"No doubt about it, that's the smell of real wood!"
The priest took a bite of the bathhouse's doorframe. The texture, solid and authentic. Definitely real wood!
"This isn't… some kind of magic, right?"
Sister Lily stepped into the bathhouse, unable to hold back her amazement. She knocked on the wooden bathtubs, tapped the walls, and tested their sturdiness. To her surprise, the place wasn't just spacious, it was solid, thick, and absolutely real!
Honestly, she'd never seen such a grand bathhouse in her entire life.
"Father, what was it you said yesterday?"
Houma walked up beside the priest, casually picking at his ear.
"Ahem!" The priest coughed awkwardly, his old face flushing with embarrassment.
"Asta… I now formally declare: from this day forward, you are the shining star of our church!"
"Asta! Can you build us some dividers in the dorm too?"
Laika ran up to Houma excitedly. After all, all the girls were crammed into one room. Changing clothes was a hassle. In winter, it wasn't so bad, they could huddle together for warmth. But in the summer? Total nightmare. Even in 40-degree heat, no one dared strip down to sleep.
"Of course! Though… the church's structure is different from the bathhouse, so it'll take a little time."
Houma squinted, smiling sincerely. Truth be told, he actually enjoyed everyone sleeping together, it felt cozy. So he wasn't in a hurry to build dividers just yet.
"Something's wrong! A wild boar just broke into the village!"
Panicked voices came from the fields. A massive boar, three meters tall, was barreling through the village like a dirt-colored tank.
The villagers tried to fend it off with magic, but it was just weak stuff, little water balls, tiny fireballs, nothing more than everyday utility spells.
Not only were these attacks useless, they only enraged the wild boar further. It was a full-grown beast in its prime.
"Snort! Snort!"
Its pupils contracted in fury as it locked onto a group of huddled children beneath a tree, then charged with its head down like a battering ram.
"Help! Someone help!"
The children screamed in terror.
"My babies! Please, someone save them!"
A woman collapsed to the ground, wailing in despair. Other adults were frozen just like her. Against a creature that size, there wasn't much they could do.
"This is bad! Lily, get Yuno and the others into the chapel!"
The priest reacted immediately, grabbing his broom to rush outside. But before he could act, a figure streaked past him, faster than anything he'd seen.
"Asta!"
The priest's eyes turned red. In that instant, he even forgot to mount his broomstick. Instinctively, he reached out to stop Houma.
But Houma was already moving, like a wild beast cloaked in azure, hurtling toward the boar.
"That's meat!"
Tears streamed down Houma's face. Days of nothing but roasted sweet potatoes and grilled fish had worn him thin. His taste buds were practically starving for change.
Today… today he'd finally eat something different!
"Asta, come back!"
Yuno shouted in shock. Seeing Houma rush forward without hesitation brought back memories, of that freezing, snowy night long ago.
That same scrawny figure had thrown himself again and again at the thugs for the sake of Yuno's pendant.
"Yuno! Where are you going?!"
Sister Lily reached out to stop him, but Yuno didn't even turn his head. He was already gone, sprinting after Asta.
"Asta and Yuno-nii really do have the kind of bond Sister Lily always talks about..."
Nash stared at Yuno's retreating back, stunned. Against that wild boar, they were all equally weak and powerless.
But Asta still rushed out without fear.
Even the always-cool Yuno followed without hesitation.
"Asta! Tell me, what is youth?!"
Nash shouted at the top of his lungs. These past few years, he had lived too timidly, like an old man, lifeless and numb.
But deep down, he too had ambitions, dreams he'd buried beneath layers of fear and self-doubt. He longed to live a youth full of passion, with no regrets!
"Youth, huh…"
Houma came to a sudden stop and turned his head slightly, catching sight of Nash, his tear-streaked face burning with emotion.
Then, with a sudden surge, a brilliant green aura exploded from Houma's body!
"Snort?"
The wild boar had been rampaging wildly, but suddenly… it felt something. A terrifying gust of wind stirred beside it.
It turned its head, and its eyes went wide.
"Youth, means a blazing Konoha Whirlwind!"
Houma soared into the sky, his figure dazzling under the rising sun.
BOOM!
With a mighty shout, he slammed a powerful kick right into the wild boar's skull!
The beast, a massive mountain of muscle and fury, was sent flying, like a giant siege hammer launched into the air, before crashing hard into the dirt.
The children: 😶
The villagers: 😶
The priest: 😶
Yuno: 😶
Nash: 😶
The boar: 😶
Everyone stood frozen, except for Houma, who was practically drooling as he stared at the boar meat.
"Did... we just get saved?"
The kids looked around in shock.
"No way…"
The villagers blinked in disbelief. Had they just witnessed a scene straight out of a heroic play?
But… the protagonist was Asta? That prankster?
Were their eyes playing tricks on them?
"Possessed by a demon lord? No, maybe the Magic Emperor himself possessed him?"
The priest stood frozen mid-sprint, stunned beyond belief.
A teenager… had just kicked a multi-ton wild boar into the sky?
"As expected of Asta. He always turns the impossible into reality!"
Yuno was the first to snap out of it. He wasn't even surprised, because this was exactly the kind of strength his lifelong rival should have.
"But you have to grow stronger, Asta… This world still runs on magic."
He gazed at Houma's back with a hint of concern. Maybe, just maybe… at the upcoming grimoire ceremony in March, Asta would finally receive a grimoire, and awaken his magic?
"So... this is... youth?"
Nash stood frozen, even his nostrils bubbling with snot. The moment Houma had leapt like a god, something inside him had exploded, his heart pounded wildly for the first time.
He felt... alive.
"So this is how I go out?"
The wild boar, lying in the dirt, glanced sideways, catching a glimpse of Houma, already drooling over it.
Its final thought?
"I can't believe it. Me, the mighty King of Wild Boars… taken down like this…"