The world changes. And so do people.
The class hierarchies that had dominated society for so long slowly began to lose their grip.
Porca, home to Porca Academy, was a democratic city-state — a prime example of that shift. There were no kings there; power was shared equally among its people.
But the Empire was precisely the opposite. The hierarchy between classes was stark and unyielding.
Commoners could never presume to sit at the same table as nobles. The authority of the nobility was absolute.
With an Emperor — the very apex of the social order — sitting firmly on his throne, this was only natural.
Felix was a noble.
A backwater provincial noble, perhaps, but a noble nonetheless. A man of blue blood stretching back through generations of distinguished ancestors.
Yet above every noble, there was always someone more noble still.
"…M-Moretti… Young Lord."
The Moretti family — the empire's foremost house of mages.
They, too, were situated on the empire's periphery. But the meaning of that word 'periphery' was entirely different from what it meant for Felix.
If Felix's family had been pushed to the margins, the Moretti had chosen to remain there of their own accord.
A great house that even the Emperor could not treat carelessly.
The grey rose was the crest that symbolized that illustrious family.
"I-I'm sorry."
Felix bowed his head deeply.
Every trace of the arrogance that had filled him only moments ago had vanished without a trace.
"Why are you apologizing to me?"
I jerked my chin toward the Pilrn siblings.
The meaning was clear: that's who you should be apologizing to. Felix immediately turned and bowed his head to them as well.
"…I'm sorry."
"An apology is all I needed. Let's get along well from here on, shall we?"
Tiana accepted his apology with a smile.
Felix, however, seemed to experience it as a humiliation — he left Compartment Six without another word. His lackeys followed.
"He's gone."
"Um, thank you. For helping us."
Tiana gave me a small bow.
Taibeon, following his sister's lead, dipped his head as well.
I looked them over carefully.
Bright hair that called to mind a wheat field at autumn harvest, and vivid green eyes full of life. The protagonists who would push through countless trials in the story ahead.
Seeing them in person — the same people I'd only ever known through a game screen — stirred something strange in me.
"I'm Tiana Pilrn. And this is my little brother, Taibeon Pilrn!"
"Matyos Binna Moretti."
"Even your name sounds noble."
"It's just a name."
"Ah, well then…"
Tiana rummaged through her things and pulled a steaming potato from the bulging bag slung across her front.
Out of nowhere.
"I don't have much to offer, but — are you hungry? It's good!"
Tiana held out a large potato.
I took it without hesitation. When someone offers you something, you take it — that's just good manners.
I felt a ripple of shock from the people around us.
Apparently, watching a scion of the great Moretti house accept a potato was quite the spectacle.
"If you'd like, sit down next to us. We have salt too."
"Is that alright?"
"There aren't any other seats anyway. Taibeon, you don't mind?"
"Fine by me."
And so I settled into the seat beside Taibeon, blew on the potato Tiana had given me, dipped it in salt, and took a bite.
Chew, chew.
'…It's good.'
My palate was refined. Years of noble life had accustomed me to fine cuisine — and even by those standards, this was good.
Potatoes really were something else.
Hunger helped, too.
The train offered meals, but the thought of eating alone with my sister had put me off entirely, so I'd skipped it.
I devoured the potato.
Tiana smiled warmly and offered me water.
"You'll choke. Here."
Nice timing.
I tilted the canteen and drank without putting my lips to it. Drinking directly from someone else's canteen would be rude.
"Mmh… that was good."
"I have more — would you like some?"
"I'm fine. You should eat too."
"Oh, come on. Your stomach is more important than ours."
"Really, I'm fine. I'm full."
It wasn't a lie. My stomach ran small; just a few bites of potato and I already felt stuffed.
"Then I'll have it."
Taibeon snatched the potato Tiana had been holding out to me. He chewed away without a word.
"You already ate earlier."
"But I'm still hungry."
"Pig."
"You eat a lot too, Sis. You're more of a pig than me."
"Why you—! Ah, ahem — anyway, why are you speaking so formally?"
Tiana had been about to smack Taibeon on the back, but caught herself, cleared her throat, and straightened up.
"We're commoners. You don't have to be formal with us."
"Then I'll drop the formality. You can speak casually with me too."
I switched immediately. I'd only been formal out of courtesy to begin with — it had been fairly uncomfortable.
"Sure."
The moment Taibeon dropped the formality as well,
"What do you mean, 'sure'!"
Tiana jabbed him in the ribs with her fist.
Taibeon wheezed and shot her a glare.
"Is he your friend? Apologize right now!"
"He said it was fine to speak casually, Sis."
I smiled and looked at the flustered Tiana.
"I really don't mind. We're classmates at the academy, after all."
"Ugh…"
"You seem older than me, though. Am I wrong?"
"Well, that's true, but…"
Tiana looked this way and that, wrestling with it — then finally gave up and threw her hands up.
"Fine, forget it. Alright! Let's just be comfortable with each other. Mati."
She sank back into her seat, and Taibeon, still chewing his potato, asked:
"Hey, Matyos. Are you really a noble?"
"Why — hard to believe?"
"Just… surprising. You don't seem like the nobles I know."
"What kind of noble do you know?"
"Like that guy from earlier."
"Felix?"
"Yeah. But… you don't seem like that kind of noble, Matyos."
"Come on. I'm not so different."
"The fact that you'd even say that makes you different. Right, Sis?"
Tiana answered over her tea.
"He's right. There's something different about you, Matyos. You're remarkably kind!"
I scratched the back of my head.
'Good — seems like I've made a decent impression.'
In the original story, Tiana's sharp tongue leaves Felix humiliated, and the enraged Felix lashes out physically, only to be subdued by Taibeon. It was a tutorial scene of sorts — one that showed players the personalities of the protagonist siblings.
Getting on good terms with the protagonists early couldn't hurt.
Besides, I was going to be at the academy regardless, so I'd decided to take things a little more seriously.
And honestly, I genuinely liked them.
How could anyone not?
'…I didn't find the top student or that guy, though.'
The top student was in the last compartment, and 'that guy' appeared at random — he could be in Compartment Six, or he might not be. I'd wanted to check if I could, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.
"Matyos, I have some star candy too — want some as a palate cleanser?"
"Sure, Sis."
Tiana rummaged through her front pocket and carefully placed a few star-shaped candies in my palm.
I crunched one. A burst of sweetness hit me.
"Hehe. Good?"
"Yeah."
"I'm glad."
At that, Tiana let out a small sigh of relief for no particular reason, then reached back into her pocket.
"Want more?"
"You have more?"
"Lots."
Beaming, she pulled them out one by one as if emptying her pockets of treasure.
Star candy, bear-shaped gummies, little bags of colorful snacks. Each one she produced, she held out toward me with the air of someone showing off their finest collection.
"It was my first time in the city and there were so many interesting things!"
She laughed, shaking the bear gummies.
"I got these because they were cute, and there are also chips made from fried potatoes. They're really good?"
Her green eyes sparkled with every new snack she pulled out. There wasn't a trace of calculation or self-consciousness on her face.
Watching her, I found myself smiling before I even realized it.
'She's nothing like my sister.'
I felt a small, involuntary pang of envy toward Taibeon.
If only my sister were as warm as Tiana…
"Oh, look!"
Tiana, still digging through her front pocket, suddenly widened her eyes like a child and pointed out the window.
"We must have passed through the mountain range. Is that a cliff? It's so beautiful…"
"A cliff? We passed through the mountain range?"
Oh, hell.
I shot to my feet and pressed myself against the window on her side. Our shoulders collided. Tiana's warmth transferred straight through.
I felt my breathing go shallow. She, not understanding why, clasped both hands together in front of her chest.
"Wh-why, what's wrong, Mati?"
"It's—"
SCREEEEECH!!
A bone-chilling shriek tore through the air, cutting me off.
The roof of the train was ripped apart like paper. Through the gap, a beast's hand forced its way in and seized the edge.
CRACK!
The roof split apart on both sides.
The carriage was torn open.
Wind came pouring in.
Hair whipped wildly. Paper and dust flew into the air.
In an instant, the compartment had been converted into an open-air car.
The sky was visible. A sky too clear, too open.
THUD!
Something dropped down.
The floor lurched and shuddered.
Every person in the carriage sucked in a breath at once.
No one spoke. Eyes only blinked.
A massive figure rose to its feet.
Human from the waist down, lion from the chest up.
Muscles coiled like armor across its frame, and its mane hung heavy and matted, as though soaked in dried blood.
"Grrrr."
A low, thick growl struck the chest like a blow.
The lion-man swept his slit-pupiled gaze across the terrified students, then bared his teeth in a grin.
A heavy axe was gripped in his hand. The blade was layered with dried bloodstains, one coat over another.
"Don't hold it against me. Just die."
He muttered the words almost to himself, then seized the axe with both hands and swung it in a savage horizontal arc.
His clear intent: to cut down the students where they stood.
In that instant, Taibeon wrenched his sword free from the luggage rack.
He threw himself forward and raised the blade to meet it.
CLANG!
Axe and sword collided.
The impact shook the entire carriage.
The force of the blow sent Taibeon's body soaring upward — he slammed into the ceiling and crashed back down.
But if not for him, two or three students would have died on the spot.
"Taibeon!"
Tiana screamed, her voice going shrill.
She clutched the cross at her chest with both hands and wrenched her eyes wide open.
A burst of brilliant light erupted and slashed across the lion-man in rapid succession.
THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK!
Blood sprayed in every direction. The wounds were far from shallow.
And yet.
"Keheheh, holy arts, is it? That tickles. It tickles!"
The lion-man let out a mocking laugh and lowered his arm.
Several cuts had been carved into his body. But they had only grazed the surface — not a single one had reached the muscle beneath.
He shook his arm casually. The cuts regenerated in an instant.
Then, with that freshly healed arm, he snatched Tiana by the throat.
"Sis!"
Taibeon staggered upright and threw himself at the lion-man.
He brought his sword down with fierce determination, but the lion-man swung his log-like arm outward and swatted him aside like a fly.
Taibeon crashed into the window frame.
"You…!!"
Tiana tried to unleash her holy arts again.
But the light gathered faintly — and then scattered.
The lion-man tilted his head. He smiled, slow and feral.
"Not bad-looking. I'll have a little fun with you before I kill you…"
BANG!
Gunpowder ignited.
With a thunderous crack, a bullet buried itself in the lion-man's eye.
"AAAGH!!"
The lion-man screamed and clapped his hands over his eye. In that moment, Tiana tumbled free and hit the floor.
"Was that you?! You little runt."
The lion-man fixed his remaining eye on the one who had fired, with murder in his gaze.
A boy standing calmly, a pistol in hand, white smoke still curling from the barrel. Matyos.
'…I should have moved sooner. I wasted too much time.'
I hurried to drop the pistol and began drawing mana.
There was no time to leisurely reload.
Leo Palte, the lion-man.
A high-ranking officer of the Black Covenant, a monster with every stat exceeding one hundred. There was no way the Pilrn siblings could kill him at their current level. Obviously.
There was no way for the protagonists to defeat him. That was by design. He wasn't here to be killed.
'The plan is to hold out until the Sword Saint arrives.'
Hold on long enough, and the Sword Saint and her disciple would appear and take Leo Palte down. That was how the event was scripted.
I fired a spell.
Water Arrow. An arrow of water struck Leo Palte square in the face. His face was drenched.
Leo Palte wiped his face clean. A visage of pure malice was revealed beneath.
"I'll tear your limbs off."
"…"
…It seemed I'd managed to thoroughly provoke him. A fist came flying.
"Dodge, Mati!"
Tiana's voice sounded distant.
THUD!!
My chest caved in.
All the air was driven out of me at once.
My body went airborne.
I hit the door. My vision went white.
I hit the floor.
"Gkh…"
Blood poured from my mouth.
The inside of my chest burned as though it were on fire.
Leo Palte walked toward me slowly. Tiana unleashed her holy arts, but they were shattered by a swing of his axe.
The other students had given up any thought of fighting and were scrambling to flee.
Leo Palte ignored the fleeing students and fixed his gaze solely on me.
It was then.
Creak.
The sound of a door opening came from behind me.
I couldn't turn immediately — I managed it a beat too late.
My sister was standing there.
"…"
"…"
She said nothing.
She simply looked down at me, watching me breathe in shallow, trembling gasps.
Her grey eyes wavered slightly.
Whether it was surprise, or whether she was still trying to make sense of the situation — I couldn't tell.
She had been staring at me with wide, unblinking eyes. Then, slowly — very slowly — her gaze shifted.
Past me, to Leo Palte standing in the middle of the carriage.
Crackle…
Ashen Lightning rose.