"The Mystic Eyes Collection Train..."
A murmur from an unknown source hung in the air.
Lord El-Melloi II strode onto the train without a moment's hesitation, followed closely by Aesc and Gray.
The train itself was practically a separate world; the interior of the carriage was clearly far more spacious than its exterior suggested.
Once inside, the group took a moment to observe their surroundings.
He recognized about half of the people here.
Having passed several acquaintances on his way, El-Melloi II found a seat at the edge and settled in, exchanging brief, silent nods with the familiar faces around him.
Suddenly, an elderly black man entered through the doorway.
Spotting the man, El-Melloi II lifted his gaze.
He wasn't the only one; many on the train had turned their attention to the old man.
Sensing the collective stare, the man produced an invitation from his pocket and held it up for all to see. "I am Karabo Frampton, from the Holy Church. I am not here to cause trouble. I am a participant in the auction."
Despite Karabo's display of peaceful intent, the atmosphere... didn't loosen in the slightest. It remained taut, as if a fight could break out any second.
As if to shatter the heavy silence, a sweet, girlish voice rang out.
"Lord El-Melloi II! I can't believe you're here too! This is awesome!"
Yvette L. Lehrman, who had entered right behind Karabo, spotted El-Melloi II and bounded over excitedly. "Ta-da~! It's your very own Yvette, future mistress extraordinaire, reporting for duty~!"
El-Melloi II groaned, clutching his stomach as he slumped face-first onto the table.
Meanwhile, Aesc was struggling to maintain a politely neutral smile.
It was a close call. She'd nearly lost her composure.
'Damn it, I should've known,' El-Melloi II lamented into the tabletop, his hand still pressed against his aching stomach. 'Yvette comes from a Mystic Eye lineage. Of course she'd be invited. Didn't the Lehrman family send any attendants?'
"A spy needs to travel light, you know!" Yvette declared proudly, hands on her hips.
"My lady, just laugh if you want to," El-Melloi II said wearily, noticing the barely suppressed twitch at the corner of Aesc's mouth.
Humans really were just too amusing.
Aesc ultimately managed to stifle her laughter, sparing El-Melloi II any further rise in blood pressure.
"Oh my! Isn't this the new student in the El-Melloi classroom?" Yvette, who had just run over, finally noticed Aesc's presence. "Darn it, so Gray-chan isn't my only rival?"
Gray, standing to the side, tilted her head in confusion.
"Nonono," Aesc wagged her finger. "Gray has no need to compete for the position of mistress."
As she spoke, Aesc laid a hand on Gray's shoulder. "This one here is the official wife."
"What?!" Yvette gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in shock.
Nearby, El-Melloi II felt a headache beginning to brew alongside his stomach pain.
"Wonderful. Now, both of you, get off this train this instant," he implored, massaging his temples and averting his gaze.
His reaction wasn't just because of their antics.
It was because, almost imperceptibly, two figures had appeared in the center of the carriage.
A gaunt man and a woman in a long coat, her eyes covered by a blindfold, had materialized within the crowd's line of sight like ghosts.
The carriage fell dead silent.
"I am this train's conductor, Rodin," the gaunt man bowed his head slightly. "We will now depart promptly."
"And I am the auctioneer, Leandra," the woman in the coat offered a courteous bow. "Please do not hesitate to seek us out if you require anything during your journey."
"We hope all of you find your time here... entirely without regret."
--+--
As the train set into motion, the people around them gradually began retreating to their own rooms.
El-Melloi II's group remained seated for a while longer before finally heading to theirs.
"So, the one who invited us still hasn't shown themselves," El-Melloi II remarked, placing the crystal ball on the table once they reached their assigned room.
Ever since the relic was stolen, he had kept the crystal ball on his person at all times.
"This crystal ball was a gift from Miss Aesc, wasn't it, Professor?"
Taking the coat he had shrugged off, Gray looked curiously at the orb on the table.
"Would you like to see?" El-Melloi II lifted the crystal ball.
Gray stepped closer, peering intently into its depths.
"This is..." What met her eyes was a desert.
Though contained within the sphere, the scene presented itself head-on from every angle.
A scorching sun overhead, a red-haired king leading soldiers ahead, warriors charging forward on either flank, and an endless expanse of sand.
Gazing at this dreamlike panorama, Gray inexplicably felt a wave of heat.
"You know that the Servant I summoned in the Holy Grail War was Alexander the Great, the King of Conquerors," El-Melloi II said, carefully stroking the crystal ball. "This contains a single scene I witnessed during that war."
"Hmm... is it somewhat like a Reality Marble?"
She had learned about that concept while studying her teacher's past.
Gray looked at the crystal ball in astonishment.
"While I appreciate your faith in my skills," Aesc flopped onto the bed with a soft 'thump', "it's not quite a Reality Marble. It can't alter the surrounding space. It merely materializes a scene. The crystal ball acts as a containment vessel, sealing the image inside. To reduce magical energy consumption, it can't be deployed."
El-Melloi II treasured the crystal ball, placing it carefully on the table.
"Deploying it expends a massive amount of magical energy for no special function. Everything inside is fake, just for viewing. Normally, it just costs energy to maintain, and I look through the crystal ball."
El-Melloi II raised his left hand, revealing a mark on the back... a Command Spell?
Gray stared at the mark, perplexed.
"It's a kind of magical energy storage device. I call it a 'Pseudo-Command Spell'. It can store energy to power the crystal ball," Aesc explained to the confused Gray. "As for why it looks like that... let's just call it a personal quirk."
'Quite the distasteful hobby, my lady.'
El-Melloi II sighed helplessly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He detached the Pseudo-Command Spell and began carefully polishing it with a handkerchief.
"By the way, my lady, did you notice anything?" El-Melloi II asked, remembering something.
"Well.. Karabo was still sitting in the lounge car when we left." Earlier, El-Melloi II had asked Aesc to keep an eye on their surroundings.
"The Holy Church has always been adversarial towards mages. It makes sense he'd wait until we were gone before returning to his room."
"It looked like Yvette had some kind of communication device." Its design somewhat resembled a mobile phone from the future.
"Hmm..." El-Melloi II frowned. "Yvette specifically said she didn't have any attendants with her."
"Nothing else of note," Aesc said, pushing herself up from the bed with some effort. She still needed to make some modifications to this room.
'That was probably the tool she's using to communicate with the mastermind behind the scenes.'
In the original course of events, the mastermind impersonated Caules who boarded the train. But now, I've taken his spot.
Looking at it that way, he probably got on board with Yvette.
So, how exactly will he make his entrance?
How intriguing.
Maybe I'll go exploring tonight.
Tapping her staff on the floor, a shimmering water-like mirror expanded, and a tiny Habetrot popped out from within it.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.