18 – Poison
Woooh―
“Ooh.”
The sound of a distant ship’s horn woke me up involuntarily.
I looked out the window.
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The people in the spacious view were lively from early morning.
It’s a scene rarely seen in the empire.
The vague memories of a morning relying on the lively sounds of birds chirping, roosters crowing, and Benjamin tapping the pan like a ladle passed by suddenly.
Waking up to artificial noise.
No one in this city would consider this situation special.
In other words, it’s a privilege only I can enjoy.
I blinked my eyes on the bed, wearing a faint smile.
“Yeah. It’s not a dream.”
The first morning in the Federation dawned.
#July 22nd. Clear.
I learned about the existence of trains not from words and carriages, horses, and mules, which were the only known land transportation for me, but from an encyclopedia.
Even the encyclopedia published in the Federation over a decade ago was considered the latest knowledge to those from the empire.
If the intricately designed blueprint of a steamship had surprised me during my lifetime, trains and railways impressed me with a simpler wonder.
A lump of iron running by burning black stones.
The concept itself seemed perplexing.
Despite detailed descriptions of the significance of towering chimneys and the principles of the heavy iron mass moving forward beneath intricate illustrations, I still couldn’t comprehend it.
Benjamin added a word.
― A train, huh? That illustration seems to be quite an early form, don’t you think.
– What does it look like now?
– It’s twice as big and ten times longer than the painting.
– !
– It’s been several years since that day.
– The moment to finally confirm the real thing has come.
– I wonder if I don’t know where the train station is if there’s a problem.
– “…Why is the city so vast.”
– I went out into the street with a lighter wallet.
– The scenery of the port city was quite different from that of the night.
– Countless magical lights stood tall, collecting the light, and in the sky, there were mysterious black lines hanging.
– There were endless polished streets, and carriages that I wondered whether to see one a day were everywhere.
– “Hey, move aside, move aside!”
– Heeheehee!
– I don’t know how many times I almost got hit by a carriage.
– After wandering the streets for about thirty minutes, I thought.
– “I should ask someone.”
– You ask when you don’t know the way.
– It was the most common way and at the same time a method I wanted to avoid as my current self.
– Even though I haven’t seen the train station in person, it must be a symbolic building that people born and raised in the federation cannot help but know.
– A person with ash-colored hair asks where the train station is?
I might even doubt myself.
But now, there was no other way.
After looking around a few times, I approached the elderly couple who seemed the most approachable.
It might have been a little sneaky, but it was a judgment based on the assumption that if their eyes were sharp, they wouldn’t recognize my gray hair.
“Excuse me. Do you happen to know where the railway station is?”
Each holding onto each other’s hand tightly with one arm, using the other arm as a cane.
The elderly man turned his head among them.
“The railway station, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Well, well, even we, who’ve traveled from the countryside, find it quite a journey. Did the young lad come from quite a distance as well?”
“Uh, yes.”
“It’s quite a distance to walk. Here.”
The old man pointed with his finger.
There stood a signpost.
“From there, you can take the tram directly.”
The tram?
If someone were to ask what that was, I had a feeling I would be suspected this time.
That’s when it happened.
In the distance, something that wasn’t a carriage or a train began to dash through the streets.
Is that the tram?
“Oh, they’re coming right on time. Please go quickly.”
Confirmation from the information agency was received.
I nodded respectfully and hurriedly headed towards the signpost.
Behind the signpost, a few people were standing in line, each holding coins.
I also quickly took out several one-shilling coins.
Click―
It stopped in front of the sign.
How should I describe it, like a long, stretched carriage?
People inside were either reading newspapers or smoking pipes.
Only up close did its purpose become apparent. It seemed to be a means of transportation, paying a fee to travel around the city and visit major facilities.
Does it use magic?
I wanted to unravel the principle, but people started boarding the tram, so I had to organize my thoughts.
The fare was three shillings.
Whether to call it expensive or not.
Ding ding ding―
Shortly after the bell signaling departure, the tram started moving.
Clank. Clank.
In a space that couldn’t be called wide even with empty words, about ten people were crowded together.
Some people, perhaps noticing the ash-colored hair hidden under my hat, began to observe me with curious glances, scanning my whole body.
Finally, the realization hit me that I had arrived in the Federation.
Familiar, and yet a gaze that should become familiar.
No matter which of the three federal countries you go to, that gaze will remain unchanged.
After focusing for a moment, I directed my attention outside the window, capturing the view of the city flowing by.
The scenery of the federal lands painted on the armored glass of the tram.
It’s not worth ignoring just because of a gaze tinged with suspicion.
And so, forty minutes later.
I arrived in front of the largest building I had ever seen, named the Oris Railway Station.
*
“It’s fifteen pounds.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re going to Prussia, right? We don’t have a direct route to Prussia at our Oris station, but we have a route that goes up to Leslie station.”
“I understand. So, the seat price is…”
“Fifteen pounds for third class.”
“What!”
Without hesitation, I turned away from the ticket booth.
This realization of the cost is the second time, but there is no sign of getting used to it.
Fifteen pounds.
Especially for a third-class seat.
An amount that surpassed imagination jumped out of the ticket booth employee’s mouth.
I hadn’t eaten anything in case I might be short on money, but that effort turned out to be in vain.
In my possession, a few pounds and shilling coins.
It was not only insufficient but far from enough.
Although I had expected a certain degree of shortage, the actual difference felt disheartening.
I settled onto a bench nearby.
“I should find some work around here.”
Eventually, I had to find a job wherever I could.
I didn’t expect that I couldn’t even start my train journey, but anyway, working itself was a given.
Being a port city, I could probably board a fishing boat.
I could also use my magical knowledge to find a job.
In contrast to the empire where I had to secretly learn magic in a small room, here in the federation, using magic openly in the streets was acceptable.
What should I do?
One thing for sure, both options seemed troublesome.
Considering the daily expenses of four pounds for accommodation and meals, I might have to stay in the port city for a while.
I wanted to avoid unnecessarily delaying my time.
Without capital, a method to earn returns quickly within a short period.
Was there no dreamlike method like that anywhere?
“…Wait a moment.”
Suddenly, one plan flashed through my mind.
I raised my head and surveyed the surroundings.
Passengers with their travel bags gathered, waiting for the train.
Many of them were families, parents and children together.
“…….”
This might work.
I truly awakened the dormant entrepreneurial spirit within me after a long time.
Whether then or now, there are only two things necessary for ‘business.’
Guts and resilience.
*
“Sophie, be good and wait here with Mom. I’ll quickly buy the train tickets.”
“Yes, Dad. Sophie will be good.”
“Good girl. Be careful with your allowance!”
“Yes.”
With a firm pat on the head of the blonde girl, Sophie, her father elicited a smile from her.
Sophie and her family, who lived in the port city of Oris in Oslovia, embarked on a family trip after a long time.
It’s been years since their last trip.
Her dad, who worked at the immigration checkpoint, was always busy, leaving Sophie with no chance to venture outside Oris since their five-year-old birthday trip.
―I hate Dad.
―Ugh.
That was the final straw.
And so, an urgent trip was decided.
Though the adorable daughter knew nothing of her dad’s struggles to take leave for Sophie’s seventh birthday.
“Hiyaaa… There are so many people!”
Sophie was deeply engrossed in faithfully fulfilling everything her parents, who had prepared for the journey, desired – to eagerly anticipate and thoroughly enjoy.
Within her round, sparkling eyes, the field of vision was filled with people.
Truly diverse individuals were present.
Families excited about the journey, just like Sophie.
Middle-aged individuals who seemed to have no intention of removing the pipe from their mouths, possibly on a business trip rather than a vacation.
And finally, a young man flashing a bright, friendly smile.
Especially the last young man had such an impressive appearance that Sophie’s gaze lingered on him for quite a while.
That was the moment.
“Huh?”
Sophie tilted her head.
Is he looking at me?
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The young man, wearing a comical mask sold in souvenir shops, held three balls, likely purchased from a souvenir shop as well, in his hand. At his feet, a metal box, seemingly picked up nearby, was spreading its mouth wide open.
Curiosity surged within Sophie’s chest.
The father’s plea to ‘stay put’ had long been neatly forgotten.
Avoiding her mom’s scrutinizing gaze for a moment, Sophie approached the young man briskly.
“hehehe. Hello, little lady.”
“Hello.”
“Shall I show you something fun now?”
The young man, with an even warmer smile, fixed the ball and then gripped it.
Swung!
Sent flying into the sky.
One. Two.
And three.
“Wow!”
Three balls danced on the young man’s hands.
Juggling.
Three balls, red, yellow, and black.
Sophie watched the dazzling movement of the balls, captivated.
Unconsciously, I opened my wallet and put a shilling coin into the metal box.
Then.
“Thank you, little miss!”
The balls became four.
Three were a skill, but four belonged to the realm of tricks.
The eyes of the family tourists strolling around suddenly gathered towards the young man who started performing acrobatics.
The young man’s smile deepened.
