Fortunately, finding the station was easy.
Actually, it wasn't just easy...
"The road? I can't believe there are still travelers who walk these days."
"There's a carriage station just a 10-minute walk from here—what are you doing?"
It was practically handed to them on a silver platter.
After being treated like country bumpkins by the locals, the newbie and the fairy finally realized that the Kingdom's transportation system was far better than they'd expected.
They were indeed able to find the carriage station near the village in less than 10 minutes.
The carriage station was a more sophisticated building than they'd imagined.
If it weren't for the horses and carriages, it could easily have been mistaken for a modern taxi stand.
" "A map and a carriage to the big city? Hmm, we don't have either of those at this small station. Why don't you head to the Kingdom Station instead?"
"The Kingdom Station?"
When I accidentally asked that, the station attendant gave me a look that said, "You must be out of your mind."
"What? Are you telling me that even as a traveler, you don't know the Kingdom Station?"
"No... um... that's not it. I was just wondering if I really had to go all the way there? Just for a single map?"
The newbie whistled awkwardly and tried to brush it off.
At those words, the station attendant's face lit up with a look of realization.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I suppose a traveler might not know. Lately, raids by outsiders have become frequent again."
"Why would outsiders raid... no, that they're doing it. It really is dangerous."
"Exactly. Don't those guys ever get tired? I wish they'd all just stay holed up in that guild of theirs."
Learning the common sense of this other world is a bit tricky.
It was clear that most players were indeed in guilds.
Fortunately, the postmaster set aside his lingering suspicion and continued his explanation.
"In fact, there was a recent incident where outsiders tricked our post office into selling them a large number of maps. Because of that, we've decided to distribute maps only after strict procedures at the Kingdom Station."
"Then, do you have a ticket to the Kingdom Station?"
"Of course! Would you like a ticket to the 3rd Station, the closest Kingdom Station from here?"
"Ah, yes."
The station attendant quickly issued the ticket.
Fortunately, nothing happened on the carriage ride there (and as a bonus, the fairy even got a pet discount).
"Uwaaaah..."
There was a minor (?) incident where the fairy threw up, but they brushed it off.
Seriously, why does a creature that can fly actually get motion sickness?
Anyway, the carriage rattled along the forest road.
The scenery, which had been nothing but green and brown, began to change.
Third Station came into view before them.
"Wow... "
"Ugh..."
The carriage station earlier had been fine, but compared to this, it definitely felt like a rural station.
Just looking at it, I could feel its grandeur.
It was, how should I put it...
"Isn't this... a train station?"
"A train station?"
"The one I saw in that reality... um... yeah..."
"Reality? Oh, you mean the world of you outsiders?"
The fairy asked in a whisper.
"Uh, yeah. I think so."
"You 'think' so?"
"Don't nitpick. Maybe I've been in the real world too long... I wonder why I can't seem to remember things from there..."
Newbie shook his head.
It definitely seemed like he needed to get back to the real world as soon as possible.
At this rate, he'd end up forgetting his own address.
Anyway, it was a station of such impressive size that even he had to admit it.
Above all, it was a blend of a fantastical appearance and modern architecture.
"That's weird. Wasn't Seeker World originally a pure medieval fantasy game?"
What on earth had happened over the past 100 years that even the game world was transforming into the modern era?
The newbie quickly pushed those questions aside.
That wasn't important right now.
Clunk!
At the station gates where the carriage had dropped him off, a crowd of at least several thousand people was swarming.
"With this many people, I should be able to blend in without a problem, right?"
If you want to hide a tree, hide it in the forest; if you want to hide a person, hide them in a crowd.
With this many people, it wouldn't be strange at all for a player or two like Newbie to be mixed in.
As the two of them entered, all sorts of NPCs were coming and going inside the station.
There were even some that looked like monsters among them.
"Amazing..."
"I get that for myself, but why are you so impressed?"
At the newbie's question, the fairy crossed her arms and grumbled.
"I wanted to leave too. But for some reason, I couldn't get out of the forest."
"So you've been in the forest for a hundred years?"
"Yeah... It was really tough."
After grumbling like that for a while, she gave the newbie a sly smile.
"It's okay. Since I met you, I've been able to see such a beautiful view, haven't I?"
"What's with that? When you suddenly say something so cheesy, doesn't it make me feel a little ticklish?"
"Oh, come on! Just when things were starting to get cozy! Hmph!"
"You sure do get offended easily... huh?"
Ding.
A sudden message window popped up in front of Newbie.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, I got some weird message. Just a sec."
He quickly scrolled down the window and moved his finger to the accept or decline options.
Instantly, he was torn.
'I'm sure I should decline, right? No, wait—could declining be a trap?'
Unable to make up his mind, his finger hovered over the screen.
Just then.
"Oh my, you can't do that. No, no."
Someone grabbed Newbie's shoulder.
"Eek!"
"Shh."
The woman holding his shoulder put her finger to her lips and made a 'shh' sound.
Instead of the Newbie, who had frozen in shock, the fairy stepped forward.
"Hey! What are you—"
"No. Don't say a word."
"What do you mean—"
"You want to go around bragging to everyone that you're the tutorial fairy? The Kingdom's Guard would love that, wouldn't they? Just shut up and pretend to be a pet."
At her words, the fairy fell silent.
I never thought I could actually shut that guy up.
With the fairy quiet, she turned her attention back to the newbie.
"That's strange. I don't know how you left the guild, but I'll give you some tips for the outside world."
'What? Does she think I left the guild?'
What is this bizarre misunderstanding?
I'd gone through all that trouble just to find the guild, yet she was under the mistaken impression that I'd left it.
Newbie just nodded silently.
"Hehe, you're pretty sharp, aren't you? Alright, then I'll start your survival lesson out here."
Only then did she fully reveal herself in front of the newbie.
Her straight hair, accented with red and golden highlights, made it look like it was literally on fire.
In contrast, her stylish blouse and black leather pants made her look like a sophisticated city dweller to anyone who saw her.
"Alright, first, press 'Accept.'"
She whispered.
The newbie pressed 'Accept' as she said.
"Looks like this is your first time here? Where are you from?"
[First, a handy tip. Even if you see the status window, don't wave your hands in the air. The NPCs will all notice.]
She brought up the main topic in chat, along with some unrelated remarks.
Is this like those spy movies where they have meaningless small talk while communicating with hand gestures?
The newbie seemed to adapt to her behavior quickly.
"Ah, I'm from a rural area… But I want to go home, and this place is just too chaotic."
Unfortunately, since he didn't know how to use chat yet, he just went along with it.
Still, seeing the newbie respond well, she seemed satisfied.
"Home?"
"Yes, yes, I want to go home..."
"Oh, I see! Is it there?"
"Yes! It's there, right there!"
Did she understand?
"Here, take this."
[I don't know what happened, but if you're thinking of returning to the guild, you made the right choice.]
With those words, she handed him two pieces of paper.
One was a piece of paper with writing on it, and the other was...
'A map!'
Honestly, I was struggling with how to get a map, but it was solved in an instant.
"Thank you. But how?"
In response to the newbie's question, she smiled silently and sent a chat message.
[We usually keep plenty on hand for players who get lost. It's gotten a bit harder to find them lately, though, hehe.]
She nodded with a pleased smile.
"Well, I guess I should be going. I hope you make it home safely."
[Alright, see you next time. Hehe.]
With those words, she slowly disappeared into the crowd.
Only then did the fairy, who had been keeping her mouth shut the whole time, gasp for breath.
"Phew! That was tough..."
Perhaps keeping her earlier advice in mind, the fairy whispered to me.
"But who is that girl? Isn't she suspicious?"
"I suppose so..."
Actually, she was a bit suspicious.
Help coming out of nowhere like that.
But if she's a player, wouldn't she help rather than deliberately put another player in a bind? Would she really go out of her way to do something that benefits an NPC?
"Still, I'd rather trust another outsider than the insiders."
"True..."
The fairy agreed with the newbie's response.
You never know, right? She might be an unexpected benefactor.
Just in case, the newbie compared the route to the guild written on the paper she'd given him with the station map.
Station Map
Her map:
They roughly matched up.
"What do you think?"
The fairy couldn't contain her curiosity and whispered.
"It's mostly accurate... but it looks like we have to pass through Carriage Station No. 12 first."
"Really? So we have to go there, then."
Honestly, the newbie wondered if they could find out more, but she knew better.
"Even if I tried to find out, there wouldn't be much information to go on."
"True."
"If we're going to get any information, it's more important to get to the Guild somehow."
Whether it was information or support, they had to get to a player's town first to get anything at all.
No matter how much they hung around here or caused a commotion, they wouldn't get any information—and if they got caught, they'd obviously end up back in a cage.
"Let's just get to the guild somehow. We've already wasted too much time in that village trying to earn travel money."
*
"Woo-ooh..."
"I didn't know about this either. That's impressive."
I'd thought it would be no different from the cart I'd ridden before.
The carriage right in front of me now was so massive I couldn't tell if it was a carriage or an airplane running on the ground.
Judging by size alone, the carriage in front of them was as big as a three-story building.
"Wow, a building like this moves? Is that even possible?"
Honestly, from a newbie's perspective, it didn't really matter.
It's just a game, after all, isn't it?
Whether it was magic or whatever, anything was possible as long as the setting allowed it.
That's what he thought...
"Seriously... this is a method I never would've imagined."
Right before Newbie's eyes was the beast pulling that massive, building-sized carriage.
Actually, what kind of beast it was didn't really matter.
What mattered was the fact that it was a boss monster.
" "How on earth did you tame that thing? Wasn't that a raid boss?"
Even a Seeker World novice like him knew it was Cerberus Dragon, the famous boss everyone thinks of when they hear "Seeker World."
True to its name, its three ferocious dragon heads glared in all directions.
Every time the beasts tried to rampage, the strange collar around their necks sparked.
Thanks to that, even though they were furious, they had to sit still and let their anger subside.
"Is this really okay?"
"Eh, whatever! It'll be fine!"
"I don't understand a thing about this world."
"Enough! It's a headache to think about all that. Let's hurry up and go."
Just as the fairy was about to step inside...
"Wait a minute!"
Suddenly, the kingdom's guards blocked their path.
Instantly, both Newbie and the fairy froze.
What on earth is going on? What did we do wrong? We definitely bought tickets, didn't we?
The guard spoke kindly in a gentle tone.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Pets must be placed in the luggage compartment."
"Huh? Oh."
"Surely it's not a pet? If it's not a pet, is it a child capable of speech?"
"Uh... no, that's right. It's a pet!"
The fairy shot Newbie a look of protest, but...
'Sorry...'
The fairy headed straight for the cargo hold.
Still, thanks to the fairy's brave sacrifice, Newbie was able to enjoy a brief moment of peace.
'Ah, I guess I can just sit here and enjoy this moment of calm?'
Honestly, the journey here had been nothing but a series of nerve-wracking moments.
He settled into his seat, and after the Cerberus Dragon had finished throwing a tantrum, it began to move slowly.
They really did say it was one of the strongest bosses in Seagoworld—the massive carriage started moving at an incredible speed.
"Phew, I guess I can rest for a bit. I can even enjoy the scenery like this."
Watching the scenery rush by, I thought I might be able to enjoy a moment of peace.
"Huh?"
A small dot in the scenery was growing larger and larger.
And that growing dot gradually took shape.
Newbie muttered without realizing it.
"A dinosaur?"