Asta had activated his "Spirit of the Zephyr" and pushed open the metaphorical "door of limits", causing his speed to more than double. No matter how hard Noelle tried, sweat dripping down her cheeks, she couldn't catch up.
"I can't keep up at all! I should just give up!" Noelle thought with a pout, feeling frustration bubble in her chest.
But Asta, noticing her hesitation, turned with that trademark sparkle in his eye. "Noelle! I'm gonna teach you something important right now—never say never!"
"H-Huh?" Noelle blinked, slightly dazed. She hadn't even realized she was showing signs of giving up.
"Listen up! Even if you think you can't do something, you push past your limits! That's what it means to be a Magic Knight of the Clover Kingdom!" Asta grinned, clearly possessed by the spirit of Captain Yami for a moment.
His fiery energy was contagious. Noelle felt her fatigue replaced with a new spark of determination. "Tch… he's so annoying, but why is it working?!"
But in the end, Asta still managed to outpace her. By the time she caught up, he'd already finished digging two full irrigation channels, sweat glistening on his forehead.
"I lost…" Noelle huffed, crossing her arms in reluctant defeat.
"And if you make a bet, you have to follow through!" Asta declared, already skipping over to the knitted sofa he'd dragged out earlier.
Noelle flushed. "Fine, fine! I'll do it! But I've never done this before, okay? Don't expect too much!"
She knelt beside him awkwardly, placing her small hands on Asta's shoulders, trying to recall how he'd demonstrated the massage technique earlier.
"Hahh…" Asta let out a startled gasp. It was his first time being massaged by a girl, and he felt shivers run down his spine.
"Done!" Noelle declared after a moment, arms folding in an annoyed huff. "My hands are sore now…"
"Bring them here," Asta said, reaching out and gently taking her hands. He channeled a gentle surge of Ki, laced with recovery mana, and Noelle's hands immediately began to feel better.
"Wha—! Asta, is that… some kind of recovery magic?" Noelle blinked.
"Not exactly magic," Asta chuckled. "I don't have any mana, remember? But I can still control life force with Ki."
"You really are something…" Noelle murmured.
"Wanna try something even more relaxing?" Asta grinned mischievously. "A foot soak… in a field footbath that challenges the very limits of human comfort!"
"WHAT?! Extreme foot-soaking? Are you trying to cook me alive?!" Noelle shrieked.
But Asta had already taken two large clumps of hardened clay from the nearby riverbank and molded them into makeshift footbaths using only his hands and a touch of mana-enhanced brute force. Then—"Fire Magic: Fireball!" he chanted jokingly, imitating Magna, blasting fire beneath the basins to harden them quickly.
"Are you crazy? You scared me!" Noelle cried, almost slipping when she backed away.
"Relax! Now we just pour water in and light a fire underneath to heat it. I'll move the sofa over—this is gonna be awesome!" Asta said with unshakable confidence.
Noelle eventually gave in, summoning two small water orbs and letting them pour into the footbath. Asta added a few drops of a recovery potion they'd received from Captain Charlotte on their last mission, stirring it carefully.
"There! Now soak your feet. Trust me, it'll feel amazing."
"I… guess I am sore," Noelle muttered, blushing as she slowly slipped off her boots and socks. Asta caught a glimpse of her pale, dainty feet—worn and blistered from intense training.
"It might sting at first," he warned. "But the recovery potion will kick in quickly."
"Stupid Asta…" Noelle whispered, cheeks pink. "Why do you care so much?"
"Because we're teammates," Asta said simply, patting her shoulder.
"…Is it really just that simple?" Noelle asked softly.
"Of course," Asta said with that confident smile of his.
Noelle slowly dipped her feet in. "Ow—owowOW—it burns!"
"Just wait a second. The pain fades fast," Asta reassured her.
And sure enough, moments later the burning gave way to a warm, tingling comfort. The potion started working, numbing the pain and relaxing her sore muscles.
Then…
BOOM.
Dark clouds gathered overhead and thunder rolled through the sky.
"Oh no—it's gonna rain!" Noelle exclaimed.
"Wait! Don't run yet—have you ever soaked your feet in a rainstorm?" Asta said with a twinkle in his eye.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! That's crazy!"
Asta ran off and came back moments later, dragging giant leaves he'd cut from the nearby forest with Yami's katana (which he "borrowed" again without permission). He quickly built a small canopy over them, then lit a fire nearby to keep them warm.
"I call this… the Rainy Day Recovery Spa! Pretty cool, right?" Asta beamed.
Noelle watched as the rain fell outside their leafy shelter, warm fire crackling beside her. The foot soak, the sound of rain, the cozy heat…
"…It is kind of artistic," she admitted.
Meanwhile, Magna and Luck were watching from afar, jaws on the ground.
"Asta's insane," Magna muttered.
"You said it," Luck nodded, eyes wide. "But also… kinda genius?"
After returning Noelle to the base to dry off, Asta ran right back into the rain to continue his training.
Everyone watched as Asta, now shirtless and determined, dragged out a massive boulder, tied it to himself with iron chains, and jumped straight into the rising river.
"COMMANDER! ASTA'S COMMITTING SUICIDE!" Charmy cried out, rolling into Captain Yami's office in a panic.
"Did he tie himself to a rock and jump into water?" Yami asked calmly.
"YES!"
"…He's training his underwater endurance. Again." Yami sighed, dragging a hand down his face as he stared out the window, watching the ripples in the rain.
Even so, a small smirk tugged at the corner of the captain's mouth.
"That crazy kid… is really something else."
"I'm going to teach him a lesson, Grandma! Just you wait — train all you want, but don't think you can act so scary!" Yami said, cracking his knuckles with a smirk as he walked off.
"Captain, are you sure Asta's really training?" Charmy clung to Yami's cloak, looking up with wide eyes.
"Well, I was going to say that. But you'd think differently if you saw Noelle, Vanessa, Magna, and Luck all lounging around on that giant boulder like it was a beach party," Yami said, nose wrinkling with mock annoyance.
"A party? With food?" Charmy's eyes sparkled as mental images of Asta doing hard labor while others feasted on meat and sweets danced in her mind. "That's cruel! He's probably working like a pack mule!"
"They had snacks, drinks, even grilled kebabs. Magna was on fire with those. I joined yesterday for a few rounds of cards. The meat... chef's kiss," Yami said, a nostalgic expression crossing his face.
"I'm going too!" Charmy shouted, bolting away toward the river where the group had turned a massive stone into a makeshift summer resort.
"Ahh... this breeze feels just like surfing!" Vanessa sighed, leaning back into her lounge chair under a beach umbrella. She and Noelle had dragged it there themselves.
"Move faster, Asta! This princess demands to experience the wind and waves!" Noelle shouted from atop the rock, now completely immersed in her spoiled royal persona.
"This girl... her princess complex is in full swing again." Asta grumbled, pouring every ounce of strength into dragging an even bigger boulder. His muscles strained, but his spirit blazed — after all, youth was about pushing limits.
For the next few days, Asta trained like a beast — lifting, running, swinging — until the morning of their departure for the Clover Kingdom's Magic Knights Headquarters.
Breakfast that day was extra hearty, perhaps in honor of Asta and Noelle's upcoming journey.
"Hey Asta, your muscles are insane! When are we gonna spar again?" Luck jabbed at Asta's arm with enthusiasm. "A punch from you could probably blow a hole through me!"
"Uh… I'd rather not," Asta sweatdropped. He wasn't wrong, but still...
"Luck! Don't be weird. Stop trying to pick fights with Asta!" Noelle chided, her cheeks puffing up as she nibbled daintily on whole-wheat toast.
"Ohhh~ is Noelle protecting Asta now?" Luck asked, blinking innocently.
"You—you—you—shut up!" Noelle stammered, her face flaming red.
"Hehehe," Vanessa chuckled behind her glass of wine. Ever since Asta and Noelle joined the Black Bulls, the group had gotten livelier — more like a real, chaotic family.