All it took was an opportunity.
Give the lower classes a single opening, and the talented mages born among commoners and peasants would shape the rest themselves.
Some changes were best made quietly—like rain seeping into the soil. Move too fast, and you risk tearing something apart. Push too hard, and the very people you wish to help may not even understand what you're doing.
Yuuki had no intention of playing the caretaker.
Even if he laid out a flawless system with careful rules and safeguards, there was no guarantee it would suit this world. Sometimes, all that was needed was to open the door.
He looked at the trembling figure of King Augustus Kira Clover XIII and smiled faintly.
The king's proclamation had already been broadcast across the entire Clover Kingdom. It could not be taken back.
Even if Augustus were to die now, those words would remain.
If the royal house attempted to reverse it, the authority of the throne itself would suffer irreparable damage. For their own sake, they would have no choice but to uphold it.
A spark had been lit in the hearts of the commoners and peasants.
A blade now hung above the heads of the nobles and royals.
That was enough.
The rest would unfold on its own.
Yuuki raised his hand toward the sky.
The Communication Magic Tool flickered, and the vast projection above the royal capital dissolved. Across the kingdom, every image vanished at once.
The magic device flew back into his palm.
All over the Clover Kingdom, stunned silence lingered for a heartbeat—then voices erupted.
"The projection disappeared!"
"What just happened?"
"Was it broken?"
"I never thought I'd live to see something like this!"
"Does anyone know how to join the Eye of the Midnight Sun?"
"They were criminals!"
"Didn't the king just pardon them?"
Excitement, confusion, fear—every emotion tangled together.
But no matter the reaction, one thing was certain.
The name "Yuuki," and the name "Eye of the Midnight Sun," would not be forgotten.
Hage Village
Sister Lily stood beneath the now-empty sky, staring where the projection had been.
One person.
He had defeated all nine Magic Knight Captains.
He had used the king's authority to change the kingdom's system.
Was that really the same gentle boy who used to help at the church?
It had only been about a year since he received his grimoire.
The church had not changed.
But Yuuki had risen to heights she could scarcely comprehend.
"He's only fifteen… no, sixteen now," she murmured.
The priest burst into hearty laughter.
"That boy really did something incredible! Just as expected of someone I taught personally!"
"Father…" Lily sighed, half exasperated.
"Don't worry. The king pardoned him."
"That's not what I'm worried about," she replied softly. "The nobles won't accept this so easily."
The priest scratched his graying hair.
"After seeing him defeat all those captains? What noble could possibly stand against him?"
He paused, then smiled.
"He even sent Asta and Yuno away before the fighting. He didn't want them hurt."
"He's still the same Yuuki."
Lily remembered how Maryella and Rebecca had protected them when the sky filled with blades of light.
"…Yes," she said at last, a small smile forming.
Royal Capital
Yuuki stored the communication device within his spatial dimension.
What needed to be seen had been seen.
What came next did not require witnesses.
Sally immediately reverted to her usual self, circling King Augustus with bright, curious eyes, as if examining a rare specimen.
"You promised to let me go if I said what you told me to…" Augustus stammered.
"Sally."
Reluctantly, she stepped back—though not before plucking a single golden strand of hair, earning a shrill cry from the king.
Yuuki smiled gently.
"You may leave now, Your Majesty."
Augustus blinked.
"Truly?"
"Of course. Thank you for your cooperation."
Killing the king would accomplish nothing. Alive, he was far more useful.
The king did not wait for further reassurance. He clutched his staff and gathered his heavy robes, fleeing without dignity.
"Ah—one more thing," Yuuki called out.
Augustus froze mid-step.
"After today, your reputation may improve significantly."
The king stiffened, then hurried away faster than before.
Inside his mind, a dangerous thought flickered.
If his fame rose above that of the Magic Emperor…
The White Spatial Domain
In the boundless white expanse, mountains of treasure glittered in heaps. Countless pale-green mana spheres floated through the air, released endlessly by a mana-storage relic, saturating the space with pure magic.
Yuuki paid them no mind.
Before him, bound by chains, stood Patry, Rhya, Vetto, and Elf Fana.
Vetto's eyes burned with fury.
"Do as you please. Kill us if you want."
Rhya's gaze was sharp.
"What did you do to our magic?"
Yuuki did not answer.
Instead, he reached down and lifted Patry's five-leaf light grimoire.
With a snap of his fingers, a puff of white smoke bloomed between them, obscuring their sight.
In those brief seconds, Yuuki devoured the grimoire's magic and recreated it, page by page, perfectly.
When the smoke cleared, he tossed the newly formed five-leaf grimoire back at Patry's feet.
The elves' expressions shifted.
They had seen nothing.
But they understood enough.
Their grimoires had not been left untouched.
Elf Fana sneered. "Still hiding your methods? How cautious."
Yuuki merely smiled.
Some things were better left unseen.
"There's no need to revisit the past between humans and elves," he said calmly. "You should thank Licht. Because he gave me the Demon-Destroyer Sword, I owe him a favor."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have hesitated to kill you."
His tone remained even.
"There is one condition for your release."
"The entire elf race will submit to me."
Vetto and Elf Fana reacted immediately.
"Impossible!"
"Kill us instead!"
But Rhya and Patry both went still.
The entire elf race?
After the reincarnation spell had ended, only the four of them remained.
Four individuals did not constitute a race.
Which meant—
Yuuki knew something they did not.
And that realization was far more unsettling than his threat.
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Youtube @Amina_SIms_Translation
Next Bonus Chapter at 4300 powerstones.