SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant

Trafalgar stayed there for a moment, studying the man in front of him from top to bottom.

He recognized him thanks to the game.

Eldric au Veyr.

One of the ten legendary characters, and a strong one at that. He was not flashy in the way most people expected from legendary characters, but Trafalgar remembered enough to know that the man was dangerous in a different way. The Calamity Cartographer was not someone who needed to destroy half a battlefield to prove his worth.

Trafalgar extended his hand toward him.

”Trafalgar du Morgain. A pleasure, Eldric au Veyr.”

Eldric did not look surprised that Trafalgar knew his name. He accepted the handshake with a firm grip and returned it without unnecessary reaction, his pale gray eyes moving briefly over Trafalgar’s bloodied clothes before returning to his face.

”Eldric au Veyr,” he replied. ”Though it seems that part was unnecessary.”

Trafalgar’s mouth shifted faintly.

”I know a few names.”

”So I see.”

Eldric released his hand and turned his attention toward the damaged cargo wagon, the dead attackers, the wounded guards, and Merisse, who had already been restrained by the Wardens. She was alive, bound, and no longer in a position to fill the wagon with wires and explosives.

”Well,” Eldric said, ”thank you for taking care of this. We will handle Merisse and the rest of the matter from here.”

Trafalgar glanced toward Merisse for a brief moment before looking back at him.

”I did not expect the First Concord to intervene in something like this. I am not saying it is bad. I appreciate that you came.”

Eldric answered without making the matter larger than it needed to be.

”From what I can see, our presence may not have been necessary to end the immediate fight. You were already doing that.” His eyes moved over the wagon again. ”But this is within our authority. We do not deal only with Void Creatures. The Wardens exist to protect people who do not have the backing of a powerful house, and this train was attacked in neutral territory under Council regulation.”

Trafalgar nodded.

”That makes sense.”

”It should. If it did not, this project would have failed before leaving the Council chamber.” Eldric’s attention returned to him. ”Can you tell me what happened here?”

”Yes.”

Trafalgar began explaining.

He did not dress it up more than necessary. The gas. The explosion. The attackers moving through the passenger cars. The fact that they had come for the cargo. Merisse leading them. The sealed case and the blueprints. He explained enough for Eldric to understand the shape of the incident, while the Calamity Cartographer listened without interrupting.

His expression barely changed, but the pale lines of magic around him shifted as Trafalgar spoke, adjusting over the damaged seal, the broken floor, the bodies, the cargo frames, and the places where Merisse had hidden traps.

While Trafalgar spoke with Eldric, Garrika was in another wagon.

From where she stood, she could see part of the cargo section through the open passage ahead. Trafalgar was there, talking with Eldric, covered in blood and standing as if the entire disaster had been something he had simply walked through because it was in his way.

She did not go to him.

She stayed where she was and helped the others.

Saaren was moving from passenger to passenger, checking if the sleeping gas had left any lasting effects. Many were already waking up without serious problems, coughing, confused, frightened, but alive. That was good. Better than the alternative the attackers had clearly been willing to leave behind.

Garrika helped one woman sit against the wall and handed a cloth to a man whose nose had started bleeding after he woke. Her hands were busy, and that helped. If her hands stopped, her eyes kept drifting toward the cargo wagon.

Narak was already working with train engineers and alchemists to repair the damage. The dwarf had taken control of the nearest damaged section with no concern for who outranked whom. He argued with one engineer, cursed at an exposed mana conduit, and started correcting the damage himself when the answer he received was too slow.

The event still had to happen, late or not.

That much everyone seemed to understand. The train was damaged, the route delayed, people had died, but Aurevane and the Grand Alchemical Conclave would not stop over one attack if the train could move again.

So they worked.

Ilyra had been watching Garrika for a while.

With the focusing lens over one eye, she could read the direction of someone’s attention far too easily thanks to her class. Garrika had already learned that this woman noticed things other people missed, and worse, enjoyed mentioning them.

Ilyra leaned her rifle against her shoulder and spoke with clear amusement.

09:36

”You have been looking at the Morgain boy for a while.”

Garrika stiffened.

She had not expected Ilyra to bring up Trafalgar now. Not here, not in the middle of wounded passengers, sleeping gas, blood, and the train groaning around them.

”Oh...” Garrika said, turning back toward the passenger in front of her. ”He caught my attention.”

”I see why.” Ilyra tilted her head toward the cargo section. ”Strong, handsome, already covered in blood. If you look at it that way, he does have a certain appeal. And that face is not exactly hard to look at either. Now I understand why you were distracted.”

Garrika did not answer.

She kept helping the passengers.

Ilyra did not take the hint.

”Hm. Maybe I should go talk to him.”

”No.”

The word came out too quickly.

Ilyra’s smile widened at once.

”Oh? That surprised me. Why don’t you want me to go? Do you know him? Maybe you two are friends?”

”Something like that,” Garrika said after a short pause. ”He saved my life some time ago. We know each other, and we are quite close.”

That only made Ilyra more interested.

She lifted one hand as if she was about to call out.

Garrika moved immediately and covered Ilyra’s mouth with her hand.

”Don’t do it,” she whispered.

Ilyra looked genuinely delighted by the reaction. She pulled Garrika’s hand away and lowered her voice, curiosity written all over her face.

”Tell me why, and I won’t. If you know each other, why don’t you want to see him? It has been a while, right? Eldric has been working us like beasts for almost three months.”

Garrika sighed.

She did not want to tell her, but Ilyra looked exactly like the sort of person who would cause a problem out of curiosity if left unsatisfied.

”I confessed to him.”

Ilyra’s expression shifted.

Garrika kept going before she could make it worse.

”But I am not strong enough yet. I told him to wait. I told him I do not want his answer until I can stand closer to him properly. So I do not want him to see me yet.”

Ilyra stared at her for a moment.

Then she grinned.

”You have big ovaries, girl. Saying something like that to an heir of the Eight Great Families is not small. Are you sure he will answer the way you want? He probably has girls circling him already, and I would not be surprised if he had hundreds of women interested in him just because of his surname.”

”I do not care about that,” Garrika said. ”That is why I do not want him to see me now.”

Ilyra studied her, still far too amused.

”Fine. If that is what you want.” She glanced behind Garrika and added, ”Too late, though. He is behind you.”

Garrika turned immediately.

There was no one there.

Ilyra laughed.

Garrika grabbed her into a lock before the laugh could fully leave her mouth. Ilyra tapped out almost at once, still laughing despite the pressure.

”Alright, alright. I yield.”

”Don’t do that again.”

”I will consider becoming a better person.”

”That means nothing.”

”Exactly.”

Back in the cargo wagon, Trafalgar finished explaining what had happened.

Eldric gave a small nod, and the pale lines around the damaged seal folded inward before fading like dust in the air.

Before either of them could continue, footsteps came from the corridor.

Selara entered the cargo wagon.

Her mana firearm was in one hand, her clothes were still mostly intact, and whatever elegance she had begun the journey with had clearly suffered during the attack. Her hair had loosened, one sleeve was scorched, and her expression made it obvious that whoever had planned this day had earned her full dislike.

Her eyes found Merisse.

Merisse, restrained against the cargo frame, lifted her head and smiled.

”Hello, Selara.”