"Hwaaa…" Noelle yawned as she woke from sleep after the whole fiasco at Star Festival, where Augustus ended up announcing the formation of a special group of Magic Knights to fight against Eye of Midnight Sun and finish them for once and for all.
For this, the Magic Knights from different squads will have to participate in a competition to decide who is eligible and who is not. For this competition, they were provided with a period of 3 weeks, not even a month, but Magic Knights took it in full passion, and many decided to throw themselves into training for it.
'Hmm…I wonder what Wilhelm must be doing?
Haaahh…that is not even a question, he would be up and training.' Noelle thought absent-mindedly as she sat on her bed and remained still, gazing out of the window due to grogginess.
After a period of roughly 20 minutes, she got up from the bed with carefree steps as sleep still had hold of her.
In a similar fashion, she walked down the stairs that seemed to rearrange themselves. A peculiarity of her base that she was used to by now. As she made her way down the stairs, releasing a breath of air, she thought with a dull expression.
'God, I hope I don't run into Wilhelm.' Noelle wished, feeling a bit awkward after the last talk they had.
But it seems God had another plan because as soon as she moved down the ever-changing stairs, the first person that sprang into her eyesight turned out to be Wilhelm.
He was stirring his cup of coffee when he stopped in his tracks as his eyes stilled on Noelle, who also stopped in her tracks. For a moment, no one spoke a thing, and their face betrayed no emotion that they harbored.
Then, Wilhelm was the first to say with an awkward smile on his face, "Hey. Good morning."
"Good morning." Noelle replies out of force of habit.
Then again, the awkward silence came back, with both of them moving through their train of thought.
'What do I say? What do I say?
Maybe make a short conversation? Ask him about the weather?'
'Umm…what do I say? Ask her about the weather?
God, maybe I should start with an apology?'
"I'm-"
"I-"
"Ho-"
"I'm"
"…"
"You g-"
"You sp-"
Both of them started, but stuttered as they wanted to let the other speak. This happened a total of three times, when they both stayed silent once more, and after taking their time, Wilhelm said, stepping forward a bit, placing his coffee mug on the windowsill near him.
"I would like to begin by saying that I am sorry. Yesterday, I became triggered by the story of my past, and took my anger out on you. This was not something that I should have done." As his words fell onto Noelle's ears, she immediately moved her palms in front of her in denial.
"No! I mean…you were right about me.
I did treat you along with other commoners horribly. I treated them just like Solid would, and I feel horrible for it, so…I would like to apologize instead."
'What…?'
Wilhelm thought internally, seeing Noelle, who looked completely foreign to the girl who had joined the squad. Because for once, she did not fidget and, looking straight at Wilhelm, bowed her head a bit, and apologized sincerely.
But just as quickly, Wilhelm was caught off-guard, he switched up and said, "No. You are not the same as that person. What you were is the product of your environment. You were taught your whole life by other nobles to look down on those not from nobility, but after interacting with the squad, in under a week, you changed for the better.
On the other hand, Solid remained the same even though he surely had to interact with commoners during his tenure as a magic knight.
You chose to change, he chose to remain the same, so never think that you both are the same." Wilhelm said with much heat in his voice, similar to the way that he had spoken to Noelle yesterday, but unlike yesterday, his words did not hurt her.
But still, Noelle argued, maybe due to some guilt that she had imposed upon herself.
"But that does not change the way I acted."
"Similarly, it will not be right to dismiss the environment you were exposed to, and your change when exposed to a contrasting environment. If you were to be held accountable for your prejudice, then let me say this." Wilhelm took in a breath of air and, with a detached look, talked.
"I hate how the King can assign punishment for a commoner, and they cannot do a thing.
I hate the fact that your brother has the position he does.
I hate how nobles can easily get away from the heinous crimes they have committed, and no magic knight holds them accountable, but when someone else does this, they are treated as the most vile thing to ever exist.
I hate how when Conrad Leto truly tried to bring a good change to the kingdom, nobles and royals killed his entire squad, undid his every good change, and turned a genuine good person into a monster, then acted as if he was like that since the beginning. Denying their hand in the matter."
He said with a never-before-seen poison in his tone.
"And, I hate nobility.
This is my prejudice, but having this prejudice does not make me a bad person. What matters most is how I act.
I cannot go around hating all nobles, because people like Leopold, Ex-Captain -goleon, Mimosa, Klaus, and Wizard King exist.
I cannot hate Wizard King for his inaction in one matter because I realize his actions in other matters. His good treatment of our squad and providing credit to 3 commoners in front of all nobles was one of his actions."
As he said this, his gaze sharpened and bore into Noelle's.
"So, you had a set of beliefs that you later changed. This means you are a good person raised in a bad environment.
And that is why, while my words may seem true, they were completely unworthy to be directed at you tomorrow." Then, with a slight bow of his neck, he continued.
"So…I am sorry."
"…"
This time, Noelle was the one who was lost for words.
She did not know how to respond to Wilhelm's apology, so after waiting to form a suitable reply, she said, "Oh-ohk!"
Well, she tried to.
Hearing this, Wilhelm reached his hand out forward and asked with a friendly smile. "All good then?"
"Mmm…" Noelle made a sound of affirmation as he placed her delicate hand in the now broader hands of Wilhelm.
With this, they spent the rest of the morning without that awkward atmosphere between them.
...
After having a light morning breakfast with Noelle, Wilhelm decided to train, but before that, he had to make a small visit to the Capital to collect his equipment, that Crescent had completed tomorrow night and informed him via one of the magic knights working under him after the King's announcement that his weapons have been completed and he is free to collect them from the Magic Knight Headquarters.
So, immediately, he teleported near the boundary where the Magic Barrier was erected around the Capital. Upon landing there, he switched to his magic broom and travelled at high speed to the Capital. Propelling himself further with Wind Magic, his travel time was cut to less than half of what it should be.
"Halt!" The guards that were stationed at the walls surrounding the Capital after the attack on the Capital said, seeing which Wilhelm stopped with a huge amount of wind bellowing in front of him.
Shielding their head instinctively due to the sand disturbed by the wind, they looked at Wilhelm with squinted eyes from the gaps of their hand, before the one who had told him to halt among the group recognized that unique, long red hair.
'Wait…I saw you yesterday.'
"Umm…sir, are you the one named Wilhelm?" The man asked, with a sudden change in tone, which initially puzzled those in his group, which was soon cleared after hearing the name of the person in front of them.
At his question, Wilhelm nodded his head and spoke with practiced ease, coupled with his poker face, "Yes, I am Wilhelm, and I am here to collect something from Magic Knights Headquarters. Is there an issue?"
Immediately, the one who had engaged him in an active conversation shook his head hurriedly by the side like a chicken and said, "No! No, of course not. This was just a routine checkup. Please go without your busy schedule."
He spoke as if he were trying to shoo off Wilhelm in the most polite way he could, something that Wilhelm appreciated. Once again, he took to his broom and moved away.
When he was gone, the man took a breath of relief and slumped on his back against the wall and wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead.
Seeing their colleague, who had a record of being an a*shole to mostly everyone, approached him and asked, "What happened to you? Wasn't he just a person awarded by the Wizard King? Sure, he is strong, but nothing to fear about. He is a commoner, from what I have heard. It is not like he will attack you out of nowhere."
At his comment, the person slumped against the wall gave him a heated glare and said, "Improve your connections and get complete information next time, or it will be the end of you. He is not just a guy, but an unhinged guy. When I was at Star Festival yesterday night, when everyone was protesting against them, he shot some sort of colossal lightning lion into the air, which caused the heavy rain and storm in the Capital yesterday.
He did that in the presence of nobles, royalty, and the King himself. Do I need to say more?"
While he was being treated as something that should be avoided, Wilhelm quickly arrived, and in a similar fashion, this time he was quickly allowed into the Magic Knight Headquarters, and led to the room where his items were.
'Well, I guess having infamy has its uses. No wonder Captain Yami acts the way he does. If I had known it would work wonders for me, I would have done it ages ago.'
Wilhelm, who was perceptive of the reason why everything was going on too smoothly, thought, as the man escorting him, whose name was Kraven and was a student of crescent, came and placed multiple large suitcases on the table in front of him and said, "Here you go. Your complete order for Master Solaris."
"He worked astonishingly fast." Wilhelm commented, at which the man, who was escorting him, and also was the student of Crescent, said with a prideful smile for his teacher, "Well, he is the Master Artificer. This is nothing."
Then he placed his hand on one of the suitcases and opened it.
Inside the narrow, yet long box was a sword he was way too familiar with. Zweihander.
'My baby. You are back.' Wilhelm thought as he was barely able to stop himself from smooching the sword.
Seeing the change of expression on his face, the student said in an excited manner.
"This Zweihander is named Titanbrand.
It is forged from the hardest metal that we have available.
It is enchanted to return and mend itself. It also has other enchantments.
Shockwave Impact, which creates a concussive blast in an area of 20-meter radius.
Giant's Fury increases damage proportional to the momentum of the blade.
Extend, increases the length of the sword by the handle or blade, depending upon your choice, turning into a make-shift spear if you wish."
As he continued to speak, Wilhelm's eyes shone like he had bought a new computer back at home to play the game he had been dying to play for years.
But there was much to show still.
With a pleased look at Wilhelm's full response, the student continued as he opened another suitcase. It contained a sword with a thin blade.
"This Estoc is named Fang of Thorns.
Forged with the same steel, it is also enchanted with return and mend.
Phase Piercer bypasses armor and minor barriers with pinpoint thrust.
Disrupting Spike strikes briefly weaken protective enchantments on the target.
Mark of the Duelist, three consecutive successful strikes trigger 'Thorn' mark, which does burst damage."
In a similar fashion, he began to introduce other weapons to Wilhelm.
A suitcase opened to show a pair of longswords that looked like they were made from silver instead. Pointing at them, Kraven spoke.
"The pair of Longswords called Twin Blade of Serpent's Grace.
Made from similar metal with return and mend enchantment.
Serpent's Swiftness enhances the wielder's fluidity and speed in combat.
Venomous Edge strikes apply a magical toxin that weakens stamina regeneration.
Phase Slash allows a brief "phase-through" attack once every few seconds to bypass armor."
"It looks clean." Wilhelm commented.
"Master prefers sleek designs. Complex design can cause a hassle for the user to use it to its full potential." Kraven added on to the conversation, before he moved on and opened another suitcase that was the widest on the table, but nowhere near wide enough from the pile that was yet to be shown.
"This Claymore is called Thundercleaver.
Made from similar metal with return and mend enchantment.
Storm's Wrath, heavy swings emit thunderclaps that stagger nearby foes.
Weight Shift, blade feels light in hand, but lands with multiplied force.
Charged Edge builds energy with movement and releases it in lightning arcs on impact."
Saying this, he shut the suitcase containing the claymore and opened another suitcase that contained sabers instead. The blade had a wicked curve on it, which made it clear that its main purpose was to slash the enemy.
One of the swords was black, and the sword was white in color.
"Then there is are pair of sabers called Blazing Crescent Sabers."
'My! Naming the weapon after himself? Quite a narcissistic one, aren't we?' Wilhelm thought with a quirk of his eye at Crescent's name for this blade, while Kraven continued.
"Just like till now, they are made from the hardest steel available, along with return and mend enchantments on them.
They also come with their unique set of other enchantments.
Flame Trail, slashes leave momentary fire trails that can ignite surroundings or blind opponents.
Radiant Burst, critical strikes emit a flash of radiant light, disorienting enemies nearby.
Duelist's Grace increases agility and reflexes during combat for swift maneuvers.
This is all for the melee weapons."
Kraven, the student said as he placed this suitcase next to the pile where the weapons that were already shown were. Then he hoisted another suitcase, which was the largest, and placed it over the table easily due to the enchantment on the suitcase itself.
With a smooth click, he opened the suitcase, and inside it were half a dozen javelins that were pitch black in color. As Wilhelm's gaze moved through them, Kraven gave their description as well.
"These javelins are called Hawkstrikes.
They are made from a metal that allows more enchantments to hold and conduct mana better. They also have return and mend enchantment.
Ghost Flight actively tracks and adjusts to moving or evasive targets. Trajectory adapts in-flight to curve around obstacles with near-perfect accuracy.
Multi-Mark Recall, mentally lock targets during throws. With a recall command, all javelins can simultaneously converge on one marked enemy or split to hit multiple. Excellent for group eliminations or focusing on tough foes.
Chainburst Return, when more than two javelins are recalled at once, arcs of lightning jump between them. Foes caught between return paths are stunned and electrocuted. The more javelins used, the higher the damage radius.
Piercing Insight grants a brief flash of enhanced perception upon every throw — outlines weak points, hidden enemies, or invisible foes for 1.5 seconds. Great for preemptive reactions or setting up lethal combos.
Mana Disruption causes the user to flow their own mana into the target's body that javelins are embedded into, via javelin, that can be used to disrupt their mana, and causing them great harm."
'You can do that? That is just wonderful.'
"Duplication allows the javelin to multiply as a construct of mana."
Before Wilhelm could admire them, he quickly closed the suitcase and opened another one. This one was the largest among them all. It was not only wide and lengthy, but high as well. With the familiar click sound, he opened the suitcase.
"This one contains an armor and shield.
The kite shield is called Shield of Echoing Wall. Shield has return and mend enchantment.
Reactive Expansion grows the shield into a tower shield when braced for impact.
Magic Absorption stores energy from blocked spells to release in a knockback pulse.
Now comes the armor itself.
It contains a mend enchantment along with 3 others.
Arcane Buffering reduces incoming magical damage by 30%.
Weightless Core causes armor to feel like wearing leather, protects like plate.
Auto-Stabilizer keeps balance under heavy knockback or magical force.
This is all of it. What do you think?"
Kraven asked in the end, hearing which Wilhelm said with a thoughtful expression, "Absolutely wonderful piece of craft. It has everything that I wanted and more."
"Go on then, wear it." Kraven said immediately, out of the blue.
"No." Wilhelm said without another thought.
"Why not? I want to see what it looks like." Kraven whined.
"No." Wilhelm said as his eyes momentarily glazed over in the memories of the past, and then he left the room. With all of the suitcases floating behind him in the wind.
***
I will be uploading the 2 more chapters and completing 2nd volume today itself. Happy Reading.