The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 136 - Case Solved

—

The train, as Shuna had mentioned, wouldn’t run for more than a day.

However…

That didn’t mean it actually needed to run for a full day!

As the sun climbed high in the sky and began its descent, the train showed no signs of slowing down or stopping. Will was starting to feel exhausted.

Thankfully, the caboose had been stocked with emergency rations—probably because of some oversight during the night departure. Otherwise, Will and Shuna might have starved on the train.

“Actually, this hard bread is pretty tasty,” Shuna said, happily munching on a piece of the tough bread.

But…

For Will, who was used to the finer foods of his privileged life, it was a bit of a struggle.

He stared at the hard bread in his hand, hesitating for a long time before finally taking a bite. Was his life as a young master in this world too comfortable?

“Hmm… don’t you need some water with that? Are you really going to eat it dry?”

“Hmm?”

Shuna suddenly handed him a cup of water.

Except…

The water looked a bit odd.

For those who could use magic, water wasn’t hard to come by. Will had often wondered where the water conjured by magic came from—probably from the moisture in the air, he figured.

Without overthinking it, he took the cup from Shuna.

And then…

“…Wait, this taste…”

A memory from his previous life was triggered.

This wasn’t like regular water. The familiar taste, combined with the hint of sugar she had somehow added, was unmistakable.

The sweetness had that unique “refreshing kick” that only the first sip could deliver.

“…Is this carbonated soda? Shuna, could it be that you’re also from that place—?!”

“From where? What are you talking about… carbon something?”

Shuna tilted her head, clearly not understanding what Will was saying.

“Eh? You don’t know what I’m talking about?”

“Hmm… if you’re asking about how I made this… hehe, it’s something I discovered by accident. A little secret technique of mine.”

Shuna picked up a bottle, grabbed a piece of limestone from the ground—common and scattered everywhere—and sealed the bottle’s opening.

Wait…

Was she about to…

“You use a controlled flame spell at about 9000 hsi to heat it.”

From a chemistry perspective, it was possible to produce carbon dioxide with high heat, but using magic to achieve the necessary temperature? And with precise data to control it?

Was this really a thing in this world?!

“You let the gas flow into the prepared sugar water, seal it for a while, and let it absorb fully. Then you get that taste. Isn’t it amazing? How is it? Tasty, right?”

Shuna didn’t seem to fully understand the science behind it. It seemed like she had stumbled upon it while experimenting.

This exploratory, trial-and-error approach that led to discoveries resembling knowledge from Will’s original world…

Reminded him of the protagonist, Hugh, from the original story.

The original work often included moments where Hugh, using real-world physics and chemistry, came up with innovative ways to approach magic. It was meant to make the story more “wow, science explains magic!” while also making Hugh stand out.

Combined with Shuna’s rare black hair—a trait almost exclusive to the protagonist—her identity was becoming increasingly suspicious…

Will found himself doubting again.

In fact, ever since meeting Shuna, he hadn’t stopped doubting.

Was it just a coincidence?

After all, Shuna seemed far too lively and cheerful, completely different from the original protagonist’s brooding, melancholic personality.

Even if this were some kind of gender-swap scenario, could someone’s personality change so drastically? If the character’s essence was entirely different, changing their gender wouldn’t matter.

If anything, the only similarity was…

Her tendency to get drunk easily, and the audacity to drag him onto a train while intoxicated.

“It’s pretty good,” Will admitted, sitting down with the hard bread. Paired with the soda-like drink, the bread was much easier to eat.

“Yay!”

“So, Shuna, do you hitch rides on trains often?”

“Ah, it’s not to save money. I have plenty of that. It’s just that this cool mode of transportation is wasted on cargo. One day, I wondered what it would feel like to ride on it, and since the destination happened to be Novice Town, I hitched a ride to try it out.”

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

“Seriously?! And… hard bread… do you eat it often?”

“Pretty often. I guess you could say I’m an orphan? I didn’t have parents, so I grew up eating hard bread with the other kids at the orphanage.”

Her tone turned a bit somber.

But…

As if worried Will might pity her too much, Shuna gave him a hearty slap on the back to cover her feelings.

“It’s no big deal. I learned to take care of myself later, and dungeon exploration is so much fun. I don’t think my life is any worse than anyone else’s.”

But in Will’s mind—

Wow, what a classic backstory. It’s almost too “protagonist-like.”

Completely different from him, a young master who at least had a father and a relatively good childhood.

In this world, orphans weren’t uncommon. Before the Hysterm family optimized dungeon exploration, it was far more dangerous, and stories of adventurers and their children perishing together were all too frequent.

That’s why organizations like the Entark charity existed to care for orphans.

If Shuna grew up in an orphanage, she probably had the surname Porlor, right?

No wonder she didn’t mention her last name during introductions. People with the surname Porlor often avoided saying it.

But…

Looking at Shuna’s carefree smile, Will couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“By the way, Shuna, I’m not doubting you, but…”

“Hmm?”

Shuna tilted her head, her black hair swaying with the motion.

“You seem… different from the person who wrote me those letters.”

Will remembered that S, in her letters, wasn’t this lively or cheerful.

She came across as someone who spoke with reason and logic, using formal titles and elegant language in her writing.

This was why Will had initially mistaken S for a reliable, middle-aged man.

In hindsight, that was a pretty baseless stereotype!

“Ah… th-this…”

Shuna seemed hesitant, scratching her head.

“Can I not answer that?”

“Hmm? Sounds like there’s a story here.”

Will was intrigued.

“If you tell me, I might treat you to dinner when we get off the train.”

“Deal! I’ll tell you—it’s your fault anyway!”

Shuna pointed at Will accusingly.

“My fault?”

“Because… when I first got your anonymous question…”

Huh? Anonymous question?

Will suddenly remembered that his correspondence with S had started a long time ago, making it feel like they’d always been friends.

But in reality, it had begun because he’d encountered a problem while training Eir and had been advised to submit an anonymous question to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Perhaps because their subsequent letters became so frequent—though still routed anonymously through the guild—Will had completely forgotten about that initial exchange.

“What about the anonymous question?”

“You…” Shuna twirled a strand of her hair, “wrote it so formally.”

“Formally?!”

Will admitted, he had forgotten about that.

It was so long ago, back when he hadn’t even attended formal schooling and was just starting to learn proper documentation in this world.

He must have taken the guild’s public anonymous question board very seriously, worried that writing too casually would get him ignored. So he had probably crafted it in a very formal, polished style.

Who would’ve thought that a casual effort back then would have such far-reaching consequences years later?

The biggest consequence being…

“…When I saw your question, I immediately figured out what your problem was. Looking back, it wasn’t even that difficult. Even Little Will could probably figure it out now, right?”

“Yeah. But I admit, my thinking was too bookish back then.”

Will took another bite of hard bread.

With Shuna’s carbonated drink, the bread wasn’t as hard to swallow.

“But your writing was so formal. It was my first time replying to something like that, so I spent an entire day carefully crafting my response, researching all sorts of formal letter-writing conventions.”

“Honestly, I spent a lot of time researching before writing that question too.”

“The more I wrote, the less casual it became. After that, all my letters were like that. Honestly… writing those letters was a pain. I probably pulled out a few strands of hair each time.”

“Well… I guess that’s kind of my fault.”

Case closed.

It turned out everything stemmed from the overly formal letter he had written at the start.

“Honestly, I… I thought you were some sheltered noblewoman. Your handwriting was so neat and elegant.”

Shuna twirled her black hair around her finger, hiding half her face behind it.

“Oh. That’s because the Hysterm family places a lot of emphasis on calligraphy. Honestly, I practiced for a long time… Wait, did you just say you thought I was a noblewoman?!”

“Uh… yeah, for a pretty long time. Three months, maybe? If it weren’t for your stationery being from the Hysterm family, and me knowing they didn’t have any women your age, I probably would’ve kept thinking that.”

“That’s it!”

“Why are you so excited?”

Looking at Shuna…

Will felt a wave of relief wash over him. His guilt over misjudging her gender had just evaporated—though, to be fair, it hadn’t been very high to begin with.

“See! We’re so connected, so alike! I mistook your gender, and you mistook mine before. We’re even now!”

He gave Shuna a hearty slap on the back.

“Do you really have to compete over something like this?!”

“Yes!”

“I feel like this could’ve been avoided if we’d just dropped the anonymity sooner.”

“You were so careful about staying anonymous. I didn’t dare dig into your identity—what if you were a wanted criminal?”

“I stayed anonymous because your initial question was anonymous!”

“So… it’s my fault again?”

…

On the speeding train, the caboose echoed with their playful banter.

Will’s restless thoughts began to settle.

It had been a long time since he’d experienced the joy of bantering so freely with a friend.

Perhaps Shuna…

Really was the friend he’d found “outside the original story.”