「May I have your ticket please?」

Mira had been smelling herself for a while without paying attention to her surroundings, and only when she finished did one of the workers inside the train speak to her. That was when she became aware people were watching her, and she awkwardly pulled out the market ticket and handed it over while averting her eyes.

(I didn’t notice there were so many workers… they probably think I’m some weirdo now…)

「Thanks for your cooperation. Would you like to sit on the right side or left side?」
「Hm? What’s the difference?」
「The view on the right side is a vast scenery that spreads to the horizon far away, but the left side faces many magnificent mountains.」
「I see, let me think.」

Mira pictured the continent map in her head pondering for a while until she replied 「Right side」. There was no real reason for it, she simply felt like choosing right this time.

「Understood. Let me guide you to your room then.」
「Okay.」

The worker gave a corporate smile and turned around, guiding her into the train. Mira climbed up the stairs adorned with marble following him.

(Now this is luxurious indeed.)

Having overcome her earlier embarrassment, Mira’s eyes wandered around the inside of the first-class carriage.

The walls were of an impeccable white, devoid of any tools or equipment and only adorned with elaborate lamps that light the way down the corridor. The floor was covered in a red and soft carpet, giving the impression one was walking on rose petals. Such luxury was on a similar level to the inside of a king’s castle.

「This will be your room.」
「Thanks.」

They walked down the corridor until the worker stopped in front of a wooden door, opening it with a special card and holding the door open as he bowed.

Mira nodded slightly and entered the room.

「The top floor of this carriage also serves as a recreational hall. We have all sorts of amenities and dishes, so if you need anything, feel free to call me. Enjoy your stay.」

Hearing those last words spoken in a composed manner behind her, the door closed gently. But Mira had already forgotten about that, her eyes distracted by the sight in front of her.

「This is what first class is all about!」

What caught her eye first was the large window taking up most of one of the walls. She could see from the platform below all the way to the sky above, and once they departed that window would be a scrolling scenery displayed to the size of a theatre screen.

The room was well furnished as well, a sturdy table placed near the window with a leather couch like Solomon had in his office.

Looking to the side, Mira saw another door that led to the restroom, kept sparkly clean making it hard to imagine it was installed in a train used by the public. She also spotted a familiar-looking bell on top of the table, which she understood was used to hail train workers.

Mira placed her prized box lunch set on the table and went to the restroom, then went to properly explore the rest of the room.

There was a shelf with a varied assortment of expensive drinks, though their cost was not included in the ticket. Mira had little knowledge about those types of drinks, usually only thinking of them as rewards from events. Besides those bottles, the shelf also contained a list with prices for the drinks, a route map for the railroads, as well as many popular books and religious documents.

Her exploration complete, Mira sat down on the couch and took the box lunch set out of the paper bag. She did not open it, however, leaving it on the table and looking outside.

(Hmm, it’ll be more enjoyable if I eat it with the scenery moving…)

Thinking that, she left the box alone and opened her Menu to check the time.

「Half an hour left…」

Waiting without doing anything was something she was not keen on doing, and she still felt a vacuum in her stomach, so she decided to calm it a bit with Apple au Lait and opened her Item Box.

「Huh, this is…」

She found a certain package stashed in her Item Box. Amarette had given it to her before she departed. Mira had nothing better to do, so while sipping on Apple au Lait she took the box out and began opening it.

「What is she expecting me to do with this…」

From the package came half-transparent panties, a lace camisole with pads, knee-high socks, and a garter belt. A full-on set of mature black underwear.
Mira imagined herself wearing that outfit, and then she wrapped it all up again, flustered as she sealed it to a corner in her Item Box.

After that she sat without doing anything, watching the platform as Thedrick and his group boarded the train. Not much time after that she heard the familiar bell.

『The train on the left lane is departing now. The carriages might sway so please hold onto the handrails. The train on the left lane…』

The broadcast finished, an echo still audible from the city, and then a loud bell on the locomotive began to ring. The steam whistle followed shortly, sounding even louder than the bell and announcing the departure.

The pistons and cylinders filled with steam and produced a rhythmic noise, moving the colossal iron machine. The tempo of the gears became faster, going from andante to presto. Mira watched the scenery begin to scroll past the window from her tall and comfortable vantage point, going from station to a cityscape.

(The carriages looked really burly, but it’s surprisingly fast.)

The train was racing over the rails at a speed unimaginable for its size. Anything that stood right under the windows moved by so fast it was impossible to identify more than a blur.

A few minutes later they were out of Silverside, the train plunging into vast greenery. The rails were constantly maintained by workers, but the monsters’ territory began just a few meters away. A special device was also built on the front of the locomotive, which masked the machine noises and produced a strong gale in front which scared away animals that might be standing in the tracks. For them, the train would seem like a large metallic beast to avoid.

Mira’s view was filled with green and blue as far as she could see. A thin haze turning the horizon pale, a few white specks in the sky. The window was like a canvas being constantly sprayed with vivid colors from the scenery.

After a while, she saw a group of birds flying into the sky, which Mira took as a signal to finally open her box lunch set.

「What a beautiful moment.」

Trying to hold a grin back, Mira lifted the box’s lid. Delicious scents wafted freely after that, making Mira’s stomach rumble. Finally able to eat, Mira reached for her food while her eyes were entertained by the scenery outside.

She began munching on some of the side dishes, stuffing her mouth with white rice afterward and chewing for a while before reaching for something to drink, but then her hand froze.

「Apple au Lait won’t go along with this!」

Apple au Lait was a mix of slightly sour apples mixed with the strong sweetness of honey and milk. Usually, Mira did not care about mixing different types of food, but this time she was having such an enjoyable time that she wanted everything to be perfect.

Cursing herself for forgetting to buy tea in the station, she left a bottle of Apple au Lait untouched on the table.

(Oh right, there were those bottles. Hopefully, they have some tea too.)

Remembering the shelf with drinks, she went to look more closely at them. The shelf was quite large, filled with colored bottles that adorned it like a mosaic.

「Hmmm…」

Mira was unable to find any tea there, they were all alcoholic drinks. After a while, she decided to take a bottle of strong ale and a glass. Checking the price list, she placed a silver coin on a tray and went to the table.

(Now that I think about it, this will be the first time I have some actual alcohol in this world.)

She thought that as she poured a glass of ale, which she held up as a toast with herself and began to drink, complementing it with the remainder of her lunch and the scenery scrolling on the window.

『The train will arrive at Riverfall station shortly. Please make sure to hold onto all your belongings before leaving.』

「Mmm…」

Mira had fallen asleep on the couch, her body slowly rising up awoken by the announcement.

「What was that voice…」

Her cheeks still dyed a bright pink and feeling hot, Mira muttered as her brain struggled to break the veil of drowsiness remaining from her nap, trying to look outside the window. All she saw was her own reflection, illuminated by soft light and seemingly floating in black emptiness.

The train was moving through darkness devoid of moon or stars, and shortly after it began dropping some speed and arrived at the next station.

‘Thank you for traveling with us. The next departure in this line is scheduled for 9AM tomorrow.’

Mira did not really have any luggage, so she only took care of throwing away three empty bottles and then looked at the platform through the window as the broadcast repeated. The sun had already set, but the station was brightly illuminated so it looked as if it was still daytime. Once the first passengers began disembarking, she also stood up to leave.

When she left the station, she found herself in an open place slightly bigger than Silverside’s. The majority of buildings around there were inns, bright colorful signs lining their doors in an attempt to grab the visitors’ attention more than the competition.

「Hmm, now where should I stay tonight!」

The crowd of recently disembarked passengers dispersed there, each looking for an inn that suited their tastes. Without caring about her fuzzy cheeks, Mira also mixed with the crowd and began wandering around.

Twenty minutes passed until she decided on a place, entering an inn that claimed to have their own theatre. The stage was built right next to the dining hall, so one could enjoy a play while eating. All in all, it was a rather classy inn.

The dining hall was built resembling a Victorian-era palace, the theatre built on a raised stage where plays would be performed each night. Mira had seen the next play was one involving the Nine Wisemen, which was the main reason she decided to stay there. She was curious to see how she herself would be portrayed. She chose a seat near the center of the dining hall, waiting impatiently for the play to start.

The other seats were soon occupied as well, and once there were hardly any open seats, silence slowly overtook the place. Dinner was served shortly after, and the lamps in the dining hall were dimmed while those on the stage turned brighter. Then a wave of applause followed.

『Thirty years ago, a group of persecuted spellcasters sought refuge in a kingdom, pledging their allegiance and fought with their lives on the line. This is a story of the heroes we now know as the Nine Wisemen, respected and feared throughout the continent.』

A well intonated and powerful voice filled the hall, captivating the attention of everyone there. As tension spread through the audience, the curtains were lifted, showing a young man wearing royal clothing and nine robed figures standing on stage.

『If they’re so intent on attacking, we’ll have no choice but to retaliate. This is our first chance to herald our name and our kingdom to the entire continent. Let’s show them the power of spellcasters!』
『We’ll do as our king wishes.』

His eyes narrowed, the young king swung his right arm forward as he spoke. The nine wisemen held their right hands to their chest, bowing respectfully. That was Arkite’s military salute.

The play was a recreation of Arkite’s first battle, the defense of Elderwood, which would cement their name on the maps of the continent. The first act showed the king and nine wisemen planning their strategy for the battle, planning their position and angles of attack.

Mira watched intently at the dramatized retelling, mentally criticizing the exaggerated nature of the lines.

(Solomon never spoke so stiffly when we had this meeting, he’s never wanted to act this way!)

Solomon’s actual words had been closer to 「Woah they’re actually coming for us! What do we do? I wish we could just fight back, but we only have spellcasters so the front lines will be too weak! And we barely have any warriors on our side, aaahhhh!」

(Hmmm, I guess this is what they call youthful indiscretion, to show this meeting in a play…)

On top of that, the salute given by the Nine Wisemen only existed after the defense of Elderwood, all members thinking of it collectively in an excited meeting. It was inaccurate to show it so early in the play.

Though that was a detail only those present at the time would be aware of. Mira tried to push those thoughts aside and focus on enjoying the play the way it was meant to.

During the fourth act of the play, they recreated a scene where Danbulf summoned a Holy Knight to hold the front lines while Luminaria made a barrage of flames rain on the enemy troops. It was the moment in the battle that showed just how overpowering spellcasters were.

(I’m so cool!)

The special effects and music on display made the scene all the more impactful, with loud cheers coming from the crowd. But Mira was mostly focused on the actor portraying Danbulf. He was already past middle-age, and clearly a veteran actor as he skillfully portrayed his role. All his movements were majestic and well-rehearsed, showing how experienced Danbulf was as a spellcaster. In a way, he looked even better than Mira did herself during her time as Danbulf.

Mira timed all her cheers to his movements, and at one point the actor noticed her and looked straight into her eyes while turning to one side. That momentary glance was something he also had mastered over the years.

Having met two men resembling her ideal, Mira was in the best of moods as she tipped her glass to take a sip.

The play ended and the curtains closed amidst a torrent of cheering. Once the lights were turned on again, Mira happily stuffed her cheeks with the cake she received as dessert.

The orchestra that had livened up the earlier play now performed soft and calming music like the flow of water. There were still some traces of the melody used in the exciting last scene, but they were all subdued and slowed down.

Done eating her cake, Mira lifted her now empty glass with a slight frown, getting out a bottle of Apple au Lait instead and downing it in a breath.

「Mm… oh right.」

Her lips pursed as she glared at the empty bottle of Apple au Lait, recalling her stock was running low. Next, she slammed her hands on the table as she propped herself up, walked to the bar and spoke to the cook

「Can I ask you something real quick? Do you sell Apple au Lait in bottles like this one here?」

As she spoke, Mira slammed the empty bottle on the counter. There were few clients around, so the woman across was busy washing dishes, but she turned hearing Mira’s voice, a quizzical look quickly overtaking her face.

「Are you feeling alright?」
「Hm?」
「Do you have a fever? Your cheeks look really red.」

With a worried look, the woman placed the back of her hand on Mira’s cheek, but she tilted her head. Mira’s temperature did not feel out of the ordinary.

「I’m perfectly healthy. But like I asked, do you have Apple au Lait?」
「I don’t think we have that here. Sweetberry au Lait has been more popular lately.」
「I see, I see. Do you sell that in bottles as well? How much does it cost?」

Mira’s voice rang a pitch higher than usual, dangling the bottle in front of the woman’s eyes. Red cheeks and wobbly movements, that was enough for the woman to deduce what was wrong with her.

Ahh, she’s drunk.

「We do, though we’re sold out at the moment. We should be getting more stock tomorrow morning though, and the price is 200 Rils per bottle. If you want, you can make a reservation now.」

While tipsy, Mira was not drunk out of her mind, her actions looking more cute than anything. The woman spoke to her in a gentle tone, and after Mira checked her Item Box for Apple Ale, she jerked her face upwards to reply.

「I’ll have twenty then.」
「Twenty? Got it. Come by tomorrow morning to pick them up.」
「Okay!」

Having placed an order for the Sweetberry au Lait that would replace her current goto drink, Mira returned to her room. Meanwhile, the woman wrote down her order on a list.

The room she was staying in for the night was a rather average one, simple but it was hard to complain about it. After entering the room, Mira headed straight to the shower, undressed leaving her clothes scattered all over the place, and let the warm water fall on her head. Probably due to her alcohol intake, Mira was more excited than usual, grinning widely seeing her own reflection, and ended up going to bed when it was almost 1am.

The next morning Mira was roused up by an announcement from the station, the train was leaving in an hour. She lifted her naked body from the bed, her mind in a fever-like daze from the traces of alcohol that slowly dispelled as she awoke.

「In an hour… huh…」

She muttered as she slowly began picking up the clothes that lay strewn all around the room, and then took out a clean pair of underwear. Fully dressed, Mira walked downstairs and headed to the dining hall. When she arrived, she found herself on a battlefield. Almost everyone there was a passenger, woken up by the same announcement, so they all wanted to get their meal first.

After lining up on the counter, Mira paid 4000 Rils and obtained the twenty Sweetberry au Lait bottles she had ordered.

Twenty minutes remained for the train to depart. The station’s entrance was a sea of people, which Mira pushed herself into and waded around to check-in.

(It’s really crowded.)

Riverfall was a larger station than Silverside, the building split into different blocks, and there were always shops near all the entrances. Mira’s small frame seemed about to be crumpled and trampled on inside the crowd, but she restlessly searched for a place where she could buy a boxed lunch. Eventually, she navigated her way to a shop that convinced her, buying rice steamed with chestnuts and some green tea before hurrying to the boarding platform.

The First Class section was rather calm, as opposed to the loud tumult and crowded Economy Class. There were five minutes left for departure when Mira reached the train, taking out a ticket before the worker asked for it.

「Thank you for traveling with us today. Do you have a preference between sitting on the left or right side?」
「Hmm, I’ll go on the left side.」
「Alright then, let me guide you to your room.」

It was only her second time traveling like that, but Mira replied confidently, already aware of how things worked. The other workers nearby smiled watching her act that way.

Mira’s carriage was stationed next to a fenced-off wide platform. The First Class section had a different color scheme, everything looking like plain stone which gave it a simple but elegant appearance. The platform was also rather wide, so even during an influx of First Class passengers, it would not get too crowded.

That platform was only for boarding the trains on the right lane. The fence separating it from the rest of the station was also thick as a log, in a way representing the immense force it had to resist from the giant trains.

(The foundations of the building must be quite something to hold all of this.)

Mira’s waiting time on the platform was quite different from the day before, her being the only passenger waiting there, accompanied only by some workers going from one place to another every so often.

Five hours later the train arrived at the next station, Veloce City. The train stopped there for one hour, which felt long enough to be boring, but too short to really explore the station, so instead, Mira entertained herself by leafing through the books on her room’s shelf.

(Oh, a guide on station city inns. It might be worthwhile to check that since I’m traveling now.)

Thinking that, she took the book and headed to the couch to lie down. However, before she could reach it she heard a soft knocking on the door. When she opened it, she found the same worker who had guided her to the room earlier standing with a wide smile.

「We’ve arrived at Veloce City. Will you disembark here or would you like to stay until we reach the next station?」
「I was planning on going… ahh, I see.」

As she spoke, Mira recalled what she was told when buying tickets. Each ticket covered the trip from one station to the next in line, so if she wanted to continue traveling she would need to spend another ticket.

「I have enough tickets, but do I have to disembark to get one marked at the entrance again?」

Taking another First Class ticket from her waist pouch, Mira asked the worker.

「There’s no need for that. If you already have a spare ticket we can take care of it here.」

The worker replied with a soft voice. Hearing that, 「Well, I’ll keep going to the next station,」 Mira said while giving the worker a ticket.

「Enjoy your trip.」

The worker bowed and left. Freed from that, Mira finally was able to lie down on the couch and held the book above her, looking for an inn in the next station that met her fancy. Eventually, the train started moving again, and two days later Mira arrived at Alispharius.