Episode 9 

Undersea Train

　As soon as the elevator doors closed and Vice-Principal Harman disappeared, I was thrilled.

It comes from the excitement of being in a new place.

　The inside of the station looks like a dim undersea cave.

　The train stopped in front of me. I walk straight forward and hop onto the nearest train car.

　I don’t have a ticket. I worry for a moment but I’m sure Vice Principal Harman would have prepared me for this if it was necessary.

　I walk onto the train.

　It was my first time on the train and everything I saw looked fresh. I glimpse a man.

　I look at the man’s face.

　  He is a man with long green hair. He wears a wide-brimmed hat. He would be a little older than me, je has an elongated face and makeup marks can be seen on his skin.

“Uck.”　

　When the man saw my face, he rubbed me over and over again with a handkerchief from his breast pocket.

“Filthy.”

　The man takes out a perfume bottle that looks expensive and sprinkles it on his body.

“You don’t seem to remember my face, do you, Executioner?”

　When I heard the word Executioner, I thought of the inhabitants of Lamberg, those who could identify me as the Executioner.

–He was there.

　This man was in Lamberg.

　He is an aristocratic man who always wears expensive clothes and glares at me every time he passes by me.

“You were in Lamberg. Antoine…?”

“Did you remember? That’s right! I’m Antoine Katralov, the strongest magician of all time and a gentleman.”

　He called himself an actor who was too good for theater, I remember.

“I can’t really understand the mind of Vice-Principal Harman. Putting such a lowly murderer in the venerable Yunferno Darts!”

“Why are you on this train?

“I became a teacher at Yunferno Darts. Be prepared, if you do anything I do not like, you will be expelled.”

　Antoine laughed a nasally laugh and glared at me as he passed by.

　Totally unlucky. It’s anxiety that a person who knows my identity teaches at Yunferno Darts.

I open the door to a private booth and try and relax, sit by the window and wait for departure.

　One peculiar thing met my gaze. It’s a window. Locked, of course.

“What?”

　The door of the private room opened.

　Not by my hands, but by a blonde man.

　I see the bandana around his head and remember his name.

　Examinee number 022, Rand-Taylor.

　Two months ago, he was an examinee who came into the room after my defeat of Cerberus. Did they pass?

“Huh. Hello.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll move soon.”

I ignore him.

“It’s time to sit down.”

　Rand sits in the seat opposite me, took a sip of the bottle of juice he had in his hand, and stretched his right hand to the floor. A large backpack lies on the floor, dropping from his hand. As soon as he entered the private room, he turns his gaze toward the window and did not notice the existence of the backpack.

　I must hide the fact that I defeated Cerberus. 

“Keep it secret that you are a scholarship student and a former executioner. Wouldn’t it be nice not to be wary of others?

　To be honest, I’m not suitable as a scholarship student.

I don’t know magic and I don’t truly know what I excel at, at least in regards to magic.

　 Executioner is nothing more than a title.

　The position of a scholarship student can be subject to strange jealousy when connecting with aristocrats, and the history of executioners can be persecuted. Both are top secrets.

　Information that leads to bad things… I want to keep the information that I defeated Cerberus a secret.

“Hmm… do you want to be my first friend? I don’t want to be lonely at Yunferno Darts.”

My surprise is great at such a comment. He doesn’t appear to be even looking at me!

“Hmm? You..”

　His line of sight pierces me.

　Rand remembered, it seems.

“That’s right! The one who defeated Cerberus!?”

“Cerberus? What?”

I lie with a carefree smile on my face.

“Ah? Am Iwrong?”

“It’s a mistake. Does it look like I can beat Cerberus?”

I learn forward, my smile slouching near the edges as if to show my embarrassment. My eyes turn downcast and my embarrassment radiates clear.

　I fought against Cerberus two months ago. It was only a moment when Rand saw my face, this shouldn’t be a problem.

　I didn’t notice it at first glance, so his memory should have faded considerably. He will definitely be deceived.

“Oh, it’s true that yours is completely different. I think he had a scarier face than yours. I made a mistake. I’m Rand-Taylor! What about you?”

“I am Charles. Charles Sanson”

“Thank you! Charles!”

     He’s a man who has a lot of energy.

　I don’t hate it. I think Henri was also this type of person, he’s a bit reminiscent of her.

“Thank you, Rand.”

　I say this while an ember of happiness radiates through me though you wouldn’t know it by my full blown fake smile.

　I can hear the sound of the whistle. The train has begun its departure.

　As the train crosses into the dark tunnel, it plunged with the sound of a rock plunging into a pond amplified times 1000

“Uo ~! The railroad tracks truly do manage in the sea, magic knows no bound.”

　Fish are passing right next to the window.

　A thin film of a soap like substance surrounds the train, best imagined by imagining a bubble fully encompassing something.

　A train that goes underwater. It’s a fantastic landscape.

　But after an hour, I got tired of the scenery, and Rand and I took our eyes off the window.

“It looks like it will take some time to reach the Academy.”

“It will take another hour. Hey, you! Did you see the pamphlet for the Academy?”

“No, I haven’t seen it.”

　Rand triumphantly opened the pamphlet after getting it from his pocket and shows it to me, “Then, take a look to kill time!” 

“There is the school, Yunferno Darts itself, and there are trees and ruins, all of which are separated.

The first area is the school.

　The second is a commercial area with various commercial areas such as shopping streets, botanical gardens, and aquariums.

　The third is the residential area where teachers and people who have stores in commercial areas live. The dormitory is also here.

　The fourth is a natural area with only forests, mountains and rivers.

　The fifth is the archaeological area where there are ruins that are off limits!

       Also, it’s all on an island. “

This is all new to me.

　Vice-Principal Harman, I wish you could have explained about the school for a while, a bit more. Well, is there anything wrong with me who didn’t ask anything?

“Rand, it looks like a lot of fun.”

“Eh? You’re not excited? Because the whole island is for us. I’m already at tension MAX! Besides, I went around the train a while ago and saw this year’s freshman beauty! It’s going to be fun! “

　Excited?

A bit, I suppose.

“Wow!”

　Rand raises his voice from surprise.

　Suddenly the train rose out of the sea.

Flying in the sky?

　A train rides on an invisible railroad track, the likes of which are not glimpsed in the sky.

　The train stops rising.

　I look out the window. What I see is an island where the city and nature were fused.

“Oh, that is–“

“It’s the school island! We’re here, I’m here!”

　An isolated island that shines in the sunlight. Overlooking the school island from far above.

The windows raise and a wind fills our room.

　Rand and I looked out the window and looked down at Yunferno Darts, no obstruction to be seen.

　An area full of forests. There is no doubt that the area with only weathered buildings is an archaeological area. Is it the commercial area with only colorful buildings? The other two areas are indistinguishable.

“Hey, look at that, Charles!”

　There was a dragon that appears in a picture book on the side where Rand pointed his finger. A white dragon, flying with its wings spread. A man wearing goggles sits on a dragon.

“It’s a dragon!” Rand shouts at the top of his lungs.

The  dragon flies in parallel with the train. The man wearing goggles looks at me through our window and approached flies toward us

　A man with long brown hair is what he appears to be as he flies closer.

“Welcome to Yunferno Darts.”

“Cool!”

　As Rand said that,

　I realize that I have come to a world that is completely different from the one I lived in.

　This is the magician’s world, the Academy, <Yunferno Darts>