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Sekke waited for a while until the condition of his squadmates was stable.
Once, he noticed Gauche's eyes twitching, he stood up and walked up to him.
"You feeling alright?" asked Sekke.
Gauche still felt a bit drowsy but recognised Sekke's voice. He was about to yell at him for disturbing his dream involving Mary, but soon he started remembering the fight they had earlier that day.
His eyes opened wide as the mirror mage got alerted.
He got up and looked around. He spotted the familiar faces around him, Sekke and Owen. His gaze then slowly shifted to his unconscious squad mates.
"Here. Drink this."
Sekke offered a glass of water to Gauche.
Gauche nodded and took the glass.
"Can you tell me what happened after I was gone?" asked Sekke.
Gauche's hold on the cup got tighter as he remembered the second devil host.
"After you departed for the Heart Kingdom, Captain Yami asked us to clear the rubble and find some magic brooms to carry and transport the knocked-out devil host. Since the entire HQ was wrecked, it took some time for us to clear the rubble. Henry's mana reserves were not full, so he couldn't just fix the HQ."
"While we were rummaging through the rubble, this second devil host appeared out of nowhere. He used bone and space magic. Captain Yami, who was closest to the knocked-out devil host, was the first one to get attacked. The new devil host immediately teleported the other devil host away and focused his attention on Captain Yami. We tried to fight him, but just like with the previous devil host, we were suppressed quite easily this time as well. Asta tried to cancel his magic with his anti-magic, but his limbs were pierced by his bone magic that shot out from anywhere because of the space magic. With no other choice, Finral broke the spell you placed on him and tried to teleport everyone away, but that devil's space magic interfered with his space magic and made it impossible to teleport. After we were all defeated, the devil host took Captain Yami and teleported away as well....I don't know what happened after that, but I probably saw Finral teleporting everyone of us somewhere...probably this medical ward," said Gauche in frustration.
"Heal up fast. After that, we will start preparing to bring our Captain back. They messed with the wrong squad," said Sekke in a cold tone and gave a pat on Gauche's shoulder.
Gauche gritted his teeth. He was starting to feel powerless against these enemies that he had been facing for some time. First, the elves, then the reincarnated wizard kings, and now these devils and their devil hosts.
"Sekke...." muttered Gauche.
"Hm?"
"Make me stronger....help me train," asked Gauche in a serious tone.
"...We don't have much time before we head to the Spade Kingdom. If it were up to me, I would rush there right there and show them hell. Do you rather train than heal back to perfect shape?" asked Sekke.
"What is the use of being in perfect shape if I am useless in a fight in the end. How will I protect Marie if I remain weak?" asked Gauche in frustration and got up from Owen's magic bed.
"I need to pay back that gravity bastard for impaling me!!!" yelled Gauche in anger.
Sekke smirked and pushed Gauche back on the magic bed.
"Wha!!" screamed Gauche as he felt pain where Sekke lightly pushed.
"Your resolve is great, but your body isn't. Heal first, and we will see what we can do tomorrow. We don't have much time before we attack, but I will make sure to make it a living hell for you so that you level up," replied Sekke with a smile and sat back on his chair.
Gauche glared at Sekke but didn't argue. He looked at Grey and the other black bulls who were still unconscious and sighed.
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The next day, after taking a bath, Sekke headed straight to the Magic Knights HQ.
Marx had contacted him earlier about the Captain's meet, and since Yami was missing, Sekke was the highest-ranking Magic Knight in the black bulls and was asked to attend on his behalf.
Once he got close to the building, his gaze caught another captain who was walking towards the Magic Knights HQ as well.
Charlotte Roselei, the captain of the Blue Rose Magic Knight squad, noticed Sekke and immediately started walking towards him.
"Good Morning, Captain Charlotte," greeted Sekke.
"Is the news about Yami being kidnapped real?" asked Charlotte.
Sekke didn't mind his greeting being ignored; he could understand that the lady in front of him was worried about his captain.
"Yes. I got the news from Wizard King, too. I rushed as fast as I could, but by the time I reached, it was already too late."
"...Are they that strong?" asked Charlotte in horror.
"They are strong, that's for sure, but it might also be that the devil and the devil host attacked my squad after they were exhausted from the battle against the first devil and his devil host," explained Sekke and started walking and gestured to Charlotte to join him as well.
"You were attacked twice?" asked Charlotte.
The details about the whole incident were not yet known, even to Julius, and Charlotte was not an exception to that as well.
"First, a man named Dante attacked our HQ. My squadmates fought for a while, and I took over once I got the wind of it. After that, I got the news that the Heart Kingdom was under attack, so I rushed there and helped them. While I was in the Heart Kingdom, the second devil and the devil host attacked my HQ again," explained Sekke.
It wasn't a detailed explanation, but Charlotte got the gist of what happened.
A frown appeared on her face as her fists tightened.
"Don't worry. We will get Yami-san back," said Sekke in a serious tone.
Charlotte looked at Sekke and nodded with determination, too.
"Wa-Wait! It's not like I am worried about Yami!!!! I just want to punish those devil hosts for attacking our kingdom!!!! Why would I be worried about that uncultured brute!!!" stammered Charlotte.
"You don't need to make up stuff in front of me. I kinda guessed that you.....are fond of Yami-san," replied Sekke with a smirk.
Charlotte's face turned red on hearing that. Sekke could almost see fumes coming out of her as well.
"If I got the wrong impression, then I apologise for that. However, if I am right, then you don't need to be that embarrassed. Liking someone is not a crime after all," said Sekke.
Charlotte gulped. She wanted to deny Sekke's guess but didn't say anything after she heard the second part of Sekke's sentence.
Sekke smiled as well, seeing that Charlotte didn't deny liking Yami.
'I am being your wingman, Yami-san. Be grateful to the Dark Lord.' thought Sekke.
"U-Um? D-D-Did Yami mention something about liking s-s-someone?" asked Charlotte hesitantly.
"...I don't think that I need to tell you this since you have known him longer than I, but Yami-san is a blockhead when it comes to these kinds of things," said Sekke with a helpless smile.
'Oh, pot calling kettle black,' quipped Vritra and laughed out loud.
'Shut it!' replied Sekke.
"If you want to get the message across, then you need to say it clearly to him. From how you usually act, he thinks that you hate him," replied Sekke.
An invisible arrow pierced Chalotte.
She guessed that it was the case, but hearing it directly from someone hurt a lot more than she expected.
'Emotional Damage,' thought Sekke and looked at the downhearted Charlotte.
"It's not too late, you still have a shot," said Sekke and patted Charlotte's back.
Charlotte looked at Sekke with an expectant gaze.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. He is indeed a blockhead, but he is not a heartless person. If you genuinely tell him how you feel, he will respond properly....you just have to make sure that he likes you as well, so you need to work on that front as well."
"E-Eh? Y-Yami doesn't like me?"
And once again, the Blue Rose captain got depressed. Another invisible arrow pierced through her.
"Have you given him any reason to see you as a romantic interest?" asked Sekke.
Charlotted heard Sekke's questions and started rummaging through her memories.
A look of horror appeared on her face.
"I can already tell from your face... You need to work harder to express yourself. You might have lost many 'battles', but the 'war' is still not over. The only question is whether you want to fight and overcome the war?"
Charlotte looked at her hands and started thinking about the time when Yami saved her.
After the flashback was over, she looked up with a battle-ready expression and gave a firm nod.
"Good, so let's go and discuss saving Yami-san first," said Sekke and stopped in front of the Magic Knights HQ.
"Ladies first," offered Sekke.
"You really are a reliable squad member to have," replied Charlotte and gave a firm nod to Sekke and walked in.
Sekke was about to follow, but a flaming paw caught him before he could enter.
"Leona-san~ Good Morning," greeted Sekke with a smile.
Mereoleona looked at the fiancé with a smirk, though a faint blush appeared on her cheeks before it vanished. She was still not used to the nickname that Sekke gave her, but she didn't mind being called that.
"We look away for a second, and you are flirting with another woman?" asked the lioness.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I was just telling her about the situation at our squad. She is worried about Yami-san," said Sekke a helpless smile.
"Hm? Worried about Yami, huh. Well, those bastards did pull a dangerous stunt in our territory," said Mereoleona and dropped Sekke back on the ground.
Sekke nodded and raised his hand in front of Mereoleona.
"Your hand, my lady," asked Sekke in a gentlemanly tone.
"Save that sweet tone for the younger girls," replied Mereoleona with a smirk.
But Sekke didn't budge. He just smiled and waited for her to hold his hand.
Mereoleona stared at the hand for a while before looking away and slowly raising hers as well.
"If you want to do it that badly, then be my guest," said Mereoleona.
Sekke's smile widened as he gently held her hand and walked in with her.
Mereoleona snorted, but still looked at the held hands and smiled sweetly for a second before getting back to her usual confident look.
At some distance away from the two of them, Fuegoleon was looking at the scene while hiding behind a wall and holding Nozel with his hand on his mouth.
"...Who is that woman. Since when can my sister smile like that?" muttered Fuegoleon in disbelief.
"*Gibberish*" said Nozel in a muffled voice, unable to speak because of Fueogoleon's hand.
He was heading to the Captain's meeting and met Fuegoleon on the way, and all of a sudden, his rival grabbed him and pulled him behind a wall. He tried to scream, but his mouth was covered as well.
The captain of the Silver Eagles tried to struggle, but stopped once he noticed what Fuegoleon was looking at.
He, too, was shocked by the scene that he had just seen.
Fuegoleon let go of Nozel as the two royals walked towards the meeting hall without saying anything.