Clover Kingdom
Forsaken Realm
Black Bulls Hideout
Early Morning
The next morning, Zora was started awake by someone pounding on his bedroom door. Annoyed, Zora climbed out of bed and walked to his door, before it was broken open by an irate Yami. Zora jumped back when it was too late and his door was broken.
"What the fuck, Captain," asked Zora, tiredness gone, glaring at Captain Yami.
"You have a mission," said Captain Yami, bags under his eyes, meaning that it must still be early. "Damn that bowl-haircut guy waking me up at 5 in the morning." Yami shoved a bunch of crumpled papers.
"Oh, geez, Captain, thanks," said Zora, using a strong amount of sarcasm. He took the mission information and was glad that it was still readable.
"Just get it done, Zora," said Captain Yami. Taking a hard look at Zora, his captain continued, "You'd probably get going before the rest of the dumbasses wake up."
Zora grimaced. "Yeah, yeah, go back to sleep, Captain. Let me do my job."
Thankfully, Captain Yami left. Zora sighed at the sight of his broken door. He'd leave a note for Henry to fix it for him while Zora was on his mission. And he was setting up a trap so that no one would enter his room without his permission, knowing the nosy people in his squad. Shaking his head after setting up the trap, Zora got dressed, and grabbed his travel bag.
Downstairs, he grabbed the food that Charmy set aside for him and made a mental note to ask Kirsch to make him that beef jerky again. Zora sighed. When he came back from his mission, he was going to talk to Kirsch properly. It had to be done. But being a Magic Knight came first.
Once he was thoroughly prepared by reading over the papers sent to him, he left the house as soon as he heard the first stirrings of his housemates getting ready for the day. Hopefully, this mission was going to take too long, as he flew off his broom towards his destination.
Clover Kingdom
Noble Realm
Magic Knights Headquarters
Mid-Morning
As Captain Dorothy was annoyed with Kirsch, it took Kirsch and Cornelia twice as long to get Captain Dorothy ready for the Captains' Meeting. It didn't help that Cornelia knew somehow it was Kirsch who had annoyed their Captain and therefore, she was annoyed with him too. But once, they got her ready, Kirsch flew himself and Captain Dorothy to the Capital and the Magic Knight Headquarters.
Landing at the front entrance to the Magic Knight headquarters, he spotted Yuno and Mimosa touching down at the same time. He stood Captain Dorothy up. The strange thing about the Captain was that she was able to sleep standing up and even walk as long as someone guided her. "Morning, Yuno, Mimosa!"
"Kirsch, Captain Dorothy," greeted Yuno, with a nod of his head. Bell was sleeping on top of Yuno's head.
"Brother, Captain Dorothy, good morning," said Mimosa, cheerfully. "Do you want Yuno to take Captain Dorothy to the Captain's meeting room?"
Kirsch shook his head, and said, "No, it's my responsibility."
Giving him a deep stare, Yuno spoke in that same level-tone he spoke to everyone but Asta, "Except when you had no choice but to let Captain William help."
Kirsch laughed. "Yeah, pretty much. And I am asking Mimosa for a favor later by bringing Captain back to Coral Peacocks, anyway."
Kirsch led Captain Dorothy inside. Yuno and Mimosa stuck with him as they walked through the corridors of headquarters to the Captains' Meeting Room. The meeting room wasn't too far away from the entrance. Kirsch quickly sat Captain Dorothy in her seat, as Yuno took his seat. One of the other Captains or the Wizard King himself tended to give the "minutes" of the meeting to Kisch at the end anyway. If the Coral Peacocks needed something, Kirsch had to get it from Captain Dorothy via dreams and write it out to send ahead of a meeting.
Once Captain Dorothy was happily sleeping away in her seat, Kirsch and Mimosa left the Captain's room and headed to their own Vice-Captain's meeting. Generally, the Vice-Captain's meetings were brief (unless it was an emergency) and they spent the rest of the time waiting for their Captains to be finished with their meetings.
A couple doors down was the Vice-Captain's Meeting Room. Kirsch let Mimosa enter first and he followed her. The rest of the Vice-Captains were already there, begging the question why none of the Captains but Yuno and Captain Dorothy in the meeting room yet. They had a full table for once.
Finral was the Black Bulls' Vice-Captain. Vivian Shipley was the Silver Eagles' Vice-Captain, recently having her captain changed from Nozel Silva to Langris Vaude. Randall Luftair of the Crimson Lions was the only Vice-Captain that had seniority on Kirsch. Lerola Roselei was the Blue Rose's Vice-Captain and had become Vice-Captain just after Kirsch did. Erica Putnam was the Vice-Captain to Purple Orcas' Kaiser Granvorka. Thank goodness for it too, since Kirsch didn't get along with the previous Vice-Captain of the Purple Orcas, Xerx. Mackenzie Ruford managed the mad house that was the Azure Deer. En Ringard was the Green Mantis' Vice-Captain. And of course, there was Kirsch's precious sister Mimosa, who was the Golden Dawn's Vice-Captain under the direction of Captain Yuno.
It was rare to have so many solid Vice-Captains supporting the Captains at one time, though it was a very good thing. It meant that the Magic Knights were stronger for having all the Vice-Captain positions filled, unlike before the War with the Elves and against the Word Magic Demon when they did not.
Kirsch took his seat between Lerola and Finral. It was a good thing too, because he wanted to ask Finral about Zora before Marx (or Sal, who rarely led these meetings) arrived to lead the Vice-Captains' meeting. Kirsch did want to have a talk with Zora about what had happened in Grimmtowne and make sure that Zora still wanted to be his friend.
"Ah, Finral, how's Zora today," he whispered to the Black Bulls' Vice-Captain. Lerola heard too but gratefully, she ignored them.
"Oh," said Finral, a conflicted look on his face for a brief moment. "He left early this morning on a mission. Of course, he did it without saying a word to anyone, but you know him."
Kirsch nodded. It was very much like Zora to get a mission and go off on his own. Kirsch knew that Zora thought he worked better alone, but Kirsch knew it was out of habit. Zora hated when others worried about him. "I see. Well, it's Zora, so he'll be back soon."
Finral looked like he wanted to say something and Kirsch wondered if Zora talked to Finral like how Kirsch talked to Levi. Instead of speaking, Finral just gave Kirsch a reassuring smile. "You're right."
And then Marx AND Sal walked in. It was a surprise, but Kirsch was glad that Sal looked all better than the last time he saw her.
"We have a bit to go over, so get ready."
Clover Kingdom
Forsaken Realm
Lovato Town
Northeast border of the Forsaken Realm
Nearly Noon
Like many towns in the Forsaken Realm, Lovato Town wasn't all that big. Lovato Town was one of the many poor farming towns in this region of the Clover Kingdom. Unlike the Hage Village, Lovato Town's primary crop was wheat, which had much more versatility than tatoes, making the town seem a lot better than others. Zora entered the town during the lunch rush for the farmhands and workers, which was all the better for him as he was looking for information.
The mission was to track down people pretending to be Magic Knights who were extorting protection fees out of innocent backwater towns who didn't know better. It annoyed Zora to no end that someone would dare sully the name of Magic Knights, especially after all the work the Magic Knights did and the improvements they made slowly but surely to become better versions of themselves.
Zora's first stop was the local church, because more often than not the money came from the church donations or the town's coffers. The town priest and the town mayor would have more information for Zora. Once he knew what he was looking for, it'd be easy to track down the losers claiming to be Magic Knights. The church was easily the tallest building in small towns so it was easy enough to find.
"Are you an actual Magic Knight or a fake," asked the Priest, who also was the Mayor, upon Zora introducing himself.
"I ain't askin' for money, that should be your first clue," said Zora, rather annoyed at the doubt. "Now, do you know what these guys looked like and how many were they?"
"There were five of them, four of them wore hooded cloaks, but the ring leader was a young looking woman," said the Priest. "I can't recall what she looked like, though she was very nice, so I didn't think to question that they needed the money and food."
Zora sighed. It seemed like the Priest's mind had been muddled with some sort of magic. It wasn't the best thing, but it wasn't the end of the world. Zora would just have to find them without knowledge of the appearance of the young woman ringleader with four men in cloaks. It was giving Zora vibes of the Eye of the Midnight Sun again and he didn't like it.
"Does our kingdom attract cults, what the heck," Zora muttered to himself. Then to the Priest, Zora said, "Thanks, Father. Next time don't give anyone money because no true Magic Knight would do such a thing. You can give them a meal not a whole farm, alright?"
"Yes, Mr. Magic Knight," said the Priest, dutifully chastised.
Sighing again, Zora knew that he wasn't going to find any leads inside the town, but rather, outside of it. He left the town, but checked the border of it for any debris from a group of people not from this area. He circled the town four times before he finally found something! It was a knife, but not just a run-of-the-mill knife, it was a fancy, ornate one and not something an average person from the Forsaken Realm could afford.
From where he found the knife, he found tell-tale signs of people passing through the area and picked the southwest direction into the nearby forest as the most likely route to the next town, which was Magna's hometown of Rayaka. Zora didn't have to worry about Rayaka getting extorted since Miss Shula was there and she knew how to detect one's bullshit. On the other hand, if there was a fight, then Miss Shula would be alone as most of that town were old and kids.
Zora picked up his speed. He had no time to waste. And once he got on the path, it became more apparent that these people weren't hiding their tracks, either from overconfidence or because it was a trap for whatever Magic Knight came for them.
Thirty minutes later, Zora lost the trail but found himself in a clearing in the middle of the forest. And Zora knew that this was a trap of some kind. Too bad for the enemies that Zora knew traps very well.
So, Zora stood there, grimoire ready, when he heard the sound of chains before he saw them. Twenty chains came towards him, with the intent of capturing him in a binding spell, but Zora easily dodge and use his ash magic to disintegrate the chains. Chain magic was familiar to Zora, but he wondered why.
And then Zora remembered about ten years ago when he kicked some wannabe Magic Knight's ass for harassing some girls at a bar and anonymously reported that guy to the Wizard King's office.
"Damn it, stop moving!" It was definitely a man's voice yelling at Zora.
Zora smirked. "Not happening, loser." The chains kept coming, when a geyser of steaming hot water came at Zora. He had no choice but to dodge that since his ash magic was weak against water magic. He got cut on the torso by one of the chains in passing. Zora wasn't as good at sensing mana presences as Luck, but Zora knew that there were more than two people there. "Ganging up on just one guy is pretty pathetic."
The taunt got them to reveal themselves, and while they had Zora surrounded, Zora knew he could take them. People were so easy to manipulate when they thought they were better than you. There were about fifteen men, whose faces Zora recognized from encounters in the past.
"So, it wasn't some random people pretending to be real Magic Knights, but the wannabes who had been Magic Knights. Still scum I see," said Zora. He flipped to a page in his grimoire. "I'll just hafta prove to you idiots that you can never be real Magic Knights!"
But before he could unleash his spell, there was another person who appeared, someone very familiar, someone who should be in the dungeon. Zora cursed. "Tuccia? You ain't supposed to be here! We defeated you!"
Tuccia the Storybook Illusion Witch stood before him. She had a smirk on her red lips. "Oh? Did you think you actually beat me? Or was it some poor girl who had been under my spell to look and act like me? You'd think I'd leave my grimoire out in the open? Haha! I fooled you good!"
Zora scowled. "So, we were just a part of your plan to escape the old Wizard King's magic prison, huh? Knew it was too easy." It meant that a girl who had been bewitched was unlawfully imprisoned.
"Ever the clever one, Zora! I met these nice gentlemen here who had a bone to pick with you, and I decided to help! After all, the easiest way to get to Prince Kirsch is through you," laughed Tuccia, haughtily. "I'd like to keep Prince Kirsch for myself, after all."
Zora gritted his teeth. This wasn't the time to panic. Sweat began dripping down his face. He used "Ash Explosion" to divert the attention. Zora wasn't an idiot enough to think that'd be able to take down Tuccia on his own. The other unnamed losers, maybe, but an ancient witch, not by himself. He took out the magic communication device. He had been given one ages ago, since he had the habit of going off on his own and doing what he wanted. It was connected to Captain Yami's device.
"Oi, Captain, there's a little trouble. I could use some backup!" He said into the device, as all sixteen of his enemies attacked. "SON OF A GODDAMN BITCH!" Dropping the magic communication device, Zora used his trap magic spells to get himself sky-bound like stepping stones, but then before him, his enemies quadrupled in number. Zora sighed and said, simply, "Fuck."
Clover Kingdom
Noble Realm
Capital
The University of Clover
Noon
Kirsch stood off to the side by the cracker and cheese table, while his fiancée Professor Prudence Esmond spoke to several gray-haired royal men. He had promised to attend the one event he was able and it just so happened to be after the Captain and Vice-Captains' meetings. Mimosa and Yuno took Captain Dorothy home safely for him, so that Kirsch could suffer at a University faculty event before the start of the next semester.
It was such a bad decision. Kirsch wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination. He had University-trained tutors growing up as did his sister, but most of his skills and knowledge were centered on becoming a better Magic Knight Vice-Captain. But talking about dusty tomes of droll history, or discussing the differences between metaphors and allegory, or speaking about the world through math and science wasn't exactly something Kirsch was interested in doing.
"Well, well, I can't believe you're actually here with Prudence, Vice-Captain Kirsch," said someone, who finally dared approach him. He stood out in his normal outfit and his Coral Peacock's robe. "I swore I thought my brother was joking."
"Your brother being," asked Kirsch, as he wasn't familiar with her.
"Ah, forgive me, we've never met. I'm a Professor of Language and Literature, Viola Lunettes, my little brother is Klaus of the Golden Dawn," said Professor Voila.
Klaus had been a mentor figure to both Mimosa and Yuno, so it made sense that Mimosa probably complained about the whole situation to the people closest to her in the squad. Professor Viola and Klaus didn't look alike though, not the way you can tell that Kirsch and Mimosa were siblings immediately. Professor Viola had curly black hair, green eyes and wore a suit, looking every bit a professor as he remembered.
"Ah, Klaus' sister. Nice to meet you," said Kirsch. "Your brother had looked out for my sister a lot."
"He's fond of her, Asta and Yuno," said Viola, smiling. "They really had an impact on him. I'm happy that he found some good friends."
Kirsch nodded. He understood the feeling of wanting the best things for a younger sibling. "So, are you friends with Professor Esmond?"
"Oh, absolutely not," snorted Professor Viola. She gave him a critical look that reminded Kirsch of his reading and writing tutor he had when he was a boy. "You really don't know what you're getting yourself into, do you?"
Kirsch frowned. "Um, could you please elaborate?"
Professor Viola said, whispering so that only Kirsch could hear it. "Esmond psychologically manipulates other assistant professors and some students into becoming her "followers." She runs the Philosophy Foundation, which used to be just the club students joined for extra credits and something to look good on their resumes, but now, it's something a bit more sinister. It's hard to explain unless you go to a meeting. You oughta be careful. I warn literature and language students off of her all the time. If you gotta do the betrothal thing, you might want to see about other options."
Narrowing his eyes, Kirsch said, "Just because she has a terrible personality doesn't mean that she's doing something wrong by expanding the philosophy department."
Viola shrugged, still whispering, "That's what the Headmistress says, too. But when Esmond tries to take over the kingdom, it'll be too late to say I told you so."
The thing was Kirsch never knew Klaus to be a liar and the Lunettes were a good Noble House who took care of the people of their city. Viola was most likely telling the truth and Kirsch didn't have trouble believing it was the case. But then again, Kirsch knew that he might be just looking for an excuse to get out of the marriage, so then he could pine quietly over Zora for the rest of his life.
"I'll keep the warning in mind," said Kirsch. Perhaps, he should speak to Sal and see what she'd think about what Viola told him. Sal was a good investigator, after all.
"And you didn't hear it from me," said Viola, straightening her posture and smiling. "Have a good evening, Vice-Captain Kirsch." She walked away from him, leaving Kirsch with even more thoughts.
"Do you know her," asked Prudence, appearing out of nowhere.
"She's a colleague's older sister," replied Kirsch, evenly.
"I do not want you talking to her," said Prudence.
Kirsch bit the inside of his mouth to prevent himself from snapping. "I can talk to whomever I want." Why did this woman insist on making Kirsch's decision to try to make the engagement and marriage work? Why was she like this as a person? Why was she so difficult?
"Not anymore you can't." And then, Prudence pulled out a piece of paper. "Since I do not wish for you to embarrass me, these are the people you may no longer interact with or speak to from now on, future husband of mine."
This was just as bad as the schedule she sent him. Was this what Voila had meant when she said that Prudence had followers?
He grabbed the list and skimmed it. Of course, it was everyone he was known to be friendly towards from his fellow Magic Knights to his own family members, including his cousins Nat and Theo. He had half-expected Mimosa's name to be on the list. And at the bottom of the list was the name "Zora Ideale" in all caps. Kirsch's eye twitched in annoyance. The anger bubbled up in his chest.
The Vermillion House forgive him, but he was done.
Just because Zora wasn't in love with him, Kirsch wasn't going to give up his friendship with Zora. Kirsch and Zora were friends built over years of comradery, fighting alongside each in battle. There was nothing more that Kirsch wanted to do was to see and talk with Zora again. Who was some person just to assume that because you got married, you weren't allowed to have friends? What kind of nonsense was that?
"I'm leaving," said Kirsch, walking away. She didn't deserve his time nor was she worth the anger.
Prudence grabbed his sleeve and smiled up at him with a hard smile on her face. "You are staying until the event is over."
"No," said Kirsch, jerking his arm to get her to release his sleeve. "Have a good day."
He stormed away fabulously. Prudence really made the decision to get out of this marriage too easy. Kirsch wasted no time but finding his way out of the maze that was the University of Clover. Suddenly, Marx's face appeared in front of him while Kirsch was in one of the hallways.
"What?"
"Vice-Captain Kirsch, get back to HQ, we have a Magic Knight-in-distress situation!"
"Got it, on my way! Be there in five minutes!"
Kirsch had to hurry. It was rare that this happened, so something dangerous must have happened. He hoped the Magic Knight in trouble was going to be okay.
~to be continued