NOVEL NEXT Chapter 348: Train station?
Ham's Underground was one of the many train stations inside Restara that led to the outside of its perimeter.
And as the name suggested, it was situated underground. However, in 1999, an attack caused it to be placed on the surface.
This led to its official name transitioning to 'Ham's Train Station'.
At the beginning, it was created by a common construction worker, who had managed to work up enough money to construct a way for other workers like him to commute to work situated in far places.
And because of this deed, he was later granted the title of a noble.
Lillian, leaning against a solid metal wall, stared at the history-filled pamphlet in her hand. She had just arrived at the train station with a dozen minutes to spare.
Currently, it was still rather busy, even though everyone who started work in the morning had already arrived at their workplace.
Lillian, wearing white-denim shorts and a pale blue t-shirt, took a subtle glance towards the bright sky.
And holding a hand over her brows, she muttered:
"It sure is hot..."
She checked her phone and noted the current time. Then, she turned back to the pamphlet and decided to amuse herself in the train station's history until her partner arrived.
And not a moment later, she heard her name called out:
"Well, howdy there, Miss! Are you perhaps Lillian by any chance?"
Looking up, Lillian found a woman slightly taller than her by an inch staring at her.
She had long brown hair and bright green eyes. They were pretty, but the thing that was truly noteworthy about them was that they were wearing a leather cowboy hat on their head.
Lillian's ears twitched at their southern accent and couldn't help but chuckle.
She held out her hand for a handshake and nodded:
"Yes, I am Lillian. Are you Viesta? The person I'm going to be working with?"
Viesta gave a strong nod, clutching Lillian's hand firmly and shaking it.
"I sure am! Boy, you sure are a pretty lass, aren't you?"
Lillian then watched as Viesta pulled something out, a rectangular object... It was her phone. And it seemed to be covered in cowboy-themed stickers.
She was then shown the woman's screen and found it to be displaying her student ID photo. And she sure did look much different compared to now.
At the start of the year, her hair was much shorter. And if she wanted to, she could even tie it into a ponytail.
Viesta leaned in with sparkly eyes and asked:
"You look a lot prettier in person! What is your secret, Missy?"
"H-huh? Secret?" Lillian raised an eyebrow.
Did she have a secret?
"Eh... Training?"
She did have a skin routine, but she wasn't so fixated on it to the point of doing it every day.
After having her curiosity satisfied, Viesta leaned back and released Lillian from the handshake.
"I see, I see! Well, anyway. I'm glad that you're willing to work hard even though your Class Representative is unavailable."
Lillian, hearing what she said, slowly tilted her head. Was she Marionette's Vice Rep?
After a moment of pause, she internally shrugged at the thought. She wasn't against it without a doubt. In fact, she felt like it would prove to be rather fun in some... Scenarios...
Her mind went blank for a split second before she eventually snapped back into reality. She then quickly clutched the sides of her head tightly with a shocked expression.
'There's no way I'm having drawbacks from being away from her for too long!'
Viesta, seeing that Lillian was about to bang her head on the wall, quickly pulled her back by the scruff of her neck and said:
"Whoa there, partner. I need a living partner, not an unconscious one. Anyway, let's make our way to the train, shall we?"
Lillian, regaining her sanity, gave Viesta an odd look:
"But the train isn't here yet—"
As Lillian said this, she was swiftly interrupted as the speakers warned the surrounding people of the arrival of the train.
Lillian was then spun around on the spot by Viesta, causing her eyes to be directed towards an extremely long bullet train that was swiftly being flooded by people.
Viesta then said:
"Anyway, partner, let's get on the train, shall we?"
***
After moving into the train and travelling up, they quickly found the section for premium passengers. And once they discovered their room, they made their way in.
"The academy is very generous to let us have this," Lillian commented, resting her back against her couch as she felt the train begin to move.
Viesta nodded, placing her hat to the side, while interlocking her fingers and looking out the window.
"Actually, Beatrice bought it for us. Currently, the academy is going through a money crisis due to all of the repairs and the reimbursement for the grieving families."
She then paused before adding with a proud expression:
"I've also heard you saved quite a few soldiers, as well as some medical staff and students. Excellent work on that, by the way, you helped a lot during the invasion."
Lillian gave a humble but appreciative smile as she answered:
"It's nothing, really. Anyone that has a bit of strength would do the exact same thing as me."
"No, seriously! You really did help a lot." Viesta then leaned back, wrapping her arms behind the couch and adding:
"Not everyone would do the same. Some people would rather save their own lives than those of others. And don't get me wrong, they're right to do so in a survival view, but if you can help, try first before running away."
She sighed, but shrugged:
"But fortunately, this time was different. Everyone pitched in against the invasion, even if it was a little..." She paused, becoming quieter, "Even though, some did lose their lives..."
Lillian, finding Viesta's mood to have dramatically dropped, remembered that in the game, one of her friends had tragically passed away in the incident.
And feeling the dark tension in the cabin increase, Lillian couldn't help but lighten the mood with small talk:
"S-so... What's our first destination?"
"Hm? Oh, right! Well, I'm sure you've been told we will be making our way towards Restara's' Docks, correct?"
Seeing Lillian nod, she continued:
"Well, we will actually..."