Simon dusted off the new robe he had bought today and turned around. From the trash pile, a muffled scoff was heard as Metin lifted his head. ‘Heal’
Holy power shimmered from the hand covering his face. The nosebleed stopped, and his crushed nasal bone healed rapidly. "What trick did you use?" Metin pushed himself up, leaning against a wall. "I can definitely smell Jet-Black, so how did you withstand the Exorcism?"
"Because I am a priest too, Inquisitor." Simon shrugged, as if to show off the blessing enveloping his body. Then, he neatly clasped his hands and said, "As I have said repeatedly, there has been a misunderstanding. My name is..."
"I do not want to hear it!" Metin roared, unleashing his Divinity. Once again, a Subspace unfolded around him, and various torture instruments began to equip themselves onto his body. "I trust my nose more than the tongue of a sinner! You are undoubtedly—!"
Out of nowhere, a massive hammer made of Divinity fell on Metin’s head. Far away, holding the end of the hammer, stood Lethe with a sullen expression. "What kind of mess is this on our first day in the Holy Federation?"
"Lethe!"
When she let go of the hammer, the Divinity that formed it dissipated into the air. Metin, having lost consciousness, was buried in the trash pile, becoming one with the surrounding scenery. "I trusted you for a moment, and this is what happens," she snapped. "What did you do to get caught by these leeches?"
"I really did not do anything," Simon insisted, scratching the side of his head in frustration. "I was just buying something at the market, and suddenly this guy started yelling about a smell and attacked me out of nowhere."
"Is that so? He is sharp," Lethe said, turning towards Metin and frowning. Beating him up was one thing, but she could not kill a Heretic Inquisitor. Not only would it leave traces, but the situation would escalate dozens of times over. The best course of action was to let it pass quietly. "Let’s go back."
"Okay."
The two quickly left the scene. Just as they saw a couple walking arm in arm into the alley from the opposite direction, they pulled their hoods down deeper. A moment later, the couple’s screams were heard, and the two blended into the night market crowd as if nothing had happened. "By the way, what is with the new clothes?"
"I bought them here. For a disguise."
She glanced at Simon’s robe from top to bottom. "The clothes are quite pretty, unlike you. The clothes, not you."
"You do not have to emphasize it twice. Should I buy you one if you like it?"
A hint of surprise flickered across her face before she quickly put on a cold expression. "I would rather hang myself than wear matching outfits with you."
At her words, Simon laughed out loud.
The next morning, despite the various commotions, Simon and Lethe, having rested well at the inn, arrived safely at the station. ‘Finally!’
Waiting for the Divine Train, Simon was filled with anticipation. This was his first time ever on a train. Trains were not a common mode of transportation in the Dark Alliance, and Simon had thought he would never get to ride one in his entire life. ‘To think I would have that experience in a completely foreign land.’
In the Holy Federation, however, trains were the most crucial means of transport. Although the fare was a bit burdensome for the general public, they boasted such high usage that the passenger cars were rarely empty. ‘I wonder if this will be okay.’
Meanwhile, Lethe was glancing at Simon. She had originally intended to use a different means of transportation to get to their destination, the ‘Tree of Life’, not the train. However, Simon had followed her lessons better than expected, and perhaps due to Anna’s influence, his understanding of the culture was also high. He was more than capable of acting as a novice priest, so she decided to take the Divine Train. By taking this, they could skip the numerous hardships and adversities of an adventure—camping, navigation, battles with monsters, and all that crap—and arrive at their destination in one go in just five days. It was a good mode of transportation, but the Heretic Inquisitors swarming the train still bothered her. ‘Still, that guy who can smell things was not on the train’s roster.’
She had used her connections via a communication crystal to check the entire list of Heretic Inquisitors on today’s train. The name of that guy with the keen nose, ‘Metin’, was not on it. ‘It should be fine.’
"Ah, it’s here!" Simon exclaimed. The clanging sound of the train could be heard from afar as it pulled in. A powerful horn reminiscent of a ship’s foghorn sounded, and the train’s chimney spewed white, Divinity-infused smoke like clouds. Simon ran forward with a child-like, beaming smile. "It is amazing, no matter how many times I see it!"
He turned his head, his eyes shining. "But is it not too fast? Is it really going to stop in front of us?"
"...You are embarrassing me, so lower your voice. And it is dangerous there. Get back here," Lethe hissed, pulling on the hem of his clothes. Even as he was pulled back, Simon’s eyes were fixed on the train. To think that a massive hunk of iron could move so fast. How many wheels did it have? How many people could it carry? What was it like inside? Soon, just as Lethe had said, the train began to slow down and came to a complete stop. The doors of the passenger cars opened, and people poured out. The stop time was a generous thirty minutes. Behind the people loading and unloading luggage, those traveling on the train also came out to stretch or buy food. After everyone had disembarked, the car attendants came out and waited for the boarding passengers. "Alright, let’s go."
Simon and Lethe approached the attendants with their prepared tickets.
"...What the hell are you planning?"
Baccarat, the senior Heretic Inquisitor in charge of Divine Train 1631, stood in front of the train station with a hardened expression. In front of him, Metin stood at attention. "What do you mean, asking to work in our jurisdiction out of the blue?"
"It is exactly as I said. I do not care about the pay, just please let me work officially. I am begging you." Metin bowed his head. Baccarat frowned and scratched his head vigorously. "Why are young people these days so reckless? What about your own jurisdiction?"
"I took a leave of absence."
"...I have seen all kinds of crazy bastards. You took a vacation just to work again? What is the reason?"
"There is someone I desperately want to catch." A spark ignited in his eyes. "He is on this train. In the name of the great Goddess, I must punish him."
"What a fucking weirdo," Baccarat let out a deep sigh. He was an unreasonable young man, but his father was a high-ranking official who had been a Heretic Inquisitor. He could not just ignore him. In the end, Baccarat added Metin’s name to the inquisitor list. "You said it, so make sure you stick to it. If you start whining later that it is too hard and try to get off the train, I will not let you off easy."
Metin bowed respectfully. "That will never happen."
’So this is what the inside of a train looks like.’
After presenting his ticket and boarding the train, Simon looked around, a bit overwhelmed. Upon entering, he saw a standard car with seats packed tightly together. Lethe had explained that these seats could only be used by people riding the train for just one day. The place the two of them had booked was not a standard seat like this, but a proper cabin equipped with beds. He carefully crossed over to the next car. As soon as he opened the car door, Simon was startled. He saw an incredibly narrow corridor that barely one person could pass through. Centered on that corridor, beds were crammed along the floor and walls; it was a seven-person room where a maximum of seven people could lie down. Not only were there first and second bunks, but also a third bunk so high that your stomach would touch the ceiling if you lay down. He wondered if a person could even fit in there. On top of that, all the beds were in an open layout, so Simon had to meet countless gazes every time he passed through the narrow corridor.
The sounds of snoring, teeth grinding, and the wet chewing of food filled the air. The stench of stale sweat and urine stung Simon’s nose. "This is the third-class cabin," Lethe explained, then turned her head away in disgust as she spotted a man lying on a bed, hand tucked into his trousers, scratching his crotch. "It’s cramped, but it seems more livable than I expected." Simon’s eyes sparkled as he looked back at her. "Are we sleeping here, too?"
"Are you insane?" she scoffed. "How could anyone sleep in a place that reeks like this?"
Passing through the third-class cabin and into second-class felt like he could finally breathe. The hallway was spacious, and each compartment held four people. With the suffocating triple-decker bunks gone, the space felt more open. Soft lights glowed from the ceiling, and he could see proper pillows and blankets. The passengers were also noticeably better dressed. "Second-class is reserved for clerics, exemplary believers, and their families," Lethe clarified. "What? The cabins are divided by social status?"
"What did you think?"
"I thought it depended on how much you paid," Simon admitted. "Like second-class being more expensive than third."
"That’s a very... practical way of thinking," she said, a wry smile touching her lips. "Though I suppose that would be more logical."
They passed through the second-class section as well, finally arriving at the first-class cabin. "Whoa...!" Simon breathed. This section was beyond luxurious; it was extravagant. It felt less like a train and more like a grand banquet hall. Soft lighting illuminated a plush red carpet that ran the length of the floor. Looking into the compartments, he saw that even the bunk beds were gone. Each was a two-person room with two spacious, inviting beds and wine-colored curtains framing the window. On a small desk sat an array of complimentary snacks, fruit, and wine, while the wall was adorned with a mirror, a clock, storage compartments, and a few books. This first-class cabin was where they would be staying for the next five days. "A2. This is us," Lethe announced. They entered their compartment. While Simon sat on the soft bed, marveling at the comfort, Lethe stood at the door, scowling. "What’s wrong?" he asked. "First-class cabins used to have doors for privacy, but they’ve taken them all off. Probably because of the heretic inquisitions."
Simon crossed his arms. "Are the inquisitions always this intense here? What happened at the night market yesterday was pretty shocking."
"Of course not." She sighed. "Like I told you, the heretics—the Blood Heaven Cult or whatever—have been killing and kidnapping residents, so security has been tightened to the extreme. They usually disguise themselves as ordinary people."
"I see."
Shortly after they sat down, the train’s horn blew. Looking out the window, Simon saw people who had been stretching on the platform rushing back inside. The first-class cabin filled with the chatter of returning passengers, some of whom glanced their way with curiosity as they walked down the hallway. Just then, the train car shuddered. Feeling the vibration under his feet, Simon’s eyes lit up. "Lethe! I think we’re departing!"
"Hey, lower your voice, you country bumpkin! It’s embarrassing," she chided. Ignoring her, Simon pressed his face against the window, captivated by the scenery. A few people sitting on the platform smiled and waved at him. He excitedly waved back. The Divine Train slowly picked up speed. The carriage rattled, and the resonant hum of the wheels grinding against the tracks filled the air as the world outside began to blur past. Then, an announcement came over the speaker.
—‘ The train will be ascending shortly. All passengers, please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts.’
"Ascending?"
"We’re entering the aerial track," Lethe explained. "Fasten this belt."
They sat on their beds and secured the seatbelts attached to the ends. A moment later, with a heavy lurch, the train car began to tilt upward. "Whoa...!"
Feeling a strange sensation in his legs, Simon stared out the window. The tracks were literally floating in mid-air. The train climbed onto them, forging a path through the sky. In an instant, the world below shrank, the houses becoming tiny specks as the train soared with enough momentum to clear a high mountain. "Wooooow!" Simon exclaimed, completely in awe. Watching him, Lethe felt her own shoulders straighten with a hint of pride. Her mood lifted, and she raised a finger as she explained, "One of the properties of Divinity is ‘Levitation Force.’ It’s possible to maximize this to make railway tracks or even fortresses float in the air."
"I would assume so."
Simon lightly bit his thumb. "I’d like to go there someday."
"Don’t be ridiculous," she snapped. "You’d die if you went there." Then, she added with a slight, challenging smile, "It might be a different story if a war breaks out, though. I don’t know if you’ll ever get to the Sky Island, but the day may come when I plant the Goddess’s flag on Roc Island."
She’d intended it as a subtle provocation, but Simon was too engrossed in the view to notice. Watching the country bumpkin exclaim "Wow, wow" over and over, Lethe leaned back against her seat and chuckled softly.
A short while later, having crossed the mountain, the Divine Train settled back onto the terrestrial tracks. The murmuring of people in other compartments unbuckling their seatbelts drifted through the car. Simon unbuckled his as well. "I’m just asking, just in case," he began, "but is there a bathroom on the train...?"
"There is," she confirmed. "Go out into the hallway and walk straight. You’ll find it."
Simon let out a cry of admiration and headed for the bathroom. Lethe chuckled to herself and was about to open the wine on the table when a burst of loud, giggling laughter echoed from the hallway. "Hey, hey! We have some new faces in our cabin!"
"How rude of them not to come and greet you first!"
’Give me a break,’ Lethe thought, crossing her legs and pouring wine into her glass. A moment later, a girl in a white uniform was practically pushed into Lethe’s compartment. A gaggle of other girls peeked in from behind her, giggling with expressions that clearly said, ‘You’re dead now.’
"Ahem. Excuse me! Do you have a moment?" the girl asked. ‘So that’s the one they were all fawning over.’ Lethe lifted her head, her gaze sweeping up and down the girl’s attire. ‘An Efnel uniform? But...’
A slight smirk touched Lethe’s lips. ‘It’s so obviously a fake. Do they really think I’d fall for that?’
The student in the Efnel uniform elegantly swept her hair back. "Nice to meet you. I’m Ellen Zile, a second-year at Efnel."

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