Chapter 65:

The festival started with a bang and the people started enjoying the night with all the festivities with food, songs, and drinks, everyone was out there enjoying themselves, from the commoners to the nobles and the magic Knights included.

The evening came to an end and Julius went up to the stage, "I'd like to thank you all for coming."

"Whoaaa!!!! It's the Wizard King, come on, they are going to announce the Magic Knight Brigade Achievements!!!!"

"Whooooaaa Wizard King!!!!"

"Julius Sama!!!!"

Julius informs the crowd that he will be presenting the award today and that the king will take the stage after him and he would be the one to announce the results this time around.

He spoke of the troubled times they have recently seen with the invasions from the Diamond and Spade Kingdoms, along with the constant skirmishes with the terror group called Eye of the Midnight Sun, he mourned for the ones who could not be present today and those who had left them.

He spoke of the outstanding bravery of the Magic Knight Squads who fought with great valor and it was time they are recognized for their efforts. He called in the captains to join him on the stage and the crowd cheered wildly for them, the new captains of the Crimson Lions and Aqua Deer were also a hot topic of gossip right now, as much as the missing captains of the Black Bulls and the Blue Rose.

Ignoring that part, Julus went on with the ceremony and declared the results.

"In the first place: Golden Dawn with an incredible 197 stars."

"Whooaa! this is more than double of the 93 stars they got the last time."

"Golden Dawn is UNSTOPPABLE!!!"

"The Golden Dawn is on a whole different level."

"Again, the Golden Dawn has shown us some of the most amazing magical feats this year, and now, let's have the members who have made the biggest contribution to the star record come up and join us on stage."

"Let us welcome, the rising newcomers, lightspeed Korogane, and the chosen of the Wind Spirit, Yuno!!!"

This made the faces of the other senior guys from the Golden Dawn look like cats who bit on a piece of lemon. <Talk about sour faces...>

"And coming in a close second, are the Black Bulls with an unbelievable 173 stars!!!" Julius happily splashed cold water over all those who were dreaming of the second place since the Crimson Lions' chances were hurt because of their captain being out of commission from the injuries he sustained during the terror attack.

The crowd was in an uproar and nobody was willing to believe that the rowdy mob from the Black Bulls could ever come second, but this was once again clarified by the people helped by the squad during the invasions and the impeccable fame and track record of Aster.

"Now let us welcome the best rookie of the year along with another rising star, let us welcome on stage Aster Frost and Asta, the Bulls have not only done well but have come a long way from their previous and unpreceded record of a negative 50 stars, let us welcome on stage the Ice Prince and the Anti-Mage, give them a big applause." Julius hyped the crowd to its peak and Aster simply appeared out of a snowflake while Asta came flying from the sky, and managed to secure his landing with his sword.

"The Ice Prince!! We love you!!!"

"Marry ME!!!!"

"Give me you icy babies!!!!"

"KYAAA~"

The ladies were going wild with the charming appearance of Aster, who was waving at the crowd with a gentle smile.

"Popular as ever, are we?" Koro Sensei chuckled.

"Be kind to the people and they will shower you with love and warmth." Aster smiled and Julius smiled at his words while the captains nodded.

Julius then announces that he will be revealing the remaining ranks. The Silver Eagle came in third place with 95 stars, which Nozel remains silent about, while Solid and Nebra were seriously doubting the results.

The Blue Rose came in fourth place with 83 stars, which Sol notes is one place higher than last year for her unconscious captain. The Crimson Lion is in fifth place with 76 stars, which their captain seems displeased by. The Green Mantis is in sixth place with 69 stars, Jack comments about how they are in the same place as last year and is also angry at Yami.

The Coral Peacock is in the seventh place with 67 stars, which Dorothy just sleeps through it. The Purple Orca is in eighth place with 51 stars, and their captain comments about how it cannot be helped. The Azure Deer came dead last in ninth place with 49 stars, which Rill is shocked by, the boy jumps on Asta with a sad face, asking how he got so many stars.

"Long live the Magic Knights!!!"

"Long live the Wizard King!!!"

"Now that the achievements have been announced, here's what you have been waiting for, presenting his highness, the royal King of the Clover Kingdom."

A man with a fugly face and curly mustache walked in with a scepter in his hands. he stood beside the Wizard King and asked him to step aside to not overshadow his self-proclaimed greatness, and cleared his throat before speaking.

"Good day to you, my people, my name is Augustus Kira Clover XIII, Royal King of the Clover Kingdom."

A weak response came in from the crowd, that was nearly inaudible, "Long Live the King!!!"

As the crowd cheers calmly, Augustus yells at the crowd who are not impressed with him about how great he is. Julius asks Augustus to calm himself, while the latter is displeased by how popular Julius is, along with the result of the awards ceremony, and plans to win back the people's support in one swoop.

Augustus announces to the crowd that they have located the headquarters of the Eye of the Midnight Sun and that they will launch an all-out attack with a new squad dubbed the Royal Knights.

He also explains how they will form this squad with the Royal Knights Selection Exam, which the crowd cheers for the king. As Augustus feels great about himself, Asta comments about how Julius and the Squad captains are more amazing than the king.

Augustus, who was barely satisfied with the attention he and his oversized ego received, heard Asta and was instantly maddened, Julius calmly stepped in and solved the issue and rallied the people to come together and fight irrespective of their ranks, with the roaring crowd and the thundering applause, they left the stage.

"You really should learn how to read the situation better. Better get your act together if you want to be the Wizard King" Aster knocked Asta's head lightly with his fist.

"That would be a piece of good advice, and from me, you all should try out for the Royal Knights, but you must not get complacent with what you have and strive for betterment with a heart of humility. See you guys later..." Julius vanished from the spot.

"Come on Ryu, the festival is still on and the night is young, let's go out and have some drinks, oh, and let's pick Madoka as well." Aster chuckled as they walked down the stage to chance upon the scene of Mereoleona roaring at the members of the Crimson Lions while Madoka was leaning on the wall with a smug look on her face.

"Hey Yuno, what's a hot spring?" asked the ever clueless Asta, while Yuno spoke about what he had read from the books, that it was a nice and comfortable place to soak their bodies in.

The two thought that it was a nice vacation plan while the training maniac Asta blurted out that it would be easy.

The lioness had heard that and used her mana to grab Asta who was now hanging like a fruit on the branch. She looked at Yuno and captured him as well but when she turned to the side and her eyes met with Aster, and a spark went off.

The two locked gazes and the mana around the area fluctuated to cause a simultaneous rise and drop in temperature as the two monsters were smiling widely.

A/N: That's it for today and yes, Mereoleona will be joining the group...

The results are out with 59 votes for Mereoleona...