The White Magic Train to Vivaldi

The pure white magic train raced down the tracks at tremendous speed. From the moment they first boarded, it surged forward brimming with the bright expectations of a young girl whose eyes refused to leave the window. The instant it burst from the long, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dark tunnel back into blinding sunlight, a radiant smile bloomed across Arina’s face as she gazed outside.

Click! Click! The sharp sound of a smartphone shutter came from the next seat. Kain, jolted awake by Arina’s excitement, frowned and turned his head.

Have we arrived already?

Beneath the train that wound around the mountain range, a single great city revealed itself. Its architecture burst with vivid, distinctive colors utterly unlike the capital Raymond. In a positive light it was avant-garde; in a less flattering one, it felt chaotic and lacking any sense of order. Yet if one called that artistic, then it was artistic indeed, and painters or musicians might easily draw a wealth of inspiration from the sight.

Vivaldi.

This was the artistic city of Vivaldi. Though he had only seen its distant skyline, the passion and vitality pouring from it already exhausted Kain.

“Haaaam.”

He yawned and closed his eyes again. Realizing they still had a long way to go before arrival, and that he had spent the entire day before the trip staring at his smartphone, Kain sank back into deep sleep to rest his tired eyes.

Arina’s excitement only grew, while Kain grew steadily quieter in perfect inverse proportion. The magic train carrying the two contrasting travelers soon crossed into Vivaldi’s territory.

The city’s interior was exactly as it had looked from afar—overflowing with human energy, so crowded there was barely room to stand. Perhaps it was the nature of a station that handled countless goods moving in and out. On top of the sweltering summer heat, the body warmth radiating from the throng was intense enough to make one dizzy.

Before she could even regain her bearings, her uncle seized her wrist and pulled her out of the station. Only then did the cityscape, previously hidden from view, finally unfold before her eyes.

“Wow……”

Unlike the capital Raymond, where only towering forests of skyscrapers stood, there were few truly tall buildings here. The designs felt much rounder and softer than Raymond’s sharp angles, and the vibrant, beautiful colors delighted the eyes all on their own. The general architectural style followed the natural aesthetic of Yggdrasil, enhanced by a rich palette that expressed this city’s unique character.

It might feel chaotic at first glance, just as Kain had sensed, yet the longer one looked, the more one became drawn in—an effect that perfectly captured Vivaldi’s distinctive harmony. Even the gaps between paving stones were decorated with paintings by artists, so walking the streets never grew dull.

“Tsk.”

Yet unlike the admiring Arina, Kain’s opinion remained unchanged even after stepping inside the city. The colors were too loud, too messy. To call this beautiful… It was the exact opposite of his usual preference for simple, clean lines.

This is name value, too.

It was the same as when Arina had sensed an inexplicable aura and dignity from the Majoan yesterday. People spread rumors about how beautiful the city was, so even those with preconceptions ended up viewing it as beautiful. In the underworld, after all, it was common to artificially manufacture artistic geniuses and inflate painting prices—mostly to help the rich evade taxes or create slush funds.

When ordinary people saw the works of those manufactured geniuses, they admired them purely because of the name value, freely assigning meanings the original artists had never intended.

“Let’s head to the hotel first.”

Kain himself knew nothing about art, yet he was busy criticizing all of Vivaldi simply because it didn’t suit his taste. Behind his thick glasses, his eyes still held only the fatigue and irritation of someone not fully awake.

“Yes!”

At Kain’s words, Arina—who had been snapping photos nonstop just like on the train—hurried after him.

The place Pride had reserved was within walking distance of the station. The pair therefore needed neither taxi nor bus and simply walked.

“But Uncle.”

“What?”

“I’ve been wanting to ask since before we left… You did bring luggage, right?”

Arina looked at him with a trace of anxiety. She had packed lightly herself, having stuffed everything into the subspace pouch Kain bought her, but he had taken it to an extreme. He carried literally nothing—no backpack, not even a small one. The only storage he had were the two pockets on his jeans, one of which was completely occupied by his smartphone.

No matter how indifferent her uncle was, she had held back her curiosity until now, thinking he couldn’t possibly have come on a trip with no luggage at all. But now that they had reached their destination, she could no longer contain her worry.

“Yeah, roughly.”

Having learned from the previous underworld expedition, he had made sure to bring a charger and power bank this time. Preparations were perfect. He had also stored his wallet and cards in subspace.

“Really?”

What a relief. She had worried that, knowing his personality, he might have shown up with nothing but his smartphone. Arina’s concern had been exactly correct, yet unfortunately she remained completely unaware of that fact and simply breathed a sigh of relief.

“……”

After walking and chatting for some time, Kain stopped in front of one of the few high-rise buildings in the city. The hotel was designed so that a long passageway seemed to connect two towering twin structures. Its architecture appeared to follow the Ellemental Kingdom style rather than Yggdrasil’s. Compared to the painfully colorful buildings elsewhere, its simple design looked rather plain. As expected of a hotel Pride had chosen, it perfectly matched Kain’s tastes.

I should avoid going outside at night if at all possible.

That simplicity, however, was limited to daylight hours. At night the building would be dyed more brilliantly than any other in the city. As if to prove it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kain could clearly see the countless bulbs densely covering the exterior walls.

Illumination de Vivaldi. Just as the name implied, this hotel was also one of the famous tourist landmarks representing the artistic city of Vivaldi. Every night a fantastical illumination performance unfolded across the twin buildings’ walls. Because the show changed each season, crowds of tourists gathered around the hotel after dark to watch.

The builders had hired expert mages during construction to ensure guest comfort, paying special attention to soundproofing and external viewing, so the commotion outside could not be heard from within. That was fine. But deliberately pushing through a throng of people just to see it was something Kain absolutely refused to do. If they wanted to watch, they could simply view the live broadcast on the room’s TV. He hoped that would be enough.

“Uncle, they say this hotel does an illumination performance at night.”

“……”

Watching Arina read the pamphlet at the hotel entrance, Kain suspected his determination to stay indoors after dark was already doomed.

“Welcome.”

As they stepped inside, the first thing that caught the eye was the spacious lobby. The floor was red marble. Golden patterns harmonized with the crimson, elevating the sense of luxury. From the illumination to the high-grade magic worked into every surface and the refined interior design, Illumination de Vivaldi displayed without restraint why it deserved to be called a high-end hotel after all the money poured into it.

“I will assist you with check-in. Do you have a reservation?”

The staff member, clearly well-trained, approached Kain with a smile.

“You should know if you hear the name Kain.”

“Do you have identification with you?”

“Here.”

Kain took his ID from subspace and handed it over. The employee compared the name and checked the reservation. A moment later her eyes flew wide open in shock.

Ah, this is the person…

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠few days earlier, one story had become the talk of the hotel staff. The Noblesse Room at Illumination de Vivaldi—already close to six million shillings per night even in the off-season—had supposedly been rented for the entire peak season at twice the normal rate. It was hard to dismiss as a scam, because the guest had paid the entire staggering sum in a single lump-sum payment in advance. The news had thrown not only the general manager but the Vivaldi Group headquarters itself into chaos.

Insane! This is insane!

Once she entered the resident registration number, there was no doubt. She had worked at Vivaldi’s finest hotel for four full years and possessed a career worthy of being called professional in the industry, yet Kain’s arrival turned her mind completely blank.

F-first I should contact the general manager…

The occurrence of Code Gold—the exact opposite of Code Black, which signaled the worst possible situation. An ultra-ultra-ultra-VIP guest whose identity had the group headquarters itself burning with curiosity.

“……Could you please wait a moment?”

Though the silence felt eternal inside her head, in reality it lasted only a few seconds. She quickly regained her composure and restored the smile to her face. A single mistake would destroy the career she had built. The sense of crisis gave her expression the resolute determination of a soldier marching into battle.

“The general manager will be down shortly.”

The moment she finished speaking, someone who had received her call came sprinting toward them from across the lobby. It was the hotel’s general manager, who had been waiting in the first-floor staff room because he knew today was Kain’s check-in date.

“Welcome. I am Edwin Vivaldi, general manager of this hotel.”

Vivaldi? A noble? Come to think of it, this hotel was operated by a group founded by the Vivaldi family. It seemed a member of a branch family—or perhaps the child of a headquarters executive—was serving as general manager for management training. Or maybe he simply enjoyed the position.

Still, even for a branch family, it’s rare for a noble to bow so easily.

Then again, from what Pride had told him, the Noblesse Room rates were so exorbitant that even respectable minor local nobles could hardly afford them. Paying twice the peak-season price in a lump sum would force even a noble to lower his head.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

He had unintentionally used money to pressure a noble, but Kain paid it no mind. On the contrary, he thought positively that having the general manager appear in person would make everything proceed smoothly.

“I will guide you from here.”

Just as Kain expected, Edwin double-checked the ID and returned it with both hands, careful even though he wore gloves, as though afraid of leaving fingerprints. His attentiveness was absolute, terrified of offending Kain in even the smallest way.

“Do you have any luggage to entrust to us?”

“I don’t, so just hurry up and show us to the room.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Ah, did you prepare what I requested beforehand?”

“You mean the list of recommended restaurants inside Vivaldi City? Of course. I have it ready in the room.”

Tourist spots could be found easily on the internet, but good restaurants were another matter. Most blog posts ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were obvious advertisements. Seeing Arina worry about where to eat, Kain had asked the hotel in advance for a list of decent places nearby. One might call it being a demanding customer, but after paying this much, wasn’t it reasonable to ask for at least this much?

“You’re not getting paid by the restaurants to recommend them, right?”

“Of course not. I took recommendations from the staff and personally visited only the ones I thought tasted good.”

“I don’t mind high prices or small portions, but I can’t stand bad food. I’ll come straight down to complain.”

“You will be more than satisfied.”

Normally such confidence might still leave room for doubt, but the man’s assurance seemed genuine. Satisfied, Kain and Arina nodded and followed the general manager onto the elevator headed for the hotel’s top floor.