The train might not have had any passengers in it, but it was well-equipped with staff and services. Lloyd was alone in his cabin, yet the hostess still asked him for food and other services. The staff didn't laze around, even though there was only a single passenger in the whole train.
The travel was two hours long, even though it ran at a constant speed of around 180 km/h. Mulan was a city at the border of the Northern region, marking the beginning of the western region.
He sat on his seat and reclined quietly on the warmed-up seat, watching the snowy scenery outside the window. The train ran swiftly, making it difficult to enjoy the view without getting motion sick due to blurry images. So, he closed his eyes, savoring the music playing in his ears through the earbuds.
There were five stops before Mulen during the whole four-hundred-kilometer ride. Three of them were in the Northern region, and the last two were before Mulen, just at its outer ring.
'Damn, let's hope nothing bad happens when I get there,' Lloyd couldn't let those thoughts simply go away; they lingered around him.
He tried to shake them off, but oddly enough, they got stuck in his brain and would pop up at random intervals unless he reached Mulen safely.
Rie was around him, her presence unnoticed by anyone except him, as she cloaked herself from the staff and other humans. The only one who saw or heard her was Lloyd, who leaned back on his chair in thought with his eyes shut.
He didn't bother talking to Rie and probably intentionally ignored her due to her behavior towards him.
"I'm not worried about going to Mulen, but the place I'm heading to after I arrive there. I've got to head to Mt. Kriff, and the way to reach the mountain is by going through the middle of the forest," he thought, a subtle furrow appearing on his brow.
'And there's this breakout not too far away from the path I'll be taking to reach the mountain,' he added, his thoughts accompanied by a faint crease of concern on his face.
'I would've been better if I was as strong as Daven, but my luck is pretty cursed. So... There's nothing I can do,' he heaved a sigh.
There was nothing he could do but follow his plan. If he didn't take the risk and delayed it for a second, Daven would obtain the Nurture Core, and he didn't want that to happen at any cost. So, he would take the risk not only because of pressure but also because he had Rie by his side who would help him get out of any trouble.
'Well, once I get there, I will waste no time and head straight to Mt. Kriff after completing my preparation,' he thought. There was a rush to hurry up the things. He wanted to be done with this as soon as possible because he had more than one location to explore after finishing here.
"Let's order a coffee, or I might fall asleep without realizing," Lloyd said, yawning.
With the tap of a button, the attendant arrived with his freshly warmed coffee. He drank it slowly while blowing air on it because it was too hot.
As they got further away from Naptia, the weather and temperature varied more. The temperature got warmer compared to Naptia, and when they reached the station, green trees could be seen in the distance. In Naptia, there was only barren wasteland covered in snow, and withered trees could be seen. The sun was visible in the sky, spreading its rays, while in Naptia, only clouds reigned supreme.
The train arrived at the last station of the northern region. It was the station where passengers actually boarded from. The atmosphere inside finally looked and sounded like a train, but the first-class section only had two or three passengers at most.
As the train approached the border of both regions, one could really see the geography of both regions merging and changing, creating an image to store in the mind.
'Well, why am I a villain in the first place? For the sake of everything, why was I the villain in his previous life!' He would have yelled in frustration if he were alone, but he only contained it within himself.
In this life, he wasn't a villain. He hadn't done any harm to him in his regression, but in the previous life, he had messed up big time.
"He had forgiven us for killing his parents, but what kind of retard was this guy? Like seriously! This all started because he lost a tournament after he got into the main family," Lloyd exclaimed with a mix of frustration and disbelief.
Daven had forgiven his family for the death of his own, as only Lloyd's family was involved and not him. Also, he didn't want to punish someone innocent. That's why he had forgiven Hatzok and moved on, as he didn't want to drag anyone into the mess called revenge and didn't want to orphan anyone since he knew what it was like to be orphaned himself.
But their conflict worsened again due to his ego. Their story started again when they were against each other, clashing swords in 'Ballon's Challenge', where he lost to him pitifully with just a single strike.
He wasn't weak by any means, but Daven was just ridiculously strong. He crushed him like an ant. Daven, unlike him, was just a commoner in everyone's eyes because no one knew about his real identity, not even Lloyd.
Being crushed by him so effortlessly not only ruined his pride and image but also destroyed his ego after he was ridiculed everywhere. No one appreciated him for being second in the tournament; instead, they focused fully on ridiculing and destroying his image.
'It's such an idiotic fucking reason to be enemies. Why couldn't he just handle it differently?' he vented, expressing both annoyance and a sense of disbelief at the situation.
*****
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