As Irina was about to relocate to her assigned seat in compartment C, seat 12, she was taken aback by an unexpected sight.
A familiar face, one she didn’t expect to see on this train, was sitting in the seat right before her. The young boy with purple eyes and black hair, Astron.
“Huh?” Irina uttered in surprise, her eyes locking onto his.
Astron, maintaining his usual serious demeanor, slowly lifted his gaze to meet Irina’s. The exchange of glances created a momentary pause, and the passengers nearby observed the unexpected encounter.
After all, Irina’s presence immediately gathered attention from the surroundings the moment she entered the train. Her clothes and her demeanor alone suggested that she was someone with a high standing, and her beauty was enough to attract everyone.
“You…” Irina started, caught off guard by Astron’s presence.
Astron looked at the girl standing right before him as he mumbled. “I should have expected it.”
Irina, her annoyance growing, glared at Astron. “Expected what?”
Astron, unfazed by her glare, calmly responded, “I heard explosions even from inside the train. I should have known it was you.”
Irina’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What? How did you…?”
Astron pointed towards the direction they were heading. “Look outside. The signs of combustion are quite evident. And, there aren’t many people in this world that use transportation methods like you. You left quite an impression even before getting on the train.”
Irina, realizing that her attempt to escape her mother’s schemes hadn’t gone unnoticed, felt a mix of frustration and embarrassment.
Especially since the one realizing was this annoying guy.
“Sigh….”
She sighed and decided to take a seat, gesturing towards the empty spot across from her. But as she sat down, suddenly she realized something.
‘What is he doing here?’
That guy, what he was doing here? Her curiosity grew as she looked at him. His clothes were casual, and he looked the same as usual, but there was something different about him that she could sense.
‘Something has changed?’
Her curiosity grew. This annoying guy had been occupying a part of her mind recently, and most of the things about him were questions that weren’t answered.
“Since you’re here, you might as well tell me what you’re doing on this train.”
Astron, without a change in expression, took the offered seat. “I have my reasons. Business, you could say.”
Irina raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “Business? On a train to Arcadia? What kind of business?”
Astron simply replied, “The kind that doesn’t concern you.”
“…..”
Irina rolled her eyes, already regretting the fact that Astron had become an unexpected companion on her journey.
‘Annoying bastard.’
His aloof demeanor and the way he spoke was getting on her nerves.
“I don’t care anyway.”
“You don’t care? Then why did you ask?”
“…No reason.”
“No reason?”
“Yep.”
“And you want me to believe that.”
“Believe what you want.”
“I always believe what I want; you don’t need to say it out.”
“You…..Tch.”
Whenever she argued with this guy, things always ended like this. He acted proud and retorted back whenever they talked.
It was like….
‘He always needs to be the one that says the last line.’
She realized from their past talks that whenever it ended, she would end up feeling like she had lost.
‘I can’t stand it.’
“You know, your attitude really grates on my nerves,” Irina remarked, shooting Astron an annoyed look.
“Likewise,” Astron responded calmly, his eyes fixed on the passing scenery outside the train.
Irina huffed, crossing her arms. “Why are you even here? It’s not like we’re friends or anything.”
Astron shrugged. “What do you mean? You are the one that came here after me.”
“I didn’t come here knowing you were sitting here. If I knew, rather than sitting on the same wagon as you, I would sit on the roof of the train.”
“You would freeze on there?”
“Better than sitting with you.”
“Then why are you not doing it?”
Irina rolled her eyes. “Because, annoyingly enough, I still want to get to Arcadia in one piece.”
Astron turned his attention to Irina from the window. His expression didn’t change, but Irina could swear that she had seen a small sneer in his eyes.
‘How beaut-‘
For a second, she almost got enchanted by them.
“You don’t have to admit that you want my company.”
Almost… as once again, the annoyance grew.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. It’s more about not freezing to death than enjoying your company.”
“Sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that.” Astron’s tone remained calm, and Irina couldn’t help but wonder if he was secretly enjoying their banter.
‘He seems to be in a good mood.’
At first, she wasn’t sure, but as she talked with him more, she realized his words were a little different than normal.
Normally, he would speak harshly while shutting down others, but this time, it felt like he was contributing to the talk quite differently.
‘Should I ask?’
There were things that she wanted to ask—the questions in her mind.
‘If not, then what else?’
The information she had was limited, and she didn’t want to wait for another investigation as well. Since she got the change, why not use it?
“By the way, Astron,” Irina began cautiously, “do you happen to know someone named Trevor Philips?”
Astron raised an eyebrow at the unexpected question, but his reaction wasn’t something that much different. “Trevor Philips? Yeah, I’ve heard the name. Why do you ask?”
‘He doesn’t know him directly?’
Irina had dealt with countless people while reading their reactions, and she could at least say Astron didn’t have anything in common with Trevor Philips.
Irina hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “It is nothing.” But in the end, she didn’t say much.
However, that reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Astron’s eyes. He leaned back in his seat, studying Irina with a discerning gaze. “Nothing, huh? You wouldn’t bring it up for no reason. Spit it out. What’s going on with Trevor Philips?”
Irina sighed inwardly, acknowledging that she might have unintentionally sparked Astron’s interest. However, she was determined not to provide him with a straightforward answer, still holding onto the lingering annoyance from their earlier banter.
“I won’t tell you,” Irina asserted, meeting Astron’s gaze with a defiant tilt of her head.
Astron, unfazed by her response, raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“So, even you can get surprised?” Irina teased a hint of mischief in her eyes.
“Everyone would get surprised if they talk to you,” Astron deadpanned.
“Yeah, yeah,” Irina replied dismissively, waving off his comment. “You really won’t tell me?” Astron inquired once more.
“I won’t,” Irina affirmed, crossing her arms and maintaining a stubborn stance.
“Okay then,” Astron conceded, leaning back in his seat as if he didn’t even care. Just like that, the two fell silent as the train continued to move forward.
However, Irina’s thoughts didn’t leave her mind, as she couldn’t help but question what Trevor Philip’s goal was.
There was this feeling that she was getting from Astron, and she was still curious about it. However, she couldn’t help but bury those feelings since she knew if she asked what happened, the answer she would get would annoy her more.
-WROOM!
As the train moved forward, the cozy atmosphere of the winter and the silence lingering in the environment slowly brought tiredness that had accumulated over the past week.
In the time she was supposed to be resting in her home, she had been running from one place to another, meeting her mother’s demands as the family’s heir.
Her eyes, heavy with exhaustion, blinked slower and slower until they eventually closed. The hum of the train’s engine became a distant lullaby, and the passing landscapes outside the window formed a blurry backdrop to her drifting consciousness.
Irina succumbed to the weariness, her head gently resting against the cushioned seat, and her breathing gradually steadying into the rhythmic pattern of slumber. The train continued its journey, carrying its passengers, including the fiery noble heiress, into the embrace of dreams and respite from the demanding reality they left behind.
******
“She really fell asleep here.”
Looking at the red-haired girl in front of me, I couldn’t help but get surprised.
‘Irina and using trains….This is surely a non-matching couple.’
I really didn’t expect our mighty Irina-sama to use a common train. She was a noble and belonged to one of the highest-ranking families. Thus, one naturally would expect her to travel with a dimensional gate.
Even though they were expensive, her family could easily afford it different from me.
‘But, why did she talk about Trevor Philips?’
As I watched her sleep soundly, I couldn’t help but remember what she talked about.
Trevor Philips.
I knew him. He was a named character in the game….A bastard villain who made deals with demons and became one of the insiders in the academy and the human domain.
Philips Family was a high-ranking family. The head was the Vice-president of the Hunter Association, and he was also the 10th in the overall Hunter ranking, belonging to the council.
‘She didn’t mention it directly, but she shouldn’t have any relations with him.’
Checking the things from the game, I knew Irina didn’t have a relationship with Philips; neither was she interested.
‘Then why did she ask?’
However, it was unnaturally for Irina to ask me about someone, considering most of the time, whenever we talked, we would bicker randomly.
‘She looked serious.’
The way she spoke and her small mimics when she talked were all pointed in one direction.
‘It is about me.’
I knew from our time in the dungeon, and when I observed her, that she had a small habit of pressing her thumb on her middle finger whenever she hid something.
And adding the way she looked at me while saying she wouldn’t tell me as if I was in a loss meant it was about me.
‘But what is it?’
I pondered. What did Trevor Philips have to do with me?
He was a senior in the academy and a villain, but there was no particular reason for him to be related to me.
If Irina knew he was a villain, then she wouldn’t talk to me about it.
‘Maybe she would, but it wouldn’t be here at least.’
And since he was a senior, it also didn’t make sense that he was interested in me.
‘Wait.’
Just at that moment, as I continued to think about the possible reasons, a thought occurred in my head.
‘If it was him….
One possible reason that he would be related to me.
‘It even seemed to be spread in the senior classes and between seniors…..’
Slowly, everything started to make sense as my thoughts continued to wander.
‘If it was him, then he would have the power to do such a thing.’
However, in the end, everything was my speculation, and I didn’t have any proof.
‘Why?’
His reasons were also unknown.
‘Let’s see if I was right.’
Looking at the girl sleeping soundly, I decided to ask her when she woke up.