Before returning to the capital to officially assume command of the Crimson Lion Kings, Mereoleona Vermillion naturally took the time to investigate everything that had happened during her absence.
Aside from the two newcomers who had caught her interest—Asta and Yuno—the one who intrigued her the most was Yuuki.
That name reminded her of the mysterious man she had once encountered in a strong magic region—someone capable of wielding multiple types of magic.
According to the intelligence she had gathered, that mysterious figure could only be one of two people.
Either Rhya, one of the Eye of the Midnight Sun's Three Eyes—
Or this brat named Yuuki.
"A remote border village like Hage producing three kids with this kind of talent…"
Mereoleona curled her lips into a feral grin, revealing white teeth.
"Now that is interesting."
"Hahaha! What a novel entrance!" Wizard King Julius Novachrono laughed as he spoke.
"He is the most active rookie of the Black Bulls—Asta!"
"Well—uh—hello, everyone!"
Facing the countless gazes below, Asta scratched his head awkwardly, his voice tinged with nervous embarrassment.
"Asta and Yuno rank first and second among all rookies in total stars earned," Julius continued warmly.
"They've achieved remarkable merits in just half a year, are childhood friends from the same hometown, and—most impressively—they're both only sixteen years old."
Sixteen?
Yuuki froze for a brief moment before realizing—
He was sixteen as well.
Without noticing it, more than six years had already passed since he'd arrived in this world.
A strange emotion flickered through his eyes—a quiet sense of reflection.
When the crowd learned that Asta and Yuno were only sixteen, the plaza instantly erupted again.
"So young, yet already this amazing!"
"..."
"Are they nobles?"
"That Yuno is so handsome—he must be from a high-ranking noble family. And the shorter one has such manly spirit too!"
The chatter grew louder and louder—
But then, suddenly—
A sharp voice rang out from the crowd.
"No! Those two aren't nobles at all—they're peasants! And that one named Asta doesn't even have magic!"
"Two peasants… achieving results like this?!"
The moment those words were spoken, the previously noisy crowd fell into an eerie silence.
Yuuki immediately frowned, snapping his gaze toward the source of the voice—only to see that the speaker had already shifted positions.
Something was wrong.
In the anime, Sekke Bronzazza of the Green Praying Mantises had voiced doubts, but only out of irritation.
This time was different.
This wasn't Sekke.
And the words were clearly meant to provoke.
As the term peasant spread through the air, an unsettling atmosphere seeped into the crowd.
Under the rigid class structure of the Clover Kingdom, "citizens" referred only to commoners.
As for peasants with weak magic?
In the eyes of most capital residents, they barely counted as people of the kingdom at all.
Even rural commoners were often looked down upon as backwater trash.
"Peasants?"
"How is that possible?"
"No magic at all? Then how did he even join the Magic Knights?"
"Could this be cheating?"
"This shouldn't be allowed!"
"..."
Dissatisfaction and suspicion rippled through the masses.
Then—
Voices rose again from multiple directions this time.
"Exactly! How could peasants achieve something like this?!"
"I remember now! There was another peasant from their village—someone named Yuuki! I heard he joined the Eye of the Midnight Sun!"
"Wasn't Leon Town destroyed recently? I heard it was done by that Yuuki!"
"I heard he claimed to have left the Eye of the Midnight Sun, but who knows the truth? What if he's still a spy?!"
As these accusations echoed from different corners, the crowd finally descended into chaos.
If it had only been about Asta and Yuno, the reaction would've stopped at doubt or resentment.
But the moment the Eye of the Midnight Sun was mentioned—
Fear and fury ignited instantly.
That organization had already become the absolute enemy of the Clover Kingdom.
More precisely—
The enemy of everyone living near the heart of the capital.
Rebecca felt the sudden shift in the atmosphere and her face paled. She leaned closer, whispering urgently,
"Yuuki… should we leave now?"
Yuuki quickly sensed the positions of those deliberately stirring the crowd—but he made no move.
This wasn't spontaneous.
It was calculated.
"If they chose to act openly like this, they're fully prepared," Yuuki replied calmly.
"Trying to leave now would be too late."
So this was the reason for the silence lately.
They couldn't win through force—so they turned to public sentiment instead.
Smart.
Yuuki lifted his gaze, scanning the captains on the platform.
His eyes lingered briefly on Jack the Ripper and Nozel Silva before he shook his head.
It wasn't them.
They might dislike him, even resent him—but with their pride, they'd never resort to something like this.
Jack would challenge him outright.
And Nozel, with his royal arrogance, would consider such tactics beneath him.
This reeked of lesser nobles pulling strings from the shadows.
On the platform, the captains reacted differently, but none intervened.
Nozel merely frowned deeply.
"Tch. After all these years away, they're still using such pathetic tricks," Mereoleona scoffed coldly.
Julius, meanwhile, wore a troubled expression—clearly not expecting the situation to spiral like this.
At the very front, Asta and Yuno both tensed.
They knew—
Yuuki was down there.
And then—
Amid the chaos, an enraged voice rang out again.
"Yuuki! He's the peasant who joined the Eye of the Midnight Sun!"
"He's right there!!"
At that shout—
Countless eyes followed the pointing finger, snapping toward Yuuki all at once.
In the next instant—
The crowd surrounding him scattered in panic, forcefully carving out an empty space in the once-packed plaza.
At the center of that sudden void—
Yuuki stood quietly.
Beside him, Rebecca's face had gone tense with anxiety.
And just like that—
All eyes were on them.
(End of Chapter)
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