Chapter 25: Returning To Hage Village.

When kids who were praising Yuno for his magic, with stars in their eyes, took a 180-degree turn upon hearing a loud voice and started to taunt him, disgust visible on their faces.

Yuno, who heard the taunts, didn't say anything and kept glaring in the direction where the loud noise came from.

Suddenly, one of the kids caught sight of two people coming in their direction in the sky.

"Is that big brother Ben?" the kid pointed at the figure descending from the sky.

"____"

Hearing the kid, all the others looked at the sky.

"Welcome to my village, Captain!"

Looking at the approaching orphanage from the sky, Ben dramatically opened his hand.

"Oh, but why are there not many houses in the village?"

Charlotte looked around the village with interest.

'This is Ben's village, huh? It's in poor condition.'

She noted how poor the village was, even though the people were engaged in agriculture, the houses were scarce, and the security system was very low.

"Well, Captain, this is just a small village far away from the capital and located in the common realm. So, you should understand that nobles won't care too much about us who are commoners."

When Ben heard Charlotte's question, he started to explain the situation in the village to her.

She turned her head and looked at Ben, who looked very upset.

"____"

There was an awkward silence.

"I... I..."

Charlotte didn't know what to say to Ben. She knew how the nobles treated those from the common realm.

Sigh...

"Forget it, Captain..."

Ben shook his head in disappointment. Until now, he had no dream he wanted to pursue. Even though he had a system, he didn't have any ambitions like becoming the Wizard King or Demon King.

"But now when Ben thinks about it, he shakes his head, feeling how stupid he is."

'Damn Charlotte, you made Ben upset.'

Charlotte Chibi started scolding Charlotte, who looked at Ben, making him angry.

"Captain, do you know until now I had no ambition to pursue, but now I made up my mind. I want to become very powerful and change the situation of the people in the common realm."

With determination, Ben turned his head towards Charlotte and declared loudly with a clenched fist.

"____"

'Cool!... What should I do? Ben looks manly when he looks very serious.'

Feeling Ben's gaze, Charlotte's face turned red, and steam started to come from the top of her head.

Both of them landed at the entrance of the orphanage.

"It's his brother Ben!"

The kids started running to Ben with a wide smile on their faces.

"What is this ruckus you kids are causing?"

Father Orsi, who heard the kids' loud exclamation, came to check what happened, followed by Sister Lily.

"Wh..."

When he was about to continue, he saw Ben and a beautiful woman who was standing beside him, surrounded by kids.

"Ben, is that you?"

Father Orsi looked shocked and asked to confirm that he was not dreaming.

"Oh, Father, it looks like you lost your remaining black hair. What a pity."

Seeing Father Orsi, Ben shook his head with pity.

"Damn brat. Even though you become a magic knight, you still have not changed."

Father Orsi snorted but with a wide smile went near Ben and hugged him.

"Ben, how is the capital?"

Sister Lily inquired Ben with a gentle smile on her face.

"Oh... Lily, you too look stunning as ever."

Ben teased Lily with a smirk on his face.

Cough... Cough...

Hearing the cough, Ben turned and saw Charlotte looking at him with a look asking for his help.

The kids continuously asked questions without giving her time; this was the first time she faced a situation like this.

"Oh... Father, I want to introduce..."

"Ben, you have made me proud bringing your girlfriend to introduce you to your poor father."

Father Orsi stated proudly with happy tears in his eyes.

"____"

Sister Lily closed her mouth with her hand, little shocked.

Healing Father Orsi, Charlotte didn't refuse but started to run her imagination wild.

"Father, don't spout nonsense."

Hearing this, Ben immediately corrected Orsi and introduced Charlotte as his captain.

When the kids heard Charlotte was a captain of Blue Rose, they looked at her like an idol.

"Oh no, how is your progress in training?"

When Ben noticed Yuno standing behind the kids, he asked with a wide smile.

"____"

"I have been doing my best in training my mana control."

Yuno clenched his fist and answered with narrowed eyes.

Hearing Yuno, Ben nodded his head in satisfaction. During his stay in the capital, he sent some exercises for Yuno to train in mana control.

"Can I ask you something?"

When Ben was looking around trying to spot someone, Yuno asked seriously.

"What is it?"

Ben didn't notice Yuno's serious look and said casually.

"How is it to be a Magic Knight?"

He didn't hold back and asked his question curiously.

Hearing this, Ben smiled and shook his head.

"Responsibility."

Ben gave his answer and started walking towards the demon skull.

"____"

'Responsibility huh...'

Hearing Ben's answer, Yuno's eyes widened. He didn't expect this answer from Ben.

Seeing Ben walking towards the demon skull, Charlotte followed him.

'I will catch up to you.'

Seeing the departing back of Ben, Yuno clenched his fist tightly with new determination.

"Cap, look, that is the skull of the demon that attacked our kingdom. That is where I used to train my body."

Ben pointed at the demon skull and flexed his arms to show his muscles to Charlotte.

When they came to the mouth of the demon skull, they saw a boy doing squats like a madman.

"Asta."

Ben, who looked at Asta doing intense exercise while counting, called him.

Huh...

When Asta turned to look who was looking for him, his eyes widened in shock.

"Hehe~ do it, Asta, you will not be able to grow."

Looking at the shocked look Asta was giving Ben, he teased him while poking his cheeks.

"Ben, you are back?... How is the captain?... How strong did you become?..."

Asta started to bombard him with questions.

"Ow... Ow... Ow... calm down, Asta."

Seeing this, Ben tried to calm Asta.

Sigh...

Taking a deep breath, she looked at Ben excitedly.

"How does it feel to be a Magic Knight?"

'Oh... they are proving they are rivals huh...'

Hearing this, Ben looked at Asta with an amused look on his face.

"Asta, I forgot to tell Father that I am going to hunt. Go and inform him; I will bring meat today."

Ben asked Asta to inform Father Orsi that today they are going to eat meat.

Asta nodded his head and ran at high speed to inform Orsi.

"Ben, I didn't feel mana from him."

Charlotte looked at Asta's back and asked Ben in confusion.

Because this was the first time she saw someone who had no mana in their body.

"Don't underestimate him, Captain. He might not have mana, but he has something more amazing than that."

Hearing Ben, Charlotte looked at Asta with a surprised expression.

Hage Village Forest...

Charlotte was looking at the small house made of wood before her.

"Welcome to my childhood's secret abode."

Ben invited Charlotte inside the wooden house.

"Is this..."

"Yes, the place where I took you to rest when the accident happened."

Looking at Charlotte, who had wide eyes to confirm her doubts.

Three years before...

When Charlotte arrived at the village near Hage Village for a mission, she was hurt by one of the criminals when he taunted her.

She lost control of her magic, and a cursed tree veins started to come out of the ground and rapidly covered her body, causing havoc in the surroundings.

'Shit, I need to control my mana.'

Even though she tried desperately to free herself from the veins, they started to grip tightly when she tried to break free.

Her mana was decreasing rapidly, and she started to lose consciousness.

'Someone... help me...'

Those were the only thoughts in her mind as she struggled to breathe.

"Hey... hey... don't lose your consciousness. Hold up."

She heard a voice that brought her back to consciousness.

She looked at who it was, and her eyes widened in shock because a boy with white hair and blue eyes was desperately trying to remove the veins that were engulfing her body.

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(Author's POV)

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