Once again, no one had words.
Emotions or not, Akeru had a knack for making people speechless.
"Even for an ex Four-leaf holder, this is a bit too ridiculous an ability." For the first time, Fuegoleon had encountered such a spell.
"Indeed, if there is such an ability, I wonder how he isn't a Grand Magic Knight yet?"
"So, did you call us to report this individual? Was he somehow able to escape you? What was his combat prowess?"
"At first, he was around Vice-Captain level," Akeru said, scanning the room. "After taking my memories, he's clearly Grand Magic Knight level."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Akeru then prompted them to tell them the exact list of Noel's abilities.
No one spoke. It was too much to process.
"Are you sure about this? Maybe all this was a dream in your head by that guy." Gueldre looked at the kid in suspicion.
For a moment, most of the people were ready or wanted to believe his words rather than Akeru's.
From what Akeru had said, apart from Wizard King, nobody in the room could defeat Noel, even after ganging up on him.
"Did he also learned the ability to sense Ki?"
Akeru's silence spoke more than he could even with his words.
"What a troublesome opponent. It's quite clear, but let me reiterate my statement: nobody apart from me will engage with this individual. If any of you encounter this individual, your priority is to report."
Julius scanned the room. The last thing he wanted was for the enemy to grow stronger.
"So, you want every spatial mage to be quarantined? Won't this be too troublesome in the long run?"
"Yes, it would be. However, Noel mentioned getting the final puzzle piece after taking my memories. I believe he has the means to accomplish whatever goal he has."
"A goal?" Wizard King's eyes narrowed. "Though I don't know his goal, it's safe to assume that it isn't anything good. We have to stop him." He said with a frown.
'Should I go on a goose hunt? It would be bad if he attacks here while I am away.'
"That's my next topic. I need permission to track him alone."
Julius met the teenager's eyes.
Something about his cold, indifferent eyes was familiar to him, though he didn't know what.
"Oh, why do you think I should send you? We have a multitude of choices in this room, no?"
"It's quite simple. Firstly, he already milked all I was worth, so I am unthreatened by that spell anymore. Secondly, despite getting my memories, he hasn't been successful in replicating the spells of the magic exclusive only to me, that is, I have the best chance to track him while being covert."
To demonstrate his point, Akeru activated 'Silent Nobody' and his presence vanished from the room.
Unlike the last time, he had even taken away the visual element, leading to a more direct effect.
Everyone other than the Wizard King flinched.
Akeru deactivated the spell as he looked Julius in the eye.
"Very well. I permit you. You must remain in contact with the intelligence division most of the time. Any new information must be reported immediately as this matter is significant. "
Noel's existence was a wild card, especially when his strength and unknown goals came into the picture.
The meeting continued for some more time till all were dispersed.
---
Time- Same Day, Place- Ashveil
"Hey kid, want some apples?"
The teenager ignored the salesman completely.
He was busy thinking about something else.
Akeru wasn't wearing any robe and had his mana suppressed, looking like a manaless, weak kid.
In front of him stood a house in a village.
Tak Tak
Akeru knocked on the door, and the person who opened it was an old lady.
"How may I help you, young man?"
"I would like to know about these two." He said while showing her two images.
The image consisted of a black-haired person with brown eyes and a brown-haired person with black eyes.
They looked identical, but the image of the latter looked older.
"Leon and Noel?" The old lady muttered, before her eyes narrowed, "What is your relation with those two boys?"
"I am a magic knight, and I need the information about these two for some reason," Akeru said while taking out his Black Bull robe.
The old lady looked at the robe for a few seconds before sighing.
"Come in."
Akeru entered and sat.
"Drink?"
"No. I'm on a time crunch — please be quick."
"Very well. Ask away."
"What is your relation with those two?" Ironically, Akeru asked the same question, the old lady had asked him just now.
"I was their neighbour, and have seen those two grow up from young kids."
"Do they have any family left or close friends?"
"Other than my family, no."
"Very well. What about their magic?"
"The older one, Noel, had a magic able to induce emotions in others. The younger one, Leon, had a fire magic, which induces emotions in others."
"I see. Where is Leon?"
The granny suddenly became silent.
Akeru's stare soon made her speak.
"Some clerics from the church took him away, saying that his flames are holy or something."
"When did that happen?"
"When he was 13, that is 5 years ago."
"I see. What happened then?"
"For a few months, we did receive letters from Leon before getting stopped altogether. We asked the church's nearest branch, but they were just as clueless. After that, Noel went out to find him, but he also didn't return."
"Did you not make any contact with you in any form over these years?"
"Well... I do sometimes receive money in the mail. I believe that the nameless sender is none other than him."
"I see. Very well. Thank you for the information." Akeru nodded and, after exchanging some more words with her, he excused himself from the house.
He went to talk to more people about Noel, especially from the people who would have been his peers in this village.
"That does bring back some memories. He was a nice guy. I wonder where he went."
"That weakling? It's hard not to forget the person with so useless magic."
"From what I could remember, he was pretty anti-social and didn't have many friends."
An hour later, Akeru left.
'Bystander's Magic: Silent Nobody'
His presence disappeared from the world, and he activated internal mana augmentations as he streaked through the ground.
He took out a map from nowhere and used lighting as a compass to figure out cardinal directions.
He travelled for a few hours before he reached a city and entered it without anybody being the wiser.
He was wearing a hood and walked through the dimly lit streets of the bustling city before stopping.
In front of him stood a restaurant, which screamed class.
From the polished wood to the fountain with water clear enough to give you your image better than how you actually looked.
The place was made for rich people.
He entered or tried to enter before getting stopped by the guard who put a hand on his shoulder.
"Kid, this is not a place for nobodies. Do you even have money to eat here? If not, then do-" Before the guard could finish, he suddenly had a sack of silver coins in his hands.
'When did he...'
The guard looked back at the unrestrained form.
A waiter approached.
"Do you have a reservation?"
"Yes. They're already here."
Before the waiter could say anything, Akeru started moving in a particular direction.
In that direction, only one table was occupied.
Occupied by magic knights in purple.
Without their permission, he pushed the chair back and sat down.
The other two, who were chatting, finally looked at him.
"Kid, who are you? Do you not know that it's bad manners to interrupt a person's meals?"
"Also, what's with your filthy-looking outfit? Are you a commoner? You will regret it if you dare to sit with nobles for some stupid reason like getting an autograph or something."
The boy in question didn't say anything, but just turned his head between them.
One of the Purple Orca was losing patience.
However, before he could say anything, Akeru spoke.
"I am the one who is going to ask questions." He said while removing his hood.
The two knights finally got a clear look at his face.
Realisation flashed in their eyes before they realised the horror of their previous actions.
In front of them stood the youngest Grand Magic Knight of the Clover Kingdom.
***
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