Chapter 3

“Umm… sorry to ask this, but who are you?”

The girl wore a black robe that covered her entire body, with a silver mask covering her face. It had two holes that allowed her to see, but Hakade couldn’t see her eyes from behind these holes. From underneath her robe, he could see silver-colored gloves that matched the color of her mask. Two black boots completed her mysterious look.

“My name is Ann.”

“Laurel told me that. You said you have business with me?”

The girl reached into her pocket and brought out a single gold bar. She handed it over to Hakade. Hakade wasn’t sure if he wanted to take it. He glanced at Laurel, who sighed and stepped forward. She took it and examined it.

“... A hundred grams of fine gold. Where did you get this? Assuming it's real, of course.”

Hakade gasped. He thought he was seeing things. The last time he saw something so expensive was when he was a child. It had been years since then.

“What do you want?” Laurel asked. Behind her, Ana and Mia tried taking a peek.

“Real gold… huh? Damn, that’s expensive.”

“... Fine gold isn’t really great as a pillow, is it?”

“Of course it’s not.”

Hakade ignored them. He waited for Ann’s response.

“Take me to Takogashi, and that gold is yours.”

The four exchanged glances. Ever since the war, travel between regions outside the walls became expensive, but not this expensive. Air travel still existed, albeit it cost much more compared to back then. With this much money, she could get first class. She would arrive much faster than the train, in much greater luxury.

“This must be fake,” Laurel said. She observed the bar closely.

“That is not fake,” Ann said. “I’ll give you time to check it.”

“Wait here.”

Laurel took the gold bar into the train’s second car, leaving the rest standing outside. For a moment, an uncomfortable silence lingered in the air.

“... Ann… right? Why do you want to go to Takogashi?” Hakade asked.

“I have my reasons.”

Her response made Hakade even more unsure. Why would anyone bother going that far on low-speed rail? She didn’t mention wanting to make any stops.

“So… uh… Ann… is it? What kind of food do you like?” Mia asked.

“I like all kinds of food.”

“I see…” Mia didn’t seem sure if she wanted to ask her to specify. Ana, meanwhile, observed her outfit curiously. Her outfit did stand out.

For a moment, things seemed awkward. She didn’t try to talk with them, while Hakade didn’t have any topic he wanted to ask. He wanted to ask where she got the gold from, but that didn't seem polite, especially considering she might become their client.

“... I'm going to get some sleep.” Ana headed into the second car, the crew quarters. Before she could enter, the door slid open, revealing Laurel standing inside.

“It's real.”

Hakade gasped. Gold is expensive, even in this era, and one hundred grams was more than enough to cover the cost for the entire trip. It certainly beats working at the guild. But that much money made him even more suspicious.

If it were real gold, then she had no reason not to trade it for regular money, then book a ticket on an airline. Or, she could go to the guild. Some crews operate dedicated passenger trains. Some had luxurious carriages, far better compared to their unimpressive passenger car.

“I just ask you to take me there safely, that's all.”

“... Do you have a deadline? A date you need to arrive?”

“No.”

“...”

All four of them stared at Ann. Eventually, Ana lost interest and climbed onto the crew cab.

“I'll… leave you to it.”

“Mia?”

“Your choice, Captain.” Mia followed Ana, leaving Laurel, Ann, and Hakade on the empty platform.

“... We need to talk.”

Laurel climbed onto the diesel locomotive.

“Wait here for a moment.”

“Alright.”

Hakade quickly followed after her. Laurel sat in her spot on the right side of the cabin, her laptop open in front of her. The old laptop had survived countless battles, been dropped several times, and had many components replaced. Hakade had told her to get a new one, but she insisted this one would be enough. 

“Gold is on the rise. If we sell this once we arrive in Takogashi, we might have more.”

“We'll be able to live in luxury for a while, either that or upgrade the train.”

Operating the train wasn't cheap, and they needed maintenance for Scorpion. While guild earnings could cover the shells, having more money to install upgrades wouldn't be a bad thing.

“But everything about this is suspicious,” Laurel pointed out. “Why would someone offer that much money? It's not like we're the only ones running this route.”

That was true. Even if she needed to go there by train, she didn't have to go to them.

“What are the chances she happened to walk by?”

“That seemed unlikely.”

Laurel had a point. People with this much money wouldn't be walking outside the walls. They could already buy many of the things they needed, even set up a living there.

“... But it’s way too much money to ignore.”

“I know. Do we have anything worth that much?”

“Scorpion?”

“She isn’t supposed to know that we have Scorpion.”

Hakade did arrive after she arrived, so Ann only saw the empty cargo car.

“She already offered you that before?”

Laurel shook her head.

“When she saw us, she immediately asked for you.”

“... For the conductor?”

“For Mirahida Hakade.”

People in their region tend to call others by their family name, but after the war, Hakade always gave others his front name. People who didn’t need to see his ID wouldn’t know his full name, and Hakade couldn’t remember anyone other than the guild who would knew.

“Just who is she…”

“You don’t have anyone named Ann in your family?”

Hakade’s family had died during the war. Even counting those who were no longer with them, he couldn’t remember anyone named Ann. He couldn’t remember any similar names, either. The only Ann he knew, not counting fictional characters, was Laurel Anamia. Even then, it had been long since he last called her that.

“Maybe someone from school…? No, I doubt it. I didn’t recognize her voice, either.”

“Her mask might have a built-in voice changer.”

“That made sense. So… what do you think we should do?”

“I don’t know. I don’t trust her.”

“Have you checked her ID?”

Laurel shook her head. “She said she didn’t have hers.”

“Could she have been born during the war?”

Many government services had been cripled during the war, and some no longer existed. There was a non-zero chance that, for one reason or another, she never got her birth certificate.

“Or, she can be a bandit.”

“Why would a bandit have fine gold?”

“Maybe it’s a trap?”

Hakade pondered the possibility, but it didn't make any sense.

“She’s richer than us. Why would she even need to?”

“I’m out of ideas.”

“Me too.”

Hakade remembered the old saying, ‘If it’s too good to be true, it probably is’. At the same time, no one could deny so much money. Not when they have the item in their hands.

“To be fair, she’s also trusting us.”

They hadn’t returned the gold, and everyone had already boarded the train. If they made a run for it, then there was nothing she could do. They also outnumber her four to one. Unless she had some incredible fighting magic, she had zero chance of winning.

“So you want to go with it?”

Hakade thought about it, then realized something.

“How about we ask for upfront payment? That’s very unfair and will discourage her.”

“... Is that a polite way of rejecting her offer?”

“Maybe?” Hakade shrugged. He wasn’t sure himself. One thing he knew, there was no way Ann would accept.

“Alright then, you’re the conductor. This is your train.”

Hakade and Laurel got off the locomotive. Ann remained where they left them, waiting patiently for the two to return. Laurel handed over the gold bar to Hakade.

With the gold bar in his hand, Hakade said, “So, we’re willing to accept your assignment, but we’ll be holding on to the bar.”

He fully expected her to either be pissed off or negotiate. He didn’t expect what came next.

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

Hakade froze up. Laurel took the gold bar off his hands and put it into her pocket.

“I’ll be doing some tests to make sure that this is real. We’re taking you there, but we’re kicking you out the second we find out that it’s fake.”

“Alright.”

Ann didn't seem the least bit surprised at this treatment. If anything, she seemed to be expecting it.

“I’ll show you to your car.”

Hakade knew Laurel was equally as surprised, but she controlled her emotions much better than him. She showed her to the third car, a regular passenger car. All this while, It remained empty. Hakade brought it around for when he needed to transport passengers, although that was quite rare.

While Laurel showed Ann to her home for the next few days, Hakade returned to the diesel locomotive. He went to the driver's position on the left side and began turning it on. He needed Laurel to plan the route to Takogashi, although he would be taking a stop at Ariko to take his reward.

“Everything’s good… we’re ready to go.”

Laurel returned and climbed back to her seat on the right side of the locomotive.

“Can you help plan the route?”

“On it.”

She opened her laptop and began working.

“I wonder if we’ll regret this,” she whispered.

Hakade didn’t know how to respond, so he picked up the intercom.

“Dear passengers, we will be departing shortly.”

“I’m going to check on Ana.”

“How about Ann?” Hakade asked while he waited for Mia’s response.

“I told her to use the intercom if she needed something. For now, she’s seated back there.”

“An entire passenger carriage for herself.”

“I wouldn’t call it the most comfortable place, though. All cars locked in?”

“I made sure we were ready to depart immediately after you arrived.”

“Ana’s peacefully asleep. We’re ready to go.”

“Alright.”

Hakade pushed the horn and turned on the lights. He pushed the lever and lifted the brakes, and the train began rolling forward.