Chapter 5

Night had fallen over the city. This would be their last night in Ariko for the near future. Parking their train inside Ariko Central Station cost a lot, so Hakade moved the train out of the walls, then parked it at an empty station south of the walls. Close enough that if something happened, he could still return.

“I’ll go to sleep early, and we’ll depart as soon as I wake up,” Hakade said, heading into his room.

The second car had four rooms, one for each of them. It started life as a regular passenger car. When they found it, it was already connected to the third car. The second car went on to become their private quarters, while the other passenger car they used to carry regular passengers.

“I’m going to sleep as well,” Laurel said.

Hakade acted as both the train’s driver and conductor, taking on the responsibility of operating the train, while Laurel accompanied him on the locomotive, acting as their navigator. She kept the crew up-to-date with information regarding the route they traveled in and difficulties they might face in front of them. It was important that the two of them got enough sleep.

“It’s just us two, then,” Mia said, swinging her hand on Ana’s shoulder. “What should we do?”

“I’ll go prepare some coffee…”

“You mean hot chocolate?”

“You want hot chocolate instead?”

“Yes. please.”

Ana headed toward the car’s small kitchen. It could fit one person at a time, and they only used it for preparing instant meals. Heated onigiri, instant noodles, and stuff like that. Things that didn’t require a lot of effort. She heated a kettle full of water. Ana then ripped two packets of instant coffee into two separate cups, and one packet of hot chocolate to a different cup.

“... Why do you need two cups of coffee?”

They would be up for around six hours, before Hakade wakes up and they depart. Mia knew that Ana was a night owl. She required less sleep when operating during the night, but she never saw her need two cups of coffee.

“It’s not for me.”

“Huh? For… Ah…” Mia remembered they had a passenger with them.

Said passenger had been staying put in the passenger carriage for several hours at this point. Mia was surprised she hadn’t complained yet, considering how much she paid. She would have arrived by now, had she taken the plane.

But… that news of the eldest dragon…

Mia checked her smartphone. She scrolled through a news site, and found the article. Could she be scared of the dragon? Maybe she feared her plane would be attacked, or maybe she feared heights.

“Ah, that?” Ana took a peek. Mia showed her the screen.

“There was a quest for it earlier at the guild.”

“Really? Why? We never bothered with the dragons? Is it that serious?”

Ana shrugged. She took a tray and put the three cups on it.

“Do you want to stay here, or do you want to go there?” she pointed toward the passenger car with her thumb.

“Sure, I’ll come.”

They hadn’t talked much with their passenger. Had it been a short trip or a simple quest, then maybe they wouldn’t think too much about it. The trip to Takogashi may take a while, though, depending on the condition on the tracks. Besides, considering how much she paid, they could afford giving some hospitality.

“You’re giving her coffee, though? What if she wanted to sleep?”

Ana paused, then decided to ignore her. She unlocked the door connecting the two cars and pushed it open. Ann sat at the foremost row, looking down at her hands. She twiddled her fingers, her expression unreadable.

“Sorry for the delay. Our Chief is getting some rest.”

“Ah.” She seemed slightly startled by their sudden appearance. “It- It’s alright. Yeah. I’m not in a rush.”

Mia found it suspicious that someone paying so much wasn’t rushing things, and she was sure that Ana felt the same thing. It must be the reason why Hakade warned them to remain on stand-by.

“Do you want some coffee?” Ana offered.

“Oh, we have some chocolate as well,” Mia added.

People might not want to have hot coffee during the night. She put in her offer, intending to sacrifice herself for her customer’s satisfaction.

“Either is fine. I like both.”

“Here’s some hot coffee.” Ana handed over a cup. Ann didn't reject the offer.

“Thank you.” She brought the cup to her mouth and took a sip.

“If you need sweeteners, milk, or sugar, we have them.”

“You made black coffee?” Mia asked, perplexed.

She thought Ana added something while she scrolled through the news site. She must have been mistaken.

“I can handle black coffee,” Ann said.

She didn’t take off her mask, but her words had a warm and fuzzy feeling to them. Maybe it was the sweet smell of hot chocolate.

“Do you mind if we join you here?” Ana asked.

“Sure.”

Mia took the cup of hot chocolate and sat on Ann’s left, while Ana sat across them. Despite their age, the seats were still comfy. Considering that these train cars used to travel across the country, running through the night, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Mia let out a yawn.

“Sorry, I’m not much of a night owl, unlike Ana here.”

“I see…”

“How about you? Night owl or early riser?”

Ann seemed to be deep in thought. Her mask made it hard to read her expression, impossible even. Yet, Mia felt as if she understood her. Maybe it was her gesture, maybe it was her voice.

“I’m both, I guess. Depending on the circumstance.”

“I don’t get early-risers,” Ana murmured from across the aisle.

“Despite you used to be one?”

“... I’m not one. You know that.”

“I guess so.”

“But which do you prefer?” Mia asked.

“... Neither?”

“You don’t feel more comfortable one way or the other?” Ana asked. “I guess I can wake-up early… If I forced myself to.”

“I feel comfortable doing both.” Ann chuckled. “Not… an interesting answer, is it?”

“To be fair, the question itself isn’t interesting. But… I would say it’s better to get sleep during the night, since we’ll be traveling during the day.”

All of the girls understood the basics of train driving, but Hakade had the most experience. In an emergency, they could cover for him, but he would be doing most of the work. Inter-city travel also got much more dangerous after the war. Many areas lost electric power, plunging them into darkness. Spotting enemies and monsters would be more difficult this way.

“There aren’t many things to see in the dark.”

“You’re… right.”

“But you can be more productive during the night…” Ana murmured. “It’s calm, you don’t get any outside disturbance, and you can concentrate on your practice.”

“Practice?” Ann asked.

Ana nodded. She finished her coffee, got up, and opened the train’s doors. The girls all had cards that could unlock the trains’ doors.

“Where is she going?”

“Magic practice.”

From the window, the two girls watched as Ana began doing her magic. The spells she used were those without a clear visual effect like wind spells. Had she used fire spells, the light might attract attention.

“Magic… She’s a mage?”

“The only one out of us four that can use magic, but don’t worry. She’s a great mage. You’ll be safe with us.”

“I see… That is… good to know.”

Ann and Mia watched from inside the train as the night sky grew darker.