Ch#38
Heading to the Capital (2)
Before explaining the current situation, it was necessary to delve a little deeper into the woman named Tiria Wibin… no, the woman who had now become Tiria Portman.
She was the only daughter of the Wibin family, the former lords of this land, and a woman who had lived her entire life as the sole noble lady of this territory.
Naturally, the life she had led could not possibly be the same as Elric’s.
She was a woman who had been tutored in tradition, history, grace, and refinement since the moment she could walk.
Since her childhood, she had intentionally distanced herself from convenient technologies and received an education in etiquette rooted in long-standing customs.
It was undeniable that such an upbringing had influenced her old-fashioned tendencies.
She was ignorant of all modern developments that utilized complex mechanisms and electric power.
She believed that lighting fires was the job of candles, that farming was only proper when done by human hands, and she was a person who believed that travel should be conducted via horse and carriage.
The current situation was an extension of that belief.
The moment one faces the unknown, some burn with curiosity and a desire for challenge. Others raise walls of vigilance and repulsion.
Elric was the former, and Tiria was the latter.
To her, the mechanical civilization that had only recently established itself in the world—especially the train, a massive hunk of iron spewing steam—looked like nothing more than a violent monster.
「Let us go by carriage.」
She was stubborn.
It was an expression of an incomparably stubborn will, and it stirred a small sense of dissatisfaction, and a large sense of playfulness, within Elric.
As mentioned before, Elric was a man who looked upon new things with curiosity and a desire to conquer them.
Her new facet was no exception.
「What if I insist on taking the train?」
Tiria’s expression sank.
However, for once, she didn’t seem scary.
It was a sense of familiarity. Needless to say, a person who feels human is far more approachable than one who seems perfect.
That wasn’t all.
Elric perceived himself as someone quite well-versed in advanced civilization.
After all, wasn’t his close friend Elbus Graham, who spent his entire youth with him, a man from the Imperial Capital, the heart of continental civilization?
He wanted Tiria to know that convenience and wonder as well.
Conveniently, he even had a suitable excuse.
「Actually, I overexerted myself while climbing the mountain during the last monster hunt. My wound has flared up, and it’s been throbbing quite often even when I’m still. I’m afraid my knees will hurt so much it’ll be unbearable if I ride something that rattles like a carriage.」
He added a bit of exaggeration for good measure.
Elric rubbed his knees with his hands, putting on a dejected face.
Tiria’s lips pressed into a tight line.
Though it was difficult to read her mood because she rarely showed emotion, it was impossible not to know that she was feeling distressed given the context.
「…Wouldn’t a train rattle just the same?」
「It’s less than a carriage. In the first place, it moves so fast that you don’t have time to feel the vibrations much.」
「How do you know that so well?」
「Why else? I took the train on my way to Wibin, so of course I know.」
「….」
It would be right to say he was gaining momentum.
「Besides, a train is much better for saving time. A journey to the capital that would take a week can be finished in a single day. Not only that, but we can also significantly reduce travel expenses. Haven’t you always spoken of frugality, wife?」
Every point he made was correct.
In fact, it was a match Elric was bound to win.
Why wouldn’t it be? A train was, ultimately, a superior version of a carriage.
It was a means of transportation that had evolved into a better form along with the progress of civilization.
Tiria’s argument, based purely on emotional reasons for avoiding the train, was bound to be flimsy.
What followed was Tiria’s consecutive defeats.
「The meals…」
「There is quite delicious food inside the train.」
「My backside will hurt…」
「Did you know? First class on a train uses high-quality seat covers. With cotton padding underneath, they are more comfortable than the chairs we are sitting in now.」
「The restroom…」
「There is one in first class.」
First class was designed to satisfy even those haughty Imperial nobles.
Everything she wanted, modest as her needs were for a noblewoman, existed within the train without a single exception.
In chess terms, it was checkmate.
Tiria had no room to escape.
And unlike ordinary people, she was a woman who chose rational surrender over flaring up with emotion when things didn’t go her way.
「…I will consider it.」
She said she would consider it, but it was as good as saying yes.
「Understood!」
A sense of needless anticipation welled up inside him.
There were no surprises.
Ultimately, Tiria decided to travel by train, and the estate began preparing for the trip to the capital.
The only “accident” for Elric was that he ended up working more to match the shortened travel time.
And perhaps the fact that Tiria applied even stricter standards to that work.
「This is wrong. Please do it again.」
Her low, quiet tone, her expressionless face that didn’t leak a drop of emotion, and her sheer thoroughness.
Everything was the same as before, but to Elric, it felt like she was retaliating.
Of course, Elric wasn’t foolish enough to let those thoughts show.
He humbly accepted her instructions and followed them.
And so, a week passed.
It was the day they were to leave for the capital.
「Young Master, Milady. Let us head out.」
The accompanying party consisted only of Aldio, the head maid, and two maids to wait on Tiria.
In the first place, the mansion the Portman family had purchased in the capital wasn’t that large.
The place they would stay was a small house the previous head of the family, Elric’s father, had bought solely for its location for business purposes.
An excess of staff was out of the question.
「…But are you sure we do not need guards?」
Even after arriving at the train station, Tiria could not shake her anxiety as she asked.
Elric replied with a smile.
「Guards are not allowed on the train. The railway company is a transcontinental enterprise that has fortified its own security; unless one of the Seven Strongest intervenes, an accident is impossible.」
「Are you saying it would be different if one of the Seven Strongest appeared?」
「At least in the Ferdin Kingdom, it’s nothing you need to worry about.」
Moreover, the same applied to the West.
He didn’t know the full situation since he hadn’t met them all, but among all the Seven Strongest Elric had encountered, none were crazy enough to publicly commit an act of terrorism against the railway.
The only people with even a slight possibility were Flame Demon Igret or Demon King Zerdia, and those two were major shareholders of the company operating the railway.
The probability converged to zero.
「Are you perhaps scared?」
Tiria’s head snapped toward him.
「I am not.」
Her tone was stiff.
That caused a strange tickling sensation in Elric’s chest.
Her upright posture and her pure, mysterious aura felt a little broken.
She looked like a small herbivore trying to hide the fact that she was frightened.
To Elric, who still hadn’t quite escaped the sort of playfulness one might find in a child, it was a stimulating sight.
「Then it’s fine. The train will be here soon.」
There was a separate waiting area for first-class passengers.
It was an arrangement by the railway company for the haughty lords, and thanks to that, Elric was able to chat with Tiria in peace.
It was only natural; after all, who else would be traveling to the capital from Wibin Station besides themselves and the Wibin family?
And he already had information regarding the Wibin family’s schedule.
He heard they had left for the capital three days ago.
By now, they were likely wandering from one of their beloved social gatherings to the next.
‘Hmm…’
He would see their faces again if he attended the Royal Banquet.
It was not a pleasant thought.
Since he had declared he had no intention of being their ally again and had even gone as far as making a threat-like statement, there was a sense of discomfort.
Elric idly toyed with the blunt dagger in his pocket.
What should he do if they failed to come to their senses and tried to pull something again?
Just as the concern arose—
Choooo-woooo—!
A whistle vibrated through the air.
Immediately after, the sound of steam, resembling the ragged breath of a monster, erupted. Chug-chug-chug-chug.
「It’s her—」
The moment Elric tried to speak, he saw it.
「—e?」
Tiria’s body was frozen solid.
Her gaze was fixed on empty space.
She looked as if her soul had left her body.
Elric could say with certainty that he had never seen Tiria this tense before.
To the point where her emotions were visible on her face.
Her phobia of civilization was more serious than he had thought.
That wasn’t all.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Elric’s sensitive senses perceived her accelerating heartbeat.
「…Wife?」
「Let us go.」
Her voice was stiff and frozen.
Tiria stood up, but her movements were incredibly rigid.
She moved exactly like a wooden doll.
Elric had to struggle to keep the corners of his mouth from curling up on their own.
Pshhhhhhh—!
The train stopped, and the doors opened.
Stepping out was a man with a sturdy build wearing a uniform.
He was at least knight-class, an armed force possessing mana.
「Are you Baron Portman and his wife?」
As he spoke with an affable attitude, Elric nodded.
The man then gave a thin smile and bowed his head.
「It is an honor to serve you.」
He was well-trained.
Elric led Tiria and boarded the train.
In that moment, a playful urge struck him.
Elric glanced at Tiria and whispered in her ear.
「Wife, you must take off your shoes to board the train.」
The light vanished from Tiria’s eyes.
Her gaze began to bore into Elric.
Did he cross the line? Realizing his playfulness had gone too far, Elric apologized, feeling the sting of his own conscience.
「…I am sorry.」
Elric, who boarded the train while scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment, did not know.
That for a single moment, until his apology, Tiria had sincerely intended to take off her shoes.
The truth was being quietly buried.
The Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serial)
