A winter storm struck the humble village of Hage after what had been a peaceful day.
In the darkness and biting cold of the night, a lone figure making his way toward the village church stood out with a peculiar aura.
Any local resident could have told at a glance that he did not come from this small rural area.
The reason? Unusual wounds marked his body, and above all, an amount of mana far too great for a mere commoner.
"S-sorry… Dad failed to protect his homeland… and I'm also sorry I couldn't protect your mother… *cough*" he murmured, his voice barely audible over the icy wind and interrupted by a bloody coughing fit.
The breathing of the man in armor, hidden beneath a discreet black hood, was growing more and more labored.
Yet his ice-blue eyes still burned with determination as he forced himself to reach the church and lay the infant down in front of the door.
With a hurried gesture, he knocked before vanishing at superhuman speed.
Deep down he knew: if he stayed anywhere near the village, he would bring misfortune upon his son.
"Last I heard, His Majesty's son also survived… If those two were to join forces one day, then…"
The man could not finish the thought before his strength finally gave out, deep in a more distant forest.
Having secured safety for his offspring brought some peace to his mind, but the determination needed to go on had left him.
He could advance no further.
"*Cough…* Be strong, Eugene… Even if you cannot hear me nor understand me because of the distance and your young age… you will have to avenge the Lionheart family… the king and the queen…" he muttered, raising a trembling hand toward the night sky.
There was not a single star that evening, all hidden by the winter storm. Yet the man perceived a faint glimmer of hope.
The middle-aged man gave a weary smile, and yet a strange sense of fulfillment shone within him.
Before he even realized it, his eyelids slowly closed.
The head of the Lionheart family, loyal servant of the former king and queen of the Spade Kingdom, breathed his last.
He would receive neither an honorable burial nor a proper grave, nor would he have the honor of falling on a battlefield.
The former noble would simply return to dust.
Is it sad? Perhaps.
Yet a man never truly dies as long as his will endures.
And fortunately for him, he had managed to pass the flame on to the next generation.
Even if he would have neither glory nor a decent tomb, someone had indeed received his will.
Not long after his departure, far from the village of Hage, a man emerged from the church.
The priest had been drawn by the cries of the baby that had been left at the door.
"Oh God… why do people keep abandoning children these days?" he sighed, letting out an exhausted breath before picking up the boy from the basket.
"Come here, little one… you must be freezing."
The moment he took the child in his arms, the church priest could finally make out the infant's appearance, previously hidden by the wrappings.
"What the—?! Why would anyone abandon a baby like this?" he thought, stunned, noticing the child's striking golden eyes and silver hair.
"It's not just his appearance that's unusual," he muttered, placing a finger on his chin, thinking deeply.
The infant was clearly radiating mana, and the quantity far exceeded that of ordinary children.
In his experience at the orphanage, only the recent arrival named Yuno possessed a greater amount of mana.
'Could he be the bastard child of some noble?'he wondered, having considered every possibility.
In the end, the priest concluded that the infant must be the illegitimate child of an exceptional family, just like Yuno.
However, he noticed no valuable object, no precious jewel on the baby.
The only noteworthy thing was a small note, presenting the child as Eugene Lionheart and asking the priests not to reveal his family name until he came of age.
"Sigh… not only is he from an unusual family, but this kid reeks of trouble,"he muttered, before noticing the golden eyes of the little rascal fixed on him.
'Weird… I could swear he's trying to understand the situation,' he thought, then immediately dismissed the idea as ridiculous.
He carefully folded the letter found with the baby, tucked it away safely, then carried the child over to the other two.
The priest looked at the three of them and gave a gentle smile, as though gazing at small treasures.
"Asta, Yuno and Eugene… quite the trio I've got here," he said, observing the three infants.
One was wriggling energetically, the second seemed more reserved, and the third possessed an astonishing maturity for his age.
"Eugene Lionheart… quite a unique name," he murmured, watching the baby who had remained silent since arriving at the church.
"You three may have been abandoned, but know that here will be your new home," he added with a soft smile, contemplating the three babies side by side.
…
"Sister Lily! One day I will become the Wizard King! I'll make you happy forever! So please… marry me!"
A small boy with spiky silver hair, holding a bouquet of wildflowers picked by the roadside, spoke those words with utter conviction.
His green eyes shone with determination as he dropped to one knee, proposing to Sister Lily of the orphanage.
A now familiar sight for many in the village of Hage.
"I'm sorry, Asta… but I cannot be your Sister Lily, because I'm everyone's sister," she said, offering a gentle smile.
But the more observant would have noticed the reluctant aura she gave off.
It was clear the young woman felt uncomfortable.
"I haven't given up yet! And I never will!" Asta shouted, eyes teary in an almost comical way.
"I'm really sorry, Asta, but…" The nun tried to reply, but was cut off by the hormone-fueled teenager.
"I won't give up! My determination is my magic!" he declared energetically.
Eugene watched the entire scene from a tree not far from the orphanage. Normally he wouldn't have been able to hear the whole conversation, but thanks to magic it required no effort.
"S-stop it, Asta! You're getting annoying!"
Eventually, the worst happened to poor Asta. By insisting without understanding the concept of consent, he had finally exasperated a woman renowned for her patience.
"Water Magic… Impact of Love."
A grimoire with a dazzling blue aura appeared.
Several jets of water converged into a gigantic aquatic fist that came crashing down from the sky onto poor Asta's head.
It slammed him into the ground under the water pressure.
"I-I haven't given up yet!"
Asta stood up again and threw himself at Sister Lily.
If no one knew his good nature, many would have taken him for a pervert.
"Asta, stop messing around." Yuno's voice rang out, but Asta ignored him.
Before Yuno could launch a magical air sphere, Eugene swiftly closed the distance and leaped to position himself between the teenager and his target.
Asta was stunned after crashing straight into Eugene's back.
"Eugene?! What the heck are you doing here?!"
Even surprised by this sudden obstacle, Asta was indestructible. He got up casually, brushing dust off his clothes.
"I just wanted to stop you from embarrassing yourself any further," Eugene explained, glancing briefly at Yuno before turning to Asta.
"That's not for you to decide! No matter how ridiculous I look, I will convince Sister Lily of the purity of my feelings!" Asta declared confidently.
After his little speech, he tried to step around Eugene, but without magic his intentions were far too obvious. Eugene swept his leg, tripping him, then grabbed him by the collar and tossed him into a bush.
"Eugene, why are you interfering?!" Asta shouted, annoyed.
"Because you're not respecting consent. If she doesn't want to marry you, go look somewhere else," Eugene explained with a shrug, then extended a hand to help Asta out of the bush.
Asta frowned slightly, but calmed down after seeing Sister Lily nod at Eugene's words.
He took his friend's hand and climbed out.
"Hey! Eugene, wanna drink some magical tree sap? It might increase your magical power!"
As usual, Asta spoke loudly and annoyingly. But Eugene wasn't irritated. After fifteen years together, he had gotten used to it.
"Drink it. I can't benefit from that magical blessing anyway," Eugene declined, smiling at the disgusting beverage Asta was offering.
"Hey, Eugene, you coming to train with me today? Lately I feel like I've really improved at this thing called ki," Asta declared proudly.
Sister Lily didn't really understand what "ki" meant, but she gave a kind smile seeing that the young man was no longer focused on her. She quietly slipped away, followed shortly by Yuno.
"Why not? But tomorrow is the grimoire ceremony, so we probably shouldn't push the physical training too hard," Eugene replied.
"Awesome! Once I can predict enemy attacks…" Asta began talking about his future plans, walking ahead of Eugene as they headed toward the giant skeleton.
The poor boy didn't notice that the golden eyes of his childhood friend had become empty and emotionless.
'Wizard King? Ridiculous…'Eugene thought.