Chapter 50
Grrrrr-!
"Ugh..."
I frowned at the sound while looking over the panels in the cab.
It wasn't loud enough to be all that noticeable thanks to the soundproofing, but the sound was too vivid.
It was the sound of the crusher outside.
Back when all we had was the old spike ramming mode, all it made was a dull thud when it hit things, but the newly installed crusher was different.
Every time I heard the sound of its huge gears grinding monsters to pieces, I got chills.
The sound was one thing, but the sight through the cab's front window was—
The children were forced to stay out of the cab.
I took firm action for the children's psychological well-being. The front window of the cab had practically become a horror movie theater, so it couldn't be helped.
I made a bunk bed in one corner of Car 2, and for the children I also set up a soundproof partition in case it got noisy.
"Wow! Can we sleep with the crab?"
"There are drones too!"
The children seemed to like Car 2 more than Car 1.
The siblings seemed to think of the golem and the drones as pets.
I moved Donggeuri's tank to the side of the children's bed in Car 2 as well.
Unfortunately, Donggeuri seemed to enjoy being doted on by the golem and the children more as well.
"Good to hear the kids are doing okay."
"Yes... I just have a hard time dealing with children..."
Ha-seon smiled awkwardly.
She then added in a small voice that, to be honest, she just had a hard time dealing with people.
Then it wasn't really kids she had trouble with, but people in general.
'But she seems to talk with me just fine?'
I wondered about that, but let it go for now.
The road to the Suwon safe zone was fairly long.
In the meantime, I looked at the dreary interior of the train.
'Is it a little bleak?'
The train's exterior had changed a lot, so maybe the interior should change a bit too.
I was thinking of paying a little attention to convenience and interior design while I was at it.
First, to wipe away some of Car 2's bleak feeling, I used the customization feature to install a plant grower in one corner of Car 2.
It was a kind of indoor garden that would breathe life into the train.
"Let's see... the seeds..."
The stars of this garden were lettuce, perilla leaves, and cherry tomatoes.
These seeds had been inside packs I'd picked up when I'd gone out to get supplies before.
I planted the seeds and nodded when I saw the plant grower automatically adjust the lighting and water.
I also put up curtains in Car 2 and laid something like carpet on the floor.
"Could I ask you for some boxes?"
Taking the chance, I asked Jiwoo to bring me three Skill Random Boxes and one Monster Material Box.
Jiwoo opened the first and second Skill Random Boxes one after another with both hands.
Fwoosh—
A faint glow leaked out, and two skill books appeared inside the boxes.
I obtained the Light and Cooking skill books.
The Light skill was one that briefly illuminated the surroundings, and the Cooking skill was one that improved the taste of food you made.
'Not bad.'
They weren't amazing skills, but they were better than something completely unusable.
As I nodded, Jiwoo opened the lid of the third and final Skill Random Box.
Flash—!
"It's bright!"
The moment she opened the box, Jiwoo covered her eyes and staggered back.
Unlike the previous two boxes, a brilliant golden light filled the inside of Car 2.
When the strong light faded, a single white skill book lay there.
[Healing]
- Restores the target once a day.
"Oh..."
Nice.
I didn't know how much it would heal, but it was definitely a useful skill.
So Level 3 Luck really did make a difference.
After that, with the skill books in hand, I learned Light and Healing.
I was the only one in the group who went out and fought anyway, so naturally I learned it.
But the Cooking skill was—
"Then, could I learn this Cooking skill?"
At that moment, Ha-seon carefully raised her hand and stepped forward.
I looked at her, a little surprised.
"You, Ha-seon? Aren't you scared of knives and stuff?"
Of course everyone is scared of knives, but Ha-seon had a real phobia.
She was afraid of sharp or pointy things.
"Ah... well."
Ha-seon lightly reddened her pale cheeks, as if embarrassed.
"I was thinking that if I learn the Cooking skill, maybe I could slowly cure my fear of handling knives..."
She darted her eyes around and added in a small voice,
"Since Sowon-ssi goes out and comes back and cooks... I thought maybe it'd be better if I prepared the food instead... I like eating too... I think I'd be good at cooking, too."
Though she certainly looked older than I did now, Ha-seon's words somehow felt admirable.
I readily handed the Cooking skill book over to her.
As I quietly watched Ha-seon smile bashfully with the skill book in her arms, I muttered to myself without thinking.
'She likes eating, huh... and yet her body is that skinny.'
As I looked over her slender wrists and delicate shoulders,
'Huh? Ah.'
The moment my gaze slid a little lower, I unconsciously gasped.
My eyes had stuck to one area that was definitely not thin at all.
'...The nutrients were distributed selfishly...'
"S-Sowon-ssi? Why are you staring at me..."
"Ah. I was spacing out..."
I looked away.
***
The train finally arrived near Suwon Station, the entrance to the giant wall-ringed Suwon safe zone.
"This place is no joke either."
The scenery around Suwon Station, seen from the cab, looked like a fairly large safe zone, much like Yeouido.
But it had a different feel from Yeouido.
If Yeouido felt like it was trying to restore the pre-apocalypse city, this place in Suwon looked like a city that had adapted to this world, with barricades and defenses all over the buildings.
I could also see survivors patrolling the walls or guarding the entrance.
Though they weren't wearing military uniforms, just ordinary civilian clothes, their posture and eyes looked sharp.
They looked so tightly disciplined that they almost seemed more rigid than Yeouido's real soldiers.
Screech—! Thud!
As the train came to a heavy metallic stop, all the eyes of the Suwon survivors gathered around the station turned toward us at once.
"...Is that it?"
"...Looks like it..."
Gulp.
Their once fierce-looking eyes shook violently, and I could hear dry gulps being swallowed from all around.
Everyone was reacting the same way.
Probably because of the train.
I didn't let my guard down and carefully opened the door to Car 1, stepping outside.
Then a sturdy man standing rigidly near the entrance swallowed once and came toward me with stiff steps.
"Um, are you the person who contacted us from Yeouido? The one bringing food and supplies..."
I nodded at his cautious question.
"Ah, that's right. I'll unload the goods."
As I lightly jerked my chin, the cargo bay door of the train opened and reliable drones sprang out.
Whiiir—! Clatter, thud!
The drones flew through the air, deftly lifting huge wooden crates of food, and then the golem started hauling the cargo, three crates piled on its back.
"Drones...?"
"A, a gun."
"The gun isn't the issue, what is that behind it... is that a monster?"
Seeing the unloading operation and the golem, the man's rigid expression finally crumbled.
You could call it a look of utter bewilderment.
"I-It should be fine if you stack them over here! I-I never expected you'd come in such a hideous... no, huge train, and I had no idea you'd send this much food."
The man who'd first spoken looked dazed as he stroked the food crates, then soon seemed to come to his senses and straightened up.
"Thank you so much. At this amount, it'll be a huge help to our safe zone. Please wait a moment. I'll go inside and bring the two gentlemen right away."
"The two gentlemen?"
"Huh? Ah..."
When I narrowed my eyes and asked, the man quickly looked around and lowered his voice to explain.
"Yes. The two people we were going to take to Yeouido. Didn't you say you'd take those two, along with the Awakened who would protect them?"
"Ah, right."
But the man's expression looked somehow troubled.
"Would it be all right if I gave you a bit of advice in advance?"
"Advice?"
"They're both former soldiers, so... their way of speaking might be a little stiff and direct. I hope you won't take it too personally."
At the man's words, I nodded, tightened my grip on my spear, and waited tensely.
A politician and a company president, both former soldiers.
Before long, I saw the silhouettes of two people walking out from inside the wall, leading others behind them.
They were two men with neatly brushed gray hair, standing somewhere between middle age and old age.
Seeing the Suwon survivors around us tense up, it was clear those two were the ones we'd come for.
But the two men who had been walking so proudly suddenly hesitated and stopped.
Their eyes paused for a moment on the front of the train and its turret.
"Wow... this is..."
"What were you thinking, bringing this train into the station?"
"Then what, are we supposed to stop it ourselves?"
"No, but even so... geez.
The two men were bickering under their breath when they turned their attention to my face.
Their expressions were painted with surprise.
It made sense they'd be flustered, with a young woman holding a spear standing in front of the train.
"Ah, so the student was sent by that Awakened alliance in Yeouido..."
The man who had been a politician cleared his throat and was just about to speak in a stiff voice.
"Big sis...?"
From the half-open door of Car 1, Sua, curious about what was going on outside, peeked her head out.
That was the moment.
The two stiff faces turned toward Sua, and under those prickling gazes, Sua hid behind my back.
And the expressions of the two older men changed.
"Oh... there are children... on board."
A groan-like exclamation slipped from the mouth of the man who had once been a company president.
"Mm, a younger sibling, huh?"
The two of them seemed to have completely forgotten the train's exterior and even me standing there with a spear.
Their gazes clung only to Sua, who had poked her head out from behind me, and refused to let go.
"You've had a rough trip, coming all the way here through such harsh roads. The resources you sent will be a tremendous help to our Suwon safe zone."
The politician gentleman thanked me politely, but his eyes were still fixed on Sua.
His tone changed from the stiff one before to something soft and gentle, with all the force taken out of it.
"There aren't many young children left in the Suwon safe zone like that... everyone back at the beginning of the apocalypse..."
"My grandkids in Seoul were exactly that little one's age, too. Ah..."
"Why are those old men acting like that?"
The people around us exchanged looks, as if astonished to see the two men like this for the first time.
Even without knowing much, they seemed much softer than usual.
Thanks to Sua, it looked like things would go a little more smoothly.