At dawn, Charles pushed open his door and sighed helplessly. "Figures, it's changed again…"
The Black Bulls' headquarters was a strange place—its structure shifted day by day.
Just yesterday, there had been a row of pillars outside his room. But this morning, it had morphed into a bare hallway.
Charles knew the cause: Henry Legolant, another member of the Black Bulls.
Cursed with an unknown affliction, Henry could only live within the headquarters, surviving by passively absorbing the mana of others. Because he couldn't control this trait, close contact with him was dangerous, so he remained apart from the rest of the squad—more legend than reality, whispered of as the squad's "ghost."
Henry's magic was "Recombination Magic," letting him freely manipulate any object soaked in mana. That meant the entire headquarters was essentially his playground—its daily restructuring all thanks to him.
Just outside, Charles spotted Asta, looking more excited than ever. That kid probably woke up finally convinced he wasn't dreaming—he'd really joined the Magic Knights!
Charles had to admit, Asta's energy seemed bottomless.
Their rooms were run-down and filthy. Charles had spent a good chunk of the night cleaning his before it was even livable. After that, he'd written a letter to everyone back at the church, going to bed quite late. Asta had likely done the same, yet he showed no signs of fatigue.
"Morning, Charles! Today's our first official day in the Black Bulls. Let's give it our all!" Asta greeted enthusiastically.
Charles waved lazily. "You're as energetic as ever…"
"Oh yeah! Charles, I found this random pillar outside my door this morning. Totally weird, right?"
"It's just a pillar. Don't freak out over every little thing," said Magna, strolling over. "This castle changes shape all the time. You'll get used to it."
Charles nodded. "Magna-senpai, today's the tour you promised us, right?"
"Damn straight! Let the great Magna-sama give you a proper tour of the Black Bulls' base! Let's go, brats!" he bellowed.
Magna and Asta bolted off. Charles sighed and hurried after them.
"This is the mess hall!"
Inside, only Charmy was seated, devouring what might've been her third or fourth meal of the day. The place felt oddly empty.
"Size doesn't matter if it's useless!" Magna declared.
—
"This here's the grand bath!"
Soaking in the hot springs, Charles squinted skeptically. Weren't they supposed to be touring? How had they ended up bathing?
"…Well, the temperature is perfect," Charles mumbled, relaxing.
Seeing him, Asta shouted, "Of course Charles can take it! But damn, it's hot!"
"This is what it means to be a man of the Black Bulls!" Magna proclaimed.
"…" (Gordon had mysteriously appeared in the bath. Sorry, still couldn't hear a word he said.)
—
"Up ahead is the girls' quarters! It's full of traps. Go near it and you're dead meat!"
Looking at the tripwires and deathtraps, Charles instantly recognized whose handiwork it was.
He glanced over at Magna and Asta, both only wearing towels and carrying their clothes—clearly rushing after each other like fools.
In that moment, Charles understood the necessity of those traps.
—
"This is the toilet!"
Magna froze.
Because sitting there in full "The Thinker" pose… was Yami.
"Die." A menacing aura of death leaked from the captain.
"SO SORRY!" Magna slammed the door shut.
—
"This is the game room. It's where we relax!"
Charles eyed the room's contents—some of which resembled medieval torture devices—and wondered if Magna's definition of "games" matched his own.
—
"This is the beast room!"
Dozens of glowing eyes peered from the darkness. These were definitely not cuddly pets.
"Why do we even have a room like this?!" Asta asked, trembling.
"It's Captain Yami's hobby," Magna explained cheerfully. "Feeding 'em is your job now. Wanna give it a try?"
Charles's eyes lit up with curiosity. After living with Igneel for so long, these creatures were just overgrown puppies to him.
He approached confidently with a slab of meat—but the moment his arm extended toward the cage, a giant maw lunged forward and bit down on him.
Charles didn't even flinch. He just smiled and stroked the beast's head with his free hand.
"There, there… Hungry, huh? But—"
His expression shifted. Flames coiled around his arm.
"That HURT, you bastard!"
WHAM!
Charles punched the beast square on the head, knocking it out cold.
As it collapsed with a whimper and cartoonish spiral eyes, Charles shook out his hand and scanned the cage.
The rest of the creatures, who'd been growling moments before, instantly fell silent and lined up obediently.
Hands on his hips, Charles nodded in approval. "See? Good boys."
Turning back, he gave Magna a thumbs-up. "Leave these guys to me!"
Magna grinned and returned the gesture. "Didn't expect any less from the man I vouched for!"
—
After quite a few mishaps, Magna finally wrapped up the tour.
But at the base's lowest level, the trio ran into someone else—another new recruit clad in a Black Bulls cloak.
A silver-haired girl with twin-tails, about the same age as Charles.
Yet something about her screamed haughty—like a proud peacock strutting about.
Charles recognized her instantly.
Noelle Silva, the third new member to join the Black Bulls alongside Asta and himself.
Charles realized something: this world had an overabundance of tsundere characters.
There was the second protagonist Yuno, female lead Noelle, and even the Blue Rose captain Charlotte. One was more emotionally stunted than the next.
Especially Noelle—a textbook tsundere. Her brother, Nozel Silva, captain of the Silver Eagles, was another prime example. A full-on siscon who pretended to hate her. Charles couldn't help but wonder if being tsundere was a Silva family tradition.
While Charles was still spacing out, Magna kindly introduced Noelle. Asta, trying to make friends, stepped forward with a big smile.
"Hi! I'm Asta, new recruit just like you. Let's get along!"
SLAP!
Noelle swatted his hand aside without hesitation.
"Don't talk to me, you filthy low-born insect with no magic!"
Ah, there it is. The patented Noelle-brand tsundere venom.
Who would've guessed this sharp-tongued girl would become one of the few nobles who actually didn't care about social class?
Charles guessed her insults now were just a cover for her own insecurities—chief among them, her abysmal magic control.
Later on, it would clearly become a bad habit she struggled to shake.
And now, as Noelle tried to aim a spell at Asta but accidentally hit Magna instead, Charles silently confirmed:
Yep… she's absolutely a tsundere.