"So what did he say to you?" A cute brown-haired girl came up behind Oskar and tapped him on the back.
Oskar heard his cousin's voice and looked back, and sure enough, it was Anna. If Astro were here, he would have been surprised to learn that the girl he had danced with earlier was not just any noble lady… she was the niece of the current king of the Iceberg Kingdom.
"Nothing much. Just… a bit disappointed in everything," Oskar said as he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.
Anna followed his gaze. The king and queen were fooling around with other young people…not caring about their position at all. The nobles and officials of the Iceberg Kingdom were not much different either. Compared to other kingdoms, Iceberg's people seemed far more drunk and lustful. The guests from other nations didn't care much, assuming the hosts were simply trying to liven up the atmosphere—but Oskar wasn't stupid enough to think so too.
After all, this was how they were every single day. It's a miracle that this kingdom is still standing.
"I told you," Anna said calmly. "Don't look up to these people. If you want to be a good role model for the citizens, you should never learn from them."
She smiled and patted Oskar on the shoulder. "How about you learn from me instead? Your cute older sister is a way better model than they are… Don't you think so?"
"Who are you trying to fool?" Oskar said, rolling his eyes. "I just saw you getting all cozy with a commoner wizard from Fiore. Let me guess..., just because he is handsome?"
Anna stared at him for a few seconds before chopping him on the head.
"Ow—what was that for? I wasn't lying." Oskar rubbed his head, looking up at Anna. She had her hands on her hips, glaring at him like she was looking at an idiot child.
"You're part of the younger generation," she said sharply. "So why is your way of thinking still stuck a hundred years in the past? If you keep looking down on people like this, you'll never see the full picture of the world."
"Well…" Oskar muttered under his breath, "…it's still true. Those Magic Council people and commoner wizards… They only know how to create chaos and how to cover them…the world would be way better off without them."
Anna raised her hand again, ready to strike, but stopped herself and let out a tired sigh.
This child wasn't hopeless—unlike his elder brother—but he still had a long way to go.
"Forget it. You'll learn someday," she said. "And I wasn't seducing that guy. Nobody was dancing with the commoner wizards at the party. So, I had to take the lead." She gestured toward the ballroom. "Look now. A lot of ladies and gentlemen are dancing with them."
Oskar blinked, only now truly noticing. Many nobles were now dancing with commoner wizards who came to the gala. One of Fiore's wizards with blonde hair was dancing with a noble from the Isvan Kingdom. The three brothers from the Seven Kingdoms were dancing with some ladies from the Joya Kingdom. One of Fiore's ministers was even dancing with a female wizard from the Stella Kingdom.
Before he knew it, the commoner wizards had somehow blended in so naturally that they barely stood out anymore.
Anna glanced at Oskar, noticing how lost in thought he had become.
"You see?" she said softly. "If you give them a chance, you'd realize it too. They're not that different from us. At our core, we're all the same—and—"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I get it," Oskar said, rolling his eyes again. He didn't want to be lectured by every single person at a gala event.
"I doubt your intention was so pure anyway. You definitely did get charmed by that Fiore wizard. Otherwise, you wouldn't have chosen him out of everyone."
The answer was another chop to the head.
"Why are you still stuck on that?" Anna snapped. "This young lady is not interested in relationships. I mean… sure, he was good at dancing… and gentle… and handsome… and his eyes were kind of dreamy…"
Oskar stared at his cousin as she trailed off and sighed.
…At least his brother is cunning… but this girl would just get sold and help the kidnappers count the money.
But anyway, a smile formed on his lips.
Thanks to her, he wasn't feeling so down like before.
"Excuse me, this girl has a few screws loose… I'll take her away. Enjoy the party, Astro Blackmist."
Meanwhile, Astro could only helplessly wave as the girl who accused him of being a mistress was being dragged away by Prince Avon. He didn't even wait for Astro's response, simply pulling her along without hesitation.
"Haha, you seem to be enjoying the party, Astro."
Astro turned around to see Prince Sylvain approaching with Lisa beside him.
"Well… tiring would be a better word," Astro said as he let out a long sigh and reached out to shake Sylvain's hand. This whole night had been exhausting.
First, he found out his parents were still alive—then he found out most of his memories of Earthland had been fake, though he had already suspected as much.
Then he learnt that he never truly took the place of the original Astro; instead, he had taken Liam's place in his previous world before returning here. On top of that, if all of those weren't bad enough… he had also been accused of being a prince's mistress by a girl he had never even met.
And as if that weren't enough, ever since his mother spoke to him inside his mind, his left eye had been throbbing painfully. His Healing magic did not work on it at all. Astro could tell that it was her doing, but he still could not figure out why she did it…How is it going to help him recover his memories?
"Congratulations on finally becoming the King of Joya, Sylvain," Astro said, keeping all those thoughts in the back of his mind. "How are things over there?"
Sylvain shook his hand firmly. "Well… tiring would be the right word there too. There's so much work to do. I miss the days when I was just a simple prince."
"But you don't seem to hate it."
Astro could tell—Sylvain looked more alive than before. In the past, he had felt like an untamed beast roaming the wild. Now, he felt more like a well-trained noble dog… though with his face, lion was probably a better comparison.
"By the way, where's Hisui? I thought she was here."
"She went to the washroom to fix her makeup," Astro replied with a shrug.
Astro's gaze shifted slightly to Lisa, standing quietly nearby. His eyes lingered on her hair for a bit…that shade of green was really similar to hers…
"I… I know what I put you and your friends through—" Lisa looked at Astro, looking at her and bowed immediately, clearly about to apologize, but Astro cut her off.
"It's fine," he said with a small smile. "I'm not the type to hold resentment for long."
In truth, it wasn't that he didn't dislike her at all… but knowing they might be relatives made it even more awkward to feel genuine hostility now.
"And… I kind of… caused quite a mess in Joya, too," Astro added apologetically.
"Well, yeah, you definitely did," Sylvain said, patting Lisa's shoulder. "Even if they were Margrada's men, you and that Phantom Lord wizard both killed a royal wizard in front of so many eyewitnesses."
"I'm really sorry about that," Astro said sincerely.
"Astro, I'm not that stupid," Sylvain interrupted.
He looked at Astro, who had a bit of doubt in his eyes as he looked between him and Lisa…Sylvain's mouth twitched before continuing, "Well, I was stupid. But after taking on so much responsibility, I started seeing things differently too…"
"Hm… What do you mean?"
"The council doesn't really care if dark wizards die," Sylvain said calmly. "But those dark wizards under Margrada were still officially royal wizards at the time. That Phantom Lord wizard—what was his name again?"
"Totomaru," Astro replied, thinking of the fire wizard from Phantom Lord. He was actually curious whether Sylvain had really managed to figure out his intentions back then.
"Right. Totomaru… His teammate was killed by Margrada's men, so Totomaru killed one of them, blinded by rage. After that, you had no choice but to kill another wizard for him…"
"What do you mean by no choice?" Lisa asked, clearly confused. "How are those things connected?"
"Well," Sylvain explained, "Astro knew he could earn a full pardon as long as he helped me save the kingdom. And even if I didn't keep my words, his guild master—one of the Ten Wizard Saints—would have bailed him out. So all he had to do was make sure the crimes of other wizards didn't exceed his own. He wanted to be the most guilty Fiore wizard on record."
"That's a nice theory," Astro said with a smile, "but isn't Phantom Lord's guild master also a Wizard Saint?"
"Yes," Sylvain nodded. "But I don't think he cares about his guild members the way Fairy Tail's master does. As the current number one legal guild on the continent—though that ranking mostly comes from mission success rate—it's well known among high society what kind of man their guild master is."
Sylvain gestured to a passing waiter and took a wine glass for himself, handing one to Astro and a glass of juice to Lisa.
"I have to admit," Sylvain said, raising his glass to Astro, "I always imagined that being a leader meant ordering people around and controlling them. But you taught me something else—that a leader who doesn't take full responsibility for his people doesn't deserve to lead."
Astro blinked. He did not care much about the praise. But he was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected Sylvain to be the first person to be able to see through his actions back there.
He never spoke about it—not because he was trying to hide it, but because it wasn't something he thought was necessary.
Anyway, Sylvain was right. Once Totomaru chose to follow him, Astro wanted to make sure he wouldn't be implicated because of something he had overlooked. And Astro really hadn't realized at first how bloodthirsty Totomaru would be. Astro did not blame him, but he had to make sure the remaining Joya nobles wouldn't turn Totomaru into a convenient scapegoat.
After a brief moment of thought, Astro raised his glass and clinked it with Sylvain's.
"You give me too much credit, Sylvain… or rather, I should say Your Majesty now," Astro said with a helpless smile.
"You can just call me Sylvain when we're alone," Sylvain replied warmly. He wasn't really mad at getting played by Astro anyway. "I think we can consider ourselves friends after everything we've been through."
"Well then, I won't bother being polite, Sylvain," Astro said. "But… are you sure about the juice for Lisa?"
"She's a bit lightweight," Sylvain said, glancing at her. "And her magic tends to get chaotic when she's tipsy."
Lisa rolled her eyes—and then drank the entire glass in one gulp.
Astro wasn't particularly surprised.
A mind-magic user out of control does sound terrifying on paper.
"But I still don't fully get it… I know you're a smart person, Astro, but don't you think saving a Phantom Lord member will cause problems for you later on?" Sylvain said as he took a large sip of his drink.
"Hm… you're not wrong," Astro replied, taking a sip as well. To him, alcohol honestly felt no different from water. With his Sky Devil Slayer physique, getting drunk was nearly impossible. "We don't exactly have a good relationship."
"You say that like it's just a little awkward," Sylvain said speechlessly. "When it's full-on hostile."
"It's not that bad… yet," Astro replied.
Sylvain raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for him to continue.
Astro glanced toward Princess Hisui, who was returning from a distance, and spoke in a helpless voice. "I've heard about the temperament of their guild master… and I know there'll come a day when Fairy Tail fully surpasses them."
In Astro's opinion, Fairy Tail was already stronger than Phantom Lord—but Phantom Lord wasn't ready to admit it yet.
"And when that happens," Astro continued, "things will probably get ugly. At best, it'll just be verbal clashes. At worst…"
"Full-on war," Sylvain finished quietly.
Astro nodded.
"But that's the thing," Astro said. "I don't know what Totomaru will do when that day comes…but…"
—
"You should know it's hopeless, sis."
A twelve-year-old boy lay on a hospital bed, looking at his older sister, who was scrolling through her phone beside him.
"What is?" the girl asked in a confused voice.
"These medicines… the operations… I don't think they're going to work," the boy said in a helpless voice… "It's only a matter of time before—"
Before he could finish, a sharp chop landed on his head.
"Ow! Why did you hit me?" he protested.
"Do I need a reason to hit my younger brother?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow.
The boy glanced nervously at her raised hand, which looked ready to strike again.
"Um… you do… maybe?" he replied cautiously before closing his eyes again in fear of getting hit again.
The girl sighed at his gloomy expression and rubbed his head aggressively.
"Stop worrying about whether it'll work or not," she said. "Right now, your job is to take your medicine, go through your operations, and get enough rest."
"…"
"Nobody knows what will happen in the future," she continued. "You're only twelve. Why are you already giving up on tomorrow? With that mentality, you'll never recover."
"But—"
"No buts. It's already late. Go to sleep."
"But it's only ten—"
The boy stopped mid-sentence when he saw the sharp look in his sister's eyes… and her hand lifting slightly.
"I suddenly feel very sleepy," he said quickly. "Good night, sis."
—
Astro was lost in thought for only a moment before continuing.
"But if I decide to ignore an innocent person's life just because of some stupid paranoia," he said quietly, "the person who raised me would be very disappointed in me. And I don't want that."
Astro didn't really know how to feel when his mother told him he was never Liam. She did not explain everything, but he understood what she meant. If she was not lying then… The person Maria took care of… believing him to be her younger brother… had already died, replaced by someone else who gave her false hope.
"Well," Sylvain didn't know what was going on inside Astro's head….he said with a small smile, "I can't say I'm surprised. That's just like you."
"What are you two chatting about?"
Princess Hisui approached from behind Astro. She hadn't seen who he was talking to at first, but when she stepped beside him, her eyes widened.
"Uncle Sylvain!"
"Hm? Am I not getting a hug anymore, Hisui? " Sylvain teased, rubbing her head.
"I'm not a kid anymore!" Hisui said irritably. "And stop that… you'll mess up my hair! I just fixed it."
Sylvain looked down at the girl who barely reached his waist, unsure how to shatter her self-image. Still, he withdrew his hand.
"So how's my princess doing?" he asked in a warm voice. "Is that old man still bothering you? Giving you too many lessons? If you want, I can teach him a—"
"Don't talk about father like that, Uncle," Hisui interrupted. "He's the King of Fiore. You shouldn't say things like that in public."
'So it's okay in private?' Astro twitched his mouth slightly as he watched them. So they really were uncle and niece.
He turned just in time to see Laxus return from the dance floor and stop beside him.
"You took your time," Astro said, looking at the red lipstick mark on his right cheek. "Looks like you were enjoying the dance too much."
Laxus raised an eyebrow, noticing where he was looking. He rubbed his cheeks casually as he replied, "I have to say, noble ladies have their own kind of charm. I never really tried them before, but now I'm a bit interested."
"You sound very experienced," Astro said in a deadpan voice.
"Well, what can I say?" Laxus shrugged. "Girls are naturally attracted to me. And if they want it, why would I refuse?"
"…."
Something told Astro that Laxus and Loke would get along very well.
"Don't tell me you've never been with a woman?" Laxus asked, staring at him.
Astro blinked, not knowing how to answer…
"Well…"
Forget being with a woman… Astro had never even been in love before!
"Seriously?" Laxus asked.
Astro, for some reason, looked at Laxus's stunned face and wanted to punch him hard…That look hurt Astro's pride far more than mockery would have.
"What's the big deal?" Astro scoffed in a low voice. "I'm only eighteen. There are plenty of…"
"So in other words, you've been an adult for two years, and you're still a vir—"
Astro stomped on Laxus's foot before he could finish.
"Watch your mouth," he said in a low voice as he pointed to Princess Hisui. "There's a child here."
"Are you sure you are not the child here?"
"..."
Lisa, standing behind Astro, giggled at the sight of the two arguing.
"There's nothing wrong with taking things slow," she said while still giggling, noticing both of them now looked at her. "There's nothing wrong with playing around, especially with other people who also want to play around. But a lot of people care more about doing it with someone they truly love."
Astro paused at her words. He glanced at Sylvain, who was still teasing Princess Hisui, then looked back at Lisa.
"So… how are things going with him?"
"Well," Lisa said softly, watching Sylvain's back, "it's complicated. But we're moving in the right direction, I guess."
"I see," Astro replied.
"By the way, aren't you participating in the event?" Astro asked casually, after dodging a foot stomp attempt by Laxus.
"Hm? No…" Lisa replied helplessly. "My ability isn't really suited for combat."
"I figured," Astro nodded. "That said… I've been wondering… are you connected to the Sin Kingdom's royal family somehow?"
Lisa was visibly surprised by the question. Her gaze instinctively drifted toward the direction of Queen Aurora and the man seated beside her, supposedly her husband.
"Is it because of the hair color?" Lisa asked with a faint smile as she brushed her hair aside. "That alone doesn't prove anything. You also share similar hair and eyes with the person sitting beside Queen Aurora, don't you?"
Astro shrugged as he took a glance at the man Lisa was talking about. "You're not wrong. But there's also the magic you use… and the magic item you used in Joya to change your appearance. Hibiki told me the Sin royal family commonly uses those. So I got curious."
Lisa quietly examined Astro's expression. She obviously didn't want to or even dare to read Astro's mind… wizards with stronger mental fortitude could easily figure out when their minds get invaded, especially when they were already in full guard. But there was something that was bothering her.
In truth, it wasn't just her. Anyone with keen observation had already noticed that Astro and that man beside Queen Aurora had several similar features. Astro's recent deeds were still fresh in people's minds, and so a lot of people already paid a lot of attention to Astro. And, nobles often believed that powerful wizards were connected to noble bloodlines in one way or another.
But after seeing that there was no interaction between the two—and sensing no emotional fluctuation from either of them—most dismissed it as a coincidence. Lisa reached the same conclusion, too, after seeing Astro's casual expression.
She rubbed the necklace around her neck, the very magic item Astro had mentioned, and smiled helplessly.
"I only found out recently myself," she said softly. "My mother did come from the Sin Kingdom. Whether she was part of the royal family or not, I don't know… they never reached out to me."
"I mean, you could always ask someone from the Sin Kingdom," Astro said.
"Well… it doesn't really matter to me," Lisa replied. "Even if I knew, I don't think I'd want to go back. I'm already used to life in Joya."
"Well…That makes sense, I guess." Astro blinked.
His gaze drifted toward the stage, where Prince Nova had just stepped forward and taken the microphone.
"By the way, Astro… did you notice the prince's—" Laxus, who gave up on foot stomping Astro, leaned in and whispered in Astro's ear.
"Yeah," Astro replied before he could finish. "Don't bother calling him out. It's not our business anyway. Just pray that he knows what he's doing."
Astro didn't understand why a prince would bring them into a gathering full of nobles, but—
"Laxus," Astro said quietly, "if something happens—"
"I know," Laxus replied as he crossed his arms. "I'm faster than you. So, I'll go to King Toma. You protect the princess."
Astro didn't bother to argue. That was exactly what he was going to suggest anyway.
"Is it weird to say I can't really like that prince?" one of the three brothers from the Seven Kingdoms muttered.
Astro glanced over casually and saw navy-blue clothing was the one that said it. He only looked at them for a second before turning away.
"What do you mean?" the youngest of the three said. "He seems fine to me. At least better than any of Sis's stepchildren."
The middle brother… whom Astro had heard Queen Ruby address as Percival, clearly the eldest and their leader….narrowed his eyes at Prince Nova.
Percival said quietly. "Your worry is not baseless, Second…"
For a brief moment, Percival also glanced in Astro's direction; he had a weird feeling that Astro could hear them. But they were too far apart for that to make sense, unless he was also a sensory type too….
The other two brothers didn't fully understand what he meant, but they grew serious nonetheless.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Prince Nova's voice rang out, "what a wonderful night this has been. I hope you didn't drink too much… because tomorrow, a spectacular event awaits you."
"What's that dirty prince rambling about?" Vera muttered with clear disgust as she looked at the stage.
"Hey, did you even pay attention to Prince Avon's lecture?" Aubrey asked helplessly. Prince Avon had already rejected so many marriage offers, and after tonight's incident, people probably thought he was interested in men now. Poor Prince Avon.
The object of that pity paid Aubrey no attention.
"Is there something off about that prince?" Prince Avon asked Vera in a low voice.
"Well…" Vera hesitated.
Prince Nova continued once he had everyone's attention.
"Of course, I'm talking about tomorrow's event. As you all know, for this year's summit, we decided to spice things up—giving each kingdom the chance to showcase their finest wizards against the best from other nations. We've already announced what the winning kingdom will receive."
"What's wrong, Swan?" a Stella Kingdom wizard whispered to the curvy woman beside him when she suddenly flinched.
"Nothing," Swan said, rubbing her arms. "That guy just gives me the creeps for some reason."
"Isn't that because you're barely wearing any clothes—ouch!"
"But there's a surprise," Nova continued. "I thought we should also reward the participants themselves as well… especially since they've all traveled such long distances to attend."
"So I hope you'll like what I've prepared. One of the rarest magic lacrima in existence. A perfect example of one-of-a-kind magic."
On cue, two muscular men dragged a tray onto the stage. A red cloth covered its contents.
Prince Nova stepped forward and, after seeing that he had everyone's attention, he pulled the cloth away.
Astro's eyes widened as a palm-sized black-and-purple crystal came into view.
"Don't tell me…" he muttered. "Is he out of his mind?"
Laxus, for some reason, also had an ugly expression on his face as he looked at what was on the tray. As if that thing brought up some of the worst memories back to his mind.
"Behold—the Lacrima of a Poison Devil."
"When used on a human, it is said one can become a Poison Devil Slayer… and gain immunity to all poisons in existence."
Astro's thoughts instantly returned to the first strong opponent he had met in Earthland.
"You'll see it, Sky Devil Slayer,"
"This magic you wield… it isn't a blessing. It's a curse. A hunger that devours you from the inside… until there's nothing left. Until you become the very thing you were supposed to destroy.
"Did he get it from Abel?" Astro whispered.
He didn't sympathize with Abel—but did the prince truly not realize what kind of disaster this could cause? In the wrong hands, this lacrima could become one of the deadliest weapons in all of Ishgar. Power like this should never be offered so lightly. Why did the council even allow this?
Suddenly, Astro flinched as his eyes flashed a purple light.
Sylvain, who also noticed something was wrong, instantly pulled Hisui behind him, where Lisa was standing. Astro appeared in front of them in the same instant. Laxus turned into lightning and vanished from Astro's sight—Astro didn't need to look to know where he went.
Percival of the Seven Kingdoms appeared in front of Queen Ruby, dual axes in hand, blocking her line of sight to the stage.
Vera's body split into three identical figures—one with red hair, one blue, and one green—each positioning themselves protectively in front of Prince Avon.
"So reckless…" a woman with emerald-green hair muttered helplessly from the corner, as she looked at a corner in the distance.
The man with glowing purple eyes, besides her, glanced briefly at Astro before refocusing on the stage.
All of this happened within only one second.
Before anyone else could even process what was happening, a black portal rimmed with blue light opened directly above Prince Nova.
"Nova… you bastard. I trusted you."
Reflected in Nova's gray eyes was a girl with blonde hair and golden eyes, her image rapidly growing larger as she jumped through the portal towards him.
"Lumina…" Nova whispered unconsciously, seeing the figure.
"I will kill you."
Her eyes were full of rage as she clenched her fist. A golden gauntlet covered in strange runes formed around her hand, aiming right for Nova's face.
"Wait…Listen to me… "
"Solar Script Magic: Golden Gauntlet."
The answer to his plea was just a fist straight to his face.