Black Clover - By My Side (Asta X Noelle)

Chapter 29: The Royal Knights Exam (Part 11)

[It appeared as though humanity would be destroyed by demons. But a single mage saved them all. He was called the wizard king, and he became a legend.]

Asta POV:

I slowly make my way to my feet. I've been sitting on the floor for far too long. I place my hand on the nearby chair for support, putting all my weight on the chair to help push myself up. Somehow, I found myself sitting on the floor for several minutes, even after Noelle had left. I don't know what caused me to, but it did it anyway. Maybe I expected her to come back after her match, but she was well enough to compete, meaning there'd be no reason to come back. I let out a long sigh. What to do now? I leave the room and make my way to where everyone else is. How long has it even been? Ten? Maybe fifteen minutes? Either way, I'm surprised their match isn't over. Maybe there's some spectacular battle going on, and I've been missing it. 

Getting exciting over my own thoughts, I begin a light jog. If I take any more time, I might miss the fight. Finally, I make my way back to the arena. Everyone has gathered around, mingling amongst each other. It doesn't look like anything spectacular is happening. I walk over to the edge of the wall to get a good look at the battlefield below. After looking thoroughly, I realize that nobody is currently fighting, which can only mean that Noelle and Yuno's match ended, and they're prepping for the next one. Where are they then?

I look into the crowd of magic knights once more, and for a split second, I see Noelle. It looks like she's talking to someone. Before I can question it, I find myself already walking towards her. I wonder why she didn't come to get me? The match probably just ended- that's the only rational reason. 

While dodging and weaving, I make my way through the sea of people, and Noelle right in front of me. Her back is facing me, and it looks like she's talking to Yuno. For some reason, however, this doesn't sit right with me. Then a feeling in my stomach starts to rise, which does not feel pleasant. What is this? Yuno, however, breaks this sensation when we make eye-contact. He then raises his hand and ushers me to come over to them. Hastily, I make my way over. 

"Hey Asta, you feeling alright?" Yuno inquires.

"Haha, definitely," I respond nervously. Truth be told, the feeling in my stomach went away, but I still feel weird for some reason. 

"Asta, did you see our match," Noelle begins, "we ended it almost instantly. It was crazy."

"Really, is that so?" Is all I can muster to say. I guess that means she's been talking to Yuno for a while.

"Yeah, Yuno here is a lot more capable than he looks. I remember back at the dungeon, he was strong, but he's a lot stronger now."

What is this? Why is she praising Yuno of all people? I admit that he's strong, but why is she suddenly acknowledging him. In confusion, I look over to Yuno, but he doesn't say anything. However, judging by his facial expression, he's just as confused as I am. 

"Where's this coming from, Noelle? You're not one to really praise people."

"Huh? You don't get it? What I'm saying is you better watch out in the finals. If you make it, you'll be up against Yuno AND me. Not to mention En, who is cool in his own way."

Oh, that's what this is about. The finals. Suddenly that weirdness that I felt starts to disappear. "I don't know, Noelle. My team is pretty awesome too. That jerk with the cool mask has some pretty impressive magic. Not to mention Mimosa had gotten a lot stronger since when we were at the dungeon."

"I haven't seen much of the Xerx guy, but I'm pretty sure we can manage. Don't even get me started with Mimosa. You know I can take her down easily." Noelle smiles. "Now that the finals are just one match away, I feel myself getting super pumped."

"Me too!" 

"Ahem," Yuno clears his throat. Then, he looks at Noelle. 

The two of them make eye-contact with each other. Noelle's eyes dart between Yuno and me. What is she doing?

"Oh, by the way, Asta," Noelle begins, "Yuno and I were talking, and um." Noelle's face turns a bright red, and she starts fidgeting. "It's been on my mind for a while." Noelle looks down to the ground, "I'd like to meet your family! So when everything here is finished, let's go to Hage together."

For some reason, hearing her say that makes me feel incredibly happy. Not only that, but it gets my heart racing too. "Of course! I'd be happy to go with you!"

"Great, I'm looking forward to it." She smiles. Her face is still slightly red, and she's still fidgeting around. 

I look over to Yuno, who gives a light smile and then turns around to walk off. "I'll see you two later. I'm going to look for Mimosa and Klaus."

"Thanks, Yuno," Noelle shouts.

However, he doesn't say anything back. Instead, he puts one hand in the air as he walks away. 

"What did Yuno do?" I ask.

"Oh um, he's the one who convinced me to ask you. Earlier, we talked about it, and after the match, I wanted to talk to him more about it. I was kind of nervous, but he helped me get over it."

"Oh, so that's why you two were talking to each other?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

Wow, a small part of me feels silly for feeling slightly on edge when I saw the two of them talking. Yuno was just helping her out. 

"We will now start the next match!"

The loud and abrupt announcement catches both me and Noelle off-guard, causing us both to jump. We look at each other and laugh. 

"I wonder who's fighting now?" Noelle asks.

"Let's go see," I grab Noelle's hand and walk near the edge of the wall to look on to the battlefield. "Look way out over there! It's Finral's team! This will be a good one. It looks like he's against his brother too."

"This will be a good match then." Says Noelle.

"Definitely." I hope Finral wins. I'm not very fond of his brother after I met him in Kiten. Finral, I'm rooting for you!

[Chapter 29 end]

{Author's note: Sorry this chapter is late. My weekend was pretty busy."