Nothing out of the ordinary had been happening, the sun slowly rising with the birds chirping. Iris and Asta had woken up early in the morning. Asta had been doing his daily chores, screaming his lungs out, and potentially damaging his vocal cords. With all the noise he was making, he woke up the whole base. Most of the members decided to fall back asleep and ignore him. Iris was the unlucky one who couldn’t no matter how tired she was.
Currently, both Iris and Asta were having a pleasant conversation. One of them was screaming while the other would for sure be needing a hearing aid soon.
They were in the dining area with Asta sitting in front of Iris, both of his hands resting on his knees. He was as stiff as a board, nervously sweating. If he had learned anything in the span of the past few days, it was to be cautious around his superiors. However, that didn’t stop him from having a burning question in his mind.
Iris sat awkwardly, looking off to the side. In her right hand, she held a mug containing black coffee. Since she didn’t get enough sleep, she needed another way to get energy. Of course, she took note of the intense look Atsa had been giving her. The first thing she tried to do was ignore it and hope that someone else would show up. ‘How long is he gonna stare at me for?’ she thought. The more time passed the more it became clear to her as to why he had been staring.
“Is there something you would like to ask me?” She placed her bitter drink down, shifting her eyes to meet his. Both of their shades of green clashed against one another.
He hesitated a little, unsure of how to approach her. His mouth opening and closing several times, no noise coming out. Cautiously, he began, “You said you joined the Black Bulls a couple of months ago, right? Are you really the Vice-Captain?” Asta’s thirst for answers was the only thing that was keeping him from going back to yelling. Iris was surprised to see his voice so low, considering that he spent the whole morning filling the base with loud, piercing screams.
“Well, as far as I know, that seems to be the case. I doubt Captain Yami would be the type to joke about these sorts of formalities, even if he’s pretty laid back. Besides, I’m not the best at what I do.” She muttered the last part, feeling particularly gloomy that day.
“Then how old are you?! If it’s that easy to become the Vice-Captain, then I’ll be the Wizard King in no time at all!” Asta was getting rather hopeful, not being aware of the restless nights that Iris had to go through. ‘If only you knew how ruthless Captain Yami actually is,’ she paled at the thought of the nights she had been forced to endure alone, fending for herself.
Iris glanced away from Asta, unsure of what knowing her age would do. After all, in a world with magic, age didn’t matter. As long as you had a grimoire and promising ability, you were old enough to fight for the sake of the kingdom. “I’m fifteen years old. Although, I don’t think my age will change-”
Not letting her finish, Asta chimed in, wanting to express his shock. “WHAT?! YOU MEAN YOU’RE THE SAME AGE AS ME?!” He couldn’t believe it. First, he encountered a captain that was merely four years older than him and now he met someone who could potentially have the same status in no time. Surely, becoming the Wizard King would be a breeze, right?
“Geez, no need to be so loud. How the hell do you have this much energy? It’s not even ten in the morning yet.” The ringing in her ears felt like hours despite only lasting seconds. After all the time she spent at the base, she still hadn’t gotten used to the rowdiness.
“Sorry! I apologize!” Though with less volume, Asta’s voice continued to boom throughout the room. ‘I’m not gonna live to see another year,’ she thought, wincing at the headache that was forming.
Iris continued to sip on her drink, still not feeling the best. She looked back at Asta, holding her drink down on her lap. He had been looking away, seemingly lost in thought. She took this opportunity to get a better look at him. Her eyes trailed up and down his figure. Though lacking in stature, he certainly had quite the build for his age. ‘He must have endured hellish training to look like that,’ she thought. She moved to his grimoire, not getting a good look at it before. ‘Why does it look like that? His abilities are unique but I’ve never seen a grimoire that looks like that.’
“Uhm, is there something wrong?” Iris blinked at Asta’s question, not noticing that she’d been frowning while intensely staring at his grimoire.
“No, why would you think that?” She nervously smiled at him, coming across rather forced. Asta, being the dense person he is, didn’t think much.
“You’ve been eyeing my grimoire.” For once, Asta’s face was serious. ‘I guess I still make him nervous.’
“I suppose it’s only fair for me to ask you a question as well, don’t you think?” A smirk grew on her face. She had no ill thoughts or intentions. In fact, she found it amusing how easily uncomfortable people would get when put on the spot.
Asta nodded, waiting for her question. “I noticed that you were able to dispel Noelle’s magic like it was nothing. Surely, you’d have to have a special ability for that to be possible. After all, magic isn’t simply canceled out like what you had done,” stopping her rambling, she formed her thoughts to be more coherent. “So, what magic do you possess?”
Bashfully scratching the back of his head, Asta was still basking at the small compliment that she had given him. “Actually, I don’t have any magic at all.”
Iris wasn’t shocked to hear this. She could sense that fact. She wanted to know more of how he --someone who had not been granted magic-- could pull off what he’d done. ‘How did he receive a grimoire if he has no magic?’ she questioned.
“Also, the sword I use negates magic.” Asta kept his answer short, remembering the words that he had heard someone else use to describe his abilities. Of course, Atsa would never use such words. After all, he was a simple guy.
Iris’ eyes sparkled. This detail was more than what she could have guessed. How crazy was it that she’d ever encounter someone with the power he possessed? “Hey, you think that I could see your sword?” She had quickly gotten close to him, placing her drink on the table beforehand. Asta’s face flushed for a moment before he remembered a certain person he had promised to marry.
Asta took out his sword, handing it to Iris. She reached for the handle with her right hand, her left hand sliding beneath the flat slide of the blade. As soon as Asta let go of the sword, Iris dropped it. She was shocked at how heavy it was. She let a small shriek escape from her. “I didn’t expect it to be this heavy,” she whispered, loud enough for Asta to hear.
Asta picked up the sword once more. He decided that it would be best for him to hold it instead. He held it up for her to examine, not wanting her to drop it once again. Starting from the edge of the sword, Iris began tracing down. Barely a second had passed when she felt magic being sapped from the sword. Slowly but surely, the pieces clicked in her head. ‘No wonder he can wield it with ease. Anyone else and they’d be tired in an instant,’ she observed.
“Wow,” she gasped, marveled at how interesting this plain-looking boy was. ‘Who would have thought someone like this existed.’ She released her hands from the rusted piece of metal. “You’re pretty cool, y’know that? You should train to the point where wielding this sword is like breathing. In a world where magic is everything, you’re pretty much everyone’s biggest enemy.”
He took in her words, loudly agreeing. Another person had believed in him. He didn’t want to give them the opportunity to be wrong. Immediately, he started doing sit-ups and push-ups. Iris sweatdropped at his actions, not sure if she should encourage bursting into a full-on work out mode while hurting everyone’s ears.
Soon enough, the others started appearing. Luck was chasing Magna, trying to tempt him into a fight. He kept laughing while he blasted sparks of lightning towards Magna. Vanessa instantly started drinking, sitting beside Charmy who was already stuffing her face with her delicious food. Grey and Gordon stood off to the side, not getting involved in what the rest were doing. Gauche, as always, was staring at the picture of his little sister. Noelle simply took a seat next to Asta.
As Charmy made food for them, Asta decided that it would be appropriate to ask for clarifications on what a Magic Knight does. “So, what do Magic Knights do anyway?” he blurted out, genuinely not knowing.
Magna went up to Asta, criticizing him for joining the Magic Knights with no knowledge of what they do. Noelle seemed to be thinking the same thing as Asta, appearing to want to know the answer as well. Each member took turns defining the duties as what they thought. They each took a unique spin of the actual reality of the situation. When it came to Iris’ turn, she responded shortly with, “we get to see cool places.”
“Well? Do ya get what we do now?” Magna asked Asta for confirmation while Charmy shoved food in Asta’s mouth.
This whole time, Noelle was thinking if she should be in a squad as unique as this one. The one person that she thought to be sane was probably exactly like the rest of them.
Everyone relaxed for a bit, enjoying the time they spent near each other. Soon Yami made his way to the room where they all resided. He kicked open the door having a serious look on his face, one that only comes when he needs a certain someone to come with him. Silence engulfed the room with everyone’s eyes on him.
Yami turned to look at Magna, determined to see through what he set out to do. “Let’s go, Magna,” he ordered. ‘Oh boy, looks like they’re at it again,’ Iris thought.
“Yes, sir, Mister Yami!” Magna responded back, mimicking Yami’s serious face.
Asta continuously asked what was going on with his mouth full. The only answer Magna gave him was that it was a mission where kids couldn’t go on. According to him, it was a very important mission for adults.
Everyone wished the two farewell as they left the hideout. Iris’ eye twitched, knowing where they’d be off to. ‘This is why we can’t have nice things,’ she thought bitterly.
Asta turned to the ones who remained. “What kind of mission was it for them to be that serious?” His question was not aimed at anyone in particular.
Iris tried her best to not burst out laughing. It ended up coming across as a crooked smile before she fixed it. “I’m sure it’s nothing too big of a deal.”
Asta looked down in admiration to his superiors. To think they’d be off on a mission that could potentially be dangerous made him proud to be in this squad. He quickly went into his training mode and began his exercises again.
Iris shook her head disapprovingly at him. ‘Yami should know better than to trick the guy. He’s as impressionable as they come,’ she thought, already anticipating the disappointment he’d face. ‘They really need to fix that gambling habit of theirs.’
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I almost didn't get this part up before midnight ;((