Rein's understanding of this world was still shallow. After all, he had spent most of the year since transmigrating training with the Weasel Bandit Group and had barely received any information about the outside world.
So even after Ymir told him her real name, he only assumed she was the daughter of some great noble house. He had no idea that the woman before him was the Oma Empire's renowned eldest princess, the Frost Swordswoman, Ymir Spuglin!
Because he had never heard of her at all.
After all, who had the time to care what the emperor's countless royal relatives were called?
Information had been so advanced in his previous life, yet he still could not remember the name of the President of the United States' sister. To commoners at the bottom of society, the names of a president's distant relatives had absolutely nothing to do with them.
They were people from entirely different worlds, with no chance of ever crossing paths in their lives!
And because she had been masked before, Rein did not connect her to the Mysterious Woman from the Hyacinth Tavern.
After all, under those circumstances, the Oma Empire had the thief alliance completely under control. Even if White Wolf Bazel had launched a sneak attack, that woman should not have appeared alone and severely wounded in the Bakenya Highlands.
Naturally, Rein would never have imagined that a dignified princess had nearly lost her life because of a political conspiracy within the Spurglin Royalty.
Without a detailed map, what Rein had estimated to be a three-to-five-day straight journey ended up taking a full eight days.
On the eighth day, they failed to find Snow Eagle Fortress at the location they had expected. Instead, they encountered a convoy migrating over a long distance.
It was a long trackless steam train with around thirty cars. Its carriages were covered in thick, nearly airtight armor, making it look like a giant black steel centipede crawling across the wasteland.
When Rein and Ymir emerged from the misty wilderness, the train happened to be stopped for maintenance.
Wanting to ask someone why Snow Eagle Fortress, which should have been nearby, had vanished without a trace, he walked over.
The sight greatly surprised Rein.
There were simply too many people!
Every carriage was sealed shut, yet at least a hundred people sat atop the roof of each one.
It was somewhat like those overloaded trains from a certain country in Rein's previous life. Every spot on the roofs that could hold anything was stuffed with packages of all sizes and passengers who had secretly climbed aboard.
Under normal circumstances, this should never have happened. Without the protection of armor, the people on the roofs were nothing more than easy prey for magical beasts.
There were an abnormally large number of people on this steam train.
The sudden appearance of two unfamiliar travelers in the fog naturally drew the attention of the people on the train.
"Hey, buddy, are you lost?"
"Oh, there's even a little lady. Take off that mask and let this old man have a look."
"Haha, did these two have a little fun in the wild, then realize their train had left after they were done?"
"..."
It was indeed rare to see humans traveling alone in the wasteland.
Without the protection of Steam Machinery, most humans could not possibly survive a night on the dangerous Ice Ridge Wasteland.
As Rein and Ymir approached, the stowaways on the roof greeted them with crude remarks and whistles.
Especially when they saw Ymir, whose figure remained alluring even beneath loose clothing, those bachelors whistled and made lewd comments all the more enthusiastically.
It was not that they bore any great malice. It was simply how the poor in this world tended to greet people.
Rein had spent a long time with the bandit group and was already used to it.
But when he turned to look at Ymir beside him, he saw her brow crease slightly. Clearly, she was not accustomed to such vulgar greetings.
Rein had no intention of lingering. He shouted up at the people on the roof, "Um... excuse me. Do you know where Snow Eagle Fortress went?"
"Ah, you're looking for Snow Eagle Fortress?"
The people on the roof were greatly surprised by that question. Several of them asked in succession, "You really don't know? Where exactly did you come from that you haven't heard such huge news?"
Hearing that tone, Rein wondered if some major event had happened during the few days they had spent walking through the wasteland.
He explained, "I'm a doctor. My wasteland-hunting companions and I were attacked by magical beasts a few days ago, and we got separated. So we wanted to check Snow Eagle Fortress and see whether they might be there."
Sure enough, the identity of a doctor was useful everywhere.
At that, the people on the roof stopped shouting and looked at him with respect.
One of them replied, "Oh, then you'll be disappointed. Snow Eagle Fortress was conscripted by the Empire and left five days ago to suppress the Rebels."
Someone else added, "Yeah! A lot of us here were originally outer-city residents near Blazing Steel Fortress. We weren't qualified to leave with the Mechanical City, so we could only migrate elsewhere on this train."
The inner cities of Steam Machinery Cities had limited space. Permanent residents usually had to pay a substantial sum to obtain residency rights, rather like buying a home and registering one's household in Rein's previous life.
Outer-city residents, meanwhile, were generally poor people who could not afford the entry fee. They built homes at the foot of the steel fortress walls and received at least some protection.
When wartime evacuation came, naturally they were not qualified to leave with the city.
Thus, the people on the train roof were all war refugees. No wonder so many of them had resorted to stowing away.
"Snow Eagle Fortress left?"
Rein felt his luck was not particularly good, and his mind was already considering where else they could go.
But Ymir focused on another piece of information in those words. She gave a soft sound of surprise. "Suppressing the Rebels?"
Other than banditry, where would the Empire even get Rebels?
If they had been two people of unknown origin, the train would not have opened a single door for them.
After all, if they encountered spies from a bandit group, it could bring disaster upon the entire convoy.
But Rein, dressed in a white coat, came with a natural "friendly aura." As they were asking questions, a heavy train door opened, and a small manager in a train uniform with a red nose stepped out.
The manager was called Red Nose Paul. He held a position similar to a ticket inspector on the train and was responsible for managing the last seven carriages.
Paul examined Rein, who wore a crow-shaped gas mask, and asked, "Did you just say... you're a doctor?"
Not daring to overstate his abilities, since he was not yet a qualified doctor, Rein corrected him. "More precisely, I'm an apprentice surgeon."
"Oh, that's even better!"
Paul did not seem to mind. Excitement appeared on his face. "Our train happens to need a doctor. If you are willing to provide some medical assistance for our carriages, I can offer the two of you seats in a carriage free of charge."
The implication was obvious. If he was a fake doctor or unable to provide sufficient medical help, then he would probably have to endure the biting wind like the stowaways clinging to the roof.
After all, Rein and Ymir only wanted to find a human settlement. Neither of them had intended to board a train for a long journey.
Rein did not agree immediately. Instead, he asked, "Mr. Paul, aside from Snow Eagle Fortress, where is the nearest Mechanical City around here?"
"I'm afraid that's unfortunate, Doctor."
Paul spread his hands and said, "Because of the wartime conscription, every Mechanical City within several thousand kilometers has been called up. If you miss this Thornbird Merchant Guild train, you and your companion will probably be in great danger traveling through the wasteland."
After a pause, he continued, "As you can see, tickets for this train are already sold out. If you were not a respected doctor, I would not have made this offer."
Rein's eyelids twitched as he listened. He felt this was becoming troublesome.
If every human city within thousands of kilometers had gone off to war, where could they possibly go?
Perhaps they could only board this train and leave first?
With that thought, Rein turned to look at Ymir beside him, intending to ask for her opinion.
But Ymir's expression was somewhat off at that moment. Clearly, her attention was elsewhere.
She had not taken the initiative to speak along the way, yet she unexpectedly opened her mouth now and asked Paul, "May I ask whether what they said earlier is true? Snow Eagle Fortress has gone to wipe out the Rebels?"
Her voice was exceptionally pleasant, and Paul was surprised.
Although Ymir's gas mask revealed only a pair of azure eyes, one could still guess that she possessed a breathtakingly beautiful face.
Paul looked her over and answered, "Yes. The imperial capital has issued a notice to the entire Empire. Baron the Storm General, commander of the Empire's First Legion, has rebelled. The main war Mechanical Cities of the southern three provinces have been ordered to assemble and suppress him."
"What?!"
The moment Ymir heard that, her tone changed sharply, and an icy glint suddenly erupted from her eyes.
Baron the Storm General was her most loyal subordinate and the Empire's finest military commander. He would never rebel!
Thinking of the precise ambush by an enemy vampire prince she had suffered before, then hearing this news, she vaguely guessed what that Empress was trying to do!
The political situation of the Oma Empire was likely about to change completely.
Thanks to Saint Hall Bloodslayer Emperor Radiance and One Thought Tiger for the 500-coin donations. Thank you both~
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