Advent of the Three Calamities

Arten Myron, the current head of the Myron Household, strode down the long, narrow corridor of his estate, his footsteps echoing, accompanied by a steady rhythm of others trailing behind him.

His gaze lingered on the dimly lit corridors, where the flickering candles and torches cast a dim glow around. His expression fell as he noticed the faint cracks spreading across the walls of the estate.

'Just how far have we fallen?'

It wasn't long ago when the estate was thriving.

The walls were impeccably maintained and polished, and the corridors were brightly lit, rendering candles and torches unnecessary.

Not only that but looking out the window, Arten closed his eyes.

...And most importantly, the people weren't suffering so much.

'How could everything fall to this extent? How could...!'

Arten took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He knew very well the reason why everything had turned out like this.

They were the cause of it all-the collapse in trade, and the complete withdrawal of their forces from Eastern Kasha. Without their powers, the monsters flooded into the cities, leaving many with no choice but to flee or face death.

The responsibility of protecting the main city-Roana-in the Eastern Kasha fell to the major Households. They did their best, and at first, they managed to fend off the attacks. However, the entire ordeal proved to be costly.

Resources needed to be used in order to heal the troops, but this was the Kasha.

There was only so much they could provide.

In the end, with the lack of resources, the troops were forced to retreat.

While they hadn't collapsed just yet, they were on the verge of collapse. It was for this reason that Arten could only greet the guests for a brief moment. He had to quickly get out to help the troops fend off the monsters.

...Or at least, that used to be the case.

That was until the House of Astrid changed. The House of Astrid had never been one to command over the others. They were arrogant, but they never crossed the line.

...At least, until recently.

Overnight, everyone suddenly changed.

The change was significant, and it was what created the entire chaos within the Eastern Kasha.

"Um, family head..."

As Arten rounded a corner, he heard the voice of one of his vassals.

"Yes?"

It was his right-hand man, Lauren Myron; his second cousin.

Standing a few feet shorter and with a rather bulky build, Lauren had to raise his head in order to look at the Family Head.

"About the guests, why did you act the way that you did?"

"Are you talking about the part where I mistook one of the cadets for a Professor?"

"...Yes."

Lauren nodded.

This had indeed been troubling him for quite a bit. He was confused about why the Family Head would make such a mistake.

Realizing the other vassals were similarly confused, Arten smiled.

"Ah, that was on purpose."

While the disguises were quite well-crafted, making it hard for him to see through them, he could tell who was who through their general power. After reaching a certain level, one could make a general assessment of someone's strength from the mana that flowed out of their body.

There were a few that stood out immediately to Arten, but in particular, one stood out to him the most.

Not because of his power, but because of something else.

His mana...

'Pure.'

It was some of the purest he had ever seen.

"I approached him after getting curious about him. I just wanted to get a better look at this cadet. He intrigued me quite a bit when I looked at him."

He was a rare talent.

...Not just him, but the others too.

'Compared to the talents of those in the House Astrid, I wonder who's better.'

He only got a small feel through the handshake, but that was still not enough for him to tell.

"What did you feel from the cadet?"

"...What did I feel?"

Arten thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Barely anything."

"Eh?"

Staring at his own hand, Arten shook his head.

"...I felt barely anything."

"Wha... What?"

Shifting his focus away from his hand, he shrugged his shoulders.

"There are times when I can be wrong, and those times are usually rare. However, there have been a few times when I have been wrong."

What was 'talent'?

In Arten's eyes, it was the rate at which one absorbed mana. But was that really the case? In Julien's case, his rate of absorption seemed abysmal.

And yet... he stood out amongst his peers.

Surely there was no way he was untalented. How could someone untalented be so strong?

That was why Arten believed he was wrong.

Because there was no way someone so untalented could be so strong.

'Well, that is unless he is desperate enough to push his body to the limit. Perhaps then...'

"Hee."

Chuckling, Arten shook his head.

"I was merely curious. Whether I'm wrong or right we'll figure out soon enough. For now, we

Have more important matters to attend."

Taking a step forward, his smile faded and his expression hardened.

'....I hope everything flows smoothly. We can't afford a single hiccup.'

***

A crimson veil draped over the somber gray sky, casting a faint shadow on the land beneath. Piercing through the red haze was a towering black pillar, its jagged form stretching upwards before splintering into countless branches.

Rustle~

Beneath the looming tree stood a tall woman with long brown hair and piercing deep brown eyes. Clad in a sharp red blazer and matching pants, her striking presence clashed starkly with

The desolate, lifeless surroundings.

As her hair fluttered, she looked up at the sky.

"What a suffocating sky."

It was vastly different from the blue sky of the Empire.

....It was almost disgusting.

She reached her hand forward, and the tree bent toward her, its leaves softly brushing against

Her fingertips as if in recognition.

A subtle smile played on her lips as she withdrew her hand, her eyes scanning her

Surroundings with a quiet, yet terrifying intensity.

"Hierk!"

"Hueek-!"

Surrounding her from all sides were monsters of all sorts of proportions, their hollow eyes

And expression focused on the distant city of Roana, the capital of the Eastern Kasha.

In particular, her eyes fell on the enormous golden palace in the distance.

"Soon."

She mumbled,

"...Soon."

Withdrawing her gaze, she reached for her breast pocket and retrieved a photo.

In there, her smile grew.

"How many years has it been...?"

She mumbled to herself, focusing on the tall figure within the picture.

Thinking of him, her smile grew cold.

"...How are the children? Are they-No, what a stupid question."

Her hand clenched tightly as the photo crumbled under her grasp.

"If it's you, I'm sure they're living in hell. After all, you'd do anything to get back at me."

Swoosh!

Setting the image ablaze, a faint purple circle appeared on her right forearm.

Nocturne Order; High Seat - Seraphina Dorne Evenus.

***

"Ukh!"

"Kekekeke."

"Pftt-"

Julien gripped his broom tightly and began sweeping with uneven and forced strokes.

'Should I just use Emotive Magic again? What if I just make them laugh at my own jokes? No, that

Wouldn't work since they'd laugh without using my powers anyway...'

Leon walked up next to Julien and refilled the water in the bucket. At the same time, he respectfully lowered his head.

"Professor, I've just replaced the water."

Kiera, who was standing not far from Leon, walked over with a frown. She looked annoyed. Is

She coming to help me? Julien thought, his brows relaxing faintly.

"Oy, you're speaking too loud. Keep your noise level to a bearable amount."

She went on to point at Julien.

"That's disrespectful to the Professor."

"Oh, I see-huek."

Julien raised his broom and swung it at them. Swoosh, swoosh-! They both easily avoided

His attacks while laughing together, 'Kakaka', 'Kokoko'.

Kokoko?

Sighing to himself, Julien raised his head and looked up at the ceiling of the long corridor.

'Why do I have to deal with such children? What did I do to deserve this?'

"You guys are so immature."

There was at least one person with some sense.

Wiping one of the windows, Evelyn shook her head while looking in our direction.

"We're supposed to be servants. We can't mess around unless you want our identities to be

Exposed." "You're right."

"Ah, shit."

When both Kiera and Leon settled down, Evelyn nodded her head and looked at Julien.

"Don't take them too seriously. Leon is usually mature but when she's around Kiera he tends

To become immature himself. You can't really blame him. He's still a teen, Professor-

Puahh!"

Halfway through her sentence, Evelyn covered her mouth and burst out laughing.

"Even you..."

"Ah, sorry. It just slipped. I didn't mean to... huahahaha."

Holding onto her stomach, Evelyn started to hunch over.

She started to feel pain. Julien's mind went into a dark place at that moment.

He started to think of all sorts of ways to hurt them. Eventually, however, he was able to settle

Down.

Lowering his head, Julien decided to ignore all the outside noise. At some point, he was able to do so. Even when Kiera, Leon, Evelyn, and the others were messing in the background,

Julien looked completely and utterly disinterested as he moved to one of the nearby windows

And started to wipe the glass.

As he started to wipe, Julien caught sight of his own reflection.

The cloth in his hand scrunched up as he tightened his grip over it.

'How am I the only one like this? There must be some conspiracy behind this.'

Could it be that Leon found out about his real identity?

No, Julien shook his head. He was sure Leon would do worse if he really did know about his

Identity. There was certainly something else at play in this situation.

But who?

Delilah? No, why would she...?

'It can't be that she-No, that's ridiculous.'

Julien quickly shook his head and stopped dwelling over it.

Settling his gaze towards the outside world, his expression changed subtly.

How could he describe the world outside?

Grim? Desolate? Colorless?

...The cobblestone streets were mostly empty, and those that did appear were all in rags. Their

Faces were sunken, and their bodies were extremely frail. One could easily tell that they hadn't eaten in a long time from their conditions.

'Just how bad is the situation over here for it to reach such extreme?'

The outside was completely different from the mansion that they were in. The mansion alone

Stood taller than most of the buildings outside, with it being one of the only few buildings

That provided a source of light.

This created a striking contrast against the somber grey sky, with the red sun casting a dim,

Filtered light over the small buildings below.

But even then, it was still nothing compared to the massive palace that stood at the far end of

The city.

It was so grand and bright that it was even visible from where Julien was.

The building stood out with its towering white pillars, a semi-domed roof gleaming in gold,

And lights cascading around it. It exuded an air of unmistakable luxury. Although Julien didn't know the details, based on everything he'd heard, he could make an

Educated guess about who the palace belonged to. "That must be where the House of Astrid is located.'

The most powerful and intimidating power within the Easter Kasha.

"Woo~"

Whistling under his breath, a figure appeared before Julien

'Have a look at the Palace. Do you notice anything strange about it?'

'Anything strange?'

Owl-Mighty looked in the direction of the Palace and shortly after shook his head.

'No, nothing. I might be able to if I can get closer.'

'Okay.'

Clank-

Julien opened the window, wincing as the dry, arid air from the outside world hit him. Owl-

Mighty hopped off Julien's hand and flew out from the window as Julien hastily closed it back.

Or tried to.

"Uh?"

Right as he was about to close the window, he stopped.

Looking down towards the streets, his expression changed abruptly.

"What the...!"

His face fell the moment he spotted the familiar figure.

Standing in front of a group of children, he held a tray filled with food.

Julien's face fell almost immediately.

"...This might be mad."

Less than an hour into their expedition, one of their group had already broken one of the rules

Of the place.