It was a bit past noon by the time Vincent returned to the Capital railway station.
So far, right after he woke up, he met Agnes, then chatted with his mother over breakfast, met Leona, and then lost another hour or two to the Voss smiths who converted one of D’Arc’s train carriage into a workshop Leona could work with.
The result sat behind the passenger carriage.
A heavy anvil had been bolted directly into the reinforced floor. A smaller coal furnace occupied one side with an iron chimney running through the roof, while water barrels, metal racks and several locked tool cabinets had been secured against the walls.
It was not the best, but it wasn’t the worst thing out there either.
Most of the Voss smiths who had helped build it were gathered beside the train.
One of the bearded men slapped the side of the carriage and laughed.
"As expected of our lassie’s fiancé! Who else thinks of putting a bloody forge on a train?"
Another man gave Vincent an approving thumbs-up.
"Crazy idea, lad. I like it."
"We should build another one!"
"Ye! Ye! We should build ten more!"
Vincent smiled at their statements but ultimately decided not to encourage them.
Leona climbed into the forge carriage after checking the furnace one last time. The Voss men immediately started waving.
"Good luck, lassie!"
"Don’t burn the train!"
"If something breaks, blame the railway!"
"Why would she blame the railway!?"
The argument continued even as Leona gave them a small wave from the carriage.
Bernard and Margaret stood at the forge carriage’s entrance, away from the noisy group.
Knowing Leona was leaving for who knows how long of a period, Margaret got several bags of clothes and food placed on the train for her. She was leaving on such a short notice, she at least needed to eat properly.
"Take care of yourself," she said before hugging Leona.
"You too, mother."
Bernard placed one large hand on Leona’s shoulder.
"If the forge is bad, come home."
What he meant by this was something only the Voss folks could decipher.
House D’Arc could only quietly watch from a distance.
Leona nodded seriously at her father’s gentle reminder. "I will."
That was the entire conversation between the father and daughter.
The Voss couple bid farewell to Vincent as well and left the forge carriage.
Vincent said good luck to Leona and reminded her to call him anytime she wanted to ask something or wanted something.
Vincent then left with Anastasia to be on the passenger carriage.
A few minutes later, the engine whistle sounded, and the train began moving toward D’Arc County.
...
Clang!
The hammer missed the exact point Leona wanted to hit by less than an inch.
She stared at the metal.
The carriage swayed again beneath her feet.
Clang!
This time her hammer landed properly, but the next movement of the train shifted her stance before she could strike again.
Leona lowered the hammer.
"This is a lot more difficult than I thought."
A frustrated look generally accompanied the person who said such a statement.
But not Leona. She looked rather happy with that small smile on her face.
This new forge was testing her skills as a blacksmith. Could she hammer before the carriage swayed or pour hot metal in a mold while the train was on curves?
She also had to use her own two feet to walk toward the water barrels and fetch water for cooling and other purposes.
Could she actually draw water and use it without spilling it everywhere?
Every task excited Leona to no end.
She had to use her mental capabilities to the fullest to understand the train’s rhythm. It wasn’t too regular, but also not completely random.
Steam whistled and Leona quickly leaned back and hammered.
The worktable and everything within seemed to have been thrown forward with the train’s movement, but Leona hammered successfully.
Clang!
Clang!
She stopped before the third strike.
The carriage shifted.
Clang!
The hammer came down immediately afterward.
Leona smiled and slowly got into her zone.
At the passenger carriage beside, Vincent was sitting with Anastasia and had several telegrams spread over a small table.
He initially planned to watch Leona work, but there were too many reports waiting for him.
The connecting door between the two carriages remained open, so every now and then Vincent looked toward Leona’s workshop.
Leona had stopped fighting against the movement of the train. She was beginning to use it.
Whenever the carriage leaned, she changed her footing. When the wheels passed over a rough section of rail, she waited for the vibration to reach the anvil before striking immediately after it passed.
It looked significantly harder than forging inside House Voss.
However, she looked happy and was completely absorbed in her work.
Vincent was happy knowing he could do something to make her happy.
He put his attention back to the telegrams.
Leona continued for some time.
The repeated sound of metal gradually became more consistent despite the train’s movement.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The furnace burned brighter.
Vincent initially assumed Leona had increased the airflow, but then several tools hanging nearby produced faint metallic sounds.
He looked toward her.
Leona was concentrating entirely on the piece beneath her hammer.
A notification appeared.
[Your Fiancée Leona Voss has derived further meaning from the Forge Path of the Great Dao.]
[The Heavenly Dao is celebrating.]
The air inside the carriage became noticeably more comfortable despite the burning furnace. The flames leaned slightly toward Leona while the metal around her continued producing occasional soft ringing sounds.
[Your Fiancée Leona Voss’s cultivation has increased.]
Looking at all these notifications made Vincent think, ’Does her cultivation increase with forging or does it increase when she gets a challenge? If it’s the latter, should I have a forge installed on a ship for her?’
Vincent felt it was a good opportunity but decided to leave that problem for another day.
He returned to the telegrams.
Most came from the Northern Region.
The situation was considerably better than the previous iteration.
Hamlets considered vulnerable had either been completely evacuated or were in the process of clearing out. If they refused, they would be forced out by tonight.
Temporary shelters had been opened around the towns, while food, medicine and other emergency supplies remained distributed between several guarded warehouses instead of being concentrated in one place.
The railway lines were operating.
No major warehouse had been lost.
Copper Town was recovering from yesterday’s rat infestation, and Railguards were continuing preparations for another emergency.
Vincent put those telegrams aside.
Things were not perfect, but at least the county wasn’t going to collapse before the monster tide even arrived.
He picked up the Northern Commander’s telegram again.
The man had gone deeper into the Highlands as ordered.
Entire sections of forest had become unusually empty.
Predators and prey were both leaving.
There were damaged areas farther inside, and scouts had reported hearing strange sounds at night.
Vincent read the lines again.
’Something scared them.’
That was the simplest explanation he could think of.
Wolves did not abandon hunting grounds together with deer for no reason. Whatever was deeper inside the Highlands was causing everything around it to move outward, and the monsters eventually ended up near D’Arc settlements because there were only so many directions they could flee.
The upcoming monster tide might not even be a tide in the usual sense.
’Whatever it is, I need to go deeper to see what’s causing all this. I cannot have Vanessa venture to the highlands as she needs to protect Copper Town. I can only bring Anastasia along. Others aren’t trustworthy and the karma is also unknown.’
Vincent folded the telegram and placed it separately from the others.
He would know more once they reached the north.
Clang!
The sound from Leona’s side stopped.
Vincent thought she might be on a break or maybe she’s done and went to her side.
Leona held a small circular object in both her hands.
It looked somewhat like a compass, although there were no cardinal directions marked around its face.
A thin metal needle sat behind the glass, while the tiny dark material she had extracted earlier rested inside a narrow chamber beneath it.
Leona brought one of the preserved rat samples close.
The needle moved.
She changed to another sample.
It moved farther.
Leona tested the first one again before adjusting a small screw along the side.
"It still needs proper testing," she said. "I don’t know how far away it can detect anything, and I still don’t know exactly what this material is reacting to. But if the same influence exists nearby in different concentrations, the needle should react more strongly when there’s more of it."
"There’s no problem. It should be enough." Vincent took the artifact carefully and placed it inside his pocket.
"You’ve worked hard," Vincent said and smiled.
"Mm." Leona nodded and wiped her sweaty face with a hand towel.
Vincent could smell her sweet body odor mixed with the sweat, and couldn’t help but look up at her and say, "Leona."
Leona glanced down. "Hm?"
"Bend down. I have something important to say," Vincent asked for her ear.
There was no one except Vincent, Leona, and Anastasia in the two carriages. He could say anything openly, but Leona chose to trust him and bent down to lend her ear.
Vincent quickly held her face and gave her a warm, loving kiss.
He let go and walked away, waving his hand. "They say doing this twice a day boosts luck and productivity between an engaged couple."
Leona stared at his back with a baffled gaze, and wondered, ’Who’s spreading such superstitions?’
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