Noelle was shooting water balls at Zura, and he was practicing absorbing the magic, his focus unwavering.
"Noelle! Zura!" Lily shouted their names from a distance, her voice carrying through the air. "Food is ready! Come and eat while it's hot!"
Zura and Noelle looked at each other and nodded, their expressions reflecting a shared understanding.
"I think we have practiced enough for today," Noelle stated, her voice steady and sure. "You should get some rest."
Zura glanced at Noelle, a playful smirk on his face. "What, are you worried about me?" he teased.
Noelle's face flushed as she turned to the other side, her embarrassment evident. "I am not! It's just if anything happened to you, I will have to answer to the wizard king."
"So, what are we going to do now?" Zura asked Noelle, his curiosity piqued. "I got my grimoire."
"After a week, there is the yearly Magic Knights Entrance Exam; you will be participating in it and get into any of the magic knight teams," Noelle asserted, her voice confident.
"Hmm~" Zura hummed in wonder, his mind racing with thoughts. "Is there any need for me to do that? Can't Julius simply put me into any team?"
Noelle nodded, her expression serious. "He can. But that would just raise more questions. You are not a royal, so the magic knights might oppose you if he gives you special treatment. And if they question your origin, we won't be able to explain it to them. So it's better if you participate as a commoner and get into the magic knight squad."
'She has a point. But giving the entrance exams means… sigh.' Zura sighed, his mind filled with resignation, and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I will be getting famous soon," he said with a smirk on his face, his confidence unwavering.
It was noontime, and the sun was high in the sky. After eating the food, Noelle and Zura went outside to talk more about the recent attacks on the kingdom. Zura compared the happenings from what he knew and came to the conclusion that the time of the events might be up and down, but it was going in the same direction.
Zura knew he had to get strong and pass the magic knight entrance exam, to survive and return to his real world, his determination unwavering.
"Now then, shall we go back?" Noelle asked, her face showing signs of weariness. She was tired after her outing with Zura.
Zura pondered for a while, his mind racing with thoughts. "You go. I will be staying here."
"What?!" Noelle exclaimed, her voice filled with surprise. "Why do you want to stay here?"
"There are many reasons," Zura explained. "First, if I go back with you, where will I be living? Second, I don't have any money or my belongings, like clothes and stuff."
He looked at the colossal skull located at a distance from the church, his gaze thoughtful. "Third, I think Hage village is a perfect place to train."
"Are you sure you will be okay here, on your own?" Noelle asked, her voice tinged with a chuckle to hide her sadness.
"What, are you missing me already?" Zura teased, a grin playing on his lips.
"I will make sure to take care of him," Lily quipped, her voice reassuring. "Don't worry."
"Alright then," Noelle nodded, her voice steady. "I will inform the wizard king."
"Don't forget to come to pick me up after a week," Zura scoffed, his tone playful.
Noelle shot a glare at Zura, her face flushed. She then summoned her ride and flew away, her figure disappearing into the distance.
Lily turned to Zura, her voice gentle. "I will prepare a separate room for you."
"I would appreciate that," Zura replied, his voice sincere.
Zura spent the next few hours with the kids, practicing magic and helping them with their studies. He asked them to attack him, absorbing their attacks and learning from each encounter. Nash was the most talented among all the kids, his potential evident in every spell he cast.
Lily also helped Zura for a while, her guidance invaluable. However, she had to take care of the small kids and the orphanage, so she had to go, her presence missed by Zura.
Zura learned to aim and focus, his skills improving with each passing moment. However, he was having a hard time managing the mana flow within his body. As he was conjuring multiple mana at once, he was losing control, his body struggling to contain the power.
He also didn't know how to use a specific amount of mana, his understanding of the complex magic system still in its infancy. However, he learned to read the Black Clover universe language, his mind absorbing the knowledge like a sponge. Although he was having difficulty reading the tough words.
As the evening settled in, the kids were exhausted, and so was Zura. However, Zura had something important to do, so he made his way to the skull.
He noticed that the statue of the first wizard king was gone, leading him to assume that Secre (Nero) must have unsealed him during the fight with Zagred.
Once under the skull, he began training his body. He performed push-ups and pull-ups, and practiced maintaining his balance, knowing he had to prepare for flying on a broom. His goal was to make his body physically strong to increase the efficiency of his anti-magic ability. He wasn't trying to copy Asta, but his body was in a bad state.
Ever since his parents' divorce, he had stopped taking care of his body and kept himself busy with various things. He also started doing several part-time jobs to earn money so he could take care of his and Lucy's expenses.
He laid down on the ground and faced the sky, where he could see the twinkling stars.
"Heh!" he scoffed slightly. "Noelle and Lucy have the same personality."
Zura was used to dealing with Lucy and her remarks, so it was easy for him to deal with Noelle.
"I miss her, dammit."
After their parents' divorce, Zura and Lucy had gotten a lot closer to each other. Their relationship was definitely more than that of a normal brother and sister, as they had done things that siblings would never do. However, their relationship was still pure, with no boundaries crossed, maybe a little. If either of them had pushed things a little more, who knew what might have happened.
Zura felt something hard touching his pants and sighed. "I got a boner by thinking about Lucy. Great." He sat up and started masturbating.
He had a peculiar habit of masturbating every day, and if he didn't, he couldn't focus on things, nor could he get proper sleep. Even Lucy had caught him masturbating several times in the living room and kitchen.
But today, however, Zura couldn't focus on it because he was in a very unusual situation. After masturbating for some minutes and fantasizing about Zero Two from Darling in the Franxx, he was about to climax, but he saw Lily standing in front of him with a somewhat mixed expression on her face.
"...!"
===
Author's Note- Alright, so I can publish a minimum of 5 chapters a week and a maximum of 7 chapters a week for this novel. However, suppose the novel reaches 300 power stones by Saturday. In that case, I will publish two extra chapters on Sunday, and if it gets 500 power stones, then I will post five extra chapters on Sunday.
Your feedback (comments and reviews) and power stones are the only source of my motivation and give me the incentive to write more. Once again, thank you for reading.