Chapter 20: The Route To The Capital

The early morning sun rose high up in the sky over the base of the Golden Dawn. The bright rays of sunshine hit all around and granted warmth to anyone who was lucky enough to be outside, out, and around.

There were a group of people sat on the grassy floor, near the fountain which was outside of Lucas's room. The people included Klaus, Mimosa, Yuno, and, of course, Lucas.

"I'm still exhausted after that whole dungeon mission we were on last week", Lucas spoke with a slight yawn. He wanted to stay in bed today since the squad were told that their captain would be away on business for a few days. "I wish I could've slept longer but I guess I can't be too lazy".

"What are you on about, Lucas? You were hardly even injured compared to the others", Klaus responded correcting his glasses. He then patted the Light mage on the back to show he was just joking around with him.

Ever since the squad had come back from the dungeon exploration, Klaus had been completely different with Lucas and Yuno and the way he treated them. It was like something had clicked in him and his entire outlook had changed.

"I guess that's true. I was just lucky though, but I am glad everyone is okay now", Lucas replied.

There was a smirk from Yuno to the side. He was sat just opposite of Klaus and as he smiled, the Steel mage caught the change in his expression and questioned him about it.

"What are you laughing about, Yuno?" Klaus wondered.

The Wind mage paused for a bit and responded. "It's just funny when you mentioned that Lucas had hardly any injuries… but you didn't really do anything useful to warrant injuries anyway", Yuno smirked again, getting a slight chuckle from Lucas and Mimosa who was sat opposite the dual mage.

"Wh-why you…!" The Steel mage started but ended up not carrying on as his face turned red with embarrassment.

Mimosa had also laughed at the comment that Yuno made but quickly stopped as she had something on her mind that had been bothering her ever since they had come back from the dungeon.

"That woman…", Mimosa's facial expression grew slightly angry. "That woman… whenever Lucas would run up to her and try to fight… why would she…", the Vermillion gulped as she felt her heart race. She had her mind on the Diamond soldier that had fought against Lucas in the dungeon. Mystic had made her presence known to both Lucas and Mimosa, in more ways than one. The Vermillion's cheeky grew red. "Why would she constantly show off her… big… revealing… boo-b-b-!"

"Mimosa!" Lucas raised his voice.

"Wh-wh-what? S-sorry, I was… I was…", Mimosa's entire body language changed to a defensive one as she wondered if she was speaking out loud and that the others had heard what she was saying.

"You just seemed slightly out of it. I was just wondering if you were alright?" Lucas answered, slightly tilting his head as he was confused as to why she reacted like that.

"N-n-nothing, Lucas! I'm fine…", she started to rest, and her heart rate returned to a gradual pace. "D-does Lucas like that revealing stuff? I can't possibly do that! I mean, she was a woman… wait! Why am I even thinking about this? Am I jealous? Hm, no way! Though… perhaps I do like him as something more than a friend… is that right?" The Vermillion wondered in her head. However, this time she consciously made it so that she didn't seem like she was wondering about something as she sat with a straight face and looking anywhere except for at Lucas.

"Hm, strange… I guess she's alright", the Light mage smiled.

A few long minutes passed with the group of four just enjoying the sunshine when they saw a familiar, yet uninviting presence walk up to them. The four sat up straight and looked at their Vice-Captain approaching from the side, with a smirk on his face as he usually has.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the group that conquered the dungeon? Enjoying the sunshine? Having fun on the day off?" He asked, though it was clearly a set of rhetorical questions.

Lucas, Mimosa, and Yuno wondered if they were in trouble, but their thoughts were immediately put to rest.

"I'm not here to complain, frankly you can do whatever you want on your day off but I'm here to relay the message that the Magic Knights Headquarters wants a report on your dungeon exploration. It's probably best if you visit them now so you don't forget", he then walked away without even waiting for a response from his squad.

"That was… scary", Lucas commented. He wiped away a bit of nervous sweat from his forehead and stood up.

"He's always been like that. Why does he have to act like that?" Klaus spoke up, also standing up.

Mimosa then stood up and responded. "Oh, Klaus. You were exactly like that with Lucas and Yuno so don't go acting like you're a saint, haha!"

"First Yuno and now you, Mimosa? Why am I being teased like this?" the mage dropped his head in annoyance, and a bit of sadness.

"The Royal Capital! I know I walked through here a few times, but it never gets old!" Lucas basked in the environment and smiled to himself. The difference between here and where he grew up was a huge one and Lucas could never grow tired of such a change. He then looked straight ahead and saw a group of buildings that made him feel like he was a child again.

There was a huge group of buildings that were all close together, and the way to them was separated by two large brown doors. Inside, there were two huge main castle-like structures that had something like a bedroom at the very top. One building was the King's and the other was the Wizard King's.

"Just up ahead… it's the place where the Wizard King lives. It's just so surreal! It even looks like a castle!" Lucas internally joked to himself, remembering his promise he made as a kid.

Lucas was walking ahead and staring at almost anything that looked of interest to him. From the market stalls to the other Magic Knights that were on patrol, nothing seemed to be boring to him.

Just behind him were the usual three of Klaus, Mimosa, and Yuno. They were tagging behind the Light mage and were just focused on reaching the Magic Knights HQ. However, one person was still distracted by something.

Mimosa was walking at the same pace as both Klaus and Yuno, but her mind was somewhere else. It was focused mainly on her teammate in front. "Gosh, even looking at his direction gives me this weird and warm feeling in my chest. I wonder what this is…? Well, I think I do know what it is, but it still doesn't help that I'm a stranger to these feelings!" She then shook her head to distract herself. Suddenly, she heard a loud crash in front of her and saw Lucas on the ground in front of the group.

Just a few seconds before, Lucas wasn't exactly paying too much attention to where he was stepping and, just in line with his clumsy nature, he tripped over something that was laying on the floor in front of him.

"Ow, ow, ow… I really need to look where I'm going", Lucas stood up and wiped off the dirt and dust from his clothes. He then looked where he tripped, and his eyes widened with worry. "Oh, no! I'm so sorry!"

The other Golden Dawn members who were behind caught up and looked at what happened. "Lucas… you really need to look where you're walking! You tripped over a Magic Knight!" Klaus exploded with embarrassment in a very animated fashion.

The person in question slowly got up, corrected his smooth, black hair and wiped his dark green shirt and brown trousers that had gotten slightly dirty from being on the floor. His hand wiped the dirt patch from his chest and the black string tassels at the collar waved in the air. "Ow… that'll teach me for looking for my coins that went in between the cracks in the floor!" The Magic Knight laughed to himself. He then looked around and told Lucas that he didn't have to worry since he was on the floor in the first place.

"A-are you s-sure?" the Light mage worriedly asked, his nervous personality kicking in again as it was a total stranger he had hurt.

"Yeah, no worries! I was out buying something for my family when the wind blew some of my coins away, haha", the Knight laughed as he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. He bent over to pick up his glasses and then kicked the tips of his brown, ankle-length boots into the ground to knock some of the mud away from them and started to walk back to where he was shopping.

"We apologise for any inconvenience", Mimosa bowed as the Knight walked away. He then stopped and turned around but then noticed something that shocked him.

"Oh! You're… a Vermillion! Please, it's my fault I was even in the way!" He bowed his head and put his hands together to apologise.

"No, no! It's fine, haha. It can happen to anyone!" The Vermillion smiled.

"Oh, how rude of me!" The Knight wiped the dirt from his squad robe and the purple badge of the Purple Orca was revealed. "My name is Aiden, nice to meet you all".

"It's nice to meet you too, Aiden. My apologies for being so abrupt, but we must go on as we've been requested by the Magic Knights Headquarters. Perhaps we will meet again", Klaus then walked forwards with Yuno and Mimosa.

"Goodbye, Aiden! Oh, my name's Lucas by the way… I wanted to say sorry again!" Lucas waved and then ran and caught up with his teammates.

As Aiden was left behind by the group, he scratched the top of his head. "I never expected to run into royalty! That was scary", his pale face took on a nervous smile.

A few minutes later…

"Lucas… you really are clumsy, aren't you?" Yuno sighed. He was reacting to the earlier incident that had just occurred.

"I can't help it… even when I try to be careful, I just end up messing up like that, haha!" Lucas chuckled.

Just then…

"Wow! What a big place this is!" A familiar bout of screaming was head from just behind the group.

"Is that…?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, it is…", Yuno responded with a sigh.

The group of four stopped walking and turned around. They saw two of the three Black Bulls that they had completed a mission with a week ago.

"Asta!" Lucas and Klaus both spoke up and walked over to the ashen-haired mage. Lucas also waved at Noelle, and she returned the gesture.

"Are you guys here to give a report as well?" Lucas wondered. It made sense if they did since they were all on the mission together.

"You bet!" Asta replied with a fist pump.

"Well, that is true, but we would've gotten there much earlier if you weren't starting at everything you saw, Bakasta…", Noelle added, crossing her arms.

"We're in the same boat then. Lucas was doing the exact same thing and even tripped over someone just a few minutes ago", Yuno spoke up prompting Lucas to get embarrassed.

"Aha… well… anyways!" The Light mage quickly changed topics. "I heard your injuries were quite bad, are they all healed up?"

Asta started to stretch his arms. "Yeah, they're almost there. I'm glad Mimosa was there though otherwise these injuries would've been even worse!"

"You're right. My injuries were taken care of so quickly as well! Mimosa really is a great mage", Lucas then turned around to face his royal teammate but saw that she had quickly scurried off a bit further ahead. "Oh?"

The Plant mage closed her eyes and turned away from the group. Her breathing was slightly irregular, but it was nothing to worry about. "Phew… wh-why did I run away? Lucas just started to compliment me, and it was so sweet but as soon as he turned around my legs moved on their own!"

Slowly, Noelle walked up to her cousin and wondered what the matter was. "Are you okay, Mimosa?"

"I can't lie to Noelle! Do I really tell her about what I'm feeling? She's clearly noticed something was up when I made a scene! Okay, I think I'll tell her…", the Vermillion turned to face Noelle. Her face was still a bright red and it seemed like she had stars in her eyes like she was mesmerised by something.

With a deep breath and a long exhale, she spoke. "Noelle… I-I don't know what to do. Ever since the dungeon mission and maybe even before that… whenever I look at Lucas or speak to him, I-I… my chest feels tight and my heart races! When Lucas fought that Mystic woman, I've become so wary of other girls! Is there something wrong with me?" Mimosa's eyes sparked a bright green tint and her cheeky turned an ever redder blush.

"Woah, woah, woah! Mimosa… you like Lucas? Maybe running away from him wasn't the right thing to do the-", the Silva was interrupted by her cousin.

"I mean! Well, you understand this feeling, right?" She interjected.

"Huh?" Noelle replied, confused as to what her cousin was on about.

"I mean, you like Asta, right? That thing you said to him about being the first peasant you ever acknowledged… that was so sweet and when you said it, it looked like you were struggling not to blush. You feel for Asta what I feel for Lucas, right?!" The Plant mage quickly spoke, eyeing sly glances to Asta and then back to Noelle.

Noelle started to scream. Her cheeks grew even redder than Mimosas making it seem like she had some hidden flame attribute, that was how red they became. She then started to sweat. "Me? Like Asta? N-no way! He's a peasant and I'm royalty! He's small and short, not to mention loud!"

"But didn't you imply that being a peasant doesn't matter? I mean from what you said back at the dungeon?" Mimosa started to calm down. "The height difference isn't even that much, perhaps he'll grow taller?"

"Well, I mean, yeah… wait, no!" Noelle's wordplay started to become a mess of noise. She couldn't even form sentences anymore as she held her face.

Just behind them, far enough to not hear what they were on about, Asta and Lucas were confused.

"Maybe they ate something bad?" Lucas spoke up.

"Yeah, that's probably it", Asta replied.

"You two cannot be serious right now…", Yuno face palmed.

"The Headquarters should be here somewhere… I haven't been before, so this is new to me", Klaus spoke up, He looked around in front of him for the right place to go. He saw plenty of large buildings, each looking quite important but still wasn't entirely sure about the right area.

The group of Golden Dawn members and Black Bull members had moved on from earlier. Lucas, Asta, Yuno, and Klaus were ahead while Noelle and Mimosa were slightly behind, still red in the cheeks.

Suddenly, a large and overwhelming presence appeared before them. A tall figure of a man was standing on top of some steps with his back to the shining sunlight, making his figure look slightly dark and shady. He wore a large smile on his face with a long red robe that covered his white shirt and brown pants. Various symbols and ornaments were everywhere on his body with the most notable ones being a gold necklace and some medals that looked very expensive, such as one gold medal with a green cross as well as a medal of a shield. His eyes were purple, and his hair was a messy blond. His most notable feature was the blue six-pointed star on the left side of his forehead.

Everyone had stopped in their tracks, and they looked up at him. Klaus, Noelle, and Mimosa all knelt down as if he was someone of high importance and, judging by his attire and presence, he definitely seemed like it.

"Who is this flashy guy?" Asta mentioned.

"No clue", Yuno replied.

"You idiots! Kneel down now! He's the current Wizard King, Julius Novachrono!" Klaus shouted.

"W-Wizard King?!" Asta and Yuno both knelt down, along with Lucas who reacted just as quickly.

"The Wizard King, wow! Wait… he has Time Magic. I remember the story my sister told me when I was younger that described the Wizard Kings of the past and present. Besides, I can feel his distinct mana anyway. It's the same, yet very different to my Time mana", Lucas thought deeply. "Well, he is the Wizard King, and he looks like a nice guy so maybe I can talk to him about my own Time Magic? Especially since I unlocked that new spell. I did yell out my spell back then… but I'm surprised none of these guys have questioned me about it? Maybe they just didn't hear", the dual mage thought extensively. "But… how do I even go about talking to him? Surely, he's like a few royals and nobles who act high and mighty", he sadly sighed.

He then sighed and calmed his nerves. "Anyway... the serious thinking out of the way… that's the Wizard King! I can't believe it! I thought this day would just be normal but then the man I aspire to surpass… he's just there! Wait! Maybe this is why Noelle and Mimosa were so animated earlier? Did they know we'd meet him? Nah, that's impossible. It probably was something they ate".

The Wizard King turned around and walked up the stairs. He gestured for the group of six to follow him.

A few more minutes had passed. The Wizard King was stood facing us on top of where the staircase had taken the group. It was actually the top of the Magic Knights Headquarters. Lucas and the others had followed the Wizard King all the way up because he had asked them to. In his hand was Yuno's four-leaf grimoire and he was examining it. The Wind mage had a few questions about the scroll's power that seemingly vanished and was added into his grimoire.

"This writing… we have documents of this in the Royal Library. You've acquired an enormous power which means this was probably the most important thing in that dungeon, well done!" The Wizard King handed the grimoire back to Yuno but instead of moving on, he stared at the Wind mage with glowing and star-like eyes. His smile beamed brightly.

"Please can you try to use this magic again?" He started acting like a child that had seen some chocolate and was begging their mum to buy some.

"Woah, he's really excited over magic. I wonder what he'd think about me then?" Lucas wondered.

"Sorry, I can't seem to activate that particular magic since the dungeon", Yuno responded, making the Wizard King pout.

"Ah, well that's no problem. It's all in the practice!" He replied, standing firm once again. "So, Sylph, the Wind Spirit and one of the Four Great Attributes has chosen him. II cannot wait to see this development", he thought to himself with a smile.

Yuno stood back and just before he could get comfortable, Asta interjected himself by shouting and having his five-leaf grimoire open to a certain page.

"Hey, hey! Great Wizard King! Look at mine!" Asta screamed, leaning in towards the Wizard King.

"Haha, that's no problem… Let's see", Julius examined and analysed the dark grimoire and wore a confused and defeated expression. "This writing… I can't read it at all", he frowned.

"Oh no! Well, then… what about this!" Asta pulled out his newly-found second Anti-Magic sword that he acquired from the dungeon last week.

"Wow, you got another Anti-Magic sword! Can I please… h-hold it?" He politely asked the ashen-haired mage.

Asta accepted and the Wizard King tried to hold the sword with one hand, however he immediately lost his balance and the sword fell to the ground. His hand was still wrapped around the handle.

"This Anti-Magic sword is draining my mana, and it's so heavy! Asta must have trained his muscles a lot to withstand the weight of this weapon", he then let go of the sword and Asta caught it and put it back into his spell book.

"Well, Asta. This sword and its meaning is beyond me but I'm sure you'll find the answers for it soon enough if you keep at it", he smiled.

"Yes, Sir!" The Black Bull replied and stood back.

"You guys found some interesting things in that dungeon, it's almost as if that place was waiting for capable mages like yourselves to enter! I wish I had come too but duty calls…", he then spoke under his breath, "… boring Marx".

Lucas felt a nudge on his shoulder from his squad mate.

"Oi, Lucas. Aren't you going to show him what you found too? This is the perfect opportunity to have the Wizard King give his thoughts on them!" Klaus reminded the dual mage.

"Oh, that's right!" Lucas stepped forwards and flicked through his grimoire. He landed on a double page spread of spell writing and what came from out of the book was a set of sharp, black-coloured blades.

"I found these weapons in some treasure chest, but I don't really know how to use them. I tried to attack an enemy with them, but they didn't cut through", Lucas added as he handed them to the Wizard King.

The familiar smile and starry eyes returned to his face as he held on to the sharp blades. The chain that connected the ends rested on his forearm as he examined the dual blades. He then realised something.

"These blades, they're absorbing my magic very slowly, but it's not quite like the Anti-Magic sword. It's almost as if these blades are reacting to my mana", the Wizard King thought. "I have Time Magic but since these are in his possession does that mean… no, he has Light Magic. I can tell from his mana… wait. Lucas has some irregularities within his mana fluctuation. If I concentrate, I can tell. Does this mean he has Light Magic as well as…?" The Time mage looked at the Golden Dawn member with a puzzling yet questioning look.

Lucas looked back at the mage and was shifting his eyes from left to right, up and down, as if he were desperately trying to hide or not speak about something.

"Hmm", the Wizard King scratched his chin. "By that reaction it seems like he's not opened up to his friends about his second attribute. I won't pry into his circumstances or reasonings but if he continues to hide this about himself, then his friends, let alone his squad, will have trouble trusting him if they come to know about it through other means", Julius handed the blades back to Lucas.

"Those blades. It seems like they will work if you infuse them with your mana. I assume you attacked the enemy without doing so. Perhaps you can train with them using what I just told you?" The Wizard King gave a hint to Lucas about how to use them without revealing his secret. "It's your secret so you should tell them. It's not my place to do so", he thought.

Lucas took the dual blades and put them back into his grimoire. The dual mage then thanked the Wizard King and stepped back to join the others from the group.

"Though... two attributes? I have never heard about that occuring naturally! Man, I wish I could find out more. Lucas... he's definitely someone to keep an eye on, but then that means more sneaking out for me. I wonder what excuses I should come up with to tell Marx in the future?" He giggled to himself. He then stopped himself from carrying on like an excited child and looked at the group of six in front of him.

"Well, anyway! You all did spectacularly with the dungeon. The report you were supposed to give the Headquarters would have ended up at my desk anyway, so you don't have to go through the long process of writing and submitting papers", Julius smiled.

"Great!" Mimosa spoke.

As if on cue, the trio of Asta, Lucas, and Yuno stepped forward. They were all in sync and matched each other's pace like it was some choreographed move. They then all said the same thing.

"H-how do you become the Wizard King?"

There was a pause of silence. The three looked at each other with a slight look of embarrassment.

"How did they all think of the same exact thing to say?" Noelle gasped. She was quite surprised just as the others were.

"Haha, all three of you want to become the Wizard King? That will be a challenging task, but I'm excited to see what's to come from you three", Julius spoke. "The main thing you need… it's not power, though it is important. It's not dependant to your social or economic class…"

"… it is merit".

"The Wizard King's role is to protect the Kingdom and its people. It's similar to that of a Magic Knight but it comes with a certain responsibility of leading the Kingdom in a different way that the Captains, or even in some cases the King, would do. Sure, having pride in your job is important, but you cannot protect people by being prideful. You protect people through the experience you have and will gain. Merit is the proof that you have what it takes to be the Wizard King. The people want to feel safe and protected. Merit proves you have the experience to lead, so it is the one fundamental thing you need".

"Woah…", the three thought in unison.

"So, to become the Wizard King I need to gain experience, as well as provide and help the Kingdom and its people. That is merit. I'll do the best I can!" Lucas thought to himself. He looked towards the sky with a bright smile on his face.

The Wizard King then added; "Speaking of merit. We're holding a special decoration ceremony today for Magic Knights who have been awarded a lot of stars. Stars are proof that your squad is doing well which also translates to the gaining of merit. These people are way ahead of you when it comes to that department".

"People who are better… I can't wait to meet them one day!" Asta shouted, smile on his face and determination in his eyes.

"Haha! Well then. If you can't wait then why don't you all join us for the ceremony", Julius asked.