She is not an investigator.

The train conductor finally got moving, gave everyone a few brief instructions, and then headed towards the driver's cab.

The train encountered far more unexpected events than Igris had anticipated.

boom--!

Another muffled thud sounded beside Igris.

She turned her head away impatiently and looked at the window in front of her again.

There was a little more bloodstain on the window, but still nothing else was visible.

If it weren't for the fact that a second, clumsy bird happened to crash into it, leaving a pool of blood before dying, Igris couldn't think of any other possibility.

Although there are many, many possibilities in reality, Igris didn't want to dwell on them.

A short while later, the train attendant came out again, but walked towards the last carriage without turning his head.

He walked quickly, and although his expression remained unchanged, he was noticeably more anxious than usual.

Something must have happened.

boom--!

Another muffled thud sounded beside Igris.

There was a little more bloodstain on the window, and more than the meaningless bloodstains, Igris noticed something that deserved more attention.

crack.

Cracks have appeared on the glass.

Igris stood up almost without hesitation, pulled Felina, who was still in a daze, up with her, and moved to a new seat.

After all, the car was quite empty, and it had more than one window.

Although Philina didn't know what Igris was doing, she didn't resist after being pulled up and obediently followed Igris to sit in another seat.

At that moment, the driver's cab door opened, and Cecilia slowly stepped out.

"Please calm down, everyone. I am the train conductor. We may have encountered some minor problems and need to make a temporary stop."

As Cecilia walked, she explained to the only three passengers in the carriage.

Then, her gaze fell on Igris.

The two exchanged a glance, then silently looked away without saying a word.

"The train will depart again in about half an hour. During this time, everyone can do whatever they want, as long as they don't get off the train."

Cecilia plopped down in the empty chair, stretching her tired body with great effort.

Felina also raised her hand in response, and asked somewhat restlessly.

"Train conductor, so what exactly happened? Has the road ahead collapsed?"

"It's not that exaggerated."

Cecilia shook her head with amusement and explained nonchalantly.

"While we were in the tunnel, there were a few more passengers on the bus who hadn't bought tickets. Once we've dealt with them, we can set off."

"Oh……"

Philina wisely refrained from asking where the guests were, but she inexplicably felt a chill down her back, so she pressed herself against the chair and curled up into a ball.

With nothing to do, Constantine once again took out his thick black notebook and began studying, while Igris looked out the window at the snowfield with some boredom.

Looking through the train windows, it's hard to see exactly how thick the snow is outside. However, even though you can't tell the thickness, you can still tell that the outside temperature is definitely not comfortable.

Immediately afterwards, two figures walked across the snow.

Those were the train conductor and the cook, Alvin.

They both seemed to notice that Igris was watching them, but didn't seem to care much.

The train conductor, with a shotgun slung over his shoulder, slowly raised the muzzle under Igris's watchful gaze.

He aimed directly at the top of the train, that is, the roof, and fired.

The gunshot wasn't loud, and the sound that came through the glass was very faint, almost inaudible, but Igris' hearing was quite good.

As he finished shooting, a dark shadow flashed past the window in front of Igris, as if something had fallen from the roof of the car.

She didn't see it clearly, but it was most likely the thing that had been knocking on her window.

What happened next was quite simple. The chef slowly walked to a blind spot where Igris couldn't see him, presumably to treat the wounded object, and then the two returned to the car.

This kind of thing seems to happen frequently; you can tell from their skillful handling that it's definitely not the first time they've done this kind of work.

The train conductor quickly returned to the first carriage, accompanied by the old man, Anfer, who always preferred to stay in the last carriage.

He greeted the train conductor, then sat down in a corner seat without saying a word.

The train attendant also gestured to the train conductor, roughly indicating that the matter had been resolved.

But the train conductor simply nodded and did not choose to return to the driver's cab to start the train.

She seemed to be waiting for something.

The Gods' Fool - The Northern Train: Chapter Fifteen, Lunchtime

Although staying cooped up in the car wasn't a good option, Igris didn't want to wander aimlessly out into the snow-covered wilderness.

Felina hesitated, wanting to ask the train conductor why the train hadn't started moving yet, but she was too afraid to speak.

Perhaps it was because everyone was quiet, or perhaps it was because the train conductor didn't seem easy to get along with.

"Why aren't you driving yet?"

However, Igris wasn't the type to care about such things. Since Philina didn't dare to ask, she asked instead.

Cecilia raised her head, looked at Igris who was clearly a little impatient, and gently shook her head.

"You're too impatient. I remember you said you were a little hungry. How about we eat something before we set off?"

This is probably a good idea, at least for Igris.

This way, she would most likely not have to worry about unavoidably attacking the passengers on the train due to excessive hunger.

"So what are we waiting for?"

"Let the chef process the ingredients... Don't worry, it's nothing strange."

Iglesias felt that she had said something superfluous; that way, she might not have found the ingredients so strange.

"Hmm... it's about time."

Cecilia glanced at the pocket watch in her hand, then stood up on her own initiative.

"Let's go get something to eat and chat."

"that…"

At this moment, Felina suddenly spoke up, saying in a somewhat nervous low voice.

Can I go too?

"If you wish, of course you can."

Cecilia had no reason to refuse any passenger, even if her expression didn't say so.

Felina hesitated for a moment, glanced at Igris who seemed unlikely to offer any opinion, and finally shook her head.

"...Never mind, forget I said anything."

"Okay, have a pleasant trip."

Cecilia shrugged and led Igris to the back of the carriage without saying anything more.

Only after the two had completely left the carriage did Constantine slowly close the black leather notebook in his hand and look at Felina.

"You seem very interested in Igris."

"Who? Me? Was it that obvious?"

Although she should have shown some tension and unease after being exposed, there was almost no such emotion on her face.

It's probably because she never intended to hide her attitude towards Igris.

“Indeed, miss, Igris is my friend, so I must warn you… you'd better not get any bad ideas about her.”

If she simply wants to make friends, Constantine certainly won't stop her, since Igris does need more friends, and it would hardly do her any harm.

The premise is that this friend does not have any other special demands.

"You might... misunderstand me. I don't seem like someone with bad intentions, do I?"

"You better be."

Their conversation ended there, and neither of them said anything more.

At this very moment, in the last carriage...

"Want to try it?"

Before Igris was a strange roasted meat whose species was impossible to identify.

Judging from its appearance, it looks pretty good, with a golden-brown color overall. However, compared to most steaks that are medium-rare, this one looks to be cooked more thoroughly.

This also rules out the possibility that it might be a steak, since grilling it for too long would actually make the steak taste very bad.

"What kind of meat is this?"

"do not know."

Igris paused for a moment, holding the fork, and looked up slightly at the smiling Cecilia in front of her.

"You mean you don't know?"

"Of course, I'm not a chef after all, and it's hard to tell exactly what kind of meat this is, but I guess it's not beef."

Igris frowned slightly, poking at the piece of meat in front of her with her fork again and again, still hesitant to take a bite.

She was indeed a little hungry, and it certainly looked delicious enough. However, Igris had to consider whether this food of unknown origin was the flesh of some unidentifiable creature.

"You're not worried that I might drug you, are you?"

"You're right."