Chapter 69
Bellemore Station, located on the outskirts of the imperial capital.
One of only two train platforms on the entire continent, this place looked like a small town.
Rows of inns, restaurants, and all kinds of magic-tool shops stood out.
“Hmm...”
I slowly looked around.
I’d expected it to be rather empty, but it was busier than I thought.
Crowds had gathered to see, or board, the “magic train,” hailed as the pinnacle of magitech.
The people gathered there were diverse as well.
There were nobles, of course, but also merchants, and even adventurers wearing travel-stained gear.
Each of them waited for the train with their own stories and bundles of luggage.
“I heard the fare was... very expensive.”
The numbers posted on the display board in front of the ticket office alone were terrifying.
A single one-way ticket in regular class cost as much as three months of living expenses for a commoner’s family.
If you looked up to first class, there were numbers there that would make you hiccup just by looking at them.
It was, indeed, pricing befitting the very peak of inefficiency, pouring mana stones around like water.
Even so, the reason people boarded this expensive hunk of metal was simple.
Nobles and mages did it for their own vanity.
Merchants and adventurers did it to wring something out of the Mage Tower worth more than the ticket price.
“Now, then, shall we? I’m so glad there were first-class seats left~ We were lucky.”
Dean Raymond waved the ticket like a medal and led the way.
“Oh-”
The inside of the train was quite impressive.
The floor was covered in a plush red carpet, and the walls were finished in rippling mahogany wood.
Magical lights embedded in the ceiling cast a soft glow, and the chairs upholstered in well-tanned leather were so deep you’d sink right into them.
Yeah, I could definitely sleep sitting down in this.
All this comfort for the low, low price of...
...Ha. Let’s not even go there.
“Ooh! Why, if it isn’t Elder Raymond Cloud!”
As I was bouncing on the seat and savoring its softness, an elderly man in robes passing through the wide aisle approached the dean, greeting him as if they knew each other.
Since he called the dean “Elder,” he seemed to be a mage affiliated with the Mage Tower.
“Haha. My, my. To be on the same train as you, Elder. Today is my lucky day.”
“Oh my, Mr. Benjamin! Are you on your way back to the Mage Tower?”
“Yes, well. My outside schedule ran longer than expected. By the way, why aren’t you using a warp gate and instead taking the train...”
The old mage’s gaze turned to me.
At the same time, a grin tugged up the corners of Dean Raymond’s mouth.
As if he’d been waiting for this exact moment.
“Ah~ Actually, my most treasured ‘disciple’ is visiting the Mage Tower for the first time, so...”
...I don’t know who is whose disciple here.
“Ohohoho!! Let me introduce her. The pride of Elterion Academy, Lunaris Evermoon!”
“Ah! So this young lady is the one who’s been causing such a stir at the Mage Tower lately...!”
The mage’s eyes widened.
“Then the reason you’re visiting the Mage Tower this time is perhaps that matter you’ve mentioned before?!”
“Yes, that’s right! Lunaris has gained a small insight, so we’re on our way for her to be recognized as a Grand Mage!”
The dean shrugged and raised his voice.
He was so loud that the other passengers in the same carriage all turned to look at me.
“Hoh, so that child is...”
“The birth of the youngest Grand Mage, perhaps.”
“She looks far younger than I expected.”
Their stares were incredibly suffocating.
Maybe because they were the sort who could casually pay a first-class fare so exorbitant it would make your eyes roll back, their gazes were downright fierce.
I awkwardly gave a small nod and quickly turned my head toward the window.
“Ahaha~ Lunaris, this child has devoted her whole life to magic studies, so she’s a bit shy...”
Shy, my foot. I just didn’t want to talk.
-Pwooo!
Soon, a heavy horn blast echoed across the platform.
A moment later, with a rumbling vibration, the huge train began to glide forward.
Outside the window, the scenery of the imperial capital quickly receded.
The buildings shrank to matchboxes, and soon vast plains and mountain ranges filled the view.
The ride was... yeah, honestly, not bad.
It was faster than I expected, and aside from the one jolt at the start, there was almost no bumping at all.
Before I knew it, Dean Raymond was surrounded by the other passengers and had started bragging with an even more excited expression than usual.
I let out a light sigh and took out the lunchbox I’d bought at the station.
If not now, I didn’t think I’d have time to eat anything in peace.
“It’s about time it blew up...”
Dean Raymond burst out laughing, as if he’d overheard my absentminded mutter.
“Student Lunaris, you didn’t seem that way, but you’re surprisingly worried, aren’t you?”
“...Pardon?”
“Don’t worry. There is absolutely no way this train will ever be attacked!”
This train was said to be a key facility jointly operated by the imperial family and the Mage Tower.
To touch it would be no different from declaring war on the Belhart Empire and every mage on the continent.
Dean Raymond continued his explanation methodically, counting off on his fingers one by one.
“Even if they did attack this train, how many mages are on board here? There are even two Grand Mages on it!”
The dean casually draped an arm over my shoulder.
“I doubt there are many secret organizations with enough power to attack a Grand Mage, and if there were, wouldn’t it be far more profitable to take over an undefended border city instead?”
Indeed, Dean Raymond’s argument was logical and rational.
Whether militarily, politically, or economically.
From any point of view, attacking this train is madness.
But.
This wasn’t something that could be judged rationally.
Who? I don’t know.
Why? That wasn’t very important.
How? ...I’m a little curious, actually. Just what creative method are they planning to use to attack?
Anyway, what matters is this.
This train has a pretty high chance of being attacked.
Not every academy novel is like that, of course.
But at least in the novel I know, <The Grit Wizard of the Academy>, this is “common sense.”
“So don’t worry too much and enjoy the trip...”
That was before Dean Raymond could even finish speaking.
-Kwaaaang!!
With a deafening blast, the train lurched violently.
See? I knew this would happen.
...Damn it. This is exactly why I didn’t want to come.
The teacups on the table tipped over, and the luggage on the shelf came tumbling down in a rush.
“Eek!”
“W-what is it?!”
The passengers in the same carriage screamed and rolled across the carpeted floor.
In the face of terror, regular passengers and first-class passengers alike were all equal.
Even Dean Raymond lost his balance and gripped the armrest tightly.
“W-what in the world is this...!”
Dean Raymond’s pupils trembled with confusion.
“Impossible... they really attacked the train?!”
-Kwaaaang!!
At that moment, the reinforced glass in the first-class carriage shattered with an explosive sound.
Through the broken window, pitch-black shadows poured in one after another.
Very familiar bastards.
-Kraaaak!
Those black wyverns—I really haven’t seen them in a long time.
For a split second, I did think that Deputy Director Albert was chasing the black mage controlling those wyverns.
But whatever—put that aside for now.
There was one difference between those wyverns and the last time I’d seen them.
There was a blood-red mana stone embedded in their chests, pulsing with light.
I could feel a fierce fire mana centered on that mana stone.
That was a time bomb that could go off at any moment.
“I wondered what creative method they’d use to attack the train...”
And the best they could come up with was a bombing attack.
Well, the idea wasn’t all that bad, but...
Still, this was nowhere near enough.
“Nyaam-”
I picked up a meatball from the lunchbox I’d just opened and ate it with my hand.
Once I relaxed, my appetite came roaring back.
Now that an incident had actually happened, I felt strangely relieved.
It was much better than trembling with anxiety, not knowing when they’d attack.
“St-Student Lunaris! It’s dangerous!”
A wyvern had flown all the way to just above my head before I knew it.
Chewing on the meat, I casually snapped my fingers.
In an instant, space warped.
The body of the wyvern charging at me was instantly crushed inward.
-Kkwarik!
At the same time, the mana stone embedded in its chest spewed fire.
But neither the sound nor the explosion could escape outside.
The warped space swallowed the blast wave.
I lifted the crushed mass with telekinesis and hurled it through the broken window.
“...”
A heavy silence settled over the carriage.
The passengers were so shocked they couldn’t even breathe.
The wyverns that had stormed into the train so boldly were now reeling, croaking and rattling as if they were terrified.
And Dean Raymond was staring at me with a stunned expression.
“S-Student Lunaris...”
The dean asked me in a trembling voice.
“Could it be... you expected something like this to happen?”
I licked the seasoning off my hand and said calmly,
“Why would I bother expecting it.”
I kept telling you,
that when you take a train, an accident happening is “common sense.”