"And because of that, I can also see everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen inside this Image," she continued, giving a small shrug before turning to the machine behind her.
"That said... should we test this now?"
Grace glanced at us over her shoulder.
"Hm?"
The station fell quiet, save for the distant shouts of engineers working further down the line.
Anathasia and I slowly turned to Roselia, who was crouched slightly, inspecting the mechanisms near the wheels.
[Grace... our little girl is starting to sound like some insane, mentally unstable duchess now...!] Anathasia's voice rang inside my head, loud enough to make me flinch.
[Ow... girl, quiet down. It's not like she's done anything bad-]
[She hasn't, yes.] she cut in. [But who knows?! She sounds like some manipulative walking black flag of a woman now!]
[What dark romance novel did you read this time...?]
A sharp whistle suddenly cut through our thoughts as steam burst from a pipe near the chimney. Black smoke followed soon after.
"Ah, they're testing it already...?"
Anathasia flickered and reappeared right in front of me, grabbing my hand.
"Grace might turn out even worse than Roselia at this point-"
"Miss Veridielle..." Roselia murmured, now standing behind her, looking at us like a confused fox. "I already learned my lesson..."
Anathasia flinched and slowly turned around, forcing a smile as she let go of my hand.
"Well... I was just..."
She glanced at me.
I didn't help and instead, I casually walked past her, heading straight for the locomotive.
Or at least, I tried.
Her hand shot out instantly, grabbing the back of my shirt.
When I looked over my shoulder, she was smiling-
but it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"...saying?"
[Don't leave me here.]
[...You were the one who started it though...?]
Her grip tightened as she pulled me back.
[I know... but stay with me here. We're both in this now.]
My brows furrowed slightly.
[Why...?]
[Cause we're married...?]
[Not enough of a reason. Also maybe put a filter on your mouth next time?]
A sharp twist suddenly shot through my side.
!?
I looked down slowly.
Her hand was gripping my side, squeezing.
"...Seriously?"
"Shut up."
-
Later, after boarding the train for its first commercial run-
We sat in the last car, far from the main engine where the noise was loudest.
Anathasia and Roselia sat together on one side.
Grace and I sat across from them, with Grace by the window, just like her mom.
"Mhm... the ride itself is quite smooth," Roselia murmured, her gaze drifting toward the scenery outside.
...If only it wasn't being completely blocked by Anathasia and Grace practically pressing their faces against the glass.
"Oh! Cows! A cow patch!"
"That's called a herd, Grace," Anathasia corrected-
Then she immediately pointed at a mountain in the distance.
"Ah! Look at that one! It looks exactly like Dragon Mountain... or whatever people call it."
The train rattled slightly as it passed over a rough patch. Just enough to keep me from dozing off, even though my eyes were already getting heavy.
"...Then again... it's still the first attempt..."
My gaze shifted to Roselia, who was staring at the small table between us, her finger tapping lightly against it as the train trembled every now and then.
Watching her, a thought crossed my mind.
"Say, Roselia."
She glanced up at me, tilting her head slightly.
"Yes?"
"Do they already have guns here?"
Her finger stilled.
Her gaze lowered slightly, eyes narrowing.
"...Guns."
A brief pause.
"There have been a few," she said at last. "And I've already advised Rania to establish laws against their reckless use. Including the Emperor herself, if necessary."
She rested her hand against the table.
"And since they're still in early development-like this train-it's better to take precautionary measures now, rather than wait for the first fatal incident."
I nodded quietly as I turned my attention back to the window. The view had cleared now that Anathasia and Grace weren't blocking it anymore.
"So gunpowder's already been figured out, huh..."
I shook my head faintly.
"Of course it has... remnants of the Authorial Rule Anathasia dismantled still give them partial access."
My cheek rested against my palm as I let out a soft breath, watching the scenery drift by.
"Basically a cheat code to skip the complicated chemistry part..."
She hummed quietly, her finger lightly tapping the table again as silence settled between us.
After a few moments, Anathasia finally spoke up.
"So, about that student Reina..."
All three of us turned to stare at her.
"...what do you think?"
Roselia and Grace both lowered their gazes in thought, while I kept staring out the window, watching the distant clouds pass by.
"Since my consciousness isn't maintaining the Image anymore..." Grace murmured, leaning back against the seat beside me.
She raised a finger, meeting Anathasia's gaze.
"She could become the next one, actually. But a... weird kind of Demiurge."
A small pause.
"...unlike me-before Mom suddenly grabbed me and shoved my consciousness into Gungnir."
Anathasia's eyes widened, and she immediately looked away, fiddling with her fingers.
Roselia, on the other hand, simply nodded, her finger now tapping lightly against her arm.
"The only question is..." she said quietly,
"...will her consciousness be able to withstand that sudden shift in existence?"
Silence followed.
Only the faint rumble of the engine up front filled the space as the scenery outside continued to shift, the train drawing closer to Ishtar.
A collective sigh escaped them as their shoulders slumped.
"Even if she becomes transcendental somehow, Roselia's concerns are still pretty... well... concerning."
I slowly turned to Anathasia, my expression deadpan.
"Did you really just say that?"
She frowned, glaring at me before looking away, her gaze drifting toward the distance outside the window.
"Worst case, her attempt just ends in non-representation... going poof would already be pretty lucky... if you even get to go poof and not just..."
She suddenly went silent for a few seconds.
Then pointed at us.
"Like that, you know?"
"...That is quite an accurate demonstration..." Roselia murmured.
"Still," she added, turning to Grace. "You're maintaining this Image just fine, correct?"
Grace nodded, opening her palm.
A pink scepter with a heart-shaped tip materialized in her hand-
"?! Wait no-!"
-and vanished just as quickly as she let out a sigh.
She opened her palm again.
This time, a sphere formed with smaller spheres shifting within it in ways that didn't quite make sense to count.
"So far, I haven't had any issues," she said calmly.
"What was with the scepter earlier?" Anathasia tilted her head.
Grace cleared her throat, smiling lightly.
"...Nothing."
"But back to the topic," she added, glancing at the sphere floating above her palm. "Everything's still fine. There's no real threat for the time being."
She gently poked the sphere.
"Until its structure starts failing because of external complications... or maybe something internal."
She beamed at us again.
-
After a few hours, the train finally came to a stop at the station in Dumuzi, Ishtar's capital.
Even from afar, the towering Church of Augthoria could be seen the moment we stepped out.
Anathasia frowned immediately upon seeing it.
Then she rolled up her sleeves and started walking toward it.
Luckily, I grabbed her arm and pulled her away before she got any closer, steering her in a different direction as Grace and Roselia headed toward the engine.
"It's good enough so far," Grace commented casually.
"It is... but it will need further testing to ensure its long-term performance," Roselia replied, glancing back at us before giving a small nod when she saw us coming.
Though, technically, I was dragging Anathasia along by the arm...
since she might collapse the church by accident if I didn't.
Roselia and Grace stopped a few meters away from the locomotive, chatting with the engineers and conductor, while Anathasia simply crossed her arms, staring off into the distance.
But all of a sudden-
-she froze.
Then slowly turned back toward where we came from, her eyes widening.
"This early...?"
I glanced at her, letting go of her sleeve before stepping beside her, squinting in the direction she was looking.
"What's wrong?"
"It's starting already," she said, briefly glancing at me before looking back toward Vàr.
"That thing we talked about earlier."
"The replacement Demiurge?"
As I spoke-
a pillar of light suddenly shot into the sky, rising somewhere deep within the Empire.
"Oh..."
"This is..." Grace's voice wavered slightly as she flickered into place beside us, stepping forward.
"Earlier than expected."
"It truly is," Roselia added, walking up behind us.
I glanced back at her, noticing even the people behind her had gone still. Staring at the pillar.
"Perhaps..."
A brief pause.
"...too early."