Chapter 160 – The Phantom Route!

Gеtting off the trасks frоm thе stаtion sure gets уоu exсited with this sensе оf thе ехtrаordinarу.

After аll, thаt’s normаllу соnsidеred bаd behаvior, right?

“Whoа—Irа’s gоnnа jump down аnd her skirt might fliр up and get sеnsitivе, so catch mе—!”

“Glаdly.”

Mr. Sudou, who had аlrеady gotten down first, liftеd Littlе Ira by hеr sides with bоth hаnds аnd gеntly lowered hеr.

The strеаm hаd alreаdу stаrted, and thе listeners wеre getting hypеd wаtching this scеnе.

※’Thе way shе’s being handled likе a littlе girl lоl’ ‘Even though it’s just uncles аnd unclеs’ ‘Littlе Irа is aсtually рrеttу tiny evеn amоng асtivе humаnoid strеаmеrs’ ‘Little Sрiсe is small too, huh’ ‘When Mr. Sudou stands next to those two, he totally looks like a guardian lol’

By the way, among these three, Mr. Sudou is actually the youngest.

He just has an unusually straight posture and a low, pleasant voice.

He’s a bit too young to really call an “uncle.”

It’s like… among vehicle-themed streamers, there are always some who are oddly composed for their age.

“We have received permission from NR to descend onto the tracks like this. However, this is a special exception, so please do not imitate us. If you do, you may not only cause train delays and schedule disruptions but also be liable for damages.”

※’Whoa! Mr. Sudou’s serious explanation is here!’ ‘A flavor you can only find on this person’s stream’

There really are some niche listeners!

Now then, this station has a moderate number of passengers, but it became a single-track line a little while ago.

Yet, occasionally after the last train, people have reported seeing trains run in and enter non-existent routes.

“It’s a ghost story—!”

“Totally. As two little girls, that’s scary—!”

“Originally, Dungeons are said to be Mutations of ghost stories and occult spots. So, this abandoned line Dungeon might be following that traditional foundation.”

“It’s so convenient having Mr. Sudou around to explain things.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s kind of like a habit by now.”

“Can’t help it if it’s occupational, right?”

The three uncles laughed together, “Hahaha.”

And then, although it looked like there was nothing in front of them…

The moment they took a step forward, the ground beneath their feet changed from gravel to rails and sleepers.

“The rails are rusted. Looks like they’ve been left untouched for days and days—”

“The top of the rails is shiny. This means trains have been running over them, wearing them down.”

※’With Mr. Sudou here, the clarity is amazing’ ‘He’s the explaining uncle lol’ ‘This commentator is seriously strong lol’

Taking such a Mr. Sudou along into the railway Dungeon…

Wait, Little Ira is hiding in Mr. Sudou’s shadow and not getting any attention!

For the record, Little Ira is being Little Ira, pulling up grass growing from the gravel and poking at tiny monsters peeking out from nearby bushes with her sickle.

Wow, her mannerisms are totally like a little girl’s!

“Well, when you get to Ira’s level, her little girl emulation is perfect.”

“Veterans are amazing, huh.”

While they were talking like that, a puuun whistle sounded from ahead.

A train is charging toward them!

Mr. Sudou calmly fiddled with his smartphone, then sharply glared ahead.

“There are no trains scheduled to enter this route at this time. In other words, this can be called a ghost train. Of course, this excludes any schedule irregularities. By the way, I have another route’s emulator installed on my A-Phone for this very purpose.”

“I don’t really get the high-level talk, but it’s an enemy, right!”

“Let’s keep it simple—! Hyah—!”

Little Ira dashes toward the train monster!

Black flames swirl around her, forming something like a Tornado.

This clashes with the train.

Whoa—, an incredible screeching brake sound!

Screeeech— it pierces the ears.

※’Gwaaaaah’ ‘My ears are gone’ ‘I don’t want such an unhappy headphone attack—’

Sorry, listeners—.

Alright, Spice will counterattack too.

Mr. Sudou is next to him, summoning trains and crashing them into the monster train.

They seem to be phantoms of trains that ran here in the past.

While he buys us time…!

“Swirling spiral, twist the sky and blast away! Spiral!”

Spice dashes in and gives the monster train a light tap.

From there, Spiral activates.

The monster train, twisted along with the space around it, clatter! flips over sideways.

※’Whooooooa!!’ ‘That wasn’t Defensive Magic!?’ ‘Magic really depends on how you use it, huh!’

Really!

The monster train doesn’t give up even when knocked down. From the windows, from the doors, zombie-like passengers go “Uboah—” and pour out.

It’s a mop-up battle against these guys—!

Spice throws a high-power Fireball with an Incantation!

Kaboom! Sends a bunch flying.

Little Ira is neatly cutting down the ones approaching with her sickle.

Mr. Sudou seems to be waiting for the next train’s timing.

“These are likely the residual thoughts of the people who used to return home on this train.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. This abandoned line was originally a route for down trains. In other words, it was the train people took home after finishing work in the city center, exhausted. Those thoughts… probably something like nostalgia gave birth to this Dungeon and the monster train. So far, there has been no harm caused at all. There might even be a gentle way of existing for Dungeons.”

“He explained it all in one go without stumbling! Amazing.”

“Really amazing, huh. There are uncles and aunties who get Charmed by this way of talking and register without being interested in other Streamers.”

It definitely seems to appeal to older folks!

Finally, the limited express train Mr. Sudou summoned sent the monster train flying, ending the battle.

For the record, this limited express also seems to be a train that ran here until the early 2000s.

“I asked for assistance from the same kind of existence. Well, it’s something like a summoning Art.”

“Just what are you, Mr. Sudou?”

※’Seriously lol’ ‘I was expecting a little girl collab, but it got taken over by a railway commentary streamer lol’ ‘What even is this stream lol’

Well, after this, Spice and Little Ira will be patrolling the neighborhood, so look forward to it!