She is not an investigator.

She changed into thicker clothes, half of her face was wrapped in a scarf, and her hat was pulled down low, making her look very suspicious, or perhaps she was simply afraid of the cold.

"I've never been here before."

Igris looked at the dilapidated tracks in front of her, hugged the box in her arms, and looked at Constantine beside her, waiting for his explanation.

"You need to understand, the place we're going to isn't accessible via regular sea routes, I mean..."

woo-

The train's long whistle slowly approached, growing louder as it drew nearer to the station where almost no one was waiting.

"What I mean is, we always have to try new things, don't we?"

Igris glanced at Constantine in front of her, then hugged the box in her hands tighter.

"This reminds me of a bad thing about trains."

"At least they won't confiscate your weapons."

"...I felt even more uneasy."

The steam train slowly pulled into the station, accompanied by the sound of billowing steam, and the four-carriage train slowly came to a stop in front of the two people.

The Gods' Folly—Regret: Epilogue

This volume's plot ends here; it's heavy and oppressive, with almost entirely negative developments.

Actually, as I write this, I have a lot to say, but when I try to talk about it separately, I don't know what to say.

Igris is sick, and very sick; this one sentence pretty much sums up everything that appears in this volume.

However, the protagonist's departure does not mean the end of the story, because they will have another chance to meet again sooner or later, and when that time comes, everyone will be better.

In addition, I've been in a really bad state lately. Both my thinking and my emotions have been visibly declining, and it's hard for me to type as fast as before. I might need to see a doctor.

The upcoming storyline will likely be a completely new beginning and a completely new process, including the main plot and objectives, etc.

And the long-dormant anomaly setting collection will most likely be revived during this period, with the plot as little as possible and detached from human interaction.

If you have any further questions, you can ask them here, or you can join the group and give me feedback.

that's it.

The Gods' Fool - The Northern Train: Chapter One, Boarding the Train

"Buy a ticket on board, one silver dollar, straight to Frostville."

At the train door, a man leaning against the door called out weakly to Igris and Constantine outside.

He was probably a train conductor, although it's hard to imagine that such a small and dilapidated train would have a conductor.

While Igris was still hesitating, Constantine stepped forward and handed the man two silver dollars.

"The two of us."

"Go up and find a seat yourself..."

The man yawned, then looked at Igris, who was still standing outside.

"What, how long are you planning to stay there? It's much warmer inside than outside. Although the train won't depart for another half hour, I don't mind closing the doors early."

"..."

The man didn't seem to fit Igris's impression of most train attendants; perhaps only unreliable trains would be assigned such an unreliable attendant.

Igris silently boarded the car and entered the somewhat cramped carriage.

Surprisingly, there was no unpleasant smell or noise as I had imagined; instead, it was quiet and warm.

While this is likely largely due to the fact that there weren't many people on the train to begin with, it was certainly comfortable enough.

The carriage was nearly empty; at least, all the seats were empty as far as the eye could see.

Igris had never ridden this kind of train before, and looked helplessly at the train conductor leaning against the door.

The train conductor seemed to notice Igris's pleading look and waved his hand impatiently.

"Didn't I tell you? Sit anywhere you like. There won't be many people on the train anyway. Just find a comfortable place to stay, and don't litter... No smoking allowed either."

Igris nodded and quietly sat down in the seat closest to the door, looking around the train's facilities with some curiosity.

Compared to the steam trains that frequently appear in Byanka, this train is a rather old model, but it is generally clean, and the seats and other equipment are in good condition without any obvious damage.

"By the way, the last carriage is the dining car. If you get hungry, you can go there to buy food. As for the price... you can decide for yourselves."

He spoke very subtly, but everyone could tell that he had his own opinion on the prices of the food sold on the bus.

I wonder if the train conductor knows about his evaluation.

Just then, Constantine, having put away his luggage, walked over, waved to Igris, and sat down in the chair opposite her.

Even though the train had double seats, he didn't choose to sit next to Igris, perhaps to be considerate of her feelings, or perhaps because he was afraid she would suddenly go crazy and stab him.

In any case, there was still some time before departure, and Constantine was also preparing to talk to Igris about her.

However, before that could happen, the train conductor suddenly coughed, interrupting Constantine's attempt to say something.

The next moment, a figure rushed into the car in a hurry, looking around frantically as if searching for something.

It was a woman, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. She was probably not a witch, but judging from her attire, she was likely someone's young lady.

At least Igris doesn't know them, nor does she want to. She's already gotten herself into enough trouble and doesn't want to get to know any more unrelated women.

She shrank back, pulling her hat down even lower, making her face almost completely invisible to others. Naturally, she also didn't see the gaze of the girl who rushed onto the car.

"Get on the train and buy a ticket."

"Keep the change, please!"

The girl casually pulled a handful of coins from her pocket and tossed them to the train conductor. The conductor didn't count them, but judging from their color, they were almost all silver dollars.

Perhaps this is what rich people do—they come here specifically to ride this dilapidated train to experience life.

"Just find a seat."

"Of course, of course..."

The girl walked past Constantine almost without hesitation, and under his gaze, bypassed all the empty seats and plopped down next to Igris.

Clares, carrying the box, quietly lifted her hat slightly, her two-colored pupils slowly falling on the girl beside her. She wanted to say something, but was a little embarrassed to speak.

The biggest problem is that, despite having so many seats available, she chose to sit next to Igris.

If Igris chased her away, it would seem rude of her, but if she did nothing...

Igris was afraid that she might suddenly have a relapse and stab her.

The girl's attire was somewhat peculiar; she was dressed entirely in black, wearing a black cloak, and carrying a black umbrella.

At least Igris wouldn't usually carry an umbrella with her when going on long trips; that's probably just how different people are.

Finally, perhaps because Igris had been peeking at her too many times and it was too obvious, the girl turned her head and smiled at Igris, who was practically wrapped up like a dumpling.

"Nice to meet you."

"..."

Igris blinked and nodded slightly, which was her response.

Intuitively, she didn't want to get involved with anyone more, especially women.

In principle, she couldn't completely ignore the other person's greeting, as that would seem very impolite.

Although nodding without saying anything seemed rather impolite, she didn't seem to care much.

"You can call me Philina. May I... ask your name?"

The child was more outgoing and enthusiastic than I had imagined, and even when faced with Igris's cold treatment, she still seemed to enjoy it immensely.

"...You can call me Igris."

"Nice to meet you!"

Igris was not happy. She didn't want to talk to strangers, especially since Constantine seemed to have something to say to her, but was interrupted before he could say it.

"Are you... cold? Why are you wrapped up so thickly?"

"It's my personal habit."

Wearing thicker clothing can help Igris not look so strange in certain situations, and having her face partially covered can also reduce the amount of information she exposes.

For example, when one's mind wanders, or when one experiences a hysterical episode.

"So...am I bothering you a little? If so, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

Igris was in a bad mood; in fact, she had never been in a good mood since this problem started occurring in her.

Therefore, she always speaks in a cold tone, which, although she doesn't mean any harm, is enough to distance herself from others.

So Igris didn't speak, but only looked at the girl in front of her with the only eye she had exposed.

"Um... I'm really sorry, I won't bother you anymore... This is an apology, I hope you'll accept it..."

Philina handed something to Igris, who didn't look at it much because she wasn't planning to accept it. To her, nothing was better than Philina leaving her side.

However, when she saw what was being handed to her, she couldn't help but reach out her hand.

"no problem."

That was a gold banknote.

No one would dislike such a gift, including Igris.

That's why she likes to be friends with rich people.

The Gods' Fool - The Northern Train: Chapter Two, Strange Passengers

Philina left the seat next to Igris and walked to other seats at the back of the carriage.

Seeing her leave, Constantine turned his head and lowered his voice slightly.

"You kicked her out?"

"...She left on her own."

"Okay, although she seems to care about you a lot, I think you should be used to it by now."

Igris didn't speak, but expressed her protest with her cold eyes.