Chapter Fifteen: Night at the Mixer

Hey there, readers, I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving, before you read the chapter, I want to ask you something important, I'm thinking about making a poll about the topic of the next chapter, there's something I'm not too sure of, so I'll let you decide, but first, I want to know, if I were to release a poll, would you participate in it? Please give a review with your answer, if they're enough responses of people saying they would, I'll release the poll soon after posting chapter 16.

With that out of the way, enjoy this chapter.

"Uh, what am I going to do," Finral said as he stood on the roof of the hideout.

It was the next day, the four Black Bulls that went to the capital had returned and told their squadmates what happened at the capital, much to their worry, but their worry quickly turned to joy when they were told they earned a decent number of stars.

"Take this, Luck!" Finral heard Magna exclaim below, Luck was up to his usual shenanigans, much to the shaded mage's annoyance, in retaliation, he launched an array of fire pitches.

"You're getting a lot better at this, Kenos!" he then heard Asta exclaim, both the swordsman and the solar mage were sparring with each other, the sound of their blades clashing ringing throughout the forest.

"Thanks, I've been getting in a lot of practice lately, as Magic Knights, we're practically fighting for our lives every other week," Kenos said sarcastically.

"You got that right," Asta agreed. "Why don't we take a break for now,"

"Alright then," he said back as he watched Asta put his large sword back in his grimoire. "So, Asta's grimoire has five leaves just like mine, could that be why his anti-magic doesn't nullify my Solar Constructs? He seemed so surprised when he saw the five leaves on my grimoire, could it be he doesn't even know he has one too, but then again, it's not the easiest thing to see. The other thing that surprises me is that his leaves are black while my leaves are white, what could it all mean?"

"Hey Kenos, everything alright?" Asta asked.

Kenos gave a quick smile. "Yeah, I'm alright," he replied. "I'll tell the others about my discovery eventually,"

The two turned around and saw the spatial mage standing on the roof. "Hey there Finral!" Asta called.

Finral waved at them before forming a portal and walking into it, appearing right in front of the two rookies. "Hey there you two, I saw you training, you're in a good mood,"

"Well, can you blame us, we had quite the intense fight at the capital yesterday," Kenos replied. "That and the fact that we've gone up the rankings,"

Finral smiled. Earlier that day, Yami got news from Julius that their squad had earned a sizeable number of stars, as well as that, Kenos, Asta, and Noelle had gone up in rank, being promoted to 3rd Class Junior Magic Knights, as for Charmy, she had been promoted to 1st Class Junior Magic Knight, but she was quite proud about it, much to Luck and Magna's annoyance.

"I've climbed up the hierarchy, kneel bitches!" he remembered the cotton mage saying earlier to them.

"So Finral, what were you doing on the roof, I don't see you there very often?" Asta asked.

The spatial mage sighed. "I was just thinking about a mixer I'm hosting tonight,"

Asta looked confused. "Um, what's a mixer?"

"You don't know?!" Finral exclaimed with a shocked look.

"Don't worry, I'll explain," Kenos spoke up. "You see, a mixer is where people gather at a place to eat, drink, and socialize with each other, it's usually done with people you don't know with the objective of becoming friends with them,"

"Oh, I see, so what's your problem Finral?" the swordsman asked.

"I know that three girls will be coming, as such, I need to bring three guys, including myself, but I don't know who to ask seeing that our squad is nearly full of weirdos, nice weirdos, but weirdos nonetheless," he replied.

"Wait, you need two other people?" Kenos asked for confirmation to which Finral nodded. "Then, why don't you just take the two of us?"

"Wait, what!" Asta screamed.

"Hey, that could work," Finral said. "Excluding me, when you gauge every male on our squad, you two are the most normal, as well as the most normal looking, it'll be perfect! So, will you come with us, Asta?"

"Alright, I guess it can't be that bad, and besides, this could be my chance to make a new friend," he decided.

"Nice, I owe you two one," Finral said, walking away. "We leave at sunset,"

"Okay then, let's head inside, Asta, we should take a bath first," Kenos told him.

"Good idea," he agreed as they both walked to the door, as they did, they passed by Noelle. "Hey there Noelle,"

"Hey Asta," she said back as Asta went inside, she then saw Kenos. "What was the commotion, I heard both Finral and Asta screaming?"

"Oh, it was nothing, I was just talking about going to a mixer," he replied.

"A mixer? You mean that social gathering people go to make new friends?" she asked.

The solar mage nodded. "That's the one, we'll be meeting three girls,"

"Three girls, that's nice, well enjoy yours-," the water mage began before realizing something. "Wait, did you say 'we'?" she then asked.

"Correct, I'm going with Finral and Asta,"

"Oh, okay then-, wait you said Finral and...A-Asta?" she then asked, stuttering at the end.

"That's what I said, is there something wrong?" Kenos replied before asking.

Noelle recomposes herself. "Nope, I'm perfectly fine, but, just asking out of curiosity, what time are you leaving, and what place are you going to?"

"I don't know exactly where we're going, but Finral says we're leaving at sunset, Asta and I are just going to take a bath before we go," he replied before walking inside.

"Asta is going to a mixer to meet girls, no way, what if he...falls for one of them, not like I care, he's free to do what he wants, but what if," Noelle thought frantically to herself, obviously in complete denial over the feelings she has for her squadmate.

Kenos saw her shaking her head and looked at her strangely. "What's up with her all of sudden, I really don't get girls sometimes, what I would give to just get an idea of what goes on in that head of hers?" he thought before turning back around and heading to his room to get his towel.

The hours passed by rather quickly, especially for Asta, who was still quite unsure of going to the mixer. Eventually, the sun set and the three Magic Knights were ready for their night out on the town.

"Alright then, Kenos, Asta, are you ready?" Finral asked them.

"We are," they replied together.

Finral turned to the rest. "Okay everyone, we're off,"

"Knock those girls' socks off!" Vanessa exclaimed.

"And whatever you do, don't make our squad look bad!" Magna added.

"And don't take too long, I might need Finral to teleport me to the little captain's room if I need to take a dump," Yami said.

"Um, no offense Yami, but I think this is a good chance for you to walk there on your own," Finral thought, he then turned to Asta and Kenos. "Let us be off,"

The three walked outside as Finral made a portal, each walking into it one by one, but none of them noticed Noelle hiding nearby.

"Okay, this is my chance," she whispered as she saw Finral enter the portal last, she then ran in before it disappeared. Once she arrived on the other side, her immediate objective was hiding, after she did so, she looked and saw the three males, standing in front of a building.

Kenos looked at the establishment before noticing a sign with the place's name on it. "The Dreavy Hinker," he read. "Oh, I see, it's a play on words, switch the two letters of the second word with the first letter of the third one, and it spells out The Heavy Drinker,"

"Very perceptive of you Kenos," Finral said.

"But wait, if this place is called The Dreavy Hinker, which is a play on Heavy Drinker, does that mean it's like a bar or tavern?" the solar mage asked. "I don't drink, am I even old enough to drink?"

"You don't have to worry about that, I'm sure there are plenty of other things to drink, now let's get going, we don't want to be late and make our future friends wait," Finral replied as he walked into the building, the two right behind him.

Noelle poked her head out of her hiding spot and glared at the establishment. "How am I going to get in there and monitor them without getting seen or being marked as suspicious by other people," she wondered before an idea popped into her head. "I think there's a way,"

"What a wonderful night, I'm so glad you could make it," Finral said to the three girls across from them. It had not taken long for them to meet up and find a table for six, the three Black Bulls sat on one side, while the girls sat across from them. "Before we begin, why don't we introduce ourselves, which one of you lovely ladies would like to start,"

"I don't mind starting," the girl across from Finral said as she raised her hand, she had short black hair and wore a green dress with a small white and green cloth jacket on the top half of it. "Hello there, my name is Erika Taylor, I run a clothes shop not too far from here,"

"I guess it's my turn," the one across from Asta then said, she had long scarlet hair and wore a red dress with a small pink cloth jacket over the top half of it. "My name is Rebecca Scarlet, I run a restaurant," she introduced with quite low enthusiasm.

"Alright, I'm up," the girl across from Kenos said, it was clear that she was much more enthusiastic than Rebecca was, she had medium-sized dark green hair, she wore a small and frilly purple dress. "It's nice to meet you all, my name is Eon Teru, a friend of Rebecca's, we both run the same restaurant,"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Erika, Rebecca, and Eon," the spatial mage said. "I am Finral Roulacase, please enjoy these freshly picked flowers, courtesy of my Spatial magic," he introduced as a portal appeared above each girl, a bouquet of purple flowers then fell on their laps.

"Wow, he's actually pretty good, now that I think about it, this is a great chance to learn some more about Finral, despite the fact that he's really approachable, I really only know that he likes to flirt, but isn't good at it," Kenos thought to himself intently. "Maybe if I see him flirting tonight, I can get more of an idea of what kind of guy he is,"

As Finral finished, Asta stood up, ready to introduce himself. "I don't really know what to say, maybe I should just tell them my goals," he thought before pulling a sleeve back and flexing his bicep. "Hi there, my name is Asta, I'm 15, and one day, I want to become the Wizard King,"

"The Wizard King huh? For a short guy, he dreams big," the girls thought in unison.

It was then Kenos' turn. "Um, hello, my name is Kenos Rossiu, I'm 16, and if I had to describe something about myself, it would be that there are things that I really don't know too much about myself,"

"Rossiu?" Eon spoke up. "Wait, isn't that supposed to be a high ranking noble family that's close to the Wizard King himself?"

Kenos scratched the back of his head. "That's right, but it's not something I really like to brag about," he said.

"You also said there are things you don't know about yourself, like a mystery or something, how enigmatic, I like that," Eon said.

Finral stood up. "Now we're past the introductions, let's get to socializing," he said as waitresses came to their table, each holding two wooden mugs and a plate of food.

"Here you are," they said as they put a mug and a plate in front of each person, Kenos looked into his mug and saw the familiar golden liquid.

"Um, excuse me, but is this alcohol?" he asked one of them.

"Yes, but don't worry sir Magic Knight, you don't look too old, so this alcohol has been heavily diluted," she replied.

"Oh, that's very nice of you, thanks," he thanked them as they simply bowed their heads and walked away.

As they walked away, they passed right by Noelle...dressed in the same outfit they were. "It was a good plan to get a job here temporarily so I could spy...I-I mean monitor Asta and the other two," she thought.

One patron saw Noelle and raised his glass to her. "Excuse me, waitress, can I get another refill of beer please?"

The water mage turned to him, her face showed comedic indifference. "Get it yourself,"

"What?!" he said with a hiccup.

"So, I just want to know, what is it like, being a Magic Knight?" Eon asked Kenos.

The solar mage held his chin in thought. "Well, it is very dangerous, we've faced some serious threats, it's also a good chance to meet new people and hone your magic power," he replied. "Say, what magic do you use, Eon, and do you have a grimoire too?"

"I do have one, but I didn't bring it with me, as for my attribute, I have wind magic," she replied.

"Wind magic, that's cool, I know someone who uses it too," Asta cut in, thinking about Yuno. He then turned to ask Rebecca a question, but her head was turned sideways. "I wonder if she's okay,"

"I already know that Magic Knights fight dangerous threats, but what about you personally, especially you, Finral," Erika said. "As a spatial mage, I bet you've seen some beautiful places,"

Finral nearly choked on his drink. "Crap, most of the time, my magic is just used to take Yami to the toilet and around the kingdom for basic errands, I've maybe only been to three or four noteworthy sights," he thought. "Of course, I've seen so many, I can hardly count them all," he lied.

"Oh, I see, well, it's bound to happen," she said.

"And what about you, Kenos, what kind of magic do you use, can you use it to travel like Finral can?" Eon asked again.

Kenos shook his head. "No, I use Solar Magic, no traveling, but it's still great since it covers a wide range of spell types, from creation, to binding, even to recovery,"

"Solar magic? I've never heard of that attribute before, but it sounds so cool, and it sort of makes sense, the sun provides us with a wide range of things, from light, to heat, and a way to grow plants, I guess your magic must mirror that variety," the green-haired girl said.

Kenos was both surprised and impressed. "Wow, I never really thought about that, it's actually really cool when you think about it. What about you, what do you use your wind magic for?"

"Mostly helping out at the restaurant, it has its uses when cooking," she replied, taking a sip from her mug and a bite of food from her plate. "Hey, you mind if I ask something?"

"Sure, go ahead,"

Eon took a deep breath. "You three all seem really nice, but I've heard that the Black Bulls...are sort of a rowdy squad full of troublemakers, you're a noble and your magic sounds super interesting, were the Black Bulls the only squad that wanted you?"

Kenos paused, he remembered Zuka asking him a similar question during their team-up mission in Rielzu. "I had other choices, but I decided to join this squad, the rumors about them are somewhat true, they are rowdy, and they can cause trouble, but they're all genuinely kind people, that I can assure you,"

Asta and Finral smiled at their squadmate's words. "Thanks a lot, Kenos,"

Eon smiled. "I'll take your word for it,"

Finral interrupted. "Enough talking about us, why don't we talk about you ladies for a moment," he said rather smoothly. "Erika, you said you own a clothes shop, do you think I can stop by to try on a new wardrobe?"

"That sounds fun, I can already imagine something that would look great on you," she replied with a giggle.

"Sounds wonderful, and you, Rebecca and Eon, could I maybe stop by your restaurant for a bite to eat?" the spatial mage asked again with a slight tone of flirtatiousness.

At the mention of her name, Rebecca quickly turned to look at Finral before returning her head to normal.

"Of course you could come, who knows, maybe we can have another mixer over there instead, it would be our treat," Eon replied.

"That sounds awesome, I bet your cooking is incredible," Kenos said before taking a large gulp of his drink, he had to admit that for the first time drinking alcohol, it didn't taste that bad, even if it was diluted. "I'll be back, I'm going to go use the bathroom,"

He stood up and walked away from the table, but he wasn't sure where the bathroom was exactly, he then saw a waitress with her back turned to him as she was facing another customer, the black-haired mage walked up to her and lightly tapped on her shoulder. "Excuse me miss, if you could, can you please direct me to the bath-,"

He was going to finish, but stopped midway as the waitress turned around, revealing it to be Noelle, she too was in total shock as she looked at him. "Hey Kenos, what are you doing here?" she tried to ask innocently, but to little avail.

"This is where the mixer is, but the real question is, why are you here, you're a Magic Knight and a royal, so it's obvious you didn't come here looking for a job?" he asked suspiciously.

"Um, you see, this is, just a coincidence," she tried to think of some excuse as to why she was here. "To tell you the truth, I passed by here a little while back, and I saw the uniform the waitresses wore, and I thought it looked cute, so...sometimes, I come here just to put it on,"

Kenos scanned his squadmate, looking up and down, now he thought about it, the uniform did look pretty nice, he could understand why she would want to wear it. "Well, I guess your story makes sense, but do you know where the bathroom is?"

"Oh yeah," she replied, turning around and pointing to a spot. "Go right over there and make a left, that should be where the men's room is,"

"Okay," he thanked her as he went there and did his business, coming out only three minutes later, his hands were still wet, he vigorously shook them. "Damn, I can't believe they ran out of towels," he arrived at the table, but saw that two people were gone. "Hey, where did Finral and Erika go?"

"Oh, Erika wanted Finral to take her to some beautiful sights, they just left a minute ago," Eon told him.

Kenos sat down. "Hmph, I guess Finral is really good at this, I wonder how does he even fail, based on what I saw, he was polite when he gave them flowers, and he didn't want to spend too much time just talking about us and gave the ladies a chance to talk about what they do for a living, all in all, the qualities of someone with a kind soul," he thought.

"I hope they're enjoying themselves," Asta said before looking at Rebecca again, the girl across from him had hardly said a word all night. "Hey, Rebecca?"

The scarlet-haired woman turned to face him. "Yeah?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Is everything okay with you, you've hardly said a word since you got here, and you keep looking away from me, is there something you don't like about me?"

Rebecca sighed. "No, it's not you, it's just that, this isn't me, coming here was all Eon's idea,"

The girl beside her faced her. "I brought you here so you could get a chance to relax, you've been working hard at the restaurant, you barely ever get some time to yourself,"

"I know, but I'm still concerned about my younger siblings," Rebecca admitted.

Asta's eyes showed some surprise. "You have siblings?"

"That's right, one of them is old enough to watch the rest on her own, but I still can't help but worry, I was going to ask Eon if she could do it, but she was coming too, my siblings and I lost our parents some time ago, and it's up to me to care for them," she replied.

"I know how you feel," Asta then said. "I have siblings too, we're not related by blood, but we grew up in the same orphanage, times pass where I miss them, being with them was so much fun,"

Rebecca smiled. "Same here, I love my siblings to death,"

Eon smiled too, she was glad to see her friend was finally beginning to enjoy herself, as well as having someone similar for her to talk to, she then turned to Kenos, but was a bit shocked as she saw a slightly distressed look on his face.

"I really envy you two,"

Asta and Rebecca turned to face Kenos as he said those words, they saw the look on his face as well.

Eon was the one to speak up. "Envy? Do you have siblings too, Kenos?"

He slightly nodded. "Yeah, I do, but we're not really on the best terms, we haven't been for a long time, we still speak to each other, but I've never really had fun with them, at least nothing I can remember," he replied. "I'm somewhat jealous of you two, you both appear to have good bonds with your siblings, Asta's siblings aren't even related to him, and it's better than mine, I guess I wish sometimes, that my family could be like yours,"

Asta didn't say anything, he knew how things were between Kenos and his relationship with Dante and Oxanna, even if they were decent people, he couldn't deny that there was still tension between them.

Eon looked at the solar mage as well, her facial expression changed quickly to one of determination as she stood up. "Kenos, why don't we have a walk outside, I want to talk to you about something,"

"Sure," he replied as he stood up too.

Eon crouched down to Rebecca's ear. "I'll be back, you and Asta are hitting it off just fine, so I know you won't need me around to cover for you,"

A small smile was on the scarlet-haired girl's face. "Whatever, just get going, and remember, don't do anything you shouldn't be,"

Eon giggled. "You don't have to worry about me, you know I'm not that kind of girl," she said as she turned to Kenos. "Okay, let's go," she walked outside, Kenos right beside her.

Asta and Rebecca continued their conversation, laughing while they told each other stories about their siblings, all while Noelle watched them from afar, holding a plate. "No, they look like they're having so much fun," she muttered as pulled on the plate, breaking it cleanly in half.

Her boss walked up to her and gasped. "What are you doing? You practically begged me to give you a job here, but you hardly do anything, you're rude to customers, and now you're breaking property, what kind of employee are you?"

She turned around to face him, her face similar to that she gave the male patron earlier. "That's enough out of you," she said, her boss walking away frightened.

"Did that really happen, no way!" Asta laughed, he was feeling a lot less tense from before, but just then, a shadow loomed over him, he looked up to see a rather large man, his cheeks were red and he stumbled, making it obvious that he was drunk.

"Well well, if it isn't a Magic Knight, you're pretty short, do they just let anyone in these days," he said before turning to Rebecca. "And who is this beauty? Wait a minute, you...look familiar, ah, I remember, you work at that restaurant with all your kids, trying to settle down with a Magic Knight, not a bad plan,"

Rebecca looked obviously offended. "Those aren't my kids, they're my siblings, and I'm not trying to settle down,"

The man put his hand on her shoulder. "Yeah right, if you're going to take any guy, I think I'll do just fine,"

"Hey, let go of me," Rebecca said as Asta put his hand on the man's wrist.

He turned to the teen. "Oh, is the Magic Knight going to use his magic on me?" he taunted.

"Actually, I don't have any magic power, but don't underestimate me!" Asta exclaimed as the veins in his arm pulsed before he lifted the man and threw him into a nearby table. "You don't know a single thing about her, she's an incredible girl,"

People began looking at the pair, Rebecca quickly got up and grabbed Asta's hand. "Follow me," she said as she led them out of the building.

Noelle saw them leave, she turned to her boss. "Hey, I quit," she said before running out of the building too, eager to catch up with the two.

"It really is beautiful tonight,"

Kenos looked at Eon as they walked, the girl was looking up at the sky, the solar mage did the same and widened his eyes, the night sky was filled with stars, and the full moon shone brightly. "You're right it is,"

"I know, I wonder how Rebecca's doing?" she wondered aloud.

"I bet she's fine, she's with Asta after all," he answered. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"You said that you weren't on good terms with your siblings, right?"

Kenos nodded. "That's right, but I guess I should still be grateful, it could've been much worse,"

"I see, you said you were jealous of Asta and Rebecca, but in a way, I'm envious of you," Eon said with a small tone of sadness at the end.

Kenos was genuinely surprised. "Envious of me? What for, I bet you have a great life, you already have a wonderful personality,"

She shortly giggled. "Thanks, but I'm not like you and Rebecca, I'm like Asta, I don't know where I came from," she said. "My parents abandoned me when I was two, my earliest memory was them placing me somewhere before walking away,"

"Oh, that must've been horrible, I'm really sorry," Kenos told her.

"Don't be, I don't blame my parents, I don't even know what situation they were in, they could've just left me because they weren't financially stable," she said. "For years, I lived on the streets, picking up skills to do what I could to survive, but my life changed when I met Rebecca,"

"Rebecca?" Kenos asked.

Eon nodded. "That's right, it was two years ago, I was passing by her restaurant and the food smelled so good, but I didn't have any money, but regardless, she let me in and gave me a meal, I was so grateful that I wanted to do something to repay her, so I decided to stay and became a cook," she explained.

Kenos gave her a warm smile. "That was really nice of her, so I'm guessing you live with her and her siblings?"

"Bullseye, but when I first started living there, I didn't really hit it off too well with her siblings, we had trouble getting along, we would still talk to each other, but there was obvious tension between us," Eon replied.

"Sounds a lot like the relationship with my own siblings, did you ever fix it?"

Eon shook her head. "Not really, even now, we don't get along too well, but I'd be lying if I said we haven't gotten closer," she replied. "I'd do anything for them, and I'd do anything for Rebecca, and I know that they would do anything for me too,"

"I wish that it was the same with me," Kenos said. "So is that everything you wanted to tell me?"

"Not exactly," she replied as she stopped walking, Kenos did the same. "What I wanted to tell you was that we're the same, we both don't get along with our siblings, but with me, we were able to get closer and I feel they dislike me just a little less. You seem like a great guy, I know one day it'll be the same for you too,"

Kenos smiled. "Thanks a lot," he said. "So, should we head back?"

"I think we should," she replied as they turned around and started walking back.

"Hey, Eon?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad that I met you, this mixer was a great idea," Kenos said.

The girl grabbed the mage's arm and brought herself close to him. "Same here,"

Kenos was a bit surprised. "Um, not that I mind, but why are you clinging to me, people who pass by will get the wrong idea?"

Eon smiled. "No real reason, you're just the first male friend I have that's around my age, I'm 18 by the way," she replied. "Hey, if you ever want to, you can come over to the restaurant, it's in Nean, you can bring Asta too,"

Kenos grinned. "I don't see why not,"

"I think we...are safe here," Rebecca said, catching her breath, she and Asta had run into an alleyway not too far from the building, Noelle had managed to catch up with them and hid behind another building.

"Wow, that all happened so fast," Asta said.

"I know," she agreed as she stood up straight and looked at the boy. "He called me...an incredible girl?"

Asta looked at her, causing her to blush and look away. "Hey, thanks for saying what you did back there,"

"No problem," he grinned, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey Asta, this might be a bit of an odd question, but is there anyone you're interested in, like, romantically?" Rebecca asked with some reluctance.

Asta was starry-eyed. "Yes, there is someone I'm interested in, she's super amazing, we're from the same-,"

"That's amazing, I wish you luck," Rebecca interrupted him. "He may be into someone else, but there's no way I'm giving up on him,"

Noelle on the other hand was completely flustered. "Same? Same what, does he mean the same squad? Can he be talking about m-m-me?" she thought frantically.

"I think the coast is clear, let's get out of here," the water mage heard Asta say, she quickly ran and hid by another spot nearby.

The pair walked out of the alley, just as they did, they noticed Kenos and Eon walking to them. "Hey there you two," Rebecca greeted them before noticing the girl clinging to Kenos' arm. "Eon, what did I tell you,"

"Don't worry, nothing happened," Eon said back to her.

Rebecca looked to Kenos. "I'm sorry about her, she's a very energetic person and has always wanted a male friend around her age, please don't think too much of it,"

"It's alright," the solar mage said as a portal appeared next to them, Asta and Kenos recognized it as Finral's, and surely, Finral and Erika came out from it.

"That was fun, but I don't think this will work out," she said. "I'm heading home, see you tomorrow, Rebecca, Eon,"

"Damn it, I was so close, how did I fail!" Finral exclaimed hysterically as he dropped to his hands and knees in comedic defeat.

Kenos looked at his senior. "Okay, I guess he didn't do so well," he thought. "Don't worry Finral, you'll succeed one if these days,"

"Thanks, Kenos," the spatial mage said. "Well, I guess we should be off,"

"Okay then, it was nice meeting you three, don't worry, we can head back home on our own," Eon said as she and Rebecca walked away from them.

"Tonight was a lot of fun, I almost can't believe I was nervous earlier," Asta said.

"I envy you, Asta," Finral said as he formed a portal, the three walked into it.

"I better hurry, or I'll be stuck here," Noelle whispered as she ran into the portal before it disappeared.

On the other side, the three Magic Knights arrived back at base, Noelle came in right after them and ran to the side of the base to avoid being seen.

"You're right Asta, that was fun, Eon was a really cool girl, she even gave me some good words of encouragement during our talk, now let's head in, I can't wait to tell the others about it,"

The other two smiled as they entered the base, Finral may have struck out, but Asta and Kenos were happy to have made a new friend.