Train Travel?
Blue skies stretched overhead, clear and inviting for a day out.
The gentle spring breeze wrapped everything in its blessing, a perfect day for an outing.
On such a day, Sugar sprawled across the compartment sofa, body sinking into the cushions.
She stared blankly out the window as the scenery blurred past in a rush.
Inside the swaying train, thanks to the advanced magic engineering that made life so convenient, even someone who had once savored modern civilization like Sugar could find this world livable.
Especially the cleanliness. The baths, the bath supplies, the restrooms—everything was spotless.
The train compartment itself was neat, the wooden interior showing a bit of wear but well-maintained.
So she could relax and lie down without worry. Using her cloak as a blanket, Sugar recalled the conversation from the day before departure.
“What? Just the two of us for one night two days—”
“Not a trip.”
“Not a one-night two-day trip?”
“It’s a trip. Not a trip.”
Sugar’s blunt reply left Ian flustered. Leon standing beside her had given some vague look, as if pleading “Please don’t leave me alone with her.” But it didn’t matter.
Sugar glanced ahead.
Ryly was visible, reading intently with his head lowered over the book.
Hah. Sugar let out a soft snort and rolled over.
“… Why have you been in a bad mood since earlier?”
“What?”
This was the first conversation of the day. She hadn’t spoken a word since boarding the train. Even when Ryly tried to engage, she only gave a half-hearted nod.
“You haven’t said a word. Your mouth’s been as still as a clam.”
“No, it’s just that my mouth is small and cute.”
“Hah.”
Ryly closed the book he’d been reading.
“What’s bothering you? Tell me.”
“No complaints.”
That was unlikely. Sugar, who had clung to Ryly the moment they were alone, was now sulking while keeping her distance.
“… I understand why you don’t want to go. I didn’t want to take you either. But we should do this properly.”
“I’m the same. I’ve accepted this situation. I understand your feelings too. I’m not angry at all.”
She had caught the gist of the explanation. A cult had been discovered nearby, and they were heading to the nearby heresy investigation branch.
The Shadow Cult. A name she hadn’t heard in a long time—the ones Ryly had been deliberately avoiding.
For Sugar, it didn’t weigh heavily. She had expected to face them again now that they were outside the Holy City.
She hadn’t wasted her time learning magic for nothing. She hadn’t let Ryly go for so long for nothing.
She knew everything.
So she wasn’t angry.
She wasn’t reluctant to go to the heresy investigation either. If they needed her, she would come. She was willing to help catch them.
Still, she couldn’t figure out why she felt so irritated. Even Sugar herself didn’t know.
“Is it fear? Has my childhood memory turned into PTSD?”
Even as an adult, she still occasionally dreamed of that winter mountain. But whenever the pain grew too much and tears welled up, Ryly would appear, and she never felt that agony. Instead, she felt her heart melting in the safety he provided.
Then why?
Why did it keep bothering her?
It wasn’t because the destination of this first train trip with Ryly was a cult that needed to be destroyed. No. She wouldn’t get angry over that. If they needed her help, she would go anywhere.
Sugar fiddled with her thigh and lifted the corner of her mouth slightly. Her eyes remained cold, giving off a chilling expression.
“You’re clearly angry…”
“No way.”
Even as she continued to deny it, Ryly let out a sigh. No matter how you looked at it, she was furious, yet she claimed otherwise. He was always like this.
Still, he couldn’t treat her roughly. He hadn’t done well today. Ryly hadn’t wanted to bring Sugar along. Thinking about her past, it would make him shudder to even be near her, yet he had forced her to face it. Only guilt remained.
Actually, Sugar’s trigger for anger wasn’t that, but Ryly, who didn’t know, pulled something from his pocket and held it out.
“What’s this? A candy from you?”
It was a translucent pink lollipop shaped like a cute little stick. He probably thought it would soothe her if she put it in her mouth. It looked like something to comfort kids, but Sugar accepted it without hesitation.
“Who gave this to you?”
“Who gave it? Who gave you such a cute pink strawberry candy? Huh?”
Just as Sugar’s gaze sharpened.
“Professor Hubert. That old man who handles advanced magic operation. He gets stomachache from coffee, so he eats these instead.”
“…”
At the calm reply, Sugar peeled the wrapper without a word.
Then she stuck out her tongue and began licking the candy.
Staring at Ryly, she licked it with loud, rhythmic motions. She swept her tongue slowly over the entire stick, then licked the bottom as if poking it. The small red tongue moved wildly, drawing attention.
Soon she put it in her mouth and sucked, her lips glistening. The wet sounds filled the compartment.
Watching her lick with a furious expression, Ryly tried to say something but held back. He closed his eyes, avoiding her gaze.
Just as he was drifting into his own thoughts.
“Open your mouth.”
“What? Why?”
At the sudden sweet taste on her tongue, Ryly’s eyes widened.
When he looked at Sugar, the lollipop she had been sucking and licking was nowhere to be seen.
Of course, it was now in Ryly’s mouth. ‘Why’—as she spoke, she stuffed the candy into the open mouth.
“Ya… you… really…!”
Feeling the sweetness of the candy, Ryly bit down and responded as if she were angry. “Why? You should taste it too.” His tone was different from usual—lazy and annoyed, legs crossed. He seemed to be hiding something dark beneath his innocent act.
It was just provocation. If she fell for it, she’d be in trouble. Who knew what would happen with that angry woman.
“I’ll hold back…”
The mature Ryly crushed the candy, swallowed it whole, and pulled the stick from his mouth.
Sugar stared at it fixedly. Her lips pouted, as if disappointed that the man’s reaction was lacking.
“I’m sleepy.”
Then she muttered and lay down on the sofa.
She closed her eyes, ignoring the slight disappointment in her chest.
***
At noon, they had arrived at the station after rushing from the morning. Compared to the grand station near Stille, it was shabby. Of course, since there was a station, the area was somewhat prosperous.
While circling the red-brick building and stretching her tired body, an old acquaintance approached.
“Long time no see.”
“Master.”
While Ryly and Cedric exchanged pleasantries—how had you been, Master?—Sugar simply looked at the two in silence.
“Huh? Why is your gaze like that? Are you doing well? How’s life outside?”
“The world doesn’t always go according to my wishes.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Just… that’s how it is.”
“Alright. Let’s go with that.”
Cedric caught Sugar’s nonsense as if it were flowing water and stepped forward.
“First, let’s eat lunch. Then we’ll go to the incident site and check it out. You two aren’t tired, right? If you’re tired, you can rest at the investigation branch first and tell me.”
“We’ve only been on the train. What could tire us?”
“Well… two of us. There might be.”
“What?”
“Let’s go.”
Ryly, with a reluctant expression, followed behind and extended his hand to Sugar.
“…”
“What are you doing? Don’t hold back.”
As Sugar stared silently, Ryly grabbed her hand.
Sugar averted her gaze and followed along behind Ryly.
***
“We’re here. From here on, we walk.”
After lunch, they got out of the car driven by Cedric and saw knights standing at the entrance to the forest.
Behind them, along the path, a fence had been laid out to prevent anyone from entering carelessly.
“Welcome.”
“From now on, we’ll be taking these people inside to check. Unless I call you separately, don’t come in no matter what happens outside.”
“Understood.”
Cedric instructed the waiting knights at the entrance and led the way.
The forest was silent, with no birdsong, and a sticky wind blew. Bloodstains were visible here and there. The bodies had all been removed, but the traces remained.
After walking for a while, a structure made of crystal came into view in the distance. It gave off an ominous atmosphere.
“It’s exactly the same as the one I saw before. Why is it here…”
Ryly recalled the events before meeting Sugar. Following the cultists who had resumed their activities, he had discovered the tower. The moment he saw it, an unpleasant feeling had enveloped his entire body.
“That’s why I brought that girl. That’s it. There’s more than one strange thing. First, before explaining, Sugar. Do you feel anything? Tell me what comes to mind.”
Sugar looked up at the tower.
It was quite tall. The colorless transparent crystal seemed to jut out wildly, but it also made her wonder if that was artificial placement. Inside, a pitch-black aura swam leisurely.
“It’s strange.”
“What’s strange?”
“No matter how you look at it, the thing inside is the Dark God’s power. I don’t feel that aura. Strictly speaking, I do feel it… but it shouldn’t be this weak.”
They should have turned this forest white long ago.
They should have sought out the color of living things, devoured it, and made it their own.
Even so, it was only black. Colors mixed together become duller and lose their light. Yet the god doesn’t stop eating.
The sight of such an entity’s power quietly confined within the crystal was truly strange.
“Yes. You’re right. To explain briefly, it’s the work of the Shadow cultists who have resumed activities lately. Of course. But I don’t know the purpose. We’re researching what intention they had and how they built it. We can’t just destroy it. At that moment, the surroundings would be devastated.”
“What’s the material of this crystal?”
“Ah. We used a lot of manpower to take samples. Everyone was trembling with hammers and picks, so scared. So I said I’d do it, but they all insisted on doing it themselves.”
“If an old man does it, the pillar will break in two. It’ll be a disaster. Don’t do that.”
“In the end, we couldn’t. But is this ordinary crystal? We couldn’t, but because we couldn’t, an answer came. Ordinary impacts don’t work. Magic doesn’t work either. It even blocks some of the Dark God’s influence. Such mysterious materials aren’t common in the world.”
Sugar tilted her head. Ryly had already guessed and furrowed his brows.
Sugar also searched her mind and soon reached a conclusion. The studies she had done to go to Stille hadn’t been in vain.
“… You mean the Gem Dragon has joined the Shadow Cult?”
“One of the possibilities. A hypothesis.”
The Master of the Moon.
The Master of the Unfortunate Mountain Range.
The Master of the Ruined Land.
One of the three dragons that exist in this world.
The crystal tower before their eyes resembled a part of the Gem Dragon’s body.