In the afternoon, across the vast central plains of the Preet Kingdom, amidst endless fields, a long railway track stretched across. A steel behemoth propelled its steel wheels, roaring as it spewed thick smoke, galloping along the tracks and speeding towards the distance.
Carrying a train full of passengers, the long train sped along the tracks, rushing from one end of the Kingdom's territory to the other.
In a well-decorated single compartment in the first-class carriage near the front of the train, Dorothy sat on a soft sofa, sipping coffee while looking at the scenery of fields flashing past the window, a hint of boredom in her expression.
"Ugh... I've been on this for a day and a half already, and it's estimated to take another day to reach the station. I still have to endure for a while..."
Sitting in her seat, Dorothy stirred the coffee in front of her with a spoon out of boredom, yawning as she spoke. Igwinte is located in the southwest of the Kingdom's main island, while Tivian is located on the east coast of the Kingdom's main island. Therefore, the train Dorothy was on basically went from the starting station to the terminal station, spanning the entire Preet main island. In terms of straight-line distance alone, it was over 800 kilometers.
Because the speed of trains in this era was not very fast, and the railway tracks were very winding due to terrain limitations, plus the long stopping times required for refueling and mechanical inspection, Dorothy's journey would take nearly three days to reach Tivian. This was already her second day on the train.
To cope with the boring journey, Dorothy had originally prepared several books to read slowly in the carriage, but what she didn't anticipate was that as a Knower, her reading speed was too fast. The books she had prepared were all finished shortly after she arrived in the compartment, and for the rest of the time, she could only stare blankly out the window at the scenery.
'What a boring journey, but thankfully the environment in this compartment is good, with a sofa, table, and bed. If there were only seats, it would be too uncomfortable.'
Dorothy thought this. This train had three types of carriages. First-class carriages like Dorothy's had individual compartments with complete facilities. Second-class carriages had long rows of hard seats, with many people sitting side by side, and a carriage could seat many people. Third-class carriages didn't even have seats; they were just empty carriages with some straw and rags laid out as cushions, and these were the most crowded, with a very poor environment, like several large sheds.
The ticket price for a first-class carriage was ten times that of a second-class carriage and dozens of times that of a third-class carriage, costing three or four pound. Not many people could afford it, and the vacancy rate was usually high. For Dorothy's safety, Grego also gritted his teeth and bought a first-class carriage ticket for Dorothy. His monthly salary was only 23 pound, and this ticket price was not small for him, who usually focused on saving money to buy a house.
Although this ticket money was just a drop in the bucket in Dorothy's opinion, she didn't proactively offer to pay for it herself when Grego was gritting his teeth to buy the ticket, because she couldn't explain where her money came from?
Just as Dorothy was sitting in her compartment in a daze, the loud shouting of a train conductor suddenly came from the corridor outside the carriage.
"Alster! Alster is arriving soon! Ladies and Mr. who are getting off at Alster, please sit down and prepare to disembark! Please pack your luggage! Alster, Alster is arriving soon! Please..."
"Alster?"
Inside the compartment, Dorothy, listening to the train conductor's shouts in the corridor, was startled. Then she tilted her head slightly and thought about the place name, remembering that she had seen it in a book. It was a city in the central-eastern part of the Preet Kingdom, and its size was said to be even larger than Igwinte.
'Since I've already reached Alster, it means I won't be too far from Tivian. If I sleep tonight, I should probably arrive tomorrow morning or noon.'
Recalling the map she had seen before, Dorothy thought this and then began to look out the window curiously, watching the buildings that were gradually increasing over the rapidly receding fields, waiting to see the city that was about to arrive.
...
Alster, a city in the central-eastern part of the Preet Kingdom's main island, bordered by mountains to the south and plains to the north, with large-scale agriculture and forestry, providing food and timber to other parts of Preet. It was a relatively important city in central Preet.
At dusk, on the platform of the Alster train station, many people were standing here, quietly waiting for the arrival of the train from afar. The vast majority of them were heading to the capital, Tivian.
Among the crowd, there was a man who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. His face was fair, without a trace of stubble. He was wearing a dark blue jacket and gray trousers, a short hat, and carrying a solid wood briefcase with a combination lock. He was looking at his watch while gazing in the direction from which the train was about to arrive on the tracks, waiting for the train to arrive. His gaze towards the distant tracks was full of spirit, as if he could see the thick smoke billowing in the distance.
This man's name was Sodod, and he belonged to the Alster Security Agency. He was an Extraordinary, and he was currently performing a mission, a transportation mission with the destination of Tivian. Therefore, he was about to board the train that was about to arrive, heading to Tivian.
Time passed, and soon, the whistle of the steam train came closer and closer from the distance. The steel behemoth, which had already begun to slow down, slowly entered the station and stopped in front of the platform.
After the train came to a stop, the doors of each carriage opened in sequence. Passengers whose destination was Alster got off the train one after another. After they had finished getting off, the passengers who had been waiting on the platform for a long time began to have their tickets checked and board the train from the doors of each carriage.
Just as Sodod was about to step up and board, suddenly, he seemed to feel that some gaze was intently staring at him. Sodod immediately turned his face and looked in the direction from which the feeling of being watched came, but he did not see anything except the surging crowd.
"Was it a delusion?"
He muttered a sentence, and Sodod didn't think about it too much. Instead, he held his ticket and continued to walk towards the stopped carriage. After the train conductor had checked his ticket, Sodod boarded the train carriage very smoothly.
For safety reasons, Sodod had bought a first-class carriage ticket. After boarding, under the enthusiastic hospitality and guidance of the train conductor, Sodod arrived at his compartment.
"Mr., it's almost mealtime. Do you want to go to the dining car to eat? Or do you want to order food in your own carriage?"
After guiding Sodod to the compartment, the train conductor spoke. Sodod put his coat, hat, and luggage on the sofa in the compartment and thought for a moment, then spoke.
"I'll go to the dining car. Please lead the way again."
"Okay."
After speaking, Sodod left the compartment under the guidance of the train conductor. Not long after they left, a white-skinned human hand strangely emerged from the wall of the compartment and slowly reached towards the locked luggage bag that had been placed on the sofa.