Chapter 6
* * *
Emilia arrived at the neighboring territory by public carriage.
It was the only place in the region with a train station.
Standing in front of the ticket counter, she swallowed nervously.
It’s so expensive…
She had always come here only to see Cedric off, never to ride the train herself, so she had never realized how much a ticket cost.
Then again, the trains ran on magic stones, so naturally the fares were high.
“Miss?”
The ticket clerk called out, and Emilia gave an awkward smile.
“Ah… Could I have the earliest ticket that’s still available, please?”
“Of course. One moment.”
A few minutes later, after listening to the clerk’s explanation about boarding procedures, Emilia stepped away from the ticket counter.
She looked up at the large clock tower in the center of the station.
Departure isn’t far off.
She entered the waiting room and sat down on one of the long wooden benches.
She intended to rest for a little while until the train arrived.
Then…
A strangely sticky, uncomfortable atmosphere drifted through the room.
What…?
Her eyes naturally followed the source.
“…Mmm… Honey, stop…”
In the far corner sat a couple pressed tightly against one another.
“W-What if people see us?”
The woman shyly pretended to push the man away.
“Oh, come on. What’s the big deal?”
Instead of backing off, the man only clung to her more affectionately.
Emilia hurriedly looked away in embarrassment.
What are they doing in a public place…?
Smack.
Smack.
The unmistakable sound of kisses made her cheeks grow warm.
Judging by their enthusiasm…
If no one else had been around, they probably would have gone much further.
“Ahem! AHEM!”
A middle-aged man sitting nearby coughed loudly in obvious disapproval.
The couple, however, proved even more determined.
“Tsk… Kids these days…”
Unable to take it any longer, the man left the waiting room.
As he walked past, he even shot Emilia a disapproving glance.
Wait… Why am I getting judged too…?
She felt completely wronged for being lumped together with them.
Meanwhile, with the “interruption” gone, the couple’s public display of affection only intensified.
Emilia decided she’d had enough.
She quickly left the waiting room.
Outside, she shook her head vigorously, trying to erase the awkward scene from her memory.
* * *
Ding— Ding— Ding—
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the bell announcing the train’s arrival echoed through the station.
A long line of passengers had already formed along the platform.
Emilia quietly took her place at the very end.
As she waited for the line to move, a commotion broke out near the front.
What’s going on?
She leaned to the side to get a better look.
The disturbance was quite a distance away.
A small child was desperately clinging to a man.
The child’s appearance immediately stood out.
An oversized robe concealed nearly their entire face, while the hem was stained with dirt and dust, as though they had rolled across the ground.
Perhaps because of that, the man looked at the child with obvious disgust.
“What are you trying to say?”
“If you’re begging, go somewhere else! Everyone here is busy!”
He waved the child away impatiently.
The child looked around desperately before reaching toward another passerby.
But no one paid any attention.
After watching the earlier exchange, everyone seemed to assume the child was simply begging.
Emilia observed the child carefully.
This doesn’t feel like ordinary begging…
Did they get separated from their parents?
She stepped out of the line and walked closer.
Only then did she realize…
The child was desperately trying to tell people something.
“[Please… help me!]”
The problem was…
The language wasn’t Imperial.
This is…
Among all the languages stored in her memory, Emilia quickly found the answer.
Hifrian.
The Holy Kingdom of Hifri sat at the very edge of the continent.
Because of its isolationist policies, it had almost no contact with the Empire.
That was why no one could understand the child’s words.
As for Emilia…
She had begun studying Hifrian years ago.
I learned it while trying to figure out how to help Cedric understand legal terminology more easily.
Long ago, the Holy Kingdom of Hifri had dominated the surrounding nations.
As a result, Hifrian had become the origin of many legal terms, and traces of the language still remained throughout the continent.
Emilia approached the child and spoke carefully.
“[What… happened?]”
She wasn’t fluent.
She had never studied Hifrian properly.
Hearing a familiar language at last, the tear-filled eyes beneath the child’s hood grew wide.
The child immediately turned toward Emilia and looked up at her hopefully.
“[You… understand what I’m saying?]”
Understand… speech…
She grasped the general meaning.
Emilia quickly nodded.
The child’s face lit up.
Excited, they immediately began speaking rapidly.
“W-Wait!”
Emilia crouched down to stop them.
“I can’t understand if you speak that fast…”
Then she corrected herself.
“Ah… [Slowly. Slowly.]”
Fortunately, the child understood and nodded immediately.
After thinking for a moment, the child abandoned full sentences and instead spoke several simple words.
“[Medicine! Cure! Wound!]”
At the same time, the child pressed both hands against their abdomen and grimaced.
Ah… Is someone sick with a stomachache and needs medicine?
“[You… hurt?]”
The child shook their head vigorously.
Then what…?
Growing frustrated, the child stomped their feet.
After thinking hard, they pointed to themselves…
Then crossed both arms into a large X.
Ah.
Not me.
Someone traveling with the child must have been injured.
“[Together… person… hurt?]”
“[Yes! Yes!]”
The child clutched Emilia’s sleeve as though it were a lifeline.
Before losing consciousness, their companion had warned them—
There was a dangerous person aboard the train.
No matter what happened, the child was to stay hidden and never leave.
But…
They had been terrified their companion would die.
After agonizing over it for a long time, they had secretly slipped off the train when it stopped at the station.
They had to find someone.
Anyone who could help.
Yet everyone outside the train had been cold and indifferent.
Not only could no one understand their words…
Not a single person had stopped to listen.
Then…
Like a miracle…
This woman had spoken to them.
“First, calm down a little…”
Emilia gently took the child’s damp, trembling hand and knelt down.
At that moment…
The child turned their head.
Their hood shifted slightly in the movement.
Wait… those eyes…
Emilia froze.
For just an instant, she caught sight of the child’s irises.
A suspicion flashed through her mind.
“…Excuse me for a moment.”
Carefully releasing the child’s hand, she gently lifted the edge of the hood.
“Ah…”
A quiet gasp escaped her lips.
The child’s eyes were a brilliant golden color—
Almost pure gold.
That shade of eyes was incredibly rare…
Especially within the Empire.
