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The Aqua Deer, one of the Clover Kingdom's nine Magic Knights Squads, was formerly known as the "Gray Deer" when the 28th Magic Emperor Julius served as its Captain. Its current Captain is Rill Boismortier, a 19-year-old boy… "Yo ~ everyone, thanks for waiting!"
A boy with fluffy silver hair excitedly rushed out from inside the arena, his short legs moving like pinwheels, incredibly fast. He first ran to the crimson-haired girl, pursing his lips as he scrutinized her: "Oh ~ I actually picked a female squad member?"
Touching his chin with his index finger, Rill pondered seriously but seemed to have no recollection. Then he casually said, "Never mind, in any case, welcome to the Aqua Deer Squad."
The crimson-haired girl politely curtsied: "My name is Nancy Quidoranna. Please take care of me from now on."
"Please take care of me ~"
"Oh ~ there's a young man here too."
Rill walked over with a cheerful stride. Upon seeing Bai En, he seemed very excited: "Hey, hey, hey ~ young man, what's your name? I remember you, you were the last one to enter the practical assessment."
"Wait! I have a question to ask you. How did you manage to create those water streams with your weapon? There was no magic power, but the color was quite beautiful. Was it paint?"
"Was it formed by mixing azurite and shell powder? What was the ratio?" Rill's large eyes were filled with curiosity and excitement: "Hey, hey, will you tell me? It would look great to paint with that color."
Bai En listened to one question after another, unsure where to start answering.
"Young Master —"
An old man in a suit with meticulously combed hair ran over from a distance. From his attire, he appeared to be a butler.
As he got closer, the old man pulled the excited Rill aside and began his initial introduction: "First, congratulations to both of you for passing the rigorous assessments and joining the Aqua Deer Squad."
"Nice to meet you. Whether you've heard of us or not, allow me to briefly introduce you. This is Young Master Rill Boismortier, the current Captain of the Aqua Deer Squad, and I am his butler — Walter."
As he finished speaking, he nimbly twisted his body and walked over with a dance-like step, magically producing two steaming cups of coffee and handing them to the crimson-haired girl Nancy and Bai En.
"This is celebratory coffee for joining the Aqua Deer Squad. Please enjoy."
Bai En accepted the coffee, introduced himself to the two, then took a sip. A rich aroma with a hint of sweetness spread in his mouth; it tasted quite good.
"Young Master, it's getting late. We should return to the base first. Please begin the remaining matters once we are back at the base."
Rill pouted as he pulled out a palette and paintbrush from his grimoire, which emitted a white light. The paintbrush swept across the palette, outlining a gray circle in the air. An unusual light filled the circle, and under the influence of magic, it seemed to form a special passage.
Walter introduced Rill's magic to the two: "The Young Master's magic can manifest all attributes of magic through painting, even spatial magic is no problem. Through this magic, we can go directly to the Aqua Deer Squad's base."
"Once we reach the base, I will introduce you to the members of the Aqua Deer Squad."
The group stepped into the circle suspended in space, and the scene before their eyes instantly changed.
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The locations of the various Magic Knights Squads' bases are not strictly mandated by the King or the Wizard King; instead, they are freely chosen by the Magic Knights Squad Captains.
The Aqua Deer Squad's base is located at the intersection of the Royal Capital and the Common Realm, on a low mountain bordering a plain that meets a mountain range. To the south is a vast plain, and to the north, beyond the mountains, is the Royal Capital.
Thanks to inheriting the original Gray Deer base, and with the investment and renovations from the Boismortier noble family, the Aqua Deer base looks quite impressive from the outside.
Embodying the style of Captain Rill, the artist, the semi-circular building on the peak of Mount Slor is vibrantly colored, with sky blue and crimson as its main hues.
At the center of the building is a small flower garden. Within the lush garden sits a blue pond with a small deer statue.
From a distance, it looks like a vividly colored oil painting spread across the mountaintop.
Inside the central building of the three-dimensional semi-circular structure, finished colorful paintings hang on the walls. Several boys and girls sit on sofas playing cards, without the fervor and passion of gamblers, seemingly just for entertainment and relaxation.
"Pair of Aces, one card left." Sesk rubbed his reddish-brown hair and lay back on the sofa, "After so many rounds, I'm finally going to win one."
"It's your turn, Fragil."
He sat up, peeled off the papers stuck to his face, and smiled at the deep blue-haired girl opposite him, who wore a fluffy hood. He was already imagining the glorious moment of sticking the first paper on her face.
But then, the appearance of a pair of Jokers left Sesk stunned. He turned to look at his teammate, a curly-haired guy with two flintlock pistols tucked into his waist.
"No, Gu Sen, you don't have a single Joker, and you dared to try and be the dealer earlier?"
"Huh? It's precisely because I don't have big cards that I tried to be the dealer, to get three more cards and try for a comeback! No way, you can't beat this hand? Didn't you say you'd help me win a round?"
"No, can you beat a pair of Jokers?"
Gu Sen Lagedo glanced at his cards again, then shook his head.
Sesk was astonished by his magical idea of trying to beat a pair of Jokers, the highest cards in poker. Looking at the increasingly fewer cards in Fragil's hand, he tried to talk about topics unrelated to cards, hoping to make her play slower, leading to a mistake.
'One single Two left. If I play a single card, I can win.'
"By the way, Captain Rill went to the Magic Knights assessment today, didn't he? I wonder if our squad will get one or two new members. Don't you think so, Fragil?"
Fragil played all her cards directly, an eight-card straight like a scythe, harvesting the game and crushing Sesk's hopes before she began to reply, her delicate, gentle voice like flowing water from a snowy mountain: "New squad members?"
"It depends on Captain Rill's mood, I guess? But it would be nice if there were more girls in the squad."
Gu Sen raised both hands in agreement, not at all bothered by the additional long sticker on his forehead. "I hope a pretty girl comes. That way, I won't feel lonely in the Aqua Deer so often."
"Didn't you just go to a mixer a few days ago? What, did you fail again?" On the other side of the sofa, Francis, with his hair down, was trimming his hair in a mirror. He spoke with a teasing tone.
"How could I fail when I'm involved? I merely rejected her, that's all. I only focus on one person." Gu Sen shamelessly explained the pathetic situation of being dumped after just one meeting.
Sesk seized the opportunity to add insult to injury: "Then why aren't you going on a date with that 'one person' you're focused on, instead of coming here to play boring cards with us?"
"Heh heh… Isn't it because I haven't received this month's salary and I'm bored?"
"Wait ~ have you seen Uncle Jie Kai? By the way, I haven't seen him all day, and there's no mission to go out on?" Gu Sen started to stammer: "He… he wouldn't have gone to prepare food, would he?"
Everyone shivered, thinking of that devilish cuisine, and cold sweat poured down their backs.
Francis, who was cutting his hair, stirred slightly: "Is… Grandpa Walter not here?"
"He went with Captain Rill to the Magic Knights assessment site." Fragil swallowed nervously.
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening echoed.
Everyone jumped up from the sofa with a whoosh.
Rill, who had pushed open the door, looked at their startled expressions and couldn't help but ask, "Eh? What's wrong with you all?"
"Captain Rill?"
Sesk and the others ran towards Rill, saying some overly sweet words: "Captain Rill, you're finally back."
"We missed you so much…"
"Really? Really?" Rill smiled: "Do you want to draw with me?"
The Aqua Deer Squad was known for three things: absolutely never eat Uncle Jie Kai's cooking, absolutely never draw with Captain Rill, and absolutely never go to a mixer with Gu Sen.
Everyone retreated three meters away, their voices icy: "No!"
"Eh?! Why did your expressions suddenly change?" Rill was greatly puzzled.
"I'm making dinner. Does anyone want to eat my cooking?" Just then, the bald middle-aged Uncle Jie Kai walked in from outside, carrying a pot full of food. "Oh ~ isn't that Captain Rill? Would you like to try the dish I prepared?"
Rill backed away until he stood six meters away with everyone else.
"No!"
"Eh? Why are you like this? I went to so much trouble to prepare these!"
Jie Kai saw two more people standing at the door and smiled: "Would you two like to try my cooking? I hope you can give me some suggestions for improvement."
"I've been following the recipe for a long time, it should be very delicious!"
He lifted the lid, and a mixture of burnt and foul smells immediately assailed them. The food in the pot was a messy, black mass, resembling boiled insects.
Jie Kai carried the food towards the crimson-haired Nancy. The girl retreated in shock, again and again.
Bai En suddenly stepped forward, took a spoon, and in the incredulous gaze of Rill and the others, scooped a bit and put it into his mouth.
'Eh, eh, eh! Amazing? Who is this person? He dares to eat that?'
'Is he a new recruit?'
'So scary…'
Even more unexpectedly, Bai En, who had put the food in his mouth, quickly offered advice: "Tomatoes are not recommended to be boiled with potatoes until mushy. If it were for braising beef brisket, it would be almost right… But the meat inside wasn't blanched, so it has a fishy smell, and it was also stir-fried until burnt before being added to the soup. Too much sugar and salt were added."
"It's not recommended for eating."
The calm assessment left the Aqua Deer Squad members stunned in place…