"A monster that looks like a human? How did you know it was a monster?"
"Because its face changed! At first it looked like a very handso gentleman... but suddenly it changed to look like a completely different person. When the lady ca and defeated the monster that had grabbed our father, that monster went toward that car..."
The young lady raised her hand to point at the passenger car. If there was any good news, it was that she didn't need to go back.
"I'll keep that in mind."
She thought she knew what that monster was.
??????°??☆????°??????
"Get out of the way!"
The passengers jumped back in surprise. Esperanza, who had been running along the compartnt walls, kicked the monster's horn with her heel. Magic power burst from the gun barrel shoved into its open mouth and pierced through its body.
She kicked the writhing corpse away. The monster covered in spikes that had been charging from the right was pinned under the corpse and struggled. Esperanza approached that monster and shot its neck.
She could faintly hear screaming from behind. Naturally, just because she had defeated one didn't an no more monsters would appear in this car. Until the dungeon disappeared, monsters would continue pouring out, and Esperanza didn't have ti to turn back.
'This is the last of my weapons.'
She seed to have given away too many at the beginning. She didn't know how many more cars remained ahead, but Esperanza's inventory was already running low.
Compared to when she first crossed over 13 years ago, she had fewer weapons left, and several were set aside for repairs. Every ti a dungeon burst, she ended up leaving weapons in civilian hands, so she never had enough weapons remaining.
"Hah..."
Standing in front of the connection between cars, Esperanza breathed deeply in the cold outside wind.
Still, all she could do now was keep running forward.
When she threw open the door, a car opened up spaciously without a corridor appeared.
"So this was the dining car."
It was the dining car at the front of the train. It was already devastated, as if it had been swept through once. People bleeding were lying down, and others were bandaging wounds. There seed to be quite a few dead as well.
But if monsters had appeared, the damage was less than expected.
'What happened?'
"Stop!"
Just as Esperanza was about to enter, a fierce voice blocked her steps. Eyes overflowing with wariness seed to pierce her skin. Tall n pointed gun barrels at her. Five guns. Three of them were magical devices.
'They had guns.'
They must have prepared them in case of combat within the train. Or perhaps they considered the small possibility of entering a dungeon zone.
Whether they trusted their guns, the people made Esperanza stop and began whispering among themselves.
"Isn't it a monster?"
"It might be."
"But it has a gun? Then wouldn't it be human?"
"Since it has a gun, it's even less likely to be human! What kind of lady would board a train carrying a gun?"
She had never considered herself a lady, but she felt reflexive resistance. Cider Claiborne's constant use of "lady" at the end of his sentences seed to have had so effect.
Anyway, it seed certain that the 'human-shaped monster' had passed through this car. Otherwise, they wouldn't suspect a human of being a monster. Having thought that far, Esperanza finally opened her mouth.
"Are there no monsters here?"
"...Not if you're not a monster."
Esperanza just shrugged her shoulders. For so reason, people's gazes seed to soften slightly at that reaction.
"You seem to be gathered well, and you seem to have weapons. Call the people from the other cars and stay together. I saw there was a doctor earlier, so that should help. And, by any chance, did you see a tall, blonde gentleman?"
"A blonde gentleman?"
The softened gazes beca sharp again.
"Isn't that really a monster?"
"But..."
At this point, Esperanza felt the need to use social status.
"I'm the Countess of Avondale."
The murmuring stopped. Dozens of pairs of eyes stared at Esperanza intently.
"The Countess?"
"I'm looking for my husband, but I can't see him. There's no other way to prove it."
Even as she said this, Esperanza pretended to search her pockets and pulled out her wedding ring from her inventory to show them. Of course, these people wouldn't recognize the Count and Countess's wedding rings at a glance.
"Wow, I've never seen such a large jewel before."
"She must really be the Countess."
"Count Avondale is that, that person, right? The magical engineer."
It would be strange for a monster to prove its identity by showing a wedding ring.
Then, an elderly gentleman appeared from behind, pushing through the crowd. The gentleman said 'Excuse ' and looked closely at Esperanza's face before extending his hand.
"Lady Avondale, I'm Baron Chackery."
"Ah, I rember seeing you at the wedding."
Really, they had only passed by each other briefly. If the Baron hadn't spoken, she would have passed by without knowing. Esperanza placed her hand on the Baron's wrinkled hand. The old gentleman realized she wasn't wearing gloves and only made a gesture of kissing her hand.
"I didn't expect to see you here. Lord Avondale went to the front car, so you should go that way. And that gun..."
Esperanza casually picked up a familiar excuse.
"I'm from Paolun."
Baron Chackery burst into dry laughter.
He escorted Esperanza to the other side of the dining car on behalf of the others. And he offered chocolate placed on the bar. Esperanza put the chocolate, which was definitely made by an automaton, into her mouth. It might have been her imagination, but she felt her fatigue ease slightly.
Just as she was about to open the door to the next car and jump over, Baron Chackery said:
"Lady Avondale, I lived in Paolun for 15 years."
She hurriedly turned around, but the old gentleman showed a pocket watch from within his coat. It seed to an he would pretend not to know. Even if it wasn't that aning, she didn't have ti for unnecessary worry. Esperanza imdiately moved to the next car.
At least she had obtained one piece of information from the dining car. Cider was sowhere in the cars ahead.
'But why?'
A fundantal question remained. Esperanza shook her head to dismiss the doubt. She could find him and ask directly.
The next car was quiet. As if nothing had happened. That was even stranger. Becoming more cautious for no reason, Esperanza took slow steps.
She had just passed two compartnts. The lights on the wall flickered and then went out with a click.
What?
Click, click, click. Starting from the very spot where Esperanza was standing, the lights began going out one by one. Suddenly, the wind brushing her nape felt cold. Both doors of the car and all the compartnt doors were closed, so where was this wind coming from?
The wind grew stronger. Her vision beca blurry. It was difficult to keep her eyes open.
This one was dangerous. She felt it instinctively. She gritted her teeth and raised her gun. And slowly moved forward.
'Nothing bad has happened yet, right?'
That couldn't be. He was smarter than Esperanza, so even if he was pushed into a corner, he would have found a way sohow. At least enough to inform Esperanza of the situation.
He should have.
Even as she told herself ntally that it would be fine, her body was heated. She wanted to cross this car imdiately, but she was on edge not knowing what might appear. Cutting through the cool air, she slowly took another step.
Bang! The door behind her opened roughly. Esperanza instinctively turned around. Magic power filled her gun with a whirring sound of chanical parts turning.
In front of the open door, a blonde man walked out. Her vision was blurry and her head hurt slightly, but she could clearly see the golden hair of the tall man. It was a familiar color. The strength left her hand that had been gripping the gun tightly.
Just two steps. With the sound of shoes stepping on carpet, the man filled her dim vision completely. The few remaining lights swayed.
Golden hair under his hat. Lips curved in an arc. Even just the outline was elegant and perfect. Transparent eyes curved narrowly. A hand with bulging veins passed before her eyes, easily breaking through her guard and invading Esperanza's territory.
Why isn't he saying anything?
Though she had doubts, her closed mouth couldn't ask any questions. The hand that had brushed past her ear moved down to her nape.
Esperanza raised her hand. And moved exactly like a mirror image. She traced his cheek hidden in the hat's shadow with her fingertips, then ca down to his chin. Then the man's hand that had been wandering around her nape dropped away.
The handso man bent down. Her stomach seed to tighten with tension. Esperanza also slowly tilted her head.
Getting closer and closer, their toes gathered together, and strength entered their hands.
Very close, but not touching.
Bang!
With the gunshot from a distance, the man's head exploded. But no trace remained. The ground beneath their feet, which should have been soaked with blood and brain matter, was clean. As if dust had been shot.
Esperanza wasn't surprised. Instead, she smiled and turned her head.
"Let's maintain your dignity, Countess."
Cider's gun barrel was glowing red-hot. He approached with long strides, wearing a crooked smile. Esperanza waved her hand to create white light instead of the lighting. His voice, his face, everything was familiar as always.
That's right. He doesn't confuse Esperanza.
Reviews
All reviews (0)