Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 754: Saffier [1]

“…I c-an see the peak.”

After what felt like hours, we finally neared the top of the stairs. It wasn’t like we all couldn’t have rushed up the stairs by using our abilities, but it was apparently forbidden for the place that we were going to. At the very least, this was what I had heard from the people beneath.

There was no chance to enter the place unless we walked up the stairs without using our powers.

‘What kind of pain in the ass rule is this?’

If not for the fact that I was desperate, I would’ve never done this.

My legs were already starting to burn.

And then—

“F-finally.”

I finally reached the peak.

The moment I did, I sat down on the ground and took deep and heavy breaths. My entire back was soaked in sweat, and my hair had practically stuck to my forehead. Looking at the sun above, for a moment, it almost felt as though I was back in the Mirror Dimension.

“Stop exaggerating.”

Leon, on the other hand, looked totally fine.

He looked a little annoyed by the heat, but his breathing was fine.

Linus…

He was also faring better than I was. However, it was clear that he was struggling quite a bit, too. Especially with his big bag.

“Hee.”

I had it a lot easier with the ring.

It was broken, but not unusable. I would’ve offered to help them, but given its current state, it was best not to.

Such pity…

“Is this the place?”

Leon casually said while looking ahead. I turned my head and followed his line of sight. A small town with tall walls greeted us. At the center of the town was a massive castle-like structure.

Saffier.

This was the name of the fortress.

Squinting his eyes, Leon dropped the bag down.

“This must be the fortress that they were talking about below.”

“…It should be.”

According the the information that I had received, the blacksmith was currently residing in this fortress. It was supposedly temporary, with him having previously been spotted in the Verdant Empire.

‘In fact, things would’ve been so much easier had he still been there.’

Given how Leon was the prince of the Empire, things would’ve been extremely easy. On the other hand, my relationship with the Aetheria Empire wasn’t exactly the best. It wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t great.

The only person I knew from here was Caius.

‘Thinking about it, I did message him. I wonder why he hasn’t replied. I guess he must be busy.’

“C… Can we hurry up in? I can’t stand this heat any longer.”

Listening to Linus’s words, I thought about it for a moment before agreeing. This heat was indeed annoying.

As Leon picked up the bags from the ground, we all headed towards the fortress, where a massive gate appeared before us. Standing beneath the gate were a couple of guards. I half-expected them to make life harder for us, but as opposed to what I had believed, they let us in rather quickly.

We just had to pay the entrance fee, and that was all.

The moment we passed through the gate, we were met by a cluster of small buildings, each appearing to be hand-built and shaped directly from the stone of the mountain itself. Their surfaces were rough, showing the marks of tools rather than machines, and their forms followed the natural lines of the rock.

When we looked up toward the castle, it seemed no different; its walls and towers rose from the mountain as if carved from the same stone, blending into the cliffs behind it.

A narrow path led directly into the mountain itself, the path lit up by torches.

“Well…”

I looked to my right and left. Both Leon and Linus looked impressed by the sight. In some way, I was also impressed.

But—

‘Yeah, I don’t really have much time. Let’s get this ring fixed.’

I took out a map from my ring and opened it up. It had a simple yet detailed layout of the small town.

‘…From what I understand, the blacksmith should be located somewhere in the central area. I don’t know the exact place where they are, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to find them. I’m sure a blacksmith that famous should be easy to find.’

The main issue was getting them to agree to work with me.

“Well, whatever. I’ll think about it more later.

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“No, let’s hurry up.”

I hurried toward the tunnel, the torches along the walls casting flickering light across the stone as we moved forward. For several minutes, we walked in silence, the air growing cooler and the path narrowing as we went deeper.

The tunnel stretched on, winding gently, until finally, a faint light appeared in the distance, breaking the darkness ahead.

“We’re here.”

Stepping out of the tunnel, we emerged into a vast, open space with a large opening up above. Sunlight filtered down from above, casting sharp beams across the stone floor and onto the buildings beneath.

The area felt both stuffy and… well, the opposite, enclosed by high rock walls, yet open to the world through the opening above.

“Err…”

I looked above with a strange expression.

“So the castle is fake?”

It only dawned on me now that the castle that we saw from a distance was fake.

“Not just the castle. The buildings outside are all probably fake.”

Leon looked just as confused, but the moment quickly faded as our attention shifted ahead.

To where the main town lay.

Unlike the rough, hand-carved structures we’d seen outside, this place had a far more refined appearance.

The houses were well-kept, their walls smooth and clean, and the cobblestone roads were carefully laid and free of debris. Trees lined the paths in tidy rows, and patches of greenery had been intentionally left to grow, adding life to the space.

Off to one side, there even appeared to be a park.

The place wasn’t big, but it looked incredible.

“…Wow, this place looks even better than our own territory.” Linus absentmindedly mumbled. I paused for a moment to look at him. As if realizing what he had said, Linus brought his fist to his mouth and coughed.

“Ehm… It’s nice.”

I shook my head.

He wasn’t exactly wrong with his words. However, this place was also a lot smaller than our territory. It wasn’t exactly the fairest of assessments.

Turning my attention elsewhere, I looked back at the map.

The general layout of the city was simple. It wasn’t difficult to understand. There was a city center, and everything else was built around it. There were even a couple of churches present.

But that wasn’t important to me right now.

What I needed to do was—

BOOOM!

“…..!?”

“!?”

A sudden explosion jolted me out of my thoughts as I hastily looked in the direction of the noise. Almost immediately, the surroundings began to shake as I turned to look at Leon and Linus. They both looked shocked.

“Is this place under attack?”

“That’s…”

Swiping my hand and casting [Lament of Lies] on everyone, I dashed in the direction of where the explosion came.

By the time we arrived, a crowd had already formed.

“Is it happening again?”

“…How many times has it been?”

“Probably a couple of dozen times.”

As opposed to what I previously believed, the people looked extremely calm despite the sudden explosion. Pushing my way through the crowd, we finally managed to see exactly what was happening.

And the moment I caught a glimpse of it, my eyes couldn’t help but widen.

“Are you saying that you can’t fix it?”

“…No, I can fix it.”

“Then?”

“I just don’t want to fix it.”

Two figures stood face to face with each other. One was a towering man with broad shoulders and a graying beard, the other was…

“Caius…?”

Leon mumbled from behind me, his expression just as confused as mine.

The person standing opposite the burly man was none other than Caius. But… something about him felt off. He looked a little different compared to the Caius that I knew. His eyes were somewhat hazy, and there was a certain indifference in his tone and expression that threw me off.

Looking down at the floor, I noticed equipment scattered everywhere, some of it broken or cracked. Beneath Caius, the ground was marked by a large crater, its edges cracked and uneven.

It was then that I realized the source of the noise.

“Do you understand that the Emperor is granting you a massive favor in order to help him? It would be unwise of you not to accept such a favor.”

“I don’t know about that.”

The burly man replied with ease, running a hand through his beard as he looked at Caius, entirely unfazed by his presence.

A sudden pressure enveloped the place.

Eventually, however, the pressure alleviated before completely fading.

“This will be the last warning. I hope to receive a more favorable answer next time.”

Caius turned around shortly after that.

But even after he faded, the silence that had taken over the surroundings remained. It was also then that I began to hear the murmurs of the people.

“How many times does this make it?”

“…It’s been almost three weeks since this has been happening.”

“I don’t understand why he isn’t helping at all. They’ve practically trapped him here.”

“He’s just being stubborn, but I hope he answers soon. It’s starting to become really uncomfortable here.”

Listening to the talk, I found myself frowning. This situation…

“Are you three just going to remain hidden?”

“Eh?”

“….?”

“Hm?”

Suddenly looking at the burly man who bent over to pick up his stuff, I saw him turn his attention right at us, and my eyes widened.

“I’d much prefer it if you stopped hiding. I don’t like to talk to or interact with people who can’t even appear before me.”