“I—I destroyed the floor because I panicked over that hideous spider, alright?!” Noelle snapped, her face turning as red as a ripe tomato as she realized she was being carried bridal-style by the magicless commoner while Magna groaned in the background.
Before she could scramble down, a heavy groan echoed from the cracked plaster above them.
A sharp chunk of stone loosened from the ceiling, tumbling straight toward her head.
Moving in a flash, Asta pulled Noelle back against his chest, shielding her from the falling debris.
“You don’t need to isolate yourself now that you’ve joined the squad,” Asta whispered, offering a smooth, genuine smile as he met her startled gaze.
“If you need help, we’re all here for you.
I don’t know much about magic, but if you ever want to beat someone up, you can always call me—as long as it’s not the Wizard King, Captain Yami, or Vangeance.”
He sheathed his sword back into his grimoire, letting his words settle quietly between them.
“Y-You…” Noelle was initially flustered, but hearing those warm words left her stunned.
This was the first time she had ever received genuine support since childhood—coming not from her blood-related siblings, but from a total stranger.
Moreover, her woman’s intuition told her that Asta wasn’t just throwing around hollow lines.
If she were ever truly in trouble, he would stand up to support her without hesitation.
“Hey, you two lovebirds, we need to make a run for—” Magna started to yell from the floor, wiping water from his eyes.
BOOM!
Before Magna could even finish his sentence, the floorboards above gave way completely.
Captain Yami plummeted straight through the second-story ceiling, crashing hard onto the hallway floor.
He awkwardly pulled up his trousers, but before he could even regain his balance, a thick cloud of dust and stone debris engulfed him.
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!” Yami’s hysterical roar shook the entire castle.
Today was turning out to be an utter nightmare.
First, he was walked in on by two rookies while using the toilet, and now the ceiling collapsed beneath him while he was squatting?
He had literally fallen through the floor with his pants down!
“RUN!” Magna was the first to slip away, bolting down the corridor at top speed.
Asta pulled Noelle along by the hand to run as well, but after a few yards, Noelle dug her heels in and stopped in her tracks.
“Why did you stop running?” Asta asked, looking back over his shoulder.
“I’m a royal!
Why should I have to run away like a common fugitive?!” Noelle proudly raised her head, trying her best to reclaim her regal composure.
“Do you really want to hang around and see the Captain with his bare bottom?” Asta laughed.
“Nonsense!” Noelle shuddered.
Just the thought of Captain Yami’s furious, unclad form sent a cold chill straight down her spine!
“The food in the cafeteria should be ready by now.
Remember to eat plenty,” Asta said with a sly wave as they kept moving.
“If you’re still this thin when I hug you next time, I’ll give you two Thousand Years of Death!”
Asta turned away toward the dining hall, knowing that real trust between teammates took time to build.
But after today’s explosive start, Noelle certainly wasn’t going to forget him anytime soon.
In fact, Noelle not only remembered Asta, but for the next few days, his words lingered in her mind constantly.
She knew she should have been furious about his overbearing hugs, but like a slow-acting poison, her thoughts kept drifting back to his broad, reliable chest that had sheltered her from the falling debris.
“I’m really poisoned…” Noelle muttered to herself while training in the forest days later.
Even though she had been actively trying to avoid Asta, he was training in the exact same woods.
If she quieted her breathing, she could hear his heavy exertion echoing through the trees.
“Stop thinking about these things!
I need to train hard!”
Noelle shook her head, composing herself as she stared intently at the bullseye on a tree trunk ten meters away with her pink eyes.
“Hah!”
She condensed a water bullet.
The trajectory was initially straight, but halfway through, it veered wildly off course and rushed toward Asta as if equipped with a homing missile.
Thump!
Asta dodged another stray blast with a blank expression.
Thanks to Noelle’s unpredictable practice, his training ground was cratered and difficult to navigate.
This little girl…
besides missing her target, she couldn’t hit a mosquito from 800 meters away, Asta thought, looking up upside down at a bird’s nest he had planned to raid in two days.
The nest was smashed and the eggs broken.
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…
It seems this proud flower bud will have to be plucked sooner rather than later.
“No!
It still doesn’t work!
Why can’t I control magic at will?
I clearly have such powerful magic!” Noelle knelt on the ground in frustration.
This was her 251st attempt today, but the best she could manage was within one meter of the target.
“My older brothers and sisters could all join the Silverwing Eagles, but I was relegated to the worst squad.
Those who mocked me before must be laughing even harder now…” Tears welled up in her eyes.
The harsh insults of her past echoed endlessly:
“I heard the youngest daughter of the Silva family can’t even control her magic!” “What a joke on royalty!”
Those harsh words made her deeply insecure, but they also gave her something rare among nobles: raw, stubborn perseverance.
“I don’t want to be laughed at!
I’ll show them!” Noelle stood up from the mud.
Unaware that her emotional state was dangerously volatile, forcing her magic now triggered a complete loss of control.
Meanwhile, Asta was suspended upside down doing one-finger pushups.
“Twenty-nine thousand, seven hundred and eighty-five!” His goal today was 30,000 reps per thumb.
But mid-rep, he felt a powerful surge of unstable magic coming from her direction.
“Noelle?”
Asta dropped gracefully to the ground and moved toward her clearing.
There, he saw the water bullet expanding uncontrollably—one meter, two meters, three meters!
“Gulp…!” Noelle gasped for breath as the water sphere backfired, engulfing her completely.
Inside the hideout, Luck’s golden hair crackled with static electricity as he sat on the sofa.
Down the hall, Yami paused on his way to take a nap, sensing the sudden surge.
Looking out the window, he saw a massive, conch-shaped water sphere towering over the forest canopy.
“What happened?” “What a magnificent water ball!” “Has the newcomer’s magic gone off the rails?”
The Black Bulls members poured out of the base, staring up at the water sphere in shock.
“Such immense magical power!” Magna spoke with concern.
“If we leave it like this, she’ll drown!”
“If you use magic to break it open from the outside, she could be ruined,” Yami said seriously.
He turned to Finral.
“Can you use spatial magic to pull her out?”
“I can’t get close to magic of this density,” Finral replied with a wry smile.
“This is a real headache, since Asta isn’t here,” Yami grunted, scratching his head.
Meanwhile, Asta leaned against a large tree, his fingers rhythmically tapping the trunk.
45…
46…
47…
Keep up the good work, Noelle.
If you can overcome this through your own willpower, it will be of immense benefit to you.
Asta wasn’t in a rush because he had seen Noelle take a deep breath right before she was submerged.
Based on her breathing rhythm, he calculated she could hold her breath for a maximum of 1 minute.
At the 59th second, regardless of her progress, he would step in.
Inside the water sphere, Noelle painfully closed her eyes as the air in her lungs dwindled.
The suffocating pressure made her panic, and the voices of those who mocked her began to fade.
50 seconds…
51 seconds…
Am I going to die?
Noelle’s consciousness began to blur as water entered her nose.
But right as her mind slipped toward blackness, a voice echoed clearly:
“You don’t need to isolate yourself now that you’ve joined the squad…
If you need help, we’re all here for you!”
Asta…!
In that life-or-death moment, Noelle thought of Asta pulling her into his arms.
A fierce surge of determination flared within her.
I can’t die here!
Especially not from my own magic!
Otherwise, I’ll just be a joke forever!
I want to survive!
Noelle opened her eyes, her gaze resolute.
Instead of panicking, she forced herself to calm down and manipulate the chaotic currents around her.
“Captain, a lot of time has passed.
Are we going to have to resort to drastic measures?” Magna asked outside.
“Wait a little longer.
The water sphere is starting to stabilize,” Yami observed.
55 seconds…
56 seconds…
Asta’s grimoire hovered into the air.
Sensing that she had regained her composure, he knew it was time.
“Leave the rest to me!”
Asta launched himself into the air, cloaked in green aura, dragging his broadsword behind him.
He slammed into the water sphere like a meteor, cleaving it wide open!
SWOOSH!
Countless streams of water fell like torrential rain.
As the sphere collapsed, Asta scooped Noelle up in mid-air and landed smoothly on the grass.
“Have you thought about what I said?” Asta teased with a smirk.
“N-No, I didn’t!” Noelle’s face flushed bright red, forgetting for a moment to break free from his embrace.
“Noelle,” Asta said, his tone turning serious, “have you ever thought about casting magic in a different way?
Some soldiers can’t throw darts accurately with their hands, but if you give them a crossbow with a sight, they become sharpshooters.
A wand’s main purpose is precision.”
Noelle’s eyes lit up as the concept clicked in her mind.
“Are you two planning to push your limits here?” Yami’s deep voice interrupted, causing Noelle to scramble out of Asta’s arms in a panic.
“Although they’re soaked, it’s good that little Noelle is alright,” Vanessa smiled warmly.
“So what if you can’t freely control your magic?” Magna laughed, slapping his chest.
“That’s no big deal!
We’re the Black Bulls—everyone here has flaws!
From now on, just say what’s on your mind.
We’re a team!”
One by one, the squad welcomed her warmly.
“I know a super delicious noodle shop.
You can tell Asta and he can take you there!” Finral added with a wink.
“W-What are you saying?!” Noelle blushed, her mind instantly jumping to the thought of a date.
“I can tell you what kind of angel my sister Marie is,” Gauche offered with a calm nod, while Charmy offered a dessert.
Vanessa walked up, putting an arm around Noelle’s shoulder with a sultry wink.
“My greatest skill is manipulating magic threads.
I can not only teach you control techniques, but also the techniques of becoming a mature woman~”
Vanessa blew a playful heart toward Noelle, leaving the young royal completely flustered amidst her chaotic, welcoming new family.
“Ha ha!”
Noelle’s flustered little outburst immediately made everyone present burst into laughter.
At that moment, the barrier between the Black Bulls and the two newcomers dissolved completely.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?” Noelle blinked her large pink eyes, pouting slightly as if complaining that everyone else had welcomed her while Asta just stood there staring like a fool.
Asta smiled and extended his right hand.
“Let’s work together!
Let those high-and-mighty idiots back at the Capital see who the real genius is!”
Smack!
Noelle grasped Asta’s hand firmly.
“Thank you…
Asta,” she murmured softly, her eyes glistening.
She didn’t say much more, but a warm wave of reassurance washed over her heart as her palm met his large, calloused grip.
From this day forward, she was no longer a disgraced outcast—she had a partner to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with!
Shortly after, remembering Asta’s earlier advice about how a precision catalyst could help direct her overwhelming mana, Vanessa walked over with a mischievous grin and presented Noelle with a beautifully crafted wand.
“Asta mentioned your control issues to me,” Vanessa purred, winking at the young royal.
“Think of this wand as your sight on a crossbow—it’ll help you focus all that wild power of yours.”
Noelle held the wand tightly against her chest, glancing over at Asta with a mixture of shock and deep gratitude.
He hadn’t just saved her; he had genuinely paid attention to how her magic worked and advocated for her behind the scenes.
The next few days passed peacefully, and soon Asta and Noelle were assigned the very first official mission of their Magic Knight careers: hunting wild boars in Saussy Village alongside Magna.
“Behold the mighty power and majestic style of my Crazy Cyclone!” Magna roared outside the hideout, unveiling his custom-modified magic broom with grand theatrical flair.
“So…
so hideous…” Noelle blurted out, staring at the skull-adorned, flame-patterned monstrosity.
“No offense, Magna,” Asta added, rubbing his chin as he inspected the spiked exhaust pipes and jagged frame, “but if you rode that monstrosity back in the era of the First Magic Emperor, the villagers would probably mistake you for a high-ranking demon and try to burn you at the stake.
Honestly, looking at those spiked handlebars, I can’t tell if we’re supposed to fly to Saussy Village or invade the Underworld!”
Crack!
Magna froze in place, looking utterly soul-crushed.
“You two bastards have zero appreciation for true performance art!”
Grumbling furiously, Magna straddled the broom.
Sitting behind him, Asta felt Noelle settle in behind, her arms instinctively wrapping tightly around his waist as the Crazy Cyclone blasted into the sky like a flaming rocket.
The trek to the village went swiftly.
After a brief bout of boar-hunting where Asta gleefully racked up “points” with his raw strength and swift blade, the trio headed down toward the village square—only to find the entire settlement enveloped in a dense, unnatural white mist.
“What’s going on?” Magna’s cheerful mood evaporated instantly.
“That level of magic power…
enveloping an entire village in fog isn’t something normal villagers could ever do!”
“Saussy Village is under attack,” Asta said calmly, stepping to the front.
“Wait, we’ll lose our bearings in fog that thick,” Noelle pointed out, analyzing the dense barrier.
“It’s clearly defensive elemental magic designed to blind anyone trying to enter.”
“Don’t worry,” Asta offered a confident, sharp grin as green chakra began to swirl around his body in intense, visible waves.
“You’re traveling with the man who cuts through all magic.”
Drawing his broadsword in one fluid motion, Asta channeled his energy into a single, devastating swing.
BOOM!
A massive gale of compressed force tore through the valley, cleaving a clean, wide path straight through hundreds of meters of dense fog and revealing the shadowed, endangered streets of Saussy Village below!