Passenger (3)

I stood in the Car 2 kitchen, moving the frying pan around.

"We can't have them living on snacks alone..."

I drizzled oil onto the heated pan and started stir-frying finely chopped ham and onions.

The menu was kimchi fried rice.

But since it might be too spicy for seven-year-old Sua, I washed the kimchi in water to remove as much seasoning as possible before chopping it up and adding it.

I added plenty of sesame oil and carefully stir-fried it until the rice grains were nicely separated and fluffy.

They'd need protein too, so I fried some eggs as well.

Sizzle—

Along with the sound of the eggs cooking in the pan, a savory aroma filled Car 2.

After finishing the cooking, I divided the fried rice onto two plates.

And that was when I gently opened the door to Car 3's passenger compartment.

"You're awake?"

The first thing I saw when I opened the door was the two little children sitting in their seats, staring straight at me.

It seemed the two, who had been sleeping soundly just moments earlier, had woken up because they couldn't resist the savory smell.

Jiwoo was rubbing his eyes and slowly looking at me, while Sua had even parted her lips a little.

I met those round gazes and smiled softly.

"Let's eat. Come here."

"Y-yes?... Yes! Get up, Sua."

"Uu..."

At my single sentence, the siblings rose from their seats.

Still not fully awake, their steps wobbled, but they began trailing after me, spellbound by the smell.

But just as Jiwoo was about to step over the threshold from Car 3 into Car 2.

Thud.

"Huh?"

As if there were an invisible transparent wall, Jiwoo bumped into something and bounced back gently.

Bzzt—!

A semi-transparent system window suddenly popped into the air and blocked my view.

[Warning: A passenger is attempting to leave the designated passenger car.]

[Would you like to allow passenger entry into Car 2? (Y/N)]

"Ah..."

I let out a small exclamation while looking at the window in front of me.

There had been no restrictions when I brought the siblings into the passenger car, but things were different when moving to another car.

'At least it keeps them safe.'

There was no need to worry about passengers sneaking into my sleeping berth.

I tapped the [Y] button in the air.

[Entry permitted.]

"Now it should be fine."

As the invisible wall seemed to recede, the siblings, who had hesitated at the threshold, safely stepped into Car 2.

And at that moment, a completely different scene from Car 3 spread out before the children's eyes.

"Waaah..."

"Oppa, over there!"

Exclamations burst from the siblings' mouths at the same time.

Car 2, to my eyes, was chaos itself.

Along one wall was the drone hangar, where the combat drone and scouting drone hung neatly from their charging ports, glowing with a soft blue light, and beside it a mountain of luminous mana stones and items obtained from hunting monsters was piled up.

On one side were the armory and the kitchen, and out of nowhere there was also a water tank and marimo.

The children's still-drowsy eyes quickly sparkled with curiosity.

Sua seemed especially interested in the marimo and the drones, while Jiwoo stared at the armory, mouth agape.

"Look around later. For now, let's eat first."

I pulled their attention away and guided them to the island table set up in the kitchen.

I seated the siblings in the chairs and set a steaming plate of kimchi fried rice down in front of each of them.

"I-I'll eat well!"

Sua was first to bring her hands together in greeting before gripping her spoon tightly and shoveling a big spoonful of fried rice into her mouth.

Jiwoo soon stopped hesitating too, popped the yolk of his fried egg, mixed it with the rice, and started wolfing it down in a hurry.

They were hungry, all right.

Thankfully, I'd picked the right menu.

Both of them were eating well.

"Eat slowly."

I rested my chin on my hand while pouring water from the refrigerator into a cup.

Clatter.

Before long, the sound of spoons scraping the bottoms of empty bowls rang through Car 2's kitchen.

They really were eating fast.

By now, I had started watching the children's expressions carefully.

It was time to ask them some questions.

It might be a difficult question to answer, but—

"Th-thank you for the meal..."

"Thank you for the meal, hyung. No, noona..."

Now that their stomachs were full, the tension that had been stretched tight finally began to loosen, and their eyelids grew heavy again.

I cleared the empty bowls away in the sink and took a seat on the chair across from the two siblings.

"Now... Noona is going to ask some questions. Answer me comfortably, okay?"

I started in the softest voice I could, making sure I didn't sound threatening.

"How did you end up hiding in the restroom of that dangerous shopping center?"

At my question, Jiwoo lowered his gaze to the tabletop.

The bold look he'd had while clenching his fists and trying to protect his little sister was nowhere to be seen; instead, the face of an ordinary twelve-year-old boy, swallowed by anxiety, showed through.

Jiwoo moved his lips, then carefully opened his mouth.

"...The red-brick villa a little way from that PC café earlier was our house. We were hiding there with Mom, just the three of us."

Just the three of us with Mom.

I wanted to ask what had happened to their father, but guessing there must have been some circumstances, I decided to listen quietly.

"And then?"

"We ran out of food. We had snacks, but... before those ran out too, Mom went out to get supplies, and she never came back."

Jiwoo's voice trembled faintly.

"When did Mom leave?"

"Three days ago."

"...I see."

I managed my expression and rubbed my chin, but my mind was racing.

'Three days.'

She went out to get food in this world and didn't come back for three days?

And left two kids at home waiting for food.

I could already guess what that meant.

"This morning, even the snacks and water Mom left behind ran out. Sua started crying because she was hungry... and Mom still hadn't come back. So we went out looking for Mom, and then some huge wolf chased us, so we ran into the restroom."

Jiwoo finished speaking while trying hard to hold back his tears.

Sua, sitting beside him, was sniffling and clutching her brother's sleeve tightly, probably because of the talk about their mother.

'...What a world.'

I let out a deep sigh inside.

The reality of the apocalypse seeped into me belatedly through the siblings.

It felt different from reading about it in the gallery.

While I had been lucking out and surviving inside the train, outside people were having to gamble their lives just to get food.

I suddenly wondered whether the siblings' mother was safe, but I wasn't cruel enough to say that to the children here and now as though it were the truth.

"I see..."

I got up and took out the notebook and marker pen from the Car 2 workshop.

"For now, it's too dangerous outside. So when it comes to finding your mom... Noona will help you, so let's stay on this train for a while."

Saying that, I tore a page from the notebook and started writing in large letters.

I took the note I'd finished and walked over to the drone hangar.

Then I asked the scouting drone waiting at the charging port for a favor.

"Can you help me for a second?"

Whirr—

The scouting drone flew up to my eye level without making a sound.

I firmly clipped the note I'd just written onto the small pincer at the bottom of the scouting drone.

[The children are in a safe place. If you happen to come home, please write SOS in large, obvious letters on the villa's rooftop floor.]

That doesn't sound like a threat, does it?

"Jiwoo, what's the name of your villa?"

"Haeoreum Villa. We lived in unit 201."

"Good."

I looked at the scouting drone and made my request.

"Scouting Drone, search the Haeoreum Villa near the PC café from earlier. Pin this note to the front door of unit 201 and come back."

The scouting drone with the note attached shot up like an arrow.

If the siblings' mother had miraculously survived and made it home, she'd read this note and leave a sign on the rooftop.

If not—

'For the time being, I guess I have to play guardian to these two.'

After the meal, I had something I needed to tell the drowsy children first.

It was the function that let them check their own skills.

"Jiwoo, Sua. Could you try saying 'status window'?"

"A status window? Like the one in games?"

Jiwoo asked back with his eyes wide.

At Jiwoo's age, he'd probably seen the term in games, but Sua just looked blankly, not even understanding what her brother meant.

"Yeah, it's something like the ones in games. Say 'status window' out loud now. Some text should pop up in front of your eyes."

At my words, Jiwoo mumbled to the air with a skeptical expression.

"Sta... status window."

Flash—!

A semi-transparent hologram panel appeared in front of Jiwoo's eyes.

So other people can see it too.

Jiwoo shouted in surprise and tried to poke at the floating letters with his finger.

"Whoa, that's really cool... There's a glowing box in front of you, big brother!"

Sua seemed able to see her brother's status window too, and clapped excitedly.

"What does it say?"

At my question, Jiwoo narrowed his eyes and fumbled through the text on the status window line by line.

"Um... the skill is... Luck, it says."

According to Jiwoo, it was a skill that gave most actions favorable odds.

Jiwoo looked somewhat disappointed, but I nodded as I listened to the explanation.

'Favorable odds for most actions, huh. Not bad.'

I didn't know how far it would apply, but it was a skill that could be useful in all sorts of ways.

The chance of mana stones or rare items dropping when monsters were killed, even the chance of good things appearing from boxes.

If I could boost all those odds and even level the skill up, it might become an incredible skill in the long run.

"There's no need to be disappointed. To me, it looks like an amazing skill."

At my praise, Jiwoo's face brightened at once.

Still, he seemed a little disappointed and kept talking.

"I wanted to get something nice, like Noona's train..."

"...Then you might have ended up calling me Unnie instead of Noona."

"Huh?"

"No, nothing."

I turned my gaze to Sua while I was at it.

"Sua, want to try too? Say 'status window' like your brother."

"Status window!"

As Sua shouted in a clear voice, a small hologram window appeared in front of her too.

Sua, who had only just turned seven, frowned at the complex text floating before her.

"...There are too many letters..."

"I'll read it for you."

Jiwoo leaned toward his sister's status window and slowly read the text.

"Dungeon Exploration... It says, 'Before entering a dungeon, you can check the dungeon's difficulty and detailed information in advance.'"

After Jiwoo finished reading, Sua, the actual owner of the skill, tilted her head and tugged at my collar.

"Unnie, what's a dungeon?"

At the innocent question from the seven-year-old, I was momentarily at a loss for words.

Dungeon.

"Um... a dungeon is like a cave where bad monsters are hiding. You won't ever have to go in there, so there's no need to be scared."

I gently patted Sua's head.

Even if I set sentiment aside and looked at it strictly from a survivor's perspective, the two siblings' skills were pretty good.

I had a feeling the day would come soon when I'd be receiving help from these siblings.