This time, two men in seats opposite the previous pair noticed me. They were surprised at the sight of just my head coming down from the top of the window and screamed in the same manner.

I raised my head back up to the roof again.

Crawling forward, then waiting to hear the roar from the cab engine, I looked through the window on the opposite side again.

Like before, the large man didn't notice me, but the other pa.s.sengers did.

Each time a pa.s.senger spoke out, the man moved over to them.

Once back on the roof, I tried to sort out the situation using the information I had gathered.

The large man shouted stubbornly but didn't seem to put his hands on any of the pa.s.senger's things. He didn't seem to be just taking things. In the first place, someone who could get their hands on an explosive magic stone wasn't the type to hijack a train in order to steal.

He, or his employer, was quite rich.

I looked through the window to a.s.sess the situation again.

Just at that moment, a crew member entered the second-cla.s.s car to check why I had yet to return.

Immediately sensing danger in the air upon entering the car, he eyed the large man.

Mumbling something, his face turned completely blue and he rushed back to the driver's cab.

I moved along the roof past the first-cla.s.s car and then to the driver's cab, knocking on the side window.

Surprised, the conductor fumbled and released his magic stone.

Immediately realizing it was me, he opened the window.

I jumped into the driver's seat through the window just as the blue-faced crew came in from the first-cla.s.s car.

"What's the situation?"

The driver was confused by my question, but the crewmember understood after a moment.

"A man's holding the second-cla.s.s car hostage with an explosive magic stone. 78 hostages have been taken. "

"What are his demands? "

"Well, the thing is … He wasn't aware that Master Kururi was riding, so he wants us to keep the trains running for now. The ultimate demand is for us to hand over Master Kururi. He thinks you're still at the first station. Oh, that and money to escape."

"His goal is my life?"

I wasn't about to give up my life so easily! What a joke.

"Yes, apparently he seems to hold a very strong grudge against Kururi."

"Did I do something to anger him. What's his name? Did you hear it? "

"Yes, apparently he's a n.o.bleman by the name of Brau Darta.n.a.l."

Brau Darta.n.a.l…

I'd heard that name. Also, that feeling of deja'vu I had after seeing his face… I see.

He looked just like Freigen, who was restarting his new life on a ranch now. Freigen's father, Brau Darta.n.a.l, was the head of the Darta.n.a.l family. He had aimed to overthrow the nation.

Freigen said his father had escaped, but to think he would have come here.

His son originally thought so, but apparently his father seemed to believe everything was my fault too. What a conceited man. Shelving his own sins and going after me in anger.

I was going to take him down.

"I'll figure out something. Hey, we have it right? The reserve."

"Huh? Oh, you mean the magic stone?"

"Yes. I also want a spare circuit to conduct the power of the magic stone."

The driver took out the spare magic stone and a circuit as requested.

I attached the circuit to the main magic stone and then began to lay the circuit out on the floor.

I opened the door and extended the circuit into the first-cla.s.s car.

With the help of the driver and the crew member, the circuit was extended all the way to the front of the second-cla.s.s car.

Wondering what was happening, the first-cla.s.s pa.s.sengers watched.

When I reached the rear of the cabin, I looked at the girl who sat with the old lady.

"How're you enjoying the magic train?"

"Yeah, it's fun just like my grandpa said!"

"It's going to get a lot faster soon, are you afraid?"

"I like fast!"

"Okay."

I smiled, laughing.

"I want everyone to listen."

I called out to the first-cla.s.s pa.s.sengers in a normal voice to avoid alerting those in the second-cla.s.s car.

"We have a bear in second-cla.s.s, so we'll be taking care of it now."

"A bear? Huh… A real bear?"

The pa.s.sengers were puzzled by my words.

"Soon, the magic train will speed up a fair bit, so will you be able to hold on to your seats real tight?"

"All right!"

The pa.s.sengers seemed to hesitate, but everyone followed quietly after hearing the eager voice of the little girl.

Once the pa.s.sengers were ready, I climbed onto the roof through the window again.

Strangely, people began to cheer.

I was getting used to moving across the roof of the cars. I knocked on the window of the third-cla.s.s car.

The couple I talked to previously opened the window.

"Is it standard for the crew to enter the cabins through the windows?"

"Of course!"

I explained to everyone in the same manner as I had the first-cla.s.s car and asked everyone to cling firmly to their seats. Perhaps the free meal from earlier influenced them, because the seemingly restless youth listened readily.

I climbed back onto the roof and returned to the first-cla.s.s car. I jumped through the window and cheers erupted again. They were nice cheers.

I told the pa.s.sengers the plan was going to be carried out shortly, reminding them that they needed to hold on tight.

I grabbed the end of the magic circuit that extended to the front of the second-cla.s.s car and joined it to the spare magic stone.

"No way, Master Kururi… You aren't going to…?"

As I'd expect of the driver.

He clearly knew what I was about to do. His face turned blue, like the crewmember from before.

"The crew better hold on tight too."

They rushed back to the cab.

I, on the other hand, opened the second-cla.s.s door with a smile.

I hid the magic stone in the back of my hand.