novelraw Chapter 25. Is it my beloved girl, Alice?
Chapter 25. Is it my beloved girl, Alice?
After returning to Dr. Raven's clinic from the clock tower, Green, exhausted from the day, took a nap on the first floor.
When he woke up, it was already seven in the morning. The Raven Doctor had already gone out. Green had originally wanted to ask the Bull Slayer if he was going to the train station with him, but the Bull Slayer shook his head.
"I'd like to wander around the city by myself, and then we'll meet up at the exhibition."
Green tucked the silver pistol into his waistband, and a black bracelet appeared on his wrist.
This was a special function of the nameless knight's armor that he unexpectedly discovered after returning last night.
With just a thought, the bracelet could transform back into armor and be automatically worn on him, which was quite convenient.
As for the white clock, although he didn't know what it was for, Green still put it in his pocket.
He could also get to know the students and teachers of Nienia. If the route from the Tribunal to the Abyss was not smooth, he could then turn his attention to Nienia Academy without being caught off guard.
It was September, and the morning air in St. Petersburg was exceptionally cool. A dark-haired young man in a brown coat emerged from the slums, found a chocobo driver on the street, and asked:
"How much does it cost to get to the train station?"
Beside the enormous chocobo, the coachman respectfully replied:
"Mr. 15pence."
The young man nodded and sat on the chocobo's back.
Chocobos are quite docile and, unlike horses, are not as precious and easy to raise. They can run for most of the day with just a few bundles of hay. As a means of transportation, they are extremely common not only in the Southern Continent but also in the Western Continent.
Are you heading out of town?
The chocobo started running unsteadily, and the coachman asked casually.
"I was just going to pick someone up with a friend."
"I see. I was just thinking that today is an exhibition of magical airships; it would be a shame if you didn't go see them."
"Is this thing really that rare?" the young man said dismissively.
The coachman laughed heartily, "Of course, even a commoner like me knows that this was researched by a boss who graduated from the Nienia Magic Academy. It's a groundbreaking invention."
"Once this thing is officially produced and put into use, it probably won't be long before it replaces the slow and extremely resource-intensive magic train. So today's exhibition is a testament to history."
"To be able to traverse half an empire in such a short time—who would have dared to imagine that before? Perhaps only a hero possesses such astonishing wisdom."
"A brave man?"
"Yes, it is said that the concept and design drafts of this magic airship were originally proposed by the Second Hero. However, compared to the magic airship, the AT Field and the Wall of the Heart are truly groundbreaking."
"Holy crap, your magic academy is going to build Eva Unit-01?"
"Unit-01?" the driver asked casually.
"I've only heard people mention these two terms. It's said that the teachers at the magic academy have been experimenting for hundreds of years but haven't been able to replicate the hero's ideals. I was just saying it casually, so please don't take it to heart."
During their casual conversation, the chocobo strolled leisurely to the train station in St. Petersburg.
People were coming and going at the train station, with people constantly getting off the train.
Mabel's attire was quite eye-catching, and Green quickly found her.
The platform she was on was for a special train, and the sign above it read:
Beyond the orbit of Nijenia.
"You've arrived." Mabel turned to look at Green, who was wearing a brown coat, raised her wrist to check the time on her watch, and said:
"Wait a moment, they'll be here in about five minutes. The magic academy's trains are always on time."
Green nodded. Just as Mabel had said, five minutes later, the space on the train tracks, which had been empty, seemed to be folded and distorted like a mirror.
An old-fashioned green train suddenly appeared on the railway and slowly came to a stop in front of the platform.
Green's eyes widened. What kind of high-tech stuff is this?
Mabel laughed as she watched him speechless:
"Let me introduce it to you, Big Sister. This is our academy's exclusive train. It was built by the Second Hero when the academy was first established. It is incredibly fast and can move by folding space."
Much of the space technology it contains remains unsolved.
"That's why, even though our Nienia Academy is thousands of miles away, we can reach cities all over the world in a very short time to pick up and drop off students every day."
"Amazing," Green exclaimed.
Mabel: "As long as you see the words 'Exotic Railroad' or 'Starry Sky Railway' on the platform signs in the city train stations, you know that it is our academy's exclusive train."
As they spoke, steam billowed from the engine of the green train, and the doors slowly opened.
Several students in dark blue school uniforms and a brown-haired woman with black-rimmed glasses walked down, looking meticulous and likely their teacher.
As soon as she got out of the car, the woman pushed up her glasses and said to Mabel:
"Mabel, Andy told me that you haven't been to his tutoring class for several days."
The usually arrogant Mabel gave an awkward laugh. "Haha, well, I've been busy lately, so I haven't had time to go to tutoring classes."
"Although Andy is only your senior in the fourth year, he is among the top students in the fourth year. What he says will still be useful to you."
Mabel whistled, as if to say, "I know."
The brown-haired woman shook her head, seemingly used to her appearance, and said:
"In short, before school starts in October, you have to attend at least two of his classes, or after you finish the magic airship exhibition today, submit a 10,000-word review to me."
As she spoke, she looked Green up and down, regardless of whether Mabel agreed or not.
"Are you Mabel's friend? Hello, let me introduce myself. My name is Catherine, and I'm a first-year magic teacher in Nienia, as well as her homeroom teacher. I hope this child hasn't caused you any trouble."
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Catherine," Green replied politely. "My name is Green."
The students behind Catherine looked at Green with some curiosity.
Catherine introduced, "These are also my students."
There are four students in total, two boys and two girls.
A polite boy nodded to Green and said, "You can just call me Vincent."
"Gordon." Another boy seemed quiet.
"My name is Sean." The short-haired girl came up to Green and looked him up and down with curiosity. "You're quite handsome, much better looking than those ugly ducklings in the academy. No wonder you're friends with Mabel, that looks-obsessed girl."
Vincent's smile froze. "Sean, who are you calling a freak?"
Sean stuck out his tongue and said nonchalantly:
"I'm talking about whoever's crooked or deformed."
After saying that, Sean prepared to introduce the last girl to Green, "Oh, right, she is..."
"Mr. Green, is there something on my face?"
Before he could finish speaking, Sean noticed that Green's gaze was fixed on the last girl.
The girl had beautiful golden hair, wore a blue and white dress, and had a large blue bow on her head.
"No, it's nothing." Green shook his head. "It's just that you look familiar, like I've seen you somewhere before."
The moment he saw her, it was as if Green saw Alice.
But in the blink of an eye, the beautiful girl in front of her looked nothing like Alice.
But why would I have this misconception?
The girl covered her mouth, smiled shyly, and blinked:
"Mr. Green, are you going to say next that I'm the most beautiful girl you've ever seen, and that my eyes are as bright as stars?"
Green smiled. "If I had to say, you're not the prettiest girl I've ever seen."
"Oh?" The girl tilted her head. "But seriously, even though this is my first time meeting Mr. Green, I don't know why, but I feel a sense of familiarity with you."
Sean approached the girl and whispered:
"Seriously, Fenrir? Are you a sucker for good looks too?"
Mabel rubbed her hands together, leering at the girl: "Miss Fenrir, why don't you stay after the exhibition today? My bed is quite big, you know."
Fenrir seemed to recall something terrifying and fled behind Sean, crying out, "No!"
Catherine sighed helplessly, then adopted the authority befitting a teacher and said sternly:
"Alright, kids, let's stop fooling around. Don't forget why we're here."
It's 7:30 in the morning.
The group walked out of the train station.
Not long after they left, a newsboy came riding by on a bicycle, handing out newspapers and calling out:
"Come and take a look! The magic airship exhibition is located in the Colosseum in the inner city center. Today, everyone is welcome to enter the inner city without any conditions, and there are no admission fees!"
"The Colosseum?" Green asked, somewhat puzzled.
No, who holds a "good people exhibition" in the Colosseum?
Just as Green's doubts arose, he heard Alice's voice, who gently answered:
"I did some research before I came. This magic airship is huge, equivalent to several giant ships. It's really impossible to park it in an ordinary place."
Only the ancient Colosseum in the center of St. Petersburg can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people for the exhibition.
"I see." Green nodded, then suddenly realized what was going on and started searching for the source of the answer.
Fenrir blinked. "What's wrong, Mr. Green? According to my investigation, this time it should be correct, right? Oh, by the way, that arena was actually abandoned decades ago and converted into a stadium. It should be called the People's Stadium now."
"Oh, I see." Green nodded somewhat blankly.
He was absolutely certain that he hadn't misheard; what he had just heard was definitely Alice's voice.
Although Fenrir's voice has some similarities to Alice's, it is by no means the same as Alice's.
Grimm and Alice had been together for over a decade; there was absolutely no way he could have misheard.
What exactly happened today?
First I had visual hallucinations, then auditory hallucinations... Could it be that I've been under too much stress lately?
Green thought about it and realized that he hadn't had a proper rest for quite some time.
"Mr. Green? Mr. Green?"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Green came to his senses and realized that the girl was calling him.
Fenrir, seeing Green deep in thought, asked worriedly, "I've called you several times but you haven't responded. Are you feeling unwell?"
Green forced a smile. "It's nothing, I'm probably just too tired lately."
"Hey! You two, you've only known each other for a short time and you're already whispering secrets to each other?"
Sean said warily, "Little Fenrir, you're Mabel's wife, you can't let a strange man steal you away!"
Mabel nodded. "Not bad! Green, you better watch out."
Green: "..."
Fenrir blushed slightly and covered her face, saying:
"What are you talking about? I was just concerned because Mr. Green didn't seem to be feeling well. And what's this about a bandit's wife? I don't know anything about that!"
Sean looked at him with a disappointed expression: "Hey, look at you, you've only known her for a short while and you're already concerned about her health? And you still say you haven't been kidnapped?"
"Alright, Sean, stop talking nonsense! I'll get angry if you keep spouting nonsense!"
Vincent looked at Green with some envy, then said to the taciturn Gordon beside him:
"Why is there such a big difference between people? Actually, at first I also wanted to grow up like Green."
"Hmm." Gordon nodded silently.
Vincent noticed his brow furrowing and asked:
"What's wrong?"
"The dead... I saw it, so many people died tragically."
"Um?"
Catherine, who was leading the group, stopped, and Green and the others also stopped, their eyes focusing on Gordon.
Catherine asked with a serious expression:
"Do you understand?"
As the child's homeroom teacher, Catherine knew perfectly well that Gordon had been carried out of a pile of corpses on the Western Continent by an academy teacher.
Therefore, he possesses a special extraordinary talent: he can see what a person looks like when they die.
The closer he got to the time of death, the clearer he could see.
"I understand perfectly." Gordon nodded.
Catherine's expression grew increasingly serious, and she asked again:
"How many are there?"
Gordon replied, "All of them. Everyone who just walked past me is dead."
Gordon, who had been keeping his head down, looked up. He had initially stared at the passerby with considerable fear, but then a look of surprise crossed his face, and he shook his head to himself.
"How could this be... Apart from a few who were destined to die anyway, most people are alive again. It's really strange, and..."
He looked at Green, quite surprised:
"How come you're not dead?"
Green: "???"
Are you being polite?
"Sorry, I'm not very good at talking," Gordon said, reorganizing his thoughts.
"How strange, I can't see what you look like when you die."
Logically speaking, even if the death occurred hundreds of years later, he should still be able to vaguely see what the person looked like when they died.
But no matter how he looked at Green, he couldn't see any sign of Green's death.
"Damn it, I finally found you, kid!"
Just then, under the watchful eyes of countless people, the old wizard, panting heavily, sped up to Grimm and said:
"This is terrible!"