At around two in the afternoon, the train arrived. We boarded one of the many near-empty carriages, settling down slowly as the magically-fueled engines started to roar.
That said, it wasn't loud enough to be uncomfortable, and we had other matters to focus on anyway. Even though we had steeled our minds more than enough times before departing, it seemed that leaving one's hometown could not be without regrets. At least, those were my thoughts as I watched the small town's silhouette receding through the train's window.
''Hah...'' I sighed impatiently, leaning against my seat.
Matt sat beside me, similarly gazing into the distant visage. Though we didn't exchange a word, we both knew the dangers ahead. Leaving Avernalis, leaving our rural, peaceful town, meant facing insurmountable risks from all sorts of places.
As I closed my eyes, I made a mental recount of what to keep track of.
The world that I was reincarnated in was quite 'colorful.' Whether one would take that word positively or not depended on how deranged they were. Before the flame of war was ignited, perhaps it was indeed colorful. I wasn't there at the time, but I experienced the horrors, the chaos afterward myself.
So... let's start with something simple—what kind of life dwelt on this continent of Terranovae?
First off, there were humans, who made up the majority of the population. Then, there were the dragons, who were reclusive and rarely influenced worldly matters. Finally, there were miscellaneous races—elves, beastkins, mermaids, vampires, etc—those one would find in a typical fantasy setting.
The reason I said 'miscellaneous' is that their numbers were drastically smaller compared to those of humans. In the grand scheme of politics, it could be said that they didn't matter much. Until... they mattered, of course. Against the Augustus Empire's roaring spear of conquest twenty years ago, those races had formed an unprecedented alliance, sometimes even working with smaller human countries to resist the big lion's thirst.
Though in the end, the spear prevailed. The alliance was now a has-been, yet like many failed resistances in history, the resentment, the fire of the repressed ones, was bound to burn for a long time. Under the deceitful pretense of a united nation, countless forces were aiming to seize freedom for themselves, while others merely wished for chaos and destruction.
As a registered citizen of the empire, I was automatically a target of hatred for many. It didn't end there, however. When the former emperor initially waged the war, he used religion as a way to legitimize his decision—naturally—and... I was a nun. Those who hated the empire by one would hate me by two.
Those were two big bullseyes hanging on my head.
Did I forget to mention the rogues, the terrorists, and the unimaginably powerful forces tugging the puppet strings from behind the scenes? I could fill pages with their names alone, but most prominent were the Heretics—a bunch of lunatics who defied gods and pursued immortality, and the Exalted Exiles—a rogue organization of sorts, whose members solely consisted of unawakened ones.
I won't get into magic or whatnot too much at the moment, but those didn't deviate much from the common stereotypes in web novels these days.
Nonetheless, the biggest, third bullseye stuck to the back of my head was indeed the 'story' itself. I was called into this world to fulfill a promise, to write an ending to a certain story. So, unless the genres of this piece were 'Slice of Life' and 'Heartwarming,' I wouldn't dare to think the situation would remain this peaceful forever.
In a world where entertainment was abundant, a story needed to be engaging to gain attention. Assuming whoever took me here intended to publish it, of course. But my mission was to steal the protagonist's spotlight, and if the piece was rowdy, its leads would 'suffer' a ton.
It could be said that the odds were heavily stacked against me.
Still, I lived my twenty years in this world restlessly, afraid of being 'called to action' at any moment. Now that it had happened, even seeing the roadblocks ahead, I still felt somewhat relieved.
Besides, I had always wanted to visit Pelagion. I only heard rumors and saw pictures of the grand city; how glamorous would it be in person, I wondered.
Holding a small kindle of hope close to myself, I drifted to sleep.
The trip from Avernalis to Pelagion took around fifteen hours, meaning we would arrive there at five or six in the morning. There wasn't much to do until then, so I took short naps and read to kill time. As I noticed, though, Matt seemed wide awake every time I glanced at him.
''No sleep?'' I casually asked. ''You can lean on me if it's too bumpy.''
''Knights can go for days without sleeping.'' Matt proudly replied, arms crossed, looking dignified. ''Don't worry about me. Besides... Dad had me follow you so I could protect you, isn't that right?''
''I suppose...''
Matt was strong—already the strongest in our town a few years ago, and I was sure he could hold his own in Pelagion, too. Having him by my side gave me surreal reassurance. Perhaps this ease of mind was natural when one had a family to lean on.
Although I did not at all approve of the sudden reincarnation, I had to thank that person for giving me such a wonderful family, which I lacked in my old life.
A human's emotions were fickle. Just as I was feeling optimistic for a while, it all ran down the drain soon after. We were slowly leaving the rural areas and moving into more populated cities, plus the rush hour was approaching, which meant that more and more passengers were boarding the train.
One or two would be tolerable, but when dozens of eyes were poured on me, even reading quietly began to feel uncomfortable. Out of the love of family, I refrained from cursing that old man in my head.
Really, what was I thinking? Even in this world, people with bleach-white hair weren't common. Sure, it could be said that I saw them every day, but they also didn't have white eyes, and most importantly, they were grandmas and grandpas.
Suppressing the annoyance, I determinedly slept my way through the evening and the night. As a result, by the time we got off the train, I was feeling rather revitalized.
''Mhm...!''
Stepping out of the station, I stretched lazily and began to scan my surroundings. Hearing the noises of a bustling street, smelling the faint scent of ocean salt lingering, and feeling the orchestra of magical strokes dancing between high-rise buildings—I finally got the sense that I had arrived.
Truly, the port city of Pelagion was picturesque.
''Yuki, let's go,'' Matt called out. ''It could turn out lengthy if we failed to get to the academy's registry early. They'll soon be busy with the flood of new students, I'm sure.''
''Ah, okay.'' I nodded.
Leaving behind fellow country bumpkins, who were also staring dumbly at the streets, we moved toward the Augustus Imperial Academy. Matt was a knight, and I was a nun—both had ties to the revered church in the country. We had no problem getting through the inspections present here and there.
The inner city looked even grander, with all sorts of shopping streets and services open to tourists, spanning long distances. Merely walking a straight line to our destination was enough for my legs to feel sore. Pelagion was indeed glamorous—perhaps too glamorous.
''I think we should take another train,'' I suggested after half an hour of walking. ''This will take forever.''
''...I agree.''
Thankfully, we could still enjoy the cityscape even on the train. Rather, they intentionally made the tracks float in the air so that everyone could see the scenery, I was sure.
The scent of salt gradually became stronger as I mused to myself. I also began to see blue beyond the horizon.
''Hey, is that...'' The young girl sitting beside me pointed, nudging her friend.
''Like a small city, right?'' The friend replied, smiling contentedly. ''I told you—the imperial academy is the best!''
Indeed, if everything inside those vast, seemingly endless stretches of walls was the academy itself, it would resemble a small city. And we... were moving in there.
My heart couldn't calm down as we approached the main entrance. In person, the walls seemed gigantic, and with the dense arrays of magical barriers marring every piece of brick, even an inept like me could sense them. Following the line of people, we entered the territory.
''Yukina... Lancaster. Matthias Lancaster.'' The inspector murmured, looking at our permits. ''I've confirmed your identities. Please, this way.''
Once again, our religious background made things significantly easier and faster, but I could also feel the clear disdain coming from foreign folks around us.
Regardless, we still had luggage to put down, showers to be had, and rooms to organize. Eugene said that our new place was practically abandoned.
So, another half an hour of walking later, we finally reached our destination, the new 'home' in this prestigious, top-notch academy grounds—a rather... modest church.
''...Wow. It's even smaller than ours back home.'' Matt exclaimed. ''And it doesn't seem like anyone has taken care of it for a long time.''
''Be grateful that it's free.'' I lightly retorted. ''Rent in this capital city is expensive, you know?''
Indeed, the church itself was pathetically small, barely an acceptable size for a religious abode. The garden beside the building was messy at best, with overgrown weeds and strange vines crawling up the metal fences.
The living quarters behind the church were, thankfully, normal. Two floors, each with one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom, one kitchen, and a balcony with an ocean view. Quite nice, actually. I especially liked the balcony—a great place for reading.
It took us an hour to get the rooms cleaned. Matt would live on the first floor, while I claimed the second. Then, another hour to 'fix' the outer church and garden. Matt naturally volunteered to cut the weeds, so I decided to tidy up the dusty interior of the church instead.
''...''
As soon as I opened the door and stepped inside, the dust particles stirred up, dancing incessantly in the air. At the end of the hall, before several rows of wooden pews, stood a statue. The backlit figure had her hands clasped as if praying, with eyes tightly closed, eyelashes fluttering. Calm brows, even smile—a peaceful pose.
This was the deity we were worshipping—The Writer.
Among the four deities, The Writer was definitely the least popular, which also explained the state and the size of the church we were given to take care of.
Still, it wasn't as though we were being looked down upon or anything. A deity was still a deity.
For now... I probably needed a mask. This place is too dusty.