Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 697: Undercurrents [1]

’I shouldn’t take my time leaving this place. I’ve already overstayed my welcome.’

Coming out of the dorms, I looked at the all-too-familiar scenery in front of me. It had been a while since I had seen it, and I had grown to miss it a little. At the very least, the fresh air here was a lot better than the dry and arid air of the Mirror Dimension.

’…Yeah, I don’t want to do another trip as long as this one in the Mirror Dimension again. I can also see why people lose it when they stay there for too long.’

The place was simply not something humans were meant to live in.

While some cities thrived, the general living conditions for most people were poor.

It wasn’t something that I’d be able to endure for more than a year. The fact that An’as and Anne were still able to live there was impressive. But it wasn’t without its own sacrifices.

“Well, enough with that.”

Having gotten everything that I needed from the dorms, it was time for me to leave.

The next destination was the Evenus household, where my brother was.

’I wonder how he’s doing.’

The two of us needed to talk a lot.

That bastard…

How could he be so vague?

Shaking my head, I had just taken a step forward when I felt a certain wiggling sensation coming from my sleeve. Looking down, a small crab emerged from my sleeve.

“Wobbles…”

Looking at the crab, I didn’t know how to feel.

“This place feels weird. I didn’t make the wrong decision.”

Staring at the distant sun, Wobbles closed its eyes and started to bathe in it.

’Honestly, I’m surprised Wobbles decided to come with me.’

But then again, this was primarily due to Owl-Mighty and Pebble putting weird ideas into the poor crab’s mind. I didn’t know what they said, but the moment I was about to leave with Delilah and the others, the crab insisted on following me.

Obviously, I wasn’t going to reject such an offer, and I agreed.

’Now not only do I have Owl-Mighty, but I also have Wobbles as a Destroyer-Ranked support.’

Their presence was also the main reason why I had to leave.

While most people wouldn’t be able to detect them, if someone were strong enough, they’d be able to detect them almost immediately.

“Hoo.”

Taking a deep breath and feeling the scorching heat that descended from above, I looked around, and before I knew it, I was now standing by the entrance of the Academy.

People flocked in and out, most likely trying to get a peek at the third years.

It was chaotic and loud.

But…

There was a certain charm to it that I couldn’t help but smile at.

Staring at the Academy gates for the last time, I turned around and left.

Goodbye, Haven.

*

“Ukgh!”

Groaning, I fixed my back while trying my best to maintain my posture.

Trrrr!

But that was easier said than done. Feeling the carriage bumping even more ferociously from before, I opened the window and peeked out.

“How long until we get there? And… Can’t you drive a bit slower?”

“We’re almost there. Bear with it for a little longer!”

Hearing the coachman’s reply, I almost cursed at him. This was the tenth time that he had said the same thing.

The journey to the Evenus Household wasn’t easy.

First, I had to take the train to Lens, and then switch to another line before taking a carriage that went directly to the main estate.

This was at least a couple of days’ worth of travel.

I could already practically feel my back screaming out for help.

“Shit. Next time, I’ll just get someone to teleport me here. This is too much. Forget about the mo—”

“We’ve arrived!”

Following the coachman’s voice, the carriage came to a halt, and I didn’t waste a single second and opened the carriage, tossing a bag of coins to the coachman before looking at the estate in the distance.

“Eh…?”

I had half-expected the estate to look even grander than before, but instead, I was stunned to find it in a state of decay. The fountain at the entrance had long stopped flowing, its basin cracked and dry. The once-vibrant plants were wilted, their once-vibrant colors completely gone.

Not only that, but the butlers and guards who once kept the estate pristine were nowhere to be seen.

As I looked around, the place felt abandoned, eerily quiet, and empty.

“What the hell…?”

“You look confused.”

It was the coachman’s voice that brought me out of my shock. Slowly turning my head, I saw him sigh while looking at the estate.

“The place was much different in the past. Not even that far in the past. Just half a year ago, this place was thriving. With the emergence of the Twin—”

“Ehm!”

I coughed and looked back at the coachman, who looked at me weirdly.

“As I was saying, with the emergence of the Twin—”

“Ehm! Ehm!”

“Are you okay?”

“I am… fine. Just tired from the trip.”

Coughing again, I asked.

“I get that the place was once thriving, but why is it like this? Did something happen?”

“Hmm, it looks like you really don’t know.”

The coachman sighed and shook his head.

“…Just a lot of bad financial decisions, pressure from outer nobles who wanted a slice of the pie, and the sudden revelation regarding Prince Leon.”

“O-oh.”

My stomach was now rumbling.

Prince Leon?

I really felt like throwing up.

“I… I see.”

“The Evenus Household was simply growing too quickly and was too greedy. In the end, you can only blame the family head for them being in this state.”

Shaking his head again, the coachman whipped the horse’s leashes and slowly turned the carriage around.

“Young man, I don’t know what sort of business you might have with the Evenus Household, but I advise you to stay far away from them. They’re a sinking ship.”

And with such words, the carriage started to move, fading into the distance as I stood in the same spot for a good while.

Sinking ship?

I smiled, shaking my head as I recalled a certain conversation I once had with ’Aldric’.

“Far from it.”

Moving ahead, I entered the mansion. Given that there was no one inside, I didn’t even bother hiding my presence as I just walked in.

’As expected, it’s empty inside.’

Looking around, I moved onto the second floor and stopped before a particular office.

I was just about to raise my hand to knock when a soft voice echoed from behind.

“Come in.”

Clank!

I didn’t stand in ceremony and opened the door.

Waiting for me in the office, with his back facing my direction and his gaze directed towards the large window that displayed the scenery outside, Noel slowly turned his head, a thin smile spread across his lips as he looked at me.

“…It took you a while.”

Opening my mouth, I closed it shortly after as I found a sofa and sat down.

“Yes, it did. And whose fault do you think it is?”

Noel merely smiled and similarly sat down, pressing both elbows against the desk and leaning his chin over his bridged fingers.

“…I don’t know.”

He feigned ignorance at first, but then…

“You should probably ask my brother. I learned it from him. Even now, I still don’t know what he’s planning.”

My face froze, and I found myself unable to retort.

’Fuck. He got me good.’

The fact that I also didn’t know made the situation even worse.

Thankfully, now that I had collected all of the relics, I could start the process of remembering everything. At least, that was what Noel told me.

’No, wait… I still need to get the Chalice from Leon.’

That’d be a bit troublesome to get.

“Oh, right.”

Recalling the state that the estate was in, I glanced at Noel.

“I assume that you’re about to start soon?”

Noel smiled.

“…Mhm, I am. You’re just in time.”

Leaning back against his chair, Noel’s eyes glinted with a certain coldness that felt completely unfamiliar from the warm expression he had been wearing a few moments prior. It made me straighten my back for a short moment.

“The movements around the household have started to grow more rampant. It won’t be long before the other noble houses around will start trying to take over the land. I’ve gradually made the guards and people working for the estate run away from this place in order to make it seem that we’re facing difficult times.”

“Right.”

This was something he had previously filled me in on.

The Evenus Household was far from poor. Following the trade agreement with the Kasha, we were actually extremely rich. However, in order to enact his plan, Noel had the Verlice family directly take their side of the trade.

A lot of the profits that they made were secretly passed over to us so that Noel could secretly build a force strong enough to completely take over the several noble houses that were planning on taking over.

“I’ve accumulated enough wealth and power to directly swallow everything in the vicinity without bloating our estate.”

Noel’s voice quietly drifted across the office as he slowly stood up, his hand pressing against the table.

“We’ll make it extremely swift. So swift that no one will see it coming. By the time we’ve swallowed everything up, it’ll be too late for the Empire to react. We’ll have enough land to directly rival the Duchies, while also posing enough threat to the Empire that they’d be forced to do something.”

Listening to this part, I frowned.

“…Wouldn’t that be a bad thing? I get taking over a bunch of nobles, but directly confronting the Megrail family? What are you planning?”

Looking at me, Noel smiled.

“Emmet… Brother.”

Noel pulled his hand away from the desk while looking towards the outer court of the estate.

“Do you really think I don’t know this?”

“…Well, yeah.”

I knew Noel wasn’t stupid enough not to know this.

I was just trying to figure out what he was thinking. But each time I saw him, it became harder to read him, like he was slipping further behind some invisible wall I couldn’t break through.

“Toren will soon try to absorb your blood.”

I pursed my lips.

“I se—”

“He will fail.”

“Huh?”

I blinked my eyes slowly, looking at Noel, whose face grew so dark that he almost looked like an entirely different person.

“That’s when I’ll do it.”

He breathed out slowly.

“…I’ll kill the Emperor.”

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