I had clearly seen it.
The sight of knights in white armor running through the snowfield and jumping onto the train one by one…
It was a movement beyond a human being’s capability.
They were strong enough to catch up with running horses using their two legs and could break rocks with their strength.
That’s a knight for you.
They were the knights in charge of the steepest parts of the Exileon Empire.
“Aaaaaaah!”
"It's the Frontier Guards of the Empire! Everyone, run away!"
"Help me!"
Terrorist screams rang out everywhere.
If the Frontier Guards, which consisted of elite members, stepped up, the results were obvious without even seeing the conclusion.
It took less than a minute to end after the Frontier Guards stepped up.
That's how the train raid ended.
***
'Is it over?'
—Knights of the Cold Steel under the Frontier Guards.
The name alone sounded like nothing, but each individual was a considerably competent knight, as it was made up of people operating in the rugged and cold Arette mountain range.
I went back to cabin number 403, still looking fine.
I plopped down on the seat I had sat on before the raid.
The inside of the train was filled with gashes and soot everywhere as if to prove the fierce fight it had gone through.
It had become like that because a defensive magic circle was engraved on it, but if it had been an ordinary train, it would have already derailed and fallen below that cliff.
"The robbers have all been suppressed, so please feel at ease, everyone. The train will arrive soon, so please wait a little longer."
The Knights were seen walking around the inside of the train to calm the survivors.
In fact, even if they were survivors, they were all those who were in the first class cabin, protected in the safest place.
It was hard to find survivors in other cabins.
No, it was more accurate to say that everyone else had been annihilated.
It was a pity, even considering the small number of people on the train.
'But I'm glad we got rid of all the terrorists.'
The Knights had killed all those bastards who had attacked the train.
It was a very futile result after bringing a large number of wizards.
'Ah, I'm the one who killed the wizards.'
It was not the time for me to worry about it.
The train was arriving at its destination soon.
As we passed through the mountain range full of white snow, fresh plants and trees began to be seen here and there.
The sheer ice mountain range disappeared and it was replaced with a wide plain.
And beyond the horizon, I could see Leathevelk, one of the metropolitan cities in the Exileon Empire.
‘It’s big.’
Even though it was still far away, the majesty of the city was so magnificent that anyone could see it at a glance.
Tower-like buildings soared high into the sky, factory chimneys spewed out endless white smoke, and big flying boats paddled among the clouds colored by the sunlight.
On the riverside throughout the city, there were many mechanical boats composed of clockwork and brass, and steamboats came and went quickly in between.
It was the result of magical engineering, made possible by combining advanced mechanical engineering with magic.
The civilization had achieved an age of technology akin to what was often called "SteamPunk."
'It's not quite surprising now.’
Still, the strange feeling created by the culture shock caused by the memory of my past life could not be erased, no matter how hard I tried.
I was quite surprised to find that I was born as a baby in this world after dying in an accident in my previous life.
That was already 27 years ago.
The years had seemed to pass by quickly.
This world was a unique world in the age of what was commonly called the Victorian and Belle Époque eras, with the addition of magic, non-human races, and monsters.
It would be better if I had arrived in the world of one of the games that I had used to play, or one of the novels that I liked… This was a different world that didn't even exist in my memory—it had no connection to anything I knew.
"Are you alright?"
As I was sitting still in my seat and staring at my approaching destination, someone talked to me.
When I turned my head, I noticed the neat black hair at the entrance of the half-destroyed cabin.
Was it the Knight lady who had saved me?
She was looking at me with a worried look.
“You might have been hurt by the terrorists a while ago…”
I shook my head right away.
"No, thanks to the help of the Knights, I'm fine. I just had a little something to think about."
"Ah, I'm glad to hear that."
Her look when she smiled as she stroked her chest with relief was reminiscent of blooming roses.
Now that I think of it, she was quite a beauty. She had porcelain skin and white armor without blemishes, and her contrasting black hair further highlighted her strong image.
She was a good person with no harsh personality.
If she wasn't like that, there was no way she would have come and stayed with me just because she was worried about me.
She seemed to have competence, as she had become a member of the Knights of Cold Steel, and since she looked young, that meant she had the talent.
I was thinking that she lived in a different world than me.
"My name is Veronica DeVille. What about you?"
DeVille…
I'd heard of the name before—it was said that DeVille was a prestigious family that produced many famous Knights in the Empire.
“I…”
Chooo choooo---!!!
The moment I wanted to say my name, the train blew its horn to announce its arrival.
I naturally closed my mouth, and Veronica turned her head as she looked out the window.
"Oh, we've finally arrived at Leathevelk."
The train slowed down and came to a complete stop at the train station.
The train station over the window was crowded with people.
Apparently, they had come to see the train after hearing that it had been attacked. They looked at the appearance of the partially destroyed train and chatted among themselves.
The police stepped up and built walls to keep people away, and reporters were seen trying to reach the gap and get a scoop somehow.
Just as expected of a big city, Leathevelk was crowded from the beginning.
"There are a lot of people, right? I think the news has already spread."
"It doesn't matter."
It was none of my business anyway.
My sadness was only that the train, which was supposed to be heading to the capital, had to stop at Leathevelk due to an unprecedented attack.
However, there was no way to get a refund for the ticket I had already paid for, so I had to get off there for the time being.
Creaaak.
At that moment, the door opened roughly, and police in uniform rushed in.
‘What's going on all of a sudden?’
"Dear passengers, please wait in your seats and do not leave. We have something to check."
"What's going on?" Veronica asked.
"Who are you?" One of the officers asked her.
"My name is Veronica of the Knights of Cold Steel. I'd like to ask you what on earth is happening."
"Oh, so you were a Knight of Cold Steel. It's a pleasure meeting you. I'm Officer Remlus from the Leathevelk Metropolitan Police Department."
"Yes, Officer Remlus. I'm glad to see you. So what's going on?"
"I heard there was a train raid on the border of the Arette Mountains before the train arrived."
"Yes, that's right. We took care of all the raiders."
"Thanks to the hard work of the Knights of Cold Steel, we received reports that all the bandits who attacked the train had been repelled, but there's something unclear about it."
Something unclear?
The words made me nervous. The situation was flowing strangely.
* * *
* * *
When I thought of it… there was something that had been bothering me.
"Although there was a wizard among the attackers, a magically protected Magic Engineering train should not have allowed an attack so easily."
"Yes, you're right."
"It's clear that this attack was done by someone not just from the outside, but by someone from the inside as well."
"It's…"
Veronica widened her eyes in surprise.
But then she nodded and agreed to the policeman's words.
Such an assumption did not have any flaw in the first place.
I'd actually encountered a guy who had disguised himself as a train employee and those who’d removed the magic protections from the inside.
Because of them, the terrorists could easily enter the train, and passengers who were on board died.
"I don't know if you're already identifying the corpses. I'm just trying to identify the survivors inside because there might be people who were involved with the terrorists. There is no need to worry. We'll send back those who've been identified soon."
"Ah, I see."
Veronica smiled with relief and looked back at me.
Her smile was full of relief, but cold sweat was flowing hard behind my back instead.
‘They're going to check my identity? And in a situation where I’ve taken off my camouflage mask?’
I touched my face calmly with my fingertips.
‘Yeah, I'm sure it's not covered with a camouflage mask right now.’
'I'm in trouble…!'
I had boarded that train as Gerrard, a wealthy merchant in his mid-40s.
Obviously, a person named Gerrard would be on the passenger list.
That was fine, but the problem was with my face.
How could anyone believe that my natural face without whiskers or wrinkles belonged to a man in his mid-40s?
'…What should I do?'
I hadn’t participated in the attack, and I was just a passenger that had been unjustly caught in the events, but I couldn't be confident that they’d believe me.
Gerrard was a fake identity to hide who I really was.
A fake identity was a felony in any country.
I would be lucky enough if I was just hanged, but if I was believed to have been involved in a suspected terrorist situation like that, it was likely that I’d be severely tortured.
I wouldn't be falsifying my identity in the first place if I was a normal person.
‘What should I do? Do I have to run away like this?’
'There's no way running away is possible.'
There were Knights of Cold Steel on the train, and there were even soldiers from the Empire outside the train in case of any contingency.
The moment I tried to escape from there, my neck would fly away without even being able to endure for a minute.
Running away was simply the worst choice. However, if I stayed still, they would be able to find out my real identity.
I tried hard not to show my anxiety.
Meanwhile, the police who brought the passengers' list documents handed over the papers.
They were trying to check the people on the train one by one.
"What room were you in?" He asked me.
"…Room 403. Here's my ticket."
I calmly took the train ticket out of my inner pocket and showed it to the policeman.
He flipped through the papers as soon as he found out that the ticket was not fake.
"Let's see… number 403. Ah. Here it is. Two passengers stayed in this cabin. Ludger Chelysie, a man in his mid-20s, and Gerrard, a man in his 40s."
Then he raised his head and looked at me stealthily.
It seemed like he was about to ask why I was alone when there were supposed to be two of us.
"What happened to the other one?"
"…He was swept away by the explosion that took place during the attack. He fell down the distant cliff in the Arette Mountains."
They wouldn't even be able to find his body since he had fallen down the cliff of that horrifying mountain range.
My words made the police show a more suspicious expression.
I clenched my fist, and I desperately held my poker face.
‘I'll get caught. I'll get caught if it keeps on going like this.’
But even so, I couldn't think of a proper way to get out of that situation.
There were a lot of police and soldiers outside. The police blockade was very strong.
'Running away? It's impossible in the first place.’
And the other problem was Veronica, the woman who was flapping her white cape in front of me.
She was the woman who had cut the top of the terrorist's head in half just moments before.
She had no hesitation in killing people.
She was treating me with a smile for the time being, but the moment it turned out that I was shady, she would be the first one to draw her sword.
Considering her ability to join the Knights of Cold Steel at a young age, she must have been even more intimidating than the cops outside the train.
It was when all kinds of thoughts swirled inside my head…
Veronica, who was watching the situation idly, stood by my side.
"Wait a minute. He's not a suspect in the first place."
“Pardon?”
"He was fighting against the terrorists before the Knights of Cold Steel arrived. I saw it with my own eyes."
"He fought them?" The policeman mumbled in disbelief and scrutinized the list again.
Then he nodded as if he was convinced of something and looked back at me with an expression that changed in an instant.
"So Ludger Chelysie is alive, and Gerrard was swept away by the explosion."
…Oh?
‘No, wait a minute. What did he just say?’
The officer’s expression, who was checking the list in more detail, was colored with astonishment.
"Oh? The newly appointed professor at the Sören Academy?!"
"What? He's a Sören professor? Are you sure?"
Veronica opened her eyes wide at Officer Remlus's shout.
Looking at the reaction of those two as though it was a scene in a comedy show, I realized what was happening.
It was something unbelievable, but… They believed that I was Ludger.
It was sudden, but I made a quick decision.
I immediately regained my composure and nodded.
"Yes, that's right."
As I replied, I picked up the suitcase that Ludger had dropped before he died.
I was glad that I had kept it just in case.
"I'm Ludger Chelysie."
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