“We’re here. Damn, this station really is in the middle of nowhere…”
Sheffil and the group stood before a massive structure, where iron beasts roared past with thunderous force.
This was the only Luminous Stone Magic Train Station in Emerald Cold—and one of just ten across the entire Ober Empire.
Only cities as important as Emerald Cold, both to the empire and the continent, could afford the staggering cost of establishing a Luminous Stone train line.
The train itself?
Surprisingly cheap.
Thanks to that, Sheffil and Dorothy could cross a quarter of the Ober Empire in just four hours, reaching Storm City near their hometown before hiking the rest of the way.
Honestly, if not for this convenience, Dorothy wouldn’t have even considered attending the empire’s top academy.
Which earned her a good laugh from Sheffil, who teased her for being a clingy homebody.
“There are so many people… Wait, where’s the exit?”
Dorothy glanced at the station packed with a sea of people, but oddly enough, she could only see crowds entering—not leaving.
“The first floor’s always just the entrance. What are you on about?”
Sheffil stuffed one hand in his pocket and pointed toward a stairwell nearby.
“The exit’s underground. We’ll wait for her at that kiosk over there.”
“I never asked earlier, but what exactly are you two doing here? Waiting for someone? A relative?”
Asked Lucia, who’d dropped off some things at home before tagging along out of curiosity.
“No, it’s a task from our teacher. We’re supposed to pick up a little girl. Here.”
Dorothy pulled out a photo and handed it to Lucia.
Sensing Dorothy was about to start one of her sharp critiques about their penny-pinching instructor, Sheffil quickly cut her off.
“Let’s talk while we walk. What’s the girl’s name again?”
“Oh, you’re gonna love this. Get this—her name is Tianxia!”
“Tianxia?” Sheffil blinked. “Isn’t that… kinda grand for a girl?”
“Right?! And it sounds like she’s from Chixia, doesn’t it?”
Chixia—officially the Chixia Celestial Empire—was a vast nation that lay beyond the Glorious Federation and dozens of buffer city-states.
Though relations between Ober and Chixia had normalized after the Great War a hundred years ago, the Aloroso Mountains and Plateau still made large-scale exchange nearly impossible.
At least for Dorothy, who had never seen a Chixia native in her life.
“It’s possible,” she mused, “but I heard Chixia folks don’t usually give names like that to girls.”
Lucia squinted at the photo, unable to see how this sweet-faced child could possibly live up to a name that meant “All Under Heaven.”
“But seriously, who lets a girl who looks seven or eight ride a train all by herself?”
The three of them found seats in the kiosk, which faced the station’s only underground exit.
If a little girl walked out, they’d see her instantly.
Truth be told, Sheffil didn’t enjoy being in crowds with Dorothy.
It’s not like he was antisocial.
Far from it—if there was a party happening on campus and he wasn’t there, he was probably sparring with Dorothy at the arena, getting pummeled.
But going out in public with Dorothy meant—
“Hey, over there! That girl totally matches my type!”
“Really? I think the one next to her has more of that ‘girl-next-door’ vibe.”
“Man, are you blind? Look at the white-haired one—her face isn’t even on the Emerald Cold Academy’s goddess rankings… Wait a sec, doesn’t she look familiar—holy crap!”
“She looks familiar? You say that about every pretty girl. Is this the usual fake-familiarity or—wait, holy crap!”
“OH MY GOD! It’s Dorothy! I’m your biggest fan!”
Called it.
Sheffil stood up, his towering six-foot-three frame shielding the two girls.
With one hand, he grabbed a middle-aged man who had just attempted a sliding tackle to hug Dorothy’s leg.
“OH MY GOD! It really is Dorothy!”
“Dorothy?! How old is she?!”
“Is she a guy or a girl?!”
“Is she even human?!”
He managed to stop one of them, but the man’s shout had already stirred the crowd.
The people who had previously ignored Dorothy now surged toward them like zombies.
They were practically clawing at Sheffil, trying to reach her.
“No matter how many times I see it… it’s still insane.”
Lucia frowned at the crowd.
She’d seen this happen before, but it was only in moments like these that she truly understood just how massive a figure her friend really was.
Compared to her, Lucia felt downright ordinary.
“Don’t just stand there laughing, you useless twig! Your low-presence magic keeps crapping out halfway! Do something!”
As Sheffil held back the wave of fans, he shouted at Dorothy, who was giggling beside him.
“What do you want me to do? You’re a massive, six-foot-three musclehead. Of course everyone’s eyes go straight to you.”
Dorothy shrugged, as if to say she was helpless in the matter.
“They’re gonna trample me to death because of you!”
This—this—was why Sheffil hated going out with her.
Dorothy’s fans acted like they’d never seen a woman before, charging in like undead minions.
If it weren’t for their childhood friendship and the fact that Dorothy’s mom—who treated him well—asked him to look after her, he’d have bailed and enjoyed the show from a safe distance.
Girl fights were one thing, but crazed fans?
That was dangerous.
If something bad happened, how the hell would he explain it to Dorothy’s mother?
The problem now was… only Dorothy could fix this.
“Dorothy, get over here and talk to your fans! I can’t hold them off!”
“…Dorothy?”
Sheffil snapped around.
The two girls who had been standing beside him were gone—just a lingering floral scent remained.
“Dorothy!”
“If Sheffil catches us later, he’s going to flip out…”
“Hehe, relax. Big ol’ Sheffil’s got it under control.”
With her hands behind her head, Dorothy grinned as she watched Sheffil scream his lungs out.
Just like Sheffil loved to tease Dorothy, Dorothy loved to prank him right back.
“You deliberately canceled the spell, didn’t you?”
A cool, clear voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
They turned to find a girl with long, jet-black hair standing quietly behind them.
She smiled gently as she explained,
“Don’t worry, I mean no harm. I was just… amazed by this young lady’s spell cancellation.”
Then she gave a polite bow.
“My name is Tianxia. May I ask your names?”
“Tianxia?”
Dorothy and Lucia exchanged glances, then looked the girl up and down.
She wore a dark dress and carried herself with the graceful poise of a young noblewoman.
Everything about her radiated youth—and the serene femininity typical of someone from the East.
They couldn’t say she looked exactly like the photo.
“What’s wrong?” the girl who called herself Tianxia tilted her head.
These two were reacting oddly to her.
“She’s supposed to be eight?!”
Dorothy pulled out the photo and held it up for comparison.
The little girl in the photo was also smiling.
But there was zero resemblance.
“You’re telling me this kid is eight?!”