it is dark. “Isn’t that time for your sleep?” asked Hatori.

On cue, Aabha opens the door. “Now, give the young man a rest, it is time for your sleep.” said the mother to Dhruv.

“I’ll be off then.” He said to her and left the room quickly.

He has been given the room closest to the child, so he can reach him in the case of an attack. the child looks up to him, which is something Hatori never experiences often. Usually, they are crying about his looks, or asking for forgiveness after ticking him off. “Please let me go, don’t hurt me!” a few rare times.

But admiration is a rare phenomenon for Hatori. Aside from Suraj, (who lost whatever respect he may had for Hatori after his harsh lesson two years ago), and the kids whom he met in that marriage case, no one ever admires Hatori.

‘But all things considered, I’m handling it well.’ he thinks, falling asleep while sensing something observing him at the edge of his awareness.

Later in the night, Dhruv wakes up and goes down to get some water from the kitchen. He is grabbed from behind and dangled over the stairs. The hand gripping his collar loses its grip, and he goes down. But he is levitated to the floor, and witnesses Hatori firing off several spells to a fleeting figure.

The soul escaped, and the parents came to check on them. “Are you okay?” they asked. surprisingly, the question was aimed at both of them.

“y—yeah,” confirms Dhruv, shaken up. “He saved me.”

“What about you, son?” asked Devakaran.

“I’m fine.” Said Hatori, looking in the direction where the soul fled. “The soul fled, however; I am sorry about that.”

“Don’t be.” Said Devakaran. “Why don’t we all sleep in the hall? I think it would be much better,” suggested Devakaran.

Hatori’s first instinct was to deny this offer, but looking at the trembling Dhruv, he agreed. Luckily for them, no new incidents happened that day. The next day, Dhruv got a scolding for removing his locket. Hatori winced, but at least he had an excuse for being a child. The bride in the case of Sindapur didn’t have any such excuse.

PART 7: THE CURRENCY WARS.

Once Samraat was on the throne, he had another challenge in front of him. That being, how can he make sure that everyone trades on the same level? He introduced the currency, backed by the power of the throne, and replaced the gold and other materials.

This was met with opposition by the people who were well-established in the then-current system, who felt threatened by this move of the king. the conflicts that resulted from this opposition are referred to as currency wars.