Chapter 50: Timeskip For Six Months
Over the past six months, a lot had happened. Noelle had grown quite close to everyone at the church. They treated her like a member of their family, which gave her an unfamiliar yet pleasant feeling. For the first time in her life, she felt like she truly belonged somewhere. She genuinely enjoyed spending time with these people, and she often compared them to her real family.
Whenever she thought about the Silvas, though, she always came to the same conclusion—disappointment. Her own family had never supported her or tried to have an honest conversation with her. All they ever did was ridicule and insult her. Noelle couldn't help but realize that, in just six months with ordinary people, she had learned more about care, friendship, and trust than in her entire life as a Silva.
Thanks to the time she spent near Asta, her fear of her family gradually disappeared. In fact, she started to realize that she wasn't afraid of standing up to them anymore. Just the thought of hitting Solid or Nebra with her magic brought her a nearly childish sense of satisfaction.
Noelle's skills had improved significantly, too. This happened largely because she often followed Asta, who spent most of his time either training or running. Occasionally, she joined his training sessions to keep up. Over time, her body became stronger and more resilient. However, unlike Asta, she preferred to maintain the beauty of her figure and avoided overdeveloping her muscles.
As for her relationship with Asta, it had grown noticeably closer. Yet, there was one small feathered obstacle constantly standing in the way—Secre. The bird always found a way to disrupt their interactions. Sitting on Asta's head, Secre would often spread her wings, as if trying to intimidate Noelle. Over time, though, she seemed to calm down a little.
One day, Asta and Noelle found themselves in a completely unexpected situation. They encountered a man with red hair and blue eyes standing before them… completely naked.
— PERVERT! — screamed Noelle, immediately launching a huge water sphere at the poor man.
As it turned out, the man wasn't a pervert but rather a respectable individual named Fanzell Kruger. After much apologizing and explaining, he managed to join Asta and Noelle's group.
Noticing Asta's remarkable swordsmanship, Fanzell offered to give him a few lessons. Although Asta was already quite skilled, a couple of Fanzell's tips helped him hone his abilities even further.
Not long after, the group was attacked by knights from the Diamond Kingdom. During the skirmish, they gained a new ally—Mariella. From there, the pace of events only quickened.
Armed with a magical wand gifted to her by Asta, Noelle demonstrated her growing prowess in combat. To Fanzell's surprise, he recognized the engraving on the wand—it was crafted by his wife. This discovery prompted the group to head to the town of Kikka, where Asta had purchased the wand on the black market.
Soon, Yuno joined their party. Upon hearing that their journey might bring them into contact with Diamond Kingdom knights, he decided to tag along to gain some combat experience.
And indeed, their expectations were met—they encountered two skilled opponents. However, the combined might of Asta and Yuno was so overwhelming that the battle ended in mere seconds.
When they finally arrived at the black market, Fanzell was reunited with his wife in a heartwarming moment.
The last month before the Magic Knight Entrance Exam passed relatively peacefully. Each of them focused on training and preparation. Noelle was determined to prove that her place in the world didn't depend on her family's opinion.
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Author's Note
Hello, everyone!
First, I want to apologize for the week-long delay. As I mentioned in the first chapter, I planned to start working on a second project after reaching 50 chapters. To my surprise, that project has been such a success that it gained more readers in a week than this story! Because of that, I decided to focus on it for a while.
But now I'm back! I'll do my best to release 10+ chapters this week.
By the way, we've reached 50 chapters! This milestone wouldn't have been possible without you. Honestly, when I started, I thought I'd give up before reaching even 20 chapters. But thanks to your support and my growing passion, I want to keep going.
Wish me luck, and thank you to everyone who continues to support me!