Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Train and Mage (2)
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The 'Bellemore' Station, located on the outskirts of the imperial capital.
This place, one of only two train platforms on the entire continent, looked just like a small village.
Inns, restaurants, and all sorts of magic tool shops lined the streets, impossible to miss.
"Hmm..."
I scanned the surroundings.
I'd expected it to be sparsely populated, but it was surprisingly bustling.
The platform was packed with crowds drawn by the 'magic train,' the pinnacle of magitech—or simply to ride it.
The people gathered were a diverse bunch.
Not just nobles, but merchants and even adventurers with their gear caked in grime.
Everyone waited for the train, each with their own stories and bundles in tow.
"Ticket prices... I heard they're pretty steep."
Just looking at the numbers on the whiteboard in front of the ticket booth was intimidating.
A single one-way general class ticket matched three months' living expenses for a common household.
Lift your gaze to first class, and the numbers made me hiccup involuntarily.
It was pricing befitting the epitome of inefficiency, guzzling magic stones like water.
Yet people still boarded this expensive hunk of metal for simple reasons.
Nobles and mages for their vanity.
Merchants and adventurers to squeeze more value out of their tickets from the Mage Tower.
"Come on, let's go! Lucky for us, there were still first-class seats available~ We got lucky."
Raymond Cloud, the department head, waved our tickets like medals and took the lead.
"Whoa—"
The train's interior was impressive.
A plush red carpet covered the floor, and the walls were finished with rippling mahogany paneling.
Magic lamps embedded in the ceiling cast a soft glow, and the well-tanned leather seats sank comfortably under you.
Yeah, this'll do for sleeping in.
All this luxury for a mere...
...Ha, best not to think about it.
"Oho! Isn't this Elder Raymond Cloud?!"
I was bouncing lightly on the seat, savoring the cushion, when an elderly man in robes spotted the department head from the wide corridor and approached with a familiar greeting.
Calling him 'elder' suggested he was a Mage Tower mage.
"Haha, what a coincidence. Sharing a train with you, Elder. Luck's on my side today."
"Oh my, Benjamin! Heading back to the Mage Tower?"
"Yes, well. My external duties dragged on longer than expected. But why take the train instead of the warp gate...?"
The old mage's gaze shifted to me.
At the same moment, Raymond Cloud's lips curled into a sly grin.
As if he'd been waiting for this exact moment.
"Ah~ Well, you see, my most prized 'direct disciple' is visiting the Mage Tower for the first time!"
...Who’s whose direct disciple now?
"Ohoho! Allow me to introduce her. Lunaris Evermoon, the pride of Elterion Academy!"
"Ah! This young lady must be the one all the buzz in the Mage Tower is about...!"
The mage's eyes widened in surprise.
"So, is your visit to the Mage Tower for that matter you've mentioned before?!"
"Exactly! Lunaris had a little breakthrough, so she's off to be recognized as a grand mage!"
The department head shrugged dramatically, raising his voice.
It was so rowdy that every passenger in the car turned to stare at me.
"Hoo, so that's the girl..."
"The birth of the youngest grand mage?"
"She looks much younger than I imagined."
The stares were intensely burdensome.
These were people who casually dropped first-class prices without blinking, so their gazes carried a savage edge.
I awkwardly ducked my head and whipped it toward the window.
"Ahaha~ Lunaris here has devoted her life to magic studies, so she's a bit shy..."
Shy, my foot. I just couldn't be bothered to chat.
-Wooo!
Soon, a deep horn resonated across the platform.
With a heavy thud, the massive train began gliding forward.
The imperial capital's scenery rushed past the window.
Buildings shrank to matchbox size, soon giving way to vast plains and mountain ranges.
The ride was... fine, honestly. Not bad at all.
Faster than expected, and aside from the initial jolt, barely any rattling.
Before long, the department head was surrounded by other passengers, boasting with an even more excited expression than usual.
I let out a light sigh and pulled out the bento I'd bought at the station.
Figured now was my only chance to eat in peace.
"It's about time for it to blow up, huh..."
Raymond Cloud must've overheard my mumble, because he burst into laughter.
"Miss Lunaris, you don't seem the type, but you're quite the worrier."
"...Pardon?"
"No need to fret. This train will never be attacked!"
He explained it was a key facility jointly operated by the imperial family and the Mage Tower.
Messing with it was tantamount to declaring war on the Belhart Empire and every mage on the continent.
Raymond Cloud ticked off points on his fingers, laying out his logical argument.
"Even if someone did attack, how many mages are on board? Two grand mages, no less!"
His arm casually draped over my shoulder.
"How many secret groups could take on grand mages? If they had that kind of power, it'd be far more profitable to seize some undefended border town instead."
The department head's points were logical and rational.
Militarily, politically, economically.
No angle made attacking this train anything but insane.
But.
This wasn't a matter for reason.
Who? No idea.
Why? Not important.
How? ...Kinda curious, actually. What creative method would they use?
Anyway, the key point.
This train had a high chance of being attacked.
Not every academy novel did this schtick.
But in the one I knew, Academy's Tenacious Mage, it was 'common knowledge.'
"So just relax and enjoy the trip..."
Raymond Cloud's words didn't even finish.
-KABOOM!!
A deafening roar shook the train violently.
See? I knew it.
...Damn it. This is exactly why I didn't want to come.
Teacups spilled across the table, luggage tumbled from the racks.
"Kyaaak!"
"W-what?!"
Passengers in the car screamed and rolled onto the carpet.
Terror made no distinction between general and first-class folk.
Even Raymond Cloud gripped the armrest, losing his balance.
"W-what in the world...!"
His eyes trembled with shock.
"No way... They actually attacked the train?!"
-KABOOM!!
Then, the reinforced glass of the first-class window shattered with an explosion.
Black shadows poured in through the broken pane.
Famously familiar ones.
-Kraaack!
These black wyverns. Been a while.
For a split second, I recalled Albert Marselin chasing the black mage controlling wyverns like these.
But whatever—table that for now.
These wyverns had one difference from before.
A pulsating blood-red magic stone embedded in their chests.
Intense fire mana radiated from it.
Time bombs ready to blow any second.
"Wondered what creative way they'd hit the train..."
Explosion terrorism, huh? Only idea they could muster.
Not a bad concept, but...
Still falls way short.
"Nyaam—"
I plucked a meatball from my freshly opened bento and popped it in my mouth.
Mind at ease, appetite returned.
Oddly reassuring once it actually happened.
Beats fretting over when it'd strike.
"L-Lunaris! Danger!"
A wyvern swooped right over my head.
Chewing the meat, I casually snapped my fingers.
Space warped instantly.
The charging wyvern's body crumpled in a flash.
-Crunch!
Simultaneously, the magic stone in its chest spewed fire.
But no sound or blast escaped.
The warped space swallowed the aftermath.
I lifted the mangled corpse with telekinesis and flung it out the broken window.
"..."
A heavy silence blanketed the car.
Passengers held their breath in shock.
The wyverns that had burst in so boldly now hesitated, growling in fear.
And Raymond Cloud stared at me, utterly dumbfounded.
"L-Lunaris..."
His voice trembled as he asked,
"Did you... predict this would happen?"
I licked sauce off my fingers and replied flatly,
"No need to predict it."
I kept telling you.
"Everyone knows trains come with accidents. It's 'common sense.'"