As Julius returned to his original form, a communication magic barrier found him.
"We finally found you!"
Marx Francois appeared in the light barrier.
"What are you doing, Wizard King-sama?"
As the Wizard King's aide, Marx was exceptionally helpless and frantic at this moment.
"You've skipped three important meetings and two urgent documents."
Julius looked at Marx in the light barrier and spoke without apology, "Hahaha. Of course, I'm just wandering around the city to encounter new magic."
A vein throbbed on Marx's forehead.
It was that reason again!
"What? Do you know your identity and position?"
"An encounter with new magic is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Julius's voice was filled with delight, completely ignoring Marx's words and speaking to himself.
"Maybe I'll get to see new magic somewhere."
"I've heard that excuse eight hundred times!" Marx was practically roaring.
"Are you even listening to me, you magic fanatic?!"
Julius finally offered a word of comfort, "Alright. Don't be angry, Marx."
"..."
Marx covered his face, he no longer wanted to speak.
Whenever magic was involved, Julius would turn into a complete child.
"Alright, I'll be right back... Hm?" Julius's voice suddenly paused.
He looked up, watching the sky above the Capital with interest.
Several figures riding magic brooms were flying rapidly towards the direction outside the Capital.
It was Yuno and his group.
"Oh?"
A familiar smile, one that made Marx's heart pound, once again appeared on Julius's lips.
"Marx, I've suddenly discovered something interesting again."
"No! You are not going! Come back immediately!" Marx let out a desperate cry.
"It seems like today, there will be another wonderful encounter. See you."
Beep—
The connection was unilaterally cut off.
In the office, only Marx remained, petrified in place, and his roaring, disheveled in the wind.
"Julius—!!!"
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city.
Ryoma followed Asta and the others, preparing to return to the Black Bulls' base.
It was time to properly plan his Space-Time Magic practice. The contents of that booklet couldn't be thoroughly studied in a short while.
"But Ryoma, your Ice Magic is still so amazing. 'Snap,' and the person is frozen." Asta gestured, his face full of envy.
"It's alright." Ryoma replied casually.
Just then, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a glimpse of several figures flashing across the distant sky.
Seeing a somewhat familiar figure among them, Ryoma's footsteps suddenly paused.
A flash of lightning streaked across his mind.
By his reckoning, it seemed to be time for the revenge plot of the noble who had lost to Yuno in the exam and harbored resentment.
He had specifically commissioned Yuno to escort him to study abroad in the Heart Kingdom. However, he had already hired Thieves to take revenge on Yuno during his escort mission.
Ryoma's expression instantly darkened.
In the original story, Yuno, relying on his own strength and Klaus's help, had dealt with those thieves.
But... what if?
What if the details of this world had undergone some subtle deviations due to his appearance?
Would that noble do something even more extreme to ensure his plan was foolproof?
For example... what if he sent people to Hage to threaten Yuno with the children and Sister Lily in the village?
A chill rose from Ryoma's heart, instantly spreading throughout his body.
Lily and Orsi had been kind to him. He couldn't just ignore it if he knew there might be a problem. At the very least, he had to rush back and check to feel at ease.
"Ryoma? Is something wrong?" Asta noticed his abnormality and asked curiously.
"Ah, nothing."
Ryoma quickly recovered, his face returning to calm, but his eyes became incredibly sharp.
He turned around and said to everyone, "Sorry, I suddenly remembered that I have a very urgent matter to attend to. I must go now."
"Eh? Urgent matter?" Asta looked confused. "More urgent than going back to the base for a party?"
"Yes, extremely urgent." Ryoma's tone was beyond doubt.
He stopped explaining, flipped over and straddled the brand new black wood broom.
"Hey, Ryoma!"
"Everyone, see you at the base!"
Ryoma threw out these words and injected magic into the broom.
Whoosh!
The black broom carried Ryoma's body, shooting up into the air.
"Woah! He's flying!" Asta shouted from below.
Ryoma didn't look back. He adjusted his direction, identifying the location of Hage in his memory, and pushed his magic output to the maximum.
Whoosh!
The black broom transformed into a streak of light, instantly disappearing into the horizon.
Only Asta, Noelle, and Vanessa were left standing there, looking at each other.
"What's going on... so mysterious..." Noelle muttered softly.
Vanessa chuckled. "Heh heh, he's not going to see someone important, is he?"
Asta clenched his fists, looking in the direction Ryoma had disappeared.
"Damn it! I wish I could fly on a broom too!"
...
Clover Kingdom's outer border, Hage.
The giant skull of the demon outside the village was the most prominent landmark here.
In the churchyard, Lily was drawing a bucket of water from the well.
"Sister!"
Inside the church, several children poked their heads out and shouted loudly.
"Is the water ready? We'll help."
"Almost ready, you all wait quietly inside." Lily turned back, revealing a gentle smile.
Lifting the bucket to the well's edge, she wiped the sweat from her forehead, preparing to carry the water indoors.
Just then—
Rustle...
Several footsteps sounded from not far away.
Lily looked up, puzzled. She saw five men wearing tattered leather armor and fierce expressions, surrounding her from different directions.
The leader was a man with a scar on his face. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and his gaze swept over Lily with ill intent.
"Tsk tsk, in such a desolate place, there's actually a sister with such looks."
Lily's heart tightened, and she instinctively took two steps back.
"Who... who are you? What do you want?"
"Who are we?"
The scar-faced man sneered, "We are people who work for money."
He twisted his neck, his bones making a crisp cracking sound.
"Someone paid a large sum to have us 'invite' you to a place as a guest."
As soon as he finished speaking, the scar-faced man's smile instantly vanished, becoming utterly sinister.
"Move! Hurry up, this is an important hostage!"
"Yes!"
Two thieves with fierce expressions simultaneously pounced towards Lily.
"Don't come any closer!"
In her panic, Lily abruptly pulled out her grimoire.
"Water Creation Magic—"
Before she could cast her magic, one of the thieves tried to take advantage of the opportunity to ambush her. He darted behind her, intending to knock her out.
"Heh heh, I got you..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
A bone-chilling cold descended without warning, instantly enveloping the entire churchyard.
The moisture in the air condensed into countless tiny ice crystals in an instant, appearing even more chilling under the moonlight.
The thief who was about to grab Lily suddenly froze. The triumphant smile on his face hadn't even faded, but his body was covered by a layer of crystal-clear frost at a visible speed.
Starting from his feet, it instantly spread throughout his entire body.
Crack—
He turned into a lifelike humanoid ice sculpture, frozen in place in a lunging posture.
"What?!"
This sudden scene stunned everyone present.
The scar-faced leader suddenly turned his head, looking towards the entrance of the courtyard.
He saw a young figure wearing a black Magic Knight Squad cloak, who had appeared there at some unknown point.
In his hand, he still held a black wood broom, and on his face, there was no expression, but in his eyes, there seemed to be an extreme chill.
"I seem to have... arrived just in time."