A week has passed since the mess with Asta and the Black Bulls in the Witches Forest. Alucard had been hoping for some peace and quiet after so much excitement, but fate had other plans.
"Oh, look over there!" Mimosa dragged him to another stall as something caught her eye. Not far from them, Asta was being subjected to the same torture by Noelle. Both boys felt their skulls melt as the girls dragged them from stall to stall.
The annual Star Festival. A kingdom-wide celebration where everyone, regardless of class or social ranking, gathers in the Capitol to celebrate the various Magic Knight squads. Alucard was always expected to be present since Julius was always involved, but now he was being forced to participate.
He didn't mind Mimosa dragging him around to see everything, but he wished she wouldn't grip his arm so tightly. He didn't blame or hold it against her, however. She was still quite upset with him after the stunt he'd pulled in the Witches Forest.
For a whole week, she'd pushed him to train her more and more, not wanting to be a liability in combat anymore. He didn't mind, but the looks she gave him could have stopped a lesser man's heart. Still, he was glad she'd stowed her anger for the Festival.
Things had been going well after their little camping trip. Before Mimosa was still somewhat shy about sharing a room with him, but she'd left that behind to shower her beloved with affection every chance she got.
Noelle had also finally made her move. In the aftermath of the Witches Forest, Vanessa somehow got Noelle drunk enough to confess her feelings to Asta, who actually returned them. Alucard didn't think much of it; he'd seen for a while the looks they'd give each other.
Yuno was shocked that Asta would choose someone other than Sister Lily, Asta's childhood crush. For years, he'd pestered her to marry him, nearly asking her daily despite being rejected each time.
So that was how both Asta and Alucard ended up being dragged through the Festival by their girlfriends. For once, Alucard felt a trace of pity for Asta, if only for the fact that Noelle was much more aggressive than Mimosa.
Then he remembered about Mereoleona, and her recent string of letters, and scowled.
Thankfully, the Festival had plenty of shops that Mimosa didn't have an interest in, so Alucard was able to hide. Some were weapon shops where he perused and judged the various swords and daggers.
Since so many people relied on magic and Grimoires, not many still used weapons like these. Mostly, the less magically inclined, such as peasants and commoners, used them for self-defense, but other than them, not many used them.
Of course, many still created weapons with their magic, but a sword made of mana and one made of steel were entirely different. So far, the only ones he'd noticed using blades were Asta and Fanzell.
Spotting Yami eating Alucard made his way over to him, only to stop when he noticed who was next to Yami. A slightly drunk Vanessa and the Captain of the Blue Roses, Charlotte Roselei.
Charlotte was too busy glaring at Yami and blushing to notice him, but not Vanessa. She spotted him and smiled, before giving a clear 'shoo' gesture, so he decided to leave them be as he went looking for Mimosa once more.
He found her chatting with Noelle, who'd finally let go of Asta, if only so that he could carry the mountain of bags she'd collected. Seeing the pitiful look he was giving him, Alucard went to help him by steering the girls towards a food stall as they sat down to chat and eat.
"Hey," Asta said, very unsure now that he had Alucard's full attention. Glancing around at the people milling about, Asta gestured to the sky, and Alucard nodded as they took to the air, one with magic, the other atop his sword.
"What do you want?" Alucard asked once he set up a sound barrier. "Where are you from? I don't recognize your accent or any features that I'd recognize from Earth." Asta said bluntly.
Setting up another layer of magic to shield them, Alucard answered. "What makes you think I'm from Earth? At least, your version of it." Asta looked surprised at his answer. He thought about it and finally shrugged.
"I just assumed since you aren't supposed to exist here."
"I could say the same about you."
Asta cringed at that but stayed silent as they watched the Festival start moving towards the podium where Julius could be seen. "You know about the Spade Kingdom, right?" Asta ventured, and he nodded, "I know what comes after, I have a plan."
He said nothing more as he dispelled the various shields and went back down to Mimosa. They then walked towards the podium together, where Julius was finishing up his speech to boost the morale of all the people.
"Now please, welcome to the stage the Captains of the Magic Knights Squads!" The crowd cheered as they walked on, though a few noticed that the Purple Orcas and Crimson Lions had new Captains, and that the Captains of the Black Bulls of Crimson Roses were nowhere to be found.
As Julius started to list the ranking from the bottom up, I noticed a mana signature that dwarfed even my own, turning around I saw a man tucked in with the crowd.
He seemed ordinary, plain even. The only noteworthy things about him were the monstrous amount of mana that Julius couldn't sense for some reason and his piercing golden eyes.
'We will talk later.' A voice echoed in my mind as a metaphysical weight nearly crushed me. I firmed it to not disturb Mimosa as Julius declared the Golden Dawn first, and the Black Bulls second.
The crowd exploded at that as people from all social classes demanded to know how the 'worst' squad had accomplished such a feat. To ease their worries, Julius called out. "I call forth Yuno Grinberryall and Alucard Novachrono from the Golden Dawn, and Asta from the Black Bulls."
As one, we rose to the platform amidst whispers from the nobility. I could hear particularly nasty comments from Alecdora and Langris, as well as from Solid and Nebra.
Solid shut his siblings up seeing my look, but it seems Alecdora and Langris would need some correction later. I tucked that away for later as I positioned myself behind Asta and Yuno as Julius listed off their various achievements.
He was about to start on mine when a voice called out from the crowd. "Aren't those two boys from the Forsaken Realm? How could they possibly be the best newcomers?" Before I could do anything, another called from the nobles.
"That boy is the Wizard King's son, of course, he's up there!" This all agitated the crowd as several started shouting. I ignored the rabble as I glared into the nobles' section, already picking out several obese freaks who looked a bit too pleased.
The air suddenly shifted as Yuno created a massive hawk with his magic. It towered over the crowd, silencing them all as they realized just how strong he was. Yuno then hurled the hawk at Asta, who split it in two as all of their detractors were silenced.
Feeling all the expectant eyes turning onto me, I sighed as I brought out my Grimoire. "Flame Creation Magic: Flaming God of Death." The air seemed to ignite as the dragon burst into being above the crowd.
I enjoyed the panic that spread out as the dragon roared, looming over everyone as it glared at the nobles in particular. A few of the present Captains even looked surprised; it seems they've forgotten what I did during the entrance ceremony two years ago.
With a nod from Julius, I dispelled the dragon. It snarled again before dissipating as the heat from its presence lingered. "As you have all clearly seen, these young men have earned their place." Julius intoned as the crowd cheered, happy to have such powerful mages protecting the Clover Kingdom.
Julius let them cheer for a minute before calling for silence. Once he had it, he began to speak once more. "I would now like to welcome a very special guest, King-"
"Agustus Kira the 13th!" The king sneered as he emerged. The expected cheers never sounded, and the King pouted as I rolled my eyes and disassociated. Julius had already told me of the plan to create a special squad of Magic Knights, the Royal Magic Knights.
Of course, the little king wanted to feel important, so he just had to announce it. The try-outs for the Royal Knights would be in about a month, so plenty of time to train. I'd wanted to get Carter and the rest of the Gravewatchers to come and try out, but they were needed at the front since the Diamond Kingdom was becoming more desperate as of late.
Using the distraction that was the King, I slipped away and found Mimosa and Noelle. "I'm so proud of you!" Mimosa squealed as she latched onto my arm. Noelle didn't say a word as she kept her eyes fixed on Asta.
"Don't worry, he'll be down before you know it." I teased as Noelle blushed and tried and failed to look anywhere but at Asta. Leaving her to her fantasies, Mimosa and I went to find food.
We ended up at the stall where Yami was eating next to a passed-out Vanessa and Charlotte. We didn't say a word as we dug into our food and filled our bellies. Seeing the normally stoic Charlotte passed out drunk was a surprise for Mimosa, but I was only surprised it hadn't happened sooner; surely Yami wasn't that dense?
As the award ceremony ended with another round of cheers. Mimosa and I ended up following Yami and the older gals to a tavern where a bunch of Captains were eating. Even Mero was there, waiting for us.
"Not bad, kid. Glad to see you haven't been slacking off." Mero slapped me on the back as we sat with her. The other Captains and the few Magic Knights present gave her a wide berth, not surprising since she had the highest kill count in the room.
I tried not to make a face when Mero squeezed my leg under the table, but Mimosa's grin almost made me laugh. Thankfully, more food arrived, so I used that to eat as I left the girls to have their time.
I ended up at a table with Yuno, Asta, and Leopold, who looked worse for wear. "Mero, that bad, huh?" I asked, and he nodded. Mereoleona had not been happy with the state she found the Crimson Lions in, and had given them a verbal thrashing before sending them to pack.
"She's done yelling, for now. She's taking the entire squad to the training ground, though." Leopold said, shivering as Mero glanced at him. Yuno and Asta looked confused at that and asked for an explanation.
"Oh, wonder boy over here wants to see a real training ground? Well, you're in luck." Mereoleona said as her hand squeezed Yuno and Asta's shoulders. "Hey Vangeance! I'm taking these three!" She yelled across the bar, and William nodded.
"Them too." I pointed at Alecdora and Langris, who looked confused. Mero grinned and grabbed them with flaming lion paws as she carried them out. Spotting Yami nearly drunk next to Charlotte, she grabbed them, as well as the Blue Roses tagged along.
"Are you coming?" Mimosa asked me as I felt the stranger's mana at the edge of the city. "I'll meet you there. I still have something to do before I go." She nodded, pecking me on the cheek before following Noelle, who was trying to keep Mero from taking Asta's head.