I had seen it clearly.
The white-armored knights cresting the snowy ridge, their forms silhouetted against the gray sky before they leaped onto the speeding train, one after another. Their movements were beyond human capability. These were men who could outrun a galloping horse on their own two feet, who could shatter boulders with their bare hands.
These were the knights of the Cheonmu Empire.
"Aaaah!"
"It's the Imperial Frontier Guards! Run!"
"Help me!"
Screams of terror echoed through the carriages as the raiders realized their doom had arrived. When the elite Frontier Guards were involved, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.
It was over in less than a minute.
And just like that, the train raid ended.
"Is it over?"
The Hangeom Gisa-dan, a special unit within the Frontier Guards. Their name might not sound like much, but each member was a formidable warrior, tempered by service in the rugged and unforgiving Baek-un mountain range.
Unharmed, I made my way back to cabin 403 and sank into the seat I’d occupied before the chaos began.
Gashes and soot scarred the carriage’s interior, a testament to the fierce battle that had just taken place. The carriage only remained intact because of the defensive magic circles engraved upon it; an ordinary train would have been a derailed wreck at the bottom of the cliff by now.
"The attackers have been neutralized. Please remain calm, everyone. The train will be arriving shortly, so please wait a little longer."
Knights patrolled the aisles, their calm voices reassuring the survivors. In truth, the only survivors were those who had been in the first-class cabins, the most heavily protected section of the train.
It was difficult to find anyone alive in the other carriages. It would be more accurate to say everyone else had been annihilated.
A tragic loss, especially considering how few passengers had been on board.
"Still, I'm glad they got rid of all the terrorists." The knights had killed every last one of them. For an attack force that included so many wizards, it was a pathetically futile end.
Then again, I was the one who had killed the wizards.
But this wasn't the time to dwell on that. The train was nearing its destination.
As we descended from the snow-covered mountains, patches of green began to break through the white landscape. The sheer ice cliffs gave way to a wide, sprawling plain. And there, on the horizon, I saw it: Areumnaru, one of the great metropolitan cities of the Cheonmu Empire.
It was vast.
Even from a distance, the city’s majesty was breathtaking. Crystalline towers soared high into the sky, factory chimneys plumed endless white smoke, and great flying ships sailed between clouds painted gold by the sun. On the river that snaked through the city, clockwork and brass-plated vessels navigated the waters alongside swift-moving steamboats.
It was the pinnacle of magical engineering, a marriage of advanced mechanics and arcane power. The civilization had achieved an age of technology my old world would have called "steampunk."
The novelty had worn off somewhat over the years. Still, the lingering culture shock from my past life never truly faded, a strange sensation I could never completely erase. It was a stark reminder that I had been reborn as a baby in this world after dying in an accident in my last.
That was twenty-seven years ago. The time had flown by.
This world was a unique blend of what my memory called the Victorian and Belle Époque eras, but with the addition of magic, non-human races, and monsters. If only I had been reborn in a game I'd played or a novel I'd read. But this place was entirely new, with no connection to anything I knew.
"Are you all right?"
A voice pulled me from my thoughts. I turned my head. Standing at the entrance of the half-demolished cabin was a woman with neat black hair.
The knight who'd saved me. She was watching me with a concerned expression.
"I was worried you might have been hurt during the attack…"
I shook my head. "No, thanks to you and the other knights, I'm fine. I was just lost in thought."
"Ah, I'm glad to hear that." A relieved smile bloomed on her face as she placed a hand over her chest. Now that I looked closer, she was quite a beauty. Her porcelain skin and flawless white armor contrasted sharply with her black hair, accentuating her striking features.
She seemed genuinely kind. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered to come check on a stranger. She was clearly competent, to have become a member of the Knights of Cold Steel, and her youth suggested she was exceptionally talented.
She lived in a different world from me.
"My name is Hwangbo Se-yeon. And you are?"
Se-yeon. The name was familiar. The Se-yeon family was a prestigious line that had produced many of the Empire's most famous knights.
Chooo-chooo!
Just as I was about to introduce myself, the train’s horn blared, announcing our arrival. I closed my mouth, and Hwangbo glanced out the window.
"Oh, we've finally arrived at Areumnaru."
The train slowed, finally hissing to a complete stop at the station. Through the window, I could see the platform was already swarming with people. They must have heard about the attack; they stared at the train's battered exterior, murmuring amongst themselves. The police had formed a cordon to keep the crowd back, but reporters were jostling to get through the gaps, hungry for a scoop.
As expected of a major city, Areumnaru was a chaotic scene from the moment we arrived.
"Look at all those people," Hwangbo remarked. "The news must have spread quickly."
"It doesn't matter," I said. It was none of my business. My only regret was that the train, originally bound for the capital, had to terminate here in Areumnaru because of the attack. There was no chance of a refund for the ticket, so I had no choice but to disembark.
Creaaak.
The cabin door slid open with a harsh scrape, and uniformed police officers rushed in.
"What's this now?"
"Dear passengers, please remain in your seats. We need to ask you a few questions."
"What's going on?" Hwangbo demanded.
One of the officers turned to her. "And who are you?"
"I am Hwangbo of the Knights of Cold Steel. I'd like to know what this is about."
"A Knight of Cold Steel! A pleasure, Ma'am. I'm Officer Cheol-min of the Areumnaru Metropolitan Police."
"Officer Cheol-min," she acknowledged. "So, what's happening?"
"We received a report about a raid on the border of the Baek-un Mountains."
"That's correct," Hwangbo confirmed. "We've dealt with all of the raiders."
"We were informed of your fine work, but some details of the incident don't add up."
"Don't add up?" The words made a knot of apprehension tighten in my stomach. This was taking a dangerous turn.
The officer continued, his voice grim. "A magically protected train like this one shouldn't have been so easily breached, even with wizards among the attackers."
"Yes, you're right," Hwangbo agreed.
"It's clear this attack wasn't just external. They had help from the inside."
"An inside…!" Hwangbo’s eyes widened in surprise, but then she nodded, accepting his logic. It was a sound conclusion. I myself had dealt with a man disguised as a train employee, one of those who had disabled the defensive magic from within. Because of them, the terrorists had swarmed the train, and countless passengers had died.
"We are currently identifying the deceased," Officer Cheol-min explained. "As a precaution, we must also verify the identities of all survivors, in case any were complicit. There's no need to worry. We'll release anyone who checks out."
"Ah, I see." Hwangbo smiled, but her relief was my terror. A cold sweat trickled down my spine.
They were going to check my identity? And I wasn't wearing my camouflage mask.
My fingertips grazed my cheek. No, the mask was definitely gone. This was my own face, clean-shaven and unlined.
I'm in trouble.
The passenger list would have a man named Jin-woo, a wealthy merchant in his mid-forties. That was my cover. The problem was my face. Who would believe that I, without a whisker or a wrinkle, was a man in his forties?
What do I do?
I wasn't involved in the attack; I was just a passenger. But they'd never believe me. Jin-woo was a false identity, and using one was a felony in any country. Hanging would be a mercy. Suspected involvement in terrorism would earn me a long, painful session with the state's torturers. After all, ordinary people don't use false identities.
Run? Running was impossible. The Knights of Cold Steel were still on the train, and Imperial soldiers were swarming the station outside. The moment I tried to escape, my head would be separated from my shoulders in less than a minute.
Fleeing was the worst possible option. But if I stayed, they would discover who I really was.
I struggled to keep my expression neutral. Meanwhile, an officer carrying a clipboard began making his way through the carriage, checking passengers against his list one by one.
"Which room were you in?" he asked me.
"Room 403. Here's my ticket." I calmly retrieved the ticket from my inner pocket and presented it. The officer confirmed it wasn't a fake, then flipped through his papers.
"Let's see… number 403. Ah, here we are. Two passengers registered to this cabin. Choi Si-woo, male, mid-twenties, and Jin-woo, male, forties." He looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly. "It says there were two of you. Why are you alone?"
"What happened to the other one?"
"He was caught in an explosion during the attack," I said evenly. "He fell from the cliff into the Baek-un Mountains." His body would never be found down there.
My answer only seemed to deepen the officer's suspicion. I clenched my fists under the seat, desperately maintaining my poker face.
I'm going to get caught. At this rate, I'm caught.
But there was no way out. The police blockade was solid. And then there was Hwangbo, the woman in the white cape standing right in front of me. The same woman who, just a short while ago, had split a terrorist's head in two. She killed without hesitation. She was smiling at me now, but the moment she thought I was suspicious, she'd be the first to draw her sword. Given her skill, she was more dangerous than all the police outside combined.
As these desperate thoughts swirled in my head, Hwangbo stepped forward.
"Wait a moment. He's not a suspect."
"Pardon?" the officer asked.
"He fought the terrorists himself, before the Knights of Cold Steel even arrived. I saw him with my own eyes."
"He fought them?" the officer mumbled, unconvinced. He scanned the list again. Suddenly, his eyes widened in recognition, and his expression shifted instantly. "So… Choi Si-woo is alive, and Jin-woo was the one swept away in the explosion."
What?
Wait a minute. What did he just say?
The officer leaned closer to the list, his face a mask of astonishment. "Hold on… The newly appointed professor at Cheon-gwan Academy?!"
"What? He's a Cheon-gwan professor? Are you sure?" Hwangbo exclaimed, her eyes wide.
Watching their reactions was like observing a scene from a strange comedy. It was unbelievable, but… they thought I was Si-woo.
A decision formed in an instant. I suppressed my shock and gave a slow, deliberate nod.
"Yes, that's right."
As I spoke, I reached down and picked up the suitcase Si-woo had dropped before he died. Thank God I'd kept it.
"I am Choi Si-woo."