Chapter 212: Four Empire Summit [3]

Advent of the Three Calamities

"Hahahaha."

Laughter echoed throughout the Haven canteen as the members of the Aurora Empire enjoyed the feast before their very eyes.

With all sorts of delicacies spread around the enormous tables of the canteen, the cadets were in a happy mood.

It was a rather lively occasion with many of the cadets socializing with each other.

"....."

Kaelion stared at the food in front of him.

It was a sumptuous meal, and everything looked good.

And yet,

".....I don't like this."

"You don't? I think it's quite good."

To his right, a cadet with short black hair and green eyes spoke while pointing at the food in front of him with a fork.

"I think it's quite nice. Especially this dish. Have you tried it? I thought the food would be bad, but it's actually quite good. How about you give it a try?"

".....That's not the case."

"Then..."

The cadet thought for a moment before mumbling,

"Are you thinking about the previous exchange?"

Kaelion's face hardened for a brief moment.

It was brief, but it was enough for Aiden to spot. Just like Kaelion, he was one of the few people selected from the Aurora Empire to participate in the Four Empire Summit.

They both belonged to different Academies, but they knew each other quite well.

"What do you think? Despite being weak, they acted quite arrogantly. Do you think it's because the Summit is going to be in their own Empire?"

".....Yeah."

Kaelion answered after a brief nod.

"President, there's no need to worry too much. Their arrogance is understandable. Since everyone else around them is inferior to them, it is only understandable that they become arrogant. What matters in the end is strength."

"That's right."

"So it shouldn't matter. They may look confident on the outside, but they shouldn't be at a level where they are anything to worry about. If anything, we should start worr—"

"No."

Kaelion's voice came out louder than expected, causing some of the noise around him to quiet down.

"....That's not what I don't like."

By then, all noise had ceased and everyone's attention was on Kaelion who stood up from his seat.

"I hate it that each Summit we have to waste time socializing with an Empire that neglects their talents so much. To the point where even our weakest delegates can fight their strongest. I hate the fact that such an Empire is the strongest. But that's not what truly angers me."

Kaelion looked around the canteen, meeting the gazes of all the cadets who were eating together.

"What I'm mad about is you guys!"

His voice echoed loudly throughout the entire canteen.

"Did I not tell you previously about what previously happened that one year in the Four Empire Summit?!"

Some of the cadets flinched under his shout as his gaze continued to sweep across the room.

"Are we not here to show that our Empire is superior to theirs? To show them that we are far stronger than their likes!?"

The backs of some of the cadets straightened.

There was a certain something to his voice that brought forth adrenaline to the minds of many present.

".....The fact that you are all here having fun is what angers me the most! We are not here on a vacation. We are here to completely and utterly dominate the representatives of this Empire! So pull yourselves together!!"

Kaelion clenched his fist.

"Eat your food quickly and start conditioning your body! We are not here on vacation! You haven't been chosen to be here so that you could be on a vacation! Do you get it...?!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes...!"

The cadets shouted in unison, turning their attention back to their food and scarfing it down their throats, the previous laid-back and relaxed attitude of theirs completely vanishing from their faces.

'This should do it.'

Kaelion was satisfied by the sight.

"Not bad."

And a familiar voice soon reached his ears.

Turning towards a certain direction, Professor Thornwhisper approached with a smile on his face.

"You've said everything that I wanted to say. Perhaps you should think about replacing my job."

".....Hello Professor."

Kaelion greeted the professor.

"Mhm."

Massaging his beard, the professor looked around, gathering the attention of all the cadets.

He only started to speak once everyone's attention was on him.

"Kaelion is correct. You all shouldn't be here thinking that this is a vacation. This is far from a vacation. You are here to represent your nation for the upcoming Summit. It's important that you're entirely focused on the task at hand."

"Yes, sir!"

The Professor nodded once he saw that everyone was on the same page.

"I would've been forced to act if not for Kaelion doing that for me. Just because it's rare for them to have great talents, it doesn't mean it's impossible. We've all heard about what happened a few years back. I don't want to repeat such a situation."

The Professor shook his head and the cadets all stood up at the same time.

"We apologize Professor!"

"We apologize Professor!"

"We apologize Professor!"

Kaelion stepped forward.

"I also apologize, professor. I shouldn't have waited until everyone was eating to say this."

"No, you did great."

With a softening of his voice, the professor looked at Kaelion.

"The fact that you were able to know the crux of the problem shows that you have matured a lot. As expected of the main representative of this year's Summit."

Placing his hand on Kaelion's shoulder, the professor patted his shoulder.

".....Keep doing what you're doing. We have high hopes for you and everyone else that is here."

"I shall do so."

"Mhm."

The Professor removed his hand from Kaelion's shoulder.

"I'm glad that you understand. In any case, the reason why I'm here is because I've managed to convince their representatives to do a small exhibition match. Unfortunately, you won't be participating."

"I won't…?"

"Yes. We are saving you for when the Real Summit starts. This is just an exhibition. We don't want to have an overkill."

"….Ah."

Kealion lowered his head and smiled.

"I will do as the Professor has arranged."

"Haha, that's good."

Slurp~

It was a certain slurping sound that caught the attention of everyone in the room.

"Who is…!?"

Snapping his head snack, Aiden, who had been standing next to Kaelion and the professor was about to reprimand the one responsible for the noise when he stopped.

"Uh?"

He wasn't the only one surprised.

At the very corner of the canteen, an unfamiliar person sat as they ate their bowl without any regard for anyone around him.

Judging from the uniform he was wearing, he appeared to be come from Haven.

"What's going on?"

Aiden was confused by the situation. The canteen was supposed to be their space. Why was someone from Haven here?

"Hey, you."

Calling out for him, he got no response. He seemed to be absorbed in whatever food was in his bowl.

From the way he was acting, it almost seemed like he hadn't eaten in months.

Kaelion stood by the side and watched without saying a single word. It was hard to read what he was currently thinking.

Clenching his teeth, Aiden glanced at the professor and then Kaelion before moving closer to the unexpected guest.

'How did he even get here…?'

There were many questions he wanted to ask but held himself back.

Arriving behind the cadet, he pressed his hand against his shoulder and pulled his shoulder back.

00:24

"Hey, I'm speaking to you. Are you listening?"

"Slurp—uh?"

Startled out of his food, the cadet turned his head to display his face which was covered by his hair.

But despite that, one could tell at a glance that whoever it was, their face was handsome.

That was when he took notice of Aiden.

"You are...?"

The cadet's voice came out rather hoarse.

"Who am I?....Heh."

Aiden laughed a little and nudged behind him with his head.

"How about you look around you? Do you see anything?"

It was only then that the cadet finally took notice of what was going on and let out a small sound.

"Oh."

Beneath the bangs, he blinked his eyes and stood up.

"I see. It looks like I've intruded on something important. I will take my leave."

From the way he was acting, he looked rather submissive.

Aiden stopped him before he could leave.

"Wait a second. I'd like to know who you are first. I—"

Drip...!

It was a certain dripping sound that stopped him halfway through his sentence. Blinking his eyes, Aiden looked at the cadet in front of him with a little bit of shock before lowering his head to stare at the ground that had been stained by a single drop of liquid.

"This..."

Aiden stared at the small trace that ran down the cadet's cheek.

"....You can't be"

His shoulders started to tremble as he stared at the cadet in front of him.

"Are you crying?"

The surroundings grew a little noisy as the cadets overheard his words. They too seemed rather surprised.

On the other hand, the Professor turned a blind eye to the scene.

Since there was no harm being done, there was no need for him to interfere. He was also a little curious about the cadet present.

How was it that no one noticed his presence until now?

It wasn't as though his clothes were remotely close to theirs.

"Ah...!"

As if realizing what had happened, the cadet wiped his cheeks.

"Sorry, that tends to happen a lot these days."

He proceeded to scratch the side of his cheek.

".....It just happens without my control. I'm a bit of a mess lately."

"Uh, sure."

Aiden nodded and let it be.

'Who do you think you're fooling...?'

But of course, he didn't really buy the excuse.

The same was true for everyone else in the room. Kaelion included who stared at the cadet for a few seconds before shaking his head.

'Disappointing.'

.....The more he stayed in this Academy, the more disappointed he became with it.

What happened was, that the cadet had wandered here by accident, and ended up crying the moment he realized that he was in the wrong place.

As such, he sat down on his chair and spoke,

"Let him go."

Aiden nudged at the cadet.

"....You heard him."

"Ah, thank you."

Scratching the back of his neck, the cadet lowered his head before leaving the canteen.

The entire time he looked like a scared rabbit.

Kaelion didn't even bother looking at him as he left.

On the other hand, Aiden snickered as he walked back to Kaelion.

"You saw that? It's really hard to follow your words when you see stuff like that. It's—"

Drip. Drip...!

His words were abruptly cut off by a certain dripping sound.

It was a sound that he had heard a few minutes ago, and he froze on the spot.

Kaelion, who had stopped paying attention also seemed to have noticed something amiss and turned to look at Aiden.

His eyes opened up slightly at the sight that greeted him.

Drip. Drip! Drip...!

"Uh, what's going on?"

Holding onto his cheeks, Aiden looked around a little panicked.

"Why, am I...? W-what's...!"

Regardless of how hard he tried, he couldn't stop them.

The tears.

They...

Just continued to pour out from his eyes like an endless torrent.

Staring at the scene, Kaelion's head flicked towards the entrance of the canteen.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

For some reason, his heart began to beat faster as an unknown feeling gripped his chest.

....What?

Just what in the world was happening?