_____One Week After the Dungeon Raid, Black Rain_____
"Whaaat?! I was asleep for a whole week?!"
"Seriously, just how many days do you need to sleep before you're satisfied?"
"Hehe~ Noelle was so worried about you that she came to check on you several times~ Your friend came every day, though~"
Vanessa filled Asta in on everything that had happened while he was unconscious for a week.
"I wasn't worried! I was just wondering what we'd do if he never woke up!"
"Isn't that exactly what worrying is?"
Finral was a true master at teasing people.
"Thanks, Noelle! And Kadel, too!"
"You always come back injured, so I just did what I always do."
"Iwasworriedtoo,butAsta,see..."
Gordon was still impossible to understand.
"Rest is important, too! It just means you put that much effort into clearing the dungeon!"
Magna offered his own brand of advice.
"Still, a whole week..."
"Enough with the boring stories. Do you think our goddess of a little sister, Marie, would enjoy hearing that? Tell something more interesting. I only have 3,214 stories left to tell her."
"When exactly are you planning to finish telling all of those?"
Finral, the closest thing to a normal person among them, shot Gauche a retort.
"So, how are you? Has the wound on your stomach healed?
Can you fight me now? Can youuu?"
"It's healed, but fighting is... Besides, I'm hungry..."
"Everyone! Breakfast made by the sheep chefs is ready~!"
Charmy arrived at just the right moment with the food prepared.
"Delicious! So delicious!! Insanely delicious!! Gack!"
"Honestly, calm down and chew your food!"
"He choked again because he was eating too fast..."
"That's so pathetic..."
"What's the problem~? You need plenty of nutrition~ Want a drink?"
"No, you can't offer that!"
"We're still minors, Vanessa."
"What a shame~ It's so delicious, too~"
Creeeak!!
At that moment, Yami entered the dining hall.
It didn't sound like a door opening, but let's not dwell on it.
"Haaah~ Should I go back to sleep after breakfast?"
Yami was the perfect example of a man whose only talent was eating and sleeping.
"Captain, good morning!"
"Good morning!"
"Morning~"
"Oh? You're awake, brat? You didn't die, did you?"
"I'm alive!"
"Good work! You come back looking like a rag every time, though! Hahahaha!"
"Thanks!"
"Oh, right. Headquarters wants a report about the dungeon, as well as the treasure and magic tools you found. If you can walk, go over there."
"Huh?"
"A report?"
"I figured they wouldn't just let it slide, but they called us in personally?"
"They probably think it's best to hear it from the people involved."
"Magic Knights Headquarters?"
Luck's face practically screamed, There'll probably be lots of strong people there! Can I fight them~?
"Luck isn't allowed to go. He'd definitely cause some kind of trouble."
"Aww..."
Yami instantly saw through Luck's intentions and stopped his impulsive behavior before it could begin.
"I assigned you to a combat mission instead, so go with Magna."
"A combat mission! Let's do our best together, Magna~!"
"Huh?! That gave me chills! Are you really Luck? You're not Gray transformed into him, are you?"
"Shhh..."
"Oh, you are here?"
Magna had no idea what fate awaited him and could only be bewildered by the current situation. Maybe after they came back, he'd get to hear all about the "Crackle Crackle Magna Typhoon."
"Then I'll go instead!
I wonder what delicious food they have in the Royal Capital~"
"No, no. Why would we send you? All you do is eat every day."
The captain brutally struck Charmy down with plain facts.
"Captain, I'm busy writing a letter to Marie, so I can't go."
"No one told you to go."
"Um, I'll come too..."
And so, Asta, Noelle, and I decided to go. Of course, Charmy would probably be hiding inside Asta's hat, but I decided to look the other way.
_____Royal Capital of the Clover Kingdom_____
"Whoa! Whoaa! Amazing! Seeing it in person, the castle is this huge?!"
"W-would you stop yelling? It's embarrassing."
"What's the point? He's not going to stop no matter what we say."
"Amazing~ It's huge!"
"How long are you going to keep saying that? This is perfectly ordinary."
"Those robes up ahead are gold..."
"Oh, huh?"
"Well, well~ Isn't it the Golden Dawn?"
"Oh, it's been a week, Asta! Are you here to report as well?
Are your injuries all right now?"
"Yeah! I'm fully recovered! After sleeping a lot and eating a lot, I'm all better!"
"Are you a child?"
Yuno immediately cut in with that jab.
"Who are you calling a child?!"
"You."
"You're the same age as Kadel!
Oh! It's thanks to your magic! Thank you, Mimosa!"
"It was nothing. Kadel, who was behind me, replenished my Mana for me."
...Did Mimosa say something like that here in the original? My memory's fuzzy...
"Anyway, it was your magic that saved Asta then, wasn't it? I can't thank you enough! Thank you!"
Tap tap tap!!
Why was she running away from me?
Wait... had I somehow built up a dislike meter?
What? I hadn't done anything that would warrant it. Was I being hated by a character from the original story? No way!
"Why did she run away?"
"Maybe she was surprised because Kadel's face looked so feminine up close... or something?"
"What's wrong with my face?!"
Honestly, I didn't dislike my face... No, let me put it properly.
For some reason, my face resembled Vanica Zogratis, who appeared around the final arc of Black Clover.
Objectively, I looked like a handsome, pretty boy, but seeing Vanica's reflection in my own face made me uneasy.
With a wounded heart, I started toward Magic Knights Headquarters again.
"The headquarters should be somewhere around here."
"So Four-Eyes doesn't know everything!"
"Even Four-Eyes doesn't know everything."
"Since when did that nickname become permanent?"
"I see. Friends can call each other things like that."
"I suppose so."
"That's how it is."
"I don't usually have any reason to come to Magic Knights Headquarters, so I'm not familiar with the area.
...!"
"Huh?!"
Standing in front of the headquarters entrance was a middle-aged man. If things followed the original story...
"I never expected you to come in person!"
Klaus, Noelle, and Mimosa immediately dropped to their knees.
"Who's this flashy old man?"
"You idiot!! This is the current Wizard King, Julius Novachrono!!!"
"Whaaaat?!"
"Gasp!"
Asta and Yuno reacted with entirely different kinds of shock.
Meanwhile, Klaus forcibly pushed Asta's head down.
I'd known it was Julius, but with the backlighting, he did look somewhat dark and ominous. I could see why people might mistake him for a villain at first.
_____Inside Headquarters_____
"Hmm... You did well to obtain this. This magic is probably the dungeon's most important relic."
"You can read it?"
"More or less."
"The most important relic... That's awesome!!"
"Hmm... I see. Heeey~~~~"
As Julius examined Yuno's Grimoire, he began letting out impressed noises, his eyes sparkling. His inner magic maniac had probably broken free.
"Hey, hey! Could you show me this magic? Please!!"
"I'm sorry. I know I used it once in the dungeon, but I haven't been able to use it since..."
"Aww... I see... No, that's disappointing..."
Julius looked absurdly devastated.
"What I can tell you is that this magic will grow alongside you and someday become a tremendous power. Cherish it."
"Yes."
The moment Yuno received his Grimoire back, Asta thrust his own forward.
"Wizard King! Strange writing appeared in my Grimoire too! Please take a look!"
The writing probably described the Demon-Dweller Sword Asta had acquired in the dungeon, but...
"Hmm... This is...!"
"What is it?"
"I can't read it at all."
"Urgh!!"
Asta toppled over like a character in an old manga.
"I've never seen it in any texts, either."
Of course he hadn't.
Every character in Asta's Grimoire was related to devils and the underworld. There was no way it would be easy to find in texts left behind by ordinary humans. Other than those of the Faust Family, perhaps.
"This came out! Please look at it!"
Asta immediately pulled out the Demon-Dweller Sword.
"Ohh! A second Anti-Magic sword!"
"Heh heh... I pulled it out, you know?"
Asta subtly tried to show off to Yuno.
Perhaps he was even more eager to do so because the Wizard King was right in front of him.
"A-Anti-Magic power... C-can I touch it?"
Julius stared at the sword once more with sparkling eyes.
"Go ahead!"
"Thank you... Gah! It's heavy!!"
"Are you okay, Wizard King?!"
"You wield such a sword so well... Hmm...?"
Julius fell silent for a moment.
Then he continued.
"I see. Thank you, I'll return it. This is far too much for me. Heh heh! Since you have no magic power, you're able to use this sword."
"How do you know I have no magic power?! And that the sword cuts magic?!"
"Who knows~?"
Well, he'd witnessed it all while disguised as an old woman, so of course he knew.
"And the black-haired friend next to you..."
"Me?"
"Yes... Are you the rumored Time Magic user?!"
"Wah!"
Julius approached me in an instant, making me let out a strange noise.
"Oh, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm just fascinated, you see?"
"Fascinated?"
Was it because we had the same type of magic? Or because he'd seen my Grimoire? Julius was showing an enormous amount of interest.
"Could you show me your Grimoire again?"
"Ah, sure."
Wait... "again"? This guy was basically announcing that we'd met somewhere before...
"Here."
"Ohh! A Grimoire without a cover!
Could you show me your magic too?"
"Ah... yes!"
It felt as though his requests were steadily increasing, but I did as Julius asked.
After demonstrating my magic—
"Wonderful magic! Even I'm impressed! To use Time Magic like this!"
"Ah, thank you..."
I felt a little embarrassed. I'd just received praise from the man considered the strongest alive.
"In any case, it was a splendid performance.
You've all done well."
"Um... may I ask you something?"
"You're really going to ask that?"
"Of course! The Wizard King is right in front of us!"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"How do we..."
"""Become the Wizard King?"""
Asta, Yuno, and I asked at the same time.
"Hahahahaha! I see, you three are aiming to become Wizard King! As Magic Knights, that's exactly how you should be!"
"You shouldn't ask the Wizard King something so directly! Understand? The Wizard King must possess a noble heart and earn the people's deep trust—"
"No."
Unlike before, Julius gave a serious answer, cutting off Klaus's lengthy explanation.
"Achievements.
You can't protect people with pride alone, and trust follows achievement.
There is only one thing required of the Wizard King.
Achievements worthy of being called the strongest.
Produce results. Steadily accumulate achievements. That is all.
Anyone who cannot do that cannot even stand at the pinnacle."
"""That's exactly what we wanted to hear!!"""
Just as when we'd asked our question, the three of us answered in unison.
"Hahahahaha! Well then! Actually, today is the awards ceremony for Magic Knights who've earned an especially high number of stars."
"Awards cer... what?"
"You didn't hear about it...?"
"The awards ceremony. Those who have accumulated greater merits receive medals in recognition of their achievements."
"Heeh...?"
"You should go and take part as well."
Honestly, there would be certain Silvers there who should've been thrown in the trash, but there were good people too. And since the original story had to move forward, I decided to go along as well.
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