After three days...
Blue Rose Secret Base...
It's been three days since Ben and the others returned to the Blue Rose base after their last mission in Glabza City.
They haven't been assigned any missions currently, so all three of them have gone to do their things.
This time, Ben was practising his illusion magic and wanted to unlock some new techniques in this area.
The last time there was a little friction between him and Solid Silva, he used the illusion technique of the raven clone, which he tried to imitate from Itachi Uchiha's famous clone technique involving illusion.
He did it for fun when he had free time after his practice sessions, just to pass the time.
But Ben forgot an important thing: its strong versatility and how deadly it can be.
In this world full of magic, different types of magic knights can fight in close-range, long-range, and mid-range combat, and all types of magic exist.
So one needs to be proficient in all three ranges of combat to become powerful and surpass their peers.
When Solid attacked him in Silva's palace—where Ben was invited to Nozel's office to discuss the mission Nozel hired him for—Ben cast his illusion raven clone technique and avoided Solid's attack just in time.
But what Ben failed to understand was that even Nozel was shocked when he saw Ben's body turning into a flock of ravens as the attack landed.
Looking at the pair of brothers who were staring wide-eyed in shock at the spot where Ben had been standing, they didn't notice him at all until he spoke.
Even though one might consider that Nozel couldn't pinpoint Ben's location due to being caught by surprise, the time Ben gained was enough to attack the duo from their blind spot.
When Nozel noticed Ben standing behind him, his expression changed, and he gave a warning to Ben before announcing that his mission of tutoring Noelle was complete, asking him to leave the Silva palace.
Even Ben was shocked when he realized that Nozel couldn't find him—even though it was just for two seconds, it was a big deal.
He caught off guard a captain-level powerhouse with the illusion magic he created in his free time, inspired by Itachi's raven clone technique.
This incident made Ben realize the potential of illusion magic, which could help him create openings when opponents are caught off guard.
Even if it's just for a second, it could greatly affect the outcome of a battle when Ben faces tougher opponents.
So, if he or his friends were to come across criminals or any dangerous individual who has mastered illusion magic, their odds of winning or even surviving would be low—unless they had the power of a captain like Charlotte, Yami, Dorothy, Nozel, etc.
Even though Ben caught Nozel off guard using his illusion magic, he firmly believed it was just a moment of distraction.
Look at Dorothy, who has dream magic and has mastered it.
She might look like a lazy girl who always sleeps, but if there were a battle between captains, she could trap every captain in her dream world.
Until you find a way out, she will be the one in control of everything you experience, feel, see, etc.
She could even read one's deepest desires when she captures them in her dream world.
So, to avoid being caught by an enemy's illusion like an idiot, not even knowing he was already trapped, Ben decided to create a magic spell that would negate or nullify the illusion effect when the enemy casts it.
"Ben! The captain has summoned you."
Peggy entered the training area and looked at Ben, who was in a meditative state.
She called out to him while walking toward him.
"____"
"Me? When did the captain return?"
Hearing that Charlotte had returned and summoned him to her office, Ben asked in confusion.
"Yeah... her mood seemed off... so be careful."
Nodding her head, Peggy came close to Ben and whispered in his ear.
"____"
Even though Ben and Charlotte had decided to hide their relationship for the time being until Ben's status rose to the appropriate level.
Because those damn nobles and the king might cause a big scene when they find out a noble lady of a powerful noble house is dating an orphan from a tiny village of the Forsaken Realm.
Some had already guessed their relationship in the squad, like Peggy, Puli, Sol, and Selena.
Ben believes both Anny and Mary haven't found out about their relationship yet.
Charlotte's Office...
Slam~
Charlotte slammed her desk in anger, gritting her teeth.
"Damn you, Dorothy..."
she cursed, taking the mission reports that had been submitted and started reading them.
Flashback...
Two days before...
When Charlotte came out of the room after giving her report, she saw Dorothy flying on her cloud pillow, coming toward her with a smug look on her face.
"Hey, Charlotte... finally completed your mission, huh?"
Dorothy asked Charlotte with a wide smile.
"____"
"You're awake, huh... Yeah, I completed it and just finished submitting my report to the Wizard King."
Looking at the witch before her—who is usually always sleepy and doesn't pay much attention to her surroundings other than sleeping—chatting with her actively made Charlotte feel odd.
"____"
Suddenly, Charlotte's eyes widened when they landed on the flower crown placed on the hat Dorothy was wearing.
Looking at the green crystals it was made of, Charlotte already guessed it was Ben's crystal.
Noticing Charlotte's gaze on her hat, Dorothy's smirk widened.
"Oh... you noticed too... It was given to me by Ben when I helped him catch that criminal."
Hearing Dorothy's words, Charlotte's face darkened. Noticing this, Dorothy started showing off.
Flashback ends...
Knock... Knock...
"It's me, Ben."
Charlotte heard a knock on the door and a voice coming from outside.
Sigh~
"Come in."
Correcting the documents on her desk, Charlotte gave her permission for Ben to enter the office.
When Ben entered, he noticed only Charlotte was present in the captain's office.
Sigh~
"You're finally back. I missed you."
With a relieved sigh, Ben moved toward Charlotte, who was sitting at her desk, looking at him with narrowed eyes, and hugged her.
"____"
Hmpf~
"To me, it seems like you're enjoying chasing other women."
While pouting, Charlotte pinched Ben's belly in anger.
Ahhh~
"Why did you do that?"
Massaging the sore spot where Charlotte had pinched him, Ben asked her in confusion.
'Did I do something that angered her?'
were the thoughts running through his mind as he looked at Charlotte, who was angry at him.
"Ohh~ you don't know? Giving other women gifts behind your woman's back—is that a normal thing?"
With a dark, oppressive aura around her, Charlotte's tone rose.
Hearing her, Ben stuttered and began having illusions of women wearing Oni masks standing behind Charlotte.
"You mean Dorothy... huh... Let me explain. She pestered me and wanted one, so I gave it to her. Nothing else, I swear on the Wizard King."
Ben hurriedly defended himself, swearing by the Wizard King like a husband denying his wife's claims of him being drunk.
"____"
"____"
"Then what is this?"
After a few seconds of silence, Charlotte took a letter from her desk and handed it to Ben with narrowed eyes.
'Shit! Shit! It's over... She's going to kill me.'
Reading the content of the letter, Ben started to sweat, cursing himself.
The letter stated that House Ruth thanked the Blue Rose Magic Squad for their assistance, but that's not the problem.
The real problem is that it states Lady Valentine Ruth's marriage proposal to Ben at the end of the letter.
"____"
"Why are you quiet? Speak!"
Looking at Ben's face, which had turned dark, his eyes slowly landed on Charlotte, who was fuming with anger.
Gulp~
Ben didn't know how he was going to soothe his girlfriend, who was currently like a volcano, standing before him.
Sigh~
'There's only one way to soothe her.'
With a determined look, Ben hugged Charlotte tightly and started soothing her with sweet words.
After two hours...
"Why do you want to contact Dorothy?"
Hearing Ben suddenly wanting to practice under Dorothy, Charlotte asked with twitching eyes.
"Don't be like that. I want to practice my illusion magic, so I thought of asking her when she was with me in Glabza, but I forgot."
Smooch~
With a kiss on her forehead and a pat on her head, which was resting on his chest while hugging and sitting on his lap.
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(Author's POV)
Thanks for reading the chapter!
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