Chapter 28: CH 13

Violet Evergarden

The railway parting from the southern maritime country Leidenschaftlich finally being extended to northern nations was something quite recent.

Public means of transportation were rather useful for traveling around a wide continent, yet the trains across the mainland contributed greatly not only to each person but also to society in terms of logistics. It could be said that the current results had been achieved due to the North-South feud of the Continental War being terminated on a superficial basis.

The information that a ceremony would be held for the departure of the intercontinental train spread quickly in the city of Leiden, and people rushed in pursue of tickets for the first trip. On the following day, the morning newspaper prior to the departure ceremony, which was completely taken over by the latter, was made to be delivered not only throughout Leidenschaftlich but also to the neighbor countries.

Although it was a trivial article for those who were not interested in the subject, the appearance of a single woman amongst the published photographs of people seeking the tickets instigated, for better or worse, a surreptitious feeling in those who knew her. Lux Sibyl, who would be at the CH Postal Service first-thing in the morning, smiled proudly upon spotting the figure of her beautiful friend. A novelist who quietly recited words in the middle of the mountains was in high spirits as though he had found a treasure amidst the article’s photos, and laid it as decoration on his cutouts wall. A young astronomer on the way of a journey bought two more copies of the same newspaper after a moment of astonishment, and Cattleya, who was on an amanuensis duty at a place far away from the office, asked her male client, with the newspaper at hand, who the cutest one was between herself and the woman displayed in it. Someone who had not seen her face for a long time surrendered himself to tracing it with his fingertips.

It was only a picture, but on the morning of that day, a premonition that something special was about to begin was engraved remarkably in the minds of those who had been involved with Violet Evergarden.

The departure ceremony was held in the Leidenschaftlich Station at two o’clock in the afternoon, and at three o’clock, after the passengers had come aboard the intercontinental train, it departed from the city by the end of the formalities. Children riding a train for the first time leaned their bodies forward over the windows and praised the scenery, proudly boasting to each other about the good fortune of managing to entrain the first expedition. Those using it for work-related transferences were satisfied with the careful customer service and safe driving, and those who had booked the sleeper car had their hearts stolen by the comfort as their bodies immediately embraced the drowsiness.

The operation went on without a hitch in general. Little troubles were witnessed, such as the employees in charge of transporting the baggage sending a passenger’s luggage to the wrong room, or a customer who had ordered a dish without onions from the dining car finding a small piece of onion in it and getting angry, but they could not be considered important.

The passing scenery outside the windows was gradually dyed in madder red, and just an hour after the departure, the world began to be surrounded by signs of the night. Once every hour, the train was required to be refilled with water.

“We will soon temporarily stop at the water supply point, so please sit down as the train will shake.” The porter advised the customers of each car.

As people were completely fascinated with the tour, they did not attempt to impede those who remained on their feet without any intention of sitting down. There were also many who observed the scenery while sipping alcoholic drinks. Those in a good mood did not listen to what others said. The porter, who had given the warning, smiled while thinking along the lines of, “what troublesome patrons” as he gently walked next to said passengers and asked them to take their seats.

It was an exceptionally wonderful voyage. Nobody imagined any tragedies would happen. Nor did anyone find the behavior of those individuals suspicious. The fact that they stuck a knife to the porter’s neck and slit it went unnoticed as well.

That day was genuinely supposed to be a marvelous one for several people.

At two quarters past four o’clock, under the thick clouds spreading in an autumn sky, a corpse was discarded on the railroad track as if it were dirt. It rolled onto the ground and, before the crows could greedily devour it, it was found by the owner of a nearby meadow, who happened to be passing by. Much like rain pouring onto the surface of a lake, such thing hinted the extent of some sort of big incident. The first drop was the dead body. From the sky, one, two more drops fell, which marked the discovery of a problem that was now progressively growing.

The abnormal conduct of the intercontinental train, which had originally been supposed to make stops yet was passing every station while keeping the passengers on board, caught a lot of attention, and at some point, the army was mobilized. First came a report from employees and civilians from one of the stations that were passed by, and the message was relayed to the military police.

The military police based itself mainly on law enforcement duty to protect the safety of the citizens’ everyday lives, and was a separate entity from the army, despite having the word “military” in its name. By the time the military police had arrived at the Leidenschaftlich Army Ministry, a reinforce request for the situation had been issued from the Leidenschaftlich National Railway as well.

The headquarters of the Leidenschaftlich Army Ministry were, in one word, a fort. For a mere building, it had a hardly describable architecture. Firstly, there was a castle tower-like construction that housed the Army Ministry, with double stonewalls surrounding it. There was a dry moat outside of the walls, and the trees and shrubs beyond said moat had been entirely cut down in order to open the view. There was no place for foes to hide in case of invasions. The structure seemed to already intimidate with a “if you want to defeat me, come try”.

Being able to bask in a constitution that was so well-attuned to hostility was likely a proof that its soldiers had overcome numerous aggressive wars. In such setting, courtesy of the country’s system, the reinforcement request project, “Case of the Intercontinental Train’s Hijacking”, was set to be launched at the Army Ministry on an early stage, but the recruited officers were not yet aware of the extent of the chaotic rain’s dispersion.

At twenty minutes past five o’clock of that day, in one of the Army Ministry’s rooms, Gilbert Bougainvillea was discussing the course of action of Leidenschaftlich’s army’s Special Offense Force, which he used to lead.

“Disbanding would be reasonable, but if it is to be handed over, I would like to be the one to choose the personnel.”

Gilbert Bougainvillea, who used to be a major of Leidenschaftlich’s army, had equitably served as lieutenant-colonel, and, in recognition of the achievements in the Great War by the Special Offense Force of Leidenschaftlich’s army, led by himself, yet another promotion of position was acknowledged and he was allowed to wear the rank insignia of a colonel. As he became one, operating inside the Army Ministry was basically his main task. As it was, his troop had been on march both inside and outside of the country, since the circumstances had required post-war armed interventions, yet it was left afloat as a result of his successive career.

“It’s my honest opinion that disbanding it is regrettable. There are members who want to resign from it due to being promoted, but even with those posts vacant, it has a high level of excellence. To the point it can very well work as an independent unit. Well, the higher-ups probably won’t allow that so easily… since they might think of it as your private soldiers.” A bluish black-haired man agreed with Gilbert’s words. “Laurus Schwartzman” was written in the nameplate on his desk.

Gilbert nodded at the outlook of the person who had the same status of colonel as himself but used to be in the position of his superior in the past. “Eventually, we could create this independent unit… From the viewpoint of those who are managing it, a unit that has too much freedom is dangerous, but it spends great efforts when there are big emergencies. However, if we are told that there have been none of those until now, we will not be granted consent. Therefore, I would like to leave a foundation ready for the sake of this occurrence… and, if I am held responsible for it, let me take over to those who can take into consideration the individual qualities. They were mostly polished by being brought into my personal care.”

“Who do you intend to appoint as successor?”

“Idris. He’s fit for being commander.”

“Isn’t he a fellow without education or supporters? It’s almost like me. Won’t you recommend someone from the Bougainvillea lineage? There are people in the army who are from your branch families.”

“Colonel Laurus… you recommended me because you dislike faction-based nominations, but now you’re telling me to nominate a Bougainvillea? Idris is clever even without education. He’s also vastly ambitious. As for supporters… I will become one.”

“I was just teasing; don’t get so angry.” At Gilbert’s low voice tone, Laurus soon laughed and apologized. As he became older, Gilbert had come to possess a presence that he did not in his younger days.

“Well, then, regarding the placement of a successor in my troops… I will count with your assistance for the necessary arrangements.”

“And my recompense will be…?”

“My little sister has said she wants to ride a horse with you in our next outing.”

Laurus’s showed a pleased reaction and Gilbert sighed a little, his shoulders slumping as if a weight had fallen upon them.

Gilbert’s position in the army appeared stable, but it was not so in reality. Although there were people who supported him simply for being a Bougainvillea, there were also those who attempted to ostracize him for it. Gilbert had reached a period in which he would have to decide whom he would take as his allies. Jealousy and corruption always rose wherever there was influence. Gradually gathering into his hands those people who were so hard for him to become like and securing them tightly under his arms was something now necessary for Gilbert.

Laurus was someone whose back he used to observe as if chasing after it when he had entered the army, and now Gilbert was finally lined-up by his side. There were very few who could manage through the promotion from colonel to brigadier-general and from brigadier-general to major-general. As Laurus himself did not display interest in being promoted, Gilbert believed he would not go above being a colonel. His origins, unlike Gilbert’s, did not leave him in an advantageous condition for disputing success either.

“This is up to the two of you, but please don’t ever upset my sister, who deeply cherishes you. Promise me.”

“I know. She confessed her love for a guy like me, after all. I intend to be with her even in my grave.”

He displayed no signs of looking for competition and his nature could be trusted. For Gilbert to think he could leave his sister to the latter’s care, he had to be a commendable individual.

Upon easing the wrinkles between his brows with the fingertips of his left arm, which had become a prosthetic, Gilbert took in his hand a newspaper unrelated to his duties that was lying on the desk. Ever since he had read it in the morning after waking up, he had carried it around with him while working. He unconsciously looked at the part of it that had photos of the intercontinental train.

“You’ve… been reading that since morning, huh. You like trains?”

“If there comes a chance to get on a tour ride, I want to try it.” With gestures that could not be perceived as unnatural, he folded the side with the pictures and put the newspaper down.

The two men had been in a situation in which even Laurus had come to question why Gilbert had forsaken the Warrior Maiden of Leidenschaftlich’s army in the aftermath of the Great War, and therefore, he did not wish to get into the topic. As they chatted about trivial everyday matters, someone knocked on the door.

“Colonel Schwartzman… ah, Colonel Bougainvillea, you’re here in a good timing. We are having an emergency meeting. A big incident has happened. The case has been established at the countermeasures headquarters, so please come quickly. Right now, we are summoning all the personnel from the task force.”

Being told so by the administrative official, the two looked at each other’s faces and stood up at the same time.

Those who gathered at the headquarters, in which a roundtable was prepared, were mainly colonels. The occurring incident would be explained by the major-general beforehand.

“First and foremost, at two in the afternoon, a departure ceremony was held in honor of the intercontinental train, and one hour later, the passengers came on board and it left the station. It passed Attaccare, which was one of it stop stations, and proceeded just like that. It was also at this time that a corpse was thrown off in the vicinity of Attaccare. The body was found and reported by a farmer of that neighborhood. According to the information of the Leidenschaftlich’s national railway, the train is currently stopping at the Rauschend station, which is one of the water supply points. Through the station’s staff, a demand for reward in exchange for the passengers was issued to Leidenschaftlich.” While everyone paid attention, the major-general said bitingly. “The enemy is telling us to release a political felon who is being kept in the Altair Prison. He’s a criminal from one of the countries that had formed an alliance in the previous war, Rochand. After the proclamation of their defeat, he blackmailed his motherland’s leaders into revoking the announcement, caused an internal conflict and was arrested. The ones responsible for this hijacking incident are maybe his guard dogs, certainly his comrades. Meaning the main offenders of this case are people who still don’t want to acknowledge that they lost the war.”

A feeling of tension ran through the place as the major-general recognized the other party as an ‘enemy’. In Leidenschaftlich, ‘enemies’ brought harm to the whole nation. They would all become targets of elimination, and most of them counted with military power as their means of control, unwilling to solve anything with dialogue.

“To top it off, the enemies hope to migrate to their country. The train is headed to the northernmost port city of the continent. They have a ship prepared there as well. It seems they expect everything to go flawlessly…” The major-general punched the north part of the map laid on the roundtable.

The people seated at the roundtable did not move even upon being startled, and their line of sight was fixed on the major-general. They accepted the anger emanating from him.

“We… we of Leidenschaftlich’s army… exist for the sake of defending our people and territory from foreign threats. To allow something like this after ending a war is a disgrace to Leidenschaflich’s name. But this is not just a matter of honor. There have already been casualties. This is quite an obvious statement, but it’s clear that our country’s people will be taken throughout this trip until the migration succeeds. There are surely women and children who can’t fight back in that midst. It’s not hard to imagine what they’ll go through. We must prevent this no matter what. The ‘enemy’ is moving. The problem is how to take the reins. We shall form a strategy considering the hypothesis of even worst-case scenarios. From this point on, I give everyone, regardless of them being upper or lower ranks, permission for voicing suggestions.”

At the major-general’s words, everyone started composing tactics while observing the map. The train was in motion. If they were to strike it, their only option would be invading it. Attacking from the outside would compromise the lives of the passengers inside. The opinion that there was no choice but stand in wait for it at one of the water supply points and ambush it all at once was settled down no matter what. But the enemy would probably anticipate that much. The concern that a hostage could be killed for display so that their passage would be permitted was enunciated, as well as the fact they would be in tantalizing circumstances, as they would not be able to do anything until the train stopped at the water supply point. They sought for urgent contact.

The debate became heated. In that midst, only Gilbert was reticent as he paled in silence. His ears registered everyone’s exchanges. He was also formulating in his head what proposals he should verbalize, as doing so might be necessary. However, a single fact dominated his entire body and halted its outward functions.

——Violet is on board.

There was no way he could have mistaken her figure as he saw her in a photography of people trying to buy tickets for the first trip. It was extremely natural for an Auto-Memories Doll traveling around the world to rely on trains. Meaning there would be no one else to be aboard the intercontinental train in her stead.

——If I called Hodgins, would he answer?

He had judged Gilbert for leaving Violet without a trace. In their last conversation, he had said he would be cutting their ties until Gilbert reconsidered it.

“Gilbert…? You’re… quiet, but don’t you have any ideas?”

As Laurus spoke to him from the side, Gilbert turned towards his direction. He was probably making a face he normally would not. Laurus leaned back with a start. The major-general promptly noticed it.

“What’s wrong, Laurus? Don’t hold back to give your suggestion.”

“No… I… right, I agree with the ambush at the water supply point. It will be off-the-cuff from the garrison on the railway, but I think we can’t do anything other than prepare the troops and stand in wait… I believe that organizing a plan and personnel that can back us up during a seizure battle after the waiting is most crucial. The fact that stopping at the water supply points is mandatory for the train is its trait, after all.” After uttering the proposition, perhaps due to thinking he was feeling sick, Laurus asked Gilbert in a low tone, “Are you okay?”

Gilbert nodded without saying anything. As the major-general requested his opinion as well, Gilbert settled for saying, “I approve the flow of the current situation’s discussion.”

Since he was worried about Violet’s and the passengers’ safety, Gilbert favored the course of action of a short-term decisive battle.

——Still, it is only a matter of time for an antagonistic view to manifest. Just as he thought so, what Gilbert dreaded soon became a reality.

“I sense an incongruence in this trend. To ensure the success of our scheme, wouldn’t it be better to formulate a plan for us to take control of the train at the last station in that northern port city?” After Laurus and Gilbert had expressed their valuations, a colonel who had been solely observing, much like Gilbert until that point, raised his voice.

“Ahmar, when you object, you have to explain your plan in detail.” The major-general urged colonel Ahmar to speak further.

Laurus had an obviously unamused face on. Bearded and enormous, the man named Ahmar was on par with him, but the two of them were like cats and dogs. The people present were aware that the fact Ahmar had not voiced his own suggestions until then was due to wanting to oppose Laurus. The air became heavier.

“This opinion has been given just a bit ago, but if we target them at the water supply point, in case we end up letting them pass, the number of deaths would go up, right? The perpetrators would kill hostages for revenge, and their demands towards us would be bound to increase. In that meantime, I can already see that they would use a ransom for their requisitions. If that will be the case, making the other party think that things will proceed as they requested and then taking them down at once is a better idea. I’m sorry for regressing the discussion, but if this is an emergency, I believe we should choose an assured plan.”

“No! If you think about the citizens, we should act immediately! Right now, how do you think the people in that train are feeling? Are you saying that while being aware of how much time it takes to reach the last station?! Their families, too, want the army to do something as soon as possible!”

“Laurus, you always show off your principles with emotion-oriented arguments, but that’s unnecessary for a strategy. Results are everything, and we can elaborate the process later on. Are you giving those suggestions by picturing the aftermath of the aftermath? There have already been casualties, and for the sake of causing no more of them, we’ve no choice other than have the passengers endure it.”

The subject of the meeting was split into two sides: Laurus, who thought about the citizens’ rescue before anything else, and Ahmar, who prioritized bringing the situation under control.

Gilbert, who was silent beside Laurus, could even feel his restless heart sort out in the course of events. Rather than agitation, his impatience to do something about the direction things were taking, which was not the one he wanted, was becoming stronger. Gilbert could not consent to Ahmar’s methods.

It was difficult to imagine that Violet Evergarden would tamely ride all the way to the final station. She would likely take some sort of action. The fact that she was on board enthused not only great hopes but also a sense of unease.

——If she’s on her own, it’s evident that she will be reckless.

She was not the kind of young woman who would not use self-defense were she in a situation that required it. Gilbert had disciplined her that way.

——I must go for her aid. I must protect her. It’s precisely because she’s strong that she…

It would mean taking back his resolve of that day, in which he shed tears while making the decision to part ways with her. Should she find out he was still alive, Violet would definitely attempt to become Gilbert’s tool once more. That was his biggest fear.

——I don’t want… to see the one I love acting as a tool ever again.

Gilbert asked himself – in the current circumstances, what was the man named Gilbert Bougainvillea most afraid of?

——Violet’s death.

Gilbert asked himself – in the current circumstances, what did he wish for the most?

——Her safety.

Peeking into his heart’s discords, what he had to do was crystal-clear.

——Is this… also fate?

Gilbert closed his eyes once. He evened his breathing. The face of the girl he had let go of in resurfaced in his mind. So did her appearance from that picture, which showed she had grown up a good deal in the meantime that they had not seen each other.

He had spent many efforts until managing to take that seat. The next one he would aim for was the seat of major-general. The more he climbed up, the more he would be able to do in exchange of his free conduct being restricted.

At that moment, while such an incident was going on, he could feel God’s guidance yet again. He had become distressed when worrying about Violet, but could clearly understand what he had to do upon reasoning calmly.

——What are you living for? Don’t get worked-up.

Slowly, slowly, he opened his adhered eyelids.

——I’ve chosen a path in which I’d be able to walk at times like these. The time has come. That is all.

“May I… offer my suggestion?”

No wavering remained in his emerald green orbs. He stared at the major-general and everyone at the round table with his opened eyes. He knew what conduct he should take even without thinking about it.

“I have an idea.” His voice was neither too loud nor too low. “Firstly, about dispatching soldiers to the garrison located on the train’s route… I agree with it. We simply should not let it go to the North. Should it, by any chance, reach the sea, the navy will be the one to deal with it. I will talk to my older brother, Dietfriet Bougainvillea. As the Major-General has said, we should move while keeping the worst possible scenario in mind.”

It was important to speak with a calm attitude.

“About the current problem of where the dispatched soldiers should engage, I am against a battle at the final station. Should the place turn into a battlefield, emotion-based issues with the northern side will be involved. They are heroes from the North’s viewpoint. Showing them being purged in northern lands, their own home, would become a great display, but we should expect that it would instigate a shock big enough to cause an incident. Right now, they are showing a well-behaved attitude towards the Southeast regarding the release of their military forces, but they will definitely hold a grudge against this.”

“We shouldn’t be discussing such a thing now!”

Gilbert responded level-headedly to Ahmar’s angry roar, “The one who talked about picturing the aftermath of the aftermath, Colonel, was you.”

“You… have some nerve to be using such rude words with me given that you became a colonel just recently…”

“The Major-General said from the very start that we should make our suggestions freely. Are you against the Major-General’s decision?”

As their superior was cited, Ahmar refused to back off with a “no way”, his face becoming bright red.

Just as Ahmar had done with Laurus, Gilbert laid out a protest, “Please allow me to continue explaining my idea. There is no guarantee that damage is limited only to the passengers. It is necessary to evacuate all of the stations along the train’s course and the citizens in their proximities as well. Paired to the ambush attack at the water supply point, I propose an infiltration plan by tailing them from the capitol Leiden.” He stated loudly with a manner of speech that had a touch of composure and elegance.

People judged others mostly through vision and hearing. Doing such thing would make them think, “what this man says is worth listening to”.

“‘Infiltration plan’, you say? Will we make it in time if we start chasing the them now?”

Gilbert retorted Ahmar’s mockery without so much as raising a brow, “I will have the Nighthawks take flight.”

“Even if it’s on a stop now, it will eventually move!”

The one who became emotional would lose.

“Even if it does, it will stop again. To replenish water. If the infiltration turns out successful, it will greatly increase the accomplishment rate of the estimated suppression at the water supply point. Rescuing the passengers is a top priority. The more time this hijacking case takes, the more the death toll will rise. Both the criminals’ side and the victims’ side are losing their sanity. You shall know whether or not the Nighthawks will make it in time if you leave it to me. Let us mobilize the Leidenschaftlich Special Offense Force. Of course, I will be the one in command.”

There was a stir. He examined the major-general’s complexion, but the latter did not find fault in his suggestion.

Not letting the flow slip away from him, Gilbert resumed speaking, “Just a while ago, there was a remark about how we must prepare personnel specific for this sort of situation, but everyone, have you forgotten? The Leidenschaftlich Special Offense Force has been widely active as a raid unit since wartime. They clearly have the role disposition necessary for the process of an infiltration with a small number of people. If we are told to move now, we will can act immediately. Although there may be opinions that I should not be the one commanding on-site given my rank, the troops are still in my care, and my status is of recently nominated colonel. I shall prove my effectiveness. Please think of me as a board piece. A board piece that will mobilize the navy and, if everything goes well, fulfill the infiltration which will bring a quick resolution to this. If my troops fail, the ones lying in wait will be the dispatched soldiers of the Leidenschaftlich army. I find it extremely hard to believe that this incident merely stems from the North’s revenge. There must be… something else happening behind the scenes. There is not only one trap. I feel that… they are seeking for a devastating win, for which they have yet another scheme that we would not be able to crush along with the twofold and threefold traps they have laid out.” After pausing once to swallow saliva, Gilbert inquired, “Major-General, what do you say? I wish you would let me do it.” He pleaded, yet the right to decide was not his. Maintaining such posture, he pleaded even more with his eyes and approach.

Gilbert was aware. From an early age, he had always understood how he should behave in front of whom whenever he was in the presence of others. Should he make a mistake, admonition would come flying at him. That was the secret for success in order to live as a Bougainvillea. Depending on the attitudes he took, he knew what his opponent’s outcome might be. Within the world he understood, he currently existed for the sake of the one and only person that he once did not know he loved.

“Well, give it a try. Show me your abilities as a board piece.”

“I will definitely show you satisfying results.” While replying, Gilbert had already created a different strategy.

If there was something that could have been considered a brilliant day in the life of Samuel LaBeouf, it would be today. He had been elected head engineer of the frontal engine room in the first intercontinental train, which would remain in the country’s history. One had to wonder how many kisses of joy he had planted on the polished, black car walls. He had boasted about it to family and friends countless times. The people who knew of his efforts praised him sincerely and saw off the first service with a smile. Initially, Samuel had planned to spend his time humming a tune while journeying around the world as the Sun set, replaying in his head that wonderful day.

“The substitutes… still haven’t arrived?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…!”

It was exactly six hours and forty-three minutes into the evening. Samuel had a gun thrust at his neck from behind. The unmoving body of one of his colleague engineer and assistant lay at his feet, head hanging loosely. Said person, who had greeted and chatted with him on that very day, was now immobile. The train which tale had only just started and which name would be engraved in history had suddenly been hijacked and occupied by criminals.

——Why… why… did it come to this? What did I even do?

When exposed to a cruel fate, people would mostly have similar thoughts. Firstly, they would bemoan their doom.

——Where and what did I do wrong?

And then, they would trace in their brains the way back to when they were struck by misfortune. The time in which the intercontinental train that Samuel had been supposed to drive had left the station of Leidenschaftlich’s capitol city, Leiden, after the departure ceremony was over had been a while before dusk.

The intercontinental train, so-called “Femme Fatale”, was a full thirteen-car train composed of Locomotive 1, 2 and 3, Single-Room Sleeping Car 1 and 2, Simple Sleeping Car 1 and 2, Passenger Car 1 and 2, Panoramic Seats Car, Dining Car 1 and 2, and a freight car. In order to pull the other ten cars, each of the three locomotives had an engineer and an engineer’s assistant, and with a steam whistle as sign, each locomotive would do a triple-heading to adjust its pace. Therefore, even if the driving staff were lacking by just one person, the operation would not go as desired.

Femme Fatale had been invaded by hijackers with weapons not even an hour after departing from Leidenschaftlich. The hijackers had scattered in each car after the start of the operation, controlling the train from the freight car. In the process, the ones murdered were a porter from the simple sleeping car 1, one engineer from locomotive 3 and Samuel’s partners from locomotive 1 – a total of three assistants.

Femme Fatale needed replenishment of water, which was its fuel, from the stop stations. Currently, parallel to the water supplying, a demand had been sent to Leidenschaftlich and the National Railway for replacements to the vacant engineer and assistant posts, and the substitutes were being awaited. The hijackers seemed to have made other demands to the government, but did not notify Samuel, who was merely one of the hostages, of such things.

They had a cloth bearing the national emblem of a certain northern country wrapped around their arms. What on Earth was their purpose? Was it to take revenge for their defeat? Did they have even more outrageous plans? Either way, it could be assumed that their group was full of people that had a careless conduct and did not take orders. After all, no matter how much they lacked knowledge of how trains worked, they wound up killing staff members for hindering the operation.

“Don’t worry. If you hadn’t listened to the instructions, it’d be another story, but since you are a driver, we won’t kill you. This space is crammed. Don’t get too scared and wet your pants. It’d stink.” One of the hijackers said as if to calm Samuel down, perhaps due to his fearful form being difficult to watch.

“Hum, once the vacancy is supplemented… until what point am I supposed to drive…?”

“Go to the final stop with no changes in the course. What we demand of you is to deliver us safely.”

He had thought that saying anything would irritate them and earn him a violent response. Thus, he was a little surprised to be able to talk normally with them.

——Those people may be human beings just like me, but I can’t bring myself to think of them as such.

From Samuel’s viewpoint, they seemed like people from a completely different world.

There were obviously people other than Samuel LaBeouf wondering why things had turned out that way. Unlike Samuel, who had his life assured to some extent for being in the position of engineer, the ones in question were the frightened passengers, who had no idea of when they might be killed should they get on the hijackers’ nerves.

Several hours had passed since the incident had started upon arrival at the water supply point. The number of criminals was not too big, but a few of them were monitoring the hostages by taking turns with one another. The information that engineers and assistants had put up a resistance and been slaughtered in the frontal engine room, and that replacement personnel was being awaited had not come down to them. The state of tension due to fear persisted for a long while, and the mental condition of the passengers was nearing its limit.

“Aah, really, why did this have to happen?” In the back dining car number two, one of the customers – an elderly gentleman – lamented with his meal gone cold in front of him.

——At this point in time, I was supposed to be seeing my niece wearing her wedding dress and getting married in our hometown.

He had not expected that the train ride, which had begun with such a happy mood, would turn into something so horrid. The big incidents he would see in newspapers and hear about in rumors always took place far away from himself, and therefore, he had not thought that a disaster of the same sort would actually occur.

He had not been directing his words at anyone in particular, but the woman sitting close to him reacted to them.

“What is an intercontinental train even meant to be…?”

Amidst such an overwrought scenario, a beautiful and refreshing voice echoed in his ears, “Just as the name says, it is a large-scale vehicle that makes connections through a railroad that goes from one end to the other of the continent, and transports anything, from goods to people. It grants accessibility and profit to many. However, trains cannot run if there is no railway. To build railways, the ground must be shaved off. Even if there are flowerbeds or homes on said ground, whatever might be on the way is forcefully removed and their existence eliminated.” It belonged to a strange, attractive woman who only mutely watched the change of colors in the sky without letting out a single scream ever since the car had been taken control of by the hijacker group. As though a machinery or something of the sort was embedded in her head, she talked on smoothly, “In order to make this railroad, it seems that a northern castle, which used to be a cultural monument, was demolished. Moreover, I have heard that operators from the North, the losing side, have suffered profoundly from overwork due to low-wage labor. Paths are opened with explosives so that we can get through mountains. The number of explosion accidents that happened in the process was not small.” The woman’s blue eyes observed the northern country emblem wrapped around the arm of a hijacker that held a weapon.

“That can’t be. You shouldn’t tell lies. Such a thing was… not in the newspapers, was it?”

Few were the people who would not become uncomfortable upon hearing that the state or nation they belonged to was the evil side. As the gentleman spoke a little indignantly, the woman – Violet Evergarden – spouted forth, “It is not a very well-known story. I, too, heard it by coincidence when I was traveling. I have been to everywhere, after all. Most likely, it can be presumed that this was their impetus… but if that were the case, taking the chance of destroying this train car and killing us should have been the main aim. They have murdered crew members, but seem to regard the lives of us passengers as considerably important. There… might be some other purpose…”

The gentleman was shaken at such a frail-looking girl uttering the word “murdered”.

“By that, you mean…?”

“Who knows? Since they have taken us as hostages… it is reasonable to believe that they are making demands to the government.”

The gentleman was not convinced of Violet’s speech, yet was impressed by her intelligent guess.

——Just… what exactly does this girl do for a living?

She was a mysterious young woman who had an appearance akin to a doll that a small child would carry around. The fear that had been enveloping him was settled down a little due to his curiosity towards her.

“Still, that has nothing to do with us. I simply… wanted to attend the wedding of my niece, who lives far away.”

“Yes. However,” Violet continued, “Our circumstances also do not matter to them. Each side persisting on their convictions is what wars are about. This place can already be considered a battlefield.”

The world, which had been covered by dusk, morphed into evening. The soft glow of the lanterns hanging in the car produced a gentle light that significantly contrasted with such an edgy situation. Blue eyes stared at the state of the water supply procedures outside, the car’s lamps and the men yelling at a few passengers that had been taken hostage, respectively.

“I should soon… get going.”

It was then that the gentleman finally noticed. She was not merely observing the situation in silence. She had been aiming for some sort of opening.

“Hey, you, I don’t know what you intend to do, but it’s better to stop…”

“It is completely dark outside. This window is rather large, is it not?”

The gentleman was confused at the remarks that did not make sense.

“Sir, if I may ask, do you smoke cigarettes or cigars?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Do you have matches?”

“In my right pocket…”

“Please allow me to borrow just one of them later.” Saying nothing but that, Violet promptly stood up. She slowly raised a hand to her hair’s bundle of braids.

The gentleman could see that her hand grasped a thinly sharpened silver stick. It was one of her hidden devices, which could be used in both close and long-range combat, but from an ordinary person’s view, it could be perceived as nothing but a thick needle.

However, one of the criminals held Violet at gunpoint as she had started acting odd. “Hey, what are you doing?! Hands up!”

“Understood.” She raised her arms, just as she was told.

The next instant, only the lanterns of the car abruptly burst and the lights went out. The screams of the passengers mingled with the hijackers’ angry voices. But there were no gunshots. The sounds of something striking and of breaking glass continued. And then, it became completely quiet. Everyone was enveloped in bewilderment at the silence that met them amidst the pitch darkness.

What had happened to the hijackers? What had been made of the girl who had suddenly stood up? What on Earth was going on in that vehicle at that moment? While the passengers’ minds were filled with questions, fire was lit back within one of the shattered lanterns. A beautiful woman holding a match emerged from the dark like a spirit. With an index finger against her lips, she whispered a “shh”. The woman stood out vividly against the colors of the night. All the passengers who took notice of her fell silent under compulsion.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am a traveler. Everyone, I am aware that you must be tired. Please wait a little bit longer. I will now take control… of the guards outside and the freight car.” Saying no more than that, Violet blew out the match’s fire with a whiff.

The gentleman realized then that a match had been taken from his breast pocket without his notice.

Within that world of darkness, only noises began to echo yet again as one of the left-side windows was opened and someone landed outside. The sounds of gravel being stepped on and of someone running ensued. After a short while, a man’s groan could be heard. A few seconds later, there was a rustle of something heavy being dragged. The passengers shuddered, astonished with the unexpected turn of events. They then heard a treading over the gravel once more. It was a nimble pacing, coming close to the car. The footsteps of the unseen person fueled the sense of uneasiness in those who had been immersed in fear for a long time span.

“Excuse me.”

“Hih!” The gentleman yelped curtly as the window was casually knocked from outside.

Violet stood in the outer world, where one could rely solely on moonshine, with the moonlight against her back.

“Everyone, make sure to remain quiet. Please escape before the people from the other cars come to attack this one.”

Doll-like clothes, doll-like features. The hints of her humanity were dim in everything about her.

“Do lend a hand to women, elders and children. Please follow along the railway and walk in the opposite direction of the ride. It will most likely take time, but if you go to the nearest station, the military police will definitely grant you protection. It is not a good idea to stay at this station. People who seemed to be station’s staff were speaking friendly with the guards, so there must be other entities participating in this takeover.”

One could tell without directly seeing her fight. She was not an ordinary person.

People started to climb onto the window and come down in a surge.

“What about you? Will not you come with us?” The gentleman asked the mysterious woman whom he was curious about once he set his foot on the ground.

Violet shook her head. “I have something to do here. An incident such as this one is a first ever since the war ended. Most likely, Leidenschaftlich’s army will make its move to deal with the this strife. It is exceedingly difficult to stop a train… which is like a box with people inside, without attacking from the outside. If the inside is emptied, there will be no need for hesitation. It is clear that a battle will commence at one of the next stop stations. Until then, I have to do what I can…”

“That… isn’t something for you to do, right? Let’s all run away together.”

“No…”

Her blue eyes were staring down at the gentleman in front of her, but her consciousness lay elsewhere.

“No, it is something I must do. This is… this is… for the sake of someone whom I wish to become the strength of, even if indirectly.”

She was looking at Gilbert Bougainvillea, who was, somewhere far in the distance, surely spending efforts on the rescue of the citizens.

“Fortunately, I was going to arrive at the place where I was heading to one day earlier than planned. I happened to use this train by coincidence, but there are other means of transportation. If I am still able to contact my head office today, they should be able to prepare a substitute for my work… This is a rather big incident, so my company’s president might have already anticipated this situation and arranged a replacer. That is my only matter of concern.”

“You should be concerned about your own body rather than about such things. It’s dangerous… Aren’t you just a young girl?”

“Do not worry. The night has deepened, so I believe I can take control of this with the least possible damage.”

“‘Control’, you say…”

“Take control” were the words that had spilled from her a while before as well. It was neither “put up a resistance” nor “seize”. The standpoint she spoke of was different. She was planning to force the battle into surrender. That beautiful woman did not seem fearful or nervous in the slightest of being outnumbered.

——I have a feeling… that this is not quite having confidence.

All of her actions appeared to the gentleman as an automatic mechanism.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“I am not.” Her attitude was of someone who was unbothered by the fact that she was about to pick a fight with hijackers.

Soon, the train started moving.

The gentleman thanked her for saving everyone as she climbed back in and asked lastly, “You, what’s your name?”

Violet’s expression grew even more attractive than before as she placed an index finger against her lips without saying anything. As the train was gone, the gentleman was unable to hear her name.

Back at six hours and twenty-seven minutes, Gilbert had sent out an emergency convocation to his own troops, assembling them at a runway where Nighthawks took flight. All were waiting at a standby place near said runway for the transmission of the operation’s contents, the arming of the troops and the adjustment of the Nighthawk planes to be finalized. He had decided to make use of that time and contact the two men he needed to speak with.

“We are connected to the Leidenschaftlich Navy Ministry.”

“Sorry about that. I’ll borrow this as it is. I’m counting on you to keep people away for now.”

The person from the communication room, whom Gilbert had requested beforehand to make a call to his brother, gave him the seat.

His brother’s voice could soon be heard. “Gil, you had a favor to ask your great older brother?”

It was the tone of someone feigning displeasure, Gilbert thought.

Although Dietfriet requested things from Gilbert, the opposite usually did not happen. Whenever he asked for anything, his brother would take a stance of annoyance, but never refused him. He probably felt indebted to Gilbert for the treatment he had been giving the latter so far.

“Yeah, Brother. I do have a favor.”

There was no way the older one would be unhappy that his younger brother was relying on him.

Gilbert had been able to declare in the meeting that the navy would be mobilized since the chances of success of his appeals were visible. The circumstances seemed to have been transmitted to the Navy Ministry as well, and so, the request for a battleship to be dispatched and prevent the migration from the port capitol of the North was officially issued.

Even though both were national organizations, Leidenschaftlich’s army and navy were separate entities that shared the military budget. A mediator was needed for one to acquire the other’s cooperation, or else, it was quite difficult to do so whenever there was no great gain for either. With the passage of time, the fact that Dietfriet had betrayed the Bougainvillea – a family that had joined the army for generations – and enlisted into the navy had been turning into an asset for the two brothers. Just as Gilbert, Dietfriet had carved a position for himself that enabled him to move his troops to a large extent.

“Well, then, I will definitely pay you back for this one day.”

“Bring drinks and celebrate my birthday with me when it comes. That’d be enough.”

“If it’s something like that, I’d do it even without it serving as repayment.” Gilbert replied and was about to hang up, but his fingertips, which had stretched towards the communication equipment, halted at the next words from Dietfriet.

“That’s right… just one more thing. The reason you’re so desperate is because of ‘that’, isn’t it? I saw the newspaper. I ended up spotting ‘that’ in it even without wanting to. Has ‘it’ come to see you? ‘It’ discovered that you survived, right? I was curious as to what happened afterwards. Did you make ‘it’ yours?”

“Hah?”

It was common since their childhood for his brother to prank him, and so, Gilbert thought that had been tasteless witticism at first.

“Stop with the bad jokes at a time like this, Brother. Violet doesn’t know of my survival.”

Silence.

“Brother?”

“It wasn’t a joke. I see… I was sure ‘it’ was gonna go see you as soon as possible, but I was wrong, huh? So ‘it’ is laying low because of this situation… Since you’re so nice, you stayed away in order to give ‘it’ a peaceful life, so you’re sure to be worrying that ‘it’ might find out about you because of this emergency rescue plan. Don’t fret. ‘It’ already knows.”

“What… What are you saying…?” Cold sweat slowly trailed down his back. “There’s… no way she would.” His voice was faltering.

“But it seems it is. Last time I saw you during the Flying Letters… I told you I had seen ‘it’, right? Back then, ‘it’ asked me… if you were alive. I gave an answer that neither affirmed nor denied anything. And so, ‘it’… she became convinced. That you were alive, I mean.”

Although Gilbert could not change what had already happened, he felt like saying “wait up”. His vision went white. He was dizzy enough to be on the verge of throwing up. With a hand on his lips, he stayed quiet.

——Violet… knows?

“Hey, Gil. You okay?”

He had heard in detail from Hodgins about how much his lie had afflicted and saddened her. If she had found out he was alive, then Gilbert was nothing to Violet other than the Lord who had tossed her away without so much as praising her military deeds. There would be no helping it if she came to hate him.

“Why… did you do something so uncalled for…?!”

Intense wrath engulfed Gilbert’s heart. He was close to venting, but the only outlet for his rage was his brother.

“Like I care. Don’t involve me in your blind love mess. I didn’t answer, but she was convinced of it. That’s all.”

“You think it’s unrelated to you… Brother, you always… Just how am I supposed to face her…?!”

“The people closest to you are family, right? It looked like she had always been believing that you had lived. When she confirmed that you really were, how can I put it? Well, she had her eyes shining like an idiot. If she hasn’t gone there to see you… that’s right. There’s only one thing I can think of. Since she’s a tool, she’s waiting for her Master to pick her back up. She’s probably anticipating a moment when she’ll be needed… ‘cause she’s stupid. It’s a good opportunity, so go fetch her.”

“Brother—!!”

“You were preparing yourself for the worst while making this emergency rescue plan, right? Be thankful to your older brother for giving you this push. Bye, Gil. Leave the sea to me. Next time we meet will be on my birthday… Love ya.”

“Brother, wait!”

The line was turned off one-sidedly. Gilbert was mute out of great perplex.

Perhaps people were waiting for the conversation to end, as the door was knocked from outside the communication room. Someone from his troops handed him a baggage with weapons and ammo that he had specified. The one who had brought the baggage was concerned about Gilbert’s oozing distress, taking it merely as a glimpse of the intense negotiations with the navy, but in reality, that was not the case.

While checking the baggage’s contents, Gilbert held firmly onto the gun. Should he shoot a bullet into his own head, his worries over everything he was shouldering would surely be gone, but he could not do so.

He then contacted Leidenschaftlich’s CH Postal Service. A girl with a young-sounding voice answered the phone, but informed him that they were on temporary closing for the day. It seemed that they already knew about the hijacking incident.

“Please announce… that I called to offer help in the hijacking case of the intercontinental train. One of your members is in it, right? If you just say that I am from the Leidenschaftlich army, he should be able to know who it is…”

He could faintly hear a state of agitation on the other side of the line. It was a shout from his old friend, followed by the thud of something like a chair being knocked over as someone stood up, rustles of falling paperwork, and finally, he was able to catch sounds of breathing.

“Gilbert! You… Where have you been and doing what?!” A voice clearly coated in anger echoed in his ears stridently. Regardless, Gilbert wound up feeling joy. It had truly been a long time since he had last talked to Claudia Hodgins.

“I heard just a moment ago from the secretary that you had contacted the army. Sorry. I was in a meeting.”

“Don’t go having meetings while one of my employees is in major trouble! You… know what’s up, don’t you? The army is making its move, right? I mean on the hijacking case of the intercontinental train! She is… she is…”

“I am aware. Violet is on board, isn’t she? There was a photo of her in the newspaper.”

Hodgins was dumbfounded at Gilbert’s casual response and soon retorted, “Don’t speak so calmly!” Losing his composure even more, he started making odd claims, “I am the way I am, and you were supposed to be like me too. You were supposed to be like that all along.”

——He’s sentimental, and a boisterous guy.

Gilbert ended up laughing. He felt embarrassed of how much he had longed for that noisy friend of his in the meantime they had not talked to one another. Not letting it show that he was just as anxious as the latter, he replied with words that were not solely his vanity, but also merged with his true sentiments, “As if I can afford to lose my mind. During times of crisis, it’s my duty to come up with means of protecting the citizens.”

“Does Little Violet… count as one of those citizens?”

“Obviously.”

“Are you mad… that I let Little Violet get in danger even though you entrusted her to me?”

Gilbert was sincerely surprised to be asked something completely different. “What are you saying? I’m grateful to you. I wouldn’t have entrusted her… to anyone but you. You’re a man with sense of responsibility, so I left her to you. But that has nothing to do with what is happening now.”

“I don’t think so.”

Gilbert realized what Hodgins was talking about as if he had grasped the matter with his hands. Even though he was not at fault, blaming himself while wondering what else he could have done was a trait of his best friend’s personality.

“Hodgins.”

“What?”

“You’re my number one friend.”

“What’s with that, out of the blue…?”

“Hodgins. A friend like you… won’t show up before me again. You’re that important, even if you don’t want it. I’m the same to you too, aren’t I? That’s why… I thought you were taking my sins lightly. You asked me why I had let go of Violet and told me to come see her, right? And said I shouldn’t call you unless I reconsidered it.”

“I did. I definitely did.”

“I… I keenly felt that I was the last person she should see, so I let her go. When we first met, I had thought it was best for me to watch over her while keeping her at arm distance, but that was a façade, and in the end, I used her as a tool.”

“But that… under those circumstances, there was no helping it. I would have done the same.”

“Is that really so? I… don’t think you would. How is she now, the Violet that you guided and raised? If I… hadn’t made the wrong choice… if I hadn’t raised her by my side, she would have grown up without knowing the battlefield. The current Violet is how she was originally supposed to be. That’s why it’s not your fault if something like this happens in the process. For starters, this was an accident.”

“If you’re gonna say that, I can shoot it right back at ya. Don’t make it seem like Little Violet fighting alongside you in the war was something bad. That’s blasphemy against every soldier we lived with in that period. The problem was how you would have guided her after that. And it was then I got angry because you were prioritizing only your own feelings and not thinking about Little Violet. But, listen! I’ll cease fire temporarily. Now isn’t the time to be on break-up. We’re both her guardians. Let’s save her.” His tone was determined and seemed to deliver the heated, glaring gaze of his greyish blue orbs even through the communication equipment.

“I agree with that… For her sake, anything I can do… In order to keep her away from the army, I have done several preparations to prevent her return. Personal connections, merits… I devoted myself for everything to be the utmost and very best. I’m in the middle of that even now. If it’s to protect Violet, I won’t nitpick methods.”

“So, you’re gonna put up a cool pose like, ‘whatever is not for her sake… shall be excluded, even if that is myself’ and protect her from the shadows?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

By the looks of it, Hodgins also did not seem to know the truth. Then Violet had concluded on her own that Gilbert had survived and, as Dietfriet had said, was simply waiting for him. For her Master to come retrieve her.

“But I wonder about that… Soon, the lie I pinned into her might be busted. There’s a high chance I’ll come in contact with Violet.”

After a brief silence, Hodgins’s request for repetition in the form of a “Haah!?” resounded loudly. He finally took notice of turbine sounds coming from behind Gilbert. “Wait a bit, then where… are you now?”

“Near a runway that was reserved for my troops’ Nighthawks. I’m currently coordinating the departure.” Gilbert loaded his gun while speaking. He had also taken off his military uniform and finished changing into his battle outfit. The latter felt more familiar on his body.

“Of Leidenschaftlich’s Special Offense Force!? Yo-You… are commanding them and going for the rescue?!”

“That’s right.”

“You… said you wouldn’t see her! Is it okay if you do?!”

Silence. Gilbert believed the conversation would drag on for much longer if he revealed that Violet apparently knew about his survival.

“Why are you quiet? Isn’t that it?”

“When everything is over, I’ll apologize and report to you too. This is in order to save Violet. There’s no other option anymore. If we do end up meeting, I’ll beg for forgiveness…”

Their time to talk was shortening.

“Then prepare yourself for the worst. This is something that you caused.” Hodgins said something similar to what Dietfriet had. “So, what will you do once the Nighthawks take flight? Don’t tell me you’ll jump onto the train while it’s moving?”

“That’s right.”

“You really… are insane sometimes! A knight-in-shiny-armor gone crazy over love! Haha! I’ll praise you for that.”

Hodgins’s laughter could be heard. As Gilbert was unable to counter-argue, his face reddened.

“By the way, eh, are you… still a lieutenant-colonel? Wasn’t there some deal about you receiving other two rank promotions?”

“You’re full of questions… They waited for my injuries to heal. I became a colonel a few days ago.” With his prosthetic left arm, Gilbert stroked the eyepatch on his palm, which hid the right eye he had lost. Even with only one side of his vision, his handling of weapons had not deteriorated.

“And yet you’re the one in command!? That’s even more insane! The higher-ups sure made a great concession!”

“No more mocking, Hodgins. I told you, didn’t I? If it’s for Violet’s sake, I don’t nitpick my methods. Of course, our objective is to settle down the current situation, but there’s no way that can be done without me commanding on-site. Earlier, you said you’d do everything you can. If those words weren’t a lie, I want you to show me your data-acquiring skills. Is there any information that the military doesn’t know of?”

“Got it. I’ll tell you. But lemme just say one thing.”

“What is it…?”

“You… turn into a huge idiot when it comes to Little Violet, huh. I… like that a lot.”

“Shut up.”

Why was that? Between friends, even if they spent a long while without speaking to each other, once they eventually opened their mouths and reached out to one another, they would end up talking as if the flow of time in that gap had never existed. The two forgot about back when they had stopped contacting each other and begun to chatter.

“I’ll say what we have here, so you tell me too. Let’s have an info exchange. The hijackers had in them the national emblem of a certain northern country, Rohand. Remnants of an extremist party that also caused trouble before by raiding a construction site when the railroad of the intercontinental train was being made are in that group. Still, it seems they were not supposed to be a number of people significant enough to cause such a big incident… they might’ve gotten more collaborators.”

Gilbert ran a pen through his notebook. He also spoke about what he had heard during the meeting, as well as about the demands for a political offender kept in the Altair Prison to be handed over and to migrate to another continent in exchange for the passengers. He was aware that they were not ones to negotiate with in normal circumstances.

“Our information and yours aren’t that different in terms of freshness. The train is currently making a stop at a water supply point. It’s been confirmed through the supplementary information from the Leidenschaftlich National Railway that some engineers and engineer assistants of the train were killed and that the criminals sought substitute personnel. It’s good that we were able to buy time, but you said that their numbers must be small since they’re taking such reckless actions despite having a plan, right? Normally, when an anti-government organization swells up and spontaneously discharges like this, it’s mostly due to worthless bastards being drawn into it by a primary factor of making numbers balance. Meaning they have caused a situation that there’s no turning back from, huh?”

“Either way, they wanna slap the South in the face and migrate to a country that isn’t their own. Did you know that Rohand’s territory is on the railway’s track? For example, if we had been the ones to lose the war, Leidenschaftlich’s towns had been destroyed and a roadbed had been built across it, what would you think?”

“I would provisionally evacuate, store weapons, gather warriors and come back.”

“If it were me, I’d find my happiness in another land, but you’d do something like that. This is probably also valid to the enemies. And surely, there is a comrade of theirs in the Altair Prison whom they’d think that could do it. If I… were the criminal of this incident, and you were in Altair, maybe I’d have done the same as them.”

——If it were you, you’d take a smarter route. Gilbert thought but did not voice it.

Perhaps having been able to realize something from Gilbert’s silence, Hodgins said quickly, “The enemies are level-headed enough only not to kill the passengers, but they’ll soon give in to despair. If that happens, there’s a high chance that the number of deaths will rise. You said our information wasn’t different in freshness, but I still have material. The regulations after the calling-off of military forces in the North are rigid. If the hijackers managed to get weapons, it’s most possible that they imported them from another continent. It’s been confirmed there are armed groups that get their hands into weapons that we’re not yet familiar with through entwined foreign trades with other countries and continents. Still, it looks like the relationship between the arm dealers of these continents and the people of ours who want weapons can’t be considered good. It seems the fees are pretty overcharged. Meaning they’re being taken advantage of.”

“Even Leidenschaftlich has problems in foreign trades with other continents. They are wary of our natural resources and don’t stop just at interchanging goods, but also try to buy lands here. It is, aah… almost like that.”

“Yeah, like a forewarning that there’s some project involving the South and North. You get it? There’s a need to understand the background of the incident happening right now. At first glance, it looks like a fight between Leidenschaftlich, of the South, and a country of the North, Rohand, but in reality, there’s one more entity. It’s only watching. But it exists. As a third influence, it wants to know just how well Leidenschaftlich can handle a situation like this one. Other than being on the side that won the war, we’re also the greatest military nation.”

“Migration plans, another continent, new armaments.”

Albeit messily, a summary of the incident was unraveling within Gilbert. A thread trailed around his mind, and the results of the accumulated information came out. One: the contents of the demands made by the hijackers were that, once the intercontinental train arrived at its last station in the port town, the political offender and war criminal of the North were allowed to migrate with them to another continent. Two: they, who were from the defeated nation, had been able to execute the hijacking through the other continent’s support.

Those with good intuition could tell. The current situation had been induced because the trigger of a next war was about to burst. Just when everyone was thinking that the horrors of wartime had settled down in their continent, there were now other continents targeting it.

As Gilbert’s supposition wound up hitting bull’s-eye, his head grew heavy. “Our victory needs to be overwhelming.”

“Will Leidenschaftlich dispatch rescue troops other than yours?”

“The orders have been given. They’ll aim for the water supply, attack, help the passengers escape and engage into battle. It’ll be an ambush from the army garrison of the North. If, by any chance, they still strive towards migrating to another country, the ones they’d have to face next would be the navy. My brother is also on the move. But we can’t let them get to the sea. For that, I have a favor to ask you.”

“What is it? You can say anything.”

“Buy the land of a water supply point station that the train is expected to pass by.”

“Hah?”

“Trains usually require water supply. It’s a one-stop-per-hour ratio. Once the water is replenished, we’ll lose an opportunity of rescue again. However, it’s predictable that they will use hostages as shield and the dispatched northern troops would have to allow their passage. I want a place where they will definitely stop at. And then, I want the railroad to be destroyed so that they won’t be able to not stop… That’s why, buy the property, and break it down.”

“‘Buy it’, you say, like it’s something easy…”

“You can’t?”

“Don’t ask stupidities. It’s not a matter of being able to or not. I will do it. My employee is on that thing!”

“Since it’s you, I did think you’d say that. The lands of the passing points are divided into two types: those owned by the Leidenschaftlich National Railway and those that were rented from the original owners and are in use. When I looked at the map, I was able to narrow the places where we’d be able to have a flashy ambush battle, yet in which it would hardly affect other territories, and that the train would afterwards undoubtedly stop at once far away from the water supply point, down to a few stops. And among them, there is only one point that is a private property. I want you to purchase it with your talent for business. From now, as soon as possible.”

Gilbert himself thought he was saying something unreasonable.

“You… Gilbert, you…”

However, he was certain that, if it was his best friend, the latter would definitely manage it.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait. Why did you narrow that down?”

“To tell the truth, the major-general disapproved of this strategy.”

“Well, there’s no way anyone would immediately nod at being told ‘let’s buy land, destroy it and kick our enemies’ asses’, is there?”

“It seemed I would have been able to convince them if I’d had more time, but unfortunately, I’m about to fly. I’ve decided right then to make of this not a military, but a private strategy. I’ll give the money. Places in possession of the Leidenschaftlich National Railway can’t be negotiated. However, if it’s a land up for rent owned by one person, it can be nominally made private. Buy it under your name. If you become the titular, whatever you do to with it is your business.”

“Even so, it’d be bad to destroy it, right?! It’s being rented by the National Railway, isn’t it?! Even if it’s private in name only, it’s being used by the National Railway. I can’t just go damaging the property.”

“That’s where your assistance comes. After the private property is sold, extort the one responsible for the National Railway. You can do so when the incident settles down. The Leidenschaftlich National Railway’s crisis management will surely be interrogated about its absence after this case. Say that you’ll make an escape route for them. In normal circumstances, I’d rather have them hand the land over themselves, but that’s impossible for bureaucratic bugling. That’s why we’ll be the ones to propose it. If we let the criminals get to the sea, this won’t end just with the ones responsible being fired. In exchange of us being able to go rampant in a private property, make people promise not to investigate them later on. And then, ask a newspaper company to…”

“I’ve been able to catch it somehow. You got me involved in this with the intention of making it into some impressive tale, right?”

“You’re quick.”

The plan that Gilbert had come up with was like a sequence.

The postal company president Claudia Hodgins, for his employee’s protection and out of worry for the safety of the people taken as hostages, would suggest a cul-de-sac scheme to take place in a territory rented by the Leidenschaftlich National Railway itself (said postal company president was also a former Leidenschaftlich soldier and carried the achievement of having been promoted to major). Fearing the situation’s aggravation, even if the Leidenschaftlich National Railway were to predict through the suggestion of the property owner that the railroad would hardly be usable afterwards, it would prioritize actual lives over expenses and agree to the scheme.

Henceforth, an arrangement of the strategy being transmitted by someone from the army and the plan being immediately executed would be printed out. In reality, the land would not belong to Hodgins since the one paying for it would be Gilbert Bougainvillea, but as long as such fact did not see the light of day, any sort of grandiose story could be created about it. Unlike the current circumstances, severe public criticism was something that could be eased.

“I’m counting on you as insurance. If this doesn’t work, we’ll just carry it over to the next water supply point. However, there will be more victims, and the possibility of Violet’s survival becoming dubious will be higher. A fast resolution is necessary. I’ll let you use one of my subordinates. He has the documents for the land’s purchasing, so call him. You’ll probably have to negotiate with its representative, but if it’s you, you can work it out with your misleading flattery.”

“I’m honored for the compliments! But this will definitely be busted later. People know about our relationship, right?”

Gilbert turned around upon being patted on the shoulder. It seemed the Nighthawks were ready.

“I don’t mind even losing my position for this. But I will try to prove that I’m not someone who can be cut off so easily. Rather than me, what’s important is the citizens’… Violet’s safety. Listen, I don’t forgive those who put the citizens of our Leidenschaftlich in danger, no matter who they are. A number of lives have already been lost. We’ll definitely pay them back. It doesn’t matter who the other party is, be them the North or another continent. Our Leidenschaftlich does not yield to foreign invasion or pressure. It’s been like that ever since its foundation. I will make the enemies regret laying their hands on Leidenschaftlich.” The Bougainvillea heir spat out his quiet anger in a voice tone that even his friend would think of as ominous.

It was exactly seven hours and sixteen minutes into the evening. Why was there no one around? One of the hijackers cried out upon seeing the state of Dining Car 2. He looked about. The interior of the dark car shook with the steam whistle of the locomotive.

The train, which had been making a stop, had finally begun to move again. The Leidenschaftlich National Railway had responded to the hijackers’ demands and sent replacement personnel to the pitiful engineer, Samuel LaBeouf. He was currently attempting to drive while another hijacker thrust a gun at him.

Things had expanded to a point in which it was impossible to understand the many aspects of several happenings. One of the aspects was the man staring an empty dining car. Not only the passengers but also his companions, who had been in control of Dining Car 2, were nowhere to be found.

The man recalled a cryptic ghost story passed down at the northern homeland that he used to live in. It stated that, in the middle of the night, when one was abroad a speeding vehicle, they should not look outside from anywhere other than its front. Whether it was a carriage, a car or even a train.

——The reason why is…

He put a hand on the frame of the only window that had been left open.

——…because non-humans are guided by the moonlight and follow it.

Open the window and see the back of the car.

——A frightening ghost might be baring its fangs and running after us.

However, what chased the train was nothing but the moon floating in the night sky. The smell of prairies during nighttime only granted the man trapped inside the box called a train slight coldness instead of terror.

“Hah.” The man caressed his chest. Apparitions did not exist – he was able to confirm that much. Rather, what remained unconfirmed was the cause behind the disappearance of the passengers and his comrades.

“I am taking this.” The words the man heard came from a direction he would never have imagined. By the moment he both heard them and understood their meaning, his collar was simultaneously grabbed and he was tossed outside.

The train was in movement. It was not too fast, but should someone fall off, they would not survive unharmed. Before the man collided with the ground, what he saw were blue eyes staring at him from atop the train and a golden light sparkling against the moonlit night. While swallowing his breath at such beauty, the man bounced onto the soil like a small ball.

Violet readied her stance on the hurtling train. Her hips carried a military saber that she had borrowed from the man when throwing him out. Her body was already equipped with numerous weapons snatched from other hijackers. After experimenting the saber, dagger, and pistol sword that did not suit her lovely ribbon-tie one-piece once for each, she went back to the saber. It seemed their heaviness was not yet overwhelming, but she put them away in weapon holders that also appeared to have been stolen.

Violet’s fighting style was similar to a spider. At first, she had merely defeated one hijacker when bumping onto him, as he had sensed the strange state of the freight car and had come to check it, but as others would come searching for their comrade who had not returned, she concluded, “this is a good opportunity” and hid herself while on standby, eliminating them one by one. Right before losing interest, the hijackers would see the upside-down figure of a woman appearing from outside the window and let out a scream before fainting. She had laid out the yarns and was hunting the preys that she had successfully drawn into her spider web.

There had been four people monitoring the hostages in Dining Car 1. The only remaining hijacker had continued keeping watch while surrounded by people. As he became unable to handle the eeriness of Dining Car 2, he went to seek support from the car ahead.

Although the passengers of Dining Car 2 had been freed during the train’s stop, there was nothing that could be done to somehow rescue the ones of Dining Car 1, even if the guard’s eyes could be evaded. Violet gazed forward as if glaring. She decided that her next task was to take control of the engine room and make the train stop again.

Violet advanced while deftly walking onto the scaffold. Her resolve had no signs of crumbling as she was headed, silent and unaccompanied, towards a seizure battle. She was no longer a girl soldier. There were no commander officers beside her. She was treading through a life in which she did not have back-up, with no option other than making choices on her own. As a result of that, she was taking actions without anyone’s instructions in order to help the passengers. She was attempting to do what she could as Violet Evergarden.

“Major.”

The train that they happened to be riding in had been taken over. If she had the ability to help them escape, she would simply do so. In retrospect, if her Lord was alive and in the army, she had utmost trust that he was definitely thinking of a method to save that train. Even if that person did not know what she was doing.

“Sounds of turbines?” Violet suddenly looked up at the empty night sky. A noise unlike the one of the train’s sprinting mixed with it in her ears. She could see several flying objects looming right over the train.

“There! That’s the culprit!”

A bullet gushed through the night sky. A gunshot echoed along with a man’s voice. From within the locomotive, a gun was aimed at her. One of the hijackers, who had been in a frenzy while looking for the passengers that were nowhere in sight, as well as the person who had most likely caused such a situation, had finally found Violet running on top of the train.

Violet peeled her eyes away from the objects flying in the night sky and concentrated on the battle. She sped up onto the locomotive while lowering her posture. After taking some distance, she constrained the criminals inside the locomotive by shooting at them, then resumed running. The best idea was to get inside the car as soon as possible, but it did not seem she would be able to do so immediately.

“Who… are you?! The one who helped the hostages of the rear cars escape was you, wasn’t it?!”

The men climbed from the window of the Passenger Car to get rid of Violet. From both behind and ahead of her, the men bearing the emblem of the North come were gradually approaching her with the intention of attacking from both sides.

“Answer! Who are you?!”

“I am a mere traveler.”

“Liar! Did you know about our plans? No… it’s not like there would be anyone dumb enough to come aboard alone if they knew. Come here! We’ll interrogate you about the details. Put down the weapons.”

Violet put the gun back into the holder.

“Wrong! Leave the weapons at your feet!”

Not listening to the restraint order, she took a large step. “Who…” while saying so, Violet landed on the chest of the one that had been threatening her, her fist diving into his face.

The fist that came from a woman so fine-looking was much heavier than it seemed. The man rolled down, taking a few others with him.

“Who… said anything about complying with you?” With her low grumble, battle commenced.

The men charged at her from the back and front. Firstly, she crisscrossed the knife bouts from a man who had come from behind. She defended herself with her left hand, grasped his face and pushed him backwards. As he faltered, she swept him off his feet and, just like that, delivered a kick to drop him off the train.

An enemy who rushed towards her from the front attempted to hit her with his bare hands. It was a tall man and broad man. He probably had confidence in his physical strength. Merrily, he aimed for Violet’s face. Receiving a series of kicks with both arms, Violet aimed for an opening, placed a hand onto the ground and rotated her long legs. While he was overwhelmed by a kick, she sank the fist of her free hand into his stomach. But the man seemed have a hard protection plank hidden under his clothes. She did feel that something had bent, but there were no sounds of bones breaking.

“I’ll crush your face! Die!” After a pause, the man raised his fist towards her once more.

Violet accepted it with one hand, pulled the gun from the holster and shot his thigh at close range.

“You… that’s unfa…”

Nothing was cowardly about Violet, who had been raised in the battlefields. She gently pressed the collapsing man’s shoulder, and he disappeared into the dark with a scream. As Violet was on her own yet again, the rattling of the train resounded in her ears.

That was the power of the woman named Violet Evergarden. It was an actual proof of strength from the weapon whose name was not in the registrations of Leidenschaftlich’s army.

The train’s hijacking plan was failing in a progressive fashion. The perpetrators mostly carried out a rash behavior, but that was not the direct cause. They had enough military force to control the weak passengers. However, and Auto-Memories Doll who prided herself in having the strength of an unmatched warrior had ended up mingling with said passengers.

The moon in the sky had been enclosed in nightly clouds and temporarily disappeared, but the moonshine slowly began to gleam down over the world again. When the moonlight guided Violet once again, there was a different enemy in front of her. Even without being invited, Violet showed herself to them.

“Are you… a soldier of Leidenschaftlich?” The low voice of a man could be heard. It was a quiet way of speaking. He had features that gave off an impression of transparency and steadiness. Although its color was dull in the nightly darkness, he was clad in an azure coat. Rohand’s national emblem was embroidered on it. For whatever reason, he had a long case in hands.

“No, I am no longer a soldier now. I have a question as well. Are you the strongest person among the ones responsible for this take-over? If possible, I would like to fight whoever that person is.”

The man gripped his case firmly. As he did so, its exterior detached and fell to his feet, revealing a bayonet. With flawless etiquette, he bowed at Violet. “I am the leader of Rohand’s chivalric order… As for my name, I’ve already thrown it away. I am the strongest one that you seek for. I have… seen you in the battlefield. You’re Leidenschaftlich’s Witch, right?” The leader of Rohand’s chivalric order observed Violet under the moonlight with an indescribable gaze. It denoted his fear and wrath at the fact that the young demon of the battlefields had grown up so much and stood before him once more. However, she was but a beautiful woman no matter how he looked at her, and so, he was perplexed. “Your fighting form was… just like a fierce god… I heard no rumors about you after the Continental War ended, but… I see, so you’ve been doing this kind of obscure work.”

The air that steamed from the leader was unlike the other men that she had fought.

“I apologize for not meeting your expectations, but the witch you speak of has already departed from this world and is not a soldier anymore. I am now only a traveler. I am not doing anything assassin-like, either. I did give your comrades a rough treatment, but they are sure to be alive. Although this is arrogant of me, as a passenger of this train, I have a request. Please release all the hostages.”

“That cannot be done.”

“I suppose so… We are being used as material for some sort of trade. Even I can understand that much. Why are you doing such a thing?”

“It’s to take back the things… and the person… that you all have trampled over.”

“Do you mean to start a war again?”

The chivalric leader chuckled. He raised his voice into laughter, but it did not reach his eyes. “I’m sorry, but want to ask you something. Is the war over to you?”

Did she not think she would ever be asked such a question? Violet grew stiff.

“I can’t read you very well since you’re expressionless, but the fact you aren’t answering means you have a clue, right? That’s what soldiers are about. Forever and ever… our memories of viciousness stay with us like remnants of burn marks and do not disappear. It will never end for me.”

The exchange had a sense of déjà-vu.

“However… in truth, it is already over.”

“Still, war will happen once more.”

Such words were Violet’s former self in essence.

“The faces of my deceased companions. The smell of corpses. The weight of a gun snatched from an enemy’s dead body, the night I spent in pain after being beaten by a senior officer without knowing the motive. I had been able to endure all that… because I believed that, someday, the war would end and supposedly something brilliant awaited me in the future. But how was it in reality? My friend that had been aiming for the same dream as myself was put in prison, the higher-ups who started the war are living leisurely, and now our nation is becoming our enemy. The soldiers who protected the citizens with their lives at stake are labeled as useless and get stones thrown at them by peasants. My hometown was gone without a trace as the victorious country laid a railway track for its trains over the motherland that we tried to protect. I also tried to forget about it. But, in my heart, forever and ever, even now…”

There were deep dark bags under the chivalric leader’s eyes.

“…even though I wake up in the morning, sleep at night and I am breathing, a fury that I cannot suppress burns within my body at unexpected times. To solve this, I have no choice but kill your country, which made me this way. Not just the South. The West, which conspired with it, too. This is still only a tiny beginning. From this point on, our original lives will start. Are you satisfied? If I have to talk while not being that good at conversations, I’ll do it with my fists.”

There was a reason why he had said “our”. One, two, three more people who wore the same azure coat as him appeared and took out the bayonet from their own long cases and aimed the weapons at Violet. On top of the train in movement, the former chivalric order with their bayonets and a former girl soldier wielding several kinds of weapons put themselves in position and stood facing one another.

It was like the law of causal response. The past chased after Violet no matter how much time passed, never letting go of her.

Violet held onto the brooch on her chest only once. “Why… did things turn out this way?” was a question that surfaced in everyone’s minds when cruel things happened, but not in hers. That was because the one who used to be her Lord had told her, “Without ever blaming anyone, live.”

“I am a taciturn myself, so that would be of help.” Violet unsheathed the saber and bowed in a lady-like manner.

At seven hours and thirty-four minutes, Hodgins had proceeded to a branch office of Leidenschaftlich’s national estate purchase agency. It was the place that had been selected and that he had relied on for the construction of the CH Postal Service’s office. Upon claiming that he had a negotiation to discuss with the person in charge, whom he was on close terms with, the receptionist promptly gave him a positive response. Separated by a desk in a private room that he had been led to, the two of them were gazing at each other.

“No, even if you say that, President Hodgins…” Compared to before he had listened to Hodgins, the one in charge, John Wishaw, showed signs of discomfort in his face.

He was a man in his mid-thirties who appeared young enough to be in his twenties. He was often despised for his looks, but worked as the manager of that branch office regardless.

“Are there any issues?” Fronting him, Claudia Hodgins’s way of speaking was in accordance to their ages, but he was one or two levels above the latter in being a dandy. Normally, one could often witness an attitude that poked fun at people from him, but the expression of seriousness he displayed in critical moments could stir people’s hearts, even should they be of the same sex.

John recoiled at Hodgins’s attacking stare. “As I said, your request is extremely hard to accept. About the land ownership purchase of the village you asked for, Ritorno, just acquiring one section of it is already hard, let alone the entire thing…”

“The truth is that just its train station is fine, but it’ll earn us more profit to buy the whole village while we’re at it.”

“The station is the village’s public property, and cannot be a subject of general estate negotiations.”

“No, that’s wrong, isn’t it? I contacted the Leidenschaftlich Legal Affairs Bureau before coming here. The station is a private property. It’s one of the large pieces of land that the village head, Miss Ian, inherited it from her ancestors. The railroad that was laid down for the sake of the mining industry that said ancestors started, and the station that was built for the same reason is Ritorno village’s. Leidenschaftlich’s National Railway use the station as a water supply point for the trains to make stops at, but passengers can’t get off there. Because it’s a private property. You’d see that if you check the estate registration. Can you open the file in your hands?”

Albeit reluctantly, John opened the documents regarding Ritorno’s territorial data. The proprietary was the head of Ritorno’s coalmines.

“You sure… are knowledgeable.”

What Hodgins had said was true.

“It’s pretty famous. The station where people can’t get off at, that is. It’s romantic, right? But it’s not like no one can get off at it. Those who have Ritorno’s coalmine labor certificate and its residents can do it. It’s because it’s a private estate that outsiders can only enter and leave from a place other than the passage exclusive of those who have permission after going through troublesome procedures… Now, let’s return to the problem. I just want the land that has the railway where the intercontinental train will run across.”

——I’ll persuade you. I’ll persuade you. I’ll persuade you. I’ll definitely persuade you.

Hodgins made gestures and drew John Wishaw into his own story, almost like a stage actor. His eyes narrowed softly, but there was no kindness in them. “Shall I explain the usefulness of this transaction in an easy way again? Ritorno village is currently undergoing a continuous decline in population. It used to be famous for its mines, but mining became impossible due to an accident from several years ago. Although the railroads remain, the number of workers is decreasing and young people are leaving. It’s also not a place for tourism. It’s clear that it will turn into ruins. Part of the village was rented when the railroad was laid down. The village’s economy comes from clinging onto the money earned from that with all their might. How many people are there in the village now?”

“About ninety…”

“That’s about the same number as a few ten-people households in a family gathering. Can they withstand the winter this year? Can they live on without sucking up to the youngsters who work away from home?”

“They must be… having a hard time.”

“I can see the finale of this tale. But there’s something that can turn it into a ‘Never-Ending Story’. Currently, our company does postal services and dispatches Auto-Memories Dolls, but there’s a project that we recently started working on. The manufacturing industry. Right now, we order letters, stamps and seal wax from other companies, but we are planning to manufacture and sell our own in the future. I’ll hire all the villagers for that, from elders to children, if their hands can move.” Hodgins stood up and sat on the sofa that John was on.

Although there was a distance between the two, it was short. John’s nervousness increased, but he was somewhat relieved in comparison to when Hodgins was in front of him.

It was psychologically less menacing to talk side-by-side than have a face-to-face conversation. The lesser one had to look at the other’s face, the more the tension would alleviate. Hodgins was never taught about such fact by anyone, but instead acted on his own experience.

“What are you worried about?”

“Is there any realtor who could instantly close a deal after being told that the land to be bought would be transformed into a battlefield?”

“I see… There is resistance… I get it, I get it. I get it very well. Of course, I won’t force you.” He repeated the words that empathized empathy, then lowered down the conditions already presented, “If I can’t buy the Ritorno village, I’ll buy the proposed site. I’ll buy it anyways. I explained the reason why from the get-go. I want to solve the hijacking incident happening right now faster than what the army is taking to make a move. For that, I need a place where there could be gunfire. I want to buy not only the station but the whole village and introduce business to it as an assurance. Y’know, I’m in the same position.” Next, he presented the conditions once more in a direction that appealed to emotions, “A girl who is like a daughter to me and was left in my care by the most precious friend in my life is on that train. I want to save her. I have connections with the Leidenschaftlich army. I tried asking about it, but the way things are now, it seems it’d be hard to execute a rescue if the train doesn’t stop. The best idea is to aim for a water supply point, attack, help the passengers escape and bring about the battlefield, but the military forces can’t be immediately readied just with forestalling. It would turn not into a support from our own country, but an ambush attack in a land occupied by the North’s army. Incidents like that are out of reach from the army’s handling, and the one that gets mobilized is the Special Firearms Attack Unit.”

The Special Firearms Attack Unit consisted of offense troops dispatched whenever there were cases that would be too much for the military police to deal with in domestic and overseas territories owned by Leidenschaftlich. As Leidenschaftlich, which had struggled with invasions during its long history, had always been successful in its interceptions, it would build national military bases in the invading countries as a partial compensation. During the Continental War, they took the role of supply areas as well. The Special Firearms Attack Unit was certain to be present in military divisions and maintained the peace and security of their vicinities. The one which would be mobilized that time was not the troop from the division near the station that the train had already left behind, but the troop from the division that lay further ahead.

“That’s why I will buy the land where a water supply point that the train is expected to pass by soon is located.”

John gulped noisily at Hodgins’s words.

“I’ll buy it and destroy the rails. I’ll create a place in which the army will be able to move around easily. It will also be advantageous for the Special Firearms Attack Unit, which will arrive before they do. The conclusion of this situation will be much faster if they come, right? Anyways, I want to make the target stop moving. It’s not about being able to do it or not. I will do it. My employee is on board. John, were you married? You aren’t, right? Then, are your parents doing well? I see. I wonder what you’d think if your parents were aboard that hijacked train with guns pointed to them at this very moment. I believe that the number of deaths will be much smaller if you help me right here and now. On the other hand, if you refuse, the risk of who-knows-how-many people dying will increase. You could be either a hero or a reaper.”

“B-But, we’d do that without the government’s authorization, right?”

Hodgins grinned. “The responsibility for it isn’t yours. After all, the contractor is me. If what we’re about to do works out, it’d me just me doing whatever with my own land.”

“That is… inconceivable. Are you saying you have personal troops or something? Even if, by chance, you manage to stop the train, rescuing the passengers would be impossible…”

Hodgins did not display frustration in front of that young man, who was completely seized with fear. On the contrary, he put a hand on the latter’s knee and spoke in an even gentler and sweeter way than before, “I’m the one to decide whether it’s impossible or not.” However, he was clad in a forceful aura. “I’m not an idiot either. There’s no way I’d be a stranger to battlefields. I’m not proud of it, but I used to lead troops in the past.”

A scent that had been unknown to John during his entire life wafted from Hodgins to the tip of his nose. As he glanced at his side, their eyes met. The latter’s greyish blue eyes, good physique, broad shoulders and warm chest were right on sight.

“I… the fighting power that I have… I don’t wanna call it ‘fighting power’, but still… I now move on by trusting the power of the people that lend me their strength.” The hand that had rested on John’s knee grasped his own hand without his notice.

In regards of Hodgins, his field of expertise – having a way with words – was one that could capture others, but its true value did not lie there.

“Aren’t you just an intermediator? There’s only one thing I want you to do.”

At any rate, his ability to blend poison and honey in order to deceive people was unmatched.

“I want you to propose this deal to the village chief. That’s all, John.” As John remained silent, Hodgins put another hand on his knee. “I want to get to know… your human candor.”

——I’m sorry, beautiful-hearted young man.

One step short of his next chessboard move, Hodgins felt his conscience ache.

——I’m really sorry for dragging you into something like this. But there’s someone who wants to make that place into a battlefield.

His checkmate on John Wishaw was accompanied by a smile. “So, will you become one of the rescuers? If you can’t do it, I don’t mind contacting the village myself. You’re a manager and I’m a trader. We’re both proficient in talking, but if it were me, I could get the agreement of a client in five minutes. I’ll show you that skill of mine.”

Over the double lines in the contract for land renting written on parchment, the name of the new contractor – Claudia Hodgins – was printed. As the document procedures were finished soundly, Hodgins unreservedly patted John’s shoulder while the latter hung his head depressively as though wondering if they had done something outrageous. Hodgins then called his company, the CH Postal Service, after being allowed to borrow the telephone.

Gilbert and Hodgins were not the only ones distressed by the current strife. After one ringback tone, Lux answered.

“Little Lux. Is everyone moving according to my instructions?”

“They’ve all been dispatched. If you give permission, President, I can call and get them to move right about now. It’s mostly the postmen, though…”

“You’ve only gathered strong ones amongst the men, so that’s okay. A fast-working secretary is the best thing…!”

“Have you already put the plan to motion?”

“Poor lands are bought often, after all. It’s easier than seducing a girl. More importantly, the station of the village I’m about to mention, Ritorno village… tell everyone to destroy it, no matter what method they use. We’ve talked to the villagers. Anyhow, it has to get to a point where it will be clearly visible from the engine room that the train won’t be able to pass it by. Don’t let them forget to wear a red cloth so that others will be able to tell them apart from the enemies. Also, tell them to fire a smoke bomb as a signal that the plan is being executed.”

“It might be late for this but, hum, even if it’s for the sake of a rescue… won’t the influential people of this country be angry with us or something…?”

“That’s right. Even if it’s my property, people will probably be upset. After all, a private business – a postal company, no less – will be taking actions that will bring big damage to the economic activities of the state management.”

“Are you all right with this?”

“What we’ll do is destroy the railroad and protect the people who will escape from the train when it suddenly stops. We won’t interfere with the military… as long as the guys who are there don’t go rampant… most likely… yeah. Even if they do, getting yelled at is my job. I have an acquaintance from a newspaper company. If this incident brings something good, I’ll ask them to write an article that will make it difficult to put the blame on us. Everyone involved will be livid, but big organizations are weak against public opinion that the army joins into, and there are matters that could be used against us, which is why I will do something about it. I won’t let anyone do anything that would end with you stranded in the streets, so stay calm. Anyways, just tell everyone that, once the locomotive is stops, they must concentrate on rescuing the passengers, and run away if they think things are dangerous. That’s all. I’m about to head there on the Nighthawk that my friend arranged for me.”

“President Hodgins.”

“What is it, Little Lux?”

“I want to go too.”

“No can do. I need someone patrolling the office in my stead. I trust and count on you.”

“Violet was my first friend! I… may not be able to do anything, but… I want to go help her even if I do nothing!” Lux said with a tearful voice.

“Little Lux. It’s not like you can’t do anything. It’s because you can that I’m leaving the company to your care. What you can do now is let me stay free. There’s a lot of work that can be done as I move. That’s connected to helping Little Violet. I’ll definitely save her and come back, so wait for me.”

“Really…?”

“Really. I’m always causing you trouble, but have faith in me.”

“I do. I do, so please come back soon… as fast as possible… with everyone, I mean.”

“I will come back. To you, who are protecting my place to return to, that is.”

Eight o’clock in the evening – the time in which people’s days would come to an end and they would be arriving at their homes. In a certain town of a certain country, Cattleya Baudelaire was having an argument with the cabby of a shared carriage. It seemed that the streetlights illuminating her almost meant to reveal her anxiety just from how unreliably they shone.

“The carriage arranged for today has been completely occupied, so I can’t let you get on.” The cabby’s explanation was mixed with a candid advice.

“Like I said, I’m begging you!”

Cattleya’s nose and cheeks were dyed red. Such thing would be a given when exposed to cold weather or quarreling, but she was rosy up to her eyes as if they were bloodshot due suppressing the urge to cry.

“You know it, right, that the intercontinental train was hijacked?! I… have to go there! My… my… my colleague is… my frie… nd is… I… got to know about it, and then… and then…”

Cattleya, who had come to find out about the circumstances, had been traveling in an extreme rush after finishing work. She had already passed by the transportation facilities of two cities. When doing so, she had contacted the CH Postal Service and was finally close to the coalmine village that Hodgins had instructed her to go to. The last vehicle headed to that village was about to depart.

“Don’t say such selfish things, Young Lady! Just move already. The world doesn’t spin around you. You’re causing problems to the customers that went through the proper procedures.”

“I’d do the procedures if I could! But Violet might die! I… I… have to go help her! That girl… is super strong, but now that things have come to this, I don’t know if she’s okay! If she dies, then… That’s why I want to go! Please, I could even just go holding onto the scaffold, so let me in!”

Seeing Cattleya shed tears in exasperation, the cabby was at a loss of words. “I’d like to do so if I could…” He looked into the carriage. The people inside were giving him irritated looks, telling him to hurry up and go. However, there was a single man who stood up without glaring at him.

The carriage’s doors, which had been closed, opened up. From within it, a dark-haired man with a gentle aura poked his head out. “Hey, I’ll get down. Let her take my place.” He had a distinctive voice tone.

“Master… but… you…”

“I don’t mind it. I’ll stay in this town for one more night. Can you prepare the earliest carriage of tomorrow morning for me?” The man broke into an uplifting smile.

The cabby was exceedingly moved by his overflowing kindness. Those who worked in the service industry would mostly meet clients with troubles. Finding such a compassionate one was a first in his long life working as a cabby. His chest grew warm due to having heard about Cattleya’s situation as well.

“Hey, Young Lady! Be thankful to this kind person… dang it. Master, I’m unloading your luggage. Young Lady, give me yours.”

“E-Eh?”

“Someone is getting off so that you can replace him. So you’ll be able to hop in and go to where your friend who is about to die is at. Good for you…”

“Seriously…? T-Thank you. Thank you very much!”

“The one you should thank is that young man.” The cabby said while taking her luggage.

Still unable to believe the luck that had befallen her, she faced the man while still surprised and bowed her head. “T-Thanks! Thanks for real! I’ll pay the fee for your stay; thanks for real!”

The man let out a giggle at Cattleya’s aspect and stretched his hand out. He wiped the teardrops traveling down her cheeks with his fingertips. The act was so natural that Cattleya had not been able to react negatively. Rather, she embraced a feeling of ecstasy that was almost like how she would feel around Hodgins.

“H-Hum… erm…”

“I don’t mind it, Young Lady.”

The man’s orbs somehow held a cohesive power. The mole under his hazel eye was charming.

“You’d said ‘Violet’, hadn’t you? Violet Evergarden?”

“Yeah, you… hum, do you happen to know her?”

“That’s right. I had her write a letter for me once. I guess…” After being quiet for a brief moment as if in thought, he spoke with profound significance, “hm, that you could say… we have a deep relationship which we can’t tell people about. We’re also old friends. I’d intended to go see her in a bit, but it seems Leidenschaftlich is getting involved in stuff that reeks of fire. I’ll let some more time pass to go see her. Can you send her my regards?” Putting on a black cloak, the man started walking away as if melting into the night.

“W-What’s your name?! I’ll give her… your name!”

As Cattleya said so, the man turned around and laughed. His pale skin made him look like a ghost against the nightly road.

“Edward Jones.” The man waved his hand, and Cattleya waved back with a big smile.

The fact that nobody noticed he was actually a fugitive formerly on death row was one of the happenings of that night.

Also at eight o’clock, Gilbert Bougainvillea was glaring at the ground after setting his body out of the Nighthawk. It was a sight that could make one feel dizzy. They were flying quite high, as to not be spotted by the enemy.

“Found it; it’s at northwest.”

“All right, Colonel Bougainvillea. I copy.”

At northwest was a glowing object rushing through the pitch-black terrain in the gaps between the clouds. It was the intercontinental train ‘Femme Fatale’.

“This is Unit 1. We’ve found Femme Fatale. Commence descent.”

With the signal from the pilot’s radio, the total of seven Nighthawks systematically aimed for the earth. In the process, they witnessed a fireball rising noisily from amongst the mountains in the direction of the train’s track.

“That’s the smoke bomb released from the water supply point that the Colonel talked about.”

“Switch to strategy number three. Unit 5 will retreat. Join the Special Firearms Attack Unit, which is waiting for the train’s arrival, and inform them of the situation. Say that the target has fortunately stopped due to a sudden forest fire or something of the sort. In order, from Unit 1 onward, the first half of the combatant team will land on the battlefield. We will take control of Locomotive 1, 2 and 3, which are the heads of this thirteen-car train. Act after the emergency stop. Following the descent of the combatant team’s first half, the second half will give support and start a surprise attack from the outside after landing. There are civilians assisting with the protection of the crew. Whoever is wearing a red cloth on their arm is a cooperator. Don’t attack them by mistake. All right, listen up, everyone. The result of this strategy could determine the outcome of this unit’s continuity. If it’s you guys, you can probably to work things out anywhere you go, but I want you to stay somewhere my eyes can reach for a little longer.”

The pilot of Unit 1 let out a chuckle. It was because Gilbert had said something off-character.

“I pray for our success. Well, first half, prepare to descend.”

With a total of six units – save for the fifth, which had now withdrawn – and a crew of twelve people, Gilbert’s troop, the Leidenschaftlich Special Offense Force, was in formation and currently attempting to challenge the hijacked intercontinental train. Firstly, the six people in the back seats would descend on top of the train and begin the suppression. The train’s locomotives 1, 2 and 3, which operated connectedly, would each be taken control of by two people. Divided into those who would go inside and those who would stay outside, they started their battle against the hijackers. Subsequently, the six people of the pilot group would land near the place scheduled as the train’s next stop. It was a plan that allowed them to give cover to the six people infiltrating the train and protect the passengers from outside.

Gilbert led the members of the Special Offense Force, which was a compilation of a few elected people, not with the army conduct of a team that followed the usual form of leadership, but as ordinary squad members that would engage in a coordinated battle, after having them memorize the instructions of his meticulous plan. Even if they were short on one person, someone else would compensate by taking on their task.

Along with the members of the first group, Gilbert jumped from the Nighthawk charging forward and fell onto the top of the running train. Low-altitude flights could not last long. He had bet on the moment, leaped, and, after desperately grabbing hold of the hull, he fixed his stance on the train.

Evidently, the people inside would notice that there were aircraft turbine sounds overhead. A man who seemed to be a hijacker from Locomotive 1 came out. Gilbert stretched his artificial left arm and punched him in the face, and as the man recoiled, he grabbed the nape of the latter’s neck, dragging him out from the window by the torso. Although a hijacker from the nearby Locomotive 2 fired his gun at Gilbert, he wound up hitting the unfortunate man whose body was half outside.

“Colonel, I’ll be going ahead.”

One of Gilbert’s troop members, who had jumped off and landed after him, twisted his small body and kicked a hijacker from Locomotive 3 that had Gilbert at gunpoint, simultaneously getting inside of the train. Gilbert threw the man shedding blood out of the locomotive and sneaked into it as well.

“Please help! Don’t kill me! If I die, the passengers and this locomotive also will!” the one who scream-cried as if begging for his life was the pitiful Samuel LaBeouf.

His assistant was dead. One young engineer assistant substitute was growing pale while attempting not to step on his corpse, and there was no sign of other hijackers.

“Please be at ease. I am a colonel of Leidenschaftlich’s army, Gilbert Bougainvillea. We are now initializing the rescue operation of this train’s passengers.”

“A-An ally? Someone from the military?” He had probably been bracing himself the whole time, as he shed a single tear with a clearly relieved expression.

Gilbert gently tapped his shoulder. “You were quite brave. It would have been the worst possible situation had you become distraught. You’re worthy of a medal.”

The sincerity in Gilbert’s facial traits and the aura surrounding him brought about a coaxing effect different from Hodgins. Anyone would be overcome with emotion upon being told such things by a beautiful soldier who had stretched out a helping hand to them during a critical situation. Extremely touched, Samuel started trembling.

“Engineer, what is your name?”

“Sa-Samuel, Colonel.”

“Mister Samuel. Seeing you as a hero of Leidenschaftlich, there’s a favor I want to ask. What’s the next water supply point?”

“It’s Ritorno.”

“There’s another of our battalions in that place. There will be a big signal, so please make an emergency stop before entering the station’s premises.”

“‘S-Signal’, you say?”

“You will know the signal when you see it. After the stop, please evacuate from here and run to the direction of the village.”

Samuel and his assistant looked at each other.

“But, the passengers… and also… my other colleagues…” He then looked down at the body of his former co-worker.

“Even if they aren’t alive anymore, I want to hand them over to their families.” the two said in unison.

“Everything will be fine. Another unit of the army is supposed to arrive besides ours. Once everything is over, the ones who have passed on and you two will be delivered back to our country. However, I want those who can still move their legs to evacuate temporarily on their own. People with red cloths around their arms are overseeing the evacuation. Please go along with them.”

Perhaps due to feeling comforted, Samuel heaved a huge sigh. However, as though to shake off his relief, gunshots could be heard from somewhere.

——Is someone… in the middle of a fight?

Gilbert had ordered his subordinates to mingle with the turmoil of the emergency stop and crush the enemies after blowing smoke shells inside the cars. Should there be attacks from within Locomotive 3 onward, they would be as much of an obstacle as possible. Presently, the number of members who had come first was of six people. Out of the personnel selected for that elite troop, each one bore a fighting power equal to ten ordinary soldiers.

“I think… this is probably from outside. Given the sound.”

Being told so by Samuel, Gilbert tried to set his head out the window. His face was hit by tree branches.

“Since a while ago, something’s been off. I’ve been hearing shouts. I… have been praised since I was little for my good ears, so even if it’s from very far, I can hear people cursing.”

“You should be more proud of yourself. If what you say is true, we must assist whoever isn’t in the criminals’ side. Sorry. I’m going upstairs. Again, don’t forget your mission.”

At Gilbert’s words, Samuel nodded while showing a smile that denoted both delight and nervousness.

While being hindered by the air resistance, Gilbert climbed onto the top of the train once more. The land on which the railway had been built probably used to have a flower garden in the past. Despite having been trampled on, the petals of the flowers that still held life scattered in the wind that opposed the train’s course. Within such world of pure darkness, colors such as white, blue, yellow, red and orange not yet mowed by the autumn flew about. Although they would eventually be reduced to dust, they created a stunning sight that decorated part of the world until their very end. Far beyond its rich hues, Gilbert found who he was looking for.

“Colonel, does the situation require reinforcements?!” The sixth unit descended after the others, and Gilbert’s pair had just landed as if on cue.

Gilbert stopped him with a hand. “Idris. It seems a civilian is fighting against the hijackers… We should have noticed it earlier.”

“We were frantic about our landing during the descent, after all. I also didn’t see anything. Well, then…”

“I will go. I’ll be nominating you as the next commander. If I do not return by any chance, you take charge.”

“Do you mean this seriously?”

“I do.”

“I have enough talent to get promotions and surpass you soon. Please, come back safely and continue standing in front of me. If I don’t have someone to pursue…”

Instead of giving a reply, Gilbert knocked his shoulder with a fist.

The group of people wearing blue coats erased the figure of the person he sought. To top it off, he would have to go all the way from the foremost car to get there. It would take time.

Gilbert broke into run without hesitation.

Still at around eight o’clock, bullets flew from the bayonets of the chivalric men. Though they scratched Violet’s body, she dodged the direct hits and charged forward.

Scuffling above a moving vehicle against such a number of people was difficult. Perhaps the other party was aware of that much, as someone other than the chivalric leader attacked first. Violet ran as if being sucked in by him. He defended himself from the saber swung down at him with the bayonet, but Violet was able to avoid the several gunshots by taking a large distance, and then started running adroitly once again.

“For our war comrades that were killed by you!”

Violet threw the sheath at the face of the man who blurted that out and dealt him a jump-kick instead of slashing him. The chivalric man, whose legs had lost balance, seemed to be about to fall, but managed to stand still. He grinned and pulled the bayonet’s trigger.

A bullet was fired. With her eyes wide, Violet avoided it just by swiftly moving her neck. Her ribbons flew away. Blood welled from her bundle of braids and her hair came undone. Her ear had been grazed. The bleeding gusted, but she did not let any agonized sounds out.

Violet kicked the man in the chest with the tip of her boot. He screamed as he fell. However, the next person to go down was Violet herself. Even though she had taken on the repeated bayonet blows raining onto her back with her saber, she lost in weight. The saber itself was gone from her hands after being shot at.

The knight who had attacked Violet’s back found her as she somehow managed to cling to a window frame. When a surprised passenger tried to open said window, she inserted a hand into the gap and pushed it open with her mechanical arm. Just like that, she entered Passenger Car 2.

“What happened?!”

“That woman, she went inside…”

The remaining chivalric men realized that the lights of the Passenger Car that had been shining from below their feet suddenly were suddenly gone. The passengers were screaming.

“S-Should we go back in?”

“Wait.”

The other two men were silenced by the chivalric leader’s order of restraint.

Eventually, they could no longer hear any screams from the window that Violet had vanished into. They could not catch a single noise.

The chivalric leader was deep in thought. What kind of mess would the witch-like former girl soldier do next?

“Who… is down there?”

“Someone from the deployment armed organization that we hired.”

“There were people from it in the Panoramic Seats Car and Dining Car 1 too. But, the people positioned in these last two cars chased that woman up here… and were defeated. They’re supposedly being replaced, though.”

As the lights went off again, screams intensified from the Panoramic Seats Car and Dining Car 1, respectively. And then, they became quiet.

The chivalric leader felt goosebumps under his blue cloak at such bizarre phenomenon-like happenings. “She’s moving.”

‘Femme Fatale’ was a thirteen-car train composed, from front to back, of Locomotive 1, 2 and 3, Single-Room Sleeping Car 1 and 2, Simple Sleeping Car 1 and 2, Passenger Car 1 and 2, Panoramic Seats Car, Dining Car 1 and 2, and a freight car. Violet had jumped into Passenger Car 2. And then, she had probably moved on to Panoramic Seats Car and Dining Car 1. She herself had emptied Dining Car 2. What would she do by running off to a place that had nothing?

“Leader, maybe we really should go inside…” one of the chivalric men attempted to say, but his knee collapsed and he fell. A hole had been caved in it.

More gunshots followed suit.

“Get down!”

Bullets brushed their heads.

The unharmed chivalric man extended a hand to the injured one. The palm that had stretched out to help was shot.

“Retreat! Go in and call for reinforcements!”

“But, Leader—”

“Bring a gun of larger caliber!”

The subordinates crawled towards the concatenation while pressing down their fresh wounds.

The direction where the bullet had come from was undoubtedly from the last car. The shooting was done in succession, but ceased yet again. The eyes of the chivalric leader could see something blossoming from the darkness.

“So they have escaped? I will pursue them later. Well, then, one more time.” ‘It’ politely called out to him and waited for him to stand up.

The woman was a battlefield conductor. She played melodies through preparing attacks, enhancing the emotions of her spectators with overwhelming martial arts, flabbergasting them with unimaginable actions and dominating the area completely. No matter how wet with blood her hair was, how torn her clothes were, or how many injuries she earned…

“Well, then, one more time.”

…she did not stop fighting. The chivalric leader had come to clearly understand why she was nicknamed the Warrior Maiden of Leidenschaftlich.

“Here I go, Major.”

Violet was likely out of bullets. She discarded the riffle that she had stolen from an enemy downstairs. She then took out a dagger. The weapon of her opponent, the chivalric leader, was a bayonet. The weight of their swing was different.

The two clashed with one another without saying anything. She dealt him consecutive blows with her knife-edge, but in the end, the dagger lost to the bayonet in weight and snapped. Violet disposed of the weapon she became unable to use, tossing it away with her prosthetic arm without even sparing it a glance. It scratched the chivalric leader’s face, yet he, too, indomitably swung the bayonet from the side and hammered Violet’s body with it. As her posture crumbled with the impact, more strikes ensued. As Violet dodged from the tip of the bayonet’s blade, her chest was cut. She instantly set her hand out, swaying her weight just like that, turning her body over and taking some distance. Perhaps because he was indeed superior to the others, the attacks from the leader were different from theirs in agility.

Violet looked for weapons at hand. She reached into her skirt and pulled a ballistic knife out of the knife holder fastened around her thigh. The needles once concealed in her hair had disappeared back when her hairdo had come undone. The ballistic knife was the last weapon. After it, she only had her fists.

“Just how many weapons do you have hidden within your person?”

“They are for self-defense.” Her breath rough like that of a beast, Violet stepped backwards. She knew that the next attack would be an important blow to determine the outcome of the battle. Although she was up against people inferior to her in fighting power, anyone would be breathing heavily after continuously standing up and battling to that point. Regardless, she did not have so much as a teaspoon of will to lose.

That was until she realized that something which had been supposed to be on her exposed collar was gone. Her rough breathing halted. Her line of sight darted about as she withdrew.

“Although I am your enemy, I admire your thirst for victory. You know not to give up.”

It was not something she should worry about in such circumstances. Nevertheless, her eyes searched for the brooch. She was unable to immediately find the object that twinkled, mismatched and beautiful, on top of the train.

“It is not… as if I wish to win. By winning this fight, there is not a single thing I would gain.” Violet spoke unwittingly fast. She should not let him realize that she was searching for something.

“Then what do you seek for through fighting?”

“Nothing, it’s just that a situation in which I have to fight has been created. That’s why I do so. To me, fighting is living. If I lose, it only means I will die.”

“You’re saying there’s no emotion in that?”

“I do not know. I… know nothing about myself. I am a former soldier, but I do not remember anything from before becoming one. It might be late at this point, but I wonder… if it isn’t strange not to remember anything like this. I don’t know where I was born, whose child I am or what my name used to be. But, whether or not any of that has troubled me, I would say it never once did. That… That…” While speaking, Violet found the brooch. It bumped right against the chivalric leader’s feet.

He noticed it as well.

“That is because… I have been waiting for something that would cancel all of it out.”

She pushed down and killed the feeling that she wanted to rush over to and pick up.

“Just when I thought that the talk was getting long… so this is it?” The leader signaled for her to halt with his palm while picking it up. It was his first time seeing that it belonged to someone. “Is it something important?”

Would he throw it away if she nodded at that? Or would he give it back? Violet did not know. However, if she were in his shoes and had someone that she must save and things she must do no matter what after that battle, doubtlessly, she would have to try imagining herself in his position in order to understand his thinking.

If she were him…

“Come get it!”

…that object would become a mere bait to attract her enemy, regardless of what kinds of feelings it was packed with.

The brooch was tossed into the air. Violet instantly broke into run. The chivalric leader’s bayonet came at her. Violet aimed at his feet and flung a ballistic knife. Perhaps he had anticipated that much, as he repelled it as if outriding it. In that meantime, Violet grabbed the brooch. The gem floating in the night sky was the same as the eyes of her Lord, which she had defined as the most beautiful thing in the world.

“Idiot!!”

She prevented an attack with her left arm, which was not the one gripping the brooch. As she lost her center of gravity due to consecutive blows, she fell back one, two, three steps. And then, finally, Violet’s left arm broke apart, spewing out many of its parts. They were smashed apart and severed from her in a way that made them seem like scattering petals.

Thump, thump, thump. Violet felt her heartbeats echo unpleasantly in her ears.

For some reason, time was flowing slowly. The chivalric leader swung down his saber while raising his voice as he spouted some sort of insult at her. Her back hit the train’s hull. As he stepped on her stomach with his military shoe, she was unable to move. A few seconds thereafter, she would be skewered. Everything was unfolding, but it was as if it all were in slow motion.

Rather than the tip of the blade approaching her, Violet stared at the emerald brooch that she had not let go of until the very end. It was firmly grasped within her right hand. She had wanted to gaze into that green during her last moments should her eyes be open while she was still alive.

Its shine was that person himself.

——Major.

He would not go anywhere anymore.

——Major.

They would not be apart anymore.

——Major, I… lived.

That made her extremely ‘happy’.

——Major, do you remember… that you embraced me when we first met? You had feared me for a long time. Beasts can sense that sort of fright very keenly. Even so, you kept me by your side. Most likely… I… definitely… had been thrown away because I would settle in the hands of anybody. Even so, I had wanted to be useful because you needed me. The days in which I was unable to see you were of continuous lacking, as well as experiences that seemed to give place to more of it. I had always wondered why you had told others to say that you had passed on. One day, if I managed to meet you, I had wanted to reply to your question of “why can’t you understand my feelings” and to the words “I love you”. Major, was I… was your Violet… still loved by you?

Rather than the sound of bones and flesh being severed, gunshots that seemed to cut through the wind ensued. The bayonet disappeared from Violet’s line of sight. The arm of the chivalry squad leader was abruptly swung as if it were a toy, and he was kicked to the opposite direction.

Someone was fighting back.

The squad leader asked in shouts who the third person was, but did not receive an answer. The other silently drew his saber and shielded Violet. He then began to attack. At such way of handling a blade as he positioned it and the back that she had always walked along with, Violet swallowed her breath.

“Violet, are you alive!?”

That voice was the exact one Violet would replay in her head as to not forget it. Her heartbeats echoed intensely. Albeit forcefully, she raised her body.

The man cut down the squad leader with his saber and turned on his heels towards her with a frantic expression. Before her eyes was a person unlike the one from when she had contact with him. His appearance had changed greatly from the time the two of them had first met. However, there was one thing that remained intact: the fact that once blue and green orbs locked with one another, time would halt between them for just a little while. It was as if they meant to say, “Time, stand still. You are beautiful.”

Such was how things were from the very start.

“Major!”

From the very start, the two of them had been born to meet by chance in that manner.

Gilbert dashed to Violet, supporting her frame. “Come, Violet.” He knelt down, and after lifting her squatted body and carrying her sideways, he took off his sword belt and wrapped it around his arm. He then wrapped it around Violet’s. “I will… explain the circumstances later. There are a lot of things I want to apologize to you for. But for now, forgive what I’m going to do… Don’t ever let go.”

Violet recalled what she had been firmly grasping – the emerald brooch that she had retrieved hastily during the fight. She slowly unveiled her fingers and showed it to Gilbert. She then looked straight at him. While only he was reflected within that blue, her lips shaking, she was unable to muster any word out. She merely wished to inform him that she had kept the object.

Upon seeing the emerald brooch, Gilbert’s eyes distorted bitterly. “You… still had this?” His demeanor as he took the brooch from Violet’s palm and put it back on her as if to sew back together her blouse, which had been ripped on the chest area, was the same as of his past self.

“…jor.” She attempted to say something to him – anything would do. “Major!”

However, the squad leader, who was supposed to be lying on the ground, attempted to stand up. Supported by an injured underling, he pointed a large-caliber shotgun at them. “You dog of Leidenschaftlich…!” His neck bled with the blow from Gilbert’s blade. He spewed blood bubbles. “I’ll erase you! I’ll erase the two of you at once! You’re needless in this realm! Disappear from our world! Disappear! Disappear! Disappear!”

Either side would be unable to fight without receiving assistance. It was too late to convince the other party to put an end to the conflict. Neither could shrink back.

“Major, please leave me behind.” Violet said without hesitation. If releasing her and letting her fall to the ground would make things easier, since it was him, he would definitely be able to overcome the situation. Such was what she believed.

“I told you not to let go.” Gilbert shook his head. His grip on Violet’s arm and torso grew even stronger. He then raised his other, prosthetic hand from above the train.

The chivalric leader laughed. He had most likely concluded that the embracing pair had chosen to die together.

“Major… then, please,” Violet gazed at her Lord, who was far more beautiful than the gem she had been unceasingly protecting, “do not go anywhere.”

The shotgun was aimed at them.

“Please stay by my side… I do not mind however you treat me. I simply want to be with you. That is all. Nothing else… is necessary. Major, I…”

She had learned how to write and could speak countless words, yet they would not properly come out in front of the person she truly cherished.

“…want to be together with you.”

The one standing there was not a doll. It was a girl who yearned for love from only one man.

“I’m not going anywhere… I need you. I’ll be by your side…!” Gilbert Bougainvillea answered the plea as if yelling.

It was because something unlike a bullet had flown into their field of vision.

At twenty minutes past eight o’clock, Samuel LaBeouf, who worked as an engineer in the unfortunate intercontinental train, obeyed the command from the Leidenschaftlich colonel that had showed up like an electric shock and continued his task while waiting for the signal. What on Earth would said signal be? Even though he had told he would immediately know once he saw it, what should he do if he accidentally missed it? Regardless, his worry was unnecessary. After all, an occurrence that would supposedly break the current situation in the deadlock awaited him.

An ostentatious blast arose, explosion lights scattering in the darkness of the night. At such a timing, a terrible catastrophe was happening in the little village ahead.

“What’s that?! Stop, stop! Emergency stop!”

The station was on fire.

Back at seven hours and fifty minutes, an attractive young man with sandy blond hair and sky blue eyes was hanging up the phone with an “I got it”. His outfit was slightly mismatched for the small assembly place of the desolate village.

“Benedict, what did President Hodgins say?” inquired a hard-faced, equipped man with black skin and a thinly shaved hairdo in the form of a crucifix, wearing a striped shirt and shoulder holsters.

“The old man is coming here. He gave us three orders. One: to break down this village’s station in a flashy way, so that it will be visible from the train heading to it. Two: to aid the passengers and consequently rescue V. Three: to suppress that armed group as they will likely put up resistance. A contract has already been sealed by law. This land belongs to our company. He said it’s okay to wreck it without hesitation. Everybody, let’s go save V!”

During the convocation from Lux, who was in the headquarters, she had attempted to make the CH employees there congregated take guns. In response to that, everyone had started noisily frolicking as if they were in a festival.

Each of them had different ages and skin colors. They were the people Hodgins had gathered and described as “all weirdoes with their own circumstances”. The ones who had been called and rushed to that assembly spot were them – the postmen who made deliveries throughout the entire continent. It was unthinkable that they were about to participate in a dangerous rescue operation by an emergency order from their boss. Their attitude was closer to drunkards at a bar.

In contrast to them, a funeral-like atmosphere loomed over the villagers of Ritorno. It was only the expected, for a bizarre postal agency staff carrying weapons had suddenly informed them that their village’s station would be destroyed.

Benedict walked over to the oldest woman in their midst, who was seated on a chair. “Granny, we’ll make a bit of a fuss. If there are people amongst the villagers who can treat the wounded, I want you to bring them along if you can.”

“You’re already going to make me work?” It was an accusing manner of speech.

Benedict frowned. “You guys were convinced by our good-for-nothing President’s words and sold it, right? Aren’t you well-off, since every single person in this village is gonna be employed by our office? Granny, you’re our colleague too. You’re now a company employee, so of course we’ll make you work. If you suspect we’re deceiving you, you’re wrong.” With the click of his cross-shaped heels echoing, he stood in front of the village chief, abruptly bringing his face close to hers. “You’re mistaking that with being protected. If that old man thinks about doing something, he can use some pretty awful methods. But he didn’t do that and instead made proper negotiations, and also complied with the price discussions, right? The Old Man… the President treats people crudely, but he treasures his workers. Right now, we’re on the move for the sake of an employee that he’s super attached to as if she were his daughter. She’s like a little sister to me too. We cherish her. So don’t be so scared. Stand tall.”

“That’s right. The President definitely rewards hard work with payment and support. The industry will only function here in the future. At the outset, lifesaving will be our duty, Chief.” Another postman added, as if to assist Benedict’s rough persuasion.

“Are you really going to do this?”

“We are. Once it’s said we’ll do it, we definitely will. And if we’re beaten, we’ll do it over. That’s what our agency is about.”

“You don’t hate that, right?”

“Oh, what’s that? You can put on a strong face too?”

“I’m a woman who’s been born and raised in coalmines. What a foolish question.”

Even though a huge incident was about to begin, the air around them was light, and everyone walked one after the other towards the station in a somewhat calm atmosphere. In spite of them having confronted the problem of how to destroy the station, the chief offered the remaining coalmine explosives that were no longer used.

“Granny, you’re getting into it, huh?” Benedict gave the village chief a thumb-up to show his gratitude.

However, there seemed to be many people with traumas prevenient from detonations, so most of the villagers were merely observing from afar and the postmen were the ones to install the explosives.

“I… When I was born, the mine had already been closed, so it’s my first time seeing an explosion!”

Children making merry were the sole spectators that approached the area.

As he was caused to step back, Benedict commented, “That’s good.”

“I’m bad at dealing with adults, but this is amazing!”

“You’re bad with adults?”

“Before I was born, there was a blast in our coalmine and it’s still burning even now. And it’s said many people died in it. I’ve never seen my grandfathers. Both died from that.”

“Hmm…”

“It’s already been buried, yet during the winter, it’s the only spot that doesn’t get covered by snow. It’s super hot. When I think about how my grandpas are probably down there, I can’t make too much fun of it, though. It’s better not to be a coal miner, but I don’t like being poor either.”

“Is that so…?” Benedict put a hand on the head of the child that attempted to continue speaking and ruffled his hair. He looked one more time at the village chief, who was sitting on a chair someone had arranged for her.

“Are the preparations done?”

“Yeah.”

“This is importunate of me, but your President really will compensate us a lot for this matter, won’t he…? I’ve gotten worried. Although this is lifesaving… our station might be just one of the train’s passage points, but if it gets destroyed, Leidenschaftlich most likely won’t stay quiet.”

“I’m telling you not to fret, aren’t I?” Benedict put a hand on his hip, and after a brief moment, he laughed mockingly. It was probably because the person in question had surfaced in his mind. “He’s incredible. When he gotta do something, he does it. He’s a good man. So be at ease.” He said reassuringly.

“Is that true…? I sold the village because surviving our winter cost us a lot… I want the children leaving this place as immigrants to build their own lives, too. Your job will be the last straw of this favor. I will probably be able to meet your President eventually, but you tell him as well.”

“It’s okay. I’ll talk to him too.”

“I’m counting on you.” A smile appeared on her wrinkle-covered face. Surely, there were wrinkles she had acquired not simply from aging, but from numerous hardships.

“Granny,” Benedict raised a thumb, “you’re a woman of the coalmines, right? Don’t get scared of some big fireworks. I like strong women.”

“Kids shouldn’t talk so haughtily.” The village chief laughed. Perhaps due to laughing too much, tears formed thinly in the corners of her eyes.

A while thereafter, a flicker was ignited on the fuse line. The way it danced in the middle of the night was like a blaze serpent.

At Benedict’s call, everyone started the countdown, “Five, four, three, two, one!”

Heat, wind and blares surged and overwhelmed the people present. Hot gusts and shock waves burst up, the women letting out screams. The rail flew away and the station’s building collapsed, covered in flames. It was a spectacular sight. Still, what an occurrence. Like a flower blooming in the evening, the destruction was somewhat beautiful. Long accustomed to explosions, the elderly ladies clapped their hands, the children wept, and the CH postal service’s personnel cheered while blowing whistles. Each then took back their weapons.

“It might be late to say this, but that doesn’t seem like a job postmen should be doing.”

“Well, it’s fine from time to time, right? Considering my previous occupation, I would never refuse a request from the President, since he brought me back into decency.”

“Are we decent, though? By the way, are we gonna receive any bonuses for going through this danger?”

“It’s sweltering. Shouldn’t we extinguish that fire before the rescue? Benedict. Hey, leader.”

“Y’all are noisy. Listen. Make sure you don’t get mistaken and shot by the army. No accidental shootings, either. Friendly fire is the worst thing. Don’t get carried away and do anything radical. Also, put on an identifier. If any of you find V, tell me immediately. She’ll get a lecture for giving us this trouble. Anyways, our main objective is V!”

The train’s sounds could be heard in the distance.

Benedict wrapped a red cloth around his arm. “Welp, after the fireworks, comes the festival.” With his pistols ready, he licked his lips.

At twenty minutes past eight o’clock, the after-effects of the massive explosion also reached Violet and Gilbert. Scattering light and flames soared like flowers from within the pitch-darkness ahead. A part of the station’s roof, which was blown up, came flying and directly struck the backs of the squad leader and his subordinate. The trigger was pulled, yet the bullet disappeared into the wrong direction. As the two had not been prepared to even hold themselves in place, with expressions of surprise, they hit the car frame and rolled down. Violet had instantly attempted to offer her hand to them as they crossed her side, but such arm was the damaged one.

“Violet, don’t let go!”

Gilbert endured the impact until the train completely came to a stop while supporting Violet. He could catch the screams of the passengers. The train halted without turning over, just barely about to collide with the station.

Without a moment’s delay, gunshots could be heard. A smoke curtain was leaking out of the steam locomotive’s front. Members of Leidenschaftlich’s Special Offense Force were beginning to take control of it by targeting the machine, as Gilbert had. Additionally, while avoiding obstacles in the station, not just one but several motorcycles leaped towards the train. To say they were leaping was an odd manner of speech, but there was no helping it as it was happening in the literal sense. They were coming both as single riders and in pairs, but there was one thing all of them had in common.

“Everyone who wants to run away, come here!”

They were employees of the CH Postal Service. Taking advantage of the commotion, they rode the motorcycles that were normally used for delivering letters and started guiding those who were trying to escape towards the direction of the village. Amongst them was a strong man who snipped back at the hijackers shooting intensely through the window glasses. It was Violet’s colleague, Benedict. Another battalion of Leidenschaftlich, which acted as reinforcement to the rescue, made its appearance as well.

Gilbert exhaled a breath at the sight before him. So did Violet. It seemed that all the measures to protect the passengers were working finely.

In their peace of mind, the two were petrified for a while. After all, the scene was frighteningly whimsical. Ashes, sparks and fire flashes were dissipated by the wind in the darkness of the sky, dancing as they rained down.

Gilbert took off the sword belt he had tied around Violet. He then striped the jacket of his battle uniform and put it over her shoulders. “Violet.”

It seemed dangerous to get down in such conditions. The next action Gilbert was supposed to take was to contour the turmoil and entrust Violet to the rescuing team of postmen. He also had to return to the battle and help suppress the chaos.

“Major.”

“Violet, listen.”

“I’ll land you a hand, so you have to get up.” was what he had been about to say, but the words retreated to the back of his throat as he looked at her.

Violet’s eyes flickered. The tears she had accumulated seemed about to flood even now. “Major…” She steadfastly held onto her chest area, where her brooch rested on.

Gilbert Bougainvillea was right in front of her eyes. Just that fact made the sound of her heartbeats loud in a way not even the battlefield could manage.

“I will fight too. You have come to save the civilians, right?” Perhaps because she had always been disciplining herself into being as a machine, Violet attempted to be of use to Gilbert even in such circumstances.

“You’re a part of them.”

“I am… Major’s… tool.”

“You’re no tool. You, who I am to protect, should not fight. That duty is mine as the Colonel of Leidenschaftlich’s army, Gilbert Bougainvillea. It is also the job of my subordinates. Violet, I will deliver you to a safe spot now.”

Violet’s face was of someone who had received a blow. “Colonel… Major… Colonel… Gil… bert.”

“I don’t mind being called ‘Major’.”

“Ma… j… Gilbert…” Violet wound up hiding her face with her right hand. Tears traveled down the gaps between her fingers.

She was currently ‘sad’.

“If… I am not a tool, why… did you say you would not let go…?”

Being told that he would not to let go had made her ‘contented’. However, being denied of her own reason of existence was ‘sorrowful’. If he had showed himself to her once again, why would he not allow her to go back to being a tool? In Violet’s perspective, she was aware that her value lay only within violence.

“Violet.”

As she forever swayed between being a tool and a person, at that moment, Gilbert attempted once again to convey something to the girl who did not know love.

“I made your life a mess. I let you go to war. I hurt you. I regretted it so much that I thought of killing myself. Yet I knew that you had always been searching for me. Even though I had decided to protect you from afar, today, I couldn’t hold back and ended up coming. I am… not the sort of man you take me to be. Not a magnificent Lord, nor an honorable individual. I’m definitely not worthy of you.”

That his love would not run out, no matter what she was, wherever she was living or even if she were a fool.

“Still, even now, I love you as a person. To me, you’re not a tool.”

“Even… if I… am not… a tool…?”

“I am not your master anymore, either. Nevertheless, I want you to let me stay by your side.”

Silence.

“Violet?”

Violet allowed something that seemed to fiercely burn her throat to pass through. Her tears were feverish. They were proof of her feelings, which she had only shed a number of times that could be counted in one hand in her life.

The first time she had cried was when she used to be a girl soldier. She was a young female tool with beautiful eyes of gem-like blue irises and golden lashes.

“I…”

Her current self had no longer the same stature as when she and Gilbert had first met. Neither was her appearance the same as when she had been to the battlefields. Her hair had grown lengthier and she had become the graceful and dignified young woman who now stood before him. With the grown-up figure of the girl he had loved, as the existence whose hand he had let go of, she now stood before Gilbert.

“I…”

After a few years had gone by, she had finally arrived at the place where she would be able to transmit her feelings.

“Had not understood at first… the meaning of Major leaving me, handing me over to the Evergarden couple, and entrusting me to President Hodgins. Or the reason you had told me to become free. I merely… wondered all the while about why you had not discarded me, despite the fact I was not needed. I did not understand… a single one of your feelings, Major. Even now, Major, despite you telling me this, I end up thinking I am better off as a tool. I… I am the one… who is not worthy of you, Major… My existence is… like some kind of failed product that was created by mistake. That is why the thoughts of people, too… But…” Large teardrops streamed from her blue eyes. They trailed along her chin, pouring onto her emerald brooch. “I have become able to somewhat feel. With this new life, which Major granted me, it was only little by little, but I have become able to understand. The sadness and joy… pride, fear, everything… that someone can feel towards another person… I do not fathom those as my own, however. But through writing on others’ behalf, and through the people I meet, I can feel them. Major, I… gradually… have also come to understand… the things you say.”

The things he had said. The things he had told her about.

“If I… had done more for you when you were younger, I wonder if you would have interest in these things.”

“Even if… you think that… to me, you are…”

“Do you… want my orders that much?”

“Why… do you think of everything as an order no matter what?! Do you… really believe I see you as a tool? If that were the case, I would not have held the little you in my arms or made sure that no one would mess with you as you grew up! Regardless of anything, you don’t realize… how I feel… about you. Normally… anyone would… surely understand. The reason why I’m angry and why I’m suffering is you. Still, you don’t comprehend a single fraction of that.”

“Do you not have feelings? That’s not it, right? It’s not as if you have none. Isn’t that right? If you didn’t have feelings, then what is this face? You can make a face like that, can’t you? You have feelings. You have… a heart just like mine, right!?”

“To love is… to think that you… want to protect someone the most in the world.”

“You’re important… and precious. I don’t ever want you to be hurt. I want you to be happy. I want you to be well. That’s why, Violet… you should live on and become free. Escape from the military and live your life. You’ll be fine even if I’m not around. Violet, I love you. Please live.”

“I have come… to understand them.” Before she realized, her voice had deflated as if withering. Her field of vision was blurring as well. Tears continued to spill from Violet’s blue eyes. The lips that used to say she did not understand feelings mustered different words, “I understand… ‘I love you’… a little as well.”

She did not understand everything yet. Nevertheless, without denying any of it, she meant to understand it from then on. The motive behind her intention of making such efforts was being told that she was loved by Gilbert Bougainvillea.

Gilbert’s chest was tight with the emotions going rampant in it. A thin film of tears spread in his eyes from grief and delight. “Violet.” Gilbert stretched his hand out. His fingertips halted halfway.

He had suddenly become afraid of touching her body – something he had had no time to feel just a moment before as he, in order to protect her, had held onto her with deathly desperation. Would she accept him? She was Gilbert’s tool no more. Neither was she a small child. He could not touch her so easily.

Violet Evergarden. One living being. The only woman he loved in the world stood there. It was Gilbert’s first time ever loving someone. He used not to know the intricacies of loving and being loved.

Within the sounds of battle that suited the two of them, something was finally commencing.

Gilbert adored her crying figure so much he could not bear it. “Violet, I want to wipe your tears.”

At the request, Violet hid her face within her hand even more. Surely she disliked being seen weeping. In her own reasoning, she dreaded the possibility of being hated by the man in front of her through any and each one of her actions. She instinctively assumed that, although love was something gentle, it was also fragile.

“Violet, please. Show me your face. No matter what form you take, my feelings towards you won’t change.” As she did not look his way, Gilbert said while laughing shyly, “See, I’m on the verge of crying too.”

In truth, his tears were already pouring. He was unable to poise himself. There was no stopping them. Tears formed and fell, formed and fell. Just as his feelings for her, they could not be impeded.

“Violet.”

Violet’s body shuddered as her name was called. Just called by him.

“It’s fine if it’s little by little. If you… are coming… to understand it, I will wait any amount of time. Little by little is okay. I won’t… pry for an answer immediately. Until you say ‘I understand’… I will wait however long it takes… only for you. Today, I’d wanted to tell you ‘I love you’ once again, but it’s not as if I expected anything from you in return.” His tears wound up spilling once again. “I… will not steal from you anymore, and I don’t wish to do anything other than give. If, one day, you ever come to think that you ‘understood’, I want you to accept my love. Violet.” The man said to the sobbing girl, who attempted to suppress her tears with her artificial arm, “I love you. Let me dry your tears.”

The one behind the wrist that he grasped and moved away was not a taciturn, expressionless and truly machine-like Auto-Memories Doll. Instead, it was a human child who was crying out of slight happiness and fear from receiving the ‘number one’ form of love from someone for the first time.

Gilbert embraced Violet, who shed tears while trembling, after slowly caressing her cheeks. “I’ve always wanted to do this.” He whispered as more tears overflowed.

“Violet, I love you.”

‘Auto-Memories Doll’. It had been a long time since such name had caused a scandal.

The creator was the researcher of mechanical dolls, Professor Orland. His wife, Molly, was a novelist, and all had started once she had posteriorly lost her sight. After becoming a blind woman, Molly was extremely depressed for being unable to write novels, which was the meaning of her life, and had grown weaker with each day. Unable to bear seeing such a thing, Professor Orland built the first Auto-Memories Doll. It was meant for processing everything said by the voice of its established master, as well as writing down words said by human voices – in other words, a machine that served for ‘amanuensis’.

Although he had only meant to make one for his beloved wife, it later became well-known with the support of a great amount of people. Currently, Auto-Memories Dolls were sold at a reasonably low price, and there were types that could be rented or borrowed. Those who worked with amanuensis were referred to as ‘Auto-Memories Dolls’ around the world. It was a profession revered by many since ancient times.

Amongst the industries that dealt with Auto-Memories Dolls, there was a particularly famous individual. Her voice had a sweet ring to it and matched her beauty. She was a female Auto-Memories Doll with golden hair and blue eyes.

Her workplace was CH Postal Service from the grandiose southern country, Leidenschaftlich. It was a renowned company, which had received awarding from the Army Ministry for its cooperation in resolving the hijacking incident of a certain train. The young president of CH Postal Service had been featured in the newspapers of the time bringing supplies to the scene. The postmen had worked to rescue the passengers. A brunette of impressive beauty had wailed while hugging the wounded and wrapping them in blankets. The company had several photos of it published, but it was not as if they had any connection to her popularity. If anything, to say that the company was known because she was part of it was more accurate. Stamps with the name of the flower that she had been named after were best-selling items out of the ones produced by CH Postal Service.

From one person to another, the rumors about her knew not where to stop. Exactly what kind of being was she, you ask? The impressions from those who had actually met her were many. Some would say her voice was pleasant. Some would say her handwriting was pretty. Some would say their hearts were saved by her. Some would praise her charms by claiming they had been intoxicated by her.

Have you become interested in requesting her services? I shall tell you how to hire her. If you wish to meet her, all you must do is give a call. If you search in a telephone book for a postal company in the name of ‘Hodgins’, you should be able to find it right away. Most likely, a young woman with a still childish and intellectual manner of speech will immediately hear your requirements through the phone. When inquired if you have preference for any Auto-Memories Doll, say her name. You might be left in the waiting list, but an Auto-Memories Doll who is worth waiting for shall be sent to you in the future. As long as a customer wishes, she will appear anywhere anytime.

“I rush to wherever my clients might desire. I am from the Auto-Memories Doll service, Violet Evergarden.”

She was but a slightly strange girl.