Chapter 15: The Banquet Aftermath and the Journey Back to the Village
After Leo finished giving out the small gifts and collecting everyone's mana, the banquet continued.
At this moment, Magna walked up to him and said, "You said earlier that there's a way to bring us to another world in the future. What method is that?"
Luck came over too, since he had just heard the words strong fighters from another world. With a bright, excited smile on his face, he said, "Yeah! What kind of method can take us to another world? I really want to fight the strong people over there!" As he spoke, faint sparks of lightning danced across his body.
Leo looked helplessly at the battle maniac's expression and said, "The method is to first go to a certain other world, then find a spatial tool that can carry living beings. After that, I'll seal that spatial tool inside my grimoire. Since the grimoire is a part of me, the spatial tool containing people will exist within it. That way, I can carry the grimoire and travel through the dimensions alone, and once I arrive in another world, I can release the people stored inside the spatial tool."
Magna asked, "Do such spatial tools really exist?"
Luck groaned in frustration and said, "Ugh, this is annoying. I can't go there now, but I wanted to fight those strong people from the other world."
Leo said calmly, "Spatial tools like that don't exist in this world, which is why I have to search for them in other worlds."
"So I'll have to keep traveling between worlds," he continued, "until I find one where I can obtain such a spatial tool and also survive to come back alive. After all, some other worlds might be extremely dangerous."
While he was chatting happily with everyone, Leo noticed that Henry's expression seemed a little off.
He turned toward Henry, whose abdomen was still bound by Leo's sealing chains, and asked, "Henry, are you already at your limit?"
Henry replied slowly, "I can hold on… for a while longer."
Leo shook his head. "That 'while longer' doesn't matter anymore. You've already met everyone. There'll be plenty of time later to meet again. For now, you should go back to your room, Henry."
Henry looked at the rest of the Black Bulls before replying softly, "Alright."
Leo turned toward Asta and said, "Asta, carry Henry on your back. You're the only one who can touch him safely right now."
With his mouth still full of meat, Asta mumbled, "Got it." He then swallowed hard, stood up, and carried Henry on his back.
When they returned to Henry's room, Leo released the sealing chains on his body. Even though he was standing outside the room when he released them, he could still feel a powerful suction pulling at his mana.
"Not good, not good," he muttered, then said, "Asta, I'll head back to the banquet first."
From that point onward, Leo's memory became hazy — as if someone had cut it off completely.
The next thing he remembered was waking up in his bed the following morning. His head hurt terribly, a deep ache pulsing behind his temples. When he tried to recall the previous night, a faint scent lingered on his lips — the strong, burning taste of alcohol.
Did I drink? he thought. Impossible.
As a person who prided himself on absolute rationality, Leo never allowed his consciousness to blur. He forced himself to think carefully, trying to recall what had happened last night.
Then, a vivid image flashed through his mind.
Vanessa — holding a bottle of alcohol and forcing it straight down his throat. He remembered the label too — it was that high-proof white liquor he had brought back from the Hunter world.
Leo groaned aloud. That woman nearly killed me with my own drink.
After that, everything went blank.
Leo pressed a hand against his forehead, gritting his teeth. "Damn it… that woman's a menace."
Even so, as he thought back on the chaos of the night — the laughter, the noise, the warmth — he couldn't help but feel a faint smile tug at his lips.
No matter how much trouble they caused, this was his family — the reckless, noisy, utterly unpredictable Black Bulls.
Still, he made a silent vow to himself.
The next time Vanessa offered him a drink, he would never accept it again.
Leo thought to himself, Let me think… what else haven't I done yet?
He checked through the supplies he had brought back from the Hunter world to see what hadn't been distributed yet.
After taking a look, he found there were still a large number of quilts, clothes, iron bed frames, and even toys for children left unused.
"Damn it," Leo muttered under his breath. "It's all Vanessa's fault. I almost forgot about this. Luckily, I'm cautious."
Forcing himself to endure the pounding headache, he went outside to look for Asta.
He said, "Hey, how about going back to Hage Village?"
Asta looked surprised. "Hage Village is more than half a month's journey from here! And we Black Bulls don't even have vacation time!"
Leo said, "We do now. I have spatial magic — it won't take half a month. We can get there in an instant."
Asta's eyes widened. "For real!? That's awesome!"
Leo said, "I brought some things back from another dimension. I'm planning to take them to Father and the others."
As he spoke, he and Asta made their way to the main hall, where they ran into Vanessa. Leo thought for a moment, then decided she couldn't be trusted for this kind of thing. So, he went to the dining hall and found Charmy.
He said, "Charmy, we're going out for a short trip. We'll be back around noon. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Charmy thought for a moment, then handed them two communication magic tools.
But after thinking again, she realized Asta didn't have any mana at all, so she only gave Leo one.
"This communication tool just needs mana to activate," she said. "You can use it to talk to the matching device here in the base. That way, there won't be any problem."
Leo nodded. "Got it, thanks, Charmy."
He then opened his grimoire to the page containing the spatial magic. In front of him, a shimmering space portal appeared.
Passing through it, they arrived near the giant demon skull in Hage Village.
Leo froze for a second, staring at the massive skull. "What the…? I was supposed to arrive right at the church! Damn it — it must've been Vanessa's fault. She forced that liquor down my throat last night and messed up my focus. The coordinates must've shifted."
He said out loud, "I got screwed over by Vanessa again."
Asta scratched his head. "So, what do we do now?"
Leo sighed. "With my current hangover and headache, if I use spatial teleportation again, who knows where we'll end up? Honestly, being dropped near Hage Village at all is already good luck. We'll walk there instead. Once I sober up a bit, I'll open another portal to take us back to the Black Bulls' base."
He tried to keep walking but nearly stumbled.
Leo muttered weakly, "Asta, let me give you a piece of advice — when Vanessa's drinking, stay as far away from her as possible. She nearly killed me last night. Anyway… from here on, you're carrying me."
Before he could say more, Leo suddenly threw up, then wiped his mouth and slumped against Asta's back. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go."
Asta sighed and started walking, carrying Leo on his back.
After about ten minutes, they finally reached the church in Hage Village. The reason it took ten minutes was simple — Asta was carrying nearly 200 kilograms of training weights, plus Leo himself, adding up to around 260 kilograms in total.
When they reached the church, Leo's mind had cleared a bit. "Not bad, Asta," he said faintly.
The moment the children at the church spotted them, they shouted excitedly and ran inside, calling for Father and Sister Lily.
Father came rushing out with tears in his eyes, embracing both Asta and the half-conscious Leo on his back. "You're back! You're both back! Thank the heavens!"
Sister Lily looked at Leo, concern written all over her face. "Leo, what happened to you? You look terrible."
Asta replied honestly, "Leo drank too much."
They all entered the church and sat down together.
Father sighed deeply. "To be honest, it's no surprise that Yuno and Leo became Magic Knights — that was expected. But for Asta to also make it in… honestly, I still can't believe it."
Asta puffed up proudly. "What do you mean, can't believe it? I'm a full-fledged Magic Knight now, you know!"
Leo said, "We came back mainly to bring some things for everyone. We can't stay long, though. Technically, we're still on duty, just sneaking out for a bit. Once I sober up, we'll head back."
Father frowned and started lecturing. "You little brat — drinking at your age! Do you know how bad that is for your body? Judging by your state, you must've had plenty."
Leo groaned. "It's not like I wanted to drink. One of the older members of our squad — a woman — got drunk and forced a bottle straight down my throat. I almost died from it."
Father blinked, shocked. "You have that kind of teammate?"
Leo sighed. "We've got all kinds of people in our squad, Father. You should just ask Asta about it — my head still hurts."
=================================================================
Hey readers! Want to jump far ahead in the story? The moment you join our Patreon, you'll instantly unlock 30 advanced chapters — giving you a huge head start beyond the public releases.
And it doesn't stop there. Every month, you'll also get 60 brand-new chapters, released steadily at 14 per week, so there's always fresh content waiting for you.
Plus, there are even more fics updated at the same reliable pace, ready to explore. Come join now and keep the adventure flowing without pause!
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/JoyceCruize