Shirou Gets on the Train / Shirou's Three Days and Nights Aboard the Train

However, Shirou noticed a flaw: his eyes.

Those eyes were small and deep-set, giving them a sinister and cunning appearance.

As the man gestured to his young companion and his eyes swept across the room, he stared at Shirou for a moment. In that instant, a strange malice appeared between his brows, and there was an unusual tension in his gaze.

Shirou also saw in his eyes a cold-blooded and selfish nature, a willingness to disregard human life for his own purposes.

Hmm... somewhat similar to that fake priest, who wears the skin of a missionary but inwardly pursues the ultimate evil and finds pleasure in tragedy.

What's worse about this old man is that he's already very old; his physical age is definitely decades older than he looks. He's like an old wolf that's too old to hunt, yet he's still dressed in sheep's clothing and mingling with the flock of sheep—he's definitely up to no good.

The old man was very good at hiding his evil and cunning; he concealed them skillfully, almost as if it were second nature.

At this moment, the old man stood up.

"Pay the bill, Caules," he said.

His voice was a little hoarse, with a strange, soft, and dangerous quality. Holding a cane, he seemed like a gentleman, but Shirou sensed a deep malice behind his kind face.

"Yes, sir." The young man stood up.

After finishing his meal, Mr. Frederick left first, arranging to meet Shirou and Waver again in the lounge.

Half an hour later, Shirou and Waver arrived at the lounge entrance, just as the old man and the young man were preparing to leave the hotel. Their luggage was being brought down by a waiter. The young man was supervising the process, while the old man stood to the side, somewhat nervous, glancing around nervously every now and then.

After a while, he opened the glass door and said, "Everything is ready, Mr. John."

Old John, who was quite elderly, muttered something in agreement and went outside.

"Teacher!" Shirou said, "What do you think of these two people?"

"They must be tourists from Eastern Europe. That young man is a well-mannered German," Waver Velvet said.

"And the other one? That old man? Did you notice anything?" Shirou asked again.

Chapter 1211 Shirou got on the train

Waver frowned; he looked very impatient.

"Let me be honest with you, Shirou, I don't want to deal with guys like that. You could throw any brick into the Clock Tower and hit someone like him."

Shirou shrugged. "Teacher, you never even got into the Clock Tower in your life." He continued, "That person is even more ruthless, more ambitious; he's a cruel and cunning beast!"

"However, the hotel staff liked him quite a bit; he was very generous and was definitely the most respectable person there," Waver said.

"Ah, he not only changed his clothes, but he also obviously disguised himself. However, underneath the clothes is definitely a monster, a cold-blooded beast that could open its jaws at any moment."

"Who can say otherwise? There are countless bad people in this world who are actually sheep in disguise. I already have enough troubles; I really hope I don't get involved with him," Waver said coldly.

"Well, but bad luck always seems to attract famous detectives. That man going out at this time of day is obviously on the same train as us," Shirou said with a smile.

Just then, the door opened, and the blond male waiter at the front desk walked towards them. He looked worried, uneasy, and very apologetic.

"That's really strange, sir," he said to Shirou, "All the first-class sleeper berths on the train are sold out."

"What's going on!" Mr. Frederick exclaimed as he walked over. "At a time like this? Hmm, there's no doubt there must be some activity going on. Or perhaps it's some kind of secret meeting?"

"I don't know, sir," the blond waiter said respectfully, turning to him, "But that's how it is."

"Alright, alright," Mr. Frederick waved his hand, dismissing the waiter.

He turned to Shirou and Waver and said, "Don't worry, friends, I'm a director of the train. Leave this to me. I'll make sure you have your beds arranged."

"In fact, we only need to consider one person. The train usually has one sleeper berth, number sixteen, which is not released. It's up to the train conductor!" He smiled and then glanced at the clock.

"Yes, it's time to set off!"

Shirou and Waver boarded Mr. Frederick's luxurious car and arrived at a secluded platform. There, Mr. Frederick was greeted respectfully and warmly by a train conductor in a brown uniform.

"Good night, Mr. Frederick. Your room is number one."

He called over a waiter, who took their luggage and pushed it along the carriage. A metal sign on the carriage indicated the carriage's destination: Istanbul to London.

"I heard your train is full tonight?" Frederick asked.

"Yes, it's incredible, sir. The whole world is rushing to catch this train tonight!"

"Even so, you still need to find a room for these two gentlemen. They are my friends; this Shirou can stay in the reserved room number sixteen."

"Number sixteen has been sold, sir," the train conductor said somewhat awkwardly.

"What? All the first-class rooms are gone? Room 16 is gone too?"

"Yes, sir, just as I told you, our train is packed to the brim, so packed that there's no room left anywhere."

"What's going on here?" Mr. Frederick pressed, annoyed. "Is it a meeting somewhere? Or a group of Magecraft?"

"No, sir. It's just a coincidence. Many people happen to have decided to take this train tonight."

Mr. Frederick's tongue made an annoyed tsk-tsk sound.

The train conductor said, "Tomorrow there will be a slip-on carriage from Greece, followed by one to Paris."

Frederick said, "The problem is tonight. I can give up my room to one person, or I can make do in the train conductor's office for the night, but there's still one person left. Oh, right! Aren't there any empty second-class sleeper berths? Surely there are some empty double berths?"

"There is one second-class sleeper berth left, sir."

"Okay, then..."

Frederick happily chimed in, but the train conductor's next words silenced him.

"But there was already a German lady in that room, a young and lovely maid."

"Hmm, hmm, that's inconvenient, too inconvenient." Mr. Frederick waved his hand, then winked at Waver.

If Waver were interested, he wouldn't mind helping him out with that money, but as an Englishman, he didn't seem capable of doing such a thing.

As for Shirou, if he doesn't want his daughter to use him for freestyle wrestling practice, he'd better not go looking for trouble.

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Frederick. Let the teacher go to the sleeper berth," Shirou said. "I'll just sit in a hard seat in the ordinary car."

"No! Absolutely not!" Flake waved his hands repeatedly. Since Shirou and Waver were already here, there was no reason for his friends to sit in hard seats.

Frederick turned to the train conductor again and asked, "Have all the passengers arrived?"

"The exact situation is," the man said, "There is still one passenger who has not arrived."

The train conductor was a Frenchman with neatly combed dark brown hair; he was a refined-looking man in his forties. However, at this moment, he hesitated and spoke very slowly.

"Go on."

"It's berth number seven, second class. This gentleman hasn't arrived yet; the train is leaving in five minutes."

Who is this person?

"A Spain," the train conductor checked his passenger list, "Whose name is Miguel."

"Ha ha, Spain! It seems this gentleman is definitely late. Last time I waited for a Spain client, I waited for him for three hours. And three hours ago, he said he was about to leave," Mr. Frederick said, clapping and laughing.

"Move this gentleman's luggage to number seven,"

"If Mr. Miguel comes, tell him he's too late and the sleeper berths can't be held for that long. You'll manage to get things sorted out, right?"

"Yes, as you would like to do, sir," the train conductor replied.

So Mr. Frederick took Waver to the director's room number one, while Shirou followed the train conductor.

The train conductor called over the baggage handler and pointed out the place to take the luggage.

"The second to last room."

Shirou walked along the passageway, but rather slowly, because most of the travelers were standing outside their rooms.

The train conductor's polite "Excuse me," "Excuse me," repeated rhythmically like a clock, finally led me to my assigned room. Inside, reaching for his suitcase, was the young German I had met at the hotel.

The old man's attendant, the monster in sheep's clothing.

He frowned as soon as Shirou went inside.

Chapter 1212 Shirou and the Train: Three Days and Three Nights

The young German man in the room, dressed in a white suit, with brown hair and black-rimmed glasses, actually looked more like a college student than an attendant.

He clearly hadn't expected anyone else to enter the room.

"I'm sorry," he said, seemingly in Romanian, "I think you've made a mistake." Then, realizing he was on an international train, he added in English, "I think you've made a mistake."

Shirou, standing at the door, asked in German.

Are you Mr. Miguel?

"No, my name is Caules. I..."

That doesn't seem right. Mr. Miguel is Spain, while the young man here has a German face.

But just then, the train conductor spoke up, his voice a mixture of apology, exasperation, and helplessness.

"There are no other berths on the train, Mr. Caules. This gentleman will have to stay here."

As he spoke, he forcefully pulled up the window in the aisle and carried Shirou's luggage inside.

Shirou roughly guessed what was going on. The train conductor probably knew the Spain might not be coming, so he accepted an extra tip from the young German, Caules. If Mr. Miguel hadn't come, Caules would have had a room all to himself on the crowded train.

If that's the case, aside from the bunk beds, it's basically the same as a first-class suite.

However, once company director Frederick spoke up, no amount of tipping mattered. After all, a secure job was the most important thing.

The train attendant placed the suitcase on the luggage rack and left the compartment.

"Alright, sir," he said, tipping his hat to Shirou, "Everything is arranged. Your berth is on the top bunk, number seven. The train will depart in one minute."

He hurriedly left along the aisle.

Shirou re-entered the private room and said to the young man, "Thank goodness, friend, this train was so crowded, I almost had to sit in a hard seat."

"Yes, I never expected there to be so many people this season."

At this point, the young German man smiled amiably, clearly having forgotten his unpleasantness. Perhaps it was because he had come to believe that such things couldn't be forced, and it was better to accept things as they came.

The whistle sounded, and the locomotive let out a long, mournful wail. The two of them left the private room and went into the corridor.

A shout came from outside, "Get in the car!"

"Let's drive," Caules said.

But the car didn't actually move; instead, the horn sounded again.

"It's only for one night anyway," Shirou explained. "I'll leave in the morning."

"Oh, I understand. You'll get off the train tomorrow..." Caules seemed quite pleased with the news.

"Not entirely. You know..." At that moment, the car jerked suddenly.

Both of them swayed slightly, quickly grabbing the window and looking out. They saw the brightly lit platform slowly gliding past them. Under the moonlight, the Mystic Train started moving! Rails that hadn't existed before appeared on the ground, and the train floated up like a maglev, moving forward silently.

After exchanging pleasantries, the young man was called out by the train conductor, who said that his employer Mr. John, had summoned him.

After seeing that Caules had left, Shirou went to sleep.

The next morning, Shirou went to the dining car and asked for a basket of bread and a pot of coffee. Then he went to car number one to meet up with Mr. Waver. After a night's rest, Waver looked much better.

They spent the entire morning drinking coffee, organizing their thoughts, jotting down their experiences, and discussing their plans for returning to London. They encountered almost no other passengers during this time.

Around noon, the two arrived at the dining car.

Mr. Frederick, who was already seated at the table, gestured to his friends to welcome them and invited Shirou and Waver to sit in the empty seats opposite them.

As soon as Shirou sat down, he found himself in the best seat, where the first dish served was the finest. For a train, the food here was exceptionally good.

It seems this is another privilege of the train's board members.

Shirou noticed that Waver Velvet, standing to the side, had a stern face and was probably thinking, 'Damn rich guy.'

On a train in the freezing cold, you can sit at a table, eat a hot meal, and drink some wine—there's really nothing more enjoyable than that.

The chef here is surprisingly skilled; when it comes to culinary pursuits, Mr. Frederick is second to none among the French aristocracy. Clearly, the dining car is his proudest spot on the entire Mystic Train.

Mr. Frederick waved his hand and exclaimed in admiration:

"My friends, look at the people around us, from different classes, different countries, and different ages. For three days on the train, these people, these strangers, came together like family. They slept and ate under the same roof, and they couldn't leave each other."

Three days later, everyone went their separate ways, each pursuing their own future, perhaps never to see each other again in this lifetime.

"What if," Shirou suddenly said, "What if the accident hadn't happened..."

"Young man, I guarantee that no other mode of transportation can compare to the safety of my Mystic Train."

"Mr. Frederick, it's truly a pity for you. But let's make this assumption for now. Perhaps then, everyone here will be connected." Shirou shifted his posture, swirling the red wine in his glass, causing it to spray red droplets, and began to speak: