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Marx was quick to call the Magic Emperor when he noticed that Areum was not in her room.
He was afraid that something might have happened to her.
Using his transmission magic, he contacted the Magic Emperor, who thankfully answered.
"Yes, Marx?" Julius answered, holding Asta in his right hand, whom he had just saved.
"Where are you?! The royal capital is in a mess," Marx hissed.
Julius chuckled. "I am sure the Magic Knights handled the situation there pretty well, right?"
"Yes, they did. However, your daughter, Areum, is missing. She's not in her bed or even in the library." That's when Julius's smile faded.
"What?" Julius wasted no time and used magic to travel as fast as he could to the royal capital.
While he was worried about the well-being of the kingdom, he knew the Magic Knights were there to protect it. But as a father, it was his responsibility to find his child.
It didn't take Julius long to reach the royal capital, where captains were gathering. When Noelle and Klaus saw Asta in the Magic Emperor's arms, their worries washed away.
' Thank God he's alright.'
Meanwhile, Areum, whom they thought was missing, was casually reading a book while riding her magic carpet.
Despite noticing the chaos in the royal capital, she was too sleepy to process the information, with only the words from the book occupying her mind.
Asta, now down in the Magic Emperor's arms, accidentally looked up and saw a familiar figure flying towards them.
Upon overhearing the conversation between the Magic Emperor and the mushroom-headed guy regarding Areum's sudden disappearance, he wondered if the person they were looking for was the individual flying above using a magic carpet.
"Um, sorry to butt in, but isn't that Areum?" he asked, unsure.
This caught the attention of the Magic Knights, who looked up and were greeted by the girl who was supposed to have passed by them already.
Julius chuckled when he saw his daughter.
Marx, on the other hand, was irked to see Areum and realized he had been worried for nothing.
Using his transmission magic, he called her.
Areum, still reading a book, looked up when Marx called her.
She yawned and answered, "Hello, Marx ni-san. What do you want?"
Seeing his annoyance, she creased her brow, wondering what she had done wrong.
"Do you know the condition of the royal capital right now?" Marx asked, his dark aura surrounding him.
Areum blinked in response.
"I suppose, yeah?"
"THEN WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE NOTHING'S HAPPENED? GET DOWN HERE, WE'RE WAITING BELOW."
Marx's shouting made Areum flinch.
She couldn't argue back since it was usually her fault when he scolded her.
After the transmission ended, Areum looked down and saw the Magic Knights gathering, including her father.
She flew down, yawning once again.
The Magic Knights, unaware of her magic carpet, were in awe of her it's flying ability.
"Um, why am I being summoned here? I was about to head out to my room and get a proper sleep," Areum said, walking forward and giving her papa a kiss on his cheek.
It was not a normal sight for captains, but for some, it was shocking.
"Where were you?" Marx ni-san asked, a dark aura surrounding him, which made Areum flinch.
"I was at the newly opened library, reading books, and then I accidentally fell asleep. I just woke up," she answered sheepishly.
Marx massaged his temples, certain that the girl had truly not noticed the events unfolding around her. With her focus on books and sleep, she was the epitome of being unbothered.
"I can't really believe you, Areum," Charlotte, who was listening, shook her head.
Areum pouted.
"I don't have mana sensing abilities or whatever to sense the magic around me, so it feels like a normal day to me," she defended herself.
"I am amazed at how you manage to ignore the physical effects of the fight," Nozel spoke.
Areum looked at him, still pouting.
"Um, I guess I'm just a lucky pal," she shrugged.
Both of the captains just shook their heads.
They had gotten used to her since day one, so actions like that were completely normal.
After being scolded by Marx ni-san, Areum then went to chat with Mimosa-chan and Noelle-chan.
"Hey! Have you seen Yuno-san?" she asked them, expressing her desire to see the boy.
Both of them shook their heads, which made Areum pout.
"Aww, that's sad, but thank you!" she said before deciding to pester Asta instead.
"Hey, Asta! Are you okay? I'm glad you're not hurt!" she said enthusiastically, smiling.
Asta flexed his muscles, making her giggle.
"I'm perfectly fine, Areum! Don't worry."
Areum found it odd when someone addressed her without formality, but she felt comfortable with Asta.
There was no romantic attachment, just a sense of ease between them.
"Wow, you have great muscles. How long have you been training?" she asked, touching Asta's muscles.
Stars formed in Asta's eyes as he flexed his muscles, piquing Areum's interest.
"Since I have no magic and lack brains, not like you, I had to focus on building my physical strength, and it really paid off!" Asta proudly exclaimed.
"Not you literally insulting yourself. That's hilarious," Areum chuckled, finding his self-deprecating humor amusing.
Noelle, watching, felt a twinge of frustration.
'Why is she casually touching his muscles?! Not that I care though—ARG, SUCH A BAKASTA!'
Areum suddenly sneezed, feeling a shiver down her spine.
"Jeez, someone's talking about me," Areum sniffed.
Asta was confused by Areum's reaction. However, he suddenly remembered the magic carpet Areum used to fly earlier. It was not unknown to him that you can only use a magic carpet if you also have magic.
"I was really amazed by that carpet! How did you make that happen? It was so amazing!" Asta expressed, stars appearing in his eyes.
Areum giggled once more, genuinely happy and amused.
"I know, right?! I used the mana from the surroundings to make it happen! I had a hard time modifying it, though, since it's a pain in the ass to create a mana sucker device that can actually produce energy," she explained.
Asta, being a bit clueless, couldn't fully grasp what she said.
"I can't understand it, but it seems so cool!"
Areum chuckled, almost seeing smoke coming out of Asta's head.
Areum and Asta continued talking enthusiastically, like two 5-year-olds sharing their excitement.
As Areum and Asta chatted like excited children, Julius couldn't be happier seeing his child making friends. As her adoptive father, he was well aware of Areum's struggles when it came to making friends.
Marx couldn't help but smile as he watched the other Magic Knights her age join in the conversation. Seeing Areum smile more made his heart soften.
'Our girl is growing.'
Both Marx and Julius thought at the same time.
———☄️☘️———
author notes:
sorry for the super late update 🤺. i was enjoying myself, watching reincarnated as a slime—the voices in my head keep making scenarios with benimaru (was thinking writing a fanfiction about it but i will later decide about that matter after i finished this ☘️)
