The Hero Should've Known Better

Chapter 7: Erter

Yesterday, Junil had been too busy contending with nausea and trying to balance herself to enjoy the view. She took a breath of fresh salty sea air, closing her eyes while doing so.

...Yeah, the novelty of sea air wore off ages ago, since she had been in the Capital for the past few months for bureaucratic reasons. Now it just smelled like dead fish to her.

Regardless, Junil was enjoying the sights as she walked towards the library. It seemed as though the city had expanded quite a fair bit ever since she was last here. There were some new, unfamiliar ports, and streets that once had mere grassland by the sides were now bustling with shops and homes.

Junil's mood was spoiled immediately when she saw a poster on the wall, advertising Fraul's aluminum.

Aluminum. The Healer was starting to get sick of the word already.

She continued walking towards the New Frontierland library. It was a particularly large building that had originally been a barracks early in the war; ever since the town grew, it first became the town hall before finally being refurbished and turned into a library.

Junil stepped up the wooden steps and pushed open the double doors into the building.

"Ronn, are you around here?" she asked, peering around. There were a few people around, but on account of it being morning it was rather empty.

As for the Hero himself, he was sitting at a table. Several books and diagrams were laid around him, along with a notebook that he was jotting down a few notes in with his charcoal pencil.

Junil walked up to him. She wasn't afraid of interrupting his studies; he called her over for a reason.

"What have you found from your all-nighter?" she asked.

Ronn dotted and crossed his last few letters before picking up the hand-sized notebook and flipping it shut.

"There is a lot of information on the Grand Elm region that I've uncovered."

"That sounds good," Junil replied.

"Almost none of it is of relevance, unfortunately."

Junil blinked.

"Then what was the point? Your message said something was urgent."

"Indeed, it is indeed time-sensitive and urgent. Here, let me show you a poster I discovered."

"Oh, please don't tell me it's about Fraul's aluminum—"

Ronn slapped a sheet of paper on the table. It was frayed at the edges, but otherwise completely legible.

Written in big, colorful block letters were the words FASTEST TRAVEL ON THE CONTINENT, superimposed over a picture of a steam engine on wheels. The bottom was captioned Frontierland Rail Company.

"I heard news of this, but I could never have guessed that they would have one ready so swiftly," Ronn stated.

Junil shifted the sheet of paper so that she could read the text on it from her angle. "What is it?"

"A rail engine. A mobile, self-powered steam engine that follows metal rails. There is one that can take us from here to Grand Elm."

"Rail engine? I've heard people talk about them before, but I don't know much about them," Junil replied. "This poster says it opens tomorrow. Gives us time to prepare for the trip."

"We will be departing as soon as possible," Ronn replied. He began to pack up his belongings, to the befuddlement of a very confused Junil.

"Right now. As in, once you're done packing your things. Five minutes from now. Despite the fact that we've prepared no supplies."