The Academy Train (1)

The Dragon Slayer Academy was a place where all sorts of world-settings mingled together.

You could be standing in a medieval fantasy city of swords and sorcery, take a single step out of it and find yourself in a martial world, or glance sideways and spot a thoroughly modern building.

So it was hardly strange that the platform before us was composed of antiquated, old-fashioned halls.

A train was already waiting at the platform, and students in uniform could be seen moving to and fro.

We took our time surveying our surroundings as we approached one of the station attendants. He was a middle-aged man with a truly magnificent head of hair—until we got closer, that is.

That's a wig.

Go Hyeon-woo seemed to have noticed it too, but we both pretended not to and handed over our tickets.

The attendant checked the tickets and asked, "First years?"

"Yes."

"First years board cars one through ten."

"Thank you."

Walking along the string of connected cars, scanning them one by one, we soon spotted the car marked 10.

The moment I set foot on the train, a notification popped up before my eyes.

The train bound for the Dragon Slayer Academy was a compartment-style one.

The right half was a corridor for passengers to walk through, while the left half was lined with small room-like compartments.

Go Hyeon-woo and I made our way down the corridor, peering through the little windows set into each compartment door. We were looking for an empty compartment.

But forget an empty compartment—we could hardly even find an empty seat.

That was only natural, considering the train must have picked up its fill of students at the other platforms along the way.

We walked and peeked and walked again, starting from car ten, and were somewhere around car eight when Go Hyeon-woo finally discovered a suitable compartment.

"Brother Kim, there seems to be room in here."

Indeed, a glance inside showed only a single occupant. I knocked lightly, then slid the door open.

The compartment's interior was about two or three square meters in size. A modest table sat in the center, and fixed chairs faced each other across it—a layout meant to carry four students per compartment.

In the window seat, a girl with pale gray hair lay sprawled face-down, and sensing our presence, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stirred and slowly raised herself up.

"……"

The first thought that crossed my mind when my eyes met the gray-haired girl's was that she was beautiful.

Strikingly so, even by the standards of the Dragon Slayer Academy, where handsome faces and great beauty were fairly common.

Such is the instinct of the male of the species—there's no helping it.

The next thought was that she looked sleepy.

A languid face with exhaustion practically dripping off it, and half-lidded eyes that seemed to be debating whether to fall right back asleep. She'd only just woken up, but somehow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I got the feeling this was her default state.

And finally, the old instincts of a collector began whispering to me.

That one's a raw gem.

It was nothing more than a vague hunch at this point, but characters like this had hit S-rank ninety-nine times out of a hundred without much difficulty.

Whether my instincts held true, I'd simply have to confirm in due time.

In any case, I couldn't exactly keep up a staring contest forever, so I spoke first.

"Is that seat taken?"

"No."

The hoodie she wore over her uniform was slightly oversized, its loose sleeves swallowing her hand until only the tips of her fingers peeked out. That hand patted the seat beside her twice. I supposed that meant sit here?

I didn't hesitate and plopped right down.

Go Hyeon-woo settled into the seat across from us, by the window.

"My name is Go Hyeon-woo."

"I'm Kim Ho."

"Seo Ye-in."

After these brief introductions, I sank into thought for a moment.

I had memorized every single character that appeared in the Dragon Slayer Academy's story and quests, from the big names down to the most trivial extras.

Yet I had never seen either Go Hyeon-woo or Seo Ye-in before.

Moreover, from what I'd observed back on the platform, the other students and the station attendants had all been strangers too.

Same stage, different cast.

Which meant the events and quests to come would change as a result. I'd need to keep a close eye on what shifted and what stayed the same.

Clunk.

Just then, the cabin swayed gently, and a faint sense of lift washed over me. Judging by the scenery outside sinking slowly backward, the train had departed.

But I'd been feeling someone's gaze on me for quite a while now.

Seo Ye-in was staring fixedly at my face—her eyes somewhat less drowsy than when we'd first met.

"……"

"……?"

When I shot her a look that asked if she wanted something, she placed her bag on her lap, dug out a small paper envelope, and held out a chocolate chip cookie extracted from it.

"Want some?"

Seo Ye-in had eyes unlike anyone else's.

Eyes that quantified everything they saw and presented it as information.

For instance, looking at a boy who appeared to be a martial artist, she saw something much like usual.

She could dissect the details whenever she pleased, but it didn't hold much interest for her.

The information on the other boy, however—the one who'd opened the door and walked in—was riddled with question marks.

Not as a figure of speech, either. Literally riddled with them.

This was the fourth time Seo Ye-in had seen a status window like this, ever since she'd gained her Eyes.

The fourth, out of the countless status windows that had passed before her.

She couldn't help but be interested.

Besides, the previous three had all become people of deep significance to her.

So would this man who'd introduced himself as Kim Ho turn out the same way?

Her gaze kept drifting toward him. Not that staring changed any of those question marks.

Then Kim Ho returned her look with one full of his own questions.

Seo Ye-in didn't avert her eyes. She kept watching him, and then suddenly recalled a piece of advice she'd once been given.

If there's someone you're curious about, show them kindness first.

Seo Ye-in pulled a cookie out of her bag.

"Want some?"

"Sure. Thanks."

I accepted the cookie in a bit of a daze.

It was about half the size of my palm, far from round, lumpy and uneven, with chocolate chips embedded haphazardly here and there. Aesthetically speaking, it didn't exactly whet the appetite, though it probably wouldn't stray too far from chocolate chip cookie territory.

With that thought, I took a big bite.

"……"

Seo Ye-in was staring at me again, as if asking how it tasted.

I paused to choose my words carefully.

"……Pretty plain."

A lump of pure, unadulterated blandness, with barely any sweetness to be found. I'd pinned a little hope on the chocolate chips, but they seemed to be sixty-five percent cacao—the bitterness overpowered the sweetness.

Granted, it was only different from the cookie I'd expected—not actually bad.

And so I made short work of the cookie.

"……"

And Seo Ye-in had watched me the entire time I was eating.

Her face betrayed absolutely nothing, so I couldn't begin to guess what was going through her head.

Still, holding eye contact indefinitely was getting uncomfortable, so I went looking for a topic of conversation.

"Not bad. Did you bake these yourself?"

"Yeah. Have more."

Seo Ye-in held out another cookie.

The moment I bit into it, the compartment door suddenly slid open.

Screeeech—

A boy with a buzz cut came in, bowing repeatedly as he entered.

"Terribly sorry to intrude, everyone. I'll just sit for a moment, if I may."

"I have no objection at all. Please, make yourself comfortable."

Go Hyeon-woo answered with an easy smile, and Seo Ye-in and I nodded as well.

The buzz cut grinned wide. "I love feeling this welcome. The name's Byung-cheol. Shin Byung-cheol."

This one's ordinary.

The estimate came to me the moment I laid eyes on him.

A smooth path would land him at C-rank; truly hard work might get him to B.

With the potential shining off Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in so dazzlingly bright, he barely registered.

Still, worth getting acquainted with.

I'd had a rough guess at his identity from the moment he entered the compartment, after all.

The hint was this: despite clomping around so conspicuously, the man made almost no sound of footsteps.

Light introductions were exchanged, and Shin Byung-cheol showed particular interest in Go Hyeon-woo.

"You're from some sect, I take it? Mind if I ask which one?"

"A place called the Cheonpung Sect."

"Cheonpung? Cheonpung Sect… First I've heard of it."

"It is a sect passed down to a single disciple at a time, little known to the world. No surprise you haven't heard of it."

"Really? Let me note that down…"

Shin Byung-cheol scrawled something into a notepad.

Next he turned his attention to Seo Ye-in and me.

"You two affiliated with anything?"

"No."

"……"

I shook my head, and Seo Ye-in, apparently having lost interest, turned her gaze elsewhere.

Shin Byung-cheol scribbled something else in the notepad.

"Information is everything. Information is money, you see."

"So you buy and sell it, then."

"Of course. And it's not all I deal in, either."

Apparently deciding we could become potential customers, Shin Byung-cheol swiftly produced business cards. The design was about as shabby as the flyers a dive bar hands out, and in the center it read:

"Wherever you are, whenever you need me—seek out this Shin Byung-cheol! Pay the price, and I'll get you anything."

I turned the card over in my hands with interest and asked, "'Anything,' huh… So bending a few academy rules wouldn't be a problem?"

"Ah, naturally not. Just say the word."

"And I take it that's why you're being chased right now?"

"!"

Shin Byung-cheol, who'd been chattering away so enthusiastically, abruptly shut his mouth.

Then he asked with an awkward smile, "…Is it that obvious?"

"Your eyes keep darting to the door."

"Hehe. Well, what do you know. And here I thought I was hiding it so well."

Since the topic had come up, Shin Byung-cheol peeked outside the compartment one more time. Then, apparently spotting something, he scurried back into his seat and put on a face of pure innocence.

He was clearly hoping to let it slide, but unfortunately for him, that hope went unfulfilled.

Screech!

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠compartment door slid open again, and a girl stepped inside.

She was a beauty who could hold her own next to Seo Ye-in, but her cold, severe features made her look like the sort of person you'd struggle to exchange a single word with.

Her light brown hair was tied back neatly, and on her arm she wore an armband reading Student Disciplinary Committee.

Outside the door had taken up positions a young nobleman oozing refinement from every inch of him, and a girl with a friendly beaming smile—all of them wearing the same armband on their arms.

So I've crossed paths with the Disciplinary Committee right out of the gate.