For the first time, Charles found himself resenting his lack of perfect memory—if only he could recall the finer details of the story, he might have avoided this situation.
The problem had arisen after they defeated Xyss. Charles had been cautious, thoroughly checking that Xyss's mana and body were completely sealed. He had intended to bring him back to the Magic Knights and extract more information.
But he hadn't expected that Xyss had implanted a magical device inside his body—one that activated even with his magic sealed. It triggered a self-destruct spell, leaving nothing behind—not even a corpse.
Still, Charles doubted they'd have gotten much from him anyway. Even setting aside whether Xyss truly knew anything of value, the real issue was that the Eye of the Midnight Sun had one of the most unshakable "pillars" in the Magic Knights.
Who would've thought that William Vangeance—the man most likely to become the next Wizard King—was actually the leader of the organization plotting to overthrow the Clover Kingdom?
Then again, the whole "two souls in one body" thing was absurd. His appearance, his magic, even his grimoire was completely different—no one could be blamed for not suspecting him.
Still, seeing the villagers' restored spirits brought Charles some comfort. That was also why he'd intentionally played support rather than landing the final blow on Xyss himself.
Xyss's words, though twisted and prejudiced, did reflect the dominant view of this world—so much so that even the villagers had come to believe them.
That's why it had to be Asta—someone with no magic at all—who delivered the finishing blow. Only then could the villagers begin to believe in their own worth again.
Saving hearts is far harder than saving bodies—and far more important.
They had also acquired one of the magical stones—ancient forbidden artifacts originally held by the elf tribe 500 years ago, and the real reason Xyss had attacked Sosshi Village.
That stone had been brought to the village by none other than Secre Swallowtail—the servant of the first Wizard King who, due to the effects of forbidden magic, had become an anti-magic bird.
She had been silently following Asta, guarding the five-leaf clover grimoire in his hands. Charles had been aware of this from the start, but since Secre had lost the ability to speak due to the seal, he hadn't interfered.
Asta had finally noticed the little bird that had been tailing him—and gave her the name Nero. From then on, Secre settled comfortably atop his head.
One way or another, their first mission as Magic Knights had ended in a chaotic success. The four of them returned to headquarters that same day and reported everything to Captain Yami.
Despite his usual careless demeanor, Yami understood the gravity of the situation—an internal threat within the Magic Knights. He immediately reported it to the Wizard King.
Although no reply came by the time Charles's holiday arrived, he had no doubt the investigation was underway.
In any case, it wasn't something he could concern himself with now. Even if he accused Vangeance directly, no one would believe him—worse, they'd start questioning where his information came from.
So for now, Charles could only bide his time and wait for the right moment.
The mission had earned the Black Bulls a rare commendation: one star.
Stars were awarded to Magic Knight squads as recognition of meritorious service, and served as a visible metric of their strength.
As for rankings—the Golden Dawn was currently in first place with seventy stars.
At the very bottom, of course, was the Black Bulls… with minus thirty stars. And that was after they'd just earned one. A perfect record of "unlawful behavior."
Charles clearly saw the shock on Asta's face when he realized just how big the gap between him and Yuno had become.
After everything settled down, it was finally time for the monthly paycheck—and with it, a two-day break.
Like Asta, Charles kept some money for daily expenses and sent the rest to the church in Hage Village.
Without his regular hunting, the orphanage was bound to return to hard times. Yuno probably did the same, and between the three of them, they could at least ease the burden a little.
It was a rare break. Charles had originally planned to visit the library, but he ran into Asta and Noelle along the way—being dragged by Vanessa to go shopping in the capital. Curious, Charles decided to tag along.
Vanessa flew with Asta and Noelle on a broom while Charles used his own magic, and soon enough they arrived in the royal capital.
The last time Charles had come here was during the entrance exam. He'd barely had time to look around—this was a good opportunity to familiarize himself with the city. With Vanessa leading the way, they couldn't go wrong.
"But Noelle," Charles asked, "why do you look so surprised? You're acting like you've never been here before."
Noelle's face flushed red as she snapped, "Shut up! I'm royalty, okay?! Like I'd ever come to this kind of place."
He supposed that made sense. Charles looked around—no noble, let alone royalty, would set foot in a place like this. And Noelle, a proper noble lady, had probably never been anywhere near a black market.
That's right—Vanessa had brought them to the infamous underground bazaar, the "Black Market."
Though it was labeled illegal, there wasn't anything too outrageous going on.
In the Clover Kingdom, all official commerce was monopolized by the nobility. And to maintain their power, the royals placed strict controls on magic tool trade.
As a result, many impoverished commoners and struggling mages had no choice but to conduct business in the black market.
It was a mixed bag, to be sure—but it was precisely because of that, Charles knew, that one could sometimes find rare and mysterious items here.
Since the market wasn't large, the royal authorities couldn't be bothered to crack down on it. That's how it had survived to this day.
If it hadn't been for Vanessa, Charles wouldn't have found the magic-cloaked entrance.
To his surprise, Vanessa was being surprisingly responsible—rather than looking for someone to scam into buying her drinks, she actually guided the three of them through the stalls.
Charles had come along primarily to explore the black market. Rumors said that ancient magic tools were occasionally unearthed and sold here—and he wanted to study them.
They wandered for a while and found some worthwhile things. The ragged notebook in Charles's hand, for example, was an old research journal by an unknown mage.
The seller hadn't recognized its value and had lumped it in with common magic books. Charles had picked it up for dirt cheap.
Unfortunately, there was one magic tool he'd really wanted—but the price was far beyond his means. He had to give up on it for now.
Still, he wasn't walking away empty-handed—and that was enough to satisfy him.
Turning down an alleyway, Charles spotted a familiar face.
"Hoo-ha... No, it's Sake."
The guy was wearing a green Magic Knight cloak with the Praying Mantis insignia.
He was Sake—the one who'd tried to use Asta as a stepping stone during the entrance exam. Thanks to his weird catchphrase, "hoo-ha," Charles remembered him all too well.
In the original story, he'd been quickly defeated by Asta in the trial battle but still made it into the Mantis squad. Apparently, even without that fight, he still ended up here. Guess it was fate.
Right now, he looked thoroughly dejected, sitting at a small stall surrounded by cards and coins.
"I can see the future, you know!" the old woman sitting across from him declared proudly.
Charles's pupils shrank.
From anyone else, that line would've been nonsense—but coming from her, it might actually be true.
She was the same old lady who had been selling grilled snake skin on the street during the entrance exam—and her true identity was none other than Julius Novachrono, the 28th Wizard King.
With time magic as his specialty, seeing the future wasn't out of the question.
Charles couldn't help but marvel.
The Wizard King, gambling with street Magic Knights, using his powers to win their money—what would Asta think if he ever found out?
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