The Drought
Aster read the second book of the day which was about a drought that caused massive damage and not only Astrid Empire was shaken but even Walter Kingdom, Javen Kingdom, and Guria Kingdom were impacted. Walter Kingdom is in the south of Astrid Empire, while Javen Kingdom is in the southwest of Astrid Empire, As for Guria Kingdom it was in the southeast of Astrid Empire.
Javen Kingdom has friendly relations with the Astrid Empire but Guria Kingdom is a Kingdom of beastmen and they don't like to deal with Human Empires or Kingdoms.
'Looking at this information, One thing is clear the impact will be worse in the southern region.'
[Yes, Host. However, what is odd is that in the Astrid Empire, Not only the southern region suffered the loss but even the East and West region suffered similar situations.]
Aster raised his eyes and glanced at the people walking down the street.
'As if the drought was centered in Astrid Empire?'
[Yes, Host.]
As Aster was thinking about the information and talking with his system, He heard Gen's voice.
"Aster, there is a customer who wants to make a customized cake."
Nodding, Aster left his seat.
'Search for more information Melin, Recheck the novel, we might find some clue.'
[Yes, Host.]
-
"Daddy! Wuwu, Luci took my shovel!"
Aster looked at crying Auron and picked him up. Then he looked at Lucian.
"Lucian, Why did you take your brother's shovel?"
Lucian pouted and also had tears in his eyes.
"But Daddy, Ron destroyed my plants!"
Auron in Aster's arms shook his head.
"No! No! Daddy! No! Luci is bad! Wuwuwu."
Seeing Auron crying like this, Aster had to sigh and pat the child and make him calm down.
Seeing Auron cry like this Lucian thought that his daddy might not believe him and lowered his head.
Then he squatted and smiled at Lucian.
"It's ok to stop Auron from destroying plants, or you can come to complain to Daddy, But don't take Auron's things in anger, Alright? Daddy knows that Auron made a mistake, But Lucian also made Auron cry right?"
Lucian hesitated and nodded.
Then Aster smiled.
"How about apologizing?"
Lucian grumbled and said sorry in a small voice.
"Sorry...Ron."
Auron in Aster's arms raised his cute head blinked at his brother and smiled.
"Luci good~"
Aster chuckled, These two kids are really sweet.
Among the kids, Lucian and Auron fight the most, Erza is dominating kid and always rules over her siblings with sister power, Aria is a shy and gentle girl who always helps, Elio is silent but kind, Nova is a reliable older brother, Raylan is a sunflower and outgoing, a social butterfly, Eiton is a lazy boy unless it is something that interests him while Seraphina is still young however she is the naughtiest among the kids, A cute drama queen.
Looking at the kids, Aster smiled gently.
As Aster went to the kitchen, he felt something behind him and glanced back only to see the kids following him to the kitchen.
He felt like Mama Duck going out with her baby ducks.
Pft-
"What's wrong?"
Raylan as the most active, raised his hand and excitedly said.
"Daddy, I want Roast chicken!"
Lucian followed and said.
"Daddy I want Chicken pasta!"
Erza proudly raised her head and shouted.
"Daddy! I want Chicken Stir-fry!"
The three with three different opinions glanced at each other and grabbed Aster's legs.
"Please, Pasta Daddy~"
"No! Daddy you are a good daddy, make Stir-fry~"
"Daddy, I am so cute, Won't you make me Roast Chicken?"
Elio glanced at the three and started to say.
"Whole chicken, Olive oil, Salt and pepper, Fresh herbs, Garlic cloves for roast chicken."
Nova shook his head.
"It's better to have Stir-fry with some rice."
Auron and Eiton only followed their older siblings and looked at each other and clapped.
Aster:...
So that night, three types of Chicken dishes were placed in front of the kids.
Aster packed some and sent them to Gen's house.
-
That night after watching the kids sleep, Aster went to the library.
[Host, there are early symptoms of drought in East and West of Astrid Empire.]
"Already?"
[Yes, Host. This is unusual as the drought is a slow and extreme process.]
"I know, this alone is weird that drought symptoms are appearing out of thin air, Is this because this world is a magic world?"
[Host, I need more information about this world's meteorology, Oceanography, and cloud formations.]
"Check the library."
[Yes, Host.]
While Melin looked for this world's geography, Aster looked through the information Melin provided him.
East and West of the Astrid Empire have many small towns and villages, However, there are two big territories of Grand Duke Branor in the West, The Branor City while in the West is the territory of Earl Leopold, The Leopold Town.
Both are rich in agricultural land and are leading the Astrid Empire's food industry in simple words.
But if...the drought was severe in these two regions, it is a miracle that the Astrid Empire survived through this drought.
If there are these two important factors in East and West, then there must be some factor in South too.
"Melin, Check out which family or which territory is in the south of the Astrid Empire."
[Yes, Host.]
That night, Aster and Melin checked all related files and before dawn, Aster finally found a clue.
"What is this now~"
Aster chuckled and ruffled his hair.
"Melin, Write a letter to Emperor Astrid, Grand Duke Branor, and Earl Leopold about early symptoms of drought and let them have some preparations."
[Host, Is the letter from our 'Celestial Order'?]
The Celestial Order mysterious organization on Earth made by Superhumans, All members worked in the dark and before danger only sent a letter and if the situation couldn't be handled by other superhumans, they would appear.
No one actually knew that the leader of this Mysterious Organization was not someone else but the weakest person in the eyes of the world.
Aster smiled.
"It's a long time since I heard the name again."
Aster looked at his hands and smiled. After a while, he shook his head.
"Alright, Melin send the letters as fast as possible."
[Yes, Host.]
-
In the early morning, Grand Duke Cedric went out to practice his martial arts, As soon as he picked his sword a pitch black letter fell from above.
He quickly looked up and except the dawn sky, nothing was seen.
It was empty and silent.
After a while, Cedric picked up the letter and saw the same purple butterfly.
At first, he didn't believe the content of that letter, but after he saw his sister's injuries and his nephew and niece's stories, he believed this letter.
He opened the letter with a bad premonition.
And as he expected, Nothing good was written.
{There will be a drought in the West, East, and South of Astrid Empire, The branor City will soon have a lack of precipitation, the soil will start losing moisture, and it will become drier which will lead to early drought. Make Early preparation and reserve more resources.}
There was no starting or ending, It was more of a warning than a letter addressed to him.
-
The same thing occurred in Leopold Town.
Earl Chase Leopold looked at the black letter his wife gave him.
"A maid found it below your pillow, Chase, What is this?"
Chase looked at the pitch-black envelope and opened it.
"Let me see."
{There will be a drought in the West, East, and South of the Astrid Empire. Soon in East Leopold Town, there will be a reduction in rainfall, This can lead to drier conditions and lowered water levels in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and parched soil. Make Early preparation and reserve more resources.}
Earl Leopold frowned hard.
"Leila, I need to go to the Capital now, Take good care of your health and don't let Julian go outside to play."
Countess Leila Leopold nodded with worry.
-
Emperor Viktor looked at the contents of the letter with a frown.
{If the drought can't be solved in 2 weeks, many people will start to die from hunger. So, 2 weeks later we will send our missionary to solve the problem.}
This damned letter had no starting and no end.
He couldn't even start to think about this letter.
First, those dragon siblings left him 1 year time to find their sister-in-law and now there is another letter from that weird organization about some drought there might be a person who can help them but they will appear when it is needed the most.
That evening Grand Duke Cedric and Emperor Viktor talked for the whole evening and Grand Duke Cedric left for Grand Duke territory.
2 days later, Earl Leopold Chase came and had a long meeting with the Emperor.
He left the same evening without resting.
The other aristocrats who got this information became a bit restless and the opposition party of Emperor Astrid also started giving him headaches.
[Host, Emperor Astrid seems to have made some preparation for rescue work and raised emergency ration.]
Aster who was making milk custud for Seraphina nodded.
'Keep an eye on the overall situation.'
Aster made Gen collect some ration for emergencies and hide it in their homes.
Although Gen didn't know the reason he did so. Aster made Melin send a message about the upcoming drought to Thea and have her prepare some rations.
In the evening, the kids were playing in the backyard while Aster was making dinner.
[Host, The land in the South is not owned by any aristocrat or noble. It is still under Emperor Astrid's name but there is no development plan. The villages and towns in the south are more like slums.]
Aster heard the words and a smile came on his lips.
'Let it be, Melin. However, go and keep an eye on Emperor Astrid.'
[Yes, Host.]
-
1 week later the drought came, the rivers and water resources depleted and the crops withered at a pace visible from the human eye.
The Situation at the Capital, the North territory, and the Cities near the Capital were still unaffected while the East, West, and especially South were already in dire situations.
Emperor Astrid sent support twice to the south already and now even Nobles and other Ministers refused to send emergency rations and wanted to see the situation.
10 days later, Aster heard the report from Melin.
[2000 causalities already occurred in the South, 900 in the West, and 840 in the East. Host, Emperor Astrid already fought with the Ministers and Aristrocrats three times in 3 days. The situation doesn't look quite in his hands.]
Aster put out the fire, closed the salt box, and walked out of the kitchen.
'Of course, the situation can't be in his hands. The aristocrats want to take this opportunity to take the Emperor into their hands. However, Emperor Viktor Astrid is not a child or silly doll, He is a tyrant from bones. He is suppressing himself, Soon it will be time for him to explode.'
Melin didn't speak again and went to keep an eye on the Emperor's movement.
Eiton, the little lazy cub was sleeping with his mouth open.
"This kid...Eiton, wake up. It's dinner time."
Eiton moved a bit changed his position and kept sleeping.
Aster:...
In the end, he had to roll the little boy and forcefully wake him up. If he sleeps too much in the evening then he won't sleep much at night.
A small boy came running inside.
"Daddy~"
Aster saw it was Raylan and smiled.
"Yes, Ray?"
"Daddy, I want to play house with Erza, But she won't play with me!"
Aster sighed.
"Then don't force her, Or you will be bitten by her."
As if recalling something, Raylan shivered and shook his head.
"But...Daddy, I want to play house."
Aster:...
"Ok, I will play with you but after dinner, Alright?"
Raylan nodded.
Then it was Aria who came.
"Daddy, My skirt was torn from the side, What do I do?"
Aster bent down and saw the skirt. It was a small tear.
"It's ok, Daddy will stitch it for Aria."
Aria smiled.
"Thank you daddy!"
Aster was about to go to the kitchen to set up the dinner table and heard loud shouts of Lucian and Auron.
"You hit me, Ron!"
"I don't!"
"You liar!"
"You lie! bad brother!"
"Daddy! Ron lied, he hit me!"
"No, No, Wuwuwu, Daddy~"
Aster:...
Sincerely he salutes the parents who take care of kids all their life.
Elio and Nova helped him set up the table and he handled Lucian and Auron.
In the middle of coaxing the two kids, Seraphina started crying as she peed.
Aster once again ran upstairs and changed Seraphina's clothes.
When he came down, Erza and Lucian were bickering again.
After a hectic dinner, He let the kids sleep and told them a small story about a thirsty crow. The kids were interested in the story and asked many short and stupid questions.
Like why did the crow not go the river?
Why did the crow have so small beak?
Why is the crow thirsty?
Anyhow after making the kids sleep, Aster finally went to the library and saw Thea floating in the air.
{Oh Hello~}
Aster sighed.
"What are you doing here?"
{Mn? I heard you missed me.}
Almost punching her, Aster gritted his teeth.
"Thea, Be serious."
{Like you are always serious?}
Aster:...No, why do you like roasting me?
Looking at the angered and helpless emotion in Aster's eyes, Thea chuckled.
{Alright, Don't get your BP high. I heard a weird rumor so came to tell you~}
Aster sat down on the library floor after picking up the book he had read today.
"Oh? What is the rumor?"
{Princess Isabella had a lover 10 years ago.}
Melin and Aster paid attention.
Aster asked.
"10 years ago, the Princess should have been 17 right?"
{Yup, And it is said that the lover was a commoner and even a laborer at the Princess Palace.}
Aster thoughtfully asked.
"A commoner...Laborer in Palace. Any clue how he looked?"
Thea pouted and glared at him.
{It was hard to get so much information out of those tight-lipped maids of Princess Isabella, and you still don't praise me?}
Aster:...
"Alright, My fault. Excellent work, Keep working hard."
Looking at that perfunctory face and attitude, Thea vanished after saying.
{I curse you to be single all your life!}
Aster:...sigh...
Melin as a blue ball floated towards Aster and said.
[Host, There seems to be someone 'Ring of Light' likes.]
A bit startled, Aster asked.
"She loves someone?"
[No Host, It doesn't seem loving but interesting. It looks like she is interested in someone.]
He didn't notice this detail of Thea but how did Melin know of this?
"Melin, How did you know?"
Melin floated on Aster's head as he explained.
[Host, Last time I went to check on Thea and Alex's house, I noticed another presence. It was a Male hormone after checking the Data.]
Aster was surprised and smiled.
"Let her be. In this world, She is free and has no need to limit her emotions."
Melin agreed and was about to go and check the information when he heard Aster say.
"But we can't be carefree in this matter, Melin keep an eye on Thea too."
Melin: My host...is fickle.
"However the information Thea gave us this time was quite a hint. That Calypso Vantimi was also a commoner and worked at Princess Palace, He is the moon wraith in my opinion, And if I am not wrong he is also the Princess ex-lover."
Melin beeped.
[Information added, Host I will check all the previous year's records of Calypso Vantimi.]
"No, Check out his whole birth to death information, Don't leave a single point."
[Yes, Host.]
-
"That's impossible!"
Celine's voice resounded in the room, Nathaniel was also shocked at what he just heard.
When Mariana asked.
"Clyde, It's not that we don't want to believe you but we can't come to believe you, Brother found his fated partner only 3 months ago and now you are telling me that even you found your fated partner?"
On the other hand of the magic ball, Clyde calmly sipped his tea, He was wearing a nightgown, and his silver hair was draped over his shoulders.
"I really found my fated partner, She is beautiful, cute, and brave. It's your problem that you are still single don't doubt my marriage though."
Celine, Nathaniel & Mariana:...Wow, Is this our brother?
Nathaniel pushed Mariana away and asked.
"How did you meet her? Where? When? Why? And are you dating?"
Celine and Mariana also picked their ears.
Hearing this question, Clyde froze...
Actually, their meeting was a...comedy scene. That day he got lost on the way to Walter Kingdom's Palace and entered the Academy.
He saw three young men bullying another young man, He didn't want to bother them that's when he saw a girl running towards the young man.
From afar he felt nothing but when the girl got closer and glanced at him with cold eyes, he felt attracted.
This was the first time that he felt attracted to a human being and he knew his answer to why he was tempted.
Since she was his fated mate, he quickened his pace and went to protect her from those thugs, however before he could defend her...
She blasted the three boys away grabbed the bullied young man by the collar and dragged him away.
When he wanted to chase her...she glared at him again.
'So fierce...'
That was the first thought he had after his first impression of his fated mate.
Later he found out that she was a professor in Magic combat for Senior Students.
He tried to ask her out, pretend a coincidental meeting or even a small talk but he only got a glare or indifference for a whole week.
But he will pursue her back home for sure.
Nathaniel, Mariana, and Celine looked at each other, Why was Clyde smiling so widely?
"Clyde?"
"Brother?"
"Clyde?"
"Brother Clyde?"
"Hello? Hello? Hy~"
Everyone:...
-
Emperor Viktor frowned hard and sighed when he thought of the ever-increasing casualties in his Empire.
Just last night he heard that another 60 people were found dead on the streets of the slums.
This situation is getting out of control.
But then he thought about the content of that letter. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow and the situation is only worsening, When will he see the person sent from that organization?
Or was this just a scam?
As he was lost in thought he suddenly saw a flash of light in front of him.
Emperor Viktor had his own secret guards and as soon as the light shone, three secret guards appeared in front of the Emperor.
The atmosphere was tense until they saw a silver-haired young man appearing from the white light. The young man looked extremely beautiful, like an angel however his eyes had cold indifference to all beings.
Emperor Viktor was stunned by the young man for a moment but he came to his senses the next second and saw the black letter in the young man's hand.
"You all go down."
The secret guards glanced at the young man and vanished.
The glance was a warning to not attempt anything funny, Aster chuckled.
"Out of my Manners, May your reign be long and prosperous, Emperor. I am Aster Ashley, Ranked 24th in Celestial Order. My Lord sent me to help you solve the matter of the drought."
Emperor Viktor looked at Aster and smiled after a while.
"Come have a seat, Aster. Shall I call for some deserts?"
Aster took a seat and shook his head.
"Thanks, However, I am in a bit of a hurry as I have children at home."
Emperor Viktor was a bit stunned.
"You look so young and already married and have children?"
Aster smiled.
"Yes, Your Majesty. 9 children."
Now this time Emperor Viktor was seriously stunned stupid.
"9?!"
Aster chuckled.
"Your Majesty, Let's talk about the serious problem our Empire is facing."
Hearing this, Emperor Viktor coughed and took a serious face.
"Yes."
Aster glanced at the Emperor and then said without holding much.
"Your Majesty, A drought never comes all of a sudden. It is a gradual process that can take weeks, months, or even years to develop. The first signs of a drought may be a decrease in rainfall or snowfall, followed by a rise in temperatures and a decrease in humidity. As the drought progresses, plants and trees may start to wilt, and water levels in lakes and rivers may start to drop."
He paused for a moment.
"But in our Empire, it came all of a sudden and even the surroundings were affected. Is it a coincidence that natural disaster came or..."
He looked at Emperor Viktor who was frowning.
"Or it is an Artificial disaster to confuse the masses."
Emperor Viktor finished his sentence.
The two were silent before Emperor Viktor asked.
"How do you plan to stop the drought?"
Aster smiled.
"Your Majesty, How about we look at the situation from another angle? Why the drought came? Or What made the drought?"
His question was quite interesting and Emperor Viktor successfully became curious.
"Oh, Do Explain your guess to me."
Nodding, Aster said.
"Of course, Your Majesty. When I looked at the reports handed to me by my lord, I saw that in our Empire, the North was unhindered by the drought, While the East, West, and South were the most affected. Though we call them East and West, They are actually South-West and South-East. After looking at the casualties, it was also the Southern region that was affected the most."
He paused and glanced at the Emperor.
"South is the area that we can't develop because of slums and mercenaries."
Emperor Viktor quickly understood what he was hinting.
"You mean there is something in the south that caused the drought?"
Aster chuckled.
"Exactly Your Majesty."
Think, the South had the most casualties, it remained barren all year long. When drought came the most affected region was the South, And it even affected the Walter Kingdom somewhat just because it was in the Southern border of the Astrid Empire.
The two looked at each other, and Emperor Viktor sighed.
"Alright, I will let you investigate the case. If you successfully help me solve this case, I will reward you."
Aster stood up and bowed. Later the light shone again and Aster vanished.
A bit awkward, Emperor Viktor smiled.
What the young man talked about was not a big thing, anyone could have thought so but his Ministers seemed to have their eyes on another purpose and only came to drive him crazy.
-
The next morning, Aster let Melin call Thea back.
"Take this scroll, And ask Thea to come with Alex, Let her take 3 days' vacation."
Melin took the scroll and vanished.
After a while when the kids had their breakfast, Thea and Alex appeared out of a light.
"Aunt Thea!"
"Brother Alex!"
The kids were excited, and jumped around.
Aster looked at Thea who glaring at him.
"What? Did I delay you on something?"
Thea snorted.
"Tch, What do you want?"
Aster looked at the kids.
"Come with me."
The two walked to the backyard.
"So?"
Thea glared at Aster.
"I am going to the South for some time, You look over the kids for me. Gen will handle the Shop. I will be back in 3 days. Don't make the kids cry.
Thea raised her eyebrow.
"What are you going to do in the South?"
Aster smiled.
"Making my first step in this world."
-
The sun beat down mercilessly on the dusty streets of the slums, and the air was thick with the smell of death. The drought had been going on for weeks, and the people were starting to starve.
A woman sat on the ground, cradling her child in her arms. The child was crying, its stomach empty. The woman had no food to give it, and she was starting to lose hope.
An old man lay on the ground, too weak to move. He had been sick for weeks, and the drought had only made him worse. He closed his eyes and tears trickled down his cheeks. He didn't know how much longer he could last.
Two children fought over a muddy and rotten piece of bread. They were both hungry, and they were willing to do anything to get food. They fought and scratched, and the bread fell to the ground, a dog took away that piece. The children started to cry, both of them hungry and defeated.
The scene was a stark reminder of the devastation that the drought had caused. The people of the slums were dying, and there seemed to be no end in sight.
Aster walked through the slums with his hood on and head down. This scene was not strange to him. When the Sun collapsed in the First Phase of the destruction, the scene was many times worse than this scene.
Clenching his hands, Aster walked towards the hilltop, The South had 7 small mountains. Among them, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th were in the South of Astrid Empire while the 6th was in the East and the 7th mountain was in the West.
Aster walked towards the First mountain and kept walking without looking anywhere.
Melin who was floating invisibly beside Aster recorded the situation of the slums and made a small report.
It was a Habit developed by Aster. There were many times when they missed small clues and had huge losses. So he let Melin collect all information it could, record, and save as many files as it could.
In the middle of noon, Aster reached the mountain top and took off the hood.
Because it was noon and the sun was burning hot, he also walked for hours and sweated a lot.
After cleaning the sweat on his face, Aster took out a bottle of water and drank a lot in one big gulp.
"Melin check the surroundings. See if there is anyone."
[Yes, Host.]
In a second, Melin scanned the surroundings.
[Host, No one is here for the time.]
Aster glanced at the sky.
"Keep an eye on the surroundings."
[Yes, Host.]
After giving his order to Melin, Aster squatted down on the ground, put his right hand on the ground, and closed his eyes.
As soon as he closed his eyes, Aster's spiritual domain opened.
Back in his previous world, Except being the Host of the Card System, Aster also awakened his own powers. In Phase One, he had awakened Psychic powers.
In the spiritual domain, Beautiful and colorful light dots shone all around Aster.
Through his Spiritual eyes, Aster could see all 360. He focused under the ground.
The spiritual tentacles borrowed inside the ground for a while and soon Aster was stunned stupid.
Huge...no enormous amount of Spiritual power came into view, Not only Spiritual power, what he saw were golden, red, blue, pink, brown, green, black, silver, cyan and purple colored giant lights.
No, they were not lights, they were solid things, like rock maybe.
Aster opened his eyes and he was sweating hard.
His face paled down a lot.
Excessive use of Spiritual power for 3 hours was too much for him right now. He is only level 1 Psychic power user in this world.
[Host, What happened?]
Aster sat down on the ground and panted for a while.
"I think inside this mountain, there are origin stones."
Melin was a bit confused.
[But Host, Origin Stones cannot cause such a huge level of destruction.]
Aster agreed.
"Yes, It cannot cause such a huge disaster, But that is only if they are normal-level Origin Stones."
Melin almost understood.
[Host, Are they Grade 8th Origin Stones?]
Aster thought of those huge lights.
"Maybe, I think they might be the legendary Grade 9th Origin Stones."
[But Host, It is impossible to have a Grade 9th Origin Stone in this world and this world is still safe.]
Aster thought and suddenly laughed.
"Yes, Yes. This world is still safe, but not in the future."
Then Melin recalled the novel's ending. Yes, Not in the future.
To explain the Origin Stones in the simple world, are stones made out of natural elements. They can make a normal human become superhuman, Make dead alive, Make a Demon into God and a God into Demon, and Even create domains and different dimensions.
However, this depends on what type of Origin Stone it is.
In his previous life, These origin Stones were deemed as the saviour of humanity as they granted humans powers but they were a bit too common after Phase 3 so no one took them as precious gems.
Aster himself had owned several Grade 8 Origin Stones and he knew what they were capable of because he had seen them a lot back in his previous life that he could easily find out that they were origin stones.
Looking towards the direction of the slums, Aster sighed in his heart.
Because he knew the Origin Stones, He knew what they could do as well.
When Origin Stones are about to collapse, they cause several natural disasters, and after they completely lose their divine powers by causing disasters, they turn into normal rocks.
Melin floated in the air and asked.
[Host, How should we resolve this situation?]
Aster smiled.
"By deceiving the Public eye."
Melin was confused. How to confuse the public eye?
Aster put his hood back on and walked down the mountain, It was almost evening.
Melin saw him going back.
[Host, won't you solve the matter right now?]
Aster waved his hand.
"Nah, I am hungry, Food first, work later."
Melin:...