The Hunter Train had a separate train car known as the dining car.
That number was a staggering seven cars.
Considering that the size of one car was comparable to that of a building, it was clear that food and meals held great importance on the Hunter Train.
Three of the seven cars were used as storage for the food supplies of the entire Hunter Train. The remaining four cars were dining cars staffed by professional chefs from various countries.
Like an entertainment facility, the dining car was also created for the convenience and enjoyment of the hunters, but the catch was that the prices were quite steep.
Even in 2088, the prices were up to four times higher than in some of the world’s most expensive cities, like New York or Tokyo, making even A-grade hunters, who could be considered wealthy by ordinary standards, feel the pinch.
However, there was a good reason for the high prices.
Most of the cooks were civilians, not Awakened Ones, and despite how safe the Hunter Train might be, dungeons and monsters were still unknowns to humanity, so it couldn’t be claimed to be 100% safe.
Thus, cooks charged high prices, feeling it was a kind of risk payment for serving the hunters. Being a chef on the Hunter Train or running a restaurant inside it was nearly a tremendous honor in itself.
If one managed to run a successful restaurant on the train until it reached complete completion just once, it could become a globally famous landmark, even if the food wasn’t that great.
Of course, restaurants that served bad food wouldn’t last even through the initial paperwork process, as they were expected to cater to the hunters who fought the monsters and invaded dungeons.
Although the prices were high, both the taste and quality were guaranteed.
This created a good cycle where hunters contributed to enjoy delicious meals.
They would earn more dungeon resources and materials to set prices for the association stationed on the train, or hunters would auction or trade necessary items, resulting in vast sums of money circulating within the train.
While the Hunter Train did stop at major hub cities of each country, hunters without money would rather not get off to eat, unlike the extravagant S-grade hunters.
At present, Shia, Menelapie, Teresa, Yeonhwa, Yujin, and the current Queen Elizaveta IV of England, who had received a stomach punch after persistently challenging Shia to a duel, were sitting opposite each other at the most expensive restaurant on the Hunter Train.
Except for the Seongnyeo, Hero, and Witch, the others were S-grade hunters who were quite famous worldwide, so price was not an issue.
Even though the restaurant was attached to a train, it felt quite luxurious and felt like a high-end Japanese restaurant, making it a pretty good place for a meeting.
This place was semi-forced upon them by Yujin.
After all, it wouldn’t be normal if word got out that Shia had punched the British Queen.
“Wahahaha! Let me formally introduce myself again! My name is Elizaveta Lilybet Rose! The head of the Church of England and Queen of the New Commonwealth Kingdom!”
With vibrant energy, Elizaveta IV began. It was surprising, or perhaps it was just her personality, but she seemed completely unfazed by the violence Shia had directed at her.
‘Still, the queen’s belly felt soft…’
Shia bowed her head while trembling at the thought of Lilybet’s skin, which still lingered on her hand.
Trying to recall the aristocratic manners she had learned in her previous world’s royal palace, Shia slightly stood up.
However, Menelapie placed a hand on her shoulder as if to stop her, and Lilybet waved her hand dismissively as if to say it was okay.
“Haha! It’s fine. Although I am a queen, here on this Hunter Train, I’m just another hunter!”
“But you are S-grade, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am S-grade! Isn’t it romantic? If you are to be a hunter, striving for the top is romantic!”
Of course, at this moment, Lilybet was somewhat distant from the top position.
Had Lilybet not veered her talent from physical enhancement to enchantment in search of romance, she might have surpassed Yeonseo, who was the strongest in the world.
However, currently, Lilybet’s world ranking was somewhat ambiguous, around the 40th among S-grade hunters.
A few years ago, she had climbed as high as 3rd place, but the hunter rankings shifted slightly depending on the monsters hunted and dungeons conquered.
“Hmm, since you, Your Majesty, said that, let me introduce myself simply. I am Isia, a returnee and Mangja Seongnyeo.”
“Oh, a Seongnyeo! A real Seongnyeo? Like the ones in old fairy tales and legends?”
“Something similar, I guess?”
“No, Shia is a kind of fake Seongnyeo. If I were to say, she’s more like Saint Martha.”
“Aha! The one who repented by punching a dragon?”
“By the way, Your Majesty, where are your attendants?”
“Haha! Don’t underestimate my enchanting abilities! If you become an S-grade enchanter, manipulating mana to control the CCTV screens is a piece of cake!”
“Enchanting has that ability?”
“Hey, Menelapie. She’s a queen, you know. Would you care to offer a word as a former emperor?”
“Ha ha, black witch, for now, I am Shia’s hero, not an emperor.”
“Hehe, you’ve got interesting friends, Shia! Indeed, returnees are like this!”
“Thank you…”
She even showed a rather grand demeanor towards Shia.
Eventually, Shia bowed 90 degrees to Lilybet to apologize.
“I’m really sorry for hitting Your Majesty’s precious stomach…”
“No, no! I understand you! It must have been quite surprising for you when I suddenly came up and insisted on a duel!”
Fortunately, while she had a strong my-pace demeanor, Lilybet seemed to have normal common sense and thought.
“However, if you’re really sorry, I hope to duel someday…”
“…”
Honestly, for Shia, the idea of a duel was quite uncomfortable.
Her power had always been quite strong since her previous world.
Even if she tried to hold back, defeating a hunter at the S-grade level was much more difficult than overpowering them. Currently, Shia had the strength to repel even a fully awakened Demon King on her own.
While the thought of dueling was fine, it felt oddly cumbersome to duel Lilybet, who was enthusiastic and seemed to love to duel. Once she accepted, it seemed she would keep asking for a rematch until she was satisfied.
“Actually, I’m a Hunter streamer in Korea.”
“Oh, a Hunter streamer! Someone pursuing their own romance as well.”
“But I’ve been abducted and held hostage while streaming, and I’ve also been spied on…”
“Ah…”
Upon hearing Shia’s words, Lilybet suddenly had a startled expression.
“Y-y-you… I didn’t know you had such experiences…”
Although passionate and romantic, she didn’t forcefully pursue it while breaking others’ hearts.
‘Oh dear, sis…’
‘Here we go again?’
‘Hehe, Shia, you’re doing well.’
‘I’m seriously going to lose it.’
Of course, the party who knew Shia wasn’t lying sighed inwardly, except for Menelapie, who always seemed to enjoy whatever Shia did.
In reality, Shia had fun with even the incidents of being spied on and abducted, even using them as streaming content, so it would probably be quite a different picture than what Lilybet imagined.
“So when the queen suddenly came, I was… uh… a bit surprised…”
“I understand! I understand! Someone as pretty as you must have drawn excessive attention from many people!”
“Ugh, thank you…”
“Hmm, I knew! I also suffered much from pesky paparazzi when I was young!”
Just as Shia was about to shed tears, her companions—except for Menelapie—looked at her with cold stares.
Fortunately, it seemed that Lilybet didn’t notice how the atmosphere had changed at all.
And Shia, trying to keep the momentum, continued with a voice that seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.
“Ugh… And this time, I came on the Hunter Train with my mom and my precious people… so when a stranger comes… ugh… I can’t help but be concerned…”
“That, that could be… then I actually committed a great offense…”
“I wanted to show my mom a wonderful trip… I’m sorry, Your Majesty… But if you deceive me and harm my mom or… my people, I truly… cannot predict what might happen…”
“No! Absolutely not! I was the one who should be sorry! I truly apologize!”
The tears of the Seongnyeo were almost a mental attack capable of changing the atmosphere around her.
When Shia seemed genuinely about to cry apologetically, Lilybet began to strongly encourage Shia while apologizing herself.
“I’m sorry, Isia! Without knowing your circumstances, I’ve driven a nail into your heart!”
“It’s okay. Ugh…”
“Ugh, please don’t cry..! While I can inspire passion, I don’t know what to do with someone crying!”
In an instant, their roles of apology were reversed, causing the rest of the onlookers—who had watched the scene—to either poke at the salad appetizers or lick their lips like Menelapie.
‘Ah, that piggy. Crying looks hilarious every time.’
‘Hehe, Shia, as always, you’re truly amusing.’
‘So this is what the hero meant…’
‘…..I miss Olga.’
“Now, now, food is here! Hunter Isia, the one who committed the rudeness is on my side, so I’ll treat you to the food!”
“Really…?”
“Of course! Think of it as friendship money!”
“…Hehe…”
The moment those words were spoken, the tears that were about to flow from Shia’s eyes instantly dried up, and in that brief moment, Yujin felt queasy at the sly expression that suddenly transformed on Shia’s face.
‘…I really miss Olga…’
Having been apart from Olga for less than 30 minutes, Yujin was already feeling an overwhelming urge to see her again.
‘I shouldn’t have come here…’
“Gasp…! You had such an amazing experience in your previous world! And then what happened? What happened afterward?!”
“Then I was banished by the Demon King to the Gongheo Gungjeon.”
“Gasp, how?!”
“Teresa was one of the Demon King’s four heavenly kings, so she was in on the scheme. Seeing that my abilities counter the Demon King’s, he saw me as a threat and specifically banished me to the Gongheo Gungjeon.”
“What kind of villain is that…!”
As dinner progressed, Shia told her story from the previous world to draw the queen’s interest away, sprinkling it with a bit of MSG for flavor.
As the lengthy and deep conversation continued over the meal, Lilybet became increasingly enthralled.
“And the knights… ugh… asked me to remember and not fall into corruption. They all sacrificed… huff…”
“Is that so…! Oh my god…!”
And Lilybet loved romance.
She adored those clichéd yet magnificent and marvelous tales found in cartoons, novels, fairy tales, and animations.
Naturally, Shia’s stories from her previous world were more than enough to resonate with the heart of Elizaveta IV.
“And so we… the Hero, Seongnyeo, and Witch overcame the Demon King and ushered in a new era~”
“Oh…………”
As the story concluded, Lilybet’s eyes sparkled.
It wasn’t just a simple metaphor; the mana responding to her emotions was agitating and enchanting her eyes to sparkle like stars.
“Is there more? Is the story already over?!”
“Uh… more?”
“It was such an emotional story! If that hero emperor from your side is to be believed, then there must be more stories to tell!”
“Food’s getting cold, dear little queen.”
In that brief moment, Menelapie slightly revealed an emperor’s aura, recalling memories of the previous world, causing Lilybet’s eyes to gleam again.
“Though time isn’t short, if you rush too much to eat, it’ll be hard to digest.”
“Oh….!”
“As a queen of a nation, you should take it a bit more easy.”
It was a reminder not to act rashly as a queen, but it seemed Lilybet was deeply moved by the subtly emanating imperial energy from Menelapie.
Originally, Lilybet thought even if this story were fabricated, it would be fine.
It had to be too enjoyable for her not to be satisfied with it.
However, watching Shia, Menelapie, and Teresa right before her, she felt deep down that their stories were true.
“Then, are all of them real?!”
“Yes, I directly supervised ethical reviews with my sister and Menelapie, and Teresa.”
Moreover, as a reliable granddaughter of the prestigious Yeon Family and the granddaughter of Yeonseo, Lilybet took their narrative as truth.
Not merely a fairy tale or legend, the legendary Hero Emperor was right before her, and the black witch casually sipping a soda was real.
Most importantly, the protagonist of that story, the Mangja Seongnyeo, was right in front of her.
That fact made Lilybet feel unbelievably ecstatic.
“Ah! This is romance! This is real romance!”
“Hehe, it’s not all that romantic…”
Everything she had experienced, seen, and heard…
The romance she had pursued paled in comparison to this.
Tales of hardship and adversity, but striving and getting rewarded!
There seemed to be just a bit more in the middle, but stories filled with happiness and happy endings!
The fact that the protagonist was right before her made Lilybet smile.
“If your stories aren’t romance, then what is?”
She was so touched that tears welled up in her eyes.
“Ah, Seongnyeo Isia! I’ve been so uncaring towards you… I’m the one who should apologize! Please forgive me!”
Thud!
Lilybet genuinely apologetically bowed her head onto the table.
“No! I’m even more sorry!”
For a queen to bow her head was no trivial matter, so Shia also bowed her head to the table like Lilybet.
Thus the atmosphere flowed pleasantly.
While this was not the direction Yujin intended, it seemed that they would leave a good connection with each other after all.
Ding!
[Attention to all hunters aboard the Hunter Train.]
[The Hunter Train will break through the -Blood Swamp- and arrive in Pyongyang in about three minutes.]
[The current resident population of Pyongyang is 0.]
“Already Pyongyang?”
“But the resident population is 0?”
“The North Korean region was completely shattered during the first Great Rift, and the regime collapsed, so currently, it’s a place where no one can live.”
“So, monsters will be crawling around, huh?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Beep! Beep! Beep!
“Gyaaaaah! It’s an alarm!”
“What’s that noise?”
At that moment, an ear-splitting, unpleasant noise reverberated strongly throughout the dining car.
Menelapie frowned at the noise and looked to one side.
“Menelapie?”
“…Something is coming.”
“I’m too lazy, so you deal with it.”
“Okay, I’ll protect you, Teresa.”
“Ha ha ha, you cheeky black witch…”
“If you’re mad, then grow younger yourself!”
Clang!
As Menelapie drew the sword from her waist, everyone’s eyes widened.
The mechanical wings attached to Lilybet’s back suddenly began to hum into action, while Yujin conjured an illusion with his hands, Yeonhwa summoned cold air, and Teresa decided it was a hassle and clung to Shia.
Among them were three S-grade hunters, and Shia and Teresa had been comrades together with Menelapie.
They had to be quick-witted and reactive, and without needing to say a word, all immediately took up combat readiness.
And just as they finished training for combat, another emergency announcement rang out.
[Ambush!]
[Ambush!]
[Ambush Warning!]
[Ambush Warning!]
[An unidentified giant object is attacking the Hunter Train!]
[Currently under attack!]
[Emergency stop of the train!]
[Identifying unidentified entity… Checking…]
[Identification complete.]
[Entity name: ‘Uranium Dragon’! The Uranium Dragon is attacking the Hunter Train! All hunters please prepare for combat!]
“What? Uranium Dragon…?”
I wonder what it would taste like?
Slurp.
Shia licked her lips, and seeing this, Yujin found himself wanting to return to Olga.
