Chapter 4: Heart-Truths
Chapter 8 - The Supernova Knights' Exams
We're back with the next chapter! Thanks for all the support!
Last time in "Star Knights":
Maris's recovery and battle against the Kingdom of Stones are over. Arms healed, Maris and her squad attend the Star Knights' Awards Festival, where she and Malo are being honored as the rookies who gained the most stars for their respective squads. Following that, Maris does some training with the amazing older sister of the Red Star Knights' Captain, the infamous Nanna Flannery. But what's this? The Star Emperor has a plan to create an ultra-elite squad picked from the best and the brightest of the Star Knights to defeat the enemy, the Setting Sun.
Zora wanted to wring their stupid Wizard King's neck. The Magic Tools' Research Lab detected a magical anomaly with one of their new pieces of tracking equipment. Naturally, Julius wanted someone to investigate it. Thus, Zora was trekking through the woods in the southeast of the Clover Kingdom with Gauche, Levi, and Kirsch. Julius thought it was important to send both Zora and Gauche, who have been known to be quite intelligent (Gordon was already on another mission that day), as well as Levi for defense and Kirsch for his leadership skills.
Gauche hadn't shut up about Marie in three hours-having already threatened both Levi and Kirsch that neither of them was allowed to marry his precious sister. Levi kept to the back to watch for enemies, while Gauche used his mirrors to check their surroundings. It left Zora and Kirsch in the front.
"Is he ever going to shut up," Kirsch complained, as Gauche lovingly spoke to his Marie doll.
"Ya get used to it," said Zora, blankly. "Just tune 'im out. It'll save what little sanity ya have left, Royal Dumbass."
Kirsch pouted.
Zora looked away, trying to sense anything unusual in these woods, but also to stop looking at Kirsch's cute pouting face. It was very inconvenient that Zora's heart decided six months ago that Kirsch was very beautiful in actuality and he was constantly blindsided by that fact every time he interacted with the pretty royal. He had to hide his growing affection for Kirsch under the veneer of insults and bad nicknames. He was just as bad as Luck when it came to dealing with someone they liked, as Shula and Magna both pointed out.
Suddenly, Zora stopped. He sensed an incoming mana signature. "Ya sense that?"
"Yeah," said Gauche, getting his mirrors ready, while Levi got his barriers ready.
"This reminds me of Salamander or Sylph," said Kirsch, grimoire at the ready. "Perhaps it's a Great Spirit or something similar like Dryad?"
The ground shook beneath them. Zora used his trap magic to get them all off the ground, as a small man-looking figure, covered in mud and dirt, popped out of the ground.
"It's the Gnome! Or Pygmy," Gauche explained. "Depends on what lore you read."
The Gnome glared up at the four of them and screamed, "Where's Sylph!? Where's that brat? I'm gonna make her wish that she had never been born!"
Zora grimaced. Great, who knew that the Great Spirits had grudges against each other? Bell (also known as Sylph) and Salamander got along when Yuno and Fuegoleon were in the same room with each other. And no one ever had anything bad to say about Undine. Zora said, "So, it was this Great Spirit's mana that the Magic Tools' Research Lab tool picked up on their tracking device."
"He looks pretty pissed," said Levi. "This is the Earth spirit, untethered to a wizard. We'll have trouble if he gets to town."
"Perhaps we should talk him down," said Kirsch, thoughtfully.
"Gnome, or Pygmy, won't listen to any wizard that doesn't have Earth Magic," said Gauche.
"Cherry Blossom Magic is a derivative of Earth Magic," Zora pointed out. Zora looked at Kirsch. "Talk ta him and see if ya can get him calmed down. We'll back ya up."
"Vice-Captain," said Levi, lightly. "Please don't insult him."
"I won't," said Kirsch, glaring at Levi. Kirsch went down to the ground and approached the Gnome.
Zora watched closely for any sudden movements from the Great Spirit. Kirsch was fully capable of defending himself as he was the one with the most mana and greatest mana control amongst the four, but Zora felt it important to jump in if necessary to help.
"Master Spirit, may I ask why you are looking for Sylph," asked Kirsch, gently as if he was talking to a child.
"She destroyed one of my mountains with her tantrums! I ask the others to leave me alone, but no, she has to be a brat!"
"Was this recently," Kirsch inquired.
"No! A thousand years ago! I just woke up. She dropped the broken mountain on my noggin'!" The Gnome snarled. "You're just a boy with Cherry Blossom Magic! Where's the real Earth Magic wizards?!"
Zora only knew three people with Earth Magic: Sol Marron from the Blue Rose Knights, Sarado the Earth Spirit Guardian of the Heart Kingdom, and Protobe Collina of the Coral Peacocks. Somehow, Zora didn't think Sol would take kindly to having a short, muddy man speak with her. Sarado wouldn't mind from what he understood.
"I have a squadmate who uses Earth Magic," said Kirsch, staying calm as the Gnome got closer to Kirsch. "But there's a lot of settlements nearby that we can't have disrupted."
The Gnome snarled again. But this time, he launched himself at Kirsch.
Zora moved to activate a trap but Levi's invisible barrier activated first made the Gnome crash into it and not touch Kirsch. Mildly irritated from not acting quick enough, Zora said, "Gauche!"
"I'm on it," said Gauche. He used his magic mirrors to freeze the Gnome in its tracks. It was a little trick Gauche had learned from the elf that once possessed him. "Now, Vermillion"
Kirsch pulled out the magic tool that limited someone's mana and slapped on the Gnome. The Gnome became passive, but Zora sensed that he still had a lot of mana left.
"Be careful," said Zora. Zora, Gauche, and Levi landed on the ground next to Kirsch.
"I am," said Kirsch. "I don't think those will hold for long. I'll call headquarters and get Yuno out here so Gnome and Bell can hash things out."
"Probably a good idea," said Zora.
Kirsch called Marx and within twenty minutes, Yuno landed on the ground where Bell shrieked at the sight of Gnome. The two Great Spirits bickered, while the Magic Knights watched in horror as the Gnome immediately forgave Bell, and then, they hugged each other like old friends. Yuno shook his head.
"Well, I didn't expect that," said Zora, really wanting to get the hell out of here and go back to base.
"Hmph, it worked out," said Kirsch, arms crossed. Kirsch looked at Levi and nodded approvingly. "Good job with the barrier, Levi. You've gotten faster."
"Well, I do have to keep up with you and your dumbass plans, Vice-Captain," said Levi.
Kirsch protested, "My plans are genius!"
"Sure. Remember the time you had the bright idea to use the rookies as bait for some bandits to rob? Or the time where you wanted to exorcise the basement and we lost Rick for five days," Levi asked, wryly.
Kirsch scowled. "The exorcism of the basement was not my idea. It was Cornelia's!"
"But you still approved it, Vice-Captain," said Levi, grinning.
Zora half-listened to the back and forth between Kirsch and his squad member. Zora's chest felt a little tight and he wondered why he had the urge to throw forty stink bugs on Levi to get him away from Kirsch. Shit, was he jealous? Of Levi? God, kill Zora now.
Scowling, Zora walked away and stood closely to Gauche, refusing to have to listen to Kirsch and Levi's banter that was borderline flirting. Gauche gave him a confused look.
Zora shook his head and willed away any freaking feelings.
It didn't work.
Fragil had been having a strange few weeks.
First, the thing with Asta. Then, Magna and Luck kept pulling her away to play games when she and the Captain visited the Black Bulls. Now, Fragil received presents with no notes or names attached to them. Mackenzie was worried that Fragil gained a stalker and wanted her to throw all the gifts away, especially the food gifts.
Fragil felt bad if she threw it away since someone thoughtfully left it for her on her bedroom window sill.
The gifts were strange. Sometimes, it was little candies from shops around the kingdom. Other times, there was a rock shaped like a star and other knick-knacks found in nature. Sometimes, there were even knit sweaters that were soft to the touch and warm. It was definitely someone who knew her. She liked sweets and adored fluffy, warm sweaters. But for the life of Fragil, she didn't know what to do.
"You're overthinking this," said Cesc, enjoying one of Fragil's gifted macaroons, as she, Cesc, and several other Azure Deer members sat in their common area enjoying snacks while Rill and Mackenzie bickered with each other in the background about the budget.
"Oh," asked Fragil.
"Sure, you got a secret admirer. Not a stalker," said Cesc.
"That's the same thing," said Eric, who was very much in agreement with Mackenzie. "It's creepy that whoever is leaving this stuff knows Fragil so well. If it was someone good, the person would have come in person."
"You're a cynic, Eric," said Cesc. "Where's your romance?"
"Nowhere, just like your love life," said Eric.
Fragil sighed.
She needed the opinion of someone that wasn't going to tell her to enjoy or burn it all.
"Fragil, come and play with us!"
Fragil jumped out of her seat. Magna and Luck were supposed to be stopping by since she came up with a game called "Chase the Snowball."
"Ugh, Luck and Magna are here," said Cesc, rolling his eyes. Cesc stood up and sighed, "I'll get the hose. Something always gets on fire when they come over."
Fragil went outside to see her Black Bull friends.
Luck asked, "Can Rill play too?"
"No! He's doing the budget with the Vice-Captain," said Fragil.
"Ew," said Magna, grinning. "Sucks to be him. Where's the biggest hill around here?"
Fragil beamed. "I know a great spot!"
At least, hanging out with Magna and Luck will take her mind off of her little present-giver problem.
Yuno sat in his room with the back-copies of The Common Realm Monthly Literary Magazine. Mimosa had bought them for him. He wanted to read Asta's story. He was already well into the newest chapter, "Chapter 9 - Battle of Wills" which covered the second half of the tournament in the story based on Royal Knights' Exams and the few days leading up to the initial raid on the Eye of the Midnight Sun hideout. It was strange to read things through Asta's perspective, or rather, Maris's perspective.
Malo, the character very clearly based on him, had much more attention from Maris than Asta gave Yuno. It was clear that Maris and Malo were in love with each other. Maris hid her real feelings under the guise of wanting to marry the handsome priest back in her own home village (based on Asta's crush on Sister Lily). Malo, on the other hand, was harder to get, but it was clear that Malo had a soft spot for Maris and Maris only.
Yuno wondered if Asta was sincerely projecting or someone made a suggestion to add romance into the story. Because if Maris was Asta and Malo was Yuno, then it meant that Asta was in love with Yuno and was too scared to say anything in fear of ruining their rivalry and friendship.
Frowning, he left his room and went to Mimosa's room, and knocked on the door.
Mimosa answered. She had face cream on her face, her nightly skincare ritual, which Yuno once pointed out that meant that she had something in common with her brother once and she didn't talk to him for a week. "Yeah?"
"You read this right? Maris is in love with Malo? I'm not reading this wrong," asked Yuno.
Mimosa said, gently, eyes widening in realization, "Oh, Yuno. Yes, you're reading this right."
"Is Asta in love with me and I didn't know," Yuno asked in a soft voice.
Mimosa said. "Yes."
Whatever look Yuno had on his face had Mimosa pulling him into her room. "I have tea and cookies. I'm going to do my skin care routine on you and you can tell me all about it."
"Okay."
"You really oughta be more careful," said Yami. It was the middle of the night in the Black Bulls' base.
Vanessa said, "Yeah, I know." The two were the only ones awake (although Nacht was probably up since he never slept) and they were having a nightcap. "Asta's a good kid. He deserves the recognition."
"You're lucky it wasn't like Gauche or Luck or Magna. Asta doesn't know how to hold a grudge," said Yami, taking a sip of his drink.
"I'm aware," said Vanessa, wryly.
"You know it's up to you and Finral, if anything happens to me, to look out for the rest of them," Yami said suddenly and solemnly.
That statement sobered Vanessa very quickly, memories of Yami being injured and taken away by Zenon of the Dark Triad after Yami and Asta defeated Dante. Fear gripped her heart. "That won't happen."
Yami didn't respond.
Vanessa said, equally as solemn. "I know. They're my family. I'll take care of them."
"Good."
Elsewhere in the kingdom that late night, Viola Lunette drank a little bit too much with her writing and editor friends…
Samson Wright, editor of The Common Realm Monthly Literary Magazinedropped his own drink on the floor when Viola revealed the truth.
"YOU MEAN ASTA OF THE BLACK BULLS IS THE AUTHOR OF STAR KNIGHTS?!"
"Stop screamin'! Some people are tryin' to relax,'' yelled another patron, who had just so happened to be the Vice-Captain of the Silver Eagles, the sole commoner in the squad usually reserved for nobles and royals, Vivian Shipley. She had a long day at work and she needed this drink.
"Holy shit," said Samson. A grin spread on the editor's face.
"Oops, I shouldn't have said that," said Viola, slurring her words. "Klaus is gonna be so mad at me…"
~to be continued
The last chapter will be out on July 2nd.
Thanks for reading!