Advent of the Three Calamities - Chapter 789: A Reunion [2]
Chapter 789: A Reunion [2]
“Tell me why we’re headed over here? We’ve been traveling for quite some time. Don’t you have a dragon? Why can’t we use your dragon? I’m sure we would’ve arrived way faster.”
Nag. Nag. Nag. Nag.
That was all I heard throughout the entire journey to the Remnant South. It was just an endless amount of nagging coming from Leon, Aoife, Kiera, and Evelyn. The four of them just nagged the entire time.
It was to the point where I just felt like leaving them and running away.
Thankfully for them, I had the patience of a saint.
I just smiled and ignored all of them.
‘I can’t believe they followed me.’
The one I was most surprised about was Aoife. She was supposed to be the Princess of an Empire. The competition for the throne was also at its climax. I didn’t think that her coming with me was the best decision.
Despite this, she still insisted on coming, saying things like, ‘My presence isn’t required for now. Most of my people can handle most of the stuff for the time that I’ll be gone. If anything does happen, I can always receive messages from them. What do you think of the Royal Family? Do you think we don’t have stuff that can’t communicate such far distances?’
Oh…
I just accepted her explanation and didn’t ask any further.
At the end of the day, given her current strength, I believed that she would be of help.
‘First order of business, I need to find An’as.’
The goal was to reach out to Panthea. I knew that it wouldn’t be as simple as the last time that I did so.
I tried going to the church, but the doors were closed, and everyone who tried to get in was kicked out shortly after.
In the end, the best method was just to get in contact with An’as…
Thankfully, the task wasn’t very hard for me.
Thanks to [Mana Sense], I was able to track him down rather easily.
“This should be the place.”
It looked like a rundown pub, and as I pushed the door open, I was immediately met with several dozen gazes. All of which weren’t friendly.
I paid them no mind, sweeping my eyes across the entire room before settling my attention towards a couple of figures.
The moment I caught sight of them, a smile formed on my face.
‘It’s been a while.’
Unfortunately, it seemed like I was the only one happy to see them. The moment Anne caught sight of me, her entire expression changed as she stood up and tensed. A certain pressure started to form in her body.
‘Oh, shit…’
I could tell almost immediately that she was extremely wary of me.
Thinking about it, I had an entirely different face compared to the past. I was neither looking like Julien nor Lazarus.
I had done this because Lazarus had a certain level of fame, but it was clearly backfiring on me, as Anne didn’t waste a second and immediately took out her whip and whipped in my direction.
Kacha!
The air trembled.
Staring at the incoming attack, I didn’t panic.
Instead, a figure stepped out from behind me, bringing their hand forward.
BANG!
The whip directly struck Leon’s arm, causing his expression to contort a little. Nevertheless, he withstood the attack and grabbed hold of the whip.
Before the situation could escalate further, I spoke.
“Relax. We’re not your enemies. Rather…”
I turned my attention towards An’as, suddenly smiling.
As if sensing something, An’as’s eyes widened, and I tapped onto my face, morphing it into an old face that I had.
“….!?”
“…!!”
Finally, An’as and Anne showed a reaction to my appearance, their eyes widening in shock.
“I know my face is a little different compared to the past, but I’m shocked neither of you could recognize me instantly. We did spend a couple of months together, after all.”
I extended both of my hands, expecting the two of them to come rushing to me and hug me.
But—
“Wow, you really did come back.”
“…Took you long enough.”
Neither of the two moved closer to me, staying in place.
I alternated my gaze between the two before lowering my hands.
This…
What sort of reaction was this? Where was the, ‘I missed you so much! Where have you been?’
Why was their reaction so lukewarm?
‘Nobody likes you.’ A certain voice whispered next to me shortly after, prompting my head to turn. However, all I was met with was a stoic-looking Leon as he stared ahead without any expression.
“What did you say?”
“Hm?”
Leon looked at me, his head tilting innocently.
“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Didn’t you just—”
“You must be imagining things.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You are.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
I gritted my teeth, cursing Leon in all sorts of imaginable ways. However, I decided to let go of it for now as I once again focused my attention on An’as and Anne.
Looking around and seeing how everyone in the place was staring at us warily, I pointed towards the door of the place.
“Should we go out? There’s a certain favor that I need to ask of the two of you.”
“…..”
“…..”
An’as and Anne didn’t say anything, merely exchanging glances with one another. In the end, however, they both nodded their heads and followed me out.
“I know a place where we can talk.”
Just as I was about to leave, however, I stopped and looked back at them.
“I’m curious about something…”
“Hm?”
“…Yes?”
“How did you guys know it was me? What if I’m impersonating Lazarus?”
“Oh.”
“So that’s your question?”
They both looked at me as if I were stupid. Still, I couldn’t understand their reaction at all.
In the end, it was Anne who smiled while looking at me.
“It’s a trade secret.”
“Yup, secret.”
An’as nodded along, walking out with her.
“Huh? What does that mean…? Hey!”
I quickly chased after them.
The moment we went out, An’as proceeded to lead me towards a different area. I tried to get them to answer, but neither of the two did, just saying things like, ‘We just know. Maybe one day.’
It was really bugging me, but I soon gave up.
‘Whatever. I’ll get my answer sooner or later.’
Virellith was a sprawling city, home to a large population and naturally divided into distinct districts, from the wealthiest quarters to the poorest. In the richer areas, the cobblestone streets were clean and orderly, the buildings well-maintained, and the infrastructure retained a refined aesthetic, far removed from the gloomy, gothic tones that dominated the poorer districts.
Stopping in one such house, I looked up.
“Is this your place?”
The house was white in color, containing several floors and even a garden. It wasn’t anything grand like I had seen in the world outside, but this was still an impressive sight for something in the Mirror Dimension.
“It is. A lot of things have changed since we last saw each other.”
“I can… see.”
I had noticed the difference from the moment I caught sight of him.
An’as’s features looked to have matured a little compared to the past, but that wasn’t the biggest change. The biggest change was his demeanor. It seemed a lot clearer and refined compared to the past.
‘He’s certainly grown a lot.’
I felt gratified seeing him like this.
But if there was one person that didn’t change at all…
“You opening the door, or I am?”
Anne was the same in every way. She looked the same, and her attitude was also the same. I could also see the exasperation in An’as’s eyes as he looked at her. At the same time, however, I could also see and feel the love that he felt for her.
‘Hmm. I guess I’m starting to get better at perceiving someone’s emotions.’
The more I immersed myself in the path of emotions, the more I started to understand them. I had reached a point where I didn’t need to activate the fifth level of emotive magic to see someone’s emotions.
I could now feel them with a single glance.
“Come in. Do… any of you need tea or something to drink?”
An’as finally addressed the others behind me. He was confused at the sight of them, but I offered him no explanation and just entered the apartment.
His home was quite orderly, with the furniture being rather clean, and the place dominated by the color white. Large windows stood in the living room, allowing one to catch a glimpse of the sea in the distance.
I made myself comfortable, sitting down in one of the sofas as the others followed suit.
Because they were unfamiliar with Anne and An’as, they didn’t speak much.
‘It’s probably better this way.’
“Anyways, you said that you needed something. How can I help you with?”
An’as sat on the sofa opposite me and looked at me with a clear expression. Staring at him and then Anne, the first thing I did was cast the illusion off. The moment I did, my true appearance was revealed to the two of them.
“…..”
“…..”
The two didn’t react immediately.
They just looked confused. However, they were both quick to pick up what was happening as their eyes widened. In particular, Anne.
“Holy shit!”
Her first reaction was to curse.
And then—
“You’re… no, this makes no sense. There’s just no way! I can tell that you’re currently just as strong as I am. You were weaker than me before, and… what the fuck! How can you be so young?!”
I smiled upon seeing her reaction.
The situation turned even funnier when An’as reacted.
“Wait, wait.”
He alternated his gaze between me and her.
“Are you saying that this is his true face?”
“No shit.”
“Wait, but he looks younger than me!”
“That’s because I probably am. I’m about twenty-five right now.”
“…..!?”
“….!!”
Both of their faces turned ghostly pale, the shock from the sudden revelation hitting them hard. I really felt like laughing, but held myself back.
It was really nice seeing them again.
Either way, there were more important matters that I needed to take care of.
“Wait, wait… Are you serious? You’re younger than me? But why did you tell me to grow up?”
“Well…”
“Wait, you told him to grow up?”
A certain voice chimed in. When I turned my head, I saw Kiera and the others looking at me weirdly.
Oh god…
“He did.”
An’as looked at them.
“He told me that I needed to grow up because I never did. He made a whole speech and stuff too. I believed him because he looked older than and more experienced than me, but he’s actually younger than me. I don’t know…”
An’as’s face turned complex. I was just about to say something when Kiera spoke.
“Oh, so that’s what happened. Don’t worry. That’s nothing strange. Julien has basically done it for all of us. He likes to pretend to be a therapist from time to time.”
“….”
That’s…
I couldn’t even argue against her.
“That being said, although he likes to meddle a lot and speaks a lot of nonsense, as much as I hate to say it, he… always tends to be right.”
Kiera shrugged her shoulders, giving me a small glance.
“Despite the way he looks, he cares. He probably said the things that he said to help you, and looking at how you’re currently doing, I can see that his words have helped you.”
“….”
An’as didn’t say a word after that.
His expression relaxed a little, and he even laughed.
“You’re right.”
The way he looked at me seemed more relaxed.
“Yeah, you’re right. Age is just a number. In the end, he really did help me.”
Staring at An’as, and then at Kiera, I… started to shudder.
Turning my attention towards Leon and seeing him react the same, I held both of my arms.
He did the same.
What was this cringe?
Make it stop!
