Strange Rumors About Cain Ashubalt
The rumors about Cain Ashubalt were a bit strange.
A bizarre, mysterious man.
As far as she remembered, he was just some worthless guy.
Even so, she remembered him because he always glared at her with those lecherous eyes.
So he was someone she didn't particularly want to run into.
Unfortunately, she'd ended up sharing a compartment with him.
'Ahem. Sorry about that. You’re just so beautiful, I lost myself for a moment.'
It was clearly just smooth talk, but it didn't feel bad at all.
Why was that?
What was different from the usual him?
'His eyes.'
That gaze had always been so sleazy.
But she didn't feel it at all this time.
Pure admiration.
Sincere praise straight from the heart.
That was it.
No other emotions came from him.
'Interesting.'
Had the man changed?
Or had she?
Either way, it was a feeling she'd never experienced before.
"Aigoo, my poor body."
Using Super Acceleration always left me feeling like death.
No matter how many times I used it, I never got used to the pain.
Because of that, I was pissed at the bastards who'd attacked the train.
'If you're gonna raid, do it when I'm not around. What kinda bullshit lightning strike is this?'
If it weren't for them, I'd be at the academy by now, rolling around in my dorm bed.
Thinking about that made me even angrier at the thug slumped in the corner.
'Gotta at least get some compensation.'
I dragged my aching body over to the fallen thug.
It must've looked pathetic, but whatever—who cared if anyone saw? Noble dignity and honor were just a pain in my ass.
'Still alive, huh.'
I hadn't meant to kill him, but surviving an attack that transcended human speed meant he wasn't your average guy.
A real pro.
Which meant he probably had some good stuff on him.
I rummaged through his body without hesitation.
But no matter how much I searched, nothing useful turned up.
All I got were a few gold coins and some daggers.
Lame rewards for all that effort.
'Total bust. Bust.'
I couldn't believe there was nothing decent.
Disappointed, I started pulling my hand out—when something snagged on my fingertip.
A deep inner pocket.
I didn't really wanna dig into the guy's chest area…
My mind said no, but my hand was already in there.
Gotta take what I can.
'A bead?'
Pulling it out, I saw it was some kind of glass orb with a faint red glow.
No clue what it was for.
He wasn't carrying it for marbles, that was for sure.
Felt like it had some use, but no way to figure it out now.
'Get it appraised later.'
Whatever it was, guys bold enough to raid a train wouldn't carry junk.
I pocketed it for now.
Could get it checked by an appraiser at the academy later.
Speaking of which…
'How long you gonna stare?'
Elisicia's gaze had been burning into me since earlier.
I'd tried ignoring it, but in a compartment with just the two of us, that was damn near impossible.
No choice—I turned my head.
“……” “……”
Our eyes met, but no words passed.
In the silence, Elisicia spoke first.
“I will repay you properly for this later.”
That was it.
No further conversation.
Fine by me—this distance felt perfect. I was satisfied.
“Yeah, sure. Got it.”
No more talk after that, but Elisicia kept staring at me.
How long you gonna keep this up?
Back off a bit…
The repairs on the exploded train car finished faster than expected.
Magic world perks, I guess?
A few mages swarmed in, fixed the wrecked compartment, and straightened the tracks in under an hour.
The convenience that crushes modern tech had me tempted for a sec.
'Maybe I should learn some magic later.'
I wasn't big on studying hard, but magic seemed handy to have.
Once at the academy, I'd sign up for a magic class or something.
The train will arrive at Lumen Academy shortly.
Please remain seated until the train has come to a complete stop.
After all the drama, the train finally pulled into the academy.
I had zero desire to linger in a compartment with Elisicia, so the second it stopped, I grabbed my stuff and bolted.
“Whew… Thought I was gonna suffocate.”
That staring gaze after the raid made even breathing tough.
I'd worried she might follow, but nope.
“Gotta hustle to the dorm and crash.”
Honestly, just standing here was killing me.
Fucking exhausted.
Still, had to make it to the dorm to pass out.
That’s when it happened.
“Hey!”
A guy in a short-brim hat with a fancy gold frame spotted me and came rushing over.
Whoa, dude charging like that is kinda scary.
What the hell?
“Huff, huff! A-are you the passenger from compartment 7?”
“Yeah, that's me.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
He introduced himself as the station attendant and kept bowing nonstop.
Turned out he was here to thank me for the train raid incident.
Gratitude was cool, but doing it where everyone could see was embarrassing.
“Let's move somewhere else first.”
“Oh! My apologies. Please follow me. We'll do our utmost to serve you.”
I followed the attendant to his office.
Even there, he didn't stop with the thanks.
“Thank you! Really, thank you!”
“Just did what anyone would. If you keep this up, it's gonna make me uncomfortable—please stop.”
“Hahaha! So humble.”
The attendant cautiously offered something.
It was a card with an intricate gold train emblem embossed on a pitch-black background.
"This is a VIP ticket for Lumen Trains. With this, you can ride any route in the premium compartments for free, and we'll provide every convenience related to our service."
I eyed the card for a moment.
'Not bad.'
The academy was huge.
Trains came in handy a lot, and free premium rides?
No reason to say no.
“I'll gladly take it.”
As I accepted the VIP ticket, the attendant beamed.
“Next time you visit, we'll give you the best service. Oh, and this is a personal gift from me.”
VIP ticket was plenty, but another gift?
A bit burdensome, but you don't refuse what's offered.
I took what he handed over right away.
“What's this?”
“A potion. You must be tired from the long trip—it'll wipe away all your fatigue.”
The liquid in the small glass vial gave off a soft red glow.
Not top-grade, but a potion's a potion.
These weren't cheap, and he was giving it as a personal gift.
The attendant had some serious generosity.
My body was wrecked anyway—perfect timing.
“Then I won't hold back.”
Pop!
I uncorked the potion and downed it in one go.
Glug! A fizzy tang hit first, followed by sweet strawberry flavor lingering in my mouth.
Hm. Pretty good taste.
If it weren't pricey, I'd buy it often.
“How is it?”
Not bad at all.
My body, which felt ready to collapse, now had enough strength to stand.
“Good stuff. Thanks. You didn't have to go this far.”
“Hahaha! Glad you're satisfied. Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Decon, station attendant at Lumen Academy station.”
“Cain Ashubalt.”
“Ashubalt…!”
Decon looked shocked.
Then he nodded and continued.
“So you're the son of the Ashubalt family, who handle the empire's military might. You're nothing like the rumors, sir.”
“Rumors?”
Decon clammed up, looking flustered.
“Ahem, I misspoke. Forget I said anything.”
“It's fine. Mind telling me what those rumors are?”
Decon hesitated, then spoke carefully.
“They say you're awfully prickly and arrogant. Stories about mistreating or threatening staff at stations, too. But meeting you… you're not like that at all.”
Decon scratched his head sheepishly.
“Haha, rumors are just rumors, huh? Sorry, shouldn't have said that to the man who saved the train and passengers.”
“No, it's okay.”
I gave a casual smile and stood.
“Thanks for the rest. I'll be off.”
“Yes! Come use our service again!”
The second I closed the office door, my face hardened.
'What the hell has this Cain asshole been up to?'