Under Jacob's lead, the true form of the new mode of transportation was finally revealed.
A black, rounded engine, a massive smokestack, and a series of connected carriages resting neatly on rails. It was something that had already existed in my previous life. I couldn't help but say, a little disappointed,
"So it's just a train."
I already knew how trains were built and how they worked. There was nothing left to marvel at.
Still, I was excited to ride it. Back where I used to live, there were no train stations—let alone advanced rail systems. I'd only ever seen trains from afar during long trips, never actually ridden one.
Even so, for a country that hadn't discovered storage magic, inventing something like this was remarkable. Faster delivery, high-capacity carriages, and no need to traverse dangerous mountain paths where bandits lurked—trains truly marked an era of progress.
As for Jacob, who had been keeping it a mystery this whole time, his reveal lasted less than a few seconds before I spoiled it. He looked slightly annoyed and asked,
"How did you know?"
"Karen, this should be your first time seeing it, right?" Grace added.
"Strange," Ethefelis muttered.
The three of them stared at me suspiciously, while Alice, completely out of the loop, was busy admiring the train cars.
"So pretty."
The carriages had a black base, decorated with intricate golden alchemical patterns. Luxurious. I wondered how extravagant the interior must be.
Meanwhile, I was still under scrutiny. Truthfully, I had been buying time to come up with a reasonable excuse—and now I had one.
"Because the dungeon library has an encyclopedia on transportation."
The three of them fell silent.
From now on, whenever something like this came up, I'd just blame it on the dungeon. After all, they couldn't read Chinese, so they'd never verify it.
Jacob looked at me, dumbfounded.
"...That's really something."
"Mr. Karen, you don't keep up with current news, yet you know quite a lot," Grace remarked.
"Strange," Ethefelis repeated.
It felt like I was being criticized, so I immediately defended myself.
"There's nothing strange about it. I just learned what I needed for this journey."
If I hadn't become the Brave, I probably wouldn't need to know anything about these countries. Still, there had been some useful discoveries—like electricity and trains.
"That makes sense. You just learn about things you're interested in," Jacob said.
He wasn't wrong. People only learn what interests them. Though in my case, this knowledge came from my past life rather than deliberate study.
Anyway, the topic ended there. It was already 5 p.m.—if we didn't buy tickets soon, we'd be too late.
"Since that's settled, let's go buy tickets. Jacob, come with me."
"Sure."
"You three can wait on that bench over there."
"Yes."
Jacob and I lined up at the ticket counter. Hopefully Grace and Alice wouldn't start arguing again. I wasn't sure whether Ethefelis would bother stopping them.
While we were waiting, someone suddenly bumped into my back. I turned around to see who it was.
A boy and a girl, both wearing the same uniform—like a matching outfit.
The boy stood right behind me. He must've been the one who bumped into me. The girl quickly urged him,
"Shien, you bumped into someone. Apologize."
"...Ah, sorry."
He bowed after a slight delay. He looked a bit absent-minded—not unwell, just lost in thought.
Well, he apologized, so I let it go and turned back around.
I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but their conversation carried right into my ears.
"I told you not to think about magic while walking. See? You bumped into someone."
The girl scolded him. Apparently, this wasn't the first time. He seemed like the kind of person who needed constant supervision.
So he was thinking about magic? What was there to think about so intensely that he couldn't even watch where he was going?
"Sorry, Lixia, but I'm close to figuring out the strategy."
For some reason, hearing that irritated me. I crossed my arms unconsciously.
"Honestly… don't think while walking. What if you trip and get hurt?" she said worriedly.
"I got it…"
His tone sounded obedient—until a proud voice cut in.
"Lixia, that's not quite right. Shien is a genius of this world. His ideas could shake the world."
So they were students? Then I should adjust how I saw them.
But that arrogant girl was way too full of herself. A genius? World-shaking ideas? And he needed to think about them while walking?
(Wow. How impressive.)
I scoffed inwardly. Jacob glanced back, shook his head with a smile, clearly finding it just as ridiculous.
Then the concerned girl spoke up again.
"Hera, health is more important than all that. Are you saying fame matters more than safety?"
Good point—health comes first. But she seemed to partially agree with arrogant girl. Was this obsessed guy really that impressive?
Arrogant girl immediately fired back,
"I never said that. Of course health matters. But as his childhood friend, your role is to take care of him."
I was now certain—her logic was broken. Since when did being a childhood friend mean becoming a caretaker?
Naturally, the concerned girl got angry.
"What did you just say?!"
"Got a problem with that?!"
They started shouting. Did they not realize this was a public place?
Then a timid voice tried to intervene.
"Um… Hera, Lixia, please don't argue…"
"Sicilia, you tell her—does being a childhood friend mean taking care of someone?"
"Ah, um…"
"Sicilia, tell her! That's exactly what it means!"
"Uh…"
The timid girl kept hesitating, unable to say anything.
I didn't even need to see her face to know—she definitely liked obsessed guy. She was trying to appear gentle, indecisive, and non-confrontational. The type who would defer to her partner in everything.
So now she acted like she couldn't resolve the conflict, setting things up so obsessed guy could step in and save the situation.
At least, that would be the case if she were acting. It might also just be her personality. Either way, she definitely liked him.
And just as expected, she turned to obsessed guy.
"Shien, please stop them… Shien?"
No response.
She called him again.
Meanwhile, concerned girl sighed.
"He's in his own world again. Shien—"
"Lixia, don't interrupt him. Don't you want to clear level 50?" arrogant girl cut in.
Why didn't they just discuss strategies together? Why leave everything to him?
"Of course I do, but at this rate, he won't have any friends," Lixia argued.
That bad, huh?
"Shien doesn't need friends. He'll graduate top of his class."
I was convinced now—arrogant girl was the truly ridiculous one.
"And if he doesn't need friends, what are you to him?" concerned girl shot back.
"I'm not satisfied with just being his friend."
There it was. Direct attack.
"What do you mean by that?!"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
They started arguing again.
I glanced around. Everyone else was just treating it as entertainment.
More importantly—why wasn't the line moving?!
Thankfully, I was tall enough to see ahead. Someone at the front was arguing with the ticket clerk, waving their arms wildly.
Let's just switch lines.
Just then, obsessed guy finally spoke.
"Ah, I've got it! If we do this, then this… and then adjust this part…"
He started rambling about his strategy.
Hera sighed, disappointed.
"He didn't hear a single word… even after I said all that."
"Hera, what did you say?"
"Nothing!"
Oh, so he heard that part?
Selective hearing, huh. Some kind of overly dense protagonist?
Faced with his innocent question, arrogant girl backed down completely.
"Really? Anyway, I've figured it out. Let's try again tomorrow, okay? Lixia, Hera, Sicilia."
He spoke energetically, clearly only interested in his own thoughts.
Also, from what he was saying earlier, it sounded like they had multiple magic users in their party.
"Of course."
"Okay."
"...Sure."
Arrogant girl and timid girl agreed immediately, while concerned girl hesitated slightly.
Obsessed guy noticed right away.
"Lixia, what's wrong? Are you busy tomorrow?"
"N-no… Oh! That line is shorter—let's go over there!"
She quickly changed the subject.
I looked over—she was right. That line was much shorter, while ours still hadn't moved.
Once the four of them left, I turned to Jacob.
"So, what do you think?"
"They're loud."
After that, we started chatting.
"True. Maybe it's because they're young? Though I think only the concerned girl is normal."
"The concerned girl?"
"His childhood friend."
"Oh, Lixia. Yeah, she seems normal. But Sicilia seems fine too, doesn't she?"
"The timid one? Not really. If obsessed guy wasn't there, she wouldn't even try to stop the argument."
"Really? Why?"
"Because she likes him and wants to look good in front of him."
"Is that so… but she didn't really accomplish anything, did she?"
"She showed that she wanted to help, even if she couldn't. That alone improves how others see her."
"Or maybe that's just her personality?"
"Then it's a terrible one. She didn't correct arrogant girl and just let things escalate."
"Fair point. But the worst one is probably Shien—completely detached from reality."
"You can't judge someone from one encounter, but his behavior says a lot."
"But what makes him so special that all three girls like him?"
"Usually? Either he's extremely kind, or he saved them from danger. Though… people fall in love for all sorts of weird reasons."
"Haha, true. Karen, they're done buying tickets—let's go."
"Yeah."
We waited until the four of them left before stepping forward—after all, we had just been talking behind their backs.
Only afterward did we realize that the line we had stood in earlier was for the luxury cabin, while the one we were in now was for the economy cabin. Jacob handled the ticket purchase, while I took the opportunity to check how many stations there were.
To my surprise, there was only a single railway line heading south, with just five stations along the way.
The country seemed to have invested heavily in railways, yet there was only one line stretching 413 kilometers. Was the cost of construction really that high? But with dungeon, metal shouldn't have been an issue.
Or perhaps the country didn't prioritize land transportation and focused more on sea routes instead? If that was the case, it was honestly disappointing. Neglecting domestic development like this made it feel as though true progress was still a long way off.
After buying the tickets, we went back to find Grace and the others, only to see that they had grown impatient from waiting too long. So we shared what had just happened to pass the time.