At the Black Bull headquarters—
Yami and his squad stepped out of the spatial portal and were greeted by a rather pitiful sight: Asta sat kneeling on the ground, frozen stiff, staring up in utter shock.
Before him stood an enormous castle. It looked a bit old and weathered, yet to Asta, it was still an awe-inspiring sight.
"What a clueless kid," Yami muttered, clicking his tongue at Asta's reaction.
Finral waved his hand to close the portal behind them, letting out a long breath of relief. "Captain, you seemed pretty interested in that boy, Yuuki. Why didn't you take him in too? His magic looked rather promising."
"...Tch."
Yami plucked the cigarette from his lips and started striding toward the castle, giving no intention of answering.
Seeing that, Finral could only shrug helplessly. He turned to Asta, who was still staring blankly ahead, and patted him on the shoulder. "Come on. I'll take you to meet the rest of the squad."
"O–Okay…" Asta replied, still dazed.
Meanwhile, outside the coliseum—
Yuuki watched the figures of Asta and Yuno vanish completely. The relaxed look he'd worn moments ago slowly faded, replaced by quiet composure.
"What an unexpected day," he murmured to himself, recalling Yami's earlier words.
That wasn't just a warning—it was also a kindness, in its own way.
Yami had probably spoken for Asta's sake. Still…
To others, Yuuki's magic appeared to strengthen only through replicating the magic of others. In this kingdom, the most powerful spells naturally belonged to the Magic Knights and the nobility.
Give up on growing stronger just to avoid offending nobles?
Perhaps Yami's advice was kindly meant—but it stood squarely in the way of Yuuki's pursuit of strength.
"Invite trouble, huh?" Yuuki muttered softly, lowering his gaze to the silver grimoire in his hand. His eyes gleamed with newfound resolve.
Whether it was during the Magic Knight entrance exam, where one could only wait to be chosen…
Or in Yami's so-called "kind warning"—
All of it reminded him of one bitter truth:
He had no right to choose—only the fate of being chosen.
A faint chuckle escaped his lips.
"Heh… I'd rather take fate into my own hands."
He tightened his grip on the silver grimoire.
"Instead of worrying about grand plans for the future, I should first find somewhere to stay. Otherwise, I'll be sleeping on the streets tonight."
Looking up at the darkening sky, Yuuki stepped off along the wide street leading toward the lower city.
"There's about three hundred Yul left in my purse…" he calculated grimly.
"That might be plenty in Hage Village—but here in the capital, it won't last me more than a few days."
In the Clover Kingdom, the currency was called Yul—coins about the size of a small medallion, though thicker. Each one was forged from a varying mix of copper, silver, and gold; the higher the denomination, the greater the share of precious metal.
Yuuki's purse held thirty ten-Yul coins in total.
Tucking the pouch close to his chest, he exhaled slowly.
"This is my lifeline for now. Whatever schemes or ambitions I have—that's for later. For now…"
He started walking again, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"First, I just need to survive."
First thing's first—he needed somewhere to sleep, and something to eat.
"What a disgrace to transmigrators everywhere," Yuuki sighed, scanning the street around him.
The closer one got to the capital's center, the higher the prices naturally climbed. So, he decided to head toward the outer edge of the lower town, hoping to find somewhere cheap and modest to stay the night.
It was nearing dusk. The streets had lost the daytime bustle, though there were still people wandering about, browsing shops or haggling with vendors.
After five years in Hage Village, this was the first time Yuuki had seen such a sight—it was like stepping into an entirely different world.
By all logic, with the level of extraordinary power this world possessed, reaching at least a basic level of comfort shouldn't have been so hard.
Plant-based mages, for instance, could easily conjure vast quantities of food just by channeling their mana into plants.
But none of those powerful mages would ever do such a thing—because feeding the masses wasn't something "exalted mages" like them were meant to concern themselves with.
Growing crops, producing food—those tasks naturally fell to the commoners and the powerless.
Royalty, nobility, commoners, and peasants—each class was so deeply entrenched that they might as well have been living in entirely separate worlds.
Yuuki remembered when the priest and Sister Lily had held a farewell feast for him, Asta, and Yuno before they left the village. It was a sweet potato banquet—and some of those sweet potatoes had even been borrowed from neighbors.
The poverty of Hage Village stood in stark, painful contrast to the capital's abundance. The difference was like heaven and earth.
Still, Yuuki didn't harbor any desire to overthrow the nobility or spark some revolution.
Anyone who did was either a fool—or hopelessly self-righteous.
In a world where individuals could wield power strong enough to rival entire nations, change wasn't something that could be achieved through mere ideals.
Even in his past life, where people preached equality, true fairness had never been realized—how much less so in a world where the gap between individuals was a literal chasm of power?
Yuuki had always considered himself a selfish person.
So, things like "saving the world" were better left to those saintly heroes who loved to shoulder the weight of humanity.
He only wanted to protect those close to him—and make sure they could live a better life.
Returning to his senses, Yuuki scanned the streets again, searching for a cheap inn. The taverns with shining magic lamps at their doors and ornate signs? He didn't even bother to glance at them.
Then suddenly—
His steps halted for a moment before resuming, though his brows drew together ever so slightly.
The farther he walked from the capital's center, the fewer pedestrians there were on the street.
Finally, Yuuki came to a complete stop.
"Come out."
His voice was low, tinged with frost as he turned around.
When the street had been crowded earlier, he couldn't be sure—but now that the people had thinned out, the faint sense of being followed was undeniable.
Whoever it was clearly wasn't very skilled at tailing someone. In fact, they didn't even seem to care about being discreet.
Two men emerged from opposite sides of the street, grimoire in hand and smirks on their faces.
Two?
No—more.
Yuuki's gaze flicked backward. Two more mages stepped out from behind, blocking the road in both directions.
He was surrounded.
The few pedestrians still lingering nearby instantly realized what was happening and scattered in panic, eager to avoid getting caught up in whatever was about to unfold.
(End of Chapter)
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