The Falling Sister Lily

A smile immediately appeared at the corner of Carl's lips. He then looked at Asta and asked:

"Are you sure this guy really didn't have any gold coins on him?"

A black line immediately seemed to drift across Asta's forehead. He then said rather absentmindedly:

"The only thing he had that looked a little nice was this bag. But even if he had money, how much could there be?"

"With such a small money pouch, even if it were filled with copper coins, it wouldn't be enough to feed the children at Hage Village's church for one meal."

Hearing Asta's words, Carl immediately laughed.

Of course, he was not laughing at Asta's innocence. He was laughing because he had finally struck it rich.

At that moment, he untied the intricately patterned bag, casually opened its mouth, and turned it upside down.

"Clatter—"

Coins spilled onto the ground.

Asta's gaze instantly froze.

What had he just seen?

Asta wanted nothing more than to rub his eyes hard. From the pouch, which had originally been only the size of a palm, poured copper coins, silver coins, and even gold coins. Most terrifying of all, the coins had nearly piled into a small mountain, yet they still continued pouring endlessly from the bag.

Asta's eyes widened into circles.

"What exactly is this bag? Is it a treasure bowl?"

Yuno slowly walked over from afar. He shot a contemptuous glance at Asta, who was still shouting in surprise beside him, as if looking at an idiot, and said:

"It's a magical tool. Can't you tell? It can shrink objects and store them inside."

Asta immediately understood, his eyes sparkling.

"So much money! How many things can we buy with all this?"

In the outer regions, even silver coins were rarely seen. Now that they had suddenly encountered such wealth, not only Asta, but even Yuno could not take his eyes off the pile of gold coins for a while.

But Asta quickly restrained himself, withdrew his gaze, and looked at Carl.

"You took down that bad guy, so his spoils naturally belong to you."

Having trained and hunted in the forest every day according to the law of the jungle, Asta clearly believed that Carl rightfully deserved this money.

Yuno, standing beside him, nodded as well.

However, when he looked at the hollow on his necklace where the Magic Stone Fragment had once been, a trace of heartache still flashed through his eyes.

This mage's necklace had accompanied him for far too long. It could even be said that it had played an extremely important role in nurturing his growth.

Now that it had vanished just like that, it was truly a pity.

Perhaps this necklace also represented his origins.

After hesitating for a long time, Yuno finally took off the necklace and wrapped it around his wrist. After all, wearing a necklace that had lost its magical gemstone looked rather out of place.

And Asta truly possessed a body like that of a wild beast.

Four gaping holes had been pierced through his legs. The battle had only just ended, yet the bleeding had already stopped.

Carl carefully examined Asta's legs and asked curiously:

"How did you do that?"

Asta casually waved his hand.

"Isn't it simple? Back when I chased prey in the forest, I often got scratched."

"As long as I swallowed and chewed up the things inside them that contained magic power, my injuries would naturally heal quickly. After a while, it seemed like I developed this instinct. Whenever I get hurt, I recover really fast."

Carl froze for a moment, then smiled.

This guy truly had no idea how great a secret he had just revealed.

So consuming Magic Beast Cores containing magic power could strengthen certain abilities. Asta was often injured, so after consuming the cores, his recovery ability and physical strength had been stimulated.

That explained why his physical constitution was so strong.

After all, not everyone possessed the Eight Gates and could raise their physical power to such a level.

At that moment, an Anti-Bird flew over to Asta's side.

The way it looked at Asta was incredibly humanlike, as though it were looking at an idiot. Whenever Asta shouted excitedly, the Anti-Bird would even raise its wings to cover its ears.

Yet Asta remained completely unaware. He simply kept asking Carl to teach him techniques for tempering his body and how he could cast magic.

After all, merely having a greatsword still looked too lame.

If he could constantly unleash all kinds of magic like Carl, that would be truly terrifyingly cool.

Under the night sky, the shadows of the three stretched endlessly beneath the starlight.

They also drew closer and closer to Hage Village.

By dawn, Carl had finally arrived at Hage Village with Asta and Yuno.

Watching even ordinary villagers use magic to till the land and plant seeds, Carl could not help feeling a little fortunate. If he had given up on awakening a Grimoire back then, he would probably still have been mocked and treated as an outsider even in a remote place like this outer region.

Just then, Asta shouted:

"Headmaster! Sister Lily! We passed the Magic Tower's test and got Grimoires!"

"Oh, and Yuno got a Four-leaf Grimoire too!"

As soon as he shouted those words, the nearby villagers stopped what they were doing. Everyone's gaze turned toward Yuno, their eyes filled with reverence and admiration.

It really was a world where magic reigned supreme.

Carl could not help sighing at the sight.

It was also at that moment that Asta suddenly leaped high into the air. Looking through the trees toward the orphanage in the distance, he let out a scream:

"Sister Lily, marry me!"

"Even if you won't marry me, you can't do such rough work yourself! What if you fall from the roof?"

Asta's face was full of anxiety.

In the distance, Sister Lily was crouched on the church roof, repairing the tiles.

"Lily! Be careful! Leave it to me!"

As Asta continued shouting, his booming voice nearly made the entire church hum.

Sister Lily on the roof immediately frowned. Even her frown carried a hint of cuteness.

"Asta, enough! If you keep making noise, I really am going to fall."

Asta's eyes immediately lit up.

"Then I'll catch you! As long as I catch you, you'll agree to marry me!"

He spread his arms beneath her and kept shifting his position, as if Lily would fall the very next second.

"Lily, be careful! Don't fall! If you do fall, please make sure you marry me!"

Asta's antics immediately made the surrounding villagers unable to suppress their laughter.

Yuno, standing nearby, looked utterly disgusted, as though he were watching an idiot.

When he looked at Carl, a rare trace of shyness and embarrassment appeared on his face.

This Asta was simply too humiliating for Yuno.

Yuno's face was flushed bright red at that moment. Even the joy of learning wind magic had been washed away.

Carl merely smiled.

Although the village was small, everything felt especially harmonious.

Just then, Lily turned to look at Yuno. When she saw the Four-leaf Grimoire floating beside him, her eyes immediately lit up.

"Yuno, you're amazing!"

Before she could finish speaking, her foot slipped, and Lily instantly fell from the roof.

Asta, however, somewhat unwillingly pulled out his own Grimoire and loudly showed it off.

"What's so great about four leaves? My Grimoire even has a fifth leaf!"

Yet the instant he spoke, Lily had already fallen.

Yuno immediately activated wind magic, wanting to save Lily.

But Carl simply stepped forward, tapped off with the tip of his foot, and instantly leaped into the air, steadily catching Lily and holding her in his arms.

"Miss Sister, are you all right?"