Chapter 101 - Embarking on a Journey

Time continued to flow. Ordinary days, with nothing bad, but nothing particularly good either.

I trained, and trained, just as I had always done.

Sometimes I found peace of mind by chatting or going out.

And then I trained again.

Those were my days. They were certainly breathless, but not entirely unpleasant.

Spending ordinary days without any pain.

Perhaps this was why this moment felt like a fragment of the ultimate destination I aimed for.

But time never waited, and another month had already passed since the end of the semester.

And that meant the First Imperial Princess, Regina Eliade Abellon, had returned to the Academy.

Now, let me pose a quiz.

What was the very first thing Regina did upon returning to Archenia Academy?

The answer was to eat the academy meal.

"...As a subject, I came because you called, but it's an unusual first action."

I was summoned by Regina and was eating the academy meal opposite her.

And at my words, Regina replied, her unique burning violet eyes gleaming.

"Huhu, I missed this taste once I was away from the Academy, you know?"

Sweeping back her long, glossy white hair, she playfully dangled a piece of meat on her fork as an extra gesture.

"...Is that so?"

Rationally speaking, it was a preposterous statement.

No matter how much it was the continent's finest knight training institution, and a place overflowing with children from various noble families, how could it compare to the Imperial Princess' authority?

And what about the food an Imperial Princess, who resided at the apex of the continent's power pyramid, would encounter?

'It's politics.'

I quickly grasped Regina's intention. Was she trying to flaunt her deep affection for the Academy?

I understood her motive and quietly continued my meal... but.

"Honestly, your eyes."

Regina chuckled and said that to me.

"..."

What was it? What did she mean?

Did she read my mind?

I looked at Regina, perplexed by her words, but she merely wiped her lips delicately with a napkin, feigning innocence.

"But you know, this is sincere, really."

"What is?"

"The feeling of peace I get when I'm at the Academy."

At Regina's words, I gazed intently at her.

There was a smile on her lips, different from usual, definitely conveying a sense of comfort.

"That's... fortunate."

"Pfft, what kind of reaction is that? Fortunate?"

Indeed.

Perhaps I didn't know what to add to Regina's laugh, and that ambiguous answer slipped out.

Anyway.

"At any rate... I didn't call you here just to eat while looking at your face."

After finishing her meal, Regina began to speak as we strolled across the Academy campus, which had become quiet due to the semester's end.

"Do you remember what I told you?"

Regina asked with a mischievous expression.

'At this point, if I didn't remember, she might even punish me severely.'

-Ah, do you have any separate plans after the end of the first semester?

-No, nothing specific is set.

-Huhu, then keep it clear.

"Of course, I remember."

I lightly nodded and replied.

"Hmm~ This time your expression shows conviction."

"..."

Is she really reading my mind?

I thought I was quite good at maintaining a poker face.

"It's about time we had somewhere to go. Because... I received some high-grade information."

Regina trailed off, then fluttered a letter made of luxurious paper between her index and middle fingers.

"The information is..."

"That's right. It seems 'The One' put in quite a bit of effort to keep my life going."

'The One,' and information. It was obvious. It must be about Hugo.

I had vaguely heard about the task Regina had given Hugo.

She had told him to keep an eye on the Crown Prince's Faction's movements and report immediately if he caught any suspicious or secret activities, hadn't she?

It was possible because Hugo, despite lacking authority, had many connections and was quite good at observing power dynamics.

As we chatted, we soon arrived at a small garden located near Aurora Hall, our dormitory.

In other words... we reached the garden that was practically Regina's private garden.

"What does it say?"

"You're impatient. Just a moment, Aisa?"

When the Imperial Princess called the name, Aisa, the Imperial Princess' guard knight, who had been walking five steps behind us in the garden, responded.

"Yes, Imperial Princess."

"Could you make sure no sound leaks out for a moment?"

Upon receiving the Imperial Princess' command, Aisa skillfully created a barrier around us that blocked sound and magic.

'As expected of an Imperial Princess' guard knight.'

Though I was still a fledgling in magic, having had some exposure to it, I could tell.

Aisa's barrier could definitely block magic of A-grade or lower.

Anyway, after that, the Imperial Princess sat in her usual chair and began to read the contents of the envelope.

The contents of that information.

"The Crown Prince's closest confidant and heir of the Duchy of Enlight, Kirios il Enlight, and the Crown Princess-to-be, Robelia il Enlight, secretly headed to the Railroad Mysterium."

***

It was a redundant point, but even if I had memorized the contents of , I couldn't precisely know the whereabouts of every character.

That was because, fundamentally, even though was a game with solid settings and a relatively clear timeline... it was still just a game.

Characters who weren't highlighted or whose actions weren't revealed—their locations during those unrevealed times were unknown.

Kirios il Enlight and Robelia il Enlight were such cases.

They weren't pivotal antagonists with high importance from the start, and they appeared in the latter half of the story.

I would talk about the types of characters they were later. What was important was their current location.

'...So they were there at this time.'

The two legitimate bloodlines of the Duchy of Enlight, a prestigious imperial family that was a prominent part of the Crown Prince's Faction—it was tiresome to even speak of it—were heading to one place, and secretly at that?

'It smells fishy.'

A very suspicious odor was emanating. Even someone unfamiliar with 's story couldn't help but be suspicious upon seeing this.

'But, Railroad Mysterium...'

The Railroad Mysterium.

It was one of the elements that appeared in 's setting, and as its name suggested, it referred to 'special' trains and their tracks that existed in this world.

Being special, it naturally wasn't used for general railway purposes; it had a distinct objective.

'It was a train that auctioned artifacts.'

It circulated the continent with its highly advanced magical engineering technology, selling or purchasing 'artifacts,' magical items, to guests from various regions.

That was the reason for the 'Railroad Mysterium's' existence.

Considering that many high-grade artifacts appearing in the game's lore originated from the Railroad Mysterium... it truly deserved to be called a moving treasure vault.

And befitting its reputation, only those whose identities were vouched for could board, and no high-ranking noble could even dream of sending a proxy—it was the highest-tier interest group in the world.

'But Kirios and Robelia are heading there?'

I'll say it a second time. It smelled very suspicious.

Listening to Regina's explanation, which included such information, I stroked my chin and muttered.

"Indeed... it's suspicious."

"Isn't it suspicious?"

Regina, in contrast to my serious expression, was smiling playfully as she spoke.

"But, it worked out well."

And befitting her playful smile, Regina said something enigmatic.

"Worked out well?"

What exactly?

"Hmm~ Young Master, in fact, the reason I originally asked you to keep your schedule clear was... to take you with me on my tour of the Southern regions."

"..."

A tour?

Like, a political campaign?

She was going to take me to that?

"...Me?"

"Of course~"

"Hah..."

That was certainly a challenging attempt. After all, for Imperial Princess Regina, who held the highest authority in the world, to be accompanied by a mere illegitimate child, positioned at the bottom of noble society, on a tour to flaunt her authority?

It was perfectly clear that it would cause considerable repercussions in noble society.

"Challenging... indeed."

I couldn't find any other way to express it, so I had to say that.

"Huhu, good choice of words. Anyway, I thought it would be perfect if we could board the Railroad Mysterium as part of that tour~"

"..."

'Oh ho.'

That was certainly an appealing proposition from my perspective.

There was the anticipation of riding a legendary train that only existed in the lore, but more than anything, the possibility of acquiring artifacts from the Railroad Mysterium was very attractive.

Though, what was most important was uncovering why Kirios and Robelia secretly headed there.

'It must be related to the Crown Prince's indiscretions.'

If I could discover the Crown Prince's dark side there, and ideally, expose it... there was a possibility that the entire situation could dramatically turn around.

"How about it? Will you come with me to the Railroad Mysterium?"

The answer to Regina's question was, of course, already decided.

"Of course."

"Huhu. Just like my self-proclaimed sword, aren't you?"

"..."

She remembered that.

"Alright, then let's put this discussion aside for now... I'll tell you the details later."

Anyway, just like that, my rather serious conversation with Regina came to an end.

However.

"Then, Young Master, putting such tedious talk aside... was there anything interesting? While I was away?"

"..."

Ah.

This moment finally came.

"...There was certainly something that would make you laugh a lot."

I replied to Regina's words.

Yes, she would find out anyway later, so I might as well tell her myself now.

Wouldn't it be better to get it over with now than to be teased later?

"Oh, that sounds promising."

Regina displayed her characteristic sadistic smile without reservation.

She was only serious about things like this. This Imperial Princess.

"What happened was..."

After my somewhat long explanation, the Imperial Princess' delightful laughter echoed through the Imperial Princess' garden for a while.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.