Shirou and the Rampaging Snow Spirit / Shirou Trapped in the Snow

Shirou returned to bed, seemingly unharmed, and turned off the light. He checked the time; it was 12:37 AM.

Chapter 1218 Shirou and Snow Spirit Go Rampage

Shirou found it difficult to fall asleep again. First, the car wasn't moving, and it was eerily quiet outside.

In contrast, the sounds on the train became exceptionally loud.

He could hear Old John making noises in the next room: first, the click of the faucet, the sound of water running and splashing, then another click as he turned it off.

Outside, there were footsteps coming and going along the corridor. Some people were wearing leather shoes, while others were wearing bedroom slippers, dragging their feet as they walked.

Shirou lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Why is the station so quiet outside? And why are people moving around so much?

Shirou felt thirsty and sat up, only to find the table empty; he had forgotten to buy a bottle of mineral water. He checked his watch again. It was exactly 1:15.

Shirou intended to press the bell to call the train conductor and ask him to bring him a bottle of mineral water. He pressed the button once, then stopped, as a bell rang outside first.

Because of the old-fashioned design of the Mystic Train, it still uses the original electric bell, and since there is only one train attendant per carriage, it is impossible to answer two bells at the same time.

Ding-ling...

Ding-ling...

Ding-ling...

The bell rang and rang. Where did the train conductor go?

Ding-ling... There are people like this who keep pressing down like this.

Two full minutes after the bell rang, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor; the train conductor had arrived. He knocked on the door not far from Shirou's compartment.

Then came the train conductor's voice, respectful and apologetic.

There was also an old man's voice, stubborn and incessant.

It's Old Boss Li.

Shirou chuckled to himself.

The argument lasted for a while. The Chinese old man seemed very panicked, yelling at the train conductor almost hysterically. The conductor's words were like firecrackers, loud and unstoppable for more than ten minutes.

Although I couldn't hear what was being said, the train conductor was probably trying to persuade me in a kind way.

The ratio of people speaking was: 90% for Old Boss Li and 10% for the train conductor. So no matter how you look at it, it seems like the old man was just being unreasonable, and in the end, it seems the matter wasn't resolved.

Good night, old man.

Why won't you believe me! Forget it! That person is far away now!

Bang!

One can imagine Old Boss Li slamming the door shut in a huff.

Shirou reached out and pressed the bell.

The train conductor came over as soon as he heard the noise; he looked haggard and anxious.

"Excuse me, could you get me a bottle of water? Are you alright?"

"Yes, sir."

Perhaps it was Shirou's concerned gaze that made him reveal what was on his mind.

"That elderly Chinese man..."

"Oh?"

He wiped his forehead.

"I never imagined that even without a language barrier, explaining to a foreigner would be so difficult. It took so much time! He still insists there's someone hiding in his room! Mr. Emiya, in such a small space as this private room, even if it were a mouse, I could easily find it."

He gestured with his hands to indicate the size of the private room. "Where could a person hide? I explained it to him, and I even turned on the light and only showed him the room. It's impossible, but that old man still insisted. He even said something about bad feng shui. I don't know what feng shui is."

"He said he woke up to find a figure standing there. So I asked him how he got out and how he locked the door. But he wouldn't listen to any of that. Enough is enough; things are already complicated enough."

The Snow Spirit's rampage has turned this area into a dangerous, icy wasteland, with snow falling like knives. Now, no one can even get out. We can only wait for the Mage's Association to send reinforcements."

"What? Snow Spirit went berserk?" Shirou said in surprise. He had been very careful not to let the Gem Shard release magic that might stimulate the spirit, but he still didn't expect something to go wrong.

"Yes, sir. Don't you know? The train has been stopped for a while. We're stuck in the snowdrifts. Heaven knows how much longer we'll have to stay here. I remember last time, I was trapped by snow for Seven Heavens."

Where are we now?

"Between Romania and Hungary."

"Hmm..." Shirou groaned in annoyance. He was in a hurry to meet Holmes in London and couldn't stay stuck here any longer.

The train attendant left and returned with bottled water.

Good night, sir.

Shirou drank a glass of water and went to sleep peacefully.

He had just fallen asleep when something startled him awake again. This time, it sounded like something very heavy slamming against the door with a loud bang.

He leaped to his feet, opened the door, and looked outside. There was nothing there. But in the passageway not far to his right, a woman, draped in a blood-red cloak, moved with silent steps, as if floating away.

At the other end, the train conductor sat on his small chair, recording accounts on several large sheets of paper. Everything was deathly silent.

"Clearly, there's something wrong with my nerves," Shirou said, and went back to bed. This time, he slept until morning.

When he woke up, the train was still stopped. He drew back the curtains and looked outside. A blizzard was still raging outside, and the area around the train had turned into a snowdrift. However, about ten centimeters away from the train, there was a transparent protective wall that shielded it.

It must have been because of this protective barrier that it was so quiet last night; otherwise, the howling blizzard and the hail hitting the train would have been terrifying.

He glanced at his watch; it was already past nine o'clock.

At a quarter to ten o'clock, he, as usual, dressed neatly and beautifully, walked towards the dining car, where a chorus of complaints was being heard.

All the barriers that might have existed between travelers have now been eliminated. Everyone is united by their shared misfortune.

Among them, Old Boss Li was the most heartbroken.

"My eldest grandson is waiting for me to come back and give him a gift. We agreed that I would fly back to Hong Kong from Paris in three days. I shouldn't have gone for the novelty and taken that True Magic train. Now, I'm stuck here." He sighed, "This godforsaken place doesn't even have a cell phone signal. My daughter will be so worried."

"It has to be this filthy place, Romania and Hungary, places haunted by filthy vampires. God..." The Swedish priest made the sign of the cross, praying.

The Italian man said he had urgent business in Milan.

A Japanese leather jacket salesman sighed, "You can't do business in this kind of weather on this kind of train."

The young German man Caules, standing nearby, said with a smile, "Hasn't my employer bought medicine from you a few times?"

"At that level, you can't even eat anything. It's just a small amount, not some expensive medicine, just sleeping pills. Why don't you just buy enough to last you for a few years and take it home?"

"I'm still paying off the loans I took out while I was studying at the Clock Tower, I don't have that kind of spare money." Caules shook his head.

Chapter 1219 Shirou is trapped in the snow

Faced with this situation, all they could do was comfort each other and express a hope that the train might be able to make up for the lost time.

Old Boss Li started talking again.

"To be honest, this kind of antique train should be replaced. If it were China's high-speed rail, with speeds of two or three hundred kilometers per hour, we would have passed through this godforsaken place long ago."

The US Colonel turned to Shirou and politely asked, "Sir, I assume you're the director of this line. Could you tell us about it...?"

Shirou smiled and corrected him.

"No, you've misunderstood," he said in English. "It's not me; you've mistaken me for Mr. Frederick."

"Oh! I'm sorry."

"It's alright, it's not surprising that you think that way. I'm staying in the same private room he used to stay in."

Mr. Frederick didn't come to the dining car, so Shirou looked around to see if anyone else was missing.

Lady Rin, the Lord El-Melloi, was leisurely eating breakfast, along with Olga Marie, the daughter of the Astronomy Department, and her tutor, Miss Teresa.

It seems that only Old John, his servant, and the silver-haired, red-eyed maid are not present.

"How long are we going to be stuck here?" the Red-haired Miss asked. "Does nobody know?"

The voice sounded urgent, but Shirou noticed that the English lady no longer had the almost frantic, nearly collapsing demeanor she had shown when the passenger ship suddenly stopped.

Wasn't she rushing to catch this train to some very important place? That's strange, Shirou thought to himself.

At this moment, the Swedish priest finished his prayer, then stood up and said to the crowd, "There is absolutely nothing to worry about. Under God's protection, whatever happens will always turn out well."

Unfortunately, this Christian spirit could not be shared on the train where Magecraft gathered. Back then, one of the things the Puritan loved to do most was burn Magecraft at the stake.

"That's certainly good," Caules said impatiently. "We could stay here for a few days."

"Anyway, what country is this?" Old Boss Li asked dejectedly.

"On the Romania border," the Red-haired Miss whispered.

"You seem very calm, madam," Shirou said, expressing his appreciation to the Red-haired Miss.

She shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"What can one person do in this situation? I'm just being selfish. I've learned to control myself and not act impulsively for pointless emotions."

She didn't even look at him; her gaze went past him, fixed on the large snowdrifts outside the window.

"You are a strong-willed person, Miss," Shirou said politely. "I think you are the strongest-willed person among us."

"Oh, no, no, really. I know someone who is far stronger than me."

Who is this person...?

She seemed to suddenly realize that she was talking to a stranger, a foreigner, someone she had only exchanged a few words with until this morning.

She smiled politely, but distantly.

"Oh, for example, there's this old man. You've probably noticed him already, an old man from the Far East, who has now recovered and started chatting with his priest friend."

"Ah, in this respect, this old man is simply unmatched."

The Red-haired Miss smiled.

At this point, Old Boss Li had rallied and began introducing his family members and recounting his family history.

The male priest said with disgust that it was precisely this evil and obscene place that was the birthplace of vampires. Dracula of Romania and Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary are considered to be the male and female progenitors of vampires.

"Isn't there any other way?" the Red-haired Miss complained.

Waver looked at Rin, but she remained calm and composed, never revealing her true feelings. It was precisely because she had been able to deal with many powerful Magecraft since childhood that she was not taken advantage of.

To be honest, what did he, as Lord El-Melloi II's previous incarnation, do for her?

He was stubborn and always encountered trouble, a perpetually worried and weary laborer. He spent his entire life in debt and paying it off. If there was any benefit to being around him, it was simply that he could help some exceptional students find ways to succeed.

"What is it, Mr. Long Hair? Did you think I was some lonely, orphaned child from this branch family? Well, thank you very much, but I'm not as fragile as you think."

Waver had a typical English face: tall and thin, with an almost sickly pale and emaciated appearance.

Her hair was longer and smoother than a woman's, straight and flowing like a waterfall cascading down from an ink-filled pool on a mountain.

"No..."

"Ah, don't worry about me. On the contrary, this scenery is perfect for my leisure."

The girl's gaze drifted to the pristine white snow outside the window, but he knew that the smile on her lips depended entirely on the chaos and misfortune of the people inside the car.

"I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."

"No,"

Ah... he remembered.

Yes, Rin always wears that smile when he's in trouble. She does it whenever something bothers him, and she finds amusement in it.

The teacher seemed to have gotten a worse stomachache and went back to her room.

Shirou shrugged and let him go. Compared to the mischievous Rin, he was actually more concerned about this side.

Olga Marie, daughter of the Astronomical Lord, boarded the train accompanied by her family's retinue.

Shirou greeted her; by the time he officially Chaldea, the girl had already died.

For Professor Lev, who has three personalities, neither the ethereal genius Magecraft research fanatic nor the Demon Pillar Forneus are the type to act on emotion. Although Lev is pessimistic and despairing, he possesses all the restraint and composure typical of the British.

Even if he were to commit suicide, he would simply stay at home and quietly end his life.

This applies to oneself, and it also applies to others.