Berlin was loud.
Not "busy city" loud.More like "everyone is mad and yelling about it" loud.
Horses clopped everywhere.Men argued like it was a national sport.Newspaper boys screamed headlines as if volume made them more correct.
I stood there in my winter coat, blinking.
"So this is Berlin," I muttered. "Ten minutes alive and I already need a break."
Someone bumped into me.
"HEY! WATCH IT!"
"I'm sorry!" I said automatically.
Why was I apologizing?I was literally the ground he walked on.
Being Human Is… Weird
Walking as a human felt strange.
As Germany, I could feel millions of people at once.As a human, everything was smaller.
Cold air on my cheeks.My boots crunching on snow.The smell of bread from a bakery that almost made me cry.
"Oh no," I whispered. "I can feel hunger again."
This body had emotions.REAL emotions.
Anxiety.Curiosity.Embarrassment.And something else…
Joy.
Just walking.Being normal.Not having eighty million thoughts at once.
"…Wait," I said slowly. "This is actually kinda nice."
Somewhere in the Divine Office
Far, far away from Berlin…
Two gods sat in a glowing room that looked suspiciously like an office.
One of them leaned back in his chair, feet on a cosmic desk.
"Hey," he said casually, "you know I lied."
The other god stopped writing.
"…You what?"
"About the girl," the first god continued. "She can live in human form. Fully. Emotions and all."
Silence.
Then—
"YOU MOTHER—"The second god slammed his desk. "YOU SAID IT WAS STRICTLY LIMITED!"
"Relax," the first god waved him off. "She's funny. And she deserves it."
"You BASTARD," the second god snapped. "Do you have any idea how many rules you just bent?!"
The first god smiled.
"Worth it."
Back to Berlin (Unfortunately for Me)
I suddenly sneezed.
"Ah—CHOO!"
Great.I could get sick too.
This human body was fragile.Soft.Clumsy.
I tripped on a patch of snow and flailed.
Saved myself at the last second.
"YES," I whispered proudly. "Character development."
Then—
PAIN.
Not human pain.
GERMANY PAIN.
It felt like my chest tightened and my brain yelled:
"HEY! SOMETHING IS WRONG!"
I stopped walking.
"Oh come on," I groaned. "I JUST got here."
The pain pulsed again.
Hot.Urgent.Messy.
This wasn't hunger.This wasn't nerves.
"This is… a problem-problem," I said.
System, Be Useful Please
A soft sound rang in my head.
" ALERT: MINOR CRISIS DETECTED "
"MINOR?! That feels VERY MAJOR!"
Another message appeared.
" LOCATION: BERLIN "
I looked around.
"I KNOW! I'M STANDING IN IT!"
Why was the system like this?
Trying to Act Normal (Fail #3)
I followed the strange pulling feeling in my chest, weaving through people.
A man stared at me.
"Are you lost, miss?"
"Yes," I answered honestly. "In life."
He slowly nodded and walked away.
That hurt more than it should have.
Smoke. Fire. Uh-Oh.
Then I smelled it.
Smoke.
Thick.Burning.Bad.
I turned a corner and froze.
A factory was on fire.
Flames licked the windows.Smoke poured into the sky.Workers ran everywhere screaming.
And inside my chest?
It felt like someone lit a match.
"Oh," I whispered."Oh no."
This wasn't just something I saw.
This was something I felt.
Because the factory wasn't just a building.
It was part of me.
My First Real Thought as Germany
I stood there, heart racing.
I wasn't strong.I wasn't special.I didn't have magic.
I was just a girl in a coat who died clumsily once already.
But the people running and shouting?
They were mine.
And for the first time, I understood something very clearly:
"If I do nothing," I whispered,"this hurts more."
I clenched my hands.
"…Guess I'm doing this."
I took a step toward the fire.
Nearly slipped.
Caught myself.
Still scared.Still awkward.Still inexperienced.
But moving forward anyway.
And somewhere very far away, a god laughed quietly and said:
"Yep. She's definitely Germany."
The heat hit me the moment I got closer.
Not a warm, cozy heat.The "everything is wrong and I hate this" kind of heat.
Smoke burned my eyes.People shouted over each other.Someone dropped a bucket and cursed loudly.
And inside my body?
That horrible pressure came back.
My stomach twisted.My head throbbed.My chest felt tight.
I grabbed my coat and bent forward a little.
"Bro," I muttered under my breath, "why does a minor problem feel like my fking PERIODS?"
A worker nearby stared at me.
"…Miss?"
"Nothing," I said quickly. "Medical stuff."
Fire Brigade Chaos
The fire brigade had arrived.
Or at least…something that looked like an organized group of men with hoses.
They were yelling.
"Bring water here!""No, over there!""The pressure's wrong!""Who's in charge?!"
Nobody answered that last one.
Great.
A wave of panic rolled through me — not just mine, but everyone's.As Germany, it felt like someone was shaking my insides.
"Nope," I said, straightening up. "I am NOT letting this turn into a disaster."
I marched forward.
Almost tripped.
Recovered.
Still marched forward.
Accidentally Taking Command
"HEY!" I shouted.
My voice surprised even me.
The shouting paused.
A few firemen turned toward me, confused.
"Why are you all yelling like this is helping?" I snapped."Split the teams! One group handles the front, one group goes around the side, and someone CHECK THE WATER PRESSURE!"
The men stared.
One of them blinked."…Who are you?"
I froze.
Right.Can't say "Hi, I'm Germany."
Think. THINK.
"I'm—"My brain lagged."I'm… someone with common sense!"
Somehow, that worked.
Another fireman scratched his head."…She's got a point."
"Why are we all standing here yelling?" someone else muttered.
"Yes!" I said quickly. "Less yelling, more water!"
And just like that…
They MOVED.
Germany Feels Better (A Little)
The moment the fire brigade started acting together, the pain inside me eased.
Just a bit.
"Oh wow," I whispered. "That actually helped."
So this was how it worked.
Not magic.Not shouting "I command you!"
Just…people doing their jobs better.
I clenched my fists.
"Okay," I murmured. "I can do this. I just have to stop everyone from panicking."
Which was ironic, because I was panicking internally.
Running Around Like a Headless Chicken
I moved constantly.
Pointing.Shouting.Dodging buckets.Nearly getting hit by a hose.
"YOU—help them!""YOU—don't go inside, are you insane?!""WHY IS THAT GUY JUST STANDING THERE?!"
Someone tried to argue with me.
I stared them down.
They left.
Confidence was fake, but apparently effective.
At one point, I slipped on wet ground and windmilled my arms.
Did I fall?
No.
Did I look cool?
Also no.
The Officer Again
The officer from earlier reappeared, coughing through smoke.
"You again," he said. "You're… strangely effective."
"Thank you," I replied, out of breath. "I thrive under pressure and chaos."
He gave me a weird look.
"That explains nothing."
"Welcome to my life."
A Small Victory
Water finally started overpowering the flames.Smoke thinned.People stopped screaming as much.
Inside me, something loosened.
Like Germany exhaled.
I leaned against a wall, breathing hard, legs shaking.
"That was…"I wiped my face."…way too much for my first day."
But people were alive.The fire was controlled.The damage wasn't catastrophic.
For the first time since reincarnating, I smiled.
Small win.Very small.
But it mattered.
And somewhere deep inside, I felt it:
Germany noticed.