The Demon King Express churned across the night sky, black smoke rising from its chimney. The train body accelerated faster and faster, reaching the Dark Firmament in no time at all.
“Misha. There’s an order in the Dark Firmament called silverlight that leads the way outside. Its wind and waves cannot be seen by normal Magic Eyes, but the Demon King Express should be able to react to the order,” I said to Misha through Leaks.
“I’ll try,” Misha replied. The overseer room where she was located had several cogs set in place, allowing her to keep an eye on the engine and the rest of the train while staring into the abyss of the turning windmills and waterwheels. It was, as the name implied, a room where she could oversee the Demon King Express with her Magic Eyes.
“Watch,” she said to the other students assigned to the room.
Misha held out her hands and drew a magic circle. The magic power from her fingertips flipped a bunch of switches and turned a number of valves. She was changing the wavelength of order that the windmills and waterwheels were receiving. The students observed her movements carefully.
Eventually, a series of magic runes and numbers appeared on the crystal screen before her. Misha glanced at it. “Reaction detected in the windmill and waterwheels of carriage five.”
The windmill and waterwheels affixed to the Demon King Express had started to turn. They had caught the wind and waves of the invisible silverlight.
“I’ll match the wavelength of the order.”
Misha sent her magic out to the various valves and switches again.
“Look, Enne... The windmill and waterwheels are turning,” Zeshia said, pointing at a magic crystal. Each carriage of the Demon King Express was reflected on the crystal, allowing a clear view of the windmills on the carriage fronts and waterwheels being used as train wheels.
“Wow! That’s so cool! They can detect the wind and waves of order!” Ennessone said in an awed voice.
“Clatter clatter... Clatter clatter...”
“Clatter clatter!”
Zeshia and Ennessone began chanting as the wheels of the Demon King Express turned rapidly. Then, as though connected to these turning wheels, the cogs inside the overseer room began turning slowly as well. The power of order gradually traveled through the carriages, wrapping them in a bronze glow.
The Demon King Express moved like it was being pulled towards something. Silver light became visible in front of us, just like it had when we rode with Baltzarond’s Silverwater Ship. A path of silverlight had formed in front of us, guiding Beltexfenblem.
“The path outside,” Misha said plainly. She looked at both the emerging silverlight and the runes and numbers on the crystal screen in the overseer room with her Divine Eyes. “It’s the same type of order as Equis’s cogs.”
“The silverlight, you mean?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
Based on what Loncruz and that one-armed man had said, Equis had the makings of this world’s chief god. At the very least, they possessed magic that was worthy of being that of a chief god—which meant it wouldn’t be odd for silverlight itself to be made from their order. It also meant that Baltzarond’s ship was able to enter Militia’s world because their chief god’s order was on a similar enough wavelength to interfere with ours. The similarity in their wavelengths was how the boats created by the chief gods were able to cross miniature worlds.
“I think I can change the silverlight path so it can become a railroad exclusive to the Demon King Express,” Misha said.
“Try it,” I replied.
Misha sent her magic out again, operating more switches and valves. Just as all the wheels of the train transformed into cogs, the silverlight path began to shift. The light refined in shape, taking the form of cogs that fit perfectly against the cogs of the Demon King Express. When the cogs of the train rotated, the cogs of silverlight did too. The order was now obeying the Demon King Express—and the transformation wasn’t done there.
The cogs of silverlight turned into a railroad, and now, a shining silver railroad spread across the Dark Firmament, the end of which sparkled like an exit. The cogs on the train returned to the shapes of wheels and fit against the silver railroad.
Eldmed cackled with laughter. “How fascinating! Stoker! Fireman! Throw the coal in at full strength! We’re going to charge straight for that light exit!”
“Got it!”
The two black-uniformed students eagerly started shoveling coal into the firebox. More smoke belched from the chimney and the wheels of the train turned faster.
“Eleonore, put up a magic barrier,” I said.
“Right away!”
In the barrier room, Eleonore released her magic above a fixed magic circle. The black smoke turned clear before transforming into a glittering magic barrier that covered the Demon King Express. On the newly constructed silver railroad, the Demon King Express shot across like a bolt of lightning, charging into the light.
The next moment, the view outside the window was filled with bubbles.
“Whoa! It’s a sea of silver!” Eleonore cried.
Everyone else was rendered momentarily speechless at the sight of the shimmering silver sea. But the view wasn’t just magnificent; there was horror hiding behind the beauty. The Sacred Silverwater Sea was vast beyond imagination, and there was no telling what dangers lurked within.
Sasha stared at the silver water through the window with a serious expression.
“Child of destruction,” Arcana called out to her. “Were you thinking of a funny joke just now?”
“Not at all?! Why would I think of a joke at a time like this?!” Sasha retorted, losing her serious mood immediately.
“The order of abdominal muscle destruction is activated when everyone else is serious.”
“Stop making me sound like a clown eagerly waiting for a chance to make people laugh!”
“I was just wondering if you were thinking of a way to lighten up the room...”
“Again, why would I do such a stupi— Huh? That’s actually a pretty nice thing to do,” Sasha mumbled in realization.
Just then, the Demon King Choir girls who were in the same room came close to them.
“Cana’s a blasphemous comedian, after all!” Ellen said.
“Yup yup. It’s admirable how she’s always looking for humor in every moment.”
“There’s nothing to do in the turret room, so it gets tense in here pretty easily.”
“Right?! Oh, but that doesn’t mean we want to be busy either!”
“That’d mean an enemy attack! I’m just happy to see Lady Sasha and Cana as their usual selves.”
“Was I of use to you, choir child?” Arcana asked.
The girls all replied with enthusiastic words of agreement.
“Of course!”
“That’s Cana the Goddess of Absurdity for you!”
“You’re so blasphemous today!”
Sasha looked grim, but in a decidedly different way than before. “Cana the Goddess of Absurdity? What...”
Her voice was drowned out by the chants of “Blasphemous! Blasphemous!” echoing through the turret room.
“Overseer room here. I think I can further extend the railroad like this,” Misha reported to the engine room.
“Bwa ha ha! That’s great news,” Eldmed replied. “If the silverlight connecting the world inside and outside can be extended, Leaks should be able to reach Militia’s world from out here!”
“Try it,” Misha said.
I drew the magic circle for Leaks. “Can you hear me, Melheis?”
There was no immediate reply, but after a while...
“Yes, I can.”
Hmm. It worked.
“Good news. It seems Leaks can reach outside the world to an extent. I’ll contact you again if the connection weakens.”
“Understood.”
If the railroad could reach all the way to the other side back to our world, I’d be able to know if Militia’s world was invaded the moment the threat arrived, and could return to deal with it right away.
“So, where are we headed, Demon King?” Eldmed asked.
I used magic to draw a map in front of him.
“This is our destination. The currents might be a little rough, but take the shortest route there without any detours. Proceed carefully.”
Eldmed glanced over the map. “Stoker, fireman, maintain speed of six tons per minute. Connect the wheels to the second cog. Full speed ahead.”
“Got it!” the two black-uniformed students replied, throwing coal into the firebox.
“Construct the magic railroad.”
“Roger that!” answered another student. “Constructing magic railroad!”
Eldmed grinned. “Next stop: an unknown world!”
Silver railroads were constructed in front of the Demon King Express as it ran, allowing it to travel uninterrupted at rapid speed. The combination of the train and the silverlight rails allowed us to move even faster than Baltzarond’s Silverwater Ship. At this rate, we’d arrive much earlier than expected.
Just then, I heard the sound of sobbing. I looked over to see mom was crying. Dad was supporting her with an arm around her shoulders, tears in his eyes as he stared out the window unseeingly.
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
Hmm. This wasn’t good. I might have overestimated their tenacity. No matter who they had been in their past lives, right now they were just regular humans. Even Sasha and the others had fallen speechless at the beauty and horror of the Sacred Silverwater Sea. The sea that allowed no life to thrive within it could instill fear directly into one’s source. As two regular humans, they had no means of resisting that instinctive terror.
“Don’t worry, mom, dad. I’ll protect you.”
Mom looked at my face blankly with teary eyes. She wasn’t even capable of speaking anymore. This could be a problem.
“Arcana, Sasha. Come to the engine room,” I said.
They teleported over immediately.
“What’s wrong?” Sasha asked.
“I need to watch the outside. Look after mom and dad for me. They seem to be feeling a little dispirited.”
She immediately understood what I meant and nodded. “Got it.”
The two approached mom and dad and called out to them.
“I wish to have a conversation with you,” Arcana said.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Sasha added. “No matter how dangerous the world is, there’s nowhere safer than right by Anos!”
“Sasha! Arcana!” mom cried out, as though something inside her had snapped. She burst into a fresh wave of tears, and clutched the two of them to her in a tight embrace. “Help... I can’t hold on anymore!”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay,” Sasha said.
“But... But Anos is just so cool when he’s working!”
“Excuse me?”
“My little Anos... He...” mom said between sobs. “He finally let us peek into his work life, but I forgot to bring my magic camera to catch him in action! I’m a failure of a mother!”
All expression vanished from Sasha’s face. Arcana looked at dad.
“I’m sorry! I forgot too! The camera burned down in the house anyway!”
Dad slumped down on a seat, stifling his weeping as best he could. Arcana and Sasha exchanged a look.
“I think mother and father are treating this like a bring-your-parents-to-work day,” Arcana said.
“How typical...” Sasha muttered.
With such peaceful passengers on board, the Demon King Express continued its maiden voyage through the Sacred Silverwater Sea.