Advent of the Three Calamities
Chapter 201: The Five Phases of Emotive Magic [3]

I stayed in the classroom for the next ten minutes. Since the next class wasn't going to start until the next few hours, I had a bit of time to kill.

I thought about trying to train with the cube but decided against it.

'Maybe later.'

My head still felt a little light from what I had previously done.

"….I guess I should leave."

Perhaps get something to eat.

I had just taken a step out of the room when a figure appeared on my right side. With her arms crossed, and her head drooping, she looked to be asleep.

I would've ignored it if not for the fact that I knew her.

"You."

I tapped her on the shoulder, startling her out of her sleep.

"Uh, ah!? Which fucker wants to die?"

As expected. The moment she woke up, she raised her fists and got into a fighting stance.

"…."

I stood speechlessly for a moment until she blinked her eyes and regained some clarity.

"Oh, right…"

She also seemed to have recalled the reason why she was here.

"I was waiting for you."

I wasn't surprised.

Given the looks she had given me in class, I knew this was coming. Rather than not wanting her to confront her, I was forward to it.

I wanted to know what exactly the percentage increase in the calamity section did.

"You remember, huh?"

But the words that came out of her mouth were wholly unexpected to me.

"Remember…?"

What was she talking about?

"Yes, what happened in the Mirror Dimension? You remember it all, right?"

"…."

I opened my mouth but struggled to articulate myself.

This wasn't what I was expecting.

Of all things, that was the last thing that I was expecting, and I found myself unable to hide my own surprise.

"So…?"

"….I do."

Frowning, I nodded my head after collecting myself.

"I knew it."

Kiera smiled.

She almost seemed relieved.

It was weird.

"I don't know what happened after those big monsters showed up. I just remember you doing something. That's when my memories end—"

"Wait, you remember?"

I found myself cutting her off. If before I was surprised about her words, now I was wholly shocked.

'How is it possible that she remembers…?'

Wasn't it supposed to be impossible? At least, unless Owl-Mighty gave them their memories back.

How…?

"Yes, I do."

Kiera scratched the back of her head.

"They're rather faint. But I remember. I didn't at first though, but suddenly and randomly, I remembered everything."

"Suddenly, and randomly?"

"Yeh. Like out of nowhere type stuff. It just happened."

"I..."

Pursing my lips, I didn't know how to react.

In the end, I could only ask,

"Anything else…?"

"What about it?"

Kiera tilted her head and shook shook her head.

"No, not really. Why? I just wanted to ask if you knew anything."

"Oh...."

Despite saying that, I tried my utter best to sound as calm as possible.

'Is this a result of the percentage increase?'

The sudden regain of their memories from the incident.

"Do you feel anything weird? Any strange visions, or something out of the norm?"

"Uh, no? Why…?"

Seeing the weird look Kiera was giving me, I knew that she was either not telling me everything, or it really was everything that had happened.

But seeing the look on her face, it really did seem like that that was all that happened.

…..Or she was just not saying it.

"No, it's nothing. Everyone forgot about their memories, and you look like the only one that didn't. I was a little surprised."

Scratching the top part of my nose, I massaged my eyes and looked at my watch.

"The next class starts in the next few minutes. Do not be late."

And then, I turned around and left.

My mind was a jumbled mess and I needed some time to figure out what was happening.

But at last, I found the reason why I was getting strange looks for her. The same was probably true for Aoife.

I wasn't sure about Evelyn.

I'd have to figure that out later.

But for now, this was what I had. I was glad that the penalty stopped there. Or at least, appeared to stop there.

There was no substantial damage just yet.

***

The next classroom starts in the next few minutes. Don't be late.'

Replaying the words he said to her before he left, Kiera's lips twisted.

"….And you said you don't want to be my teacher anymore."

He was still acting like one.

"Tsk."

Clicking her tongue, Kiera could only maintain her scowl for a few seconds before it relaxed.

'So he was the one who saved everyone. Not only that, but he didn't even take credit for it.'

Kiera didn't know how to feel.

Had it been her, she would've made sure to let everyone know that she had saved everyone, and talked about what had happened to squeeze as much as possible from the Guilds.

'I guess he's a lot milder than he looks.'

She had noticed this ever since he had started to teach her, but he was… rather soft.

He looked cold and detached on the outside, and he was like that to some extent.

However, that merely looked like some form of fake external persona to Kiera.

"Ugh, don't know."

Perhaps she was overthinking, but it really felt like there were two Julien's.

Ruffling her hair, she stopped when she realized what she was doing and quickly fixed her hair.

Once she was done, she looked behind her with narrowed eyes.

"When are you going to come out?"

"…."

Her words were met with no response.

"So?"

It was only after Kiera called out again that a figure stepped out from one of the classrooms.

A smirk pulled up on Kiera's face.

"Look at you. Stalking like usual."

"….I'm not."

Appearing from the classroom was Aoife, who stared at Kiera with a frown.

"Not stalking."

For some reason, she felt the need to repeat it.

Kiera smirked at the sight.

"So you really were stalking. Not much of a surprise there. You've always had this habit since you were young. Not a good habit of yours, little princess."

Aoife ignored her words and looked in the direction of where Julien left.

"….So you remember as well?"

"Hmm?"

It was Kiera's turn to be surprised.

Looking at Aoife, she asked,

"You also remember?"

"I do. I heard your conversation. Something similar happened to me."

Listening to her words, Kiera had no time to hate her and frowned.

"Do you know exactly when you got your memories back?"

"Yes. 18:39"

"This…"

Kiera frowned.

That was because,

"Shit, that's the same as me."

Or at least, around then. She couldn't remember the exact time. But she did distinctively remember attending an interrogation just before which was at around 18:00.

"…."

"…."

The two stood in silence for a short moment.

Breaking the silence was Aoife who bit her lips.

"Do you think anyone else knows?"

"That… I'm not sure."

Kiera answered truthfully. Outside of just Julien, she had been observing everyone else in class. None of them seemed to remember a thing.

"So just us two?"

"I don't know."

Kiera shook her head.

"I think there might be m—"

Slap—

Kiera felt a certain pain at the side of her cheek, and her eyes widened. Standing opposite her was Aoife, who stared at her hand with a similar look of shock.

"That…"

She blinked her eyes.

"….Is this why you do it? It feels strangely good."

Kiera opened her mouth, but the words just refused to leave.

Her chest boiled shortly after, and her teeth clenched.

'This bitch.'

Then, raising her arm, she was about to retaliate when she realized her hand had stopped.

"You…!"

Slap—!

Another slap flew her way, stinging her face.

Staring at her hand again, a strange smile pulled on Aoife's face. It was a rare smile that Kiera had never seen her make before, and the shock she felt only deepened when she started giggling.

"Hehehe."

Kiera's shock only heightened. This was the first time she had seen her act like a child in all the time she had known her.

It threw her off for a few seconds before she clenched her teeth and forcefully freed herself from her telekinesis.

"Fuck."

Swearing, she prepared to attack Aoife, but before Kiera knew it, her back was already quite far.

"Ah, fuck…! Come back here!"

***

Delilah sat in her office, surrounded by a dozen documents. They were all complaints she was preparing to file against the Fifteen Guilds.

She wasn't planning on letting the Guilds off lightly after what had transpired back in the Mirror Dimension.

She intended to extract whatever she could from them.

"Should I ask for money or resources?"

She mulled over the decision, torn between requesting resources, which would undoubtedly be useful, or money for compensation, giving the cadets more freedom in their choices.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. Raising her head, Delilah's expression shifted slightly.

"Come in."

Entering the room was a small figure with pigtails and freckles. It was none other than Fay Evenhart, who entered the room with an amused look as she looked around.

"You still haven't changed, little one."

"…..I work a lot."

"You used to say this even when you weren't working."

"….."

Delilah remained silent.

It was true, but she wasn't eager to admit it.

"Anyways, I met up with the student you talked to me about."

Finding herself a seat amidst the clutter, Fay began to discuss Julien.

A rare glimmer appeared in her eyes as she spoke of him. It was the first time Delilah had seen Fay like this, but it somehow felt expected.

Talented Emotive Mages were rare, and those with the skill often faced daunting challenges, leading many to abandon their paths prematurely.

The discovery of someone with both talent and resilience must have excited Fay immensely.

"I've already given him a task. If all goes well, he should show improvement in the coming months. Especially…"

Fay paused, a rare frown creasing her brow.

Delilah looked at her in confusion, preparing to ask her what was wrong, but before she could speak, Fay's expression returned to normal, and she tapped her finger on one of the papers.

"Choose money. You can never go wrong with money."

"….?"

Before Delilah could delve deeper, Fay rose from her seat and bid her farewell, leaving Delilah by herself.

She hadn't even come to visit for more than a minute before she suddenly left.

This type of behavior...

It was so strangely in line with how she remembered her.

"…."

In the ensuing silence, Delilah reflected on Fay's unusual expression, and a frown appeared on her pretty features.

If there was one person she truly feared, it was Fay.

Despite lacking the physical strength of the Seven Monarchs, Fay's prowess in Emotive Magic was formidable.

For someone like her to wear such a troubled expression...

"Not good."