The day had dragged on well into the afternoon when Ichigo spotted the silhouette of the Black Bulls headquarters, glinting in the distance. Beads of sweat pooling all over his face, he smiled a bit as the thought of resting in a comfortable bed came to the forefront.

“Yeah! I can see the headquarters. We’re finally home.” Asta proclaimed through tears, eyes shining like stars. “I can finally have water, Noelle.” He excitedly chattered.

“Calm down, Stupidsta. Ichigo had already told you to drink it the last time we stopped near the river. You were busy admiring the wild animal.” Noelle admonished him in her usual higher-than-everyone noble tone.

Ichigo hadn’t failed to notice the use of a new nickname for Asta. It seemed he had graduated from peasant to Stupidsta. Somehow, he also wondered why Noelle had never called him a peasant or a commoner at the very least. ‘I’ll have to ask her sometime. Though can’t say I am not grateful for it.’

As the trio neared the huge mansion, cries and voices filled their ears. Ichigo sighed as he heard profanities being hurled.

“It seems they’re in their usual cheerfulness.” He remarked, shaking his head.

Ichigo pushed open the front doors, effectively bringing the warring members to a standstill as the trio piled in the front porch.

“Hey ~, the rookies are back.” Magna’s voice carried itself over to them. The Mohawk head strutted past a weary looking Luck, headed straight towards them. He, himself, had scratches and singes all over his body and clothes, his hair in disarray as well.

“How was the mission?” He asked with a sly smile, a hand resting on Asta’s shoulder.

With a buzz and a whip of lightning, Luck appeared by Ichigo’s side, fists swinging in air. “Did you fight someone strong?”

“Yeah, there was someone so strong, he knocked out the two knights from Coral Peacock with only from his magic power. Noelle and I were also rooted to our spots. It was like facing Captain Yami, like in the exam.” Asta blurted out in full vigour, his hands all the while whirling around, trying to give the others a better picture.

“What? Are you kidding me? And I missed it.” Magna whined. Ichigo wondered if he’d too be lying on the ground, unconscious or run away. Somehow, Ichigo wouldn’t blame him if he did run away. The demon was on another level for them, except the Captain.

“So did you run away, then?” Magna questioned them back.

“No, Ichigo managed to defeat him. Though, he must have worn himself out because he was unconscious when we found him.” Asta answered, concern laced in his tone.

“I’m fine now, Asta.” Ichigo quickly said, giving the teen a thumbs up.

“I’ve heard enough. Freshen up, the three of you and meet me in the lounge for your debrief.” Captain Yami ordered them, walking into the lounge with a newspaper under his arms.

‘An hour? Is he kidding me?’ Ichigo wondered in annoyance.

His face crunched up as he smelled his odour. ‘He expects me wipe this in an hour? Well, I don’t even care anymore. If I smell, it’s his fault.’ Ichigo began making his way towards his room, cursing the Captain.

An hour later, Ichigo found himself drying his hair with a white towel he had nicked from the spares. Fortunately, he had managed to wipe most, if not all the grime and odour from his body.

He wore a faded white t-shirt along with brown pants and belt with sashes for his swords.

Ichigo walked towards his desk on which his sealed zanpakutos rested. The scenery out the window was amazing, Ichigo noted. Lush green forests covered the expanse, till the ends of naked vision. ‘Forests I just trudged through. I deserve a sleep on my comfy bed!’ He whined.

Nevertheless, he started walking towards the lounge. During his walk, he realized that even without him and Asta, the mansion was being well-kept. Though he didn’t particularly remember some of the passages that shot past his corridor.

‘Did the layout of this mansion change while I was gone? Is that even possible?’ He wondered as he continued stepping down a flight of stairs.

‘Right, Magic.’ Ichigo mentally face-palmed as the obvious answer sprang to the forefront.

As he arrived at the lounge, he realized that all members of the squad were present at the debrief.

‘Aren’t debriefs only meant for Captains?’ Ichigo thought in confusion.

“Alright, now that all three of you are here. Let’s begin. Orange-hair, start right after reaching your destination.” The Captain ordered, earning an eyebrow twitch of annoyance from Ichigo.

“Understood” Ichigo started, taking in a deep whiff of air. He continued on to tell them about the unregistered village they found, the suspicious looks of the villagers and the condition of their houses, their leader, the Old Man, the source of the magic power, the grotesque-looking tree and then the ambush.

As the word ‘ambush’ left his mouth, he began hearing murmurs from his audience. He paid them no mind and continued on with the report.

He creatively managed to fail to mention his absence from the fight as he listed how Noelle, Asta, Daniel and Macy performed, taking on the eight enemies on their own.

He also hid Noelle’s lack of control over her magic, earning a small ‘Hmph’ of approval from her.

Ichigo sighed here before continuing, “Once the last of them was eliminated, the Old Man began going wild about his boss whooping their butts and how we had just signed our death warrants.

And their boss did come. He began putting out his magical presence as a way to intimidate us, managing to knock out Daniel and Macy, while Noelle and Asta were rooted to their spot.

So, I pumped out my own energy, evening the pressure out. At this point, I realized that the fight could harm the four of them, so I asked Noelle and Asta to carry Daniel and Macy and retreat a distance back.

Once the four of them were out of reach, I fought the guy. It was somewhat of an evenly matched fight, but the boss kept underestimating me and refused to go all out. So I lucked out, and got a clean strike in, killing him in the process. The exhaustion must’ve got to me after that, because I dropped unconscious immediately after the fight.”

Ichigo paused here, waiting for either Noelle or Asta to continue, but none spoke up.

He sighed once more before continuing, “When I got back up, the four of them were back and the tree had somehow vanished. The four of them also managed to secure the villagers.” With this, Ichigo finally ended his report. He looked around trying to gauge everyone’s reaction, but only found one. Surprise.

‘Is it that unheard of, for rookie magic knights to avert an ambush all by themselves?’ He wondered to himself.

The Captain broke out in a maniacal laugh. “Interesting, you three. I’d say you did a good job, but the Old Man managed to get away, didn’t he?” He asked with a small death glare.

“Yeah.” Ichigo answered sheepishly.

“Fine, whatever. I’ll report this back to the Magic Emperor. Take the day off but get back to your chores, first thing tomorrow.” He ordered menacingly before leaving the room.

The members crowded around the three of them, asking them all sorts of questions but Ichigo and Noelle managed to give them the slip.

‘I’ll remember your sacrifice, Asta.’ Ichigo prayed as he flash-stepped up the stairs.

With nothing planned for the day, Ichigo rushed towards his cold soft mattress, sleep greeting him the instant he got comfortable.

The next couple weeks around the Black Bulls headquarters passed in relative peace. As usual, the members kept fighting for odd reasons and Asta’s voice continued to pierce the silent castle but nothing of significance took place.

Ichigo laid on the table, bored of his regular routine of cleaning and doing laundry already. The evening sun managed to poke its way through the windows, illumination the lounge in an orange-ish manner.

Suddenly, Finral and Vanessa teleported into the lounge. The white portal flashed to life as the two entered the room and quickly died out once the two were out.

“We’re back.” Finral announced to nobody in particular.

Ichigo didn’t even deign to acknowledge them with a grunt as he laid face down on the table.

“Huh? Ichigo? Are you not feeling well?” Finral asked, walking closer to him.

Ichigo turned his head to the side, eyes closed and lips thin in displeasure as he answered,

“Just bored from all the work I’ve done.” He remarked haughtily.

“Ma-Ma- We also did work when we were rookies, right Vanessa?” Finral tried to placate Ichigo, turning to Vanessa for help.

“Heh? I always piled it on Magna with a kiss or something.” She answered non-chalantly.

“Yeah, I don’t think Magna will respond similarly, if I tried that with him.” Ichigo replied causing the two to chuckle.

The two were about to continue when the Captain walked into the lounge.

“Oh? You two are back. Any luck finding the Old Man?” He asked, spotting Finral and Vanessa. A lousy eye also located Ichigo sprawled on the table.

“No sir. Though the investigation department is still looking. We’ve secured the villagers and their ‘boss’s’ dead body. That was clean cut, Ichigo. Your sword must be sharp~” Vanessa reported, remarking the last sentence in delight and caution.

“Mhm” came Ichigo’s satisfied but muffled response.

“What’s up with him?” The Captain finally asked, earning another ‘hmph’ from him.

“He’s just bored.” Finral answered in his cheery tone.

“Right.” The Captain sighed, before rummaging through his back pack. “I’ve just the thing to cheer you up.”

He brought out a golden star, holding it straight up. “The Magic Emperor has recognized your efforts. So he rewarded you with a star, each.” He pulled out the other two as he finished the sentence.

Ichigo groaned before straightening up. He eyed the star suspiciously. ‘Does the Magic Emperor think we’re kindergarteners? The hell’s he rewarding us with a star for? What am I supposed to do with that, eat it?’

“I take it from your confused face that you don’t understand what it means?” Finral remarked, surprising Vanessa.

“Not even a little bit.” Ichigo confirmed. “Wow, where have you been living?” Vanessa remarked immediately.

“Not on this continent?” Ichigo supplied helpfully.

“Wait? You’re from another continent? Why didn’t you tell us?” Both Finral and Vanessa yelled at the same time.

Ichigo quickly plugged his ears, before answering, “It’s not like no one knew. Asta does. So does the Captain.” He pointed at the poker face of the Captain, justifying his point.

“Captain Yami, you knew?” They cried. The Captain simply groaned, “Of course, I knew.”

“Anyway, we’re getting off topic. What’s that flimsy star mean?” Ichigo asked disinterestedly.

“That little star is the Magic Emperor’s way of appreciating the work we Magic Knights do.” Finral answered.

“Please tell me that’s not a method of payment.” Ichigo questioned, horrified at the thought.

“You wish. You could sell it for a lot of yules.” Vanessa answered this time.

“It’s just a form of appreciation. The more stars a squad collects, the better is their standing at the annual rankings.” Finral explained.

“It’s a competition. I assume we’re last.” Ichigo asserted.

“Yep, pretty much. We’re at negative 30 stars.”

“Well, now it’s negative 27. Keep up the good work.” The Captain butted in. He released the stars that went on to fill the black spots on a wooden board.

“Oh, by the way, the more stars you collect, the faster you will promote.” Vanessa remembered. She emphasized the last word.

“Promote? To what?” Ichigo asked aloud.

“Well, there are different ranks of Magic Knights. Currently there are 5.” Finral answered, five fingers pointing up.

“The Magic Emperor, Grand Magic Knight, Senior, Intermediate and Junior Magic Knight.” He counted, folding fingers as he counted further.

“The Magic Emperor is also a rank?” Ichigo asked in surprise.

At this, Captain Yami responded, “Yeah. All you gotta do is pile up merit more than any other knight in this kingdom and you too can become the Magic Emperor.”

For the first time, Ichigo realized that the Captain was completely serious.

He nodded. ‘Merit, huh?’ “That would be useful advice for Asta.” Ichigo remarked.

“Not you? You not aiming to become the Magic Emperor as well?” Captain Yami asked.

“Nope. Too much hassle.” Ichigo replied in a bored tone.

The Captain chuckled hearing his response, surprising all three of them. They had never heard him laugh in such a manner.

“Right, before I forget.” He rummaged through the back pack again before flinging 3 piles of coins at each of them.

“This is your monthly pay.” He announced.

“How much is this?” Ichigo asked out loud. Vanessa quickly replied, “200,000 Yules. Enough to last you a month.”

“Finally. I can go shopping for clothes.” Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief.

Vanessa’s ears perked up at the word ‘shopping’. “You shouldn’t have said that out loud, Ichigo.” Finral whispered to Ichigo.

Ichigo flashed him a confused look.

“You wanna go shopping? I could offer some company.” She quickly offered.

“Huh. Are you sure you know the right place and shops? Your attire suggests entirely the opposite.” Ichigo remarked, eyeing her top to bottom.

“You’re just jealous.” Vanessa countered back, continuing, “and I know just the right place. Before though…” She walked out of the lounge, before shouting, “Wait for me right here.”

Ichigo looked at Finral for guidance but he just shrugged. Captain Yami who was just listening to the entire conversation decided to take his leave.

“Alright, you kids have fun. I am gonna go find the others.” He said in farewell, leaving the lounge as well.

“I’m off to find some women as well.” Finral remarked. He turned to Ichigo, as if asking him to join along.

Ichigo understood the meaning behind the look, answering, “No thanks.”

“What? You don’t wanna date? Are you gay or something?” Finral asked innocently.

“Nope. Just don’t think my girlfriend would take very kindly to find out that I am dating other women.” Ichigo remarked in a somewhat calm tone, though his mind flashed back to his few dates with Orihime.

If he had a word to describe them, he would call them messy. How Orihime still loved him was a wonder in of itself.

“A g-g-girl-friend!?” Finral stuttered. “Why? How?” He questioned furiously.

“Not gonna answer the ‘how’ part but what do you mean ‘why’?” Ichigo asked back.

“Why are you a Magic Knight? Doesn’t she miss you?” Finral clarified.

“Yeah, she probably does. But I’m stranded on this continent without having memories of how I got here. So I became a Magic Knight. To find a way home.” Ichigo explained, ending the last part on a somewhat sad tone.

“Oh. Well I hope you get back fine and fast. You shouldn’t keep a lady waiting for long.” Ichigo turned to look straight at Finral who flashed him a genuine smile.

Ichigo in turn smiled back, “Thanks.”

“Right. I’m off then.” Finral replied as he too walked away.

‘Huh. He may not be as bad as I had expected him to be.’ Ichigo thought to himself.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Before he could really contemplate any further, Vanessa returned with Asta and Noelle in tow.

“Hey, you two. Got your payment as well I see.” Ichigo greeted the two, pointing at the money-filled packs in their arms.

“Yeah! I’m gonna send some back to Hage Village.” Asta answered while Noelle just pretended to not hear him.

“Hey, good idea. I was thinking about what I should send them as ‘thank you’ for taking care of me as well. I might send some back as well.” Ichigo clasped his hands as he contemplated the idea.

“Right any way, we’ll go shopping in a few days. These two will be accompanying us.” Vanessa declared, almost irrelevant of Ichigo’s opinion.

“Why in a few days? Couldn’t we just go tomorrow?” Ichigo asked in confusion.

“Uh, I still have some work left on the mission you three completed. So no, we’ll be going in a few days once I clear the remaining work.” She replied, once more irrelevant of Ichigo’s opinion.

Ichigo sighed. ‘Since when was I on good enough terms to be ordered around by this woman?’ He wondered to himself.

‘Though I guess she does know the place where we could go shopping for clothes.’ Ichigo sighed and relented, “Fine. We’ll go shopping in a few days.”

A few days passed in a jiffy and one morning, as informed, Ichigo was dressed and ready to go out for the day. He watched Vanessa and the two teens walking out of the mansion, Vanessa carrying a broom with weird structures on it.

“Let me guess. That’s Magna’s.” Ichigo devised from the weird bones at the head of the broom.

“Yeah that’s the-” Vanessa began introducing the broom before Ichigo cut her off. “No need to hear its name. I can imagine what he must have named his broom.” He remarked snidely earning a chuckle and smirk from Vanessa and Noelle respectively.

“But there’s a problem. It can only carry three people.” Vanessa mused, bringing the accursed looking broom to the view.

Noelle slightly stiffened at this. ‘Guess she’s tagging along because Asta is.’ Ichigo quickly summed up.

“That’s not an issue. I can keep up with you no problem.” Ichigo came up with a solution in his mind.

“Are you gonna run the whole way?” Vanessa asked, unbelieving of Ichigo.

“Pretty much.” Ichigo replied.

“Alright then. But don’t complain because the Castle town is somewhat far out from here.” Vanessa informed them.

“Castle Town. That’s the place, huh. I don’t mind. Let’s go” Ichigo answered.

The trio followed Vanessa outside. Noelle, Asta and Vanessa got on the broom while Ichigo merely watched them get on the poor looking contraption.

“Okay, see you at the town. Attract our attention if you fall back though.” Vanessa advised Ichigo who simply scowled at her in response.

The trio took to the skies, zooming past the birds and the trees. The three simultaneously looked back to see if Ichigo was following them but were perplexed to find nothing more than empty grass.

“Are you looking for me?” Ichigo answered, his voice coming from their front.

Noelle and Vanessa shrieked in surprise as they found Ichigo simply running on air along the broom’s speed.

“H-How are you doing that?” Vanessa asked in a high-pitched tone, her voice muffled by the wind flying by.

“It’s an ability. Don’t worry and go full speed, I’ll manage to keep up.” Ichigo told them with a grin.

Vanessa nodded in response as the broom immediately picked up speed leaving behind a running Ichigo.

Ichigo ran at a simple pace, following behind the broom as he looked at the scenery. The early rising sun off to his right made the experience all the more enjoyable. He would have continued to enjoy it had he not heard a cry from Asta.

“What did I do?” He heard Asta yell. Ichigo immediately turned to look ahead, finding Asta flailing about in the air.

Ichigo flash-stepped to catch a half-passed out Asta out of the air, before flash-stepping once more to catch up with the broom.

“What’s going on?” He asked, lifting up a completely white faced Asta.

“I may or may not have inadvertently pushed him out.” Noelle declared in her royal tone.

“And why may I ask, did your royal highness do that to your fellow squad member?” Ichigo asked sarcastically.

“You may, but you won’t get an answer.” Noelle replied before turning the other way.

“Whatever. Just don’t do it again. If I hadn’t paid attention, he could have fallen to his death. Though with Asta’s physique, an injury was probably the most that fall could’ve damaged him but let’s not experiment on the boy, alright?” Ichigo sternly advised Noelle, who still refused to acknowledge his words.

With that out of the way, the rest of the ride to Castle Town went without incident. Ichigo still wasn’t clear on why Noelle pushed Asta off the ride but he guessed it had something to do with her growing feelings for the boy.

‘Or maybe I’m just reading too much into the situation and she may have just mistakenly slammed him off.’ Ichigo mused though the latter did not sound probable.

As the broom neared the town, Ichigo wondered why they called it the Castle town. It was miles from the actual castle and separated from the same by at least two walls. It was like any other normal town and Ichigo quickly spotted the arena where they had attempted their Magic Knights exam.

The group alighted in an alley connecting to busy road. They set out into the town looking for various items though Asta and Noelle refused to buy stuff.

Ichigo looked around the various shops trying to find a good clothes one. Almost all of them were selling either antiques, collectibles and other rarities for tourists. Nothing about this town told Ichigo that people came here for ‘shopping’.

“Are you sure this is the right place, Vanessa? It looks a lot like a tourist place.” Ichigo eyed the people wondering about, taking in the sights.

“It may look like one but we just have to go to the right spot.” Vanessa replied.

The group continued walking and the day wore on.

After roaming about for a few hours exploring the town, Asta spotted Gauche, their squad mate, flying through the sky carrying a bundle of suspiciously small looking clothes.

“He’s probably carrying them for his little sister, Marie.” Vanessa immediately deduced.

“He has a nosebleed, ew.” Ichigo remarked in disgust. Asta turned to Ichigo, a bit confused, “How did you spot that from so far away?”

“Uh…, eat your carrots?” Ichigo blanched a bit, but Asta nevertheless didn’t catch anything.

“Carrots? Let’s buy a whole lot of them!” He exclaimed, bursting off forward.

All along the way, the group kept running into some of their squad mates. Charmy, eating her father’s food, Finral, somehow having ended up at the wrong end of a slap from multiple women and even Magna as he took off around a corner.

The people of the town kept remarking that there were Magic Knights roaming about but Ichigo paid them no mind. Vanessa turned off into a dark secluded alley with a dead end nearing them.

Upon encountering the dead end however, Vanessa simply walked through the wall as if it didn’t exist and the other two followed right after leaving behind a baffled Ichigo.

‘Again, magic. Right.’ Ichigo answered his own question. Even with a shred of common sense, one could realize that this dark alley was also not a place, common people came to shop for clothes.

‘She does remember I’m here to buy clothes right?’ Ichigo wondered as walked through the wall.

He only found Noelle and Vanessa waiting for him. As his gaze explored the surrounding dimly lit area, he quickly realized what kind of place this was.

“I’m here to buy clothes, not become a gambler or a prostitute!” Ichigo almost yelled.

“Right, clothes. How could I forget?” Vanessa answered, clutching her head as if cursing her memory, all the while smirking.

“Well, anyway. Noelle, as I was saying…” Vanessa began talking to Noelle, completely ignoring Ichigo.

Ichigo deadpanned, sighing loudly before catching up with Asta, as he stared down an alley where people were playing with cards.

“What are they doing? Seems like fun.” Asta assumed as stars began forming in his eyes.

Ichigo eyed the members playing carefully. There was something suspicious going on in there and Ichigo wasn’t about to let it pass. Absentmindedly, he didn’t even notice as Asta moved on to another shop behind him.

As his eyes landed on a particularly old woman gambling, his senses were accosted by a strong magical presence that was being dumbed down.

‘That magical presence is so strong, that even supressed for stealth, it surpasses the likes of Asta and Vanessa. Could it be an enemy? After all, why would someone change their appearance and play in such a shady area if not to collect important information? And he seems to be playing a Magic Knight as well.’ Ichigo noted.

As his eyes squinted further on the knight, he realized that he knew the Knight. It was Sekke, the idiot who challenged Asta in the Magic Knights exam.

Understanding that staring too long would alert him or her, he quickly averted his gaze towards Asta, while locking his senses on the magic power. He also took care not to move out of range.

He spotted Asta, take out a weird looking plushy that announced, ‘We are human’ any time it’s chain was pulled.

Once more Ichigo was reminded of the fact that Asta may look fifteen, but his mind hadn’t grown past ten.

He sighed in amusement. By pure luck or coincidence, the Old Lady began walking down the road they currently stood on.

Asta was showing off his toy to Noelle who looked exasperated. The Old Lady walked past Ichigo without eyeing him for a moment assuring Ichigo that he hadn’t been discovered.

The Old woman seemed to be carrying a pack full of money, that seemed too heavy to carry for someone of her age. ‘She’s asking for it, isn’t she?’

So Ichigo wasn’t surprised when an actual thief came up from behind her and grabbed the bag right out of her hand.

Ichigo confirmed that the Old Lady form was just a disguise when even after being robbed, there were absolutely no fluctuations in her magic, maintaining its tranquil state.

Asta immediately ran after the thief, sparing no glances. Sekke came up behind them, muttering something about stealing his limelight again.

“Bronze Creation Magic: Sekke Shooting Star!” He yelled out before an absolutely gross aquamarine coloured bike came up underneath him.

He quickly followed after Asta, the bike actually achieving a good amount of speed. Noelle and Vanessa helped the Old lady up and Ichigo reluctantly joined them.

“Shouldn’t you run after Asta to make sure he’s okay?” Noelle questioned. Ichigo simply smiled before replying, “What’s stopping you from doing the same?”

“I’m royalty.” Noelle remarked before huffing and turning to the other side.

Ichigo eyed the Old lady as she continued to act like she was scared for her money.

The four of them began walking out of the alley back to the main city, where they noticed Sekke sprawled out on the ground, Asta kneeling before him and the thief already down and out for the count.

“That guy sure works fast.” Noelle remarked with a blush. Ichigo smiled, somewhat proud of the magic-less boy holding his own in a world filled with Magic.

‘Are you sure about that? Isn’t something like Magic Nullification, too overpowered for a world filled with Magic?’ White questioned.

‘Sure, but Anti-magic isn’t boosting any of his physique nor giving him any advantage other than Magic Nullification. He has to be actively on the lookout to nullify magic since he can’t sense it. A single attack that’s faster than his reflexes and he’s dead.’ Ichigo answered back, having given it some thought already.

As they neared the two, he heard Sekke weakly mutter something about his dream before appearing to die. Ichigo chuckled as he realized that Sekke wasn’t dying.

“Was he poisoned or something?” Noelle asked as she watched the drama unfold.

Asta smacked the teen right on his eyes, before declaring,

“Don’t give up on your dreams so easily!”

Vanessa quickly administered the antidote to the Green Mantis knight, sporting a small smile at Asta’s words.

“You won’t die from this weak of a poison. The maximum damage it could do is knock you out for a couple of hours.” She explained as she applied the ointment on his foot where the wound was.

All three of them got up and Asta handed over the bag back to the old lady.

“Keep this carefully hidden, old lady.” Vanessa advised. With this, the four of them set out back in to Castle Town. However, as soon as they rounded the corner, Ichigo excused himself under the pretext of buying clothes before flash-stepping away.

Ichigo emerged out onto the roof where he followed the old woman’s trail. He completely masked his presence and was grateful to Yoruichi for the training in Onmitsukido.

She turned into another dimly lit alley before turning up to see the sky. Ichigo having already realized he was about to be spotted flash-stepped onto a building behind her.

Once on the other roof, Ichigo too looked up, only to find Yuno riding a broom along with another couple of members of Golden Dawn and in the middle, a teenager seated upon a chariot of sorts.

‘An escort mission?’ Ichigo thought to himself. He soon heard talking below in the alley, drawing his attention.

He saw a white screen from the top and replacing the Old Lady was an adult male. He wore a red and white garb with ornaments adorned across the chest. It was something you would find a King wearing.

The two continued to talk for a few minutes, Ichigo being unable to hear anything from this distance. The man looked up towards Yuno once more before teleporting away.

Ichigo was momentarily stunned as he realized that the Magic power of the person easily rivalled their Captain. With the limiter on his power eased, Ichigo could easily sense the man, hiding but following Yuno’s group.

“He could be in trouble. As he is now, Yuno is no match for that man. And so aren’t the other members of the group.” He laid out the facts.

Ichigo decided to do the same thing, the enemy was doing. Hide and follow along Yuno’s group. He’ll only intervene if the man does. With this in mind, Ichigo began following the Golden Dawn members.

Within a few minutes of following the group, a black cloud began forming above them. Yuno quickly intercepted the cloud only to find four enemies flying straight at him.

Yuno fought the four of them all alone, easily defeating them by playing a feint. However, Ichigo quickly came to realize that the enemies were targeting Yuno from the start and not the VIP on the chariot.

With the hard gaze the senior knight sported, Ichigo figured that he had come to the same conclusion.

After flying for another half an hour, the group alighted near a dense forest.

‘Doesn’t this area look familiar?’ Ichigo wondered. ‘King, take a look around.’ White’s immediately reply came.

Ichigo followed suit and he quickly realized where he was. The huge skull stared at him in the face, almost laughing at him.

“How in the world did I miss that huge thing?” He muttered to himself.

The group entered Hage Village and immediately arrived at the church where Yuno and Asta had grown up. A sort of emotional reunion came to be as the people of the church came to realize that Yuno had returned.

Ichigo pondered if he should join them as well. ‘Might as well join them. I might get to eat something.’ He came to the decision of joining them.

Ichigo walked towards the church, not wanting to reveal cards like flash-step to a potential enemy.

The Father spotted him from a distance, hurrying over to greet him.

“Ichigo! What a great timing you have chosen to come visit us.” He greeted the orange-haired magic knight.

“Hello, Father. I see you’re in good spirts.”

“How could I not be? Our Yuno has returned home!” He exclaimed in excitement.

“Oh? Yuno’s here?” Ichigo faked his surprise.

“Yeah. He says he’s on a mission. A few nobles have come along with him, two of which are his squad mates.” Father explained.

“Oh, is that so. Right before I forget.” Ichigo rummaged through his bag before handing the Father, the bag of his monthly pay.

“What is this?” Father questioned. “This is for taking care of me when I was lost and guiding me.” Ichigo replied, having already thought of the question.

“Wait, is this your monthly wage? There’s absolutely no need for this.” The Father exclaimed, trying to hand the pouch back. But Ichigo didn’t even entertain the thought.

“Raising kids has got to be hard. Come on, Father. This money’s gotta do some good, right?” Ichigo explained his thought process. Father reluctantly agreed, stashing the coin pouch in his pocket.

“Now you have got to stay for dinner. I won’t accept excuses.” The Father ordered sternly.

“Sure.” Ichigo agreed in a flash. After all, he hadn’t eaten all day, courtesy of Vanessa.

The sun had almost set as Ichigo entered the church. He was greeted to everyone seated around the table, waiting for dinner.

“We have an unexpected guest, everyone.” Father announced, pointing at Ichigo who just stood awkwardly.

Sister Lily was the first to greet him. “Long time no see, Ichigo. Hope you’re doing well.”

“Yeah, thanks. I see y’all are well too.” Ichigo greeted back.

“Ichigo!” The kids greeted altogether.

“Hello kids.” Ichigo greeted back. He was about to say more before Yuno cut him off.

“Hello Ichigo, long time no see.” He greeted with a suspicious look. “Hey there, Yuno. Yeah, it’s been a while since we last saw each other.” Ichigo remarked with a nod of his head.

He soon turned to face the other three.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance as well.” He greeted before taking a seat near Yuno.

“Is there a specific reason why you’re back, exactly the day I’m back as well?” Yuno whispered over to Ichigo.

“No, not really. I was here to give half my pay check over to the church for helping me.” Ichigo half-lied. Yuno thought over it for a while, before giving him a small smile.

“Is that so. Thanks for your help, then.” Yuno replied gratefully.

“Don’t mention it.”

Within the next few minutes, dinner was served. Nomatatoes’ dishes surrounded everyone. ‘There’s no way these nobles tolerate these tatoes, do they?’ Ichigo wondered, eyeing the members of the Golden Dawn and the VIP. However, something entirely unexpected happened.

“Tasty!” The VIP teen exclaimed in delight. “This taste is amazing.” Ichigo shot the guy an incredulous look. He saw the look on the other Magic Knights face turn sour the moment they tasted the dishes. They, as expected, quickly reached for the glass of water within a bite.

‘Either this noble is weird or there’s something at play here that I don’t understand.’ Ichigo thought.

The dinner passed without any further surprises. The noble kept praising the dishes, earning proud looks from the Father and Sister Lily.

After the dinner, once the kids were herded to bed, Ichigo walked out of the church, gazing upon the stars.

Yuno joined him in a few moments. The two shared a comfortable silence, before Yuno asked,

“So, what’s the real reason you were following us?”

“I was following an enemy, Yuno. Though, he seemed to be interested in you as well, just like the mages you fought just a while back.” Ichigo answered truthfully.

“Is he still around?” Yuno asked, his eyes dancing around the expanse in front of him.

“Yes, but he’s quite far away and in no position to hear our conversation.” Ichigo revealed.

Yuno nodded, asking another question, “What’s so special about this enemy?”

“He’s strong. Easily Captain level.” Ichigo answered. Yuno was shocked, eyes widening in pure surprise. Though he still somehow maintained his composure.

“I don’t understand. If the threat was easily captain level, why haven’t any one of us sensed him already?” Yuno asked, looking at Ichigo confusedly.

“He’s good at masking his energy. Though since I’ve locked on to his magical presence, it’s easier to track him.” Ichigo answered, earning a nod from the teenager.

Before the conversation could continue further, the girl from Golden Dawn interrupted them.

“Yuno, come quick. There’s trouble.” She quickly began leading the way as the two of them followed her to the back of the church. A group of people had already gathered around the senior from Golden Dawn.

As they approached, he began talking,

“It seems the people who are after Salim have mistaken the sister for him and abducted her.”

“Oh no. Was it because she was wearing my robe?” Salim, the VIP, cursed himself, kneeling in regret.

Ichigo merely sighed. ‘This guy is the worst actor of all time, man.’ Ichigo mused in amusement.

Yuno quickly stiffened at the mention of Sister Lily being kidnapped. He immediately grabbed the broom nearest to him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go save her.” He said, trying to placate everyone.

The Father and some of the older kids tried to join in too but Yuno denied them.

Before he could take off however, the senior knight cleared his throat.

“Yuno, don’t forget. Our mission is to protect Salim. There could be reinforcements coming right this second.” He concluded, correcting his glasses.

“Hey, Four-eyes! What will you do if something happens to Sister Lily?” One of kids spoke up in defiance, the others joining in as well.

Yuno faltered in his step as he heard the man. He did agree with him, but this was Sister Lily who was kidnapped.

Before he could face more of a dilemma, a hand came to rest on his shoulder. It was Ichigo.

“Go and save her. I’ll protect the kid.” Ichigo pushed him forward and it was all the motivation he needed. He took off in a punch of air, breezing through the sky.

“Hey, you from the Black Bulls Squad. Are you mad? Inciting others to disobey orders from their superiors can also be considered as a crime.” The Knight warned him sternly.

“I thought that the duty of being a Magic Knight always came first.” Ichigo replied sarcastically.

“Don’t try to be smart. I was in the process of enacting my plan. Mimosa, now!” He ordered the girl and immediately, her grimoire flared to life.

“Plant Creation Magic: Flower of Truth.” She yelled out, causing a burst of plant to grow out of the ground before wrapping around the noble, Salim. He tried to resist but failed as a flower with a mouth came to rest on his face.

“Now. What is this mission really about?” The senior knight asked in a serious tone.

A few moments of silence followed before Salim replied in a shrill voice. “I hate that Yuno’s guts. How dare he defeat me in front of everyone? I wanted to teach him a lesson so Father managed to secure this fake mission. Once I steal his grimoire, he’ll be reduced to nothing.”

“Right. So that’s that, then. Now, let’s go and help Yuno.” The magic knight declared, Mimosa nodding along.

“You, of the Black Bulls, stay here and protect the church. There’s an actual possibility of reinforcements.” The man ordered.

“Understood, now hurry.” Ichigo advised. He nodded back at Ichigo before th two of them took off towards Yuno.

For the next few minutes, Ichigo could hear explosions happening over the area where Yuno and his squad mates were fighting. Though after the next few moments, silence reigned in signalling the end of the fight.

“Big Brother Yuno won, right Ichigo?” A small kid asked innocently.

“Yep, he did. I can feel him just fine.” Ichigo answered, ruffling his hair. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began celebrating.

“Father, I must leave for a while. When they arrive back, tell them I left for home.” Ichigo asked the Father.

“Sure, but where are you going this late?” He asked back.

“To finally confront a mystery.” Saying this, Ichigo flash-stepped away.

‘I really don’t get the guy. He’s been playing cards in shady areas, disguising himself as an old lady. He then follows but never intervenes until now. He disguised himself as one of the ambushers, taking out one of them, effectively helping Yuno. What’s his endgame?’ Ichigo’s train of thoughts stopped as he eyed the man lying in front of him, eyes closed.

“I was ready to help but it seemed my help was not required. William’s new recruits sure are strong. I also got to see a lot of new magic today as well!” He excitedly chattered the last part.

“You seemed to have a lot of fun today, mystery man.” Ichigo spoke out from the shadows, finally revealing himself.

The man immediately opened his eyes, vanishing into thin air before reappearing standing.

“Oh, it’s only you Ichigo. Colour me impressed, you managed to sneak up on me.” The man praised Ichigo, earning a death scowl from him.

Suddenly, a white screen flashed between them, yelling, “Finally, I found you!” However, before he could continue, it was unceremoniously cut apart by Ichigo’s zanpakuto.

“That was rude.” The man remarked with a smile.

“Answer my questions or the next one getting cut apart will be you.” Ichigo stated grimly, freeing his longer, black sword from his hilt for the first time since he entered this world.

“Who are you and why have you been following Yuno around all this while?” Ichigo asked in a calm tone, pointing the sharp end of the sword straight at the man.

“Ma- Ma- there’s no need for that. I am Julius Novachrono, the 28th Magic Emperor of Clover Kingdom.” The man answered, spreading his arms, appearing magnanimous.

“And if you want proof, I can tell you that you completed an investigation mission that turned awry, a couple of weeks back and that you handled their boss all alone. I even sent a star to thank you for your efforts.” He spoke with a smile.

With this information, Ichigo had no doubt that this was indeed the magic emperor. Yet, with the sheer shock of the situation, he couldn’t help but yell out,

“You are the Magic Emperor!?”