A Seat at the Table

"Supreme Commander. Supreme Commander."

Kancho's whisper tickled against his ear.

"Yeah. Behind us, right?"

"That's affirmative, sir!"

Kancho's eyes sparkled. His Supreme Commander's senses grew sharper by the day. These days he didn't even need to say a word — Jinhyuk picked up on everything himself.

"Want to go take a look?"

"Understood, sir! Yoddle Ranger Kancho, heading out on recon, sir!"

He whispered it with a little shiver of delight, then scampered off down the corridor, tiny feet going pat-pat-pat across the floor.

Jinhyuk glanced back. Several pairs of eyes were locked in this direction. He hadn't been able to pick up on things like that before. As his level and stats climbed, the performance of his Presence Detection had improved right along with them.

Kancho, gone only a moment, returned.

"Recon report, sir. Headcount is six. Couldn't get a visual on what they're hiding at their waists, but I smell gunpowder, sir. Not bombs — firearms, looks like."

Jinhyuk's brow furrowed. Europe was more lenient about gun ownership than Korea or Japan, but Britain was the exception. He'd heard the restrictions there were extremely strict — and yet here they were. Guns. The moment he'd arrived.

"Shall I blow 'em away, sir?"

"No. Let's wait a bit. Keep an eye on them for me instead, Kancho. If they start looking like they're about to try something, then you can blow them away. Just… not too big, okay?"

"Roger that, sir! I'll stuff a Yoddle special mini-bomb in their mouths or ears and just pop their heads off, sir!"

It was a rather bloodthirsty proposal, but Jinhyuk gave him a thumbs-up anyway. As long as it wouldn't affect the train or the other passengers, it was fine.

"I'll hold on and climb down, sir. This body's feelin' heavy, sir."

It hadn't been long since he'd finished gorging himself. Kancho clambered laboriously down to the floor, then dashed off toward the rear of the car once more.

Jinhyuk tapped his fingers against his knee. Tock. Tock. Tock.

Picked the wrong train, huh.

At first he'd wondered if Hosaka or the Japanese government had sent people after him. The atmosphere didn't feel like that, though. Every last one of those gazes was locked on the girl and her companions.

A footstep landed heavy on the floor.

One of the six who had been standing in a line took a step forward. Kancho, still in Stealth, looked up at Jinhyuk — asking permission, with his eyes, to blow the man away.

Jinhyuk shook his head and watched the approaching stranger.

As he drew near, the man dropped his voice.

"Target confirmed. Two escorts. Awaiting orders."

"Permission to use firearms?"

"Copy."

The man had closed most of the distance to the girl. His hand slipped into his pocket.

Killing a child. There was no real need to use a gun for that.

What emerged from his fingers was a slender ballpoint pen — one loaded with Desert Scorpion's Poison. A single touch was enough to trigger fatal convulsions. Without an antidote, the victim's blood would solidify within a minute. Death was a certainty.

No hard feelings. I'll send you off as painlessly as I can.

He pretended to be passing by and extended the pen toward the girl's nape. There was a bodyguard in the way, but that hardly mattered. It would be over before anyone had time to notice.

In that instant, someone cut in from the corridor.

Poke.

The pen tip that should have found the girl's skin sank instead into the interloper's forearm.

An unexpected variable. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠man walked right on past, as if nothing had happened.

"I stabbed the wrong man — someone who cut in. There's going to be a commotion. Repeat: prepare for a commotion."

He gritted his teeth and moved his hand to the pistol at his side. He'd already made the strike. The convulsions would start any second. Silent disposal had failed.

And yet — something was wrong. More than enough time had passed for the poison to spread, and the man he'd stabbed had not gone down.

"!?"

Instead of seizing up, the stranger turned his head and looked straight at the man whose hand now rested on a gun.

The man opened his mouth to answer.

"Hey."

The voice came from behind him. He turned on reflex — and a hand shot out and snatched him up.

Darc clamped the man's mouth shut, a thin, sardonic smile curling across his face.

W-what kind of strength—!

He thrashed, trying to tear himself free. It was useless. An impossible force was crushing his mouth and throat. He tried to break the joints the way he'd been trained, but the forearm holding him didn't so much as twitch.

"Look at you flop around."

Darc opened the door at the coupling between the cars.

"Bye now."

"Mmph!!"

He offered the quiet farewell, and then he threw the man out.

"Bringing something like this without a shred of fear."

Darc flicked the pen away, then released his Card Manifestation.

Back in the corridor beside the girl's seat, Jinhyuk rubbed the arm the pen had pierced.

Ow.

Scary thing to be carrying around.

He gave his arm a couple of shakes and stood.

Three pairs of eyes had locked onto him the moment he approached. The girl seated on the inside watched him with a look full of curiosity; the man and the woman stared with open wariness.

"Hello. I'm traveling from Korea. It's a little lonely sitting by myself — would it be all right if I joined you?"

Jinhyuk gestured at the empty seat. He kept his tone easy, but sweat was running down his back. This was blatant meddling, and he knew it. But what else was he supposed to do? If he hadn't noticed, fine. Now that he knew, he couldn't just pretend he didn't and leave them to it.

"I'm sorry, but we'd prefer to keep to ourselves—"

"Please, sit."

The woman who'd been about to refuse fell silent. It was the green-eyed girl who offered him the seat. The man gave almost nothing away; the woman who ended up beside Jinhyuk, on the other hand, looked openly uncomfortable.

"Yu Jinhyuk. Thank you for letting me sit with you."

"Not at all. I'm Sophia."

Sophia smiled brightly and held out her hand. He felt someone flinch beside him, but pretended not to notice and took it.

She's something else.

She looked about fifteen or sixteen — first or second year of high school — but the atmosphere around her was nothing like Yu Jinhee's, who was the same age. Poise, perhaps. Nobility. Whatever the word, it was a rare kind of presence.

"This is Olivia. She's like an older sister to me. And that's Charles."

Sophia introduced the other two herself. Olivia, who had clearly had no intention of introducing herself, dipped her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head with visible reluctance. Charles, somewhat unexpectedly, inclined his body in a formal bow.

"Charles. A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

Perhaps she was pleased that the atmosphere had loosened. Sophia smiled.

"Korea's quite far away — are you traveling alone?"

"Yes. I wanted to visit Snowdonia."

"I'm envious. Traveling on my own has always been a dream of mine."

While Sophia and Jinhyuk fell into easy conversation, Olivia shot Charles a look. Is this really all right?

Charles gave a slight nod. It wasn't merely because of that face, which looked as innocent as they came.

He studied Jinhyuk through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠narrowed eyes. One of his hands was already at his waist. He had felt it — the killing intent of an enemy approaching from behind, thick with murder. He'd been about to draw the moment the man arrived. But because Jinhyuk had suddenly cut in, the enemy had simply walked on past.

A coincidence, surely.

A baby face that looked like it had barely turned twenty. The idea that he'd known something and stepped in on purpose was a stretch.

Charles sent Olivia a small signal. Don't let your guard down.

The enemy had passed, but Charles didn't take his hand off his waist either. They wouldn't withdraw after a single failure. They would come again. That much was certain.

And just as he'd predicted, the unidentified group did not withdraw. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one thing Charles hadn't anticipated, however, was this:

Every last one of them, save a single man, had already stopped breathing.

Crunch. Crack.

Inside a restroom at the midpoint of the train, a man whose face had gone dead white finally managed to open his mouth.

"W-who the hell are you!? Who sent you!?"

His eyes shook wildly. Standing in front of him was Darc, white hair swept back with casual ease — a cold-blooded man who had just snapped someone's neck and whose expression had not shifted in the slightest.

"Hmm? Beats me. Where should I say I'm from?"

Darc shrugged. He couldn't quite decide whether to point toward where his master was sitting, or up at the sky.

That was when it happened.

Shunk.

A thick dagger drove through his ribs and into his lung.

"You idiot! Letting your guard down with an enemy right in front of you!"

A smile of triumph cut across the man's face as he twisted the blade in his grip. Blood burst from Darc's mouth.

A few seconds passed. A question mark bloomed on the man's face.

The knife had pierced the lung dead-on. Anyone else would have collapsed in agony. The man in front of him showed not the slightest sign of it.

"Oh. Nice hands. Trained, are we?"

"!?"

Far from twisting in pain, Darc was smiling as he asked the question. The man tried to fall back on instinct — and a hand flew in, seized his face, and began to squeeze.

"Ghk… gkk…!"

Whether the man suffered or not was of no concern. Darc's smile turned ice-cold.

He was not given the luxury of asking who that master was. A grotesque bursting sound, and the man's body went limp.

"Know your place, friends."

Darc offered the line lightly, locked the door, and released his Card Manifestation.

This restroom was closed for the day.

Sophia and Jinhyuk talked without pause, getting along as if they'd known each other for years. Through all of it, Olivia and Charles did not let their guard down.

The enemy had already shown themselves once. Their side had clearly been made. An attack could come from anywhere, at any time, and it would not have been strange.

Charles took a small breath and worked the stiffness from his hand.

How long do they intend to make us wait.

Perhaps the waiting itself was the tactic — keep them wound tight, wear them down.

Olivia's brow furrowed as well. Haa. Why are these bastards so damn slow.

If they were going to come anyway, she wished they'd just get on with it. Then they could deal with it and steal even a little rest.

That was when a voice cut in.

"You can relax, you know."

Charles and Olivia both looked at Jinhyuk at once. Those words had not been directed at Sophia.

"What did you say?"

Olivia asked again, and Jinhyuk smiled.

Olivia jolted, putting herself between Sophia and Jinhyuk in a single motion, already set to draw a weapon at any instant.

"You don't have to be on guard."

Jinhyuk held out his forearm as if it were nothing.

"The attack aimed at Miss Sophia earlier — I took it instead. Something about desert scorpion poison, I believe."

"Bullshit. If you'd actually been hit with that, you'd already be dead."

"Not me. I have a rather unusual constitution."

"What the hell are you…?"

Charles raised a hand.

"Take your seat, Olivia. Attracting attention would be unwise."

"But, Captain…!"

"Sit. For now."

Olivia sat, reluctance written across every line of her body. Charles let out a quiet breath.

So it wasn't a coincidence after all.

The realization settled a beat too late. Jinhyuk spoke.

"Why are you being chased?"