Oblivion (A Black Clover Story)

Four

As soon as we entered the chamber, my eyes wandered around the room, taking careful notice of who was present. There were members of only four squads, including three of their captains. The one that caught my eye first was the tall and muscular Crimson Lion Kings captain, who seemed to look in our general direction with a very serious expression on his face. Next to him was a younger boy, probably about Asta and Yuno's age, who seemed to be the spitting image of him, yet not. He was more unkempt and had a wild energy radiating from him, even though he stood perfectly still.

Next to them were three more members of the Golden Dawn, but their captain with the mask was not present. And as I looked at the other side of the room to see the captains of the Blue Rose Knights and the Silver Eagles beside their respective members, I found it odd that this renowned guy with the mask was nowhere to be found. For a brief moment, all eyes were on us, violating every visible part of us that could be seen, and it made me very uncomfortable to be on display like that.

Maybe the Wizard King picked up on it, because he began to speak. Then, my eyes wandered to the man that stood next to him. He had blue hair that was fashioned into the most god-awful haircut I could imagine, but his eyes were a deep shade of gold, much similar to my own. It seemed that he was about my age, too. Something about his presence intrigued me. We made eye contact but once, but nothing else came of the interaction.

The events of the decoration ceremony were interesting and educational, but it was nothing that was too exciting. I learned that there were different classes of Magic Knights within each squad, and every year this ceremony was held to acknowledge and recognize those who had earned enough stars to raise their rank. That was how you became a powerful mage and a well-renowned Magic Knight. And unfortunately for me, I hadn't earned a single star yet.

But other than the promotions and the brief words of advice that were offered to them, the entire thing didn't last too terribly long. As soon as the Wizard King dismissed us to the "small reception" he'd had servants prepare for us, he gestured to us as his "special guests." Upon hearing that and gaining many more prying eyes, I immediately turned around and followed the usher who was leading the way, glancing over at Yuno, Klaus and Noelle, hoping they would understand to follow. I'm sure that my message of wanting to get out of there as soon as possible was well-received, because they began to walk alongside me as I left the chamber and the Wizard King behind and pushed any odd thoughts about him to the back of my mind.

I sighed in slight relief as we entered a new room, which was a banquet hall equipped with a few round tables, each with a pristine stark white tablecloth neatly placed on top. Upon each one was an impressive array of different hors d'oeurves, and it almost seemed like way too much for the small amount of people that were gathered here. But, I figured that was just royalty hospitality. In a way it was nice, but at the same time it felt so smotheringly disgusting that it made my skin crawl. On the edge of the room was another neatly set table, this one rectangular in shape and fitted with a buffet-style display of hot foods and drinks. Every few feet stood a servant who was presumably there to serve the guests whatever they desired.

I broke off from my group and found myself standing near a corner of the room, trying to determine what it was I wanted to do while I was here. Did I want to mingle? Stuff my face full of food? Drink a little? ...All of the above?

As I scanned the room for the most intriguing displays of food, my eyes were drawn to a small table of pastries. But at the same time, I was interested in the colorful alcoholic drinks that were available at the end of the main buffet table. Fuck it, I'm gonna do both! I made my way to the pastries first, grabbing the smallest plate available and placing two varieties of something chocolate on it. Everything looked absolutely divine, but I didn't want to seem greedy or a glutton, so I figured everything in moderation would be the perfect amount of tasteful for fitting in with the respective crowd.