The beast was probably following the train. That’s why the sound didn’t grow distant. However, no matter how fast the beast’s running speed, it would be slower than a moving train.

…No, that wasn’t it. The man shook his head vigorously to dispel his thoughts. What mattered right now wasn’t some beast outside. What mattered was ‘why did I end up in this state?’. He had no clues to unravel that mystery. The man was in a single-occupancy room attached to the train. It was unlikely he could find the reason among the things left behind here. In fact, there were only a few things the man could do while inside this moving train.

The first thing he could do was rummage through the luggage in this compartment. The man hesitantly untied and ransacked the bags presumed to belong to the boy. Just in case, he also searched every pocket of the outerwear and the clothes he wore. The man was a bit disappointed. The contents were nothing special.

A scrap of paper that appeared to be a train ticket, a pouch containing money that was likely a wallet, an envelope with a letter inside, a ring engraved with a design, a worn notebook, clothing, and toiletries, etc. It was modest. Next, a newspaper placed on the table caught his eye. Thinking it might provide some help, the man quickly read through the newspaper.

The man’s face scrunched up as if he had seen something bizarre. The contents of the newspaper were beyond his comprehension. Taking up a large portion of the newspaper’s front page was a photograph of a train and train station that the man found somewhat familiar. However, the text written there differed from what he knew.

「The new station for the magical train ‘Caenis’ is finally completed. Everyone had high expectations after waiting for so long. Starting this year, the students of ‘Aurora Academy’ won’t have to travel long distances by carriage! That’s because Aurora Station has been newly constructed. For the incoming and current students, this is truly joyous news…」

“……”

Thud, the newspaper in his hand fell to the floor.

The man didn’t know the name of the train, Caenis, but he was familiar with Aurora Academy. It was a school that didn’t exist in the reality the man lived in. After all, it was the name of the school that appeared in the fantasy novel he had been reading just a moment ago!

‘Does this make any sense?!’

The man was overwhelmed by a dizzying feeling. Just as the man clutched his head in shock, an announcement resounded throughout the entire train.

<Click, clack—. Attention, our next stop is Aurora Academy, Aurora Academy. Passengers disembarking, please check that you haven’t left any belongings behind before exiting. Once again, our next stop is Aurora…>

The man felt as if he had been hit with another confirmation shot. His face turned pale. Amidst the profound confusion, the train had already stopped, and it grew noisy outside the door. People indiscriminately exited the train, instantly filling the space with noise. However, the man sat inside the train for a long time until the murmuring completely disappeared.

He wished it was a dream. That because it was a trip he had eagerly anticipated and a novel he had enjoyed so much, it appeared even in his dreams. But even if he wanted to ignore the reality of it all, he couldn’t. Everything approached the man vividly. The crinkling sensation of the sheets, the cold sweat running down his spine. His thin, trembling hands. His heart raced uncontrollably. His hands and feet grew cold.

Clack—. Thud!

At that moment, the compartment door opened with a loud noise. A man who appeared to be a crew member knocked on the already open door with a lack of sincerity.

“Hey, student. What are you doing not getting off?”

The language he heard for the first time sounded vaguely like English or French at a glance, but upon closer listening, it was entirely different, a completely new language. However, strangely, the man could understand it immediately upon hearing it. The man clumsily rose from his seat. Flustered by the crew member’s disgruntled expression, he hurriedly swept the items strewn across the bed into his bag.

“I, I’m going now!”

The words he stammered out were in the same language the crew member had spoken. He hadn’t noticed it earlier, but now that he thought about it, it wasn’t Korean either. The haphazardly bundled clothing only added to the bag’s bulk, making it difficult to close properly. The crew member standing behind him sighed in annoyance. The man’s hands aimlessly flailed in the air out of nervousness.

“Goodness. Hurry up. Judging by that uniform, you seem to be an Aurora Academy student, but my, my. If you end up being late, don’t blame it on us!”

“Yes, yes!”

In the end, he forcefully zipped the bag closed. The seams were stretched taut, looking utterly precarious. It seemed like the bag could open on its own at any moment. Clothing stuck out through the slightly open gap of the bag, but there was no time to reorganize it. The man hastily grabbed the bag. As soon as the crew member stepped aside from the doorway, the man rushed out of the compartment as if running.

Tap. Thud.

The man was inwardly flustered by the loud echoing of his own footsteps in the corridor, but he couldn’t stop. Driven by an unknown urgency, the man thought he needed to quickly escape from this place. The narrow corridor, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side, had been empty for a while. Moreover, it was quiet outside the window. The spacious train station was already deserted, giving it an incredibly desolate appearance.

When the man stepped off the train, a raucous horn sounded. Shortly after, all the train’s doors closed, and the train swiftly departed from the station. The man stood there dumbly, staring at the train as it disappeared into the distance until it was gone.

“…What do I do now?”

The words he unwittingly uttered came out as desolate as his feelings. The man staggered and plopped down on an empty bench. His disheveled hair fluttered freely in the wind. The dull red locks swaying in the breeze still felt unfamiliar. And they were bothersome. He had never had long hair in his life, so it was distracting and cumbersome. Pondering what to do with it, the man recalled the black ribbon he had put in his pocket. He took out the ribbon, lightly held it between his lips, and gathered the unruly hair with his empty hands. Even as he did so, his thoughts didn’t cease.

Just earlier, the crew member had said the man looked like an Aurora Academy student. His words were probably reliable information. Besides, didn’t he say these clothes were a uniform? And considering the external appearance of this body, it seemed quite plausible.

‘Let’s assume the owner of this body is a student at that school. Then what do I do now? Should I go to that Aurora? Academy?’

Probably so. The man finished tying his hair. He simply wrapped the ribbon around and made a rough knot. It felt much more comfortable now. The man looked at the luggage. It was a bit much for a trip. Was the owner of this body really heading to the academy?

In the current situation, the man knew nothing. He could only speculate about where this place was. Even that was an absurd hypothesis, so for now, it seemed best to go to the academy. If he went there, wouldn’t at least one person know about this boy?

First, he needed to find out about this boy. The man clenched and unclenched his thin, bony hand. The pale hand was long and slender, with prominent knuckles. For now, let’s leave the station. Determined to pull himself together, his task was clear. The man picked up the bag beside him. Surprisingly, it was heavy enough to make his body sway. He thought, ‘I ran well while carrying this.’ It made him realize anew that this body seemed more fragile than he had thought.

“Ah.”

Getting outside was fine, but one problem arose. And it was a big problem. Naturally, the man didn’t know where the academy was located. To make matters worse, there wasn’t a single soul to be seen around here. The bag he was holding was extremely heavy, causing his fingers to turn red and even white. Even if he knew the location, he wouldn’t be able to walk far in this state.

The man promptly set down the heavy bag and looked around. How could there be no people at all? Should he go back inside the station to look for someone? He had seen a few people scattered inside the station earlier…

Just as he was pondering, a carriage rapidly approached the station, catching the man’s attention. The small carriage stopped near the station shortly after. Seeing the man presumed to be the coachman descending from the carriage, the man quickly ran over, not wanting to miss him.

“Excuse me…!”

“Huh? Student? What are you doing here? The other kids have already gone to school…!”

The coachman was surprised and asked the man who approached him.

“I accidentally fell asleep, so…”

The man hastily offered a lie. But those words seemed to resonate well with the coachman. Perhaps the scrawny and haggard appearance of the boy evoked sympathy from the coachman. Sighing, the coachman climbed back onto the carriage.