I received the gun that the man was using from the assassin boy.
The next morning, we decided to depart as planned before the sun had fully risen. Come to think of it, I just realized something—someone died yesterday. It’s probably making the news by now. Or perhaps, in a place like this, it’s an everyday occurrence.
What felt more unsettling was myself. Despite witnessing a death, I wasn’t particularly surprised and calmly considered the next steps. Someone died right in front of me, their throat slit open. Normally, that would leave a lifelong trauma. Is it because I’m constantly facing the danger of death? Perhaps I might be the one bleeding out tomorrow.
Or have I already lost my humanity? It’s possible that the long journey and battles have changed me, making me no longer my true self. If the me who had just arrived in this world saw me now, I’m sure I’d be called a monster.
My body reflected in an old mirror. Skin covered in scars, slightly tanned by the sun. It must be from being exposed to the sun the whole time when I was sent to the desert. Perhaps my diet has changed too, as I feel thinner. Will I be able to return to my old world with this body? My acquaintances would be surprised if they saw me. These are not scars one gets from a normal life, that’s for sure.
“Arisugawa, what’s wrong? Spacing out?”
“Ah, Sharin. No, I was just thinking about how covered in scars you are.”
I got lost in my thoughts. We need to hurry.
“That’s true, it looks quite painful. But you’ve managed to survive this far. When we first met, I thought you were a complete coward.”
“Is that how you used to think of me…?”
Well, it’s true that I mostly ran away and left most of the fighting to Philiana, Nina, and Sharin.
“It’s okay, I don’t think that anymore. Come on, get dressed quickly.”
I put on the clothes I was handed and packed my luggage. Because it’s still early, there are hardly any people outside.
“Hey, are we walking to the next place from here?”
Come to think of it, Nina is right. It’s not next door, even if it’s close. Walking there would take more than a day. But if we rented a carriage for this many people, we’d stand out.
“Since it’s Shindo, I thought there would be a direct carriage.”
“That’s true, but would there be one big enough for all of us?”
That’s also a point, but what can we do? For now, let’s just head to the carriage station. It seems there’s one on this side, though I don’t have high expectations.
As expected, the station was quite dirty. The station on the front side of Shindo was well-maintained, but this place must not be cleaned by anyone. There was trash scattered everywhere, and even horse dung was being disposed of carelessly.
“…I can’t believe there’s a place like this.”
“It’s truly hell on earth.”
Everyone had a very displeased look on their faces. I felt the same; I’d rather not even have it in my sight. The people living here must use this every day.
I, representing my companions, approached a man who was maintaining a cart nearby.
“Excuse me, we want to go to the Flower Harpy country. Is there a carriage?”
“Huh? Ah, there is, but are you tourists? You should go to the front.”
“No, we are not tourists. We need something they can carry a large number of people.”
In that case, the man recommended a horse-drawn rail to the country. Wait, there’s a railway? That’s right, since there’s electricity, it’s not strange for there to be trains. Well, maybe not that far, but it’s natural for major cities to be connected.
When I went to the place the man told me about, a station for the railway was built there. Several large trains were lined up. The power source seemed to be horses, but this would dramatically improve transportation convenience. Perhaps Spring Harbor also had something like this. However, it might not connect to where we want to go.
“Wow, a long carriage!”
Piyo is excited by a sight she’s never seen before. Everyone else also seems surprised.
“To think something this wonderful existed! I’m so excited!”
“Is it like a trolley running on the ground?”
It might still be too early, and they might be in the process of preparing.
“To think something like this existed, we should have used it from the start.”
Elana came up beside me and murmured. I’m sorry, but after coming to this world, I completely forgot about trains. I had assumed there were only carriages.
“Hey, hey, can I go take a look?”
Without waiting for my reply, Piyo went off. She is peering into the resting train.
“Wow, there are so many chairs. I want to ride soon.”
“Wait a minute, I don’t know if it’s ready yet.”
If it’s a railway, first I need to check the timetable and then the route map. I headed towards the ticket window at the station. As expected, it wasn’t open yet. But next to it were the timetable and route map.
Let’s see. It seems to extend to the country, passing through several towns and villages centered around Shindo. Of course, it extends to Spring Harbor as well. It will take time, but perhaps we could have avoided wasteful battles. Why didn’t anyone tell me… Well, there’s no point in dwelling on the past.
