Taking him on his words, Wilhelm and co. followed behind Julius who stood in front of a gate and said with a meaningful gaze, "On the other side of this gate are people who have served this Kingdom faithfully are the people who you aspire to be like.
These people have done one thing to stand here.
Earn merit."
Saying this, he pushed the door open without waiting for his words to set in, and on the other side of the door was a large spacious room that was well lit and had a good ventilation system. A large red carpet led inside the door, with Magic Knights standing on the other side their gaze falling on Julius who walked with a confidence that he had developed over the years due to his merit.
'Well well, we have quite the crowd here.
On the right side, we have Hamon Caseus, a fellow user of Glass Magic, Siren Tium, user of Stone Magic, Alecdora Sandler, and user of Sand Magic all from Golden Dawn.
Continuing them are Fuegoleon Vermillion, the Captain of Crimson Lion, and his younger brother Leopold Vermillion, also in Crimson Lion both of which are also fellow users of Fire Magic.
Then switching to the left side, we have Charlotte Roselei, the Captain of Blue Rose, and Sol Marron from Blue Rose, the former of whom has Briar Magic while the latter has Earth Magic.
Continuing from her, we have the sh*t heads.
Nebra Silva, the user of Mist Magic, Nozel Silva, Captain of Silver Eagle, the user of Mercury Magic, and Solid Silva, the user of Water Magic, all of whom are from Silver Eagle to no one's surprise.'
Wilhelm scrutinized everyone at a glance, and so did everyone in the group other than Asta who looked like a child in a chocolate factory other than Noelle who felt uncomfortable under the gazes of her siblings, especially Solid who was boring holes in her head and Nebra who looked at her like an insect. The best of them was Nozel who looked at her as if she was nothing.
Seeing Noelle shrinking under their gaze, Wilhelm stepped forward and tried to increase his posture, hiding her behind him. A gesture that did not go unnoticed by the trained eyes of the experienced people here , who looked at him and then at Noelle who was walking with her head down, for a different reason if the red on her cheeks were anything to go by.
Without saying anything, Wizard King walked forward and then both Klaus and Wilhelm shared a meaningful gaze.
'You go on right, I will go to the left.'
Realizing his reason to keep Noelle directly out of sight of her siblings, Klaus nodded without a single thought walked to the right, and stood beside Leopold, and seeing him move, Yuno and Mimosa unconsciously followed him.
Similarly, Asta and Noelle stood beside Wilhelm.
This action caused Wilhelm to bear the brunt of the glare from Solid. But Wilhelm ignored his glare which caused Solid's fist to tighten.
In this brief duration, Julis got on an elevated platform, turned to look at the people present, and started to address them.
"Now, then... let us begin the decoration ceremony. Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom are given ranks to indicate their level of ability.
Wizard King
Grand Magic Knight
Senior Magic Knight, First~Fifth Class
Intermediate Magic Knight, First~Fifth Class
Junior Magic Knight, First Class
Junior Magic Knight, Second Class
Junior Magic Knight, Third Class
Junior Magic Knight, Fourth Class
Junior Magic Knight, Fifth Class
The ranks are further divided into sub-ranks, with the Wizard King at the top. If knights are awarded a prescribed number of stars in the time before the annual decoration ceremony, they are given a new rank by the Wizard King.
Now, I am going to call your name, in response you will walk up to here, receive your medal and your new rank."
Julis said as he explained rankings and the procedure of the ceremony for the sake of professionalism, Marx stepped beside him carrying a very small box meant to store something the size of a wristwatch with a medal on it.
Then he began.
"With seven stars earned, Leopold Vermillion of the Crimson Lion Kings, I grant you the title of Intermediate Magic Knight, Second Class. Step forward."
Leopold walked forward with prideful steps and stood in front of Julius with his hand held back. Something that everyone that is getting awarded is going to do.
"You use the same flame magic as your older brother, the Captain of the Crimson Lion Kings. Your power is overwhelming.
Make sure you don't go overboard.
Member of the Crimson Lion Kings, Leopold Vermillion."
"Evil needs no mercy." Leopold retorted in a way that seemed to be good from his perspective.
His perspective.
'Pfft, evil needs no mercy. Now what else is he going to say?
'My butt needs no paper.'' Wilhelm thought with a straight face.
"With six stars earned, Sol Marron of the Blue Rose Knights, I grant you the title of Intermediate Magic Knight, Third Class.
You're as dynamic as the men, and your creative earth magic is amazing. But you might be a bit too much of a free spirit.
Member of the Blue Rose Knights, Sol Marron."
"The only one who can tie me down is my sis, the captain."
'But it seems even she cannot tie down your knicker's button.
If had not met her here I would have thought that she is a hooker cosplaying as a member of Blue Rose.'
"With six stars earned, Solid Silva of the Silver Eagles, I grant you the title of Intermediate Magic Knight, Third Class. The maneuverability of
your magic is amazing, Member of the Silver Eagles, Solid Silva.
But I think you'd be even more amazing if you stopped showing off your powers and cooperated with others."
"I'll keep that in mind, sir."
'My, what an advanced toilet brush. He even has a feature to remember things. What a world we live in.'
Wilhelm thought as he looked at Solid like a peasant who bristled under his gaze and looked at him in confusion at the same time because he was used to throwing this look at others, not receiving it.
"With nine stars earned, Nebra Silva of the Silver Eagles, I grant you the title of Senior Magic Knight, Fifth Class. The skillful illusions you create with your mist magic are splendid, Member of the Silver Eagles, Nebra Silva. Just make sure you don't play with the enemy more than necessary, or you might get bitten."
"I thank you for the warning."
'Please, I can wash her illusion by pissing on it.'
"With seven stars earned, Hamon Caseus of the Golden Dawn, I grant you the title of Intermediate Magic Knight, Second Class. Just by looking at you, the enemy would never expect your glass magic, Member of the Golden Dawn Hamon Caseus and I bet they're completely boggled."
"I thank you, Your Majesty."
'I cannot comment on our direct' use of glass magic, but I am better in auxiliary use of it for creating fake pictures by diffracting, dispersing, reflecting, and refracting light.'
Wilhelm gave an honest comment against his opponent without any snark.
"With eight stars earned, Siren Tium of the Golden Dawn, I grant you the title of Intermediate Magic Knight, First Class.
Unlike your eloquent magic, you're a very quiet fellow, Member of the Golden Dawn, Siren Tium.
So you'd be better off if you spoke your mind more."
"Understood."
'He looks like if someone were to tell him his wife cheated on him, his response would be 'Hmmm…'.'
"With eleven stars earned, Alecdora Sandler of the Golden Dawn, I grant you the title of Senior Magic Knight, Second Class.
You amaze me with your diligence and flexible magic.
Member of the Golden Dawn, Alecdora Sandler
You can probably relax a little more once in a while."
"I am honored, Your Majesty."
'Now Julius is just glazing him.'
As he finished giving away rewards, Julius continued to address the people present in the Decoration Ceremony.
"With this said, the Golden Dawn has earned a total of 71 stars. They are the clear leaders. I hope the rest of the squads do their best to not fall behind. Well done, all of you.
Now then, there's a simple reception set up for you, so go enjoy yourselves."
Julius said as he added like he just remembered, "Oh, I almost forgot. I've invited some special guests today.
Make sure you get to know each other well. Hahahaha…"
Julius ended with a good-natured laugh when Marx walked up to him and whispered something that changed his facial expression to neutral.
After this, he turned to the curious eyes of the people in the room and said, "Something came up. Excuse me, but I have to go. Please enjoy yourself."
Saying this, he walked away.
'Did he just leave us to the wolves?' Klaus communicated with his eyes.
'Yes, he did.' Wilhelm replied in the same manner.
'What are you talking about?' Mimosa tried to communicate in the same way.
'What happened to Mimosa? What is she doing with her eyes?' Wilhelm asked Klaus.
'I…don't know. Maybe something got in her eyes.'
'Don't leave me out of the conversation.'
'That must be it.' Wilhelm agreed.
As they communicated with the look of their eyes, everyone present in the room was waiting for someone to make the first move, which seeing that no one was willing to do, Fuegoleon did.
Without saying a word, he broke from the line and his brother followed behind. Then, every group started to move. The three members of Golden Dawn that were present here before moved together giving a look at Klaus who started to walk toward with his team.
"Let's go Sol."
"Yes, Charlotte."
"Call me captain, Sol."
"Got it Charlotte."
With a small exchange of words, members of Blue Rose too left the line. The last to move was from Silver Eagle, among whose ranks, Solid brushed his shoulder against Wilhelm's, who dodged it with a slight movement, making him click his tongue in frustration.
Klaus when reached them, said in a low tone, "Let's go to a corner."
"Okay, I will come after eating!"
"Asta, wait-"
"Don't. Just pretend you don't know him. I do that too."
Wilhelm said grabbing Klaus' hand that was reaching to stop Asta who ran away at the speed of light to attack food, surprising members of Golden Rose who did not sense him coming at all.
Noticing the dead look on Wilhelm's face, Klaus took the advice and the group moved on without Asta.
"Hahaha, it seems Asta is really a handful." Mimosa said with a small chuckle.
"You don't know a thing." Yuno, Noelle, and Wilhelm said at the same time. At this, Wilhelm looked at Yuno with a look of realization, "Oh, you were with Asta since young age." but then his tone fell, "Oh…you were 'with Asta' since young age."
"You get used to it."
'Yuno spoke.'
Both Klaus and Mimosa thought in surprise as they stood in the corner, watching all over.
"These gazes do not make enjoying a possibility." Klaus commented as they saw that people were still giving them subtle glances. While the ones that bore the most were from Alecdora and Silver Eagle. Crimson brother duo and Blue Rose duo were looking at them with a curious gaze.
"Ignore it. Be like Asta."
"TISH IS SHOO GOOD!!!"
"Just a bit like Asta. A very small bit." Wilhelm ended as he looked at Yuno and Klaus who broke away from the group before muttering to Noelle, "If those douche of a sibling of yours give you any trouble, feel free to reach out to me."
'Aww…Wilhelm.'
"I will fill in the gap that your parent left."
(-_-)
Saying this, Klaus, Yuno, and Wilhelm too started to join in the celebration and took something to eat and were a slight later followed by Mimosa and Noelle, the former of whom had decided to join in to make sure Noelle's terrible siblings don't disturb her.
Noelle actually turns out to be a baby who is adored by everyone on her team and her friends.
As this went on, everything seemed to go on nicely. Asta was gorging himself on food making everyone uncomfortable. Wilhelm, Yuno, and Klaus had their back turned to him and pretended that they did not know him at the moment.
Noelle and Mimosa were talking and taking bites, but when it all seemed to be going well, something was bound to screw up.
"Ummhmm…this is the best food I have ever eaten."
"Seriously, why did Wizard King allow these filthy peasants to be here." Alecdora commented at Asta who was eating his fill.
"Capturing the dungeon by them must have been mere fluke." Nebra said with a scrunched-up face.
"The way he eats is absolutely disgusting." Humpty Dumpty said with an annoying laugh that a crack addict made after sniffing the finger that he shoved in his arse hole.
But Asta like a champ did not pay it any mind and continued to eat.
Instead of him, someone else took a jab.
"Hmm…if I seem to remember correctly, you too happen to have a commoner in your ranks, who is the owner of a 4-leaf grimoire.
He did a good job, but I could have done better." Leopold said to Alecdora, who with a huff said, "Well, you are not wrong, even if he is a member of our squad he is a peasant. He is bound to do a shabby work."
At this, Klaus said, "With all due respe-"
"And you Klaus, you are not any better. How come a person with your lack of skill dare to join us here?"
"And Mimosa, I heard that just when the main fight began, you hurt yourself and became useless. How much do you want to drag the name of the Vermillion family down to dust?"
'Pfft. This is fun.'
Wilhelm laughed internally as he enjoyed when chaos brewed around him. And to make it better, he had something to eat to enjoy it.
But then something happened that poured water on his joy.
"Heh, we all know who is the most useless one, don't you Noelle?" Solid said. Poring water on Noelle.
"Why…?" Noelle muttered.
'This is not fun.'
"It's something we should be asking you. What are you doing here Noelle? A disgrace to our Silva family who can't even control magic." Nebra added with an expression of ridicule.
'This is not fun at all.'
Noelle's eyes unconsciously drifted to Nozel who put the nail on the coffin.
"You got a big head from a single achievement that you contributed nothing to and leached onto to the efforts of your equally filthy allies."
'…'
"So Noelle why don-"
*BAM*
*PHWCCK*
"…"
Everybody went silent and looked at the scene in shock, whether it be the captain of Blue Rose, Leopold, or even Asta who was standing at the table where the food was with two swords in his arms.
All of them looked at Wilhelm who suddenly appeared from thin air, and punched Solid in his face with his arm covered in a mineral gauntlet, breaking his teeth, drawing blood from his mouth, and knocking him out cold onto the hard floor.
"So-solid…" Noelle was the first who managed to utter and snapped everyone to reality and looked at Wilhelm who was standing in front of Noelle. Then she snapped her gaze to Wilhelm's back who looked.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" Nebra shrieked at the top of her lungs, projecting the anger that all noble except for a few felt rising in them.
"Doing what your mother would have done if she was alive.
Teaching you manners." Wilhelm replied with a straight face that made everyone who heard it wince at it. Some even forgot to take a breath, and then Nozel looked as if he had heard something wrong.
'What did he say?'
While Nebra on the other hand "…You dare." attacked Wilhelm.
"Mist Binding Magic: Mist Spider's Thre-"
*THUD*
But suddenly Wilhelm's eyes shone and she crashed on the floor face first.
'What happe-' Nozel thought as he was about to lift his grimoire when suddenly his eyes met Wilhelm's and…he blacked out.
*THUD*
"Huh, it is kind of disappointing that all it took to defeat a Magic Knight Captain was a look." Wilhelm said it out loud in a tone as if to bait others to respond to it, but they were far too surprised, something that has happened way too much in this short time.
'What did he do? This is just like what he did Magic Knights Selection too.' Fuegoleon thought with his eyes fixed on Nozel, but he did not act violently as he could see that all of them were visibly breathing. Also, never will Wilhelm in his right mind hurt a Magic Knight Captain, much less kill him if he does not want to commit a social suicide.
But to others, it did not mean that they would let Wilhelm get away with this scott-free, and just as the members of Golden Dawn were about to act…
*BOOOOM*
*BANG*
With a bang, the door opened and a magic guard came with a frantic look and was about to say something, but seeing the captain of Silver Eagle on the ground, his words died in his mouth for a second.
"What happened?" Fuegoleon asked him when he observed that the man's worried look coupled with the sound of explosion did not spell anything good.
"The capital-THE CAPITAL IS UNDER ATTACK!!!"
***
A/N:- This chapter is heavily based on original episode 20, so I apologize for it because I could not think of a way to replace it. Again, very sorry.
Please leave Power Stones.