Far, far away, in a world somewhere in the wilderness of the universe.
Early next morning, Caleric and Cally had returned to Upper Street to their home. The birthday banquet was very exhausting, and they could not make the trip back the previous night and had slept over in the Gnalet mansion.
Although Aron and Silv were opposed to Caleric and Cally having their own house, that too at such a young age, they could not do anything to convince the stubborn siblings. And thus, Caleric and Cally got their own house a few months back in a relatively nice neighbourhood in the Upper Street.
The house was rented with their own money, the money Cally earned by completing artifact orders at Mr. Vincent's workshop and the money Caleric earned from various sources due to being a well-known name in the field of manalogy. Neither of them had a stable source of income, but they earned more than the lower class, just enough to be in the core middle section of society.
Cally had already made up her mind about moving out ever since she was twelve years old. Caleric, who did not have any objections to his sister's plans, decided to move out a few months after turning seventeen. Since he wasn't legally allowed to own the house yet, the house was in the name of Aron; however, the ownership would be passed on when he turned eighteen.
Standing in front of the house that wasn't too big but far too spacious for two people, Caleric had a sense of déjà vu.
The house had a long wooden fence around it with a small garden enclosed within in front. It was a two-storey house, painted with the usual dark and dull colours that were very common in the northern continent.
As he was admiring a house that was now actually his own, various related information flashed in his mind.
The house rent was one and a half Crown per month or fifteen Milith per month. It was cheaper compared to other similar houses. Caleric first assumed that it was because of Aron and his connections that the house rent was cheaper, but he soon recalled that the reason was none other than Cally.
Apparently, when Caleric had decided on moving out, it was Cally who had gone to several housing associations with a few servants to look around and find a suitable house for two. Of course, even cheaper houses existed, and apartments were also a choice, but the years of living in a big mansion had conditioned her to luxury, and she thought that a two-storey house was the bare minimum they should have.
After looking through multiple different houses and rejecting them all for various reasons, such as a bad neighbourhood, low light levels, or suspicious previous tenants, she had finally chosen their current house. All of this was done by her on her own!
Caleric was in a daze. He thought that his sister was a real prodigy by every definition. There was nothing she could not do.
There was no point in Aron worrying about her, Caleric thought to himself as he slowly walked through the fence gate.
Cally followed behind. As they reached the wooden door that led inside the house, the door opened, and inside was their maid, who greeted them.
Although Cally could do everything and had sufficient understanding of the world to not only survive but also thrive, there was one thing she could never do. This was a result of living in luxury for a long time: she could not do everyday chores, and she hated doing them.
Even before they were adopted, Cally, being a rebel, never helped with the chores, and Caleric always had to cover for her.
Because of this, they had to get themselves a maid. But not being able to manage the money, they could not help but ask Aron to cover the extra charges. Although Aron was more than happy to help them, and he was never in favour of them moving out in the first place, Cally had boldly mentioned that they would pay Aron back over the course of the next few years.
As a father, Aron had conflicted emotions. He could not decide whether this was a moment to be happy about his children growing up and making their own decisions or to be sad that he would eventually lose them.
But thinking about how the stubborn siblings had always made their own decisions, and that he never had any control over them to start with, he decided to forget his pain and be happy for their future.
As soon as they entered the house, Cally went straight to her bedroom. Caleric instead went to the sofa to sit down, as he was very exhausted. It was 5 in the morning, and they had to walk for half an hour to reach their home. So early in the morning, there weren't many smaller arcavels, and the bigger ones that were owned by several transport companies wouldn't run until 7 a.m.
Arcavels were car-like vehicles but instead used manacules to run. The science behind the technology was something Caleric did not really understand, but his sister probably did. They were not as fast as the cars on Earth but significantly faster than animal driven carriages.
While leaving, they had assumed that they would definitely see at least one arcavel, but by the time they saw the first one, they were already at Upper Street, and their home was only a few minutes away.
I really wish someone would invent uber in this world.
As Caleric was slouching on the sofa, the maid came and stood by his side without saying anything. She held a roll of newspaper in her hands. Caleric glanced at her, and she glanced back.
Right, she never speaks much. Ah, the newspaper, right. Caleric had a habit of reading the newspaper in the morning, of course, only the manalogy section.
He took the newspaper, casually going through the headlines. He decided not to read the manalogy section because it might confuse him, or he might just not understand anything, and that he should probably wait until reading the book titled Manalogy.
Instead, he went through the current affairs and world affairs section. Since he did not understand politics nor did he have any idea about commerce, he decided to look for the events that were happening around him and in the world.
"Sombar Valley Project Completed Successfully, Heralding a New Era of Development"
"Rising Sea Levels Devastate Karkara Port, Wiping Out Massive Population and Infrastructure"
"Three-Winged Raven Terror Group Strikes Again, Virelia Plunged Into Fear and Chaos"
Caleric found out that the news was very much similar to how it was back in his own world.
He read the various articles, going through some more headlines, when one of them caught his attention.
"Mass Anxiety Grips Virelia as Fears of War Rise — Citizens Speculate on Possible Reignition of the 300-Year-Old Conflict"
Aron said something similar about the war being right around the corner. Caleric quickly connected the dots in his mind.
After reading the article, which was mostly about growing anxiety and depression in the general public and also about speculation of when the war might commence, Caleric was curious to learn more.
He flipped through the newspaper to the section that had more information and many articles about the war.
"Shadows of the Past: Looming War Threatens Virelia's Fragile Stability"
"Virelia has always carried the weight of history, and what many people think is a 300-year-old conflict is actually a thousand-year-old struggle. It all began with the fall of the Undead King and his prosperous realm, and when he fell, the northern continent broke apart and the four great nations—Quax, Ingerstine, Labercart, and Fryopi—were drawn into endless war.
"Since Virelia sits right in the middle of these powers, it became the battleground everyone fought over. The city kept changing hands, being taken by one nation and then snatched away by another, and this continued for centuries until around 300 years ago when something different happened.
"At the Clover Cathedral in Virelia, representatives from all four nations signed what became known as the Treaty of the Four-Leafed-Clover. The treaty was meant to stop the bloodshed, and for a time it worked. Virelia finally had stability, enough for its people to build huge infrastructure and for the city to grow into a massive population hub. Right now, it is under Quax's control, and while the city has thrived, that peace was never as real as it seemed.
"The treaty had loopholes, and the nations used them often. Instead of open war, they sent mercenaries and groups working in the shadows to stir chaos inside the city. So even though battles weren't fought in the open anymore, Virelia never really escaped violence.
"Now Quax's military is weaker, and that has everyone wondering if the city can hold. Some analysts have started calling it a "coinflip war" because Ingerstine has sworn not to attack unless provoked, which leaves Fryopi and Labercart as the only real contenders.
"With both sides standing on equal ground, the future of Virelia feels like it could be decided by nothing more than the toss of a coin."