Chapter 10: Enchanting Forest.

After 30 minutes, the carriage, which had been speeding through the night sky, began its gradual descent to the ground. As it landed, the carriage continued to move at its unrelenting pace.

"Now brace yourselves because we are going to enter the enchanted forest where our blue rose secret base is located," Sol said with a smirk, looking forward to seeing her juniors' facial reactions.

"Enchanted forest?" Ben showed a puzzled face upon hearing Sol.

"Haha~ yes, the enchanting forest. It serves as the primary defense for our blue rose secret base," seeing the looks of all three of them, Sol said with her head held high.

"Among the secret bases of the nine squads, I could say that our base is the most beautiful and has strong defenses, along with many resources that can make you strong,"

Charlotte explained, pointing her finger at the mist that was covering their path.

"Captain, is our base inside that mist?" Mary asked with a curious look on her face, seeing the thick mist that made it impossible to see what was on the other side.

Charlotte didn't answer and looked at the mist ahead of the carriage.

The carriage entered the mist, abruptly obscuring everyone's vision. After a few seconds, the carriage emerged from the mist.

When Ben, Mary, and Annie opened their eyes, their expressions were a mix of surprise and awe. Their mouths hung open in wonder.

They couldn't tear their eyes away from the scenery outside the carriage. There was a pin-drop silence.

"I... I've never seen such a beautiful forest," Mary was the first to break the silence, her face radiating happiness.

Annie didn't respond. She simply nodded her head without taking her eyes off the window.

'I have never seen such a beautiful forest in my life. Even in the huge village, I went to the deepest part of the nearby forest, but I never saw such beautiful scenery,'

Ben complimented in his mind.

The forest was vibrant with large, verdant trees. Beautiful flowers blossomed on the ground, and different animals frolicked about.

Many dangerous snakes could be spotted in the trees, and various creatures pursued their prey as the carriage delved deeper into the forest.

"How is it," Sol asked, looking at the three newcomers with expectation.

"It's beautiful. If I want to spend my entire life in this forest, I will do so," Mary was the first one to answer with a happy smile.

"Yeah, it's worth it," Annie nodded in agreement with Mary's statement.

"It feels like I was somehow attracted to this forest. It's like nature is calling me," Ben added honestly. He genuinely believed this forest was worth appreciating.

'As expected of Sister's choice, he was able to sense one of the enchanting curses placed on the forest very easily,'

Sol started to fill herself with an imaginary answer, thinking Ben had figured something out.

"Don't be fooled by the appearance. It is a very dangerous forest, home to many magic beasts, powerful magic spirits, and traps," Charlotte warned, her tone serious.

Seeing their captain's grave expression, all three of them nodded their heads repeatedly.

After traveling through the forest for 15 minutes, they arrived at the entrance gate of the secret base of Blue Rose.

The gate was grand and ornate, intricately carved with symbols of roses and thorns. It was flanked by two stone statues of powerful magical creatures.

After entering the gate, the carriage came to a halt. Magic knights present at the base started to gather around the carriage, looking at it curiously.

They knew today was the Magic Knight Selection Exam, and they were eager to meet the new magic knight who would join their squad. They started to murmur among themselves.

The door of the carriage was opened, and Ben stepped out of the carriage, followed by Charlotte. This caused a few seconds of stunned silence before the gathered knights erupted into exclamations.

"He... He's a boy!" one magic knight in a Blue Rose robe exclaimed, pointing at Ben.

"Peggy, I feel like I'm in a dream. Pinch me," another knight said, staring at Ben in disbelief.

"Ah!"

"It means we're getting a male magic knight this year!" Peggy exclaimed, grinning while rubbing her hand where she had been pinched.

Soon, Sol, Annie, and Mary exited the carriage, greeted by the curious gazes of the magic knights.

They knew that while Blue Rose had a history of recruiting male magic knights in their older years for menial tasks, this was the first time they were welcoming a young boy as a magic knight through the Selection Exam.

Ben, Annie, and Mary looked around, feeling like they were on display.

"Welcome to Blue Rose," Charlotte said, extending her hand in the direction of the base building, her smile faint but welcoming.

"This is Ben, our first male magic knight personally selected by me. Although we've had male magic knights perform cleaning and menial tasks in the past, he is different. Treat him as one of us."

Charlotte issued this warning to prevent misunderstandings about Ben's role in the squad.

She remembered how Jack had tried to influence Ben earlier and wanted to make it clear to her squad.

"Here are Mary and Annie, our recruits this year," Charlotte introduced the girls to her squad.

Some squad members escorted Mary and Annie away, eager to get to know them better.

Ben was left alone as the others watched him like he was an animal in a zoo.

Charlotte entered the base, not wanting to leave the squad alone and fearing they might harm Ben. After she left, some of the female magic knights approached Ben, their curiosity piqued.

"Hey... I am Peggy, I am your senior," Peggy introduced herself confidently, extending her hand.

"Hi, I'm Ben." Ben shook her hand with a smile, aiming to make a good impression.

"Kya... He looks really cute. Call me Sister Peggy." Peggy pinched Ben's cheeks and hugged him tightly.

'Who said joining Blue Rose was the wrong decision? Huh... ' Ben wondered while being cuddled by Peggy.

"Sister Peggy."

"Kya..." Peggy continued to ruffle his hair, overwhelmed by his cuteness.

Seeing Ben was kidnapped by Peggy, the others looked on, narrowing their eyes.

Soon, other female members of the Blue Rose Squad approached and introduced themselves to Ben, eager to make him feel at home.

"Hi, I'm Puli Angel," one of them said enthusiastically with a cheerful personality.

"Hi, I'm Selena."

...

Everyone introduced themselves to Ben, attempting to make him feel comfortable.

"Little Ben, make yourself comfortable. We sisters will take care of you," Peggy declared once more, pulling Ben closer and ruffling his hair.

Even though many female members of the Blue Rose Squad had negative feelings toward men, viewing them as disgusting, they didn't feel that way about every male.

Ben, in particular, was considered a very cute little brother.

Charlotte, who had returned to ensure everything was okay, watched the scene unfold, including her squad doting on Ben.

"____"

"____"

"Sister, it looks like our squad likes him," Sol remarked, oblivious to Charlotte's twitching eyes.

Cough... cough...

Charlotte coughed deliberately to regain attention.

"Ahem... Peggy, take Annie and Mary and show them around the base," Charlotte said, looking at Peggy with narrowed eyes, who was hugging Ben's neck.

"Captain, can I..."

"Leave," Charlotte interrupted Peggy before she could finish her sentence. She knew what Peggy wanted to ask.

'Have I made the right decision bringing Ben here?' Charlotte pondered, watching Peggy, who had recently separated from Ben, walk away.

"Then shall I take Ben to show him around our base?" Selena asked Charlotte, raising her hand.

"____"

"No, wa... no need. As captain, I will show him around the base while explaining things. Ben, follow me," Charlotte excused herself, stepping forward to lead Ben away from the group.

Charlotte led Ben towards the garden of the Blue Rose Squad. Ben looked around at the rose garden.

One steps into a stunning rose garden courtyard.

The air is fragrant with the scent of blooming roses, and the garden is a testament to the squad's affinity with nature.

"Ben, you are the first male magic knight who was officially selected from the magic knight exam to our squad,"

Charlotte stated, stopping and turning to Ben. She began to explain about the Blue Rose Squad to avoid any misunderstandings.

"Even though there might have been some old male magic knights recruited previously, they were not for combat but for doing petty work,"

she paused, observing Ben's reaction to gauge if he felt uncomfortable.

Sigh...

Seeing Ben react calmly, Charlotte let out a sigh of relief.

"So, some might have reservations about men in our squad due to their past. Please don't take offense to them. I believe they will come to accept you as one of us.

Moreover, don't worry, our Blue Rose Squad has one of the best resources and infrastructures. So, you can become very strong here."

Charlotte began to explain the benefits of being a magic knight and the advantages of joining the Blue Rose Squad.

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(Author's POV)

Thanks for reading the chapter! please give a review and power stone!!!