Leonardo, who had involuntarily raised his eyebrows, trailed off as he questioned:
"Bermuda... Station?"
It was quite bewildering to hear from someone else's mouth what he had only been thinking.
Signe nodded naturally while stuffing the croquette into her mouth. Unlike her nonchalant reaction, the edge of the newspaper that Leonardo was gripping trembled slightly.
The trail of thoughts led to Alec Siles, who was guiding him to the station of beginning and end, and then to his origin. Could there be some other meaning in the strange address that Alec Siles had left?
"Is the term Bermuda Station commonly used? In this region? What's there? Wasn't there supposed to be an inn? But why did the inspector say it's a barren field...?"
Leonardo listed his questions haphazardly as they suddenly arose. His voice, which had become considerably lower, was an instinctive response. Signe, who noticed his changed reaction, licked her fingers covered with croquette crumbs and then slowly pulled them out.
"Um... it's not a commonly used term, and only the elderly who have lived around the station for a long time would know it? I heard it from Mr. Grimbleton."
"Grimbleton?"
"The shop owner where you bought the bracelet."
Ah, that person. Leonardo, who muttered as if sighing, asked again:
"Is that old man, by any chance, from Bermuda? How does he know that the station is called that if he's only been in Riverside? Is it related to the actual Bermuda?"
"Uh, well... I don't know much about that either. I'm not sure if he's from Bermuda... He's never really talked about it. Maybe he just knows various things because he's lived for a long time? The old man, even though he looks old now, is actually much older than he appears."
Signe added while piercing the soggy fries in the paper bag with a fork:
"He says he's over three hundred years old, but that seems like a lie. According to the villagers, he's over a hundred years old. Oh, come to think of it, aren't there some people from Bermuda who have particularly long lifespans? Then it could be possible."
"...Over a hundred years old?"
Leonardo, who had already folded the newspaper in half, was leaning his upper body toward Signe. However, his gaze, which meaninglessly hovered over the other's face, recalled the appearance of the shop owner he had met earlier.
Though he had looked somewhat aged, he was definitely not the appearance of an old man who had lived for over a century. He had said his skills were embarrassing, but he knew how to use magic, so was he maintaining an incomplete youth through magic?
Just as he was thinking about various things, Signe suddenly asked:
"Why, are you also from Bermuda?"
"What?"
"Oh right, my sister told me it's rude to ask such things carelessly. Sorry."
Just as he was about to instinctively answer no, the other person awkwardly smiled and moved on to the next topic first. It didn't seem like she had asked with any particular meaning.
"At the station of beginning and end... as I said earlier, many bodies were dumped there. So there's talk that the atmosphere is gloomy, and there are ominous rumors, so people don't really live around there. Naturally, there are no villages or anything, and there are shops and restaurants around the station, but not many. It's close to a field."
"...Didn't you say you went there often with your family?"
"Ah, there's a big lake and a flower garden there that's really pretty. You'd be surprised if you saw it too? My mom and dad loved that place. Honestly, I don't really understand the talk about it being gloomy, because on a nice day, the air can't be any clearer!"
The scenery she described, though he hadn't seen it, evoked a refreshing natural landscape that would make one's breath clear. Green leaves gently swaying with the wind, and the sun glare reflected on the lake sparkling like jewels. Though one might squint due to the brightness, even that was said to be dazzling. When heard, it just sounded like a sparsely populated and peaceful area.
"There are a few old castles beyond the hill, and what the old man mentioned as an inn is made by renovating them. You have to walk a bit after getting off, and usually it's foggy so it's not easily visible. I heard it's been quite a while since it operated. There's a treasure sleeping inside, but something went wrong when the innkeeper touched it."
Naturally, rumors spread that it was cursed, so it's now empty, Signe added while chewing on a muffin she had just opened. Occasionally, relic hunters would visit the castle to find the rumored treasure. This gave him an idea of why the inspector had been particularly persistent about the gold bracelet.
Leonardo, who had been listening to her story with a stiff neck and shoulders, gradually leaned back in his chair. It wasn't so much that his interest had waned, but rather that he felt uneasy in many ways. Somehow, all the places that scholar led him to were only eerie locations.
On the peninsula, it was the queen's nest, and this time, it's a cursed land.
If his current destination was indeed the place written in the memo, his intuition told him that the only place the man might be was there. The old castle in the barren field.
Though he wasn't one to hesitate to act out of fear of danger, he found himself deliberating carefully when it came to matters related to the scholar. The man was someone who had controlled people's wills and even conducted experiments in the peninsula, which was fraught with various dangers. He couldn't be certain that he wouldn't become that experiment subject this time.
In fact, taking the amplifier to eliminate the mother body had already made him volunteer as the man's experiment subject once... Fearing this matter might be in a similar context, Leonardo wasn't particularly pleased with the destination that had become concrete after nearly three months. The fact that it was called Bermuda Station made him even more reluctant.
The train carrying Signe's chatter and his thoughts continued to stop and depart, passing through several more stations. It was about thirty minutes later when she, having almost cleared out all the small snacks, stood up saying she needed to empty her stomach.
"I'll be back, so watch my stuff. Don't steal anything from my military gear, okay?"
"What would I do with it? It's all military supplies anyway."
"That's true."
She chuckled and left her beret, which she had been wearing all along, and moved along the corridor in search of the bathroom. On the table, the leftover sandwich was left alone with the hat. Whether she knew it or not, entrusting one's hat to another was the Imperial Army's way of showing trust toward the other person.
The deliberate absence seemed like a consideration for him to eat comfortably without covering his face. It was unexpected from someone who even had short-cut hair like a greenhorn.
Thanks to this, Leonardo, who had gained some leisure, confirmed that the people in the adjacent seats across the corridor were gathering their belongings and getting up. Soon, he slightly lowered his face mask and took a big bite of half a sandwich.
If he had changed his appearance, he could have revealed it earlier without concern, but these days he didn't bother to do so unless passing through a gate. Maintaining a virtual face was actually difficult, and he also wanted to savor the freedom that person had given him. It was just that he wasn't mentally prepared yet, so he covered himself to avoid drawing attention unnecessarily.
Unlike Signe who had been eating for a long time, Leonardo completely eliminated the sandwich with just six bites. He was in the midst of tidying up the table along with his complicated thoughts, brushing off the breadcrumbs stuck to his hands.
'But how did he know when I would arrive? Is that scholar still waiting even now?'
Just as less than three minutes had passed since the train had stopped, new passengers boarded the adjacent seats. But the atmosphere was unusual.
Unlike the seats where Leonardo and Signe were sitting, the adjacent seats had chairs long enough for three people to sit on one seat. With two such chairs facing each other, it was at least a 6-seater, and the table was also much larger. Three tall, sturdy men rushed in and sat down in that space.
Though they were only three, the seats looked cramped as if fully occupied. Aside from the gloominess of only men gathering, they had well-trained bodies. It was evident just from their attire.
Leonardo quickly covered his face again. Indicating his lack of interest, he turned his body toward the window and sat.
"Whether it's because we're getting closer to the central region or not, we've been almost wiped out coming down to Westforce. Moving in the opposite direction might be more likely to yield results."
"The central-western region is an area he particularly emphasized. We should at least sweep through it once. Don't question his orders. Recheck the list while moving, and get some rest if possible."
"I'm concerned that Giovanni Ambrose and Margo Penret are still affiliated with the Imperial Army. They're figures who might speak up, but wouldn't it be difficult for them to open their mouths if they're active military personnel?"
Though he had no intention of listening, his attention was unconsciously drawn when talk about the Imperial Army came up again. They seemed to have boarded with some purpose, and from the nuance alone, they appeared to be pursuing important information.
"I suppose so. But what can we do? We must find clues and return no matter what. It's his will."
The stiff and stagnant accent, the formal tone suggested that they were well-trained confidants of someone, and at the same time, people close to the central or eastern part of the empire. From their reflection briefly seen in the window, though they were in civilian clothes, they exuded the aura of loyal soldiers or knights belonging somewhere.
'By the way, those names, have I heard them before? Why do they sound familiar?'
Outside the window, trees that had been cut down during the war were just beginning to extend their branches again. Leonardo stared at the boarding platform against the backdrop of the barren wilderness and ruminated through his memories. Since they were said to be active military personnel, it was quite possible he had heard of them...
At that moment, a shadow approached the seat where the three sturdy men were sitting.
From the appearance and build, he seemed to be part of their group. Sure enough, as the man reflected in the window naturally took a seat, one of the group asked:
"You came quickly. I thought you'd barely make it."
"Ah, I just received a call from a colleague before boarding. Have you all heard? There's been an intruder inside the main castle's barrier."
"What? What did you say?"
"What are you talking about?"
The voices of the calm men rose slightly. The atmosphere instantly stiffened, and their silhouettes stirred as if they were about to stand up immediately. The man who had joined last waved his hand to calm his companions.
"It's nothing serious. The intruder has already escaped, and no threat signs were confirmed. However, a level 3 alert has been issued around the main castle, and all members of the Blue Knights are on standby in full armor."
"Shouldn't we return if it's that serious?"
"Our lord has ordered to maintain the status quo, saying it's not a major problem... but it seems better to keep an eye on the situation."
The word "lord" that suddenly came up made Leonardo's eyelids twitch. His head, which had been turned away, reflexively turned back.
'...Huh?'
Somehow the situation he was hearing was familiar. Just then, one of the men in the diagonal direction, sensing his gaze, turned to look at him.