Chapter 5
AFTER MIRA PURCHASED her meal and descended to the first floor, there was an announcement. “Continental railroad service status announcement. The Counterclockwise Loop train will soon arrive at this station. Be aware that it will depart one hour after its arrival. Again…”
“Hrmm. It’s time.”
She gently cradled the bag containing her bento, checked the map, and began walking toward her platform. The surrounding adventurers rushed as a mob to the economy gates. Their seating was not assigned, so it was first come first served.
As Mira proceeded down the marble hallway, it split into two paths: forward and directly right. She checked the wooden sign hanging from the ceiling and turned right. Further on, a silver pillar about three meters in diameter stood in the middle of the hall. When Mira approached, a door in the pillar swung open. Station personnel in striking uniforms emerged from within.
A sturdy man of middle age smiled and greeted Mira. “Up ahead is the platform for first class customers. May we please check your ticket?”
Could they be ticket inspectors?
Mira retrieved the first-class tickets from her waist pouch, presenting one of them to the man. He checked the ticket, stamped it with a special seal, and returned it to her. The seal embossed the ticket with a pattern that, under the right light, would cause the word Silverside to float above it like a hologram.
“There’s another ticket check inside the train proper, so please show them the stamped ticket. Please enjoy your trip.”
Quite elaborate. Mira stared at it with great interest before putting it back in her pouch.
After passing the ticket inspectors, she arrived at the first-class waiting room. There were leather couches and chairs, in which many smartly dressed men and women reclined. The space, enclosed in wooden walls, was perfectly furnished. An unlit fireplace stood along one side.
Mira swaggered over to a nearby couch, which she promptly plopped onto. Curious eyes gathered on her. Everyone in the first-class waiting room was of particular status. Children of nobility with butlers, prosperous merchants, and corporate executives with a handful of bodyguards.
Mira was breathtakingly beautiful…but an intruder, nonetheless. She had such presence that they might believe her if she’d said she was royalty. However, she had no butler, maid, guardian, or bodyguard alongside her to mark her rank.
Becoming rather uncomfortable under the critical glances, Mira pulled up her left sleeve and opened the System Menu. The current time was 12:37 p.m. Before long, the train would arrive. Since the Menu was open, she pulled out a bottle of apple au lait.
Nrgh… I’m running low.
Her once seemingly endless supply was beginning to run dry. Mira brought the bottle to her lips and wondered where she might buy more. It was then that a man approached her.
“Good day, Miss.”
Mira glanced at the man. “Hrmm, hello.”
He was young, wearing a gray coat and carrying a large bag. Since he had no obvious features of the long-lived races, he was probably about as young as he looked. Reddish-brown hair poked out from under his deep-green Tyrolean hat. Behind him stood a male and female bodyguard, each with swords.
Mira was instantly suspicious.
“Sorry for the sudden intrusion. My name is Cedric. I work for a trading firm headquartered in Grimdart,” he introduced himself, as if to prove that he had no untoward intentions.
“Mira,” she replied curtly.
Cedric’s two bodyguards bowed. The tall, brawny man stayed expressionless, while the woman smirked at her response.
After gauging the bodyguards’ strength, Mira looked back to Cedric and asked, “Is there something I can help you with?”
“I happened to notice that User’s Bangle on your arm. I see that you are a veteran adventurer. It’s rare for adventurers to take first class, so I had to speak with you. It’s a bad habit of mine, I poke my nose into whatever interests me.”
“Hrmm. Is that so?”
“Yes, indeed. The only veteran adventurers who ride first class are those who are well-connected or those who desperately want to avoid contact with others.”
“Well, unfortunately, neither of those applies to me,” Mira fibbed. Then she added, more truthfully, “I was simply excited for my first trip by rail.”
“That’s wonderful. You know how to put your money to good use.” Cedric’s voice went half an octave higher, and he produced a palm-sized case from within his coat. “My card, Miss Mira.”
It listed the name DENOIR TRADING over an emblem with a horse and spear. Following that was the man’s name, Cedric Denoir. Mira skimmed the text on the business card and said, “Denoir, hm? Wait… Have I heard that recently?”
“Have you not heard of us? Oh dear, I am undone by my hubris. In short, our firm primarily sells products for adventurers. But if you prefer to use your money on fun and leisure, I’m certain that we have products to suit your needs as well!”
“I see. Stuff for adventurers, hrmm?”
Mira remembered the medicine that Emella and the others had used to make bad smells more tolerable. Now that this game was reality, such items were in high demand. Perhaps this would be an interesting conversation after all.
“Ah! Now I can see your curiosity is piqued! Allow me to give you another push. What if, as a gesture of friendship, I offered you one of our newest products? Free of charge!”
Cedric opened his bag to withdraw the contents.
Mira was astonished at the proportions of the thing that came out of the small bag. It was the size of an entire tatami mat. Its front was covered in blue cloth, while the back was a sturdy black material. At a glance, it looked like a thick plank with some frills attached.
“And…what is this?” Mira asked, raising an eyebrow. “More importantly, is that bag an Item Box?”
Cedric had no User’s Bangle, so he couldn’t use Item Boxes. However, User’s Bangles were made by people in this world; surely it would be possible to make a bag with the same technology. Mira found herself far more interested in Cedric’s bag than what he had pulled out.
“Yes, that is correct,” he answered. “It was manufactured using the same technology as veteran adventurers’ User’s Bangles. Though it is one of a kind…bespoke, as it were.
“Hrmm. Bespoke, you say?”
Adventurers rented the User’s Bangles they used. Meanwhile, Cedric personally owned an item that served the same function. Mira did not know the details, so she couldn’t be certain just how expensive the thing was, but it was fascinating.
“Now,” Cedric said, “I was hoping to focus your attention on our new product.”
“Right. What is it?” Mira looked at the mysterious object, now lying flat on the ground, inert.
“This is our newest model of sleeping bag,” Cedric announced proudly as he put his hand into it. When he lifted it slightly and gave it a shake, the blue object transformed into a mattress. A little more work, and this time, he had a pillow.
“Oho. Now this is interesting.”
“I knew you’d appreciate it. Allow me to explain the details.” Cedric excitedly chattered on about the veteran adventurers’ sleeping bag, which he planned to sell in a month’s time. “As you can easily tell, this sleeping bag is not meant to be carried. No adventurer would carry such an unwieldy item. However, what if you were to use your Item Box? Personally, I’m fascinated by those User’s Bangles. It would be no exaggeration to say that I made this bag as a means of testing their convenience myself. And I was blown away! I knew it would be a perfect business opportunity.”
In terms of manufacturing, Mira only knew about refining—and that was only because she’d had to make so many things for herself in the old days. As such, she listened attentively to Cedric’s accelerating pitch.
“I’ve used my connections to gather information on what adventurers demand,” he continued. “This sleeping bag is the culmination of the wealth of data we received. It is an item for promising adventurers such as yourself, Miss Mira.”
Now Cedric launched into his sales pitch in earnest. The capacity of a User Bangle’s Item Box was affected by weight, so the sleeping bag was designed for optimal lightness even though it was bulky. Look! Even Mira—who had only the strength of a mage!—could lift it.
Next came cleanliness. Cedric dismantled the sleeping bag into all its individual parts and explained how each one could be sanitized.
Then came the insect-repellant feature, included thanks to his survey results. His surveys indicated it was the feature most desired by female adventurers. No lady liked spending a long day adventuring, only to find creepy-crawlies in her bed! Cedric had used a magic conduit—a power source for many of his firm’s products—to create an insect-repelling device for use in the sleeping bag.
He demonstrated the feature.
There were no insects in the first-class lounge, so nothing happened.
He assured Mira there were no insects in the lounge because of the repellent feature.
“I’m quite confident about this item, but tell me: what does a promising adventurer such as yourself think?” Cedric listened solemnly, prepared to hear her every word.
Come to think of it, she couldn’t recall a time when she’d actually needed a sleeping bag. Since the game becoming real was relatively new to her, all of her adventures in this new “reality” had been short enough to see her back to a comfortable inn bed by the end of the evening.
“Hrmm, it does seem cozy though…”
“Doesn’t it?! You’ve a good eye, Miss Mira. Denoir Trading promises you the comfortable sleep you’ve been dreaming of!”
His gushing continued, and she couldn’t get a word in edgewise; instead, she stooped down and felt the sleeping bag. Its front was covered in sturdy-looking material, and when she put her hand inside, soft fibers enveloped it. The bottom was springy, too. She could tell that this would be more comfortable than a cheap bedroll.
“And you’re certain I can just have this?” she asked suspiciously.
“Absolutely! All the better if you use it in places where many adventurers will see it.”
“Aha. That’s the angle, then.”
Currently, Cedric was on a rail tour around the continent to visit each and every region’s Adventurers’ Guild Union branch. His goal was to advertise his new product, mainly by offering it to the most famous adventurers he could find who might spread the word that it would soon be for sale.
Mira was the perfect spokesmodel: a veteran adventurer, an attractive girl…and loose enough with her money to ride first class.
It seemed ethically dubious, but since he didn’t attach any strings to this offer, she decided to accept.
“Our firm sells a wide selection of other goods,” Cedric added. “Perhaps fate brought us together, Miss Mira. I would love it if you would try out some of the many items we pride ourselves on. Here, have a complimentary coupon.”
“Hrmm, well. If I need anything, I’ll be sure to check in.”
For different reasons, both Cedric and Mira gave each other an artificial smile.
***
“Train 7 on the Counterclockwise Loop will soon arrive. All waiting passengers, please stand behind the white line.”
The sound of a warning chime filled Mira with excitement.
“You said this was your first time riding the train, Miss Mira?” Cedric asked. “Why don’t you try watching as the train arrives? I’ve witnessed it many times now, but the first was something special.” Now that he’d finished his pitch, he seemed more like a person sincerely making conversation rather than a walking advertisement.
“Ho ho. If you say so, then perhaps I shall.” Mira’s excitement grew, and she began walking to the platform. “Goodbye, then. I will use the sleeping bag well.”
“Yes, let us meet again! If you ever need repairs, mending, or a replacement magical conduit, please come to any of our locations. They’ll take care of you.” Cedric watched her distinctive figure as she left and checked his bag again. “Got a bit carried away there and gave it to her. I wonder if she’ll like it.”
Glowing with a mysterious sense of accomplishment, Cedric turned his mind to his next new product.
***
Mira reached the train’s platform and gasped in amazement at the sight before her. An arched roof rose high above the canyon cut by the tracks. The white line mentioned in the announcement stood out clearly on the black-painted floor.
Part of me feels as though the scale is a little too grand here.
The cavernous space reminded her of the underground hangar where Solomon conducted his weapon’s tests. It was quite different from any station she remembered. She furrowed her brow. What kind of train was this?
After a while of waiting alongside a uniformed staff member, a shrill tone rang out across the platform and a roaring tremor shook the platform beneath her feet. Mira couldn’t see past the divider between first and premium class, but she could feel in her bones that something enormous was approaching.
A steam whistle—nearly deafening, yet strangely welcoming—could be heard from afar. Moments later, the train appeared, ushered in by the sounds of hissing steam and grinding metal.
It was a truly enormous steel beast. Wind stirred by its passing buffeted everyone on the platform. Mira’s silver hair whipped in the breeze before finally falling as the train stopped.
“Are you kidding me?” she mumbled.
The thing that arrived at the platform was exceedingly tall, its black cars almost oppressive. Altogether, the vehicle was shaped like a steam locomotive. Black smoke poured from a chimney in the front, and wisps of steam escaped along its sides as it rested on the track. But its size…! It looked as if someone had put wheels on a three-story building.
“Counterclockwise Loop departure will be in one hour, at exactly 2 p.m. There will be no late boarding. Again…” With this announcement, the door whooshed open. A young girl jumped out and onto the platform.
“Me first!” she squealed. “What are we riding next, Gordon?”
“Yes, milady. We will be traveling by carriage from this city.”
“Again?! Ugh, I’m so over carriages.”
A gray-haired gentleman accompanied the whining girl. His distinguished wrinkles were charming in a careworn butler sort of way.
“What’s with you?” The girl suddenly screeched at Mira as she passed by, her brow knitted in frustration. Her long blonde hair was tied into drill-like rolls on each side, and her clothes were awash with lavish frills; she was almost cliché. “Hey, I’m talking to you!”
“Hrmm? Me?” Mira side-eyed her.
“I saw you looking at me. I can’t stand it when people do that. Cut it out,” she spat, puffing out her chest with arms crossed.
What is she going on about?
Mira didn’t remember paying her much mind. She tried to recall her actions since the door had opened. Suddenly, she hit upon something.
“Oh, it wasn’t you,” she explained. “I was looking at him. He’s the model gentleman.”
His monocle, his dress, his subtle accessories, and his age-appropriate clothing made for an almost perfect character study.
“Looking at me? It is quite an honor, and perhaps a little embarrassing, to hear such praise from a lovely young lady such as yourself.” Gordon smiled softly, trying to soothe his bewildered companion all the while.
“Wha… Wha…?!” The girl sputtered.
“Apologies if I’ve bothered the two of you. Goodbye,” Mira said with a slight bow and swept by them to get on the train. In passing, she noticed Gordon’s cologne, which was also perfectly fitting.
Subtle, detectable but not too strong.
Mira lifted her collar and tried to smell her own odor. “Hrmm… Hard to tell.”
The staff within the train watched in awkward confusion as Mira continued to take whiffs of her clothing while she climbed the steps.
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