BLACK CLOVER: The Whisperer - Yuno Grinberryall

CHAPTER XVIII. The Mist That Blankets

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It was a long walk to Saussy. Along the way, they got to hear how Magna knew Seyhe, the chief of Saussy Village. He was grinning so brightly that Xierra believed he had happy memories of Saussy, especially Seyhe when he spoke so fondly of him.

"I used to be a bit of a handful when I was a kid," Magna said, laughing loudly. His laughter echoed through the air, filled with energy and vigor. It's no wonder that Asta was glued to the senior, Inari guessed.

Then they paused.

"Used to be"...?

They were silent, sweating at Magna's story.

Noelle and Rhein walked beside each other, giving Magna a blank look. Like you aren't now? they pointed out as they thought to themselves, doubting the senior's words.

Before Magna told his story, the two squads that unexpectedly met were getting along quite nicely, Xierra thought. Asta was ranting about how cool Magna was as a senior to him, and Noelle complained about the tiniest things she could find. It was an amusing experience, to say the least.

But Xierra was somewhat glad to have Noelle around, even though she wasn't the best person she had met. Noelle was kind and caring, in her most roundabout way. They chatted and became friends pretty quickly, mostly from the fact that Xierra adored Noelle's shyness when asking to become friends. Even Rhein was shocked that she took a liking to Noelle.

Asta and Magna often raced ahead, leaving them from time to time and straying from the main path. Inari could only scoff at their energetic nature and snickered. "Youth."

Rhein laughed lightly, walking beside him. "'Youth'? How old are you, Inari? You sounded like an old man." Rhein nudged the fox's side and grinned.

He grinned knowingly, sparing Rhein a glance before replying with closed eyes, "I've lived long enough before you were born, at least."

"I'll... remember that."

"As you should."

The two squads, per se, despite their differences, didn't end up killing each other. But they argued a lot, much to Inari's dismay. He was more than annoyed every time Asta raised his voice at the littlest thing. The fact that almost every conversation they had was on different topics each time, even Rhein pushed himself to enjoy the stories they told.

Magna continued with his story, from when he met "old man" Seyhe to the day he was walking in front of them now. "I got a big head after I got my grimoire and went into Saussy Village with the intent of taking over too." He laughed without a care in the world, caring not for their incredulous looks.

Inari looked shocked for a second before a bead of sweat dripped down. He then heaved a small sigh. Well, I'm not doubting him on this one... He looks like he would do that, yes.

"And then..." Magna told them how he chased the villagers with raging fireballs emitted from his hands as he rode his trusty pal, Crazy Cyclone. No matter how weird of a name he gave it, Xierra and the two royals tried hard not to laugh while Inari just went away to let out his amusement freely into the wild, ignoring Magna's protests. It amazed them to no end how Asta liked the name Magna gave his extra customized broom.

Saussy Village's chief, Seyhe, stopped Magna from doing anything else with his magic. He summoned swords and commanded them to charge at the troublemaker. Magna laughed, telling the part where he charged at a wall in the middle of his escape in between laughter. Crazy Cyclone threw him off of it.

Seyhe's magic swords pinned his clothes, gloves, and pants. They nearly stabbed his head but barely missed. He laughed again, saying that the chief began spanking him on the butt, making his pants fall. The spanks were done with a single flat part of a sword of the chief's magic. Magna calmed his laughter and pat his chest proudly. "... Since then, I've challenged that old man so many times. But then he kept beating me with that steel magic of his. He whooped my ass every time."