Blankon Announcement

511 Local Train, and Then the Tunnel.

After passing through the Parames territory, the magic train continued to rush northward.

It sped through mountainous areas, forests, and pastures, eventually arriving at the second station, Sarania Station in the Sarania territory.

Just like at Parameia Station, Duke Ortlinde and I got off the train and exchanged greetings with Viscount Saranis. Once again, we received souvenirs.

When it was time to depart, we thanked Viscount Saranis and boarded the train again.

---

“Hmm? Something smells good.”

As soon as we entered the passenger car, Yae sniffed the air and muttered while eyeing the souvenirs I was carrying. Is my wife a dog or something?

“I got some fresh fruits. They’re a specialty of this region.”

“Crystal cherries. They’re a specialty of the Sarania territory. They’re sweet and sour, and very delicious.”

When Yumina explained, the children’s eyes locked onto the bag I was holding. Wait, now? Do you want to eat them now?

Well, there’s enough for everyone, I think… I took out three boxes from the souvenir bag and opened the lids. Inside were red, yellow, and green cherries, packed tightly.

I picked one up and examined it. It was transparent and had a sparkling, glass-like sheen. So that’s why they’re called “Crystal Cherries.” They were so clear that I couldn’t see any seeds inside. They looked like candy. Beautiful. Just looking at them was enjoyable.

I popped a red one into my mouth. Mmm! Delicious! The taste wasn’t too different from the cherries I knew, but these seemed even better.

I tried a yellow one next. Hmm, this one is sweeter. Also delicious. Now, the green one…

“Otousan, you’re being selfish! I want some too!”

“Otousama. I want to eat some too.”

“Your Majesty! Me too!”

As I was savoring the delicious little gems, Linne, Yoshino, and Alice voiced their complaints, so I placed the three boxes on the table.

Hands reached out from all directions, and the crystal cherries disappeared rapidly.

“These are delicious. Such a noble sweetness.”

“They could be used in desserts.”

“Oh, Mother, there are already desserts made with crystal cherries. They’re a bit expensive, though.”

Not just the children, but the adults also joined in, and the cherries were gone in no time. Duke Ortlinde, seeing this, offered his own box of crystal cherries.

“I’m sorry for taking the ones you received…”

“Hahaha. I get them sent to me every year from Viscount Saranis. Don’t worry about it.”

It seems the concept of year-end gifts exists in this world too. Well, nobles have all sorts of social obligations, I guess.

The crystal cherries Duke Ortlinde offered were also quickly devoured. With this many people, it’s inevitable. But still, you could’ve savored them a bit more.

Hilda muttered while gazing at the crystal cherries.

“If the magic train becomes more frequent, will we be able to eat these crystal cherries in Brunhild too?”

“I think the distribution system will change significantly. Even now, we can deliver fish caught in the Refreese Sea to the royal capital of Belfast in just a few hours. They arrive fresh at the royal table. Though, since we can only send a small amount, they might still be expensive.”

Until now, in towns without access to the sea, fish meant river fish. If you wanted to eat seafood, it was either dried preserved or frozen using ice magic, which required manpower and made it expensive.

It might be difficult for ordinary households to get them right away, but if the number of magic trains increases, it should become possible eventually.

For that, we’ll need a timetable, and by extension, personal mechanical clocks… The western continent already has pocket watches, so maybe we can import them from there…

---

“Huh? What’s that…”

While I was thinking about clocks, Yumina, who was looking out the window, noticed something and leaned forward.

I followed her gaze, but all I saw was a plain stretching out… Wait, something’s moving. It’s too far to see clearly, but it looks like a tiny speck.

“I think that’s a magical beast… It seems to be chasing something. Could it be chasing people…?”

“You can see that far…? Let me try [Long Sense].”

I activated the skill to zoom in on distant objects. The tiny speck filled my vision. Ah, it’s definitely a magical beast. It looks like a giant rhino. Is that a Rhinobash? I think I’ve seen it in the guild’s magical beast encyclopedia. It’s a red-rank beast.

It’s a pretty big one. But why is it charging like that? Let’s see…

“Ah… It’s chasing a carriage. It’s about to catch up.”

“What!? We have to help!”

Yumina stood up in a panic. Yeah, we should. Let’s make a quick stop. We’ll come back later, though.

I let Ende know.

“Sorry, Ende. If anything happens, take care of things here.”

“Yeah, yeah. Got it.”

“Alright, then [Telepo…”

Just as I was about to teleport to the magical beast, two small shadows tackled me at the waist.

“Huh?”

In an instant, I was teleported to the road where the carriage was being chased. The carriage and the Rhinobash charging after it was heading straight for us.

Standing in front of them, with Linne and Alice clinging to my waist. Did they teleport with me!?

“Wait, you two…!”

“It’s okay! Leave it to us, Otousan!”

“We’ll take that thing down!”

“No, that’s not what I— hey!?”

The two of them, smiling, ran toward the charging Rhinobash. Seriously, these kids have way too much energy!

As they passed by, a desperate-looking coachman drove the carriage past us. It seemed to be a merchant’s carriage. The Rhinobash must have been attracted to the food they were carrying.

“Here we go!”

Linne stopped the Rhinobash’s charge head-on. A direct confrontation!?

But Linne, being lightweight, couldn’t completely stop the Rhinobash’s charge and was being pushed back.

“[Gravity]!”

Thud!

The Rhinobash’s knees buckled under the increased weight. It struggled to stand but couldn’t move.

Then, jumping over Linne’s head, Alice leaped onto the Rhinobash.

“[Rose Crystal Thorn Prism Rose]!”

Crystal thorns shot out from Alice’s right sleeve, forming a large cleaver.

Swinging it down with all her might, Alice brought it down on the immobilized Rhinobash.

“[Crystal Radiance Guillotine]!”

Splat!

The Rhinobash’s head was cleanly severed, as if by a guillotine. Its body went limp.

“We did it, Alice!”

“We did it, Linne!”

The two high-fived and started spinning around in celebration.

Linne ran back to me with a smile.

“We didn’t damage the materials! The guild will buy them, right, Daddy?”

“Ah… Yeah, they will. Good job.”

The Rhinobash’s hide would make good armor material. The way they took it down was nearly perfect. The best way would’ve been to defeat it without cutting it, but this was still excellent. The guild would pay a good price for it. I should praise them for that. Yeah, I should.

I stored the Rhinobash in [Storage]. The carriage that was being chased had already fled. Well, that’s fine. We need to get back to the train quickly.

It’s hard to [Teleport] back to a moving train (since the coordinates keep changing), so I decided to open a [Gate].

“[Gate].”

We passed through the portal and safely returned to the train.

“Welcome back.”

“I didn’t do much, though.”

I responded with a wry smile to Yumina’s words of appreciation. She was probably the only one who could keep track of the situation from the train.

“That was fun!”

“It was great!”

Linne and Alice chatted cheerfully, but two shadows loomed behind them.

“Fun…? Linne, could you come here for a moment?”

“Alice…? Let’s have a little talk with Otousan, shall we?”

“…Uh-oh.”

Linne and Alice were grabbed by the scruff of their necks by Linze and Ende and dragged away. Yeah, a little scolding will do them good.

I accepted some tea from Yumina and drank it, pretending not to notice.

The scolding from Linze and Ende continued until we reached the next station, and Linne and Alice, forced to sit seiza-style, ended up with numb legs. Well, they brought it on themselves.

After Sarania Station, the next stop was Lancelot Station in the Lancelot territory, the last station in the Belfast Kingdom. Beyond this was the Refreese Empire.

Just like the previous two stations, we were warmly welcomed by Margrave Lancelot and received souvenirs. As soon as we returned to the train, the children gathered around, asking what we got, but when they found out it was just colorful fabrics, they were visibly disappointed.

Only Linze and Elna showed interest, happily discussing making clothes with the fabric when we got back.

---

“Wow, a tunnel!”

As soon as Sue’s voice reached my ears, the train dimmed, and only the light from the magic stones on the ceiling remained.

We had entered a tunnel. Outside the window was complete darkness, and the window glass reflected us like a mirror. Occasionally, the glow of the magic stones installed inside the tunnel streaked past like shooting stars.

“I feel pressure in my ears.”

Yae muttered while lightly pressing her ears. The change in air pressure was pushing against her eardrums.

This tunnel is quite long. How do I know? Because I dug it.

The Slonischia Mountain Range, which stretches between the Belfast Kingdom and the Refreese Empire, is much faster to go through than to go around.

So, I used earth magic to dig the tunnel and reinforced it using [Stone Wall]. It’s about as long as the Seikan Tunnel. I reinforced it well, so it should last for thousands of years.

Well, I only did the digging and reinforcement. The leveling, laying tracks, and installing magic stones inside the tunnel were left to the two countries. I did get paid, though.

“It’s so dark and boring.”

Frey complained while looking out the window at the dark tunnel with only the occasional magic stone light.

Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. We’re in a tunnel, and the speed is reduced, so it’ll be like this for about twenty minutes.

Yumina, looking at the underground scenery, asked me:

“Could we have a ‘subway’ in this world?”

“It’s not impossible, but it would require a lot of manpower and construction costs. Ground subsidence is also a concern.”

The advantage of a subway is that it can run through already-built cities without affecting above-ground structures. But, of course, it’s much more labor-intensive than above-ground construction.

Even with earth magic, the number of mages required would be staggering, and the safety measures would add to the cost.

On Earth, I heard it costs about 30 billion yen to build one kilometer of subway. It seems that, whether on Earth or in another world, subway construction is a money pit.

Honestly, I could probably build a subway in Brunhild by myself. But I’ve been stopped from doing such work by Prime Minister Takasaka.

If I do it all by myself, it doesn’t count as the country’s work. In other words, I’d be taking jobs away from others. So, until the budget and manpower are ready, the subway in Brunhild will have to wait.

Oh? There’s light at the end of the tunnel… Is that the exit?

---

“The sea!”

As we emerged from the long tunnel, the children’s voices were accompanied by the sight of the horizon for the first time. It was the inland sea between Belfast and Refreese.

The sunlight reflected off the water, making it sparkle a brilliant blue. Occasionally, seaside villages came into view.

Exiting the tunnel, we were greeted by a breathtaking view.

“It might be nice to go to the beach with everyone someday.”

“Let’s go! Let’s all go together!”

“Oh, that sounds lovely. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sea.”

Hilda’s casual remark prompted responses from Linne and Kuon. Going to the sea with everyone, huh? That might be nice. We could cross over to Dungeon Island easily.

But when will we all be together? It probably won’t be within a year. At least, Yakumo, Yae’s daughter, is already here.

“I wonder where Yakumo is… I really wish she’d come back soon.”

She can use [Gate], so she could come back anytime. Or maybe that’s why she’s not coming back.

“Really… Making her parents worry like this. That naughty girl needs a spanking.”

As Yae muttered, the children all covered their bottoms and looked away. Haha. They’ve all been spanked by Yae before. She even spanked the Doctor when she got too carried away.

“Not just Yakumo, but Kuon, my son, is also out there. I’m worried he might be tricked by bad people…”

Besides Yakumo, there are two more—Yumina and Sue’s daughter and son—who haven’t arrived yet. It’s definitely worrying.

As Yae pondered, Alice, who was nearby, started laughing.

“Kuon getting tricked? Ahaha, no way. With Kuon’s Mystic Eyes, he can tell good people from bad ones. He’d never— Ow!”

The children quickly covered Alice’s mouth. …Miss, what did you just say?

Mystic Eyes? Can tell good people from bad ones? That’s…

Yumina, who was sitting next to me, stood up and walked over to Alice without blinking.

Like Moses parting the Red Sea, the children covering Alice’s mouth moved aside.

“Alice?”

“Eep!”

Alice let out a strained laugh as Yumina grabbed her shoulders. Ende tried to step in to stop her, but Yumina’s glare froze him in place. He instinctively sensed danger. Yeah, Ende, step back for a bit.

“So, that’s how it is, huh?”

“Eep…”

Alice nodded repeatedly as Yumina confirmed each word.

So, that’s how it is… Right?

“Hmm. So, Touya’s son is Yumina’s child. How disappointing.”

“Y-Yes! We did it!”

Sue muttered with a slightly pouty tone, while Yumina raised both fists in triumph.

So, the son is Yumina’s child and has Mystic Eyes.

“Ah… It’s out now.”

“Alice is such a blabbermouth.”

“Ugh… It’s about Kuon, so I couldn’t help it…”

Frey and Yoshino sighed while looking at Alice. Well, we’re grateful, though. How many times has her slip of the tongue saved us?

“Touya! It’s our son! Ours! The heir to Brunhild!”

“I get it. I get it, so calm down.”

“How can I calm down!? Yumina did it! Ah, I’m so happy!”

The child hasn’t even been born yet, but Yumina’s excitement is through the roof.

Officially, Yumina is the First Queen. I don’t think the order matters, but Yumina must have felt some pressure about producing an heir.

“But Kuon has Mystic Eyes, right? If they’re the same as Yumina’s, he wouldn’t be fooled by people, would he?”

“They’re not exactly the same Mystic Eyes… But I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

Kuhn answered my question. Not the same Mystic Eyes? What does that mean? A similar but different type?

“Well, we’ll find out when Kuon arrives.”

“Hmm…”

Hmm. I can’t expect a slip-up like Alice’s. Well, I don’t need to press further.

“So, my child is a daughter. That’s fine too. She’ll definitely be cute.”

Sue, now knowing she’d have a daughter, didn’t seem disappointed and watched Yumina’s excitement. Sue and my daughter, huh… We haven’t even gotten that far yet.

But is Kuon older or younger than Sue’s daughter?

“Is Sue’s daughter the youngest sister?”

“Uh, well, um…”

“Looks like it.”

When Elze asked Elna, who was sitting nearby, she gave a clear response. Elna’s so honest.

So, Kuon has seven older sisters and one younger sister. …That’s going to be tough for him.

As I was feeling sympathy for my unborn son, a voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Uh… What are you talking about? What’s this about Sue’s daughter?”

Duke Ortlinde looked at us with a puzzled expression.

…Oops.