The inside of the super-deluxe suite was larger than it appeared from the outside.

The length was the same from front to back, but perhaps due to magical expansion, the width of the room was much greater than that of the train itself.

It was not small even compared to the large lecture halls used at the Academy.

And with just the right amount of elegant furniture and decorations filling the space, both sides were made of glass panels, offering a clear view of the scenery outside.

The sofa placed in front of the glass, apparently for guests to enjoy the view, also looked comfortable.

“W-Wow…….”

“Wow……”

Hav and Moula’s eyes widened as they issued exclamations of amazement without ceasing. Even Luca couldn’t help but admire the scene before him, though he did his best not to show it.

“Well then, let’s get started right away.”

“Yes, young master!”

At that moment, Ottbo exchanged a few words with the attendant and looked over at them.

“They said they’ll prepare our meal immediately. But since it’s still a bit early, the menu is set—will that be alright?”

“That’s fine. I’m not picky.”

“That’s a relief. Ah, come to think of it, where is Bella?”

Bella hadn’t been seen since the morning. In response, Luca shook the travel bag he was holding.

“She’s in here.”

“W-What?!”

“I’m joking. Bella.”

At Luca’s call, Bella appeared from nowhere, carrying several travel bags.

“Did you call, young master?”

“Ottbo is looking for you.”

“Do you require something, young master of House Gress?”

Ottbo flinched at Bella’s sudden appearance but cautiously spoke up.

“B-Bella, will you be… eating as well?”

“Hehe, please speak comfortably. I am only a servant.”

Ottbo kept using honorifics with Bella, all the while glancing at Luca. Bella smiled, urging him to relax, and Luca spoke curtly as well.

“Ottbo. Am I such an oppressive person that I make people use honorifics to my servant?”

“No, you’re not.”

“Then why do you do so? Speak comfortably.”

At his words, Ottbo made a sour face.

“It’s just… I feel like, someday, Bella’s going to have a rise in status?”

“…….”

“Oh my, young master Ottbo. What are you even saying~.”

Luca pursed his lips and Bella chuckled, clearly in a good mood, and played along.

“Well… um… alright. I’ll drop the honorifics from now, Bella.”

“Hehe, yes. Ah, also, I’m fine not having a meal, so you needn’t worry about me. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, though.”

Bella said this as she tidied up the travel bags nearby. Watching her, Ottbo suddenly whispered to Luca as if he’d just had a thought.

“Bella didn’t ride the carriage, right? How did she bring those?”

“No idea. I’m sometimes surprised by Bella’s competence myself.”

“Wow……”

She was still such a mysterious woman.

“Mo-Moula. Are we really allowed to be here……?”

“I don’t know either, Hav……”

Hav and Moula still had not come to terms with their situation.

― What? A commoner dares to eat with us?

― Ah… I ended up on the same team as a commoner. What do I do……

― Tsk, a mere commoner dares to voice an opinion to me?

There was a reason why Hav harbored such resentment toward the nobility.

They faced discrimination even at the Academy. Now unexpectedly enjoying such luxury only left them even more bewildered.

“What are you doing? You can’t eat until you tidy up your things.”

At that, Luca pushed them along. Hav and Moula flinched, looked at each other, then hurriedly stashed their belongings in the corner.

“From here to there, we’ll use this half; from there to the end, you use that.”

“Huh? Uh…….”

Luca gestured to half of the suite’s interior. Hav nodded blankly, and after glancing at the two in turn, Luca gave a half-smile.

“Should I put up a curtain for you?”

“Why?”

“Ah, you don’t need to… really……”

Hav looked puzzled, and Moula slightly turned her head, declining the offer.

Luca chuckled and sat down at the dining table. Before long, the meal was served.

“We apologize that we can only offer this much due to limited ingredients on hand!”

“No, this is plenty. Thank you, I’ll eat well.”

“Yes, young master!”

Despite the claim of limited stock, it was a proper meal: tender braised fish, fresh vegetables, and a soup loaded with meat.

“It’s quite good.”

“Isn’t it? Since this train departs from Havok, the quality of the food is especially high.”

Havok, being a transportation hub, has an extremely well-developed logistics network.

It’s so well connected that even though it’s far from the sea, you can easily enjoy fresh seafood there.

Piiiii!

As they were eating, a whistle blew from outside. It was the signal that they would depart soon.

Thunk! Ch-ch-ch!

“Oh, it’s moving.”

Before long, accompanied by a slight noise, they could see the scenery unfolding behind the glass windows begin to move.

Everyone admired the sight.

‘The sensation is entirely different from just looking through an ordinary window.’

Even though Luca had only ridden a train a few times back on Earth, the scenery he saw through the compartment window had not been bad.

But it couldn’t compare to the panorama currently visible through the glass-panel walls.

“Well, we’ll be here for at least five hours, so let’s each relax as we wish.”

“Sure.”

Luca moved over and sat on the sofa by the glass wall overlooking the outside.

The sprawling plain changing by the second was a beautiful sight to see.

Before long, Ottbo, with a sleepy expression, came and sat beside him.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“So-so.”

“Then why not lie down on the bed instead?”

“I just… feel good watching the scenery change from here.”

“Hmm. I agree.”

Luca smiled and continued gazing outside.

“Come to think of it, why is there only one super-deluxe suite like this? If they’re magically expanding the space anyway, wouldn’t it be fine to have several?”

“It’s due to safety and the magic stone output. To apply space magic, the magic power circuit has to be complicated, so while they can manage one car, from the second onward it becomes too difficult. Of course, they are researching it.”

“I see.”

Luca and Ottbo chatted idly as time passed. Then at some point, Ottbo stopped answering.

“?”

“Sss… hnnn……”

Ottbo was sleeping, letting out faint breaths. Luca glanced at him and smiled.

“Sleep well.”

“Mmm……”

His first trip ever with a friend left him feeling surprisingly good.

* * *

Knock knock.

“Young master Ottbo and friends, we’ll soon be arriving at Malbab. Please prepare to disembark.”

“Hmm……”

Truly, a perk of super-deluxe service; when it’s time to get off, an attendant comes to notify you personally.

Luca, who had been staring blankly at the scenery outside and had eventually dozed off, woke up with a groan.

Rustle.

Someone had draped a blanket over him, which slipped off as he rose.

Luca absentmindedly picked up the blanket and looked to his side.

Ottbo was nowhere to be seen, and Bella was dozing off, nodding her head.

‘…… A rare sight.’

Suppressing a smile, Luca pulled out his phone.

‘My first commemorative photo, perhaps.’

Though the camera app existed, he had never used it before. Luca snapped a photo of the sleeping Bella; fortunately, the sound was inaudible.

‘Not bad.’

Deciding to check his gallery later, Luca quietly called Bella.

“Bella. Wake up.”

“……?!”

Bella startled, instantly straightening her posture, and then coughed.

“Oh my, I drifted off without realizing……”

“It’s true, the super-deluxe suite really is different.”

“Indeed. I, Bella, am honored to enjoy such luxury.”

Bella, uncharacteristically flustered, fussed a bit. Luca smiled to himself and looked behind.

“Hey. Everyone, time to get up.”

“Mmm……”

“Already… are we there……?”

Everyone had been sleeping. No matter how luxurious the room, with nothing to do for five hours, sleep was only natural.

Still, it was fortunate to be able to rest comfortably on a bed.

“Mmm… is this Malbab?”

“So I’m told.”

“Then… we have to transfer immediately. Let’s get ready……”

Ottbo, who had fallen asleep on the bed at some point, and the others all packed their belongings, still half-asleep.

And Bella, as ever, had already packed Luca’s things. All that remained was to disembark.

Bzzz bzzz!

“?”

At that moment, Luca’s pocket buzzed. With a slightly apprehensive expression, he reached inside, only to look puzzled. It wasn’t his phone.

‘Student handbook?’

Luca pulled out the student handbook with a sour look, then stiffened.

― Mika Welch

‘Why him?’

With a perplexed face, Luca answered the call.

“I’ve answered the call.”

― Small Traverse. Where are you now?

Mika’s sudden question made Luca click his tongue before replying.

“I’m at Malbab.”

― What? Malbab? Why?

“I’m traveling with a friend…….”

― Hey, Wylde. He says he’s at Malbab right now?

“?!”

At the mention of ‘Wylde’, Luca flinched.

‘Did Wylde Traverse put him up to this?’

Truthfully, there’d be almost no other reason for Mika to call.

Luca could hear voices talking beyond the student handbook before someone else took over the call.

― Luca. You’re not returning to the family for the temporary break, are you.

“…… No. I probably won’t have time.”

― Do you have business in Malbab?

That question made Luca hesitate. Should he tell them his destination or not?

“No. Lower down… I’m going to a place called Bixoro.”

‘That should be safe enough. Since it’s a port city, they’ll think I just went for fun.’

He decided to only say enough not to raise suspicion.

― I see. I’ll inform the family.

Click.

The call was abruptly cut off. Luca pursed his lips as he stared at the student handbook.

“Why did they call?”

“Oh my~ It seems the young master must have expected you to return with him,”

Bella remarked with intrigue. Luca twisted his lips.

“Why all of a sudden? We don’t normally spend time together.”

“Who knows. Maybe something happened?”

“Whatever. If there’s really a problem, they’ll contact me again.”

At this, Bella put a finger to her cheek and remarked,

“I doubt that’s his personality, though.”

* * *

“Acting dean. Did Luca get injured or something?”

Wylde Traverse’s rough words spilled out. Mika Welch and the others were incredibly tense, ready to hold him back if he did anything rash.

“My, my.”

Kryphi Mosto stood before them.

‘Did I just say the wrong thing?’

Kryphi had assumed, of course, that Wylde already knew of Luca’s injury. So when Wylde, visiting for business as the student representative’s brother, he’d said,

‘Ah, you must be Luca’s brother. Please help ensure Luca gets proper rest at home.’

That was all, but now he was reacting in this way.

‘Well, they’re family, so I thought it was only natural that he’d know……’

Kryphi didn’t even know Luca was traveling. He assumed given Luca’s injuries, naturally he’d return to his family to rest. But apparently not.

‘Now I’m worried this might cause trouble for Luca.’

Perhaps Luca had wanted to keep his injuries secret. Kryphi fidgeted in anxiety as Wylde spoke sharply.

“Mika. Did you know?”

“N-No. I’ve already withdrawn the eyes I had on Luca.”

“…….”

Wylde gritted his teeth, causing Mika to swallow nervously before speaking up.

“T-Then should I try calling him?”

“…… Call?”

“Yeah! I have Luca’s contact code! I’ll try.”

Following Mika’s suggestion, she took out her student handbook and Wylde finally calmed down.

― I’ve answered the call.

“Small Traverse. Where are you now?”

Mika glanced at Wylde and hastily inquired. Luca was silent, then spoke indifferently.

― I’m at Malbab.

“What? Malbab? Why?”

― Traveling with a friend……

Mika was flustered by the unexpected answer and looked to Wylde.

“Hey, Wylde. He says he’s at Malbab now?”

“…… Where’s that?”

“The edge of the southern region……”

Wylde fell silent at her reply, then held out his hand.

“Let me talk to him.”

“Sure, here.”

Taking the handbook, Wylde exchanged a few words with Luca, then ended the call and handed it back to Mika.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah. So, what did he say?”

To his question, Wylde replied nonchalantly,

“We’ll have to go to Bixoro.”

“…… Huh?”

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

Hmmm, oniisan is going to follow Luca…

Hmm, some timely backup…

I doubt there won’t be any incident in Potro, Wylde’s help is greatly needed.

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep