***
“Is your home in this direction too, Karon?”
“You guys too? That’s great! I was bored since I didn’t know anyone.”
The black-haired guy and Linia, despite not having known each other for long, talked familiarly as if they had been friends for years.
They’re both so sociable.
I could understand Linia, since she was so simple-minded, but I still couldn’t figure out that black-haired guy.
His hair is black, so maybe his heart is black too?
[That’s racist!]
The AI suddenly cut into my thoughts.
‘Why are you suddenly butting in? Did that hit a nerve because your body is black?’
[…]
‘Blackie?’
[Even if you are the Master, if you go any further than that, you’ll be divinely punished!!]
BOOM!!
The moment the words ‘divine punishment’ entered my vision, the train shook violently with a sudden explosion.
“Hwaaak?! Wh-what was that?!”
“An explosion?! Terrorism?!”
[A train terror attack! This is one of the clichés that always happens when the main character gets on a train in a novel!]
‘Is that the problem right now?!’
Leaving aside the cliché for a moment, the urgent priority was to determine if it was an accident or a terror attack.
-To everyone on the train, we have an announcement. We are the Cult of the End.
Fortunately, the kind terrorists even made a broadcast, so I was able to figure it out right away.
-The heavens have passed judgment for the sins of humanity! But the Empire is treating this as a joke! We must not sin any further. To warn of this, we have unavoidably taken over this train, and we ask for the full cooperation of all passengers on board.
[Their logic is strange. What do the sins of humanity have to do with taking over a train?]
‘That’s why they’re a cult.’
The ones without logic are always the most tiring to deal with.
“A train hijacking?!”
“Th-this is serious!!”
Meanwhile, Linia and Karon, who heard the broadcast, fell into a state of confusion.
“Calm down. How can prospective students of the Imperial Academy be scared by something like this?”
“This is a real situation! Raniel, how on earth can you be so calm in this situation?!”
“Raniel, do you have a plan?”
“Of course. Did you think I wouldn’t have a countermeasure for such an obvious cliché?”
[Did you really have a plan?]
Shut up and just scan the surroundings.
[As a result of the scan, it appears that a total of four bombs have been installed on the train.]
‘Bombs?’
[Yes, three are installed on the exterior of the train, and one is inside.]
I thought it was just a simple hostage situation or a train hijacking.
Are they planning to blow up the bombs and become martyrs together if things go south?
‘This is a pain.’
The fact that most of the bombs were installed on the exterior was even worse.
The only person who could go outside a moving train and do something would probably be Linia, who could use aura.
“Why? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
I had absolutely no thought that this blockhead could perform a delicate task like disarming a bomb.
In that case, if I were to equip the prototype and attempt to disarm them myself from the outside…
[The operational time is one thing, but in my current state, such a delicate task is impossible.]
Right. I’m the one who fixed you, so of course I know. I wasn’t expecting anything.
[If I had recovered even a tenth of my original condition, I could disarm a bomb while setting it off without causing any damage to the surroundings!]
Can you even call it disarming at the point you’ve set it off?
Anyway, in its current state, disarming the bombs was impossible even with the prototype equipped.
In that case…
‘Can you detect the terrorists?’
[It’s impossible at the moment, but it might be possible if we go outside.]
‘Outside? Well, we have to go out anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter…’
However, it was not wise to go outside recklessly in this chaotic situation.
It would be best to figure out exactly what to do before going out.
After roughly planning what I would do outside, I called Karon.
“Karon, take this.”
“What’s this?”
I opened the Dimensional Hangar, took out a Leventia Workshop-made Mana Blaster, also known as a shotgun, and handed it to Karon.
“Where did you get this from? Is it a gunpowder weapon?”
“It’s not a gunpowder weapon. Anyway, set the output to ‘ordinary person.’ Then it will produce enough power to subdue an ordinary person without killing them.”
“Uh, so I should lower it from ‘Linia’ to ‘ordinary person,’ right?”
Karon immediately adjusted the output of the shotgun I had handed him.
“For reference, ‘ordinary person’ is for ordinary people, ‘Linia’ is for guys who can use aura, ‘Father’ is for slightly stronger guys…”
“Hey, why is my name in the output settings?!”
Because the subjects for the output tests were exactly Linia and my father.
[I think you’ll get hit if you say that.]
‘I have enough sense not to say it, you know?’
“You can fire about 10 shots per cartridge at the ordinary person output, so calculate carefully.”
“I understand, but… why are you giving this to me?”
“Are you planning to be empty-handed with terrorists roaming around? If you don’t want it, then don’t.”
“N-no! I need it! Please give it to me!”
Karon clutched the Mana Blaster in his hand with a grim determination.
His armament should be sufficient with this.
“Linia.”
“Yeah? What are you giving me?”
“This is for you.”
I took out various pieces of climbing gear from the Dimensional Hangar and handed them to her.
“Are you telling me to go mountain climbing?”
Linia looked at the gear and asked with a tilted head.
“Not a mountain, a train.”
“The outside of the train?”
“That’s right.”
“No, why?!”
Linia was horrified.
Did you think I was going to tell you to go mountain climbing out of the blue on a train?
“Because there are bombs on the outside.”
“And you’re telling me to disarm them?!”
“I’m going with you.”
I explained the plan to the horrified Linia.
<><><>
“Is this right? Is this really okay?!”
“I’m regretting it right now too.”
I replied, trembling, as my body was tied firmly to Linia’s back.
It had just entered winter, so the weather wasn't that cold, but perhaps because it was a moving train, the wind made the perceived temperature feel several times colder.
“F-focus. If you fall, I’ll die too.”
“I’m already concentrating with all my might, you know?!”
Linia was struggling to move forward on the roof of the train with aura wrapped around her toes.
Seeing her walk on top of a moving train while carrying me, warriors really were amazing.
I had planned to have her drive in a pickel and move forward if it came to it, but it seemed like that wouldn't be necessary.
Fwoooosh!
“Uwaaah, it’s cold! I really never thought I’d be walking on top of a train!”
“I didn’t either.”
While Linia was walking, I quickly tied up her hair.
To prevent any unforeseen accidents, I tied it up as short as possible.
“Still, this brings back old memories. Me carrying you, and you tying my hair.”
“And you used to cry and make a huge fuss if you made even the slightest mistake.”
“Well, back then, everything I saw in the world was scary.”
It wasn't the situation or state to be reminiscing, but old memories slowly started to surface in my head.
“Well, your condition was pretty bad back then. You’d hit your head on the floor at the slightest thing. Isn’t that why you became a blockhead?”
“My body is strong enough that my intelligence wouldn’t drop that much.”
To think that the kid who used to cry all the time back then, with her poor condition and being so withdrawn, was now a warrior who could even use aura.
She really has grown up well.
“Wow, to think that the kid who couldn't even move from her sickbed back then is now walking around so well, it feels like it was worth the effort of carrying you and raising you.”
As I was thinking about the past, Linia beat me to it with a wistful voice.
Look at this kid. Her memories are distorted. Who raised whom?!
“What do you mean, you raised me? I’m the one who made you a person.”
“No. I raised you.”
As we talked about useless old stories, my tension eased a little, and the cold also subsided a bit.
[Um…]
‘What is it now?’
[I’m sorry to ruin the mood, but if you go a little further, there’s a ladder. If you go down that, there’s a bomb on the underside of the train.]
‘Ah, sorry. Right now, removing the bomb is what’s important.’
[Sometimes people lose their minds. I do that sometimes too.]
‘No, you’re not supposed to lose it, are you?!’
Anyway, it seemed we had finally arrived at the location of the first bomb.
It’s damn cold. I need to take care of this quickly and soak my body in some warm water.
“You see ahead? The part where the cars connect.”
“Uh, I see it.”
“Go down the ladder you see there and let me see the underside of the train.”
“I’ll have to climb the ladder backwards, right?”
“You can figure that much out?”
“What do you think I am, a gorilla? That I can’t even understand that much?”
For a brief moment, a gorilla from the lab in my past life, whose IQ score had come out higher than Linia’s, came to mind.
But the moment I let those words out of my mouth, I felt like I could be thrown off here, so I immediately shut my mouth.
A short while later, Linia, who had arrived between the cars, began to climb down the ladder backwards.
Accordingly, my body was also flipped upside down, and blood began to rush to my head.
“I’m getting dizzy.”
“If you look up, your head will spin too.”
At those words, I slightly lifted my head, and the floor, which was now above me, quickly passed before my eyes.
I think I’m going to get motion sick.
The only saving grace was that we arrived at the location of the bomb quickly.
A small, square box that looked nothing like a train part was attached to the bottom of the train.
I immediately reached out with my mana-infused hand and swept over the box.
On the outside, it was as simple as could be, but the inside was quite complex.
“Detonator, external control, explosion amplifier, external shock absorption.”
“Can you disarm it?”
“It seems like it will take longer than dismantling the clothes.”
There was no need to remove everything.
I carefully removed the circuits responsible for the explosion amplifier, detonator, and external control, and changed their positions.
I couldn't do anything about the physical gunpowder or devices, but this alone should neutralize the bomb to some extent.
The problem was that the circuit was more complex than I thought, and there was a time limit.
And the bigger problem was.
“Kuh.”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“There are several problems, but trying to work while hanging upside down is making the blood rush to my head.”
“Ah, Raniel is a weakling, so it must be tough for you.”
“You’re the strange one for being fine while hanging upside down.”
No matter how I looked at it, working in my current state seemed difficult.
“Phew, it can't be helped. I’ll detach it first and work on it on top of the train.”
I carefully moved my mana and detached the bomb from the train.
“Done. Let’s go up.”
“Alright!”
As soon as she replied, Linia, as if possessed by a spider, scrambled up the outer wall and returned to the top of the train in an instant.
As soon as we were back on top of the train, the blood that had been flowing backwards began to flow normally again.
At the same time, a headache started.
“Ugh, my head.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m not okay. There’s no time.”
It’s one thing after another.
If I had disarmed it normally, it would have been over long ago.
As I was clutching my head and struggling to return to a normal condition, Linia looked back and forth between me and the bomb.
“Just.”
She picked up the bomb.
“Can’t I just throw it?”
Before I could stop her, she got into a perfect pitching form and threw the bomb straight up into the sky.
“Hey!! If you throw that…”
I had considered throwing it.
But since I didn't know the power of the bomb, I would have had to throw it quite far to minimize the damage to the surroundings, so it was an idea I had given up on long ago.
Ping!!
“…?”
The sound I heard was definitely not the sound of throwing an object.
It sounded like a jet breaking the sound barrier.
And.
Boom!
Far away in the sky, somewhere at the edge of my vision, a small star twinkled.
No, judging from the boom sound, it wasn't a star, but a bomb that had become a star.
“…”
‘Is she even human?’
Looking at Linia’s innocent face, with her eyes wide and a look that seemed to say ‘I don’t know anything,’ I saw myself and the bomb that had just become a star overlapping.
I thought that I should be a little nicer to Linia from now on.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
“I’m cold too.”
I wanted to go inside right away, but there was still work to be done.
Is the external scan of the train finished?
[Yes, scan complete! If I had the materials, I could probably build a whole train.]
Good job. Though I don’t know if I’ll ever have a reason to build a train.
What about the cult members?
[Yes! There are 6 of them! I’ve located them all!]
Simultaneously with the AI’s report, the locations of the terrorists were displayed on the interface window in front of me.
The results are excellent, considering the sensors aren't working properly.
[Hehe. That’s because I’m competent!]
Right. You did well this time.
Well, now that I know their locations, I can just enter through a route where there are no terrorists.
‘I’m about to freeze to death, so pull up a route to get inside right away.’
[Yes! Commencing guidance.]
“Let’s move. We need to get inside for now.”
“Oh, finally. Ugh… it’s cold.”
We followed the AI’s route guidance and entered the train.
As soon as we got inside, I untied the rope that had secured me to Linia’s back.
“Huh? You don’t need to be carried anymore?”
“That’s right.”
There was no need to be secured anymore.
I had memorized the circuit pattern for detaching the bombs, and there was no longer a need to disarm them carefully.
“No, there are still 3 bombs left, right?”
“You can disarm the rest on your own.”
“Wh-what are you talking about! How can I disarm a bomb?”
Of course, I wasn't entrusting this to her believing in her intelligence.
I was only believing in her brute physical strength.
“Whatever, just take this.”
I took out a small, cube-shaped magic tool from my pocket and a tablet showing the locations of the bombs and handed them to Linia.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a magic tool I quickly made by reverse-engineering the circuit pattern of the bomb from earlier. It was made in a hurry, so its durability is low, but you should be able to use it up to 5 times without any problem.”
“…”
“It will detach immediately if you just touch it to the bomb, so you just have to throw it outside within 10 seconds like before. What do you think, easy, right?”
With this, even Linia should be able to do it on her own.
Which meant there was absolutely no reason for me to go out with her when I was freezing to death.
As soon as I finished speaking, Linia stared at me with hollow eyes.
What are you looking at?
“What’s with that look? Did you fall for my genius in creating a magic tool in just 20 seconds?”
Actually, I didn't just make it now; I modified one I had made before, but since I made it, it was the same thing.
“No, that’s not it. I was just doubting if Raniel’s personality is even human.”
“What?”
“Isn’t this really too much?! Aren’t you worried about me at all?!”
Looking at Linia, who was getting emotional without any logic, I gave a very rational and efficient answer.
“Did you think I would send you out alone simply because I’m cold and lazy? This is an answer derived from a calculation that this is the best conclusion for all of us!”
“What nonsense is that!”
“Simply put, if I fall from the train or if a bomb accidentally goes off, I die. But you won’t die.”
“…What?”
This was true.
Linia’s physical strength, scanned by the prototype, was, no joke, at a level closer to a weapon than a human.
Considering the speed of the train, she probably wouldn’t get hurt no matter what happened here.
And what’s more.
“You said your aura grade was S, right? Your basic physical specs are good, but if you wrap yourself in aura, you won’t die from most things. But I would die instantly just from falling off the train.”
“…”
“It’s not because I’m cold and lazy, but because I made this decision based on an accurate judgment of the possibility of me losing my life and your abilities!”
At my words, Linia reluctantly nodded.
“Alright, well, I guess it’s true that I’d be fine even if I fell. But if I fall, how am I supposed to get home?”
“Walk?”
“Are you crazy?”
Hmm, Linia’s words did have a point.
The distance was a bit far to walk.
I immediately took out a money pouch from the Dimensional Hangar and placed it in Linia’s hand.
Jingle.
“What’s this?”
“Is it not enough?”
I placed another money pouch in Linia’s hand.
Linia immediately shut her mouth.
It seemed she had understood my rational action.
“Alright, then let’s move. It’s cold with the door open.”
I gently pushed Linia’s back, sending her outside, and then closed the door.
Click.
“Phew, that’s more like it.”
[Master, the truth is, you did it because you were cold and lazy, right?]
“Of course.”
[As expected, Master is like trash!]
‘Trash? I just acted rationally.’
[Of course, I understand and love you even if you are like that, Master!]
‘I don’t need it!’
After warming up a bit, I also began to act.
<><><>
Imperial Central Knights Headquarters.
Amidst the turmoil caused by the frequent incidents within the Empire in recent times.
An unprecedented event that would shock the entire Empire occurred, and the entire Knight Order was turned upside down.
“A train… terror attack?”
“A train hijacking in the middle of the Empire!”
“The Cult of the End, how far do these bastards plan to go…!”
“Immediately contact the guards and the Knight Order branches in the area where the train is passing!”
The high-ranking officials of the Knight Order were holding a meeting, sweating coldly and issuing orders in real-time.
But among them, someone who was not attending the meeting was crossing the corridor.
“Adjutant, what about the members?”
“Yes, I have gathered them as you commanded, but… all the other commanders are attending the meeting. Is it alright for just us to move like this?”
“I will take responsibility.”
He replied firmly, then immediately opened the door to his Knight Order’s waiting room and went inside.
Clank!
Clank!
The members who were waiting inside all rose to their feet at once and saluted.
The man gestured for the members to sit and said,
“There’s no time, so I’ll get straight to the point. From this moment on, we will be moving independently.”
“…”
“…”
All the members seemed flustered, but they did not open their mouths easily.
Instead, the adjutant, speaking on their behalf, asked cautiously,
“Are there separate orders that have come down?”
“There was an urgent message from the old man.”
“…!”
“…!”
The bewildered members all widened their eyes and shut their mouths.
There was no one who did not know who the commander would refer to as ‘the old man.’
“The old man is currently on the train where the terror attack is taking place, and he has personally requested support. Naturally, his location and whereabouts are a top-secret matter, so we must handle this before the Central Knights or the Public Security Knights make a move.”
“But if he is on the train, is there really a need for us to step in?”
“If he were alone, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
The commander said with a bitter smile.
“Her Highness, the Princess, is on the train.”