Charles couldn't decide whether Asta had a big heart or was just incredibly thick-skinned. Either way, he genuinely admired how the boy could eat so happily under the current circumstances.
As special guests, the Black Bulls and Golden Dawn members had been invited to the banquet following the commendation ceremony. The food was excellent—but the atmosphere? Not so much.
Loathing, disdain, and even outright hostility filled the room. No matter how good the food was, it was hard to keep an appetite under such poisonous stares.
"Lowly commoners!"
No one knew who started it, but the ballroom soon filled with venomous mockery.
"Why would the Wizard King favor them...?"
"Such disgraceful table manners!"
"No detectable mana whatsoever... Clearing that dungeon must've been dumb luck."
"They don't belong here... What are these rats doing in the royal hall!?"
Compared to what they'd encountered before, the nobles here were even more vile and cruel. It was downright nauseating.
Finally, someone couldn't take it anymore. A red-haired youth strode forward.
"If you want to talk about commoners, doesn't your own squad have one?"
Leopold Vermillion of the Crimson Lion Kings directed his words toward Golden Dawn's Arkadella Sandler—the one who had first started the jeering.
Among the three great royal houses—Silva, Vermillion, and Kira—Charles had the most respect for the Vermillion family. Whether it was Mimosa or her lesser-known siblings, none of them acted like the usual stuck-up aristocracy. They were truly noble of heart.
Arkadella gave Yuno a cold glance and scoffed, "That commoner with a four-leaf grimoire... Just another peasant inflated by praise."
Leopold barked back, "If I had gone on that dungeon mission, I would've done it better!"
Arkadella shot back, "Such confidence for a brat of the Crimson Lions. But I never had any expectations of those commoners. The ones who'll fulfill Lord Vangeance's dream—Golden Dawn's ideal—are us!"
"I must object—!"
Klaus could no longer hold his tongue and stepped forward. But he instantly became Arkadella's next target.
"And you, Klaus. A man of your meager ability has no place here. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Then Arkadella turned on Mimosa. "And you, Mimosa. I hear you were taken out of the fight early in the dungeon. A disgrace to the Vermillion name!"
Mimosa could only lower her head in silence.
"Well, well! Looks like someone here's the biggest joke of all..."
A mocking voice echoed through the hall. A flamboyant man in a white cloak approached the group.
"It's you, Noelle!"
Noelle's usual haughty demeanor crumbled. Her face was full of humiliation and pain.
"You can't even control your own mana! What a disgrace!"
"After being effectively exiled from the Silva family, you have the gall to show your face here in the Noble Realm?"
The two Silva nobles suddenly staggered back—pushed away by a wave of scorching heat.
"Yap yap yap—so noisy. What, I stay quiet and you start getting cocky?"
Charles had kicked over a table and stepped forward to confront the elites of various squads head-on.
"Is this what nobility means to you? Hissing like snakes at anyone beneath you? If you're truly noble, then do something to prove it, you arrogant bastards!"
"Insolent cur! Enough! Scum like you have no right to speak—shut your mouth!"
Charles's words hadn't awakened their consciences—they had only enraged them further. One in particular—Arkadella—lashed out.
A mass of sand surged toward Charles like a tidal wave, threatening to bury him.
But before Charles could respond, someone stepped in front of him. Asta's black sword slashed through the sand.
Grinning, Asta said, "Charles is right! I don't care what you snobs say. Just you wait—I'll rack up enough merit to become the Wizard King and shut every one of your mouths!"
The hall fell silent for a moment—then erupted in chaos.
"Did he just say... Wizard King!?"
Many of the nobles' faces darkened, as if Asta's words had fouled the air itself.
"Don't make me laugh!"
Furious voices rose—and without hesitation, several nobles unleashed their magic on Asta.
"Mist Binding Magic: Web of the Fog Spider!"
"Water Binding Magic: Coil of the Sea Serpent!"
A net of mist and a serpent made of water lashed toward Asta—clearly not with mercy in mind.
Charles grabbed Asta by the shoulder and pulled him back behind him.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
The roaring flame punched forward, evaporating both the misty web and the watery snake with a single blow.
Striding through the dispersing flames, Charles raised his hand and released another burst of fire—this one melting Arkadella's sand magic into glossy glass.
"This is the mana you're so proud of? Mana you stole from others through privilege? If that's all, then you've got no right to act high and mighty."
"What the hell are you even talking about?" barked Solid Silva, Noelle's brother, his voice laced with fury.
"Hiding the ugly truth now, are we? Typical noble behavior," Charles shot back.
"Enough!"
A cold voice cut through the tension. A man with an eccentric hairstyle stepped forward—Captain Nozel Silva of the Silver Eagles.
Facing Charles, Nozel's expression remained neutral, but the pressure around him dropped dramatically.
"I don't know what you're prattling on about, but a mere commoner insulting royalty is a sin that cannot be forgiven."
Nozel, a top-tier royal in both name and power, released his mana fully—few could stand against it.
Yet Charles merely tensed, face serious, but not overwhelmed.
Nozel's grimoire opened, glowing faintly. He was about to teach this impudent boy a lesson.
But someone interjected.
"Hold it right there! Members of House Silva—does it not shame you to gang up on a mere boy?"
The speaker was another squad captain—Leopold's older brother, Fuegoleon Vermillion.
"If even commoners can earn the favor of Lord Julius, then isn't that something worth acknowledging?"
"A Vermillion speaking such soft-hearted nonsense? Your family's become too gentle. Should we, soaring eagles, stoop to praise worms crawling in the dirt?"
Nozel countered sharply.
Silver mana formed a majestic eagle behind him. In response, Fuegoleon's flame lion appeared, roaring in kind.
Just as the confrontation reached a boiling point—
Bang!
The banquet hall doors burst open.
"Urgent news! The capital... is under attack!"
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