She is not an investigator.

An astonishing aura of malevolence and the stench of blood emanated from her, causing everyone to momentarily stop thinking and stare blankly at her.

Until she took the initiative to speak.

"...What are you looking at?"

Igris looked at her clothes and was sure that there was no possibility of her exposing herself.

Upon hearing her voice, everyone snapped out of their daze and instinctively looked away.

"...I'm glad you're alright."

"Of course I'm fine...more than that."

Igris kicked the large spider in front of her and clicked her tongue.

What should we do with this?

The Gods' Fool - The Northern Train: Chapter 40, Come and Ride

"This...cannot be eaten."

"?"

Igris glanced at Elwin, who had spoken, and unconsciously swallowed, feeling a strange dryness in her throat.

She is increasingly suspicious of what the piece of meat she ate actually was.

"It's still alive, isn't it?"

Constantine looked at the spider, which was still struggling to shake itself, and unconsciously thought of the best way to deal with a living creature.

"How about I use it as a human sacrifice...?"

"If you dare to do that, you'll be my next target."

Igris glanced at Constantine, who had quieted down, and touched her chin.

"This thing is quite heavy. Let's just push it off the vehicle. We've been here too long. Anyway, it won't live much longer without legs."

"I have no objection."

Anfer nodded. Compared to the other two, he did agree more with Igris's relatively normal approach.

The train conductor didn't seem to have any objections, but he seemed to have more questions on his mind.

"If we were to move this thing down, not to mention how much force it would take, our door isn't that big."

After all, the spider jumped in from the ceiling, not from the front door.

Moving this huge iron block out is difficult enough, let alone throwing it off the ceiling.

"Then shall I try burning it?"

Igris thought the idea was unreliable, since she had tried it in battle and found that her flames could not completely melt the body structure, at most softening it.

But softening it is pointless, since Igris didn't intend to use it for forging.

In the end, the group still couldn't come up with anything.

Even now, the best solution might be to simply abandon them along with the train carriage, but they still have at least two days before reaching the next city, making it difficult to travel light.

"Or we could just leave it there."

Ultimately, having exhausted all other options, Erwin could only come up with an idea that everyone could barely accept.

After all, this thing is indeed... not easy to handle.

"Oh, right..."

The train conductor turned to look at Igris, and, unsure of how to respond to her somewhat puzzled gaze, asked her.

“Those people…”

"Who is it?"

The train conductor looked down at her feet, where a pile of severed limbs lay.

Igris noticed his gaze, but simply kicked all those things away silently, pretending nothing had happened.

"...It's nothing, let's go back. That little girl must be quite worried about you."

The train conductor hesitated to speak, perhaps worried that he would be the next person to lie on the ground.

"Felina? How's Cecilia doing compared to her?"

"The injury is stable and gradually improving. Felina seems to have some first aid knowledge, and there happened to be a first aid kit in the car."

Constantine answered while walking back in the direction he had been returning to.

It was clear that he didn't really want to stay there anymore, but that was understandable. With so many corpses piled up together and the smell of blood, it was only natural that he felt uncomfortable.

Igris had considered burning all the bodies, but because they were scattered everywhere, she was afraid she might accidentally set the entire car on fire.

If a fire breaks out, they will really have nowhere to go.

Anyway, the weather is very cold now, so in three days... it shouldn't smell too bad, right?

As she pondered this, Igris returned to the door of the cockpit once more.

She didn't go in, firstly because there wasn't enough space inside, and secondly because she had her own considerations.

Unfortunately, the moment Igris returned, Philina immediately darted out and looked at Igris, who was trying to hide.

"Igris—!"

"…ah."

Felina rushed towards Igris, and seeing her covered in blood, she hugged her without hesitation.

Igris was taken aback when she saw that she actually dared to hug her.

She then released Igris and immediately took off her cloak, draping it over Igris' shoulders.

She was really thoughtful, because Igris was wearing so little.

Each time she lit a fire, she would use one of her own clothes as the tiny "price" to ignite it, so naturally, Igris even burned her hat and scarf.

In addition, the corrosive effect of the giant spider made her already thin clothes even thinner, so it's no wonder she kept trying to light fires.

After all, they'll freeze to death sooner or later if they don't light a fire.

"…Thanks."

Igris did not refuse Felina's cloak again; after all, she only liked to maintain a cool and aloof persona, not that she actually liked being cold.

Philina seemed very happy to hear Igris's thanks.

Even though she had lost her cloak, the clothes she was wearing were indeed warm enough.

"Oh...right, the train conductor said that when you come back, you should go see her. She wants to talk to you alone."

Let's talk privately.

Igris tightened her cloak, but her heart was not as calm as her face suggested.

She thought of many things, such as that kiss.

Although Igris should have taken the initiative to confront her and demand an explanation, she now found herself hesitant.

…She wasn't afraid; she just wanted to minimize unnecessary trouble, really.

Therefore, when faced with this opportunity to meet and talk alone, Igris had to consider some other possibilities.

But she didn't seem to have anything to be afraid of? After all, her injuries were quite serious, and there probably wasn't much she could do.

Okay, let's do it this way!

"I see."

Igris stood up, feigning composure, and walked towards the driver's seat.

Upon seeing Igris enter, the others tactfully left, whether it was because Cecilia said something to them or they simply didn't want to be in the same room as Igris.

Even Constantine, who was walking at the back, thoughtfully closed the door.

Iglesias felt he was being a bit too much lately, but she couldn't find any reason to punch him.

“Cesvia”.

"Ah, Igris, you've come."

Cecilia's injury is indeed serious, but it seems to have been treated very well, and there is probably no possibility that it will worsen.

At least he won't die.

When do we depart?

"Almost there, but I need to rest for a bit. It won't be long... maybe five minutes?"

Cecilia looked at Igris with a smile, then suddenly frowned.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"...?"

"My hair... is a little itchy, could you help me lift it up?"

Igris looked at the white strands of hair hanging down her cheek, then at her drooping hands, without speaking or moving.

The subtext is probably... Don't you have hands?

"Ah, as expected, you are a boring woman."

Cecilia pursed her lips and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, but her eyes, reflected in Igris's gaze, still held a hint of a smile, and... an indescribable emotion.

Igris felt a little uncomfortable…

"Come sit down, it must be tiring to stand all the time."

Igris turned around, only to find that the small stool that should have been in the corner had disappeared.

Cecilia shifted her body slightly and patted her thigh.

"It's fine to sit here."

"..."

The Gods' Folly—Northern Japan's "The Train to the Land of the Ryukyu Kingdom": Chapter 41, I Feel There's Something Ambiguous Between Us.