Arion Hart
It was only early morning, but Joshua was already being noisy and couldn't leave me alone. While at the station, I briefly thought about leaving this bastard here and returning to the capital by myself, enjoying the journey without any disturbance.
As we walked, his constant whining kept disturbing my peace. I vented my frustration at him, but he only responded half-heartedly, as if everything I said was just the wind passing by.
I started to think about giving up when my eyes suddenly caught sight of a girl. She was wearing a short white dress with black lace, and her thick white coat hung down to her knees. Her silver hair was hidden under the hood of her coat, and as she looked at me, I could see a pair of silver eyes glowing softly, as if emitting light in the darkness.
For some reason, she exuded a strange yet calming aura, which seemed to counter the noise around me. It felt like there was peace surrounding her, a grace that was hard to explain.
Brushing aside my thoughts, I turned my attention away from the girl and waited for the train to arrive. Maybe it was just my imagination that something was off about the atmosphere around her, but I couldn't just ignore it.
"Let's eat first, Arion. I'm hungry," Joshua whined.
"No," I replied, trying to stay firm.
"Oh, come on! I haven't had breakfast this morning."
"But I've already eaten."
"If I'm not mistaken, the restaurant's in the second carriage."
"I said no, you bastard! Listen to me when I'm talking!" My voice rose, frustration starting to take over.
"Alright, alright, it's not good to be angry in the morning," he responded, looking relaxed.
"Whose fault do you think this is?!" I couldn't hold myself back.
In the end, I reluctantly accompanied this damn bastard to the restaurant for breakfast. At least I could get my black coffee, or maybe I'd blow his head off if things got too unbearable.
After having coffee at the train restaurant, we quickly headed to the seats we had reserved earlier.
Upon arriving there, we encountered the girl I had seen at the station before. Coincidentally, she was seated right in front of our seats.
What a strange coincidence.
Because I don't believe in coincidences.
As I looked at her now, she seemed like an ordinary girl—exceedingly beautiful, but there was something off about her atmosphere. She exuded the aura of a Finire.
As a Finire, we can sense the aura that others emit.
Ordinary humans don't radiate this kind of presence.
"Stop that!" Joshua yelled in my ear.
"What?"
"You're making her uncomfortable!"
"I'm just looking at her."
"And that's exactly why she feels uncomfortable!"
I retract my earlier statement—only some Finire can sense the aura of others.
Unfortunately, my idiot companion here isn't one of them. He has absolutely no sensitivity at all.
One good thing about him is his highly sociable nature. Perhaps it's because of his extroverted personality.
Look at him.
We only just met, and he's already getting along with that girl.
I sighed and closed my eyes, hoping to get some sleep.
This journey would be long, and as soon as we returned to headquarters, they would immediately assign us another mission.
.
.
.
As I opened my eyes, I checked my watch and was surprised to see it was already noon.
This jerk might invite me to lunch soon.
I thought about going back to sleep, but suddenly I sensed a strange aura.
I could smell it.
The fragrance of flowers.
I opened my eyes and saw a man walking through the aisle from the front of the train.
His movements were very peculiar, so I glanced at my companion and decided to follow him.
We kept a few steps behind him as he continued toward the rear of the train. While following him, I observed the other passengers.
There were quite a few of them.
If he really is a Blightwalker, we would have to evacuate all these people, whether we liked it or not.
This was the ninth carriage.
What could he possibly want to do?
As he approached the tenth carriage, he closed the door behind him.
I quickly ran and opened the door. To my shock, he had suddenly vanished.
I hurried to the next car and continued until I reached the last one, but he was nowhere to be found. I opened the door to the last carriage, and all I saw was the beautiful scenery whizzing by as the train sped along.
"He's not here," I said, frustration creeping into my voice.
"I'll check back in the front carriage," Joshua replied.
With that, he turned and made his way back to the front of the train.
"Kyaaaa!!!"
I heard a scream from the front and immediately ran toward it.