At a train station in Leidenschaftlich.
Hoo-fwoosh.
A man waited for his train in a café, drinking coffee.
Black hair covered the back of his neck completely.
His bangs fell naturally over his right eye and ear.
The man held a coffee cup in his left hand and turned the newspaper with his right.
His right hand trembled faintly. Even turning the paper seemed difficult. It was Ioannis.
"What a leisurely atmosphere."
He sipped his coffee and looked out the window. People moved busily about.
Children played happily with family members who had returned from the war.
Just as he was about to finish his coffee, he noticed a girl outside selling flowers.
"Flowers for sale!"
She wore a newsboy cap pulled low and carried a basket full of flowers.
She was small, and her clothes were shabby.
"Hey, you can't do that here. Go outside."
A waiter pushed the child away.
"Just a moment."
I finished my coffee and stood up.
I paid the waiter and went over to the child, crouching down in front of her.
Unusually, the child's eyes were heterochromatic.
One was a deep violet, the other brown.
Her hair was a pale purple.
"Are you selling flowers?"
"Yes. I can give you whichever flower you want."
"Do you happen to have violets?"
"Violets, violets... Ah! Here they are."
"Thank you."
I took a single violet and brought it to my nose. It had a delicate fragrance.
Feeling pleased, I gave the child the price of a cup of coffee.
"Th-thank you very much."
The girl's face lit up. She bowed deeply to me and ran off.
"I collected them all..."
I faintly heard the child mutter to herself.
After a while, the train arrived.
Chiiiii!
Steam burst out.
I boarded the train.
"Oh... hello."
The same child I had just seen was there, gripping her ticket tightly with her tiny hand.
"Hello. We meet again. What's your name?"
"Leily..."
"That's a lovely name. Are you taking the train alone?"
"Yes, I have to go meet my parents."
"I see."
A child selling flowers just to go meet her parents alone.
Thinking she must have a sad story, I sat down in my seat.
She resembled the Luxi Sybilla I knew, at least in appearance, but I decided to let it go.
Just because someone looked similar didn't mean she had to be Luxi.
"Sit next to me. I have some snacks."
"Thank you!"
The girl sat beside me.
She was terribly tense, shoulders drawn up.
As I unfolded my newspaper, I said,
"Relax."
"Y-yes."
Chiiiii!
The whistle rang out. The wheels began to move with a rumble.
"Eek..."
Leily shrank back.
It seemed this was her first time on a train.
I smiled faintly and took her hand.
Leily looked up at me.
"That's the whistle. It's the sound the train makes when it moves."
"I know... but it's still scary."
I chuckled and took out the snacks. They were a sandwich and boiled eggs.
"Want to try some? I made them myself."
"I want to try them."
Leily took a bite of the sandwich. Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.
"...It's delicious!"
"I'm glad."
I turned my gaze back to the window.
The scenery rushed past.
How many hours had gone by?
"I'll be right back. I'm going to the restroom."
"Okay."
I took my saber and stood up. Only soldiers were permitted to carry blades.
I took care of my business and washed my hands.
I was drying them with a handkerchief when I stepped out of the restroom.
Bang!
"Kyaaah!!"
"What is it?!"
"Help us!"
Gunfire rang out all at once.
The entire carriage erupted into chaos.
People in white, puffy robes drew guns and swords.
Their heads were covered by conical hats, hiding their faces.
"Everyone, get down. We are followers of Utopia."
"Please remain still."
"If you obey us, your lives will be spared."
The robbers, introducing themselves as followers of Utopia, took control of the carriage.
They pointed pistols and swords at the passengers. Terrified, the people raised both hands.
"Who are you?!"
"Intruder in Car D! Requesting reinforcements!"
Security guards came from another carriage, but with hostages in the way, they could not rush in carelessly.
"Found her. We found the half-divine."
"Eek!"
Then the followers roughly seized Leily by the head.
Leily was thrown into the corridor.
"Did you think we wouldn't recognize you just because you wore a hat? Luxi Sybilla."
"I-I’m sorry!"
"So you refuse to be offered to the great god... Haven't we taught you already? The punishment for betrayal."
"Hic!"
Leily, no, Luxi, whimpered with tears in her eyes.
The followers in white looked down at Luxi and said,
"Come now. We had already planned an escape—"
Thud!
A front kick slammed into a follower's stomach. He was sent crashing into the wall of the carriage.
"What?!"
"How dare you attack a follower of Utopia...!"
The followers turned at the sudden kick.
Ioannis stood before them with calm composure. He gestured to Luxi.
Luxi moved to his side.
With his faintly trembling right hand, Ioannis patted Luxi's head. Then he turned his gaze back to the group of followers.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"This has nothing to do with ordinary people. This is an internal matter for Utopia."
What nonsense. Their internal matter was about to get innocent people killed.
"The moment you threatened civilians with weapons, it stopped being an internal matter. Put down your weapons and surrender now."
Ioannis drew his saber.
Snikt, the curved blade gave off a clear ringing sound. It was the sound only an adamantium sword could make.
"Hah."
The one who seemed to be their leader gave a snort of laughter. Then he spread both arms theatrically.
"You mean to face us alone? Your mind must not be in good order. And your arm seems to hurt as well."
The follower mocked him.
One against twenty. And only a single sword. It was an absolutely unfavorable situation. For anyone else, that is.
Ioannis said,
"Then let's see for ourselves."
No matter how weakened he was, he could still win against this much.
"As you wish."
Smiling, the follower fired his gun. Bang!
The passengers screamed. Luxi squeezed her eyes shut.
He'll die.
Everyone thought the same thing.
Clang!
But then.
With a brutally loud noise, the bullet was knocked upward. He had deflected it with his saber. The blade trembled faintly.
"What...!"
The follower, just moments ago so relaxed, was stunned. He had deflected the bullet?
He hurriedly reloaded and pulled the trigger again.
Thud!
However, Ioannis's saber was faster by a single beat. Moving like a ghost, Ioannis sliced at the follower's wrist as though tearing it away.
A deep gash opened across the wrist.
"Agh!"
The follower clutched his wrist. Ioannis struck the back of his head with the pommel.
Thunk. The follower collapsed unconscious.
Ioannis kicked the gun aside and looked at the remaining followers.
His expression was as calm as before, but the followers swallowed hard.
Ioannis rolled his single eye and checked the weapons in their hands.
"Only one gun."
There had been only one follower carrying a gun. Ioannis had taken him down, so now there were none left.
Axes, maces, swords—there were various weapons, but could they really face Ioannis with those?
"Surrender."
"W-what if we don't?"
one of the followers asked.
Instead of answering, Ioannis stabbed the unconscious follower in the neck. There was not the slightest hesitation.
Thud. The follower went limp.
Ioannis spoke again.
His emotionless black eye swept over the followers.
"Surrender."
The train terror incident was over for now.
Everyone except one terrorist was safe.
When we arrived, reporters showered me with questions, but I ignored them and left the station.
I stood before Luxi and spoke with her.
Luxi Sybilla was a character who appeared in the original work.
"So that's why you were selling flowers? To go to Leiden."
Luxi was an orphan from Leiden. While living alone in Leiden without parents, she had been kidnapped.
By a cult called Utopia.
They had abducted Luxi, with her pale lilac hair and heterochromatic eyes, in order to sacrifice her.
Luxi had thought she was surely going to die, but she had secretly escaped through a tunnel that had been dug during the Great War.
Having barely escaped the island, Luxi sold flowers so she could go to Leiden.
And then she met me.
"...I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything wrong."
"I lied about my name... and because of me, people were put in danger."
Honestly, I had been a little surprised. I had never dreamed a terrorist attack would break out on a train in broad daylight. Still, if they had been sane, they wouldn't have been followers in a cult like that in the first place.
I roughly patted Luxi's head.
"Ow."
"No one got hurt. Don't worry about it. That's all that matters."
We walked along a windswept hill.
"I'll take you there. To Leiden."
"Huh?"
"I know someone in Leiden. That friend runs a company there."
"N-no...! Please don't go to such trouble because of me."
"No. I'm doing it."
"You can't...!"
She was more stubborn than I expected. So I played a little prank.
"You've been kidnapped."
"H-huh?!"
Luxi was shocked nearly senseless. It looked like she might faint at any moment. Tears welled in her eyes.
I hurriedly waved my hands.
"J-just kidding. It's dangerous to go alone, isn't it? Wouldn't it be safer with an adult along?"
"A joke... Haa... Then, all right. Thank you so much. Oh, what's your name, big brother?"
"Big brother?"
When was the last time someone had called me that? It was a strangely ticklish title.
"You're too young to call me an old man."
"Then call me Jasmine. Just Jasmine."
"Yes. Mister Jasmine."
I was sorry to Luxi, but I couldn't tell her my real name. I was going to send her to CH Mail later, and if she knew my name, that would be a problem.
"By the way, where are we going now?"
"To the observatory of Justitia."
"Why there?"
"It's a place I want to see. And there's someone I want to meet there, too."
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