With the declaration that the exam had ended, William Vangeance, captain of the Golden Dawn, began explaining once again.
"...That concludes the exam. When your number is called, step forward. Captains who wish for that applicant to join their squad, please raise your hand.
"Whether to join a squad that has raised its hand—and, if multiple squads do so, which one to choose—is entirely up to the applicant.
"However, as I explained earlier, if no squad raises its hand, you cannot join the Magic Knights. Now then, Applicant 001, step forward."
After some time had passed, our turn drew near.
"Next... Number 164."
At Yuno's appearance, every captain at the exam site raised a hand.
"...Huh...?"
"Every single one of them raised their hand...?"
"Seriously...?"
"Asta, keep your mouth open any wider and a bug's going to fly in."
Asta's jaw had dropped at every captain raising a hand for Yuno. But if it was Yuno...
Yuno must have long since calculated the optimal path to becoming the Wizard King. So he'll choose the Golden Dawn.
"I would like to join the Golden Dawn."
"Next, Number 165."
Finally, it was my long-awaited turn.
I had shown them my rather rare magic and my Grimoire, so I figured at least a few of them would raise their hands.
But, unexpectedly...
"...Every single one again?"
"These commoners sure have some nerve, crawling their way up here."
Was it because an ability like the Wizard King's was being rated so highly?
Still, anyone who had watched Black Clover would naturally know exactly which squad they wanted to join.
"I would like to join the Black Bulls."
Murmur, murmur.
"Is something wrong with that guy's head?"
"The Black Bulls? Even though every captain raised a hand for him...?"
"Why would he choose that absolute worst squad?"
Surrounded by the voices of people who knew nothing, I was the only one smiling to myself.
"Why do you think that guy chose our squad?"
"How would I know? It's his choice."
"More importantly, are there any other applicants you want to recruit, Captain Yami?"
"No—actually, there's one more."
"The four-leaf kid has already been snatched up by Golden Dawn. Who do you mean?"
"Just wait quietly."
Up above, they were in the middle of talking about me.
The one more person Yami meant was probably Asta.
After all, no one suited the purpose behind the Black Bulls, the squad Yami had created, better than he did.
Once my turn was over, Asta walked out.
"Please take care of me!!!"
In contrast to his booming shout, not a single squad raised a hand.
Just as a tense silence settled over the room, Yami broke it.
"Of course they wouldn't.
"No matter how strong your combat ability is, if it's some unknown power, no one will want to touch it."
"Yami...?"
Finral called to Yami as though flustered, but Yami calmly continued.
"At the end of the day, what a Magic Knight needs is Mana."
In that instant, Yami's overwhelming Mana spread through the exam hall—vast and dense, as though an enormous ocean stood before us.
Boom!!
As Yami descended from where the captains stood, the pressure became even greater.
Asta couldn't sense Mana itself, but even he had broken into a sweat beneath Yami's overwhelming presence.
As for me, I was smiling little by little, thrilled that I could see this scene with my own eyes.
"No one wants a guy like you, without any Mana.
"This is reality...! You said earlier that you were aiming to become the Wizard King, didn't you?
"That means you're saying you'll surpass all nine Magic Knight captains, right?
"Say it again, right here in front of me. Say that even without Mana, you're going to become the Wizard King...!"
Even though I knew this would happen and had prepared myself for it, that preparation was meaningless. It felt as if the air itself had grown heavy, and I couldn't even move.
"...Even if I can't join the Magic Knights here, even if I fail again and again, no matter what anyone says...
"Someday, I will become the Wizard King...!"
How could he say something like that in this situation?
The more time I spent with Asta, the more incredible he felt compared to how he had seemed in the manga...
"Pwahahaha! You're interesting!!
"Come to the Black Bulls."
"...Huh?"
"By the way, you don't get to refuse.
"That guy over there is your friend, right? I'll work both of you to the bone, so prepare yourselves...!"
Good grief, I was going to get worked to the bone too? Choosing the Black Bulls had already guaranteed that, but still.
"And someday, become the Wizard King."
"...Yes, sir!!!"
Everyone had denied Asta's dream, but here, Yami had acknowledged it. It was moving.
Afterward, I went looking for Asta so we could leave together, only to see him sprinting off somewhere in a hurry.
"Grrrr! Now that it's over, I suddenly need to use the bathroom!!!
"Was that roasted purple snake I ate to fire myself up bad?!
"I'm gonna explode! It's already all the way down there!"
"Asta! I'll go on ahead and wait!"
"Got it! Just wait a little!!"
Yuno would take care of the rest himself, so I decided to wait...
"Oh, you're here already, middle kid?"
Middle kid?
"Um... what do you mean by middle kid...?"
"You're friends with that tall four-leaf brat in Golden Dawn, aren't you? And with our little brat too."
"That's true, but..."
"So you're the one in between them. Middle kid."
So he meant my height. I wasn't as short as Asta, but I wasn't as tall and lanky as Yuno either... Damn it. Why couldn't I grow taller, in either my past life or this one...?
"More importantly, where'd that brat go?"
"He ran off shouting that he had to use the bathroom earlier..."
"Making me wait... I need to teach that guy some discipline."
Didn't you just get here yourself...?
"Making me wait, huh? You've got some nerve...! Just how long are you planning to sit on that toilet—"
"No, I had a reeeally huge one, okay?"
"Asta... maybe we should talk about something else here..."
"Kadel, you should've seen it! It was thiiiiis huge and massive..."
"Who asked to hear about your crap, idiot?"
"Aaaaagh!"
"I knew this would happen..."
"And what's with you? Got a problem...?"
With the same hand Yami had used to grab Asta's head, he seized mine.
"Aaaagh! My head's going to crack!"
"Let's go, Finral."
"Y-yes, sir. [Spatial Magic: Fallen Angel's Exit]."
"Whoa, what is that?!"
"Our heads are about to split open, and that's what you're focused on?!"
"Don't worry, idiot. I don't intend to crack them open. If you can't fly with Mana, then the little brat will have to learn some kind of movement magic too.
"Oh, right. You don't have Mana. Hahahaha!"
"Excuse me, Yami, but maintaining it at this size is pretty difficult. Could you please hurry through?"
"Hey, who do you think you're ordering around? Hold it. Surpass your limits right here and now."
He said it so seriously. Was he actually serious...? I still couldn't figure out Yami's jokes.
"Hup!"
"Aaaaagh!"
With a shout, Yami tossed Asta straight into the spatial magic.
"Um, am I going in like that too...?"
"Obviously. You go too, middle kid. Hyah!"
"Aaaaah!"
Splat!!
I crashed to the floor with a sound that seemed like it belonged in a comic book.
Oh, right. This really was a comic-book world.
"So this is the Black Bulls'...!"
Kraaaaaash!!!!!
Before I could finish speaking, the wall in front of us collapsed with a tremendous explosion.
"Whaaaaaat?!"
"Asta, I feel like you've been making that face a lot today."
"It suddenly broke? Is that okay?"
"I'm mad...! Are you ready, you bastard?! Dieeeee!!!"
"Ready or not, let's do this~!"
"Ah, I drank too much. My head hurts..."
"Pshuuuu..."
"Munch, munch, munch."
"Shut up, you idiots!! Today too, my angelic little sister—"
In order, there were Magna, Luck, Vanessa, Gray, Charmy, and Gauche. Including Finral, Gordon, and Captain Yami behind them, the Black Bulls were still two members short of their numbers in the original.
Zora still had time before he joined, while Vice Captain Nacht was probably working as a spy in the Spade Kingdom.
"Still, it's incredibly noisy here..."
"Wahahaha! Welcome to the lowest, worst Magic Knight squad—
"the Black Bulls!"
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