Season 3, Chapter 5, Part 1.

The party of Friends or enemies?


Haze's eyes slowly open, staring at the wooden ceiling above as the occasional bird chirps outside. He turns his head, noticing a desk with a chair against the wall and a dresser beside it. Slowly, Haze realizes where he is, and he shoots up from the bed.

"Crap, I must have fallen asleep," he mutters to himself, looking outside. "And it's late, too," he adds before bursting out of the room and rushing downstairs.

"Oh, Mr. Haze, you're awake—" Wilbert starts.

"Can't talk now, I've got to go!" Haze interrupts, bolting out the door and heading for the gate to exit the capital. ("Yami's going to kill me for not returning to HQ,") his mind screams.

"You're right, that is odd," he suddenly hears Magna's voice. Haze stops in his tracks and glances to the side.

"Uh…" he mutters, seeing Magna, Noelle, and Asta turning toward him.

"Oh, hey Haze! How's it going?" Magna yells, waving as Haze looks at them, dumbfounded.

"What are you doing just standing there? Get over here!" Asta shouts.

"No need to be so loud, honestly," Noelle scoffs, flicking a pigtail behind her shoulder.

"Huh?" Asta utters, glancing at Noelle. "But—"

"Noelle's right, Asta. I'm sure he can hear you," Magna adds as Haze walks up to the group, noticing Nero perched on Asta's head.

"What are you guys doing here? Are you on a mission?" Haze asks, walking up to them. His eyes shift between the group, trying to gauge their mood, before he glances up for a brief second.

On the roof behind them, he spots Millie in her cat form, perched as usual. Her gaze is fixed into the distance like usual.

"Well, sort of," Magna replies.

"Sort of?" Haze asks, looking more confused.

"The Wizard King has a few questions for us about the guy we saw in the frozen forest. He's wondering if it's related to the man the Blue Rose Knights brought in last night," Noelle explains.

"Something came in last night?" Haze asks.

"Yeah. Where've you been, anyway?" Noelle asks, giving him a questioning look.

"I—uh, I had something to take care of. Anyway, why are you guys just standing around here?" Haze asks, trying to change the subject.

"Well, Yami was called in for a captain's meeting, and we were told to wait here until it's over," Noelle elaborates.

"Yeah, Finral should be back soon, too," Magna adds.

"Right… I heard you mention something odd?" Haze asks.

"Huh? Oh, right. That," Magna says, nodding. Noelle rummages through her pocket before handing Haze a shard.

"This is just a piece of the crystal the Blue Rose Knights managed to shatter yesterday before taking the man in for questioning," she explains.

"It's still glowing a little," Haze notes, examining it closely.

"Exactly. The Wizard King thinks these crystals might be how whoever's behind the spectral attacks is controlling them remotely. The man was so far away, yet the golems were attacking without any direct orders," Noelle continues.

"But why would some old guy have this? And use it that way?" Haze asks, still puzzled.

"Not sure, but King Julius wonders if the man is just a pawn, part of a bigger plan," Magna explains.

"That's quite the stretch," Haze says.

"Yeah, well, the Wizard King's predictions are usually spot on, even when they sound like a stretch," Magna replies, and Asta and Noelle nod in agreement.

"I see," Haze mutters, still unsure what to make of it.

"Looking closely, a crystal like this is pretty unusual—and hard to come by. It seems… altered," Noelle thinks out loud, making Haze inspect the shard again more carefully.

"Right," Haze murmurs, letting the others talk while he examines the crystal.

"Between this, the chest, and everything else, I can't help but feel like we're in for more trouble ahead," Noelle continues.

"I think so too," Magna adds.

"Not to worry! Whatever trouble comes our way, we'll punch it in the face!" Asta exclaims.

Magna grins. "That's right, Asta! We'll show 'em who's boss!"

"That's right!" Asta echoes, and the two high-five.

"Oh, hi guys, I didn't expect to see you all here," a gentle, familiar voice says, and they all turn to see Mimosa walking toward them, carrying a basket.

"Oh, hey Mimosa! What's up?" Asta asks.

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Noelle asks, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

"Oh, nothing much. A bunch of nobles are supposed to have a networking event later this afternoon, and I was asked to help with the preparations and represent House Vermillion since Fuegoleon can only attend for a short while," Mimosa explains.

"Networking? What's that?" Asta asks, tilting his head.

"It's where a bunch of people gather to have a good time and talk business," Noelle explains.

"That sounds cool," Asta says, intrigued.

Mimosa smiles. "Not really. It's usually pretty boring," Noelle adds, looking away, disinterested.

"Well, it can be fun... sometimes," Mimosa says, glancing over to Haze, who meets her eyes. "You're free to come as well, Haze," she offers with her usual welcoming smile.

"I don't know," Haze mutters.

"Well, big names like Fredrik Arcian and Kyle Menercy will be there. Plus, your sister—"

"Hi guys," they hear, cutting the conversation short as they all turn to see Finral approaching the group.

(Kyle Menercy, huh...) Haze thinks to himself, his gaze drifting back to the crystal shard in his hand.

"There you are. What took you so long?" Noelle asks in a demanding tone.

"Well, I had some things to take care of, and I wanted to send a letter to—"

"That's no excuse, Finral, you know that," Magna interrupts, his voice filled with teasing banter.

"Yeah, Finral, you should be quicker about these things," Asta joins in, laughing.

"Okay, that's it! I'm your superior, and besides, it's not like I was slacking off! I've really improved, I'll have you know!" Finral pushes back.

"Yeah, yeah," Magna continues to tease, and Finral turns his attention to Noelle.

"What did you guys find out, anyway?" Finral asks. Both Noelle and Magna fill him in on what they told Haze earlier. Meanwhile, Mimosa grabs Asta's arm and gently pulls him aside.

"Uh, Asta, I was wondering..." Mimosa says sheepishly. "I was wondering if you could be my plus one tonight? I mean, the rest of my friends are busy, and these events are pretty boring. I thought it'd be more fun if I had a friend there," she explains, blushing.

"Sure thing, Mimosa! That could be fun," Asta replies enthusiastically.

"Great! I'll see you there. I better get going, still have plenty of things to do," Mimosa says.

"I got it, no worries. See you then," Asta says with a smile.

"Thank you! Well, goodbye everyone. It was nice seeing you all," Mimosa waves her goodbye to the group.

"Bye, Mimosa! See ya!" Asta shouts, and the rest of the group waves back to her.

"Well, she looked busy," Magna comments.

"I guess she has a lot to do," Noelle adds before noticing that Haze seems lost in thought.

"Uh, Haze, you okay?" Magna asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah... Could you tell Yami I'm busy?" Haze responds distractedly.

"Busy with what?" Magna asks, confused.

"I just remembered there's somewhere I need to be," Haze says abruptly before running out of the gate and mounting his broom, soaring into the sky.

"What the heck?! You can't just run off, we were talking!" Magna yells after him.

"Bye, Haze!" Asta shouts, while Noelle facepalms, shaking her head. (What is with these crazy idiots? I'd expect it from these two, but Haze acting weird too?) Noelle thinks, barely believing her squadmates' antics.

Meanwhile, Haze soars through the skies. (There's only one person I know who can tell me for sure about this crystal... And if it has any connection to Kyle Menercy, then this might be the lead I need to find her.) A few hours later, he lands in Neon Village and quickly heads into Jim's shop. Dylan glances up as Haze barges in.

"Haze, what are you—" Dylan starts, but Haze storms straight into the workshop in the back.

"Hey Jim, I need you to check something out for me," Haze says in a rushed tone. Jim looks over his shoulder at him, studying him for a long moment.

"What is it? Why are you just staring at me?" Haze asks, looking over to Dylan, who follows him into the room.

"We're not supposed to do anything for you anymore," Jim tells him.

"Say what?" Haze asks, his voice laced with disbelief.

"He's right. Alisa and Tory told us everything," Dylan elaborates, crossing his arms. Haze's eyes dart between the two of them.

"You don't get it—I had to. They wouldn't do what I said—"

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Dylan snaps.

"Say what now?" Haze retorts, narrowing his eyes.

"We've been really patient with you because we all know you're going through something rough. But taking away their dream like that? That's way, way past the line!" Dylan continues, his voice rising.

"So their little plan is to have none of you help me, huh?" Haze asks, anger flashing in his eyes.

"You should be glad that's all they did. If it were up to me and Tory, you'd be a bloody pulp right now," Dylan warns, stepping closer, locking eyes with Haze.

"He's right. Even I would've gone with that alternative," Jim chimes in. Haze shoots him a look, then turns back to Dylan, keeping the heated eye contact.

"Neither of you has enough magic to accomplish that," Haze says, his voice daring, pushing back.

"You really wanna play that card?" Dylan warns, his tone cold.

"I'm playing it. So, do you want to do something about it?" Haze eggs him on, ready to start something.

"You've really turned into the rest of those dumb nobles," Dylan says with disdain.

"Say what?" Haze growls as his magic begins to swirl around him, crackling in the air. Dylan's magic responds in kind, flaring up to match Haze's intensity.

"Go ahead, show me what those little tricks can do, so I can show you what real power looks like," Haze threatens, his voice cold and challenging. Dylan stares deeply into Haze's eyes, holding the tension for a long moment before he retracts his mana, stepping aside to let Haze pass.

"Just go," Dylan says flatly.

Haze smirks triumphantly, pulling back his own magic. As he walks past Dylan, he throws a parting jab. "I knew it. You're all pathetic." With that, he strides through the shop, heading for the door where his broom is waiting.

Suddenly, a loud BANG erupts behind him. Haze jumps and whirls around just in time to see a glowing drum of energy slam into him. The force hurls him out the door, and he crashes onto the street, rolling to a stop.

The commotion draws the attention of the townspeople. Conversations die down as curious eyes turn toward the scene. Haze winces, looking up to see Dylan and Jim standing in the doorway.

"You'd better fix your attitude," Dylan warns, his voice steady but firm. "I won't have anyone harassing this establishment, or this town, without consequences."

"You little—" Haze growls as he scrambles to his feet, his temper flaring. He overhears the murmurs from the crowd.

"Isn't he a Black Bull?"
"I thought they'd changed their ways."
"Clearly not—what's he after now?"
"Trouble, like always. They're all brutes."

Haze freezes, clenching his fists tightly. The whispers cut deeper than any spell.

"You think a flashy display will fix everything?" Haze screeches, glaring at Dylan.

"I told you I saw him," comes a voice from the crowd, and Haze turns to see two of Rebecca's friends watching the spectacle.

"What you did to Tory and Alisa isn't okay," Dylan says, his voice rising above the crowd's murmurs.

"Wait, that's the kid who messed with their dreams?"
"Yeah, I had high hopes for those two."
"We all did."
"They didn't deserve what he did."
"Typical noble behavior."

"Hey, kid, why don't you scram? We don't need people like you in our town," a man from the crowd shouts.

"Yeah, pack your things and leave!" another voice calls out.

Haze's fury simmers as he looks between the crowd and Dylan.

"You may be stronger than Jim and me," Dylan says loudly, "but there's no way you can take on the whole town."

"He's right! If you don't leave, we'll all come after you!" someone shouts.
"Yeah!" the crowd echoes in agreement.

"You hear that, Haze?" one of Rebecca's friends adds. "You're not wanted here."

"Get out," Dylan warns again.

Haze grits his teeth, frustration boiling inside him. "Damn it," he mutters under his breath, mounting his broom. With a final glare at the crowd, he takes off into the sky.

(Damn these people. They don't want me to find her... Oh, right—they don't believe me. No one does. I'll have to snoop around Kyle Menercy and his associates another way.) Haze thinks to himself, gripping his broom tighter as he speeds up.

(Mimosa mentioned that Kyle would be at the event tonight... I need to prepare. If I want to spy on him, I'll have to move quickly.) Haze shifts his direction, his mind racing with a new plan.