『Notice from the continental railroads: A train is about to enter the station on the left lane. Please make sure to board shortly after arrival as it’ll depart in an hour. Notice from the continental railroads…』

Having bought her lunch box, Mira went down to the first floor again as a broadcast was aired.

「Hmm, it’s almost time then.」

Mira dearly hugged the paper bag containing her lunch as she studied the station’s map, heading to the platform as the broadcast was repeated. At the same time, many people that looked like adventurers moved as a crowd. Economy tickets had no seats assigned to them, so whoever boarded first could choose anywhere to sit.
Mira and the crowd moved through a large marble corridor, until a second corridor branched off to the right. She looked at the large signs hung from the ceiling and took the right path.

Walking down that corridor, Mira approached a column erect in the middle, large enough that three Miras would need to spread their arms and join hands to surround it. As she got closer, a door opened on the column and a uniformed man who looked like a station worker walked out.

「This corridor leads to the First Class platform. May I verify your ticket please?」

The man, aged somewhere in his fifties, had a large body but smiled gently as he spoke to Mira.

(I guess he’s a ticket inspector…)

Mira nodded and took out one of the tickets she had in her waist pouch. The station worker took it and placed a usage seal on it before returning it to Mira.

「There will be another check inside the train, just show them this marked ticket when it happens. Enjoy your trip.」
「Thanks.」

The seal carved into the ticket resembled a holographic sticker, changing in colors depending on the angle it was seen and 「Silverside」 written on it.

(It’s well embedded here.)

Mira stared at the ticket with deep interest before returning it to her waist pouch. Walking past the ticket check, Mira arrived at the waiting room for first-class passengers. It was a large room with polished wooden walls, well ornamented with a fireplace that was currently not being used. There were leather couches and chairs placed around it, some of which were occupied by well-dressed passengers.

Mira puffed her chest trying to look more imposing, sitting down on a nearby couch. At the same time, the other passengers turned curious stares at the young girl.

Everyone in the first-class waiting room was of high social standing. They were the sons of nobles, butlers, wealthy merchants, cooperative bigwigs, and other similar people, all accompanied by strong guards.

But then there was that young girl, so breathtakingly beautiful that half the people there would believe in a heartbeat she was royalty if told so. However, there were no butlers, maids, protectors or guards with her. She was also wearing rather trendy clothes, which attracted even more attention to her mysterious presence.

Feeling quite uncomfortable, Mira twisted her wrist and opened her menu. The clock showed 12:37. Looking at it, she proceeded to casually take out some Apple au Lait as well.

(Uh… I’m running low on these.)

Her stock of Apple au Lait was running dangerously low. She made a mental note to buy some more as soon as possible while drinking from the small bottle, when a man approached her.

「Good day.」
「Oh, hello.」

Returning the greeting, Mira threw a suspicious glance at the man. On one hand, he held a large suitcase, while his body was wrapped in a gray coat. His face looked young, and there were no features indicating he was from a long-living race, so his age was probably the same as his face indicated. His hair was of a reddish-chestnut color which peeked out from below a deep green Tyrolean hat.

Behind him a male and female guards with swords watched over him.

Mira had a hunch that anyone who approached a beautiful girl like herself without obvious reason like him, was most certainly someone suspicious.

「Sorry for calling out to you out of the blue like that, I’m Thedrick, I work as a merchant for a company in Grimdart.」
「I’m Mira.」

Not sounding apologetic in the least, Thedrick introduced himself. Mira slightly lowered her guard and gave a short reply. The two guards standing behind him bowed lightly. The tall robust man stood with an unchanging serious face, but when Mira locked eyes with the woman she smiled softly.

「So, what do you want?」

Having checked the power levels of those two guards, Mira turned to look at Thedrick while asking that.

「Earlier I noticed you’re wearing an Operator’s Bracelet, so I took the liberty of assuming you’re a high level adventurer. It’s rare seeing someone like that travel in first class, so I decided it was worth chatting with you. I have this bad habit of speaking to people I find interesting, you see.」
「Hmm, is that really it?」
「Yes, usually the only adventurers that travel in first class have either an interesting story for it, or they just hate interacting with others to a ridiculous degree.」
「So that’s why you got curious about me. Lamentably there’s no interesting story behind me. This just so happens to be my first time traveling by train, so I ended up splurging a little.」
「That’s a completely valid reason. I see you spend your money where it matters.」

Hearing Mira’s response, Thedrick’s voice went half a tone higher while producing a small box from inside his coat, which sat on his palm.

「Please take this.」

Saying that, he offered Mira a business card from inside the box. The company name was Dinowal Stores, accompanied by a logo of a horse and a spear. His full name was Thedrick Dinowal.

「Dinowal… that’s an unusual name.」

Mira’s eyes glided down the card, gathering all the information she could from it before voicing her thoughts.

「You haven’t heard of it before? Now, this was a blunder on my part, it seems I greatly overestimated the reach of my name. My company largely deals in items of interest for adventurers, so I was convinced an adventurer like yourself would most certainly want to inquire about my merchandise when hearing my name, hence the other reason why I spoke to you.」
「I see. Items for adventurers huh…」

Hearing Thedrick, Mira recalled that item Emera had used to negate the smell of rotten flesh. There was a large increase in demand for tools like that now that this world was reality, which was another large change Mira had noticed.

「Oh, do I have your attention now? Then let me give you something special then, on the house. This is the latest product of Dinowal stores, which has not been released officially yet but I’m sure you’ll appreciate it.」

In a showy manner, Thedrick opened the large suitcase and took out an excessively large object from it. It was as big as a mattress, the outside covered in blue cloth while the inside was made of some resilient black material. At first glance, it looked like some thick board, but it had an opening that made it look more like a bag.

「What is that? Or rather, is that suitcase an Item Box?」

That had clearly come out of the suitcase. Thedrick did not possess an Operator’s Bracelet, so he should not be able to use a regular Item Box. But that functionality had been manufactured into the bracelets in that world, so it was easy to imagine the same technology could be used on a suitcase.

Rather than the unreleased item placed in front of her, Mira was more interested in the suitcase.

「Yes, that’s exactly right. It’s another application of the same tech used in the Operator’s Bracelets high-level adventurers use. Though this suitcase was made to order, so it’s the only one in existence.」
「Ohh, what a novelty.」

Operator’s Bracelets were handed to adventurers as rented items, as their manufacturing cost was quite high. Yet Thedrick had employed that expensive tech and etched it into the suitcase which he used as a personal item. Mira was unaware of most details surrounding that, so she was oblivious to just how costly something like that was.

「Either way, I would prefer if you paid attention to this item here now.」
「Oh right. What is this?」
「This is a next-generation sleeping bag.」

Mira’s eyes focused on the mysterious item resting still on the ground. Thedrick proudly slid his hand into the opening in the blue cloth, pulling it open and turning what once looked like a boring plank into a bed mattress. He pulled again, which made pillows appear on top.

「Hohh… that’s quite marvelous.」
「It appears I’ve piqued your interest. Let me explain in more detail then.」

With that preamble, Thedrick began talking about the sleeping bag for high-level adventurers that would go on sale one month later.

「I’m sure you’ve noticed already but this sleeping bag is too unwieldy to carry around on its own, so I can’t imagine any adventurer would be willing to use it. But an Item Box changes that, as you were able to verify earlier. For a long time, I’ve held a deep interest in the Operator’s Bracelet high-level adventurers use. In a way, this custom suitcase was a test I conducted to verify its usefulness. This wondrous technology then led to an epiphany, giving me the certainty that there will be demand for such a sleeping bag.」

This was the result of Thedrick’s experiment. An item meant only for adventurers, for which an Item Box was indispensable.

Mira only knew how to manufacture something through Refining, which was a skill she had stumbled upon purely for her own interest and goals, and not with the needs of others in mind. But hearing the merchant talk so passionately about his work made her pay attention to every word he spoke.

「I used all the paths I could find to research what adventurers want most. The first discovery I made was this sleeping bag. It’s made entirely for promising adventurers like yourself, Mira.」

After that long introduction, Thedrick finally was ready to start talking about the main features of the sleeping bag, all delivered with his well-developed sales voice.

An Item Box’s capacity was dependent on the weight of the items put inside, so the sleeping bag was built with the lightest materials. That also made sure that even a spellcaster with weak physical power like Mira could carry it outside the Item Box.

Next, he showed how to clean it. With theatrical movements, he disassembled the sleeping bag and showed its different parts. Washing it was also a simple task with it taken apart.

Then there was a feature he added thanks to the feedback from adventurers, an insect repellent device. It was mostly female adventurers who had requested that, as they shared horror stories of waking up and found gross bugs had crawled into their beds while they slept. The Dinowal stores already dealt in repellent devices, so he bundled one powered by Magic Batteries into the sleeping bag. He also demonstrated how to turn it on, but as there were no bugs nearby it was only for show.

「I personally think this is a masterpiece, but what do you as a proficient adventurer think, Mira? Does this sleeping bag catch your attention?」

His pitch concluded, Thedrick turned to look at Mira with an attentive expression, not wanting to let any single letter she uttered escape his ears. Mira had to force an awkward smile, given she rarely went on the same type of trips as regular adventurers.

「Hmm, I can imagine it would be very comfortable-」
「I would swear by it! I knew you had an eye for quality. I assure you you’ll never have a bad night when sleeping in this sleeping bag!」

But I’ve never had a reason to upgrade to my current one. Before Mira could finish her sentence, Thedrick happily interrupted her at ‘very comfortable’, the last words never leaving her mouth.

Still, she did not seem too bothered by it, staying silent and instead checking how the sleeping bag felt to the touch. The outside was covered in a resistant fabric, but when she slid her hand inside she felt something like soft fur. The bottom side also had some spring to it, feeling even better than a regular cheap mattress.

「Are you sure I can have this?」
「But of course. Even better if you use it wherever many adventurers gather.」
「I see, so that was your plan all along.」

Thedrick was traveling in the continental train to visit the different adventurer’s unions scattered around. He planned to advertise his new product there and see if he could get a prolific adventurer to buy one of his items.

Then he met a good-looking girl who was not afraid to splurge on first-class tickets. It was rare to run into such a perfect fit so quickly, so he decided to speak with her as soon as possible, and that the cost of one sleeping bag would be nothing compared to the sales he could get through her. Mira had noticed a part of that plan, but as Thedrick did not give her any set conditions to take it, she happily agreed to use it.

「I’m sure there was a reason for us to meet here today. We have a large assortment of similar items in our stores as well, so make sure to visit us sometime, you won’t be disappointed. And ah right, you can take this coupon ticket as well.」
「Hm… I’ll try to remember that if I ever need something.」

The two chuckled as they spoke, which made the female guard’s awkward smile twitch slightly.

『The train number 7 has entered the station on the left lane. Please wait behind the white line until the carriages come to a complete stop before boarding.』

That announcement and warning after a chime were familiar to Mira, which stirred her expectations again. Thedrick smiled softly watching her act that way.

「I think you mentioned this is your first time traveling on a train, correct? Why don’t you go watch it come to a stop? I’ve seen it many times before, but it’s always a sight to behold.」

His advertising done, Thedrick spoke not as a merchant but as a regular person who wanted to share something he enjoyed with others.

「Hmm, I’ll do that then. There must be a reason you speak so highly of it.」

Seeing Thedrick and the female guard grinning after the suggestion, Mira got curious.

「Well, thanks for the sleeping bag then.」
「You’re welcome, and hopefully we meet again soon. If you ever need any repairs done on the sleeping bag, or the repellent’s Magic Battery gets used up, just visit any of our stores.」

Mira then ran off while waving at them, crossing a gate on the other end of the waiting room and coming out to the platform. Thedrick watched that eye-catching girl for a while, then checked the remaining contents of his suitcase.

(I ended up giving one away for free impulsively, but let’s hope it brings good results.)

Thedrick felt strangely fulfilled after the mysterious chance encounter, but he quickly put his mind to work on new ideas to sell.

The train had not reached the platform yet when Mira stepped on it. She gasped in admiration as she saw the tall arches holding the ceiling in place, and as she continued walking she saw the end of the platform that cut to a vertical fall. The white line mentioned in the announcement was painted a few paces before the border, it was thick and stood out against the black floor.

(This is far larger than I imagined…)

The platform was so spacious it could be mistaken for some military warehouse.
It was quite different from memories of train stations, which made her wonder if she had walked into the wrong place or if the vehicle arriving was even a train.

She waited together with a station worker when a high-pitched bell rang loudly. Then the ground seemed to groan and vibrate as if something was rumbling beneath the station.

The premium class platform was walled off to the side so she could not see too far away, but she knew something heavy and powerful was slowly approaching. A strong and warm steam whistle could be heard a distance away. Then it appeared together with the sound of compressed air leaving through valves and metal screeching.

It was an iron beast.

A gust of wind carried by the train entered the station and blew past her, picking up her silver hair and making it flutter behind until the train had stopped.

「Is this the train..?」

The black train stood imposing on the platform, Mira having to look up to see all of it. It was built after traditional steam locomotives, some vapor still escaping through a large black chimney affixed to the front. But its size was unlike anything Mira had seen before, the train looking more like a three-story residential building with wheels.

『The train on the left lane will depart at 14:00, exactly an hour from now. Please make sure to board on time. The train on the left lane…』

The doors opened at the same time as the announcement was broadcasted, and a well-dressed and petite girl jumped out to the platform.

「I’m first! Now tell me, Gordon, what are we riding in next?」
「Yes milady, we’ll proceed in a horse carriage from here onwards.」
「Horses again?! I told you I’m already bored of them.」

After the loud girl, a white-haired gentleman who she referred to as Gordon stepped out. He had wrinkles marked by his age, giving him a handsome appearance different from that of youth.

「What do you want?」
「…」
「Hey, I’m talking to you!」
「Huh, me?」

As they walked past Mira, the girl suddenly spoke out to her. She was frowning and seemed rather annoyed. Mira took a quick glance at her, she had blonde hair arranged into coils that fell down her shoulders, and wore a frilly and pompous dress. She was clearly the daughter of some rich family.

「Why are you staring at me like that? It makes me uncomfortable so please stop already.」

The blonde girl spoke while tightly crossing her arms in front of her chest. Mira was confused hearing that.

(What’s she talking about..?)

Mira did not recall paying any attention to her until she spoke. Tracing her past actions back, Mira eventually got an idea of what had happened.

「Ahh, I wasn’t looking at you, but at him. He truly captivates the essence of handsomeness.」

Mira had been observing Gordon for a while. He was close to Mira’s ideal age, wearing tidily and with many small accessories that enhanced his clothes, including a monocle. To Mira who was still young, his appearance was very captivating and she wanted to keep it as a reference for the future.

「Wh… wha…」
「Oh, you mean me? I’m glad, albeit slightly embarrassed, to hear such kind words from a beautiful lady like yourself.」

While trying to calm the girl who seemed about to burst, Gordon bowed elegantly and gave a kind smile.

「Sorry if I bothered you, I’m going now.」

Mira also bowed quickly and walked forward to board the train. When she passed by Gordon, she noticed a soft scent in the air, which impressed her even more.

(Was that cologne..? It was a pleasing scent without being overpowering. Simply perfection.)

He was a gentleman that not only took care of his clothing, but made sure he was presentable around others. Noticing that, Mira suddenly stood still and opened her collar a little, sticking her nose inside to smell herself.

「Hmmm… I can’t tell.」

The workers inside the train, some of which held the doors open, had very awkward and uncomfortable faces as they watched the girl smell all over her own clothes.