Five days after the sparring match
A figure lay sprawled on the grass in a forest clearing, breathing heavily under the afternoon sun. The young man had stark white hair that seemed to glow in the dappled light, bright whitish-blue eyes hidden behind square orange-framed glasses, and wore an immaculate white suit that somehow remained pristine despite the battle that had clearly just taken place.
All around Kenji were the bodies of defeated mana beasts—a couple that looked like giant boars with tusks the size of tree branches, one resembling a massive tiger with ethereal stripes, and two that appeared to be oversized deer with antlers that sparkled with residual mana.
While catching his breath, he suddenly spoke to the empty air: "With this, they should be able to get by for a while, when I'm gone." He took another deep breath, then raised his hand.
Snap.
With that sound, he suddenly reverted back to his normal appearance—black hair, brown eyes, and simple commoner's clothes replacing his otherworldly transformation. He sat up slowly, still recovering from the exertion.
Over the past five days since his sparring match with Asta and Yuno, Kenji has been experimenting extensively with his abilities. With a definitely willing lab rat in Yuno (very much against Yuno's will) he had discovered several important things about his powers.
One crucial discovery was that when he brought people into different dimensional spaces, the only way they could escape without outside interference was by overloading the entire space with their mana, forcefully breaking out. While this could potentially be problematic, considering he currently had about three-quarters of young Yuno's still-developing reserves, and it had taken Yuno using all his mana to break free, it shouldn't pose too much of a threat against most opponents.
He had also gotten the hang of using his abilities through constant practice, becoming able to more freely manipulate reality and teleport to places he could either see or had been before. The mana cost increased with distance—local teleportation required very little energy, but he estimated he could probably travel about three-eighths of the way to the royal capital using all his current mana reserves.
Testing the manipulation of reality around the church had been particularly entertaining. Changing everything from normal to different animation styles he remembered from his previous life had resulted in hilarious reactions. The way everyone freaked out when they saw each other's anime appearances had been absolutely priceless.
He had also managed to copy some of the moves he'd seen Hero X use in the anime, though he was saving those techniques for when he really needed them.
Getting to his feet, Kenji pulled out a piece of paper.
Snap
All the mana beasts around him suddenly appeared flattened on the paper like drawings. Then, with another, Snap, he disappeared entirely.
He reappeared behind Sister Lily and Father Orsi, who were tending to the vegetable garden.
"Yo," he said with a casual wave.
Father Orsi jumped and spun around, clearly startled, while Sister Lily—now accustomed to Kenji's sudden appearances over the past five days—simply turned around with a patient smile.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that!" Father Orsi exclaimed.
Kenji laughed, pointing over to the two youngest children of the church who were giggling at Father Orsi's reaction. "I would, but your reactions are priceless."
Father Orsi made something that looked like a pout, which weirded Kenji out a bit.
"Dinner will be ready soon," Sister Lily said. "Go get ready. Asta and Yuno should be coming back soon, so you should take a bath before they get back."
"Okay," Kenji replied. "I brought back some mana beasts, so I'll just go put them out back for you, then do that." and after saying that, headed through the back door.
Snap
The beasts reappeared from the piece of paper with several heavy thuds, landing in a neat pile.
Clapping his hans together, he headed back inside, then heard loud shouting growing closer and closer. The front door swung open with a cloud of dust as Asta and Yuno appeared.
"Yes, I won! Hahaha, take that, Yuno!" Asta yelled triumphantly.
"No, I clearly won," Yuno replied with no emotion whatsoever.
They began to bicker before spotting Kenji and marching over to him.
"Kenji, you saw, right? Tell Yuno I clearly won!" Asta demanded.
Yuno followed closely behind, his expression clearly saying tell him I won.
In response, Kenji suddenly smirked. "You both clearly lost."
Asta and Yuno looked at him in confusion.
"I got here a couple of minutes ago, so I clearly won," Kenji continued nonchalantly.
"Hey, that doesn't count! You weren't part of the race!" Asta protested.
"What do you mean? Of course I was. I was just so far ahead you couldn't see me," Kenji replied, walking away with a satisfied grin.
______
At the dinner table, there was a spread of various dishes with potatoes and slices of meat that Kenji had brought in the previous week, and while everyone was eating, Kenji cleared his throat.
"Hey, I gotta tell you guys something."
Everyone looked over expectantly.
"What is it, Kenji?" Father Orsi asked.
"I've decided that I'm going to leave early to head to the Magic Knights exam. I want to do some traveling around the kingdom before I get to the capital."
This caused everyone at the table to quiet down and stare at him.
"Well, that's great," Father Orsi said slowly. "When are you planning on leaving? A month early? That should give you time to sightsee on the way to the capital."
Kenji shook his head. "No, I plan on leaving in the next three days or so."
Everyone was shocked by this announcement.
"What?! You're leaving so soon?!" Asta exclaimed loudly.
"What about our training?" Yuno asked seriously.
Nash and Recca looked sad, while the two youngest children looked around confused.
"Brother's leaving?" they asked timidly, beginning to tear up.
Seeing their reactions, Kenji got up and crouched down in front of them. "Yeah, I'm leaving for a bit, but don't get sad. I won't be gone long, and I'll come visit you whenever I get the chance."
Their lips quivered as tears formed in their eyes. "You promise?"
"Yeah, I pinky promise," Kenji said with a warm smile, holding out both his pinkies to them.
They hesitantly wrapped their small fingers around his. "See? Now I have to come back to visit," he said, causing them to calm down a bit.
Throughout this exchange, Father Orsi remained unusually silent.
"What made you make this decision?" Sister Lily asked gently.
"Well, ever since I got here, I haven't been outside of Hage Village or the villages around us. I want to see what's out there before I become busy with my knight duties," Kenji explained.
Nobody questioned whether he would pass the exam—they all believed he would be the first to represent their village as a Magic Knight.
They went on to discuss his plans, with Kenji talking about visiting different parts of the kingdom, trying new foods, and experiencing different cultures. What he didn't mention was that he believed this would be the best way to develop more mana before the knight exams, giving him a better chance to make an impression during the tests.
After finishing dinner and washing the dishes, everyone began heading to bed.
________
Later that night, when everyone was asleep, Kenji sensed Father Orsi standing outside the church alone. He got up quietly, careful not to wake the others, and headed outside.
When he approached, he saw Father Orsi sitting on a bench, looking up at the stars quietly.
"What are you doing out here this late? Everything okay?" Kenji asked.
Father Orsi turned and gave a small smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. Just taking some time to think."
Kenji approached and sat beside him. They sat in comfortable silence for a while looking out towards the stars before Kenji spoke.
"You were unusually quiet during dinner."
"Yeah, just trying to process everything," Father Orsi replied.
"What's on your mind?" Kenji asked, turning to face him.
Father Orsi sighed deeply. "It just all feels too soon. You're leaving us at the church, and Asta and Yuno will no doubt follow in your footsteps to the capital soon." He paused before continuing. "I mean, I'm proud of you. You've always been the most responsible of the bunch, always talking about going out and living freely, having fun. But I've also watched you grow up, taught you how to ride a broom, watched you slowly grow and give hope and security to the villagers. Seeing you leave now... I'm not sure I'm ready."
A long silence stretched between them before Kenji responded.
"Hahaha, you mean you're not ready to stop having me mess with you in front of the kids, or egg Asta and Yuno on until they end up breaking everything with their competitions?"
They both laughed at this.
"It will certainly be refreshing, but I'm gonna miss it," Father Orsi admitted. Then, turning to Kenji seriously for the first time, he asked, "Are you positive this is what you want? If not, you can always stay here with us."
"Yeah, this is what I want," Kenji replied firmly.
Father Orsi sighed. "Well, at least that will give me peace of mind while you're gone. That, and the fact that I've never seen anything phase you—not even the bandits you kept chasing off even after I told you not to."
This made Kenji laugh. "It's late, old man. We gotta wake up early tomorrow to process the mana beasts. Let's head to bed."
Kenji began walking toward the door, but paused when he heard Father Orsi say, "I think I'll stay out here a little longer. I'll be fine—you head off to bed."
Kenji nodded and began walking away. When he reached the front door, he paused without turning around.
"Hey, old man... I'm glad you found me all those years ago. I couldn't ask for a better place to call home."
With that, he walked inside.
Outside, Father Orsi smiled softly while looking up at the stars. "I'm glad I did too."
____
Author note: There are still a few chapters where I am going to write about his journey to the capital before the knight exam arc begins. So before it starts there is still time to vote on what squad you want Kenji to join, Black Bulls are currently winning. (Voting is at the end of chapter 5)
Thanks for reading hope you enjoyed the chapter.