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"So you are telling me this man is Wizard King Julius?" asked Marx as he pointed at Julius, who was now wearing some clothes.
"Hello, Marx-kun," greeted Julius.
"And it was you who used your magic on him to make him grow faster," said Marx and pointed at Sekke.
"Yup. He asked me to do it, though. I had his consent before you start some blame game of how I could use a spell against the Wizard King," replied Sekke.
"And you two met each other when he ditched his work and went sightseeing in the Kingdom. Worse, you actually aided the Wizard King," said Marx.
"..."
Both of them remained silent and just smiled at Marx.
"*Sigh* You never change, do you? Going around when you were so powerless. Do you have any sense of danger?"
"Now, now, Marx-kun, don't bring in the complicated stuff."
"And you!! How could you just comply with his idea and take him around the kingdom without any care for his safety?!?!" complained Marx.
"I don't want to brag, but he was probably at the safest place in the kingdom when he was beside me," replied Sekke in a flat tone.
Marx looked at the two shameless blonds in front of him in frustration. One was the Wizard King, and the other, the strongest Grand Magic Knight of the Kingdom.
'How come the strongest people in the kingdom are this irresponsible?' thought Marx and gave a deep sigh.
"Don't sigh this much, Marx. People say that whenever you sigh, you let go of happiness." said Julius.
"Yeah, Marx, and looking at you, I don't think you have much happiness left. Don't waste it," added Sekke.
A vein popped up on Marx's forehead as he looked at the pitying expressions of the blond duo.
"Whose fault do you think it is that I sigh so much?!?!?!" yelled Marx.
"Him?" said Sekke innocently and pointed at Julius.
"Me?" said Julius innocently and pointed at himself.
"If you know, then stop making more trouble for me!!!" complained Marx.
"Now now, Marx-kun, where's the fun in that?" said Julius with a laugh.
"..."
Marx's fists clenched; if the man in front of him wasn't the Wizard King, he would have punched him a long time ago.
"Wizard King, just wait for the day you retire," said Marx in a cold tone.
"...Sekke-kun, is Marx-kun threatening me?" asked Julius.
"He is. Best of luck."
"Eh? Looks like I need to be the Wizard King for a long time and serve this kingdom faithfully so that Marx can't harm me," said Julius with a chuckle.
"You'd better do that. Don't make the effort that I put into growing you go to waste," said Sekke with a smirk on his face.
"I will make sure of that. Thank you for giving me this chance once again, Sekke-kun," said Julius with a smile.
"Don't mention it. After all, you have kept the Kingdom safe for a long time. The least that I could do is ease your worries whenever possible," replied Sekke.
"Sekke Bronzaza of the Black Bulls," called Marx.
Both Julius and Sekke looked at him only to find him kneeling before them.
"On behalf of the Clover Kingdom, I wish to express my gratitude for helping the Wizard King be back in full capacity. The Kingdom will never forget your service."
"...Sophisticated words. Tell me, would I be getting any tangible benefits?" asked Sekke.
Marx's expression faltered.
"...On official records, nothing was wrong with the Wizard King..." said Marx.
"...I still haven't gotten any bonus for my service during the elf invasion and the recent revived Wizard Kings attacks..." replied Sekke.
"...The Kingdom's financial situation is in dire straits right now..." said Marx.
"...So I am just not getting any benefits?" asked Sekke with a 'smile'.
Marx started to sweat under Sekke's gaze. The Clover Kingdom was contacted by the Heart Kingdom and was warned not to displease the Mana King, and remembering the consequences that might come with his displeasure, Marx shuddered in fear.
"...I am just saying it out there. No need to listen to me that carefully. My hometown, Kiten, is a border town, and it being one, the relief supplies and personnel for post-elf invasion relief arriving there are quite lacking...." said Sekke.
Marx understood what Sekke meant by that.
"Understood....We will try to divert more focus to Kiten and prioritise its recovery," said Marx.
"Really? You guys are so kind," replied Sekke with a smile.
Marx sighed in relief.
"...Taking care of overachievers among the Magic Knights is a difficult task, especially during these times..." muttered Julius. He wanted to reward the Magic Knights, but the budget constraints were an issue he couldn't solve easily.
Thankfully, Sekke's request was for aid for his town, which can be explained to and get approved by the Financial Dept. and won't cause that much of an issue.
"Well, since my task is done here. I will take my leave."
Sekke gave a Magic Knight salute and walked out of the room.
"He is a troublesome personality," complained Marx.
"Really? I kind of like him. He is a good person after all. To use his merit for the benefit of his town, how many Magic Knights do you think will choose that over personal gain? This is a small price for the things that he has done for the kingdom," said Julius with a smile.
"I understand that....*sigh* I will have to butt heads with those finance department people now. Giving more priority to a border town rather than a noble's domain....I would need to get some leverage against those guys..." muttered Marx.
Marx, being the person with Memory Magic, was the best man to dig up dirt against his foes. That was also one of the reasons why he rose through the hierarchy so soon. A competent person who can also destroy others politically was something that not many mages offered.
"Now, now, leave the grim talk for later. I need to go to a barber soon," said Julius and flicked his long blonde hair.
"Haaaah....sure, let's go Wizard King. Now that you are an adult, I can overwork you without worrying about your bedtime or curfews," said Marx.
"....Suddenly I am missing being a kid," said Julius with a chuckle.
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Two Weeks Later:
Currently, Sekke was on a mission to explore a newly appeared dungeon.
It would have been a group expedition, but because of his rank as a Grand Magic Knight, the HQ ignored that requirement. No need to waste personnel unnecessarily.
Sekke simply walked with a skip in his steps. The mana in the dungeon was opening a path itself to welcome the Mana King while disabling all the traps, so the King was not inconvenienced.
"I really like this treatment," muttered Sekke with a smile.
"A Mana King being respected by the mana is a blessing for the mana itself, My Liege. It's a matter of great honour for mana and spirits alike," said Exodia as he floated beside him in his chibi form.
"Every being with the title of King attached is not worthy to be respected. If you are being respected, then you really are loved, my other half," added Vritra.
"The vile creature is correct, my liege. Our respect for you comes from our love towards you," said Exodia.
"You all are flattering me too much.... Is there something you two need?" asked Sekke in amusement.
"My words are not flattery, my liege. They are the absolute truth," said Exodia.
"I want to rampage in my true form. It's been some time since I played around," said Vritra.
"...This selfish beast!!!!" yelled Exodia in anger.
"I will see if such a situation arises. Do keep in mind that it is my world. Don't go crazy and keep damage to a minimum," warned Sekke.
"Deal!!!" roared Vritra in excitement.
The three of them continued the exploration and soon reached the treasure room.
After separating the items that he wanted to keep for himself and dividing the gold equally, Sekke stored his share in his personal storage while keeping the rest in the different sub-space that he would be presenting to the Kingdom.
The thought of keeping everything to himself and destroying the dungeon came to his mind, since in that case, he could simply report that the dungeon had been destroyed before he could collect the treasure.
However, right now, the Kingdom needed the funds more than ever. The survival of almost all towns and their citizens was in question. He might be greedy, but he wasn't that greedy.
After the exploration was over, he simply walked out of the dungeon without much worry.
But all of a sudden, the familiar ring of his communicator alerted him.
"Dark Lord, this side," answered Sekke.
"Sekke!!!! Come to the HQ fast!!! Dark Tri-" came Finral's panicked voice.
Before Finral could finish, the connection got cut off.
"Looks like you will get your turn today itself, Vritra," muttered Sekke.
"Let gods have mercy on that devil, because I certainly won't!!!" said Vritra in excitement.
[Sun Spirit Magic: Sunshine Blitz]
Sekke's body blurred gold as he vanished from his spot at light speed.
Within a minute, Sekke was back at his HQ.
He looked around. His squadmates were in severe conditions, and the HQ was wrecked.
Currently, Yami was fighting the enemy on his own. The rest of them were down.
[Sun Spirit Magic: Morning Glory: Dawn's Blessing]
A dome of bright golden mana appeared around them, and the complexions of Sekke's comrades eased.
"Huh? Dumbass, you are back?" asked Yami.
"I leave for a mission this morning, and you all get into this much shit?" asked Sekke, slowly landing beside Yami.
"Don't blame me, I arrived late. The situation was already like this when I got here," said Yami, easing up a bit. Sekke's presence was quite reassuring.
"So who's the guest?" asked Sekke.
"Another new fighter? Just how many of you are there?" asked the middle-aged man with pitch black markings on his body as well as a crown and horns similar to Asta's black state on his head.
"Devil Host?" asked Sekke.
"Yes. I am Dante of the Dark Triad," replied Dante.
"Sekke Bronzaza, the Dark Lord. Professional Ass kicker. Nice to meet you," introduced Sekke.
"...The later they come, the cockier they are," muttered Dante in amusement.
"Anyway, I don't want to waste any more time. I will go all out now," said Dante.
"Go ahead, my buddy in here is itching for a good fight," said Sekke nonchalantly.
Dante looked at the man in confusion, not understanding whom did the man called a friend just now.
"I will show you the power of the devil host of the strongest devil, Lucifero."
[Devil Power: 80%]
His appearance changed even more, becoming more devil-like.
"Huh? This world has a Lucifer too.....This will be fun," said Vritra.
"Feel the hopelessness after witnessing my power!!!" declared Dante.
The rest of the black bulls looked at Dante in shock. The mana that was coming out of him felt too strong; even the ki was warning Yami and Asta.
Sekke frowned in displeasure.
"This obnoxious mana is making me nauseous," muttered Sekke with a frown on his face.
"Mana sensitivity is both a boon and a curse," replied Vritra.
"What are you waiting for? Scared already?" asked Dante with a smirk.
"Hm? Done powering up. What was it? Devil Power at 80%. I will show you this then..." replied Sekke.
His sacred gears manifested on his body as violent mana filled the surroundings.
"Dark Lord Power at 2%."
A spectral Vritra's figure appeared behind him and soon merged with his body. His body started growing and transforming into a draconic form.
Dante looked at the scene with shock in his eyes.
Every instinct in his body was telling him to run away.
[Sun Spirit Magic: Aurora Sanctum]
A giant dome made of golden mana surrounded them.
"Don't you dare run away, this world's Lucifer. I am itching for a fight," roared Vritra in excitement.
Dante looked at the dragon that spoke to him with disbelief.
"Alright, dumbasses. Come and place your bets!!! You will bet on how long the other dumbass takes to beat the crap out of the devil shit," said Yami, taking out the money from his wallet.
"..."
Dante looked at the idiots who were openly betting against him. His brows started twitching in anger.
"You arr-"
A sea of black flames drowned Dante before he could speak a single word.
"Oi! Don't die so soon!!!!" yelled Vritra, seeing that this world's Lucifer didn't even dodge his attack.
"Alright, buddy, play time's over, I guess..." said Sekke.
"EH? Not so soon!!! Wait a minute!!!" yelled Vritra and fired his tentacles towards the flames, and started absorbing them back.
"Oi!!! Lucifer!!! Don't you dare die on me!!!!" yelled Vritra, seeing the charred body of Dante.
Dante, who was barely breathing now, knew he had f*cked up.