Arc 6. A seemingly endless loss
Road to a Hero:
Three Chances in Another World
Chapter 15. And then, they’re off
On the top of the wooden podium, he was surrounded by hundreds of people cheering, and standing in front of a train with other rails to its side, telling Gray that there was another train somewhere else. They wave at all the crowds while Rupert begins walking in front of them, clearing his throat on the way there. He puts his cigar away, preparing himself to speak to all the excited people.
Rupert: “YOU ALL KNOW ME, MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS, AND MY BUSINESS! AND YOU ALL KNOW OF MY COUNTLESS CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOU ALL! BUT DON’T TAKE IT WITH THE IDEA I WANT SOMETHING FROM YOU! EVERYONE HERE IS MY FRIEND BECAUSE WE’RE ALL A PART OF THE SAE GREAT NATIONS! WE HAVE THE SAME VALUES, AND WANTS BECAUSE THAT’S ONLY NATURAL FOR AMAZING PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELVES!”
Gray and the others watch the crowd closely, infatuated by the way everyone in the crowd hangs on every single word Rupert says.
Rupert: “SO SINCE THE INCIDENT! I WAS ABLE TO GROW MY FAMILY’S BUSINESS, BY BUILDING HOUSES, JOBS, AND A VARIETY OF OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS MADE FROM MY DECISION TO REBUILD! AND I WANT TO CONTINUE REBUILDING, BY TAKING CHARGE OF THIS COUNTRY, NO MORE KINGS! WE WANT ELECTED LEADERS, PEOPLE WE TRUST, NOT THIS MONARCHY WE FIND OURSELVES WITH, NOT THESE MAD KINGS!”
With Rupert’s claim, the crowd shouts with a sense of freedom, and passion, even Chester and Orson clap for him. Then Gray notices Julius walking up behind him, about to speak or be spoken to.
Rupert: “BESIDE ME STANDS JULIUS CROMWELL! HE’S PROUDLY STATED HIS WANT FOR A SEMBLANCE OF FREEDOM, HIS CHOICE TO ASSIST WALGONIA IN TAKING BACK THEIR COUNTRY IS EVIDENCE OF THAT! I WANT TO BRING THE SAME SENSE OF POWER AND SAFETY THAT THEY HAVE! THE HEROES OF WALGONIA STAND BEHIND ME, AND STAND WITH ME! THIS IS FURTHER PROOF THAT WE MEAN WHAT WE SAY! NOW! CUT THE TAPE!”
Rupert hands Gray a fairly large pair of scissors to cut the red ribbon right in front of the train. Now, with a smile filled with glee, he cuts the ribbon, and at the same time, Chester walks into the train.
Rupert: “NOW, POWERED BY MY RIGHT-HAND MAN CHESTER HUMPFERY, BROTHER OF BLAZE HUMPFERY, THE IRON LEG, WILL CONDUCT THIS TRAIN FOR IT FIRST USE! AND THE FIRST PEOPLE TO RIDE IT ARE RIGHT BEHIND ME! NOW LET’S WATCH THEM OFF!”
Everyone screams and cheers, waving at Walognia’s Heros. They walk into the train, and it looks just like any of the other original trains from Gray’s World: leather seats, and wooden floor paneling. Metal bolts, screws, and binds hold everything together, etc.
Gray: “WOOOOH! FIRST PEOPLE ON THE TRAIN!”
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Gray grabs his bags, which are by the door they entered through, then runs to the seat closest to the front, quickly moving through multiple cars of the train, moving down each aisle as fast as he can. After about a minute or two he makes it to the front, getting inside the conductor's cabin.
Chester: “Interested?”
Gray: “From what I can see, it’s what I’m used to.”
Chester: “How? It’s the first of its kind.”
Gray: “Don’t worry about it.”
Gray leaves Chester and sits outside of the cabin, placing his bags on the shelves above. He then just plants his feet on the seat in front of him, waiting for everyone else to make it to him. After a few minutes, everyone else catches up, placing their things on the shelves as well. They all begin to sit down, relaxing. For a bit they sit without saying a word to each other, just watching the people cheer. In the back of the train, in the boiler room, workers begin shoveling coal to run the train. The train's beginning to move echoes throughout the area, overpowering the crowd's roars. Steam shoots out of the pipes, the wheels begin turning, and the train begins to move. As they begin to move Gray moves his arms up and down, more excited than anyone to be there, even though he's from a place where trains have been around for over one hundred years.
Edward: “Alright, game plan. It’s just us four, so we should get ready. Let’s go get our armor on, get our weapons equipped, and think of what we need to do.”
Gray: “The game is set, we locate the camp, which is easy because I can sense mana with my astral abilities. Then we eavesdrop, which again, I can do, then we infiltrate…Oh and interrogate too.”
Rosemary: “Still, we need to get our stuff.”
Gray: “Oh I know, I just wanted to get the idea down”
Gray gets up, stretches, and grabs his bag, which holds his things. Then everyone else does the same. They all go off into separate cars to undress, no longer wearing the detailed and wonderfully stitched dress attire, and now into the masterfully made armor, made by Rick. Gray’s armor has become a bit slimmer, more like tactical armor laced with metal plating. He then puts on his black shoulder guards, leg armor, steel shoes, and wrist talons. The wrist talons have also reviewed various modifications, being more compact, and just as slim as any other gauntlet, but the hidden blade has become much stronger, now being just as useful as a sword instead of an extra weapon. So now instead of just an attachment to the forearm, they’ve become full gauntlets, and the glove section has replaced normal finger covers with more claw-like shapes. Rosemary’s armor has remained mostly the same, only being better crafted to her body as well as having the Walgonian crest on the chest plate, and smaller Golden Knight crests on the shoulders. Edward’s armor has changed a bit as well, choosing not to wear a helmet because of how it almost burnt him alive when he was fighting Arthur unless he really needed it. When under fire, the heavy bulky armor becomes a prison, so he slimed it down. Soku’s armor is almost nonexistent, only wearing some leg armor, chainmail, and shoulder pads. And lastly her short sword, in the cleaver shape she’s had since her days as a thief, and a compact version of the glider, smaller due to her control increasing. After they’re done, they walk back into the main car, prepared.
Soku: “Gray, we’re your mask?”
Gray: “Eh, I haven’t wanted it since Arthur broke it. I have another one made, out of metal this time and not just some piece of pottery, but I chose not to bring it.”
Rosemary: “Do you have your cloak?”
Gray pulls out his necklace from under his armor, flashing the crescent moon-shaped charm.
Edward: “All right then, now in about thirty minutes the train will stop and we’ll get in a carriage to go to the Everspirit forest.”
They all nod their heads and sit back down, waiting for the time to pass. People walking, towns, villages, and farmland in the distance. Small hills, random patches of trees, dark grass, and a seemingly permanent cloudy gray sky. After a short portion of time passes, Chester begins stopping the train, telling everyone to get ready. The wheels screech and spark, coming to a complete stop right beside a covered wagon.
Gray: “Welp, this is then. We’re off to become vigilantes.”
Rosemary: “What’s a vigilante?”
Gray: “Don’t worry about it.”
End of Chapter Fifteen