The plans of the clandestine faction known as the “Bees”, commonly referred to as the “Honeybee Bulletin Board”, involved detonating the entire car being ridden by Vina and Christina.
Knowing they couldn’t directly confront the two pure-blooded magicians, the plan was to drop them midway instead.
My role was to lure at least one of them to the dining car, where the bomb was installed, by the designated time.
However, the dining car was at the midpoint of the train, so it was clear that many would be affected if an explosion occurred there.
“Why don’t we change the location to the cargo car? Since all the explosives are there, we don’t need to move them to the dining car, right?”
“Tsk, how naive. Even if we could, what noble would come to the cargo car?”
“Surely you’re not trying to pass it off to someone else at this point.”
“Of course, I can handle it. Shall I call someone here right now if you want?”
As I took out the Witch Note, everyone looked surprised and nodded their heads in agreement.
Checking the forum, my mind eased slightly upon confirming its complexity.
I couldn’t believe someone else was impersonating me other than the usual suspects.
‘This definitely puts me in a bad mood.’
Since I didn’t usually operate under the administrator account, it was easy to impersonate me.
If someone claimed to be me but had no history of interaction, users wouldn’t know if it was a fake with a stalker complex or just one of the secondary accounts up to MK.114.
But pretending to be me on the forum and gathering clueless individuals to form a t*rrorist organization was a different matter altogether.
As I finished the strategy meeting and checked the post from the leader of the Bees, “MeteorIsWaterMagic”, I belatedly realized something was off.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh? Oh! Did you calm down now?”
Shien, who had been clinging to me half-heartedly, turned pale and quickly backed away.
The sensation of her hips, which she had been unconsciously gripping until a moment ago, lingered on my palm.
After apologizing to me several times due to her ignorance, she suddenly scolded me for interfering with the operation with a stern expression.
“We had planned to apprehend everyone. We’ve already informed the target through the deputy chief, but if you suddenly intervene, what are we going to do?”
Originally, the plan of the Intelligence Department was to briefly halt the train on the 33rd floor and eliminate the individuals seen in the room we just passed.
For that purpose, agents were stationed in the dining car, and substitutes for Vina and Christina were also prepared.
But because I suddenly changed the location to the cargo car, the plan was disrupted.
It might have been frustrating from her perspective, but I didn’t want this express train to stop.
If the train stopped, it meant the Bees’ plan failed, and then their backers would either hide or flee.
“The Intelligence Department doesn’t intervene in disputes between families.”
“Huh?”
“So as long as there are no innocent casualties. Isn’t that right?”
Unfortunately, communicating through the forum would be the worst choice.
I began to edit the titles and contents of all the deleted posts on the Honeybee Bulletin Board through the Witch Note.
*
====
Marin583
[A special feature of being sandwiched in the third-class seat and bumping shoulders with the smelly lower ranks next to you]
(Picture)
Renting out a whole train car and riding comfortably
This is life~ Let’s have a drink~
====
Late at night, a single post appeared in the peaceful forum.
It was a post with a picture, currently on a fast train crossing the 30th floor of the Magic Tower.
Originally just a brag about riding to hell or serving as a background for a journey, it was a typical mundane post that would soon be buried.
However, not long after, discussions about the authenticity of the post began to increase within the forum.
====
[Yeah, it’s definitely fabricated~]
Why would you fabricate something like that out of the blue It’s not even a VIP room, is there such a space on a fast train?
Plus, the car number written on the door isn’t 314, it’s 314.5, what’s up with that?
Where are you stuck in the wall? lol
— It’s definitely fabricated, I’m in 315 right now, there’s no such room
— But isn’t the illusion magic reflected in the window this time correct?
— Isn’t it part of the first-class lounge?
ㄴ What’s with the overacting again
ㄴ Probably not, looking at the design of the car body and the furniture used, it looks at most like a second-class cabin
====
====
[I’m the guy who climbs Magic Tower every year to ride the express train, here’s a fact check]
This room wasn’t officially made by the Research Department, but the vehicle matches the one currently in operation
Especially, the slight distortion on the right side of the landscape reflected in the window is the distortion phenomenon unique to the 146-type train’s control operation spreading through the body.
Someone probably magically created a separate space between the rooms, but if caught, it’s a minimum of 10 years in graduate school Seeing how stupidly you wrote down the location, it seems like it’ll be easy to find, so I’m going right now
— Wow, was it real?
— Who made it?
— Between room 314 and 315? Right next door?
— What’s with this chunk of metal risking his life to climb Magic Tower lol
ㄴ Climbing every year to ride the express lol Are you in your right mind?
ㄴ It’s the essence of extreme sports with zero injury rate lol
====
When rumors spread about the existence of hidden compartments, curious mages sitting in their compartments flocked together.
In danger of their hiding places being exposed, three individuals from compartments 26, 41, and 78 gathered in the cargo car.
Since the Bees participated in this operation in exchange for being allowed into the Void, they did not have tickets or assigned seats.
As they sat in the dark cargo car, suspicions filled their gazes as they looked at each other.
“You… You didn’t betray us, did you?”
“Why would I stab myself in the back?”
“You never know. If you’re number 78, you belong to an Elemental School family, so you might have some grudge against number 13.”
“What nonsense! Why would I feel inferior to a Celusia elemental user!?”
“Wait. But why did you both come here?”
Sensing something amiss, number 26 asked the two.
They were supposed to lure the pure-blooded magicians to blow up the entire car when number 13 brought them.
It was far from the time for the operation to begin, and there was no reason for them to be in the cargo car. The two seemed puzzled as well.
“Obviously, it was you, number 41, who sent the message. There was a problem with the detonator, so you told me to check it…”
“Me? I didn’t send anything. If anything, you were the one who said the bomb’s location was compromised and told me to come quickly!”
“Weren’t you both contacted by the leader?”
“What?”
“It was you two.”
“Wh-who are you?!”
Amidst the confusion, a transparent voice echoed in the dark cargo car, causing the three suspicious individuals to turn their heads. Before them stood a woman in a black dress, holding a Witch Note in her hand.
Each exhale from her lips, filled with suppressed rage, caused a dreadful sound as the surroundings twisted.
Every time the anger contained in the insensitive voice was released along with white breath, a terrible sound of the car body twisting was heard.
Extreme whispers, revealing a presence as white as snow even in the pitch-black darkness. Those who didn’t know her identity at the Magic Tower dared not claim to be sorcerers.
“V-Vina Niflheim…!”
“I finally caught you. The faction that always slandered me on the forum.”
“What? We never did such a thing!”
“It’s useless to make excuses. There’s plenty of evidence here.”
Upon Vina’s words, the three checked the Witch Note, doubting their own eyes.
The names of the Honeybee Bulletin Board and their IDs had all changed to something unfamiliar.
====
Opposition Board to the Glesia School’s New Board
List of Written Posts:
[103 Reasons Why Meteor isn’t Ice Magic]
[Honestly, this extreme magic lecture isn’t that impressive, is it?]
[I’m a troublemaker~ I’m going to spam~ I’m a troublemaker~ I’m going to spam~ I’m a troublemaker~ I’m going to spam~]
[Confirmation of Emptying Ice Water from the Epsilon Hall Vending Machine]
[Yeah, yeah, Glesia has never won the Magic Festival even once]
====
====
[Shall we have a meeting in the cargo car?]
I’d like to meet the people on the express train right now and discuss the inferiority of the Glesia School~
Meeting Schedule:
12:30 – Self-introduction
1:00 – Chemical warfare training
2:00 – Gossip about ‘That Gonick’ who spams in the gallery
3:00 – Lower the rating of the extreme magic lecture
4:00 – Fill in 200 reasons why Meteor isn’t ice magic
Hope for a lot of participation~
— Let’s communicate~
— I’m going now~
====
“Don’t, don’t do it! Everyone will die if you detonate it here!”
“Try me.”
“What?”
“I’ll enlighten you. Why Meteor is ice magic.”
As the bewildered individuals faced an unbelievable situation, the ground beneath their feet slowly began to freeze.
The creaking of the car intensified, and now it felt as if mad vibrations, like meteors falling, were shaking it.
Even the walls, the ceiling, and the desperate resistance of the three individuals’ magic were dyed white in an instant.
Just as number 78’s frozen fingers were about to press the ignition switch of the detonator, all that whiteness boiled up in an instant and began to descend with tremendous force.
Kwaang—!!
“It’s the 31st floor, so it’s a little short, but if it falls from this height, it’s worthy of being called a meteor.”
As the last car of the frozen train fell outside the Magic Tower, Vina turned without hesitation and headed back to her compartment.
Afterward, the Opposition Board to the Glesia School’s New Board reverted to the Honeybee Bulletin Board as if nothing had happened.
*
“What’s happening? Did the train just shake?”
“There was an accident in the cargo car.”
“What do we do? What about my luggage?”
“The Glesia School promises to compensate for everything. Let’s ask the station staff once we arrive.”
Upon hearing the news, Toby, hiding in the aisle of the first-class where he had met number 13, held onto the Witch Note.
Despite the hiding places and the car with explosives being blown away, the remaining passengers seemed too calm.
====
[Today’s weather is so nice~]
Today’s a good day to observe bees!
— That’s right, that’s right.
— Would you like to see my profile? It’s a bee with pollen on its butt!
ㄴ Wow, I came here by chance, but can I settle here? The more I see, the more…!
ㄴ ?
ㄴ You, get out.
====
“Are you sane!? Why aren’t these guys answering my calls!”
No matter how many times he sent messages, there’s been no reply.
It felt like even fear crept in as he watched those who seemed to have become ghosts, endlessly repeating posts with no substance.
At times like this, the only one he could trust was the leader.
Calling himself the administrator of the forum, he showed him a route to evade the guards so he could get on board without a ticket.
He had even arranged a hiding place inside the train.
Although he warned of the danger of t*rrorism due to the connection with the Glesia School, he was willing to take that risk to get to the Void.
Toby, who was trying to send a message with his last hope, was so startled by the voice he suddenly heard that he dropped his Witch Note.
“It’s useless. I’ve suspended that account.”
“What, what!?”
“Making forum posts appear differently to everyone is quite difficult for me too. It was easier to just block them both.”
“Wh-who are you! Ugh, this is… Gasp!?”
Toby, about to hand over the note, noticed a strange mist swirling beneath his feet.
When he looked up, he saw a figure approaching from the end of the open passage.
As their eyes met, a fear like he had never felt before overcame him, causing his legs to go weak.
Deer, wolf, owl… No, it was a bizarre face, combining all kinds of beasts imaginable, slowly approaching.
“I should explain about the three of you later. I didn’t expect to blow up the entire train.”
“Is that you, Leader? The administrator of the forum, right? We’ve been looking for you!”
“Leader?”
Kaaang!!
As he raised his head from the Witch Note, a spear had gruesomely impaled between his legs.
In his eyes, there was restrained madness and incomprehensible hatred burning fiercely.
“No. I’m not your leader.”
“Eek!!”
“Do you know that? There are no rules on the forum. I can’t allow scum like you to defile the space that holds the memories of the three of us, so rules are unnecessary.”
As he approached slowly, he withdrew the spear, and just before passing out, he said to Toby.
“There’s one thing I want to ask before I leave like this.”
“G-gaah…!”
“What do you know about this leader?”
Shien
