Hat answered Octavia’s concerns. “It’s probably because it was only a piece of the map. It didn’t look like he had the power to drag us to the other side in an instant.”
“That also must’ve been the reason the passengers were left sleeping and retained their forms.”
“Right. But there’s a chance we’ll be stuck here forever, wandering between our side and the other side. If that happens, the passengers will all die eventually in their sleep. Naturally, we’d starve to death, too.”
“I’d much sooner make my excuses and leave,” muttered Octavia, opening the door to the next first-class carriage. Her eyes widened. There was nothing there. They were simply in a lone runaway train car, traveling through the pitch darkness. Buffeted by a strong wind, Octavia put another query to Hat: “Tell me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure there was another carriage in first-class beyond this, wasn’t there?”
“Octavia, look closer. The driver’s cab is there, on the other side. The man who shot the picture frame and got sucked in is sitting in the driver’s seat.” Since the frame had been broken, the map was activated. The map probably recognized the man who had shot the frame as its user, choosing him as its guide—or, in other words, as the driver. Octavia couldn’t see the map he held, but she was sure it was the map controlling the man.
Squinting through the darkness, Octavia managed to make out the driver’s cab, its faint lights bobbing up and down. The rail, which she couldn’t see no matter what, seemed to curve, to rise and fall along with the mountains.
Octavia took off one of her earrings and threw it ahead, where the next first-class carriage was originally supposed to have been. Hurled into the darkness, the earring for some reason created ripples as it was silently swallowed up. This sent a slight shiver up Octavia’s spine.
“Do you think the next carriage still exists, and we just can’t see it?”
“No. It’s going to be completely swallowed by the other side. You and I should be able to get back safely, but the train—and the map—we might well lose.”
However, they could still see the driver’s cab. Octavia looked up above her head. “I’m jumping across.”
“Well, that,” began Hat, and paused. “That might be safe.”
Placing her feet on the wall of the carriage they had passed through so far, she leapt up on top of the train. The hem of her favorite dress fluttering noisily in the wind, she stood up and took a few steps back. Then, after a running start, she jumped toward the driver’s cab.
Her first step, with her right foot, landed on the invisible first-class carriage. Before her high-heeled shoe could sink into the darkness, she kicked it off and jumped again, using only her other foot. Her second footfall was much the same, her left foot landing on an unseen platform; she kicked off her other high heel and jumped yet again. At the same time, she shouted, “Hat, my gun!” That was an order.
Hat answered in a language long lost from this world. “Yes, Your Majesty!” At the same time as Hat pronounced this resounding declaration, Octavia’s right hand began to glow. “System startup. Authentication cleared. Summoning ‘Handgun.’”
Octavia gripped the light that appeared in the palm of her hand, and it swelled up before her eyes, taking the form of a weapon. It was a small pistol. From midair, she trained its sights upon the driver’s cab.
“Glorify Our Majesty’s victory!” In lockstep with Hat’s final blessing, Octavia pulled the trigger. Her shot blew away the wall of the driver’s cab, revealing the man who sat in the driver’s seat. It was the man who had been swallowed up earlier. The object he clutched in his hand, his eyes glazed over, was, just as expected, the former contents of the picture frame.
That was the source of all this trouble. All the same, it was a precious friend that Octavia should save. After fixing her eyes directly on the heirloom, she cried. “Hat! Its name is ‘Map’!” As administrator of the Heirlooms, if Hat registered the map in his index, it would return to its ideal state.
Hat, looking at just the same spot from atop Octavia’s head, cried, “‘Searching... Error!’”
“Huh?!” shouted Octavia in response to this phrase, which indicated failure. “Why didn’t it work?! It is a map, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know! That should be right, but—”
“As long as I can guess the name of the tool, aren’t you supposed to be able to register it?!” Thanks to this confusion, Octavia accidentally placed a foot on the roof of the first-class carriage. With a blub, she felt the sole of her foot begin to sink.
“Octavia!”
“Blast...” I’ll be swallowed up. She didn’t know whether or not it would be effective, but she at least wanted to try, so she aimed the barrel of her pistol down at the roof. At that moment, she was abruptly hoisted back up, hips first.
“Huh?!”
Her feet, which had begun to sink into the invisible swamp, were pulled free. A man’s arm was wound around her waist.
What...
Struggling to see in the pitch darkness, Octavia could just make out the edges of a mask and a hat, as well as a black cape. The man floated in the air, almost as if by some conjuring trick, and lowered Octavia onto one of the following carriages, where there was still firm footing. Raising her head, Octavia gasped as she saw red eyes glowing behind the mask. This was evidence of the magic of much earlier generations.
“That map is only one piece, you know. It isn’t broken, but it has been torn apart,” whispered the man in the mask. “Perhaps there’s still some element you need to pinpoint its identity. For example, where is it a map of?”
Her eyes wide, Octavia murmured, “A map of where... A place name? There’s no way—” I’d know that, she almost said, then stopped. She must have heard of it. It was a place that no longer existed: the old capital city that had fallen into ruin, along with its god. The man turned his back to Octavia, who had fallen silent.
“You’d better do it quickly. After your attack just now, I’d say it’s aware of you. It looks like we have company.” It was then that Octavia realized what the masked man was looking at. A mob of the living dead, emerging as if they had sprouted from the train itself. Their skin was the color of soil and had melted off in places.
Their aim was to devour the flesh of any human that possessed enough magic to live in this world, and thereby to return to the mortal realm. To obtain the power they needed to break the seal on the god that had fallen into evil. In other words, they had come to devour Octavia and the mysterious masked man. Still, the masked man remained calm, even seeing the undead. In profile, Octavia saw that his expression was unwavering, as if he had known the inner workings of this world from the very start.
“Who...are you?”
“Just a phantom thief passing through.” Hiding his eyes beneath the brim of his top hat, the man smiled.
Octavia’s legs shook as she tried to stand back up. Hat cried out, “Octavia, there’s no time! Deal with this man later. Go!”
After she’d gotten to her feet, Octavia turned on her heel and broke into a run. The wall of the driver’s cab, which she had shot away only moments ago, had already repaired itself, hiding its occupants. If the heirloom wasn’t within Hat’s field of vision, he couldn’t register it.
“What’s your plan?”
“Isn’t it obvious? We jump.”
“That’s just what I meant—how do you intend to jump all that way?”
“Hat, the land mine!” commanded Octavia as she jumped once again. “Attach it to the roof of the invisible first-class carriage, in exactly the spot where my feet will touch down!”
“Whaaaat?! How are you going to make a foothold out of a land mine?”
“I’ll use the shock wave to fly across! Suppress the force of the blast!” Even if Hat had wanted to stop her, she had already jumped. Given the choice between flying across with the blast from the land mine and being swallowed up by that mysterious first-class carriage, he decided he’d have to go with the former.
“Y-You good-for-nothing girl! Yes, Your Majesty!” In tandem with Hat’s cry of despair, a glowing land mine appeared. Octavia kicked off from the mine as she jumped a second time. A deafening roar echoed around them as the blast sent Octavia flying forward. The shock wave acting as a tailwind, Octavia adjusted her flying stance and sailed over the unseen carriage.
“What kind of ludicrous method of flight is this?! We may not have any other tools, but I’m still sad to see this!”
“Quiet down and look, Hat!” Octavia once again took aim with the pistol still clutched in her hand and fired. A window pane shattered, revealing the driver’s seat. Without any concern for the fact that she was now plummeting, Octavia cried out the name of a realm that no one uttered any longer.
“You come from the United Empire of Ercadia, and you are called ‘Map of the Imperial City, Draine’!”
“‘Searching... Target confirmed. Unlock!’” The very same moment as Hat’s shrill declaration, the driver’s cab exploded. As Octavia was blown backward, the map floated up to meet her, as if drawn into her hands.
Your Majesty. Clutching the map to her chest, Octavia closed her eyes as the blast carried her away.