The bearded man who had hijacked the train was now on his knees, begging for mercy. I crouched down in front of him, smiling in satisfaction as I spoke.
"Then you should answer my questions, right?"
"I—I will! I'll tell you everything! Just ask whatever you want!"
"While the train was moving, how did you get on board?"
That was what I was most curious about, so of course I asked it first.
"A group of us worked together and used fire magic to break through the wall and get in."
That wasn't quite what I meant. After thinking for a moment, I realized my question hadn't been specific enough.
"I asked that wrong. How did you match the train's speed before getting on?"
"A wagon."
The moment he said that, I stared at him in shock.
"A wagon!? Is the train really that slow? Are you lying to me?"
"No! Every word I said is true! You can check outside if you don't believe me!"
He didn't look like he was lying. I glanced at Ethefelis and tilted my head slightly, signaling her to go confirm it. The bearded man immediately panicked.
"W-Who are you nodding to!? You… can you control ghosts?!"
This guy really had a death wish. Ethefelis had just started moving, but the moment she heard the word "ghost," she froze. I pressed down on the man's shoulder and spoke coldly.
"I told you what would happen if you said something strange again, didn't I?"
"…S-sorry! I misspoke! My fault! I deserve this! Please don't kill me!"
Terrified by what he thought was a ghost, the bearded man slapped his face repeatedly in apology. Only then did Ethefelis resume moving and head to the window to confirm.
When Ethefelis came back, she gave me a small nod. So it really was a wagon. That meant the train was just slow—its power system definitely needed improvement.
"Alright, next question. Do you have accomplices in every train car?"
There was clearly hostility in the cars ahead and behind us, but we couldn't help those passengers. Each car only had a single door for boarding and exiting, so there was no way to move between them.
"We only entered the economy train cars."
Only the economy train cars? Why not the luxury ones? Wouldn't they get more money that way? And Lixia was a noble—normally, they'd assume she'd be in a luxury train car, right?
If they had seen her enter the economy section, they wouldn't need to search every car like this. I couldn't tell if they were here to kidnap someone or just rob people.
"...Are you here to capture someone, or just to rob?"
"Capture someone. Robbing is just a bonus."
"Who's your real target? Lixia Ethe isn't the main one, is she?"
Now I understood why something had felt off. They hadn't recognized Lixia by face—they were just searching for a blue-haired girl. But how did they even know she'd be on the train?
Which meant from the very beginning, she wasn't their true target. Running into her was just coincidence. Their real target—someone uncertain—had to be in the economy cars, so they searched every one of them.
"Uh…"
The bearded man looked uncomfortable, clearly reluctant to answer. I was just about to apply a little pressure—
When suddenly, a purple-haired boy rushed over and grabbed the man by the collar, his face full of urgency.
"Hey! Did you just say Lixia?! Lixia Ette?! Why are you trying to capture her?!"
Two girls followed behind him—one with red twin ponytails and the other with a green braid. The red-haired girl called out to him.
"Shien!"
So the obsessed guy had shown up. The redhead was the arrogant girl, and the green-haired one must be the timid girl.
"Speak! Why are you trying to capture her?!"
The obsessed guy shook the bearded man violently, demanding answers. Honestly, he was getting on my nerves, so I decided to send him away.
"Kid, didn't anyone teach you not to interrupt when adults are talking?"
"Yeah, Shien, don't make them angry," the timid girl added.
She was right. The bearded man was afraid of me, not the obsessed guy. If he wanted to, he could knock the kid out with one punch.
But since I was here to protect people, if he laid a hand on the boy, I'd deal with him myself—so he didn't dare move.
"I don't care! Lixia is my childhood friend! How can I just stand by if something happens to her?!"
"Just wait until I finish asking, okay?"
"No! I can't just wait! What if she's already been taken?!"
I tried reasoning with him, but he wouldn't listen. And honestly, he was acting strange—if he was worried about Lixia, shouldn't he be looking for her instead of grabbing this bearded man.
Whatever. I didn't understand how people like him thought. Better to just send him to Lixia.
"She hasn't been taken. She's at the back."
"Really!?"
"Go, go. Don't interrupt adult conversations."
I waved him off. He immediately let go of the bearded man and ran off, then turned back to shout—
"I'm going to check on Lixia! Don't let him go!"
"Shien, wait for me…!"
The arrogant girl and the timid girl hurried after him.
Once they were gone, I turned back to the bearded man and casually massaged his tense shoulders.
"Alright, the noisy kids are gone. Now answer my question."
"O-our main target is an Aimebisalon person… a black-haired male commoner."
"And? You can't find someone with just that."
"He's a merchant's bodyguard. Arrogant and rude."
From those clues… that sounded exactly like me.
How did it end up being me again?! Even Ethefelis seemed to have realized it. When did I even offend someone?
Still, how did they know I'd be on this train? That was impressive.
"...How did you confirm he'd be on the train?"
"We received information that a merchant from Aimebisalon was heading to the capital for trade. We figured he'd definitely take the train."
"If you don't find him, are you planning to attack the train every day?"
"No. Once the train is attacked, service will be suspended. After that, we'll block every city gate. There's no way we won't find him."
So they had a solid plan. If he wasn't on the train, then he'd still be in the capital—and they'd just lock down every exit.
But who would've thought I wouldn't even be sitting with the merchant, but next to Lixia, their secondary target.
To them, I was just a black-haired male commoner who matched the description. With so many clues, they didn't need to search blindly like they did for Lixia. No wonder they didn't react when they saw me.
Still… who was this employer?
Trying to capture me… they must be tired of living.
At first, I only planned to ask about the one targeting Lixia. After all, I couldn't just stand by and let someone I knew get taken.
But now that I was involved too—
Might as well ask everything.
"Who is your employer?"