She is not an investigator.

She had just visited the back carriages and was quite interested in the spectacular yet gruesome scene of the crime, especially after learning that Igris had done it all.

However, when she returned, it seemed that her Igris's side had once again been occupied by a little sparrow that wanted to build a nest.

She was even more repulsive when she was still pretending to be harmless.

"You're really fierce."

Felina gave a nonchalant snort, directly responding to Simia's sarcastic remark, but still did not release Igris's sleeve.

She was smart; she knew that confronting her head-on would be pointless, only making them appear excessively noisy and savage, without any positive impact.

Igris wouldn't like someone who's always looking for a fight or argument, or rather, no normal person would.

Naturally, Philina simply ignored all of her verbal provocations and remained unmoved.

Simia knew this, but that didn't mean she would actually consider it. After all, rather than trying to take what belonged to her, she preferred to simply get rid of the irrelevant people surrounding her.

"Do you say that even when she's not in front of you, Miss?"

"My manners do not change because of who I am with."

Felina gripped Igris tighter, even raising her chin slightly. Though there was nothing superfluous in her movements, the provocation was far more pronounced than anything Felina had just said.

Yes, after all, she was just saying it, but Felina really did it.

"…cough."

Simia silently approached Igris, and under Igris's somewhat suspicious gaze, she blushed slightly and grabbed the hem of Igris's dress.

She ignored the confusion on Igris's face, instead looking at Felina's increasingly bad expression, and mimicked her earlier gesture, raising her head like a proud peacock.

"...Do you think there's any point in competing in this area?"

"I'm just saying that you're not anything special."

What she meant was that if Felina could do it, so could she, not that she wanted to compete with her for a ranking over such trivial matters.

"What are you talking about?"

Igris finally couldn't help but speak up. She had noticed just now that two people had inexplicably started cockfighting around her, and they were even reaching out to her with their poisonous hands.

Even if they didn't realize it, Igris felt that her clothes probably wouldn't withstand this level of tearing, so she still wanted to interrupt the argument between the two of them.

Because this was also her last outfit.

"Uh, um... nothing?"

Felina gave an awkward chuckle and moved closer to her again, but even so, she didn't choose to let go of Igris's sleeve.

Igris then looked at Simia again. This girl, who looked remarkably similar to Igris, simply lowered her head silently, pretending not to hear or see Igris's question.

Indeed, only when people play dead can they achieve a brief period of peace.

"Are they always like this?"

Anfer, who was sitting in the other corner drinking, couldn't resist turning around and nudging Constantine, who was writing something in his notebook, with his elbow.

Constantine raised his head somewhat bewildered, and following Anfer's gesture, looked at Igris and the girl surrounding her, then smiled knowingly.

"...You're right, she's always like that. At least ever since I've known her, she's always been surrounded by countless people."

Seemingly realizing that what he said was a bit inappropriate, Constantine paused for a moment before adding more.

"And...all living things, though she seems only interested in these...charming young girls."

Constantine shrugged and lowered his voice.

"So... although I can't say for sure, she will most likely choose a suitable woman to start a family with in the future, rather than a man."

"I knew it a long time ago."

Anfer grinned, but that wasn't what he cared about.

"But to be honest, that guy has only been on the bus for less than three hours, right?"

He was referring to Simia; at least from Anfer's perspective, they had only known each other for about three hours, no more.

To this, Constantine simply lowered his head again, continuing to write something in his notebook, and replied nonchalantly.

"But you should know that everyone has liked Igris ever since she got on the bus."

"..."

Anfer touched his chin, then suddenly widened his eyes.

"What you said... is really true. Does she even know how capable she is?"

"Who knows?"

Constantine didn't say anything more, because he had already noticed the glances Igris was giving him from time to time.

He forgot that Igris had excellent hearing.

The Gods' Fool - The Northern Train: Chapter 52, Robbery? Train?

Just as the passengers were talking, the train suddenly began to slow down.

The conversation fell silent, and everyone turned to look in the direction of the driver's cab.

The train conductor quickly moved closer, and then his expression became very... strange.

"...Something's happened again, guys."

The train conductor silently cocked his shotgun, glanced at the crowd also watching him, and gave them an expression that made them unsure whether to laugh or be embarrassed.

He probably really wanted to laugh.

"We've been robbed."

"?"

Anfer paused for a moment, then seemed to realize something and subconsciously looked at Igris, who was sitting in the corner.

He didn't know why he did it, but... he suddenly didn't know who he should feel sad for.

"A bunch of idiots planted bombs on the tracks. The train conductor just received the news and has to stop the train temporarily."

As he spoke, the train conductor looked out the window at both sides of the tracks.

Sure enough, just as the train was about to stop, five or six figures rushed out from behind, each carrying a weapon.

He glanced around and didn't find any noteworthy weapons. Apart from a hunting rifle, the others were all holding ordinary revolvers.

The equipment used in this robbery was clearly not luxurious enough; at least for the train crew, the combined weapons they carried probably didn't even equal the firepower of Anfer alone.

However, what they really need to worry about is probably not the carbine in Anfer's hand.

"So? Do you want me to open the door? If I don't, they'll probably just smash it anyway, and it'll probably be a hassle to fix."

The train conductor looked at Igris, who didn't know why he was looking at her, but nodded hesitantly nonetheless.

"Open...right? So why are you asking me? You should ask Cecilia, shouldn't you?"

"Oh, you're right."

The train conductor slapped his forehead, but seemed completely unconcerned by Igris's words, and instead opened the train door himself.

Cecilia also stepped out of the driver's seat, looked at the people who had rushed over, and suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

“Igris, do you remember the past I told you about? Back then, there was a group of idiots who planned to rob my train with explosives. You probably remember how it ended up, right?”

"of course I remember."

The guy who escaped carrying half a person probably remembers it more vividly.

Igris silently stood up and went to the open train door, where she took out her weapon.

Her cheeks were quickly wrapped in white bandages until her face was completely covered, obscuring any expression.

Seeing this, everyone on the train put down their weapons and sat quietly in place, seemingly without any sign of tension.

Except for Simia.

"...Why do I always feel that you guys have become quite used to being robbed?"

"No, but Igris will protect me."

Felina chuckled amidst Simia's twitching lips and muttered curses, and the others indeed reacted in much the same way.

“This isn’t the first time this car has been targeted by criminals. The worst time was when they broke into the kitchen and terrified Alvin’s pets.”

As Anfer spoke, he recalled the events with a touch of amusement.

He still remembered the look on Alvin's face when the pets, startled, ate the man on the spot, but two of them died from indigestion.

Although that happened in the past, it was certainly memorable.

"Igris, would you like to go down and take a look?"

Cecilia glanced at Igris, who was clearly already in a fighting stance, and still asked a question.

"of course."

Igris nodded, glanced at the people on the train, and said hesitantly.

"You guys probably wouldn't mind if I did something a bit outrageous, right?"

"As long as you don't string those people's heads together and carry them back, nobody will care."

"That's good."

Igris smiled, though her expression was obscured by the bandages on her face, her smile remained clear and bright.

The next moment, Igris jumped out of the car and turned to look at the several figures running towards her.

"Don't move! Put your hands up!"

From a distance, a man with a hunting rifle raised it and aimed it at Igris's body.

Igris obediently raised her hands high, and only when the group of people finally approached her was she able to turn around and look at them.

This group didn't look like experienced robbers; at least they didn't choose to cover their faces.

Their weapons were rather rudimentary; there were six people in the group, and two of them weren't even carrying any weapons.

Standing at the very back was a man holding a hunting rifle, who was also the one who spoke to Igris. He looked quite young, probably around the same age as Constantine, but compared to Igris, he didn't appear as composed.

The one charging at the front was a man carrying a revolver. He was a bit older, probably in his early thirties, and wore glasses. He had long hair and a refined air about him, and didn't look like a vicious criminal at all.