Chapter 130: Automaton X Puppeteer X Machinart Academy
Since they were in a second-class carriage, their position was in the front half of the train, so they quickly arrived at the locomotive.
No wonder the train couldn't stop and was continuously accelerating. It turned out they were on a downhill section. With the brakes failing, the train's speed would only get faster and faster.
"So, the buffer distance and road conditions are..."
A sky-blue pattern appeared on Kobayashi's forehead.
Using his [Farsight] ability, he discovered that the train had already passed the station. In about 3 kilometers, it would rush into a city block. And there, there would be a sharp 90-degree turn. A steam train moving at over 130 km/h was faster than a wild horse that had broken its reins. Without decelerating, it would be impossible to make the turn in time. The train would surely derail and crash head-on into a large building by the roadside.
In other words, he had to rely on this short distance as a buffer to stop the train.
Or...
"RyuZU, I know this is impossible, but I'll ask anyway. Can you save everyone on the train?" His request sounded like he was forcing the impossible.
She also answered without any courtesy, "Master Kobayashi, do you have any idea how many people are on this train?"
I thought so.
This extra-long train with 15 carriages had at least a thousand people on it. Even if she were to overload her [Imaginary Switch], she couldn't save that many people. The final result would only be that the delicate girl would be broken from the strain.
And stopping the train was even more out of the question.
RyuZU could be seen as an assassin with high agility but low defense and strength. To have her withstand the impact of a train like Darkness was absolutely impossible.
He couldn't do it either.
By the way, I can't tell the perverted knight about this when I get back. It wouldn't be good if she insisted on trying to be hit by a train moving at 130 km/h.
He couldn't believe that even at a time like this, he still had the leisure to let his mind wander.
Just as he was feeling helpless, a man's voice came from behind him. Beside him was a delicate girl wearing a gorgeous kimono.
"—Hey! What's the situation?!"
His tone was a bit rushed and impolite, but thinking that it was an emergency, he didn't mind such small details.
"In another 2 kilometers, the train will derail due to a sharp turn," he informed him of their predicament in a single sentence.
Hearing this, the other party's brow furrowed tightly. He clearly understood how grim the current problem was.
But he wasn't at a loss like him. Instead, he immediately instructed the girl beside him, "Yaya, I'm counting on you! Stop the train before it derails! Use Serene Forest's Forty-Eight Thrusts!"
"Yes! I understand, Raishin!"
Hearing the command, the girl did not hesitate. She made a move to jump in front of the locomotive, as if she were going to stop the train with brute force.
He was stunned for a moment, but then immediately stopped her.
"Wait a minute. Are you planning to stop the train with brute force?"
"Yes! Time is of the essence! Please trust us. I will explain later."
The questioned young man was not angry. He quickly explained and then jumped off the train with his companion.
No, the girl kicked the front of the locomotive, slowing the train down just a little, and then landed gracefully.
The young man, on the other hand, stood on the locomotive, clasped his hands together in a gesture, and then aimed his palms at the girl. In an instant, something like a white flame burst forth, connecting the two like a chain.
—Is that mana?!
He was surprised. He hadn't expected there to be mana in this modernizing world.
Moreover, the force of that girl's kick was so great that it could slightly slow down the speeding train. And seeing her with her hands in front of her, it was clear she was going to stop the train with brute force.
He didn't stop them. Just as he had taught Phi how to be a proper lady, he also had to lead by example and be a gentleman who trusted others.
But just watching was not his style. After nodding to RyuZU, he also jumped to the front of the locomotive.
Normally, he should have gone between the locomotive and the carriages to act as a cushion, but the buffer distance was too short, and he had no tacit understanding with the girl named Yaya. Therefore, it was better to join in the task of stopping the train, using his perception to guide the other party to control the force, lengthen the buffer distance, and minimize the casualties.
The young man was slightly surprised to see him jump down as well. But after he returned a smile, the young man nodded seriously and said to the two below:
"Let's go! Yaya! Serene Forest's Forty-Eight Thrusts!"
As the mana was conducted, the aura of the girl beside him changed.
This is the first time I'm colliding with a steam train. It's impossible not to be nervous or scared. I don't know if I can withstand it, but right now, I just have to go for it!
He swallowed.
He used skills like [Harden], [Barrier], and [Increase Strength]. At the same time, his palms vibrated at a hundred times their normal speed to mitigate the impact. He used every method he could think of.
The train came before them, and the weight of several hundred tons pressed down on the two of them—
It was a violent collision.
Accompanied by the sound of the steam whistle, the two of them were like a pair of warriors trying to subdue a rampaging flood dragon.
It was a violent impact strong enough to dent the steel body of the train. The carriages connected behind crashed into the rear of the one in front, causing them to buckle.
His feet slid backwards, gouging out the ground, and his legs sank into the earth. The girl beside him was the same, and even the wooden clogs under her feet broke, making her look even more pathetic than him.
The two of them grandly kicked up the track ballast, and in the blink of an eye, they had been pushed back 50 meters.
"Tsk."
After withstanding the fierce impact, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
He hadn't pushed with all his might from the start. Instead, he had waited for the girl beside him to bear the initial impact before he slowly began to exert his own force. But even so, his body couldn't help but let out a series of pained cries after being hit. The body of the girl, who was more slender than him, did not break. She burst forth with a resilience that far surpassed an ordinary person's and completely blocked the runaway train.
And he, in the latter half, after the train had completely lost its momentum, used his perception as a guide and smoothly brought the train to a stop.
Simply put, he was just a support.
Unfortunately, the carriages were in a state of collision. Some were tilted, some had their rotating axles broken, and some had derailed...
Although it looked rather tragic, on the other hand, that was all there was to it. Fortunately, every carriage had managed to stop without overturning.
There would surely be casualties, but he guaranteed that he had done his best to minimize the severity of this accident.
He rubbed his swollen and numb arms.
He looked with surprise at the girl beside him, who showed no discomfort at all, and once again marveled at her strength.
But the two didn't say anything.
Instead, they looked at each other, shared a tacit smile, and then went their separate ways.
He returned to the carriage with RyuZU and saw the panicked father and the blood-stained daughter.
"Phi?!"
His eyes narrowed. He quickly walked over, and while checking her, asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
"Because of the sudden impact, Phi was accidentally injured," her father explained painfully.
Their carriage was in the front half. Not only did it have to bear the impact from the front, but also the impact from the back. Under the pincer attack, the light carriage had buckled, and it was easy to get injured.
Phi had also been affected by the continuous impacts and had lost her footing, hitting her head on a nearby iron pole.
A slight fracture in her right arm, and her calf was bent at an unnatural angle. These were not the problem. What was most unacceptable was that there was a 5 or 6-centimeter-long scar on her cute little face. Fresh blood was flowing from the wound, staining her pure white dress.
"Big brother, you came back. I believed you could stop the train."
Her face was covered in blood, but the smile that appeared was still cute. She even sought his praise. "Look, I didn't cry. Even though I was injured, I didn't cry."
"Phi... you did a very good job." He stroked her small head dotingly and lovingly.
"Will I be a proper lady when I grow up?"
"Of course. I guarantee it."
"But my face is hurt. Even if I'm as elegant as Big Sister RyuZU, I can't be as pretty as a real lady."
The little girl was very dejected.
Her wound was shallow and would heal quickly, but it would leave a scar. And in this era, there was no scar removal surgery. This scar would be with her for the rest of her life. For her, who dreamed of becoming an elegant and beautiful lady like RyuZU, this was a heavy blow.
Her father couldn't help but hug his daughter tightly, his expression full of heartache and sorrow.
However—
He stood up and said with feigned happiness and surprise, "Alright! Since you've worked so hard, Phi, then big brother has to give you a reward."
"A reward?"
She blinked her big, innocent eyes at him.
"Yes! Magic that will make you pretty!"
"Magic that will make me pretty..."
"Well then... to reward the hard-working Phi, I will now bestow upon you the grace of the goddess! That's right! The grace of the Goddess of Water, Aqua! Applause, applause, applause!"
Under the puzzled gazes of the father and daughter, a ball of water-blue light appeared in his palm. Then, he placed it on the wound on her cheek.
—[Heal]!
Healing magic would heal the wound without leaving any scars. Furthermore, since she wanted to be a lady, he took the opportunity to let her be imbued with a little of the goddess's aura. After all, when Aqua wasn't talking, she really did look like a goddess.
"It tickles. It's cool. It's comfortable."
She couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly, enjoying the brief moment of otherworldly magic.
Her father, however, couldn't help but stare with wide eyes, because he saw his daughter's wound healing bit by bit, until her cute little face was as smooth as new, fair and translucent.
"What is this...?!"
"It's a reward."
He placed an index finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture. And her father, knowing that it was not appropriate to ask too many questions, held back his doubts. Who told him to be a proper gentleman? And the other party was treating his daughter. To probe to the bottom of things would seem too tactless.
A moment later, the magic ended.
He handed her a piece of broken glass from the window so she could see her own little face in the reflection.
"My face... my face...?!"
"Ah, it's healed."
The father and daughter hugged each other happily. He and RyuZU watched them with a silent smile.
When this sudden incident was over, he and RyuZU said goodbye to the father and daughter at the train station.
"Thank you, big brother. I will definitely grow up to be a proper lady."
Phi, who had changed her clothes, looked up at him with her cute little face. She really was the makings of a beauty.
He also gave a thumbs up and encouraged her, "Oh! I believe you will be a proper lady when you grow up, Phi! Keep it up!"
"Um... big brother, Phi wants to thank you. Can you squat down?"
"Thank me?"
Puzzled, he squatted down.
He hadn't expected the little loli to suddenly lean in and peck him on the cheek. Her bright red cheeks held a shy expression, but she said very formally, "I will definitely grow up to be a proper lady. You have to wait for me, big brother."
With that, she shyly ran away.
Hehe, hehehe...
He didn't dare to answer at all. After all, beside him was a father who was glaring fiercely at him, as if staring at a vegetable thief. Even if he was indebted to them, when it came to his daughter, he became a different person. All fathers in the world were the same. He could understand him.
"Bye-bye, big brother!"
"Bye-bye, Phi."
He smiled and said goodbye to the father and daughter. They probably wouldn't see each other again.
But the little flame Phi had lit had not yet been extinguished.
RyuZU immediately said with a sharp tongue, "I never thought Master Kobayashi would have ideas about a small child. As your attendant, I will not call the guards, but it would be better if you could restrain your hobbies a little. After all, it will lower my reputation."
"RyuZU, it was just a child's innocent words. And you know, right? I like the well-endowed, older-sister type."
He helplessly corrected the misunderstanding.
But what bothered him was that beside him was a gaze even more resentful than RyuZU's. It was so piercing that it made him a little uncomfortable.
He turned his head to look and found that it was the young man who had stopped the train with him earlier.
His name was Raishin, right?
At this moment, there was a bright red handprint on his cheek. Combined with the lingering moisture on his own cheek, he immediately understood why he was so resentful.
As fellow heroes who had stopped the train, their different treatment would surely cause a psychological imbalance.
He walked over and gently patted his shoulder in comfort. The other party looked at him with an aggrieved expression, his mouth moving a few times, but in the end, he said nothing.
After that, the two of them inexplicably started traveling together.
"What did you say?!"
Raishin Akabane cried out in surprise.
The sudden shout startled the passersby. He hurriedly covered his mouth and gave the surrounding people an apologetic look.
His personality wasn't usually like this. But just now, they had introduced themselves. And when he learned that Kobayashi was a puppeteer, and RyuZU was an automaton, he was shocked.
"In other words, you're a human, but you stopped a hundred-ton train together with an automaton like Yaya?"
"No, no, no, most of the credit goes to her. I was just playing a supporting and guiding role."
"That's still pretty terrifying, okay?"
It was like a Pokémon battle where, instead of a thick-skinned Pokémon, a very fragile human was sent into the field. Yet the other party could still go back and forth with the Pokémon.
If you're that strong, then go fight in Kengan! You're on the wrong track, don't you know!
Raishin had thought that it was already strange enough that he had to fight alongside an automaton. He never thought there would be a bizarre combination where the automaton watched while the puppeteer fought.
"As I thought, you're also going to the Royal Academy of Machinart, right?"
"Yes!"
Kobayashi smiled with satisfaction.
After Raishin had introduced himself, he had remembered who he was. Naturally, he had to go with him to the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart, which was known as one of the best technical academies in the world.
If he could learn some knowledge there and improve RyuZU, he couldn't ask for more.
However...
"I'm sorry, without an admission application, you cannot enter the academy."
He was stopped by the guard outside.
"Just like that. Sorry, I can't help you either," Raishin said with an expression of being willing but unable to help.
He wasn't angry. He waved his hand and said, "Rest assured, you go in first. I'll find you soon."
Raishin nodded and entered the academy with Yaya.
That night, in the men's dormitory.
"Raishin."
"What is it?"
"That person... can he really get in?"
"He can definitely get in."
He had a strong premonition, and it was confirmed the next day.
"Hey, Akabane-kun!"
Kobayashi was smiling and waving his right hand in greeting, while in his left hand, he held the same entrance exam ranking list as him from yesterday.
See? I told you he could get in.
(End of Chapter)