Chapter 150 – 150 – Midnight Porter Train
Transcontinental train. From the tropical seas to the Arctic Ocean, it is truly a miraculous means of transportation that connects the entire world like a single brush painting.
It is a masterpiece of modern magic engineering that is worthy of being compared to ancient artifacts, and is a symbol of the pioneering era that began when a party of warriors drove out monsters and expanded the map.
The train runs to the south carrying leviathan meat from the north and to the north carrying tropical fruits from the south. It runs with the leisurely naps of veteran monster hunters and the innocent excitement of fledgling adventurers. We run towards tomorrow carrying the fierce present of all races that are blessed with aptitude by the gods…
And today, I am also carrying my shame and frustration in a corner of the AF-404 cabin. I should be very grateful for giving me a place to ride even such a messy thing.
“It’s dirty, really. It’s even more dirty because it suits you so well that it’s not noticeable.”
Her girlfriend’s younger brother, who came face to face with my disguised friend again, barely managed to control her laughter and gave a cruel evaluation with a straight face.
Next to him, her girlfriend’s father is glaring at me. He looked like he wanted to put a bounty on my head again.
And I’m just staring at the floor, clutching the hem of my dress tightly. As for the rest of the clothes, I chose something that was close to unisex, but there was no excuse for the long skirt.
Florica, who was fiddling with her fake mustache, tried to comfort her, but
“They say that elves in the northern region wear skirts to appeal to their masculinity. They say it’s called a kilt…”
“Don’t do it. If you mess up while helping at a time like this, you’ll both be embarrassed. Let’s not just embarrass myself.”
“···Is that so?”
When I desperately refused, he just bit his lip in embarrassment.
Adamantone looked at the table as if he was trying to change the topic, no matter how he thought about it, as if this terrible atmosphere was very difficult.
Some small device is making a strange hum and shaking the table. This is an item that Shingyoju Yeongrak brought and put down.
“What is this? It looks like some kind of magic bomb.”
Adamantone, who tried to touch it, was slapped on the back of his hand by Garam. Florica asked, blocking the crying Adamantone with her arms as if to stop him.
“It’s something that makes an unpleasant sound. What is it?”
“That’s right, it’s a magic bomb. From now on, I’m thinking of shoving this into a porter’s mouth and throwing it out the window.”
The moment Yeongnak felt sad, he shook his head.
“It’s a joke. It’s an artifact to prevent eavesdropping. There are a lot of customers on board with their ears perking up.”
“If you tell a joke twice, I’ll have a heart attack. But what do you mean to the customer who is pricking up his ears?”
“Before I explain what you mean, there is something I want to hear from you first.”
Youngrak folded his hands neatly and tilted his head towards me.
Garam, who had been staring at Adamanton, shifted his gaze to me and opened his eyes even more harshly. I curled my lips in guilt and looked at her father and daughter.
“I will give you time to calmly reflect on what you have done.”
“You damn cross-dressing porter. You said you wouldn’t go anywhere without me, but then you left without even saying goodbye?”
“···How can I say hello when I’m being chased?”
“And if you’re thinking of disguising yourself to elude our pursuit, you’ll just put on a beard. What kind of crossdressing are you doing? The Cheonmu Shinyo Church agents and the Hyanghwagok hunting party all know that you’ve been pretending to be a woman. Did you think that would work? Or, well, you’re just doing it because you like it. ?”
“It seemed like a good idea at the time. Since you guys know, I thought it might actually turn into psychological warfare…”
I guess I got sick of it while making escape plans in the scorching heat of the wilderness.
Actually, I wasn’t sure even then so I voted. Florica agreed for the reasonable reason that if he could fool his own eyes, he could fool others, and Adamantone opposed for the other rational reason that he looked like a faggot.
And in the end, I sided with the yes side. Because I had no doubts about Adamantone’s form in his prime, when he kicked ass balls like he was sucking his mother’s milk.
I finally regretted it when I bought a train ticket with a made-up identity, but it was already too late to change the gender written on the document.
“I never thought there would come a day when I regret that I should have listened to Adamantone.”
“···Fuck you, what you said earlier…No, when I think about it, it’s true.”
Adamantone was moved but understood. And he vented his anger in the wrong place.
“I barely managed to escape him, but he’s chasing after me so fast. What, old man. Are you going to try to catch him back? Then don’t hesitate and do it quickly.”
“How many more times are you going to almost die to learn how to be careful what you say to people who can use your head like an object out of their pocket?”
Youngrak made Adamantone not even make a sound with an expressionless warning. And then he turned his head to me again.
“You are just as foolish. ‘It seemed like a good idea when you did it’? Are you going to use that excuse for everything? You even wear a skirt to avoid the eyes of pursuers, and you have two daughters who will inherit the assassination group. “Are you going to think of everything you messed up, and this skit of running away with your life to support the hero Tena Everlight in Elan, as just a youthful mistake from your youth?”
“···Chima clearly thought wrong. I have nothing to say about Garam’s matter even if he beats me up. But Tena’s matter is not on that level. I am going to save my friend, the warrior!”
“Then what about the healing ritual? What about your extremely pathetic fighting ability, having to rely on two rookie Heroes in the battlefield? Are you saying it’s okay to turn into a corpse?”
“If someone in the party has to die, it’s better to be a porter and not a warrior!”
“Why? Because porters are easier to find?”
“When that side returns, the party’s survival rate is higher-“
“Oh really!”
Garam jumped up holding onto the chair and kicked me. Garam shouted at me as I was being trampled and crushed.
“There is no one I can trust. What if I have to die? Would it be better for the porter to die instead of the hero? He promised to come back, but in the end, it was just empty words!”
“Wait a minute, sigh-“
“Even my sister said that, and I felt like I had been dead for over three years without any news!”
Now that I think about it, the party members also told me that they would come back alive. Like Garam, I can’t stand the gap and am chasing after it.
Resolution and reality rhyme, but their true meanings are far apart. The resentment that has been keeping me awake for several days mixes with regret and messes with my head.
The moment a groan came out of my mouth, my body fell to the floor. Garam was so startled that he stopped kicking and ran towards me.
“Ahh! I fell down! Are you okay, brother? Breathe! Breathe!”
“···Is she crazy? Why are you acting like you care about her when you step on her?”
“···I didn’t step on you that hard, you blond-headed idiot!”
“Uh, did you hear? I’m sorry.”
While Adamantone, who was muttering, fell silent again as Youngrak’s gaze grew colder, Florica, along with Garam, supported me and laid me back on the seat.
I want to shake off the support, but I can’t. My legs are shaking like a baby bird.
This is the cost of having the ceremony aborted. The aftereffects of being hit by Waldenhardt’s spear remained painfully deep.
“Why, why are you like this? Is the problem that you left with a day left before the ceremony?”
“···Ugh, it’s okay. At least not yet.”
“Not yet?”
“I’m not a fool to risk my life without any trust. I received a guarantee from the goddess…”
Having an orgy every night may not have been good for my waist, but it definitely helped extend my lifespan.
She was a goddess who had gathered more passion than expected, and she said she would give him that much more reprieve.
“It will be okay for at least the next ten days. You just have to arrive at Dae-Elan before then. You have plenty of time until Sister Monica takes action with her divine powers.”
“Then, unless you get on the dragon’s back, the only way to get to Elan on time would be the transcontinental train.”
“It’s pretty obvious that it was a runaway, but there was nothing we could do…”
“Eat. It will slow down the sacred power from consuming your body.”
Youngrak handed me something that looked like a black bead while I was shaking. And when I hesitated to receive it, he added an explanation.
“It will dull the pain and revitalize your body. It’s not a drug made of mercury or mushrooms, and I didn’t mix it with anesthetic to put you to sleep and drag you away, so just drink it. I don’t want to see you shivering.”
I grunted inwardly and took it. The squishy texture was odd, but it was bearable.
As I was forcefully chewing an unknown medicine, Garam muttered mockingly.
“You’re chugging the elixir like some kind of girl. Anyone who sees it will think you’re the sickly girl from a precious family.”
“···I really don’t want to hear those words.”
“What can I do? You’re wearing a dress all the time. So, even if you go back, you won’t get better, right? So you have to go to that evil-smiling healer woman?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. It’s an expression that makes you wonder what kind of expression you would make when you hear it.
“Insidious…What? Uh, um, that’s right. Um, cult leader. Could you give me some time to convince you?”
“What are you trying to convince me of now?”
“About the reason why I had to leave Hwanhwagok so quickly.”
“The Church’s spying capabilities are superior to those of the Armattam Empire’s intelligence agency. However, they do not know anything about the current chaos. Thena Everlight holds an important key to the fate of the entire continent. And Rezandartam’s “Now that the demon sealing facility ‘World Temple’ was accidentally discovered in Elan, Thena Everlight had already left for Elan before it was even properly revealed what it was. Along with the archmage of the party.”
Shin Kyo-ju tapped the anti-eavesdropping artifact on the table with his finger.
“And you, who became a servant of the Goddess Ishtar in return for resurrection, suddenly jump out of your seat like a madman, leave Hyanghangok, and charge towards Thena Everlight. So, I have to ask. Do you know how this thing works? “
“···To some extent.”
“Then tell me. Even if there are eavesdropping ears, no one will know thanks to this artifact.”
I nodded and tried to explain, but then paused.
Thena may take over the role of the demon god’s guard, which originally belonged to Edin. Maybe I will interfere with that. Then the world might become a more unsafe place.
The goddess never explained her inner story in such depth. I just…
“…If I don’t help, Thena will meet a terrible fate. That’s all I know.”
“Then let me ask you a question. Is Thena Everlight trying to take on the role of the guardian who suppresses the Demon God? Instead of protecting the seal, the madman Edin is divided into several pieces and running around? By any chance, if you interfere with Thena Everlight, will the Demon God awaken? ?”
Damn it.
“I don’t know. I’m going to check it out. If Thena is trying to sacrifice her life by being deceived by someone, I probably won’t be able to bear it.”
“That doesn’t help. We’re trying to help you, not stop you, you stupid crossdresser.”
Garam frowned at her.
“I should have left you alone, father. It would have been better to let ‘those guys’ scold you.”
“Don’t say that, Garam.”
Scold me? It doesn’t sound like he was scolded by the pursuers who followed him in the song.
When I made a dumbfounded expression, Garam laughed. Then, I furtively looked out the window of our cabin and looked down the train hallway.
“Come, father.”
“How many?”
“One. But the one glancing behind him is ten.”
Youngrak sighed. When Adamantone and Florica anxiously asked what was going on, the only answer they gave was the odd ‘I’ll know it when I see it’ answer.
The identity of the attacker who soon appeared with a clatter and opened the door noisily was a dining car filled with in-car lunches, a specialty of the transcontinental train.
Adamantone and I laughed out of relief. The employee who was driving the restaurant car smiled and asked.
“Hello. The pound cake, coffee, and Armatam gold cheese pudding you ordered have arrived.”
“···Wait a minute. Gold cheese pudding? Aren’t you here by mistake?”
“Is that so, Lady? It says it’s room AF-404?”
Young Nak looked at me like I was a monster as I asked the question in a humble manner like a young lady.
As the employee who opened and checked the document shrugged her shoulders, Florica looked back at Adamantone. Adamantone looked back at his car window as if there was a criminal outside the window.
I pointed my finger at the target. Florica followed my instructions and quietly struck Adamantone’s head.
Adamantone, who was fed up with a clicking sound, shouted.
“Then what? What should I do with what I want to eat!”
“We don’t have much money, you idiot! Gold cheese pudding? I ordered something expensive! Does it sound like a piece of shit to say that we should save money because we don’t know what will happen?”
“Ah, Mr. You can just solve a few quests and earn money to cover it!”
It could have been so. Unless I am terminally ill. Adamantone must have also remembered that fact and made an expression as if he had missed it.
“You idiot, you’ve always been like this! You don’t know how frustrating it was for me to not even be able to speak because I was scared of getting stabbed!”
At first, Adamantone held back and listened, but then he turned to me. With eyes filled with an unspoken question as to whether I was craving it because I thought this was the time.
“Are you a pig? You grew up as the youngest child in such a happy family, but you have such regrets about what to eat!”
However, when Florica joined the fight, Adamanthon buried his head in his car window with a miserable expression on his face.
It’s sad, but I can’t stop. Because it’s right to crave it because it feels like this is the right time.
It’s thrilling.
But an even more thrilling moment came. When we heard the loud sound of trays of food being dumped, all three of us gasped and looked back at the table. It was true that I had squeezed out lunch money out of the limited funds I had.
The staff didn’t upset our food because they were annoyed by our yelling. If the transcontinental train system worked that way, it would not have been evaluated as being equivalent to a top-class hotel.
There was a dagger in the employee’s hand. I blankly shifted my gaze to Shin Gyo-ju.
Youngrak twisted the dagger in the employee’s hand half a turn without changing his expression. Garam was covering the employee’s mouth while smiling viciously.
Adamantone asked blankly.
“This was my first meal today. Isn’t this too much?”
“There is more to it than that, son of Sunstorm. Show me, Garam.”
“They look like they can’t hear, so look at them coming in. Well, they are known for their bright ears, so I guess they could have endured the frustration?”
Garam took off the employee’s hat. Then he strangely revealed the cloth wrapped around his hair and ears. Garam even pulled down the cloth.
“Now you can see what danger you were in without even knowing it!”
Then his long ears and blonde hair popped out. I opened my eyes wide in shock.
“Elf···!”
And soon he narrowed his eyes.
“···He’s an elf, what? What’s wrong with an employee being an elf?”
Garam rolled his eyes as if he was disgusted, and grabbed the elf employee by the collar and tore off his coat.
More than ten daggers, scales, and suspicious drugs were spilled on the table.
“···Ah. Elf assassin. That makes sense.”
“Close the door again, Garam.”
Yeongrak grabbed the elf’s neck and pulled it, giving an order. And when Garam closed the door, he strangled the guy and knocked him out.
I asked, holding my head.
“If I scream, will it be heard outside?”
“Yes. The rest of the elves hiding inside the train won’t be able to hear.”
“The rest? Are there more elf assassins? Why are the elves targeting me?”
“It’s not ‘elves’. It’s just one person.”
“I heard there were several of you?”
“There is only one person in command.”
“Who is it?”
“King of Elan. Danar Numen Evennarsson.”
Garam said, letting go of his bitten lip. I paused.
“Evennarson?”
———
“You are right. He is the son of Evenna, the first person apt for magic.”
Danar smiled. Isilun looked back at the party members with a smile, as if thrilled by the living legend, but Nenya just quietly lowered her head and rummaged through the soup on the dinner table.
Eshen thought it was odd. The moment his mother’s name was mentioned, the corner of the Elf King’s eyes seemed to twitch.
“Do you have any more questions?”
“Where is Thena?”
Nenya didn’t seem to be good at acting. Because I dropped the spoon I was using to stir the soup, as if I knew something but had been ordered to keep quiet.
The atmosphere at the banquet hall, where all kinds of hero parties were gathered, became chaotic for some reason, but Eshen instead raised his voice and asked.
“You must have arrived before us?”
Danar’s smile grew wider.
