The Golden Sun in the Front Seat Keeps Talking
Time flowed on, and before I knew it, the first day of heading to the academy had arrived after half a month. The place I was sitting now was the train carrying all the students bound for the academy. Campbell Academy lay quite far from the territories we lived in, so it took a full day by train to reach it. Actually, calling it a mere train felt inaccurate—it was an express train reserved exclusively for academy students.
"Haa..."
Yet now, standing on the threshold of the academy after eight long years, an irrepressible sigh escaped my lips. The train itself wasn't the problem. Campbell Academy was a prestigious, well-known institution, and the ride lived up to its reputation—comfortable seating and excellent service. The real reason my mood had soured was sitting right in front of me.
'How did things end up like this...'
The train carried hundreds of students, and seating was assigned completely at random. Inside the carriage, students sat facing each other in pairs—an awkward design clearly meant to encourage socializing. 'There are three hundred students on this train.' That meant the person sitting across from me had beaten three-hundred-to-one odds. If this was fate, it was a cruel one.
"Hey... have you been well?"
"Don't talk to me. It's annoying."
"That's too much..."
Eight years after transmigrating into a romance fantasy, the day had finally come to attend the academy. And here I was, trapped on the train in a staring contest with Lucia, who sat directly across from me the entire way.
'On top of that, it's way too burdensome...'
She had been staring at me without blinking for a while now. I kept averting my eyes as much as possible, but the intensity of her gaze made it feel like holes were being drilled into my face. Even when I tried to look straight ahead, thinking there was no reason to avoid her eyes...
"..Hehe."
Every time our eyes met, she smiled faintly and let out a soft laugh, making it impossible to keep looking forward. What on earth was this woman plotting?
"Pfft!"
Just then, a mocking laugh came from one of the passing students. Annoyed that some ill-mannered brat would laugh at this miserable situation, I glanced sideways—and nearly choked. Of course. It was our protagonist. Why was Heidi sitting right next to us again?
"Khff... pfft..."
The ridicule wasn't aimed at me, but at Lucia sitting across from me. I could roughly translate that vulgar laugh as: 'Serves you right, getting stuck next to the guy you rejected after he confessed!'
Of course, Lucia wouldn't take much damage from something like that. There was only so much coincidence could explain. I'd been telling myself the seating was random, but this arrangement was far too deliberate to be chance.
'Up until now, I wasn't entirely sure...'
But seeing Heidi sitting right beside us confirmed it. With her positioned where I could clearly see her, this seating had to be Lucia's doing.
'...What is she after?'
Looking at Lucia, who was still beaming at me, a question rose in my mind. What could she possibly want from this arrangement? Judging by Heidi's reaction, there was no benefit for Lucia at all.
'Maybe it really is all just coincidence?'
Perhaps Lucia was genuinely clueless, and neither the media nor the train had been touched by her. Maybe I was the one overthinking everything. At this point, I was genuinely confused. Watching her stuff candy into her mouth like a squirrel hoarding acorns, she didn't exactly seem like a mastermind.
'Ah, our eyes met.'
I quickly looked away, but Lucia smiled as if she'd expected it and pulled something from her pocket, offering it to me.
"..What is it."
When I spoke curtly, she finally opened her hand to show me. 'Candy?' It was candy—the same sour lemon flavor she'd been stuffing into her own mouth moments ago.
"I have a lot of these. Want one?"
She offered it to me. I was about to refuse, but...
"..Mmm."
Her eyes were filled with discomforting curiosity and expectation. If I didn't accept now, I had a feeling she'd keep bothering me about it later. Rejecting her would probably lead to her deciding on her own that 'the candy was too small!' and bringing an even bigger one to pester me with. An indescribable sense of foreboding.
'Well, I can just take it and not eat it.'
I accepted the candy from her hand and immediately slipped it into my pocket. I'd throw it away later.
"Hehe.. hehehe.."
Completely unaware of my plans, Lucia smiled brightly, pleased that I'd accepted her candy.
..On second thought, maybe I shouldn't throw it away. That wicked smile made it obvious she'd done something to it. I resolved to wait for the right moment and shove this lemon candy right back into her mouth.
"..Traitor."
Then came a grumble from the seat beside me. Heidi had looked displeased back at the station too, asking if the rumors about me and Lucia dating were true. I really wished she'd lose interest. If she kept paying attention to me, I'd end up being torn into seven pieces by the guys she liked.
"To think you'd abandon our friendship and side with that villainess..."
What nonsense was she spouting? I hadn't sided with anyone. The poor soul sitting across from Heidi was now stuck uncomfortably between us.
"We're not like that, so mind your own business."
When I spoke irritably, Heidi covered her mouth with a wounded expression.
"How could you say something so harsh to your childhood friend..!"
Honestly, this kid wasn't normal either. Birds of a feather, I supposed. Maybe the people who got involved with the protagonist were all just as messed up.
As I clutched my throbbing head, an announcement echoed through the train.
This is Train D-7 bound for Campbell Academy. The train will depart shortly. Please check your boarding tickets.
The announcement signaled that we were about to depart again. That meant we had about five minutes left.
"Jack, is something bothering you?"
While I was calculating the time, Lucia rested her chin on the table between us and asked. What was with this sudden friendliness? The last time I'd seen her, she'd told me not to even acknowledge her. Whether she was oblivious or simply didn't care, she looked at me with sparkling eyes and kept talking.
"Since we're both going to the academy anyway, wouldn't it be nice to get along with people we know, even a little?"
Honestly, whether we got along or not, there was no time for Lucia to sell me anything. Not only did I find Lucia herself unappealing, but more importantly...
'The first episode is about to begin.'
A captivating opening, and heroines who left a strong impression from the very start. Well, since they were male, maybe not heroines. Regardless, everything began here—on the train heading to the academy.
"..Hey, are you even listening?"
Ah, her constant chattering was so damn noisy. Thanks to her, my thoughts had been interrupted. Watching Lucia babble on like a parrot in front of me made me want to curse her out, but I held it in and chose my words carefully.
"My head hurts, so I'd like to go quietly. Could we talk later instead?"
Right. I was a civilized person. I should resolve things with polite words. Having silenced the noisy Golden Sun with a single sentence, I checked my watch, brushed off my seat, and stood up.
"..Eh?"
Lucia made a dumbfounded sound, but I wasn't getting up because of her, so I ignored it.
"I'm going to the restroom."
After giving Lucia a half-hearted excuse, I left my seat. There were things I needed to do to prepare for the upcoming episode, and I couldn't afford to just sit here.
"Let's see.."
I pulled out the notebook I'd filled with the game's story over the past eight years since transmigrating. I'd written everything down in case I forgot.
'Though I probably don't need it right now.'
What was about to happen was a cliché that appeared in seven out of ten fantasy stories whenever a train was involved. Yes—the train attack.
'And even the heavily guarded train bound for Campbell Academy is no exception.'
The novel I'd transmigrated into, There's Something Wrong with This Reverse Harem, began with a train attack. An urgent announcement, a derailed train, and the protagonist confronting the villain. It was the textbook example of a train raid.
'But what I should focus on isn't the attack itself...'
The villain attacking the train was one of the men who would become obsessed with Heidi. That was what mattered. And naturally, the man leading this attack was currently on this very train.
The person I was about to meet now was that man.
"It was toward the front, right.."
The train had already departed. Feeling the light vibrations through my body, I continued walking forward. From here on, one wrong word could put a hole in my head, so I had to be careful. Steeling myself, I made my way toward the front of the train until an empty seat caught my eye among the tightly packed rows. Sitting across from that empty seat was a man in a suit—an obvious 'I'm suspicious' aura radiating from him. There was no way I could miss this.
"Hello?"
I greeted him and took the empty seat. The man frowned deeply. Smiling in response to his openly displeased expression, I cleared my throat. What I was about to say would carry great weight to him—the reason he would become obsessed with Heidi. Reminding myself once more that a single mistake could mean death, I opened my mouth with a smile still on my face.
"I'm sorry to hear about your wife. Nihil."
In other words, the 'your wife went to America' strategy.