Chapter 17

"What is that...?"

I had fled the city as if running away and stopped in my tracks when I discovered something strange.

It was a mysterious path that started from the city and stretched endlessly into the distance.

Could it be a road?

But there was no sign of people using it.

Curious, I approached it and saw that it seemed to be two iron bars extending far into the distance.

The surrounding area was paved with rough stones, making it even harder for people to walk on.

"Is this not a road?"

As I tilted my head in confusion,

Pwoooooo!

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from the direction of the city.

I turned my eyes to see what was happening and couldn't help but gasp.

A huge black object was approaching, spewing out a large amount of smoke.

"Is it a monster worm!?"

For a moment, I thought it might be, but upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a mass of iron.

Moreover, it seemed to be a series of them, running on the two iron bars.

Before long, it passed by me at high speed.

It seemed that the iron mass had wheels that engaged with the iron bars, allowing it to move.

"For such a massive iron mass to move at this speed... what kind of principle is this...?"

Of course, such a thing did not exist in my time.

"..."

By the time I realized it, it was already far away.

I hurriedly chased after it.

I thought I wouldn't be able to catch up, but surprisingly, I easily reached the rear.

I then moved to the front, which was still spewing smoke, and ran alongside the massive iron mass to observe it.

"Amazing...!"

I couldn't help but exclaim in awe at its impressive presence.

◇ ◇ ◇

By running on the pre-laid tracks, the massive magical device made long-distance travel possible in a short time—known as the steam locomotive.

Commonly called a train, it was now manufactured worldwide and had become indispensable for transporting people and goods.

However, despite being called a magical device, its power source was not primarily magic.

It generated heat by burning inexpensive coal, which produced steam, and this steam was used to rotate the wheels.

To generate this heat, stokers, who were responsible for supplying coal during the journey, worked in pairs, taking turns in the demanding physical labor.

"Hey, what are you staring at? Quickly add more coal. You'll get scolded by the engineer again."

One of the stokers, who had noticed that the other had stopped shoveling coal, warned him.

"Hey, maybe I'm seeing things, but... I can see a human running alongside the train..."

"What? That's impossible—no way!"

The stoker, who had only just looked outside at the urging of his colleague, saw an unbelievable sight.

A young man with white hair was running alongside the train.

"What is that guy...!?"

"Can you see him too...? So it's not just my eyes playing tricks on me..."

"Is this the time to be relaxed!?"

At that moment, the engineer, who had also noticed the young man running outside, rushed over, his face pale.

"Add more coal to the boiler! We're going to increase our speed! We need to get away from him as soon as possible!"

"Wh-what?"

"That white hair and red eyes! It's the one in this morning's newspaper...! That's not a human! It's an undead! If it gets on this train, we're all dead...!"

"Wh-what!?"

The two stokers, their faces contorted with fear, began shoveling coal frantically.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Phew, I barely made it..."

I slumped into the seat, letting out a sigh of relief.

I was drenched in sweat, but it was convenient for hiding the bulge in my crotch.

I had fled from that terrifying undead in a car and made my way to the train station.

Fortunately, I managed to slip into a train that was just about to depart.

Of course, I hadn't bought a ticket, but that could be dealt with later.

The train accelerated with a sharp whistle, and the city quickly receded into the distance.

I felt my mind calm down and my thoughts become clearer.

"Perhaps he wasn't even planning to chase me..."

At the time, I had panicked and thought he would chase me no matter what, but now that I thought about it, it seemed unlikely that he would go to such lengths just to kill me.

Now that I had escaped, I could consider myself safe, couldn't I?

Of course, I couldn't return to that city.

I would have to entrust the guild to my son, even though it was much earlier than planned.

My life was more important.

I would contact them when I reached the capital.

With the magical devices that allowed long-distance communication, I could give some instructions.

Just then, the train, which had been running at a steady speed, suddenly accelerated again.

The passengers around me began to murmur and look out the windows.

What's happening? I lifted my heavy body from the seat and looked out the window.

"Wh-what!?"

There, running alongside the train at high speed, was the white-haired undead.

"Is, is he really chasing me...!?"

Moreover, he was looking at me with that eerie smile—our eyes met.

"Ah—"

My fear reached its peak, and I lost consciousness.

I felt a warmth in my crotch as I fainted.

◇ ◇ ◇

...Damn.

I didn't expect there to be people on board.

Well, thinking about it, it makes sense.

Such a massive artificial object couldn't be moving without anyone on it.

I caught up to the front of the iron mass, where I found people working hard, drenched in sweat.

They also noticed me and panicked.

That's understandable.

Running at such a speed is impossible for ordinary humans.

Pwoooooo!

The iron mass accelerated again with a loud noise.

I could easily keep up with it, but it was probably better to stop running alongside it.

I gradually slowed down.

Then, people started to look out the windows and noticed me.

It seemed that this massive iron mass was used to transport people.

It was much faster than a carriage and could carry a large number of people.

But as a result, I was being seen by many people.

And from their expressions, they were all afraid or terrified.

"It's not scary...?"

I tried to smile, but it had no effect.

"...Hmm? Is that...?"

I recognized a familiar face among them.

It was the slightly overweight man I had met earlier.

"I see. So you were in a hurry to get on this."

As I nodded in understanding, he suddenly rolled his eyes and disappeared from view.

◇ ◇ ◇

The two iron bars on which the massive iron mass was running.

If this was used to transport people, could I follow it to reach another city?

"Maybe I'm pretty smart...?"

With renewed confidence in my theory, I decided to follow the iron bars.

I stopped running alongside the iron mass and slowed down.

I could still run for a long time, but there was no need to rush.

Moreover, it would be safer to sneak into the city at night.

"But to not be tired after running so much... my endurance is incredible..."

I was once again amazed by the abnormality of my body as I continued walking.