Rundel was the second-largest city in the Empire, following the Capital.
It was a major transportation hub, where all the Empire's trading companies gathered in one place.
With so many merchants flocking to Rundel, money flowed freely, and because of that, Rundel had always been prosperous.
It was only natural that Count Hellion, the Lord of Rundel, was one of the wealthiest nobles in the Empire.
But human greed knows no bounds.
The wealthier one becomes, the more they desire even greater riches.
Count Hellion was no exception.
After witnessing Amun's economic boom due to the ZTX, he smelled profit and began lobbying the Imperial Court relentlessly, visiting the palace day after day.
But this wasn't just about money.
"Why wasn't our territory included in the railway expansion plans?"
"You haven't heard? Originally, the first railway was supposed to be built in Rundel, not Amun."
"What? Then why did they build it in Amun instead of Rundel?"
"I heard the Lord himself outright rejected it."
"What!? Is that true?"
"It is. He supposedly said, 'We have magic-powered carriages. Why would we need trains?'"
"Ha! But aren't those carriages only for the nobility? Does that mean our people will never get a train?"
"Judging by the expansion map, it looks that way."
"Our Lord must have lost his mind!"
When it became known that Count Hellion had personally refused the railway, his own people turned against him.
What made matters worse was that Rundel's exclusion from the railway plans meant that the surrounding regions were also left out.
The lords of neighboring territories, who had been passive bystanders, suddenly found themselves victims of Count Hellion's mistake—and their resentment naturally turned toward him.
"Ahem, Count Hellion. I must say, I'm quite disappointed."
"We'll be canceling our salt trade agreement."
"Wait, what? But why all of a sudden—!"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because we were suddenly excluded from the railway plans? It's quite upsetting."
"…!"
With both public opinion and political relations collapsing, Count Hellion panicked.
He had to secure a ZTX station in Rundel—at all costs.
So, in the end, he swallowed his pride and headed to the White Tower.
'I must bring the ZTX to Rundel!'
Fully prepared for negotiation, Count Hellion was greeted by a well-dressed young man.
But he wasn't foolish enough to underestimate him for his youth.
'This is the Sage of Gluttony.'
The man who had introduced processed foods to the Empire.
The brilliant mind behind the ZTX.
Just as he had expected, the conversation immediately turned against him.
"Didn't you say that Rundel had no need for a train?"
"…I miscalculated."
"I see. Unfortunately, Rundel is not included in the railway expansion plans."
"Would it be possible to revise the plans?"
"Hmm, I'd love to help, but…"
Yuri scratched his cheek, looking troubled.
"As you know, the plans have already been submitted to the Imperial Court. I can't just change them on a whim."
"..."
Count Hellion's cheek twitched.
Yuri's expression left no doubt—he had zero intention of accommodating him.
"What… what would it take to modify the plans?"
"Hmm… I can't say for certain, but…"
Yuri sighed, as if reluctant.
"If you were to provide financial support for the railway construction, perhaps the Second Princess might reconsider."
"Financial support?"
"Yes. Revising a national project requires justification. That level of commitment might convince Her Highness."
Count Hellion was annoyed at the implication that he needed to pay for something that should've been granted freely.
But he couldn't openly protest—
Because it was Yuri, not him, who held the leverage.
"How much support would the Second Princess consider sufficient?"
"Hmm… I'd estimate about three million gold."
"Th-Three million gold!?"
Count Hellion's jaw dropped.
Even with his vast wealth, three million gold was not an amount he could casually agree to.
But Yuri's expression remained unchanged.
As if this outrageous demand was nothing special.
"You see, when you initially rejected the ZTX, the Imperial Court withdrew all funding for Rundel's railway."
"If you truly want a railway, you'll have to fund it yourself."
"Or… you could simply wait until the next phase of Imperial funding."
"And how long would that take?"
"Hmm… About ten years, I'd say."
"T-Ten years!?"
"Yes. Given the current expansion plans, it would take at least that long before we reach Rundel."
In other words—Rundel wouldn't get a railway for a decade unless he paid for it himself.
"B-But three million gold is…"
"If it's too much, you could wait for the next expansion phase—"
"Fine!"
"Pardon?"
"I'll invest the three million gold!"
Count Hellion squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
He had no choice.
If he didn't act now, the next ten years would be a nightmare.
His citizens would turn against him, and the neighboring lords who had also been excluded would ostracize him completely.
"You've made the right choice."
Yuri smiled and presented a document.
A contract stating that Count Hellion would provide three million gold in unconditional funding for the railway expansion.
'He prepared this in advance.'
Realizing too late that he had been played, Count Hellion's face darkened.
But there was nothing he could do now.
"Just sign here."
"...Fine."
As Count Hellion signed the contract, his face looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
*
While I was securing funding for the railway construction from Count Hellion, the number of train passengers continued to increase daily.
And with more people, problems were bound to arise.
"Senior, the number of injured passengers is increasing again."
"On the train?"
"Yes."
"It's not because of monsters, right?"
"You already know—monsters can't approach the tracks."
"Yeah, I know. I was just hoping that was the case."
I clicked my tongue in frustration.
If monsters were the cause of the injuries, the solution would be simple.
But conflicts among passengers?
That was a completely different and much trickier issue to resolve.
Especially in this otherworld, where pride was something, people were willing to risk their lives for.
If pride was the only issue, it might still be manageable.
But the passengers on ZTX included not only ordinary citizens but also knights carrying swords, mages, and beastfolk.
If a fight broke out inside the train, it would descend into absolute chaos—a nightmare even I couldn't control.
Fortunately, however, the cause of these conflicts was simple.
"They fought over food again?"
"Yes. And the number of fights over smoking has also increased."
"..."
Food inside a closed train means strong smells.
Passengers were bringing in foods like ramen and fried chicken, which had overpowering aromas, and arguments were constantly breaking out because of it.
Beastfolk, with their highly sensitive sense of smell, hated strong food scents outside of designated meal times.
At the same time, smoking was something elves despised.
Banning smoking altogether would likely result in a public backlash.
Unlike in my previous life, where smoking bans were common, in the Empire, smoking was still the norm.
People smoked even while eating at restaurants, after all.
'I might need to create separate compartments for different species.'
Or at the very least, a smoking-only car.
Regardless, the solution was simple.
"Let's ban passengers from bringing outside food into the train."
"But it's a two-hour trip. You're going to ban food?"
"If fights are breaking out over food, then yes."
If food smells were causing conflicts, then banning food would eliminate those conflicts.
"But people will get hungry if they can't eat for two hours. We operate during lunchtime too."
"Who said they can't eat? We're just banning outside food."
"…That's the same thing."
Aria looked at me, blinking in confusion, before her eyes suddenly widened.
"Wait, are you planning to sell food on the train?"
"Of course. We should be the ones selling it."
Currently, not all passengers were bringing our White Tower's food onto the train.
Several trading companies had started copying our processed food products, meaning that only around 70% of train passengers were choosing our products.
I saw an opportunity—to control that missing 30% while also eliminating conflicts.
Hearing my plan, Aria muttered:
"That would definitely stop the fights."
"Right?"
"Yeah. And it'll let you monopolize the market too."
"That's just a bonus."
My plan was simple.
To bring back the long-lost tradition of the 'train food trolley'.
***
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