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After seeing Dunn off, Silas finally enjoyed a restful night's sleep.
When he woke, daylight was already streaming through the windows. After breakfast, Silas packed his luggage and said goodbye to his sister.
He donned his black trench coat and put on his top hat. The reflection in the mirror was so handsome that it was almost ridiculous.
After checking himself out, Silas smiled nonchalantly, picked up his suitcase, and walked to the entrance hall.
Turning back to Cecilia, he said, "I'm off, Cecilia. Should be back in four or five days.
Take good care of yourself while I'm gone. Oh, and I'll bring you back a gift. What would you like?"
"Anything's fine." Cecilia, wearing a plain-colored dress, walked him to the door and adjusted his collar.
"What I really want is for you to come back safe and sound."
Unlike the Moretti siblings, Cecilia knew that her brother's work was extremely dangerous, so her worry ran deeper.
"Don't worry. I've got two colleagues coming with me, and our work isn't usually that unsafe."
"Brother, why did you change your shirt?"
As she was adjusting his collar, Cecilia suddenly noticed something odd.
Ah, right, the one from that night.
Silas immediately realized he was wearing the shirt he'd borrowed from Leonard at the security company.
The blood-stained, torn shirt from the night he was stabbed had already been thrown away.
He panicked inwardly but kept his face perfectly composed, smiling as he said, "Oh, that. I accidentally tore it during combat training with my instructor, so I borrowed one of his shirts."
Fortunately, his quick thinking produced a plausible explanation. Cecilia didn't suspect anything, though she sighed.
"Brother, you shouldn't just throw things away like that. You could have brought it home to make into rags or patches."
Sister dear, we're long past living that kind of hard life.
Silas grumbled to himself.
The two of them walked to No. 2 Narcissus Street, where Klein was just emerging with his luggage.
"Good morning, Silas, and Cecilia." Klein greeted them, his gaze lingering involuntarily on the siblings' faces for a moment.
If they weren't Nighthawks, they'd be perfect for the theater, he thought. No matter how well they acted, the audience would definitely pack the house.
Klein looked at their equally refined features and mused silently.
The morning air was a bit chilly. Seeing that Cecilia was dressed lightly, Silas told her not to come any further.
He and Klein then walked to the street corner together, hired a carriage, and headed for Tingen's train station.
***
"Papers! Get your papers! The Tingen Respectable Citizen, today's breaking news: Famous star shot dead!"
"Fresh-baked bread, 3 pence each!"
"Ruth, I'll miss you!"
The train station buzzed with noise and activity.
The last time Silas had been to the station was late at night to meet a senior deacon. Coming during the day, the station was far livelier.
The platform was packed with travelers heading to various parts of the Loen Kingdom.
Every time a train pulled in, the platform was shrouded in billowing steam. Everything and everyone became hazy shadows, like something out of a surreal dream.
"Watch your wallet."
Leonard quietly warned.
With crowds and obscured sightlines, it was prime time for pickpockets to operate.
Silas wisely kept a hand on his pocket and followed his two colleagues with the flow of people toward the train.
Just before entering the carriage, he couldn't help but stop and look at the steel beast.
The steam-driven locomotive fiercely belched white vapor, appearing even more massive than the trains from his previous life, yet it was far slower and carried far fewer passengers.
Come on, Roselle, you could've worked harder. Why didn't you invent the internal combustion engine or electric motor?
Silas teased his fellow transmigrator predecessor in his mind, then chuckled to himself as he stepped into the carriage.
Since their reimbursement allowance wasn't sufficient, the three of them bought second-class tickets.
The carriage environment was better than third class, with four seats per row and an aisle down the middle.
In third class, there would be six seats per row, cramming passengers together with terribly stuffy air.
Since Tingen was the starting station, there weren't many passengers on board. They'd bought consecutive seats with no one around them.
"Such a shame we couldn't convince the captain to spring for first class," Leonard said somewhat regretfully from across the aisle. "I was hoping the three of us could play poker on the train."
Oh sure, sure. I'll buy a couple of bottles of wine, Klein can grab some snacks, and we'll just eat, drink, and play cards the whole way, right?
Silas set his suitcase by his legs and sat down. "We're on a work trip. If someone saw us, it'd look bad."
His suitcase contained several changes of clothes, some ritual materials, charms, a silver dagger, and more.
Beyond that, he'd also hidden two mystical items sealed by walls of spirituality: the Bell of Servants and the bone flute.
This trip to Enmat Port could be dangerous, so he'd brought everything.
"Woooo..."
The loud whistle echoed through the station. The wheels began turning on the tracks, and the carriage started to shake.
Through the glass, Silas watched the people and scenery outside slowly recede, then faster and faster, until everything flew past in a blur.
Whoosh!
The view suddenly opened up. The train passed through the urban area, swept past the low-built slums, and headed straight for the open countryside.
Vast stretches of green rushed toward them, with windmills turning in the distance and farmers at work.
Silas gazed out the window, occasionally chatting with Leonard and the others.
Enmat Port belonged to East Chester County.
The Loen coastline curved inward here, forming a perfect sheltered bay that had made it a port city since ancient times.
With the arrival of the steam age and maritime era that Roselle had promoted, Enmat Port had grown increasingly prosperous, becoming an important transportation hub for Loen.
Enmat Port lay southeast of Tingen.
This train would first head east to reach Stoen, the capital of East Chester County, stop there for ten minutes, then continue south to its final destination of Enmat Port.
The entire journey was expected to take five or six hours.
At first, the group was quite lively, chatting and laughing. But the journey was simply too long.
By the end, all three were tired, only exchanging words sporadically. Silas was especially drowsy.
However, just then, one sentence from Leonard suddenly jolted him wide awake.
"Oh, by the way, did I forget to tell you guys that the Nighthawk captain in Enmat Port doesn't really get along with our captain?"
Silas sat bolt upright.
"What did you say?"
"I said the Nighthawk captain in Enmat Port, Edward Crawford, doesn't like our Captain Dunn Smith."
"Why not? Is there some grudge between them?"
Klein asked curiously as well.
"Not exactly a grudge. How should I put it? It's more like Edward Crawford unilaterally dislikes our captain."
Leonard revealed a gossipy smile. "As for the reason, it's quite simple. Edward Crawford has feelings for Ms. Daly."
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones