In a vast forest in the Common Realm, the wind gently rustled the leaves, creating a sibilant sound, like the roar of emerald waves, the swaying leaves resembling a churning green sea.
A huge, gray-black building stood in the forest, its stacked and protruding structures appearing strangely peculiar, as if various architectural styles had been blended together.
Even stranger, despite the mixture of architectural styles, from a distance, the entire building looked harmonious, without a hint of incongruity, just like various colors blending together to form a unified "black."
This was the base of the Black Bulls Squad.
Birds standing on trees in the forest were startled by the shouts from inside the base; they shot up into the sky, appearing as a few black specks against the blue sky and white clouds.
Asta, shirtless, raised his left hand high, announcing good news to Captain Yami, who was sitting on the sofa; he had just returned to the base from the Witch's Forest: "Captain Yami~"
"Look! My arm is healed!"
Captain Yami, reading a newspaper, slowly turned his head, a wisp of light white smoke rising from the cigarette in his mouth. He looked at the shirtless Asta and said calmly, "Oh, that's great."
'What? No surprise at all, so casual!'
Asta thought, but still maintained his excited mood: "Mr. Yami, besides that, we also found the Magic Stone!"
"Really?"
"Alright, this is your first mission after healing your arm, kid—go buy some liquor!"
"Yes, sir! I'll be back with it super fast!"
Asta responded to Captain Yami's words and turned to observe the surroundings of the base. Only then did he realize that the entire base was empty except for Captain Yami, who was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper.
The usually lively base seemed unusually deserted.
"Huh? Haven't the others returned yet?"
"Sigh." Captain Yami, who woke up one morning to find himself the only one left in the entire base, left alone to guard it, recalled his miserable experience of not having gone to a bar for several days. He sighed and said chillingly, "Yes, those rascals are probably lying dead on some street corner, aren't they?"
A beautiful woman with pink hair behind Asta, like a child who had done something wrong, stammered to Captain Yami: "Captain… I'm back!"
A scarlet kitten stood on her shoulder, letting out a soft meow.
"Oh~ Vanessa, welcome back—"
Just as Asta was thinking of going out to buy liquor, a familiar voice came from outside the Black Bulls Squad' base, "I'm back!"
Captain Yami, holding his newspaper, and Asta, with a black Anzhi Bird on his head, looked towards the door.
"Oh? They're back today too?"
"That voice is Magna Senpai…" Asta remembered, "Magna Senpai and the others went to the Magic Palace to heal my arm… I need to thank them!"
He walked briskly towards the main door, which opened from the outside. Magna saw Asta first and burst out laughing: "Haha~ Asta, quickly thank Luck and me, we found a way to heal your arm."
A glass vessel containing green liquid looked very clear under the light.
"Ah." Asta waved his left arm, his muscles, developed through long training, bulging. "My arm is already healed."
"Eh?"
Magna hurried over with the healing potion and carefully examined Asta's arm. Not only had it fully recovered, but not even a scar was left. "Wow~ It really is healed."
Recalling the experience of injuring himself outside the Magic Palace to test whether the potion was for external or internal use, he somewhat regretted not listening to what Bai En said before he left: "Asta's arm might already be healed."
"Forget it, as long as the result is good."
Magna still handed the potion from the Magic Palace to Asta. "You're different from us; you don't have magic and get injured easily. Keep this bottle of potion. Just drip some on the injured area, and it will heal quickly."
"Really? Magna Senpai, you're so good to me! Then I'll gladly accept it."
"This isn't my credit. If you want to thank someone, thank Luck. He obtained it. I just transferred it to you because I was afraid he'd break it."
Luck also darted to Asta's side at this moment, his clenched fists poised in front of his chest, "Yay yay~ Asta, now that your arm is almost fully healed, how about we do some combat rehabilitation training?"
"That way we can surpass that guy named Bai En?"
"Bai En?"
"That's right, we met him while exploring the Magic Palace. That guy defeated a super huge demon beast without using magic, he's really amazing! It's a pity he wouldn't fight me, otherwise I could have really felt it!"
'He defeated a demon beast without using magic? Could it be that guy has gotten stronger again?'
Asta clenched his fist, a smile playing on his lips, while his black eyes deepened. The rich black-red aura emanating from his grimoire—the Anti-Magic power—was incredibly clear.
'I've also mastered new power, Bai En, Yuno, let's have a showdown next time!'
"Ki… Asta's aura has almost disappeared. Is he getting more skilled at that so-called 'transparency'?" Captain Yami took the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled: "I can't understand it at all~ Forget it, that body combined with Anti-Magic, it's really disgusting."
Gradually, the members of the Black Bulls Squad returned from outside. After hearing the news of Asta's arm being healed, an outdoor barbecue began.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Unlike the Black Bulls Squad' gathering, Bai En and Fragil returned to the Aqua Deer Squad's base and each busied themselves with their own affairs.
Compared to the Black Bulls Squad, who gathered various individuals with wildly different personalities, the Aqua Deer Squad consisted more of gentle, calm individuals. Most of the time, they delved into their favorite things and pursuits, though they would also gather to eat and joke around when they had time.
If the Black Bulls Squad were likened to a den of wild beasts gathered in the wilderness, then the Aqua Deer Squad was a flock of penguins basking in the sun on an ice floe.
Upon returning to the Aqua Deer Squad, Bai En rested quietly in his room for a while, only waking up in the afternoon when the sunlight streamed through the French window covered in climbing vines.
Well, actually, he was woken up by the Sky Elf pulling his hair. She cried and whimpered, pulling Bai En's hair while rubbing her little belly.
So, even elves get hungry?
It's really like raising a child.
Alright, alright~
Bai En got out of bed and went downstairs to the small kitchen next to the living room to make some food. He didn't know what the Sky Elf could eat or liked to eat, so he just made a bit extra of various things.
Because of his part-time job at Moli Restaurant, there was a large variety of food accumulated in the kitchen.
First, he fried steaks to make sandwiches, then simmered fish bone soup, and also prepared fresh vegetables.
The little one wasn't picky. Standing by the plate, she gnawed at the food like a rabbit, a look of satisfaction on her brows. Seeing that Bai En wasn't eating, the Sky Elf babbled and dragged her food towards Bai En, offering it eagerly.
Bai En watched her with a smile, shaking his head: "You eat, I'm not hungry."
"You need to eat your fill though~"
"It's going to be very busy later."
Since there will be nothing to do after eating and drinking later, let's start training. After all, time waits for no one. After the Star Festival comes the Royal Knights Squad selection, and things are about to get chaotic, so we can't relax.
The Elf girl must be trained from a young age.
At this moment, the Sky Elf was eating happily, unaware that she had encountered a strict "father."
"Let's start working hard, Elf girl!"
...