# Chapter 71
While moving between compartments to find their seats, they encountered an attendant. Though the attendant seemed surprised by the sudden appearance of passengers, they quickly composed themselves and performed their duty.
“I’ll check your tickets.”
The businesslike tone and expression suggested they had no idea who Rite and Arden were. Rite’s very existence was a secret, and Arden was only a publicly known traitor in Winterishe; in other regions, not only was his face unknown, but no one knew of a person named Arden.
The attendant’s indifference was natural, but the two were different. Arden, skilled at hiding his expressions, pulled out the tickets from his pocket with a composed face, but his fingertips were trembling slightly. Rite also stuck close behind Arden, watching the attendant with wary eyes. It was due to their tension.
“Confirmed. Enjoy your journey.”
The attendant, regardless of their nervousness, finished their task and departed with a dry voice.
“…Did it work?”
To Rite’s question, Arden silently nodded. Since the train traveling between Menden and Winterishe consisted of only the minimum number of cars, they could find their seats quickly. Passing through a narrow corridor barely wide enough for one person, they opened a wooden door to reveal a small compartment.
While Arden familiarly turned on the lights inside and placed their bags in the overhead storage, Rite looked around curiously. Though he had only walked on his own two feet, this was his first time using transportation. The rounded ceiling was fascinating, as were the engravings on it, but what captivated him most was the scenery passing by outside the window.
“Don’t stand, sit down.”
Arden gestured after putting away all the luggage. Seats that doubled as beds were placed facing each other with a small table between them.
The seats were neither particularly comfortable nor uncomfortable. Arden sat across from Rite, took out a notebook and a map, placed them on the table, and then just quietly looked down at them. Rite knew that although Arden wasn’t moving his hands, his mind was busy with many thoughts.
Rite didn’t disturb Arden and looked out the window. When he pulled back the curtain that half-covered the window, he saw a snow field shrouded in darkness. They had planned to depart before sunrise but ended up leaving after sunset. The speed gradually increased, and now the passing scenery moved even faster.
“If you look under the seat, you’ll find blankets and pillows. Take them out and use them if you’re tired.”
Arden said, still fixing his gaze on the map. Rite bent down and felt under the seat, where he found a handle. Opening it and reaching in, he felt a soft pillow. It was just as Arden had said.
“How did you know?”
“…Well… because I’ve been on this train before.”
Arden, who had been exiled from Moran to Winterishe, was now traveling back in the opposite direction. From Winterishe to Moran.
Though it was too early to sleep, Rite bent down and took out everything, including Arden’s bedding. He placed the pillow between Arden’s back and the wall, draped the blanket over his shoulders, and then returned to his seat.
“Arden, you’re sensitive to cold, aren’t you.”
It’s not that I’m sensitive to cold, but that you have a lot of heat in your body.
Arden only thought this to himself and turned his attention back to the map. I shouldn’t get excited too. He kept suppressing his emotions, imagining the worst, and preparing for it.
The train jolted slightly.
* * *
By the time the scenery outside the window, the cold glass, and studying the map no longer excited him, the train arrived at Menden Station.
Being on the train for over thirty hours inevitably made their bodies stiff. By that point, Rite just wanted to get off, but when he actually picked up his luggage and walked through the train corridor, he felt strangely excited. How could his feelings change so much in that brief moment? Rite himself was amazed.
When they got off the train, it was between early morning and dawn. It was still dark around them as the sun hadn’t risen yet. Nevertheless, Rite’s eyes were more sensitive than those of ordinary humans, allowing him to observe his surroundings more easily. Unlike the empty platform at Winterishe, here they occasionally saw cleaners and uniformed train attendants.
Unlike Rite, who was looking around everywhere, Arden went straight to the ticket office without delay, but there was no one there.
“Seems like they haven’t started work yet.”
Arden frowned as he checked the schedule nearby.
“And the timing is awkward.”
Rite also stood beside Arden and looked at the schedule. As Arden said, the earliest train was three hours later. Moreover, the distance from here to Idelven was considerable. The journey would take twenty hours. Arden examined Rite’s complexion. Although he appeared fine without any signs of discomfort or pain, he must have been tired from this long journey, his first.
“How are you feeling physically?”
“I’m fine. How about you, Arden?”
“I’m okay too.”
But that wasn’t all that bothered Arden. The cities they had to pass through were not small. Idelven was like that, and Rosmunt even more so. Rosmunt was the most prosperous city in the Artalis Empire. They couldn’t let their guard down anywhere, but it would be better to complete all preparations in Menden, which was a relatively small city.
“Let’s first look for accommodation nearby. If we can rest even for a little while, let’s do that.”
Rite nodded at Arden’s words. He was about to put on his hat out of habit, but Arden stopped him.
“Why?”
“That would attract more attention. No one here knows your face, so you don’t need to wear it. Just be careful about that.”
Arden pointed to the top of Rite’s head, where there was nothing visible. It was where horns would sprout, though currently invisible.
Not having to wear a hat. Rite felt a bit awkward, but there must be a reason for Arden’s decision. Rite put down the hat he was about to wear and casually ran his fingers through his hair to tidy it.
They left the train station with their faces fully exposed. Despite the early hour, people were already waking up and starting their day.
Menden was a small town. Though its population was larger than Winterishe, it was actually more modest and plain. Winterishe had a lot of money circulating in the past, so despite being far from the capital, it had even surfaces and even small fountains, but this place was not like that.
The stone pavement was uneven, making it difficult to walk. It was hard for both people and vehicles, whether automatic carriages or regular ones. There were no tall buildings, no fancy fountains or statues, but there were many charming details. Small flower pots hanging from the walls beneath windows, or ivy vines wrapped around arched doors. If the weather improved and plants became more vibrant, it would be an even more beautiful village.
Though the overall architectural style was similar, since it wasn’t the village he saw every day, everything looked unfamiliar and new to Rite. Perhaps because the weather was warmer than in Winterishe, despite it being the middle of cold winter, colorful flower pots were set out on balconies. Everything seemed vibrant.
Rite observed all of these things with interested eyes. All the shops located on the first floors of buildings had their lights off, but some of the homes situated above occasionally had their lights on.
Orange lights appeared one by one to drive away the darkness that hadn’t lifted from the city and to maintain the warmth inside homes. As the blue darkness clung to the edges of roofs, warm lights bloomed from the ground and spread upward. The intermingling colors seeping between were dreamlike.
Rite, who had only ever seen gloomy Winterishe his entire life, took in all these sights as if enchanted. Descriptions he had read about in books, imagined vaguely and awkwardly, now became reality one by one before his eyes—if this wasn’t magic, what else could explain it?
Rite developed a strange certainty that at the end of this journey, he would meet his dream.
He began to look forward to the end of this journey. His heart was already so full, and Rite couldn’t even imagine how wondrous the scenery would be after achieving his dream.
“As expected, no shops are open at this hour.”
When Arden muttered, Rite turned to examine his complexion. He was checking whether his eyes were bloodshot, or if the area under his eyes was more hollow than usual, when he suddenly asked:
“Are you tired?”
“Not exactly tired, but… Ah, over there.”
In the direction Arden was looking, there was an inn with lights just turned on on the first floor. Although it said “Hotel” on the sign, it was clearly not a hotel in size. Soon after, a short, plump middle-aged man came out holding a broom and opened the door. Though they were too far to see clearly, they could hear him humming.
The man, who appeared to be in a good mood even from a distance, made eye contact with Arden and Rite in turn. The man smiled brightly, waved his hand, and continued sweeping in front of the building. It was a different reaction from the generally chilly people of the northern regions.
Menden is technically in the north too. For some reason, Arden felt a sense of home in the man.
“Shall we go there?”
“Yes.”
Rite nodded in response to Arden’s question. Rite was in no hurry. Although he wanted to become a complete human as soon as possible, he also enjoyed traveling leisurely like this with Arden.
* * *
Arden’s guess was correct. The man was from Kamalon. Finding his accent somehow strange, Arden, who had been listening, subtly tested him.
“Are there any restaurants you’d recommend?”
In Kamalon dialect. Rite’s eyes widened like a surprised rabbit when Arden spoke with the unfamiliar accent. When Arden addressed him in dialect, the man smiled brightly and grabbed Arden’s hand. Then he shook it up and down vigorously.
“A person from Kamalon! How delightful!”
The man also abandoned his awkward use of standard language and responded in dialect. Whether it was because he resembled Plin or it was just his nature, Arden, though unusually taciturn for someone from Kamalon, was familiar with such behavior. However, Rite, with a disapproving expression, pried the man off Arden as he was shaking him vigorously. Though it was a rude gesture, the man didn’t mind at all. He just grabbed Rite’s hand and shook it too.
“Our hotel also has a restaurant! And it serves Kamalon-style food! If you want to taste the flavors of home, it’s good to eat here! But if you want to try Menden’s food… Ah, but the situation these days is a bit… Wherever you go, the taste and price are not as good as they used to be.”
The man continued chattering. By the time Arden and Rite, having finally escaped the man’s grasp, went up to their room, forty minutes had already passed.
They decided to stay just one night, checked in, and went up to the second floor where their room was located.
The interior was modest but clean. There were two single beds, and although the sheets seemed a bit old, they didn’t smell bad. Seeing the hotel owner up early in the morning sweeping and cleaning, he seemed to be a diligent person. The bed frames creaked whenever they sat down, but this wasn’t a major issue either. Since neither Rite nor Arden was particularly sensitive, this was more than adequate.
“What was that earlier?”
Rite, who had been quietly watching Arden inspect the room, asked. It wasn’t about why they had booked a room, or whether they were planning to rest briefly or stay overnight.
“What?”
“When you were talking to that person, your way of speaking was different.”
“Ah… It’s dialect. Kamalon dialect.”
Rite’s expression subtly hardened.
