Carlo shrugged. "Advanced doesn't necessarily mean more high-end. In Vista, railcars have replaced traditional public carriages, and more expensive rental carriages are the means of transportation for the middle class. As for the nobility, they have their own carriages and don't need public transportation."
"However, those on the very top floor actually prefer riding the railcar."
Isaac guessed, "It can't be a public railcar, can it?"
"Of course not. They have their own dedicated railcars. When they travel, other public railcars have to slow down or even detour to make way for them. It's precisely because this affects the public railcars that, let alone being rich, even nobles generally don't have this privilege."
Isaac thought for a moment: a lavishly decorated carriage speeding along the tracks, forcing all the public railcars along the way to slow down and give way—this kind of spectacle isn't something money can buy; it requires the power to adjust the operation of the entire rail transit system.
A low rumble came from afar. Isaac looked in the direction of the sound and saw the outline of a railcar emerge from the morning mist. The rails vibrated regularly, and as the distance closed, the vibrations made Isaac's feet tremble slightly.
The railcar was much longer than Palmer's public carriage, painted dark green, and had three carriages. A metal pole extended from the top of the carriage, resting on the power lines above the tracks, and a small cluster of sparks exploded as the railcar moved.
The spark made Isaac a little uneasy. He remembered Carlo saying that electrical wires were quite dangerous, and what if the wires fell directly onto the roof of the carriage? Wouldn't everyone inside be in danger?
Carlo's voice drifted over from the side. "Worried about getting electrocuted?"
"Uh..." Isaac looked away, "I just felt it was a little dangerous to watch."
"There's definitely danger," Carlo glanced up as well. "There have been a few power outages, and a few unlucky guys have died."
... This is more than just watching; it sounds dangerous too.
"Don't worry, the insulation measures have been improved. After all, even if the carriages are of different grades, private and public railcars use the same infrastructure. You have to believe that the men value their lives more than you do."
As the railcar slowed down and pulled into the station, stopping in front of the platform, the conductor opened the door, glanced at the platform, and gestured for passengers to show their tickets.
The two handed over their tickets. The conductor punched a hole in the ticket, moved aside, and didn't react to Fenri's presence. Apparently, the railcar didn't have a rule against pets; as long as you bought a ticket, you could ride.
The two people and the dog boarded the vehicle. Inside, there were long wooden benches arranged longitudinally on both sides of the carriage, with an aisle in the middle, presumably for people to stand when there were many people. Several gas lamps hung from the ceiling of the carriage.
There were only four or five people in the carriage at that moment, probably catching the early shift.
Carlo found a spot, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes, intending to catch up on some sleep during the journey. Isaac, on the other hand, looked at the city below the tracks, with Fenri lying at his feet.
After more than ten minutes, the towering outline of the city wall gradually came into view. The railcar stopped at the East Gate Bridge Station, and the two people and the dog got off the train, walked down the overpass, and headed towards the city gate.
Isaac noticed from afar that the city gates were tightly closed, probably because it wasn't time to pass yet. Carlo didn't head towards the gates; he seemed to know where to find Vilka and turned into a side street at a corner.
A carriage was parked on the side of the street. It was quite plain in appearance, with no extra decorations in the carriage. It was a size larger than an ordinary carriage and had dark-tinted windows, so the interior could not be seen. Two white horses were pulling the carriage, and there was no coachman sitting in it.
The car door opened, Vilka, still wearing a gold mask and a nun's habit, nodded to the two of them, indicating that they should get in.
Carlo went in first, Isaac gestured for Fenri to go first. Fenri jumped onto the carriage, and Isaac followed, closing the door behind him.
"Good morning, both of you," Vilka said. "I hope you're both ready, especially you, Schuster."
"Why do you have to use the word 'especially'? It makes me seem so unreliable." Carlo sat down opposite Vilka.
Vilka glanced at Carlo: "Tracking directly to ' Shepherd ' Mary's ' location isn't easy. It doesn't have a fixed lair in the wilderness and roams a vast area, so we'll need to use your dice to determine its location."
"So it's just a simple check to teleport directly to Mary's head, right? Saves us from wandering around aimlessly in the wilderness." Carlo leaned back. "Just so you know, my teleportation isn't always accurate, so don't complain if something goes wrong."
"Once we determine a general area, we can approach the rest ourselves; the precision depends on your ability."
Carlo pulled out a die. "Let's try our luck. Can this carriage and everything inside it be teleported intact to a location within ten kilometers of ' Shepherd ' Mary ' on the ground... Check value: 40."
"Ten kilometers?" Isaac wondered if the area was a bit too large.
"A bigger one will make passing the check easier." Carlo rolled the dice. "27, check successful, good luck."
Success! Isaac caught a glimpse of the distorted view outside the window out of the corner of his eye, and the next second...
The genuine rays of the rising sun shone from the edge of the clouds, making him squint.
... Clouds? Sunrise?
He stared blankly at the suddenly changed scene.
Then, the carriage fell off.
Isaac reacted quickly, grabbing the handrail on the carriage wall. "Boss?!"
"Oops, I forgot about the height limit."
Isaac: "..."
It only said "above ground level," but whether that "above" is five meters or five thousand meters depends on luck, right?
Vilka seemed to have anticipated Carlo's unreliability. She raised her hands, fingertips touching, and the downward momentum suddenly slowed, as if something was supporting the carriage, and the inertia pressed Isaac down onto the seat.
Then, the scenery outside the window stopped rushing upwards, and the carriage began to move horizontally... Although still in the air, the carriage stopped tilting.
"This is..." Isaac steadied himself.
"Our animal friends are putting in the effort." Carlo opened the small window in the front row.
Isaac also leaned to the window and looked out. The two white horses pulling the carriage each had a pair of pale golden wings extending from their backs, pulling the carriage, which was being supported by some kind of force, through the clouds. The edges of their wings shimmered with light, and their shape did not seem like real wings, but rather something formed by some kind of condensed power.
"A temporary blessing," Carlo said. "Blessings are bestowed upon the recipient through the prayers of a clergyman. The caster must maintain a continuous state of prayer; if interrupted, the blessing will be lost. Furthermore, the recipient must have devout faith; otherwise, the blessing will be difficult to attach."
"But animal friends don't have that many thoughts. If they are raised in the church from a young age, growing up in the warmth of incense and holy water, they are actually more likely to receive blessings than humans. Look at the composure of these two horses; they were specially trained by the Church of the Golden Bough to fly in the sky."