"You... do you know what you're saying?" Damnatio stared at the man in front of him who maintained a smile.
"Of course." Bai En nodded.
The sun in the distance gradually rose, a fiery red orb emerging from the azure sea. As the fireball ascended, a verdant green tree grew, its lush and colossal form standing tall and erect. Countless golden lights, at the moment the great tree solidified, suddenly rose from the ground, gathering and flying towards it like a school of dancing fish.
It was an extremely grand spectacle.
The dancing lights and the growing World Tree—Bai En naturally knew what had happened. 'The demon-dweller sword and the World Tree, is the matter of the Shadow Kingdom over? I wonder… will the First Magic Emperor, who arrived late and didn't use his magic, shatter this time? If not…'
"It's just a joke, Lord Royalty," Bai En spoke fluently, "I just hope you won't be so extreme."
"Alright, it's getting late, and I, having been busy all night, need to rest. So, farewell, Lord Royalty."
"I hope next time we meet, you can change your attitude towards me, otherwise… I don't have a good temper." Two long swords, suspended in the air, flew into the glowing white grimoire.
Bai En leaped from the rooftop, riding a flying broom, and faded from Damnatio's sight. After he was completely far away, Bai En's figure blurred in the air and vanished completely, transparent through the atmosphere.
'The Wizard King is a demon host? How is that possible?' Damnatio unhesitatingly rejected this idea.
Although he, as a Lord Royalty, initially didn't think highly of Julius becoming the Wizard King despite not being a Lord Royalty, ever since he ascended to the position of Wizard King, the Clover Kingdom had indeed been improving. How could such a person be a demon host?
'Next time I see him, I must punish this audacious young man.'
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Aqua Deer Squad base.
Far from human habitation, this place seemed unaffected. The entire building stood peacefully on the mountaintop, like a sleeping giant beast. Bai En pushed open the door and heard the sounds of laughter from inside.
"Alright, you lost, Uncle Gosen, hurry and go buy supplies in town!"
"Huh? Wait… that doesn't count, let's do best of five?"
"We agreed on one round to decide the winner from the very beginning, now it's already best of three. Uncle Gosen, stop being a sore loser."
Bai En, walking into the living room, observed Gosen and Cesc on the sofa. Were they playing cards? What in the world… these two guys? The outside world was in utter chaos.
However… this didn't seem hard to understand.
The Aqua Deer Squad base was inherently remote, and the remaining two had not been chosen and possessed by Elves. So, they probably woke up after a good night's sleep, and the Clover Kingdom had returned to stability.
Their Magic Knights didn't even have communication magic tools!
Who knows where Captain Rill threw them.
Seeing Bai En appear in the living room, Gosen and Cesc greeted him, "Yo ~ Bai En, you're back? Was the subjugation mission smooth?"
"Good morning ~"
"Uh… good morning." Bai En nodded, "The subjugation mission went fairly smoothly."
"Did you guys at the Aqua Deer Squad base not see or hear anything? Like, light swords or explosions?" After a moment of thought and hesitation, Bai En still chose to ask.
"Explosions? Light swords?" × 2
"What are those?"
"Alright…" Bai En didn't talk about the outside matters. He walked towards the kitchen and asked, "I'm a bit hungry, I'll make something to eat. Do you guys want anything?"
Cesc and Gosen exchanged glances and said in unison, "We're not picky!"
After eating, Bai En returned to his room to rest. 'After the Elf Tribe matter concludes, the next will be the Three-Eyed Stars of the Spade Kingdom. Their arrival should still be some time away.'
'Before that, I need to make a trip to the Heart Kingdom to find the forging materials for the last cookware.'
'If I go from the Clover Kingdom to the Heart Kingdom, I need the Wizard King's approval. Would it be simpler to go to the Heart Kingdom from the Diamond Kingdom, using Mars's help?'
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Clover Kingdom.
In a gloomy royal capital, Yami and a small child called out to Asta, Nero, and Noelle, who were about to leave to join the reconstruction of the royal capital.
Noelle and Asta were observing the small child in front of them.
'Who is this guy? Suddenly calling out to us.'
'Standing with Captain Yami, and his ki feels very familiar, it's…'
"The war has ended, and this matter is resolved. But after this, we will encounter three troubles." The small child held up a finger, "Firstly, the Wizard King is gone."
"Huh? Aren't you right here?" Yami retorted, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
Asta and Noelle exclaimed in surprise, "Eh?!"
Julius pulled out a thin piece of paper. "I've lost most of my magic power, and my grimoire has become like this. Combat is definitely out of the question. One could say my influence over those absolutist nobles has also weakened."
"Excuse me… why did the Wizard King shrink and still live?" Asta interrupted.
Julius smiled: "That's a magic storage technique I discovered, left by a Mage a long time ago. I call it 'Swallow Mark'. With it, I am able to live in the present."
"So that's how it is."
Nero's eyes lit up when she heard "Swallow Mark". She tightly clutched the magic stone in her hand.
"Alright… let's continue."
"Aside from the first point I mentioned, according to my prediction, Trouble 2: if things continue this way, the Clover Kingdom will be destroyed by other kingdoms. Trouble 3: Young Asta will die!"
"Both might happen simultaneously."
"Oh, oh, oh—"
Yami made a gesture of mourning from the side: "The boss's predictions are very accurate, accept your fate, kid!"
"What in the world is going on?! Wizard King, ahhhh!"
"The Clover Kingdom is surrounded by three kingdoms: the Diamond Kingdom, the Heart Kingdom, and the Spade Kingdom. Besides the Diamond Kingdom, which borders us, the Spade Kingdom, separated from us by a strong magic zone, is also expanding its influence. But now…"
"The Magic Knights are more depleted than ever before."
"Not only that, there are also people who turned against each other due to reincarnation. Their positions are also very dangerous," Yami added.
"Thirdly, the demon power used by Young Asta is the same power as the Word Spirit Demon, the root cause of all evil. This power of the same origin makes it highly likely that… when the Magic Parliament judges and convicts demon power, Young Asta, as a commoner, will be convicted!"