Chapter 164

They continued to tell each other about themselves. The man talked how he had recovered from his illness when the magic train was first completed.  The woman listened with interest. The pair seemed well suited to one another.

After finishing second-class service, I purposely stumbled near the skinny man in the aisle seat on my way to the third-class car. Helping support me, he moved closer to the woman he was chatting to.

Bowing in apology, I told them “this train is running at a reduced speed. So please relax and deepen your ties with one another.”

Opening the door and I went into the third-class car.

Here, the average age of the passengers noticeable lowered.

There were many vibrant young people. They had little money, but they had spirit and energy.

The car was significantly noisier than the previous two.

The scenery outside the windows vocally whirred past the open passenger windows.

They had all won by luck and come with little money. The car had the least amount of baggage.

“Today’s on us!” I declared with a smile while serving each of them a drink and light meal.

Third class was free. I wanted it kept a secret from the passengers in first and second-class.

When my wagon was completely empty, I opened the door to return to second-class.

At that moment, a large man stood up in the middle of the coach and shouted.

“If everyone wants to live, shut up!”

He raised his right hand, gripping a red magic stone.

“I’m in charge of this train from now on. If you try anything, this magic stone will blow up the whole vehicle!”

I couldn’t see his face from behind, but because of the coat and the hat he wore, I deduced that he was the strange man who had bumped into me at the station.

Was this what it felt like to be up against a wall?

For the moment, I closed the door.

The cheery banter of the third-class car returned.

I didn’t like trouble, but I had to do something about this. What could I do?

While thinking, I noticed a couple near the door looking worried.

They didn’t know anything about the magic train, and were probably given the invitation together because they wrote about being a couple in their application

“What’s wrong?”

Asked the wife.

“Nothing, it’s just a little trouble in the other car.”

“Oh. So you can’t enter?”

“That’s right. I’ll go in in just a minute so I don’t mind me. ”

“Does this happen often in magic trains?”

“No, this is the first time. But thinking about it, it’s not surprising it has happened.”

“Is that so? What on earth’s going on?”

“It’s just a minor problem. There’s a bear rampaging about, you see. ”

“A bear rampaging!? In a magic train!?”

The wife wore a startled expression. The husband, who was not familiar with the magic train either, was also taken aback by my words.

“Yeah. It’s getting dangerous. ”

“A bear on the train something unsurprising?”

“Yeah. We may have to think about counter measures in the future. ”

“How about not letting it on board to begin with?”

The wife asked with a serious face.

“Quite right. However, it can be rather hard to tell. It could be well hidden and snuck on board. That’s why it’s difficult to prevent.”

More baggage inspection was clearly needed. However, even then people might find a way to sneak things in.

“What do you mean, sneak a bear in? How could someone do that? What the hell is with this magic train!?”

The wife was becoming restless, which meant it was time to get going.

“Well Madam, I’m going to open your window a little.”

“Why? ”

“I’m sorry, it’s so that I can exit through the window”

“Do the crew of the magic train climb out the windows to get around the train?”

“Yes, sometimes.”

“Geez, I don’t understand this train anymore!”

Squeezing past the wife and husband, I leaned out of the window.

“I hope you will continue to enjoy the magic train.”

The dumbfounded couple looked silently at me.

Exiting through the window, I climbed up onto the roof of a third-class car.

It was difficult to open my eyes and stand due to the strong winds.

Shielding my eyes with my hand, I slowly advanced.

I jumped the connection between the third and second-class cars and landed on the second-class roof.

I laid down momentarily, before turning to face the side of the car.

Hanging my head down from above, I investigated the compartment through the window.

As usual, the large man was shouting something, while the passengers tensely watched. Fortunately, the sound of the magic train drowned out what was happening, so those in first and third cars were unaware of the situation. This was good. Panic was best limited to one place.

The man held the red magic stone. I didn’t know the details, but if the man was telling the truth, confronting him would mean risking the stone exploding on magic contact.

He must have quite the demands to bring such a dangerous thing on board. Or could his purpose simply be gold?

If that was the case, it would be easy to talk him down.

I was only paying attention to the big guy.  I had aimed to gather information without alerting him by looking through the window, but I ended up being noticed by a man and a woman sitting in nearby seats.

It was the man who had recovered from his illness, and woman who came against her family’s wishes.

When they noticed me, they shouted a little in surprise. It was just a little “Ah…” but it was enough to draw the nervous large man’s attention.

I immediately made noise from outside the window before returning to the roof and moving to the opposite window.

The large man drew closer to the pair who had reacted at my sight.

I guess he’s trying to figure out why they made a noise.