"This is your room. What do you think? It's depressingly cramped, and filthy to boot, right? Hahahaha! For the record, my room is twice as big as this one, and—"
"Gah! My room!"
"A-Are you... moved?"
"I've never had a room of my own before!
At the church, we all slept in the same room! All packed together!
Whoa!! Hyaaah!! I'll make it shine! Sparkling clean!"
"Yeah, scrub it well. You're free until we get a mission! Hahaha!
Oh, right, Asta!"
"Yes?"
"Write a proper letter. To everyone at the church. They're your family, aren't they? I'm sure they're worried about how things turned out."
"Yes!"
"Don't make anyone worry. That's what it means to be a man! I'm going to show this guy around now. If you need anything, come find me."
"Got it! Thanks!"
After we had gotten some distance from Asta's room,
"Hey, Kadel."
"Yes, sir."
"Is he always like that? You said he's your friend, so you'd know him better than anyone."
"Oh, yes! Asta's been like that since we were kids. He couldn't use magic, he was dumb, and he had no sense of awareness."
"Really? You sure seem to care about him a lot for someone who talks about him like that."
"Haha! You caught me. He's helped me more times than I can count, and he's never given up. Not once."
"Just as I thought! He's a man I can respect!!"
Talking with Magna about Asta, we arrived at my room.
"Same thing I told Asta, but... make sure you write that letter properly, okay?"
"Yes! Thank you for being so considerate, Magna!"
"Ha! You've got good instincts! If anything happens, come find me!
This senior of yours will help you with everything he's got!"
"Yes, sir!"
I went straight inside and began writing my letter.
—Father, Sister Lily, everyone at the church, are you all well?
I passed the Magic Knights exam!
In fact, when it was my turn, every captain raised their hand for me!
I've been accepted as an official knight of the Black Rain, and I've received both a robe and my own room!
I'll write whenever I have the time.
Please stay healthy, everyone.
The next day, in Hage Village—
Lily Aquamaria, better known as Sister Lily, was taking in the laundry early that morning.
"Oh my?"
An owl used Spatial Magic to place three letters in Lily's hand, then leisurely flew away.
The letters had been written by Yuno, Asta, and Kadel.
"Just as expected of Yuno! Waaah! He passed the Magic Knights exam! He's the pride of our village!"
"Yuno is amazing!"
"Amazing!"
"What does Kadel's letter say?"
"Oh, Kadel passed safely as well. He even says every captain raised their hand for him."
"Sniff! Ever since the day we met, that boy always looked me straight in the eye! I knew he was destined for great things! I must go tell the whole village at once!"
"So, Sister, what does Asta's letter say?"
"His handwriting is unbelievably awful."
It seemed Asta got insulted whether he was there or not.
"When is he coming back?"
"We should encourage him when he returns. Asta must be feeling down too, so we'll throw a Super Mashed Sweet Potato Party!"
"It says he passed too..."
"Whaaaat?!"
"Huh?"
"What?"
Asta's acceptance came as such a fresh shock that everyone could do nothing but stare in disbelief.
"Asta too..."
"Whaaaaaaaaaat?!"
The priest's shout nearly shook the church apart.
Apparently, Asta passing was more shocking than anyone could have imagined.
"Really?"
"Oh... is that so?"
"I-I see. So they're not coming back. I see. All three of them passed.
Good! Let's go tell the village! This is the greatest day in Hage Village's history!"
"I see, Asta passed too! I see!!"
"Congratulations, Asta, Yuno, Kadel. Work hard and do your best!"
—Back at the Black Rain hideout.
"Yaaawn... I slept well."
After yesterday's hectic events, I had been exhausted enough to fall asleep right away. When I woke up that morning, a Magic Knights Black Rain robe had been neatly folded in front of me.
"So yesterday wasn't a dream. Even if it is, I hope I never wake up."
After muttering to myself, I got dressed and opened the door.
The layout was definitely very different from yesterday.
"There was definitely a pillar ahead here, and that corner turned right..."
Maybe it's because of Assembly Magic, used by Henry, another Black Rain member somewhere in this hideout. This is Henry's house to begin with. I should go see Asta. If he's over there, Magna will probably come show us around the hideout.
The moment I arrived in front of Asta's room—
Bang!
"All right!! Let's fire ourselves up and go!!!"
Asta's fighting spirit immediately cooled when he slammed into a pillar.
"Ugh... Was there a pillar here yesterday?"
"Doesn't it seem like the house layout changed a little?"
"Oh! Kadel! You got here first!"
"Hey, newbies. Sleep well?"
"Good morning, sir!!"
"Good morning, Magna."
"Um, Magna, about this pillar..."
"What about the pillar?"
"I don't think it was here until yesterday."
"And the pillar in front of my room disappeared instead."
"Don't worry about some stupid pillar! This hideout seems to change shape now and then! You'll get used to it soon enough."
"Is that so?"
"Well, he's been here longer than us, so I guess he's probably right?"
"Hmm... if you say so..."
"All right, let's go!"
"Yes!"
"Where are we going?"
"I'll graciously give you a tour of the Black Rain's dull hideout!"
He probably won't be calling it dull once Henry's magic makes the hideout transform later...
"Follow me! Asta, Kadel!"
"Yes, Sunglasses!"
"Didn't your sunglasses get broken yesterday?"
"A man always keeps a few spares!
And Asta, you idiot! It's Lord Magna to you!"
"Idiot! Lord Magna!"
"Leave out the idiot!!"
"This is the dining hall!"
"Whoa!!"
"What do you think? Pointlessly huge, right?"
"Yes, it's huge!"
"Does Charmy perhaps eat and sleep here...?"
"This is... the grand bathhouse."
"Whoooa! Gah, hot!"
"I can take it...! I can!"
"You just don't want to lose!"
"As members of the Black Rain, something like this should be nothing! What's this, you're leaving already?"
"N-No, not yet... not yet!!"
As Asta, Magna, and I were noisily chatting, a tiny voice came from our left.
"When it's hot, it's good to pour cold water over yourself and rest for a while."
"Gah! Gordon, when did you get here?"
"I've been following you since earlier."
Isn't his voice way too quiet...? The steam would drown him out.
"Beyond here are the women's rooms! If a man goes in, he'll get hit by trap magic and die!"
"What?!"
"It really seems easy to die around here..."
Sure enough, threads so fine they could only be seen on close inspection stretched before us. It was probably Vanessa's Thread Magic... They won't really kill us if we mess up, right?
"And this is the bathroom!!"
The moment Magna said that and opened the door, someone who looked strangely familiar appeared inside.
"Oh!"
"I'll kill you."
Creak.
"We're sorry!!"
At Yami's single menacing line, everyone panicked and shut the door again.
"Aaaah!!"
"This is the beast room!"
"W-Why?"
"Maybe they're the pets of someone with unusual tastes?"
"Come on, there's no way anyone has a hobby like—"
"It's Yami's hobby!"
"What?"
"Asta."
"Y-Yes?"
"I'll hand over the responsibility of raising the creatures to you."
"Whew, good thing it's not me..."
"It's a tremendous honor. I don't actually want to hand it over, but I'll make a special exception for you."
"Then why don't you do it with him?"
"Shh! Keep quiet!
Ahem! Feed them twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.
All right, go feed them."
He definitely doesn't want to do it himself, so he's dumping it on Asta.
Considering how he somehow talked over what I said, that has to be it.
I think those beasts weren't actually bad creatures, though...?
"Ah, okay.
Good boys, good boys~ Here's your food~
Gah!"
Instead of feeding them, Asta was about to become their meal.
"Aaaagh!"
"Pwahahahahaha!"
"Pfft... Sorry, Asta! But it looked way too funny!"
"This is the library!"
"It's huge~!"
"Yes!"
"And this is the recreation room. You can have lots of fun here!"
"W-What?"
"Doesn't that look like a torture chamber no matter how you look at it...?"
After that, the two of them began sprinting wildly down the corridors.
I ran too, using it as training to focus Mana into my legs.
"Hahahahaha! Come on, try to catch me!"
"Oh, wait for us!"
"When is this event ever going to end...?"
"I'm not losing!!"
"Oh?"
"Aaah!"
"Huh?"
Magna was sprinting at full speed when he abruptly stopped for some reason, and Asta drove his head straight into Magna's back. I stopped in time, at least.
"Magna? Huh?"
"Hey, Asta, Kadel. She's your fellow rookie. This year's other new recruit."
"What? Another fellow rookie? That has a nice ring to it!
Hi! I'm Asta from Hage Village! Let's work hard together! Nice to meet you!"
The fellow rookie Magna had mentioned was, exactly as I expected, Noelle Silver.
Right now, she was a beginner with nothing but an enormous amount of Mana. But later on, she would become the type to bloom late, annihilating enemies with overwhelming Mana and the way she wielded it.
Slap!
Noelle casually brushed Asta's offered handshake aside and spoke coolly.
"Don't speak to me so casually.
You lowborn gnats whose Mana I can barely even sense."
"Gnats?"
"Gnats?"
"I'd like to think I'm at least better than a gnat..."
"I'm Noelle Silver, a royal of this country."
"Wha?! R-Royalty?!
That's it, that's the one! Please forgive this lowly gnat who could blow away in the wind! Hehehe~"
Asta bowed with wildly exaggerated movements.
"As long as you understand."
Noelle accepted it without batting an eye.
"...No! Who are you calling a gnat?!"
"Wasn't that reaction a little slow?"
"You and us are fellow Magic Knights, aren't we? What does being royalty have to do with anything here?!"
"That's right, Asta! Tell her status doesn't matter!"
Magna joined Asta, their shared lowborn friendship kicking in.
"It does matter."
"How does it matter?!"
Asta and Magna were already matching each other's lines perfectly.
"I suppose foolish commoners can't understand with words.
I'll have to make you understand through the difference in our Mana."
Since Magna was supposed to get drenched here anyway, I decided to stay out of it. Five seconds later, I regretted that choice.
"Learn your place."
Bang!
As soon as Noelle finished speaking, Water Magic with considerable power shot forth.
She didn't even use her Grimoire, but that output is pretty high... No wonder Captain Yami rates her so highly.
As I was having those thoughts,
the water bomb came flying right at me.
"Huh?"
Boom!!!
"Gah!!"
"Hey... I didn't even say anything..."
"Your standing position was wrong.
Whose permission did you get to stand there?"
"Whaaaat?!"
"I'm the one who got insulted, but your reaction is somehow more dramatic, Asta..."
"You brat! What do you think you're doing to your fellow rookies?!"
"I'm royalty!"
"Huh? I don't care whether you're royalty or the little sister of the captain of the Silver Eagles, but Yami's the only one who'd take in a troublemaker like you!
You should be grateful, idiot! I went easy on you because you're a girl, but do you want to go through the initiation too?!"
"As if I'd want to be in a squad like this!"
Noelle threw down her Black Rain robe and walked outside.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
"What kind of rain is this supposed to be? I don't need some filthy robe.
This lowest, worst Magic Knight squad isn't a place for royalty like me."
"You bastard!! Apologize to the robe and to Yami! Apologize! Apologize! Apologize!"
"The robe I worked so hard to earn..."
"Is she still unstable...?"
The following day.
"I had a satisfying dump, so maybe I'll lie down and sleep some more—"
"Captain Yami."
"Yeah?"
"What is that?"
Looking outside, we saw Noelle radiating vast Mana from within a massive sphere of water.
"Oh my, oh my."
"Wow~"
"That's incredible..."
"Her Mana is running wild."
"What kind of Mana reserves does she even have...? If we leave her like that, it'll be dangerous!"
"If we attack with magic, she won't make it out unharmed."
"Do you have some special method, Captain Yami?"
I asked Yami in case he had a special solution.
"Hey, Finral. Can't you use your Spatial Magic to pull out just that girl?"
"Don't ask the impossible! I can't even get close to her like that!"
"I see~ It'd be nice if we had someone who could nullify magic."
"Hmm... Won't he come flying in any moment now?"
"Aaaah! Whaaat?! Gah!"
Just as I said, Asta came flying in, only to be caught by Yami the instant he arrived. Hang in there a little longer, Asta.
"You came at just the right time.
Go deal with that somehow."
Yami was demanding the impossible.
"Somehow? Understood! But how am I supposed to get over there?"
Asta was agreeing to the impossible.
"I can't fly, though... can I...?"
"Quit yapping!
Right here! Right now! Surpass your limits!!"
In an instant, Yami hurled Asta through the air at a speed that seemed like magic.
Fortunately, Asta seemed to have cleanly cut through only Noelle's magic.
"Spatial Magic—[Fallen Angel's Gate]!"
"Time Deceleration Magic—[Chrono di Silares]!"
"Whoa! Yes! I'm alive!!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"That was fun~ Right? Right?"
"Honestly, I'm completely soaked."
"Thanks for the Spatial Magic! And the Time Magic too!"
"Don't mention it~"
"It's what I always do."
"Good work, brat!"
"Yes!
Hey, you!"
Not even five minutes after the incident ended, Asta began questioning the culprit, Miss Noelle.
"Eek!"
"You—what kind of Mana do you have?! It's incredible!"
"Huh?"
Unlike her family, who had brutally scorned her, Asta's heartfelt admiration made Noelle let out a deflated sound.
"I don't have any magic, so I'm jealous! Damn it!
If you train and learn to use it freely, you'll be invincible, Noelle!"
"Uh... gnat... Asta..."
"Gah! I'd better work even harder so I don't lose either!"
"Tch, what? You just couldn't control your Mana?
Say so already, half-baked royal princess.
We're a half-baked bunch too—
the [Black Rain].
One or two flaws of yours are nothing, idiot."
"Anyway, I'm glad you're safe~ More importantly, there's a delicious pasta place nearby. How about we go sometime?"
"Before that, want to try this? Yeah?"
"You really were amazing! I'm exceptionally good at Mana control, so I'll teach you! And some grown woman techniques too~"
"Let me tell you all about how angelic my little sister Marie is."
"Please take care of me from now on."
"So we're really fellow rookies from now on, right?"
"Come on! Let's work hard together!"
"P-Please take care of me!"
And so, the third day in the accident-prone Black Rain came to an end.
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