fHi guys, author here!Please share your thoughts in the comments and reviews. And if you like it, don't forget to drop some stones — they're a great motivator!
--------------------
Currently at a harbor in the Clover Kingdom, Sekke and the others who were heading to the Heart Kingdom were waiting for the preparations to be completed.
"I know you said vacation, but I didn't think you'd take things this lightly," said Secre.
Sekke looked at her with a smile, shades covering his eyes. He was in full vacation mode — half-sleeve shirt, shorts, Extase around his neck like a necklace, and his grimoire strapped to his waist.
"It's you guys who'll be training under them. I'm planning to enjoy… though you—" Sekke pointed at Noelle, making the royal flinch.
"—you will be training under me. I'll make sure to grind all the slacking you did in my absence."
Noelle gulped, remembering the time Sekke trained her before being trapped in the Shadow Palace. Compared to that, her current training was pretty lax.
"I-I am royalty! You cannot tal—"
Before she could finish, she was already caught in Sekke's iron claw.
"You will be trained with discipline. I'm not accepting any excuses. Your goal this time—surpass Luck. Am I clear?"
Noelle nodded rapidly, already knowing she was going to suffer.
Soon, the preparations were done, and they all departed for the Heart Kingdom.
--------------------
Sekke sat at the edge of the boat, with Secre in her bird form perched on his head while Anna and Mimosa sat on either side of him.
All of them were chatting, with Sekke listening to what they'd done during his absence and what they had learned in the Heart Kingdom.
He smiled softly. He had become overwhelmingly strong in the other dimension, yes — but one look at his hands being held by the two girls beside him, and the lively chatter going on behind him, reminded Sekke just how lonely that place had truly been.
"Sekke," called Anna.
"Yes?"
"When will we do that again?" Anna asked bluntly, though a faint blush crept up her face.
Mimosa was already a blushing mess, unable to say anything at all.
"…Want to do it tonight?" asked Sekke, glancing at both the ladies and the bird around him.
"Yes," said Anna immediately.
"Hmm," replied Secre in affirmation.
"S-Sure…" muttered Mimosa, gripping Sekke's hand a bit tighter to calm herself down.
Sekke smiled, squeezing her hand back and intertwining their fingers.
Mimosa looked down, embarrassed, but decided to be a little bolder and leaned her head on Sekke's shoulder.
Anna saw this and did the same, while Secre simply looked at the two girls without saying anything.
She had lost in rock-paper-scissors, so she couldn't complain.
The bird form of Secre fluttered down from Sekke's head and settled into his pocket. Even after regaining her human body, this was still the place she felt safest.
Sekke just smiled at the three girls and waited for the Heart Kingdom to appear on the horizon.
--------------------
As the Heart Kingdom grew closer, Sekke and the girls got up from the boat's tip and returned to the deck.
They stretched their bodies, and Secre transformed back into her human form.
The ocean around them began to ripple, and soon beautiful arches made of water formed above them, as if welcoming their arrival.
"What's happening?" asked Mimosa in surprise.
Undine materialized above them and bowed gracefully.
"Greetings, Mana King. We welcome you to our Heart Kingdom."
"Hello, Undine. I see you're going the extra mile," said Sekke, pointing at the water arches.
"It's the least we can do to welcome a distinguished guest such as yourself," replied Undine.
'This one's good,' thought Exodia, feeling competition from the water spirit buttering up his king.
Mimosa and Anna looked at the scene in awe, while Noelle just facepalmed — she knew exactly how they felt.
Soon, they reached the harbor. Asta was about to jump off first but got smacked back by a hand made of water.
"Wha!!!" yelled Asta.
"Mana King, welcome to the Heart Kingdom," said Undine, gesturing for Sekke to disembark.
All of them stopped and looked at Sekke, who smiled and led the way.
Being respected so much, Sekke felt right at home.
Once he stepped down, he saw six people waiting for them — all of them quite strong. Leading them was a woman dressed in overly gaudy clothes.
"Mana King, welcome to the Heart Kingdom. I am Lolopechka, ruler of the Heart Kingdom. I hope your journey was pleasant," she greeted.
Everyone froze in shock. A royal was bowing to Sekke. Even Noelle, Leopold, and Mimosa — royalty from the Clover Kingdom — had never received such treatment.
"Be at ease, Queen Lolopechka. I am Sekke Bronzazza, the Dark Lord. Pleasure meeting you," said Sekke.
Lolopechka straightened with a smile and stepped aside to introduce the Spirit Guardians.
Unfortunately, her foot caught on her dress, and she began to fall—
Only to find herself floating in midair.
"Careful there," said Sekke, flicking his hand casually to lift her back to her feet.
"T-Thank you, and I apologize for showing such an embarrassing scene," said Lolopechka.
"Lolopechka-chan, such a klutz," sighed Undine, coming to her aid.
"No worries. Take care with your steps," said Sekke, glancing around. The place was brimming with mana — not quite as dense as a Strong Magic Region, but close.
"It's a nice place. The mana here feels excited and happy," said Sekke as the mana around him responded with cheerful energy.
Undine smiled — the Heart Kingdom would be blessed even more.
"Mana King—"
"Sekke's fine. It's too much to call me Mana King every time. Dark Lord works too," he said.
That made everyone fall silent. Dark Lord? They didn't dare ask.
"Lord Sekke, these are the Spirit Guardians of the Heart Kingdom," said Lolopechka.
"Greetings, everyone. Take care of me during my stay — and train the hell out of my friends during theirs," said Sekke.
"Greetings, Lord Sekke. I am Gadjah," said the leader, kneeling before him.
"Oi! Sekke! Why is everyone acting so respectfully to you?! What did you do?!" yelled Asta.
Immediately, multiple glares locked on him — Undine and the Guardians looking murderous.
"Relax, Asta's just like that," said Sekke, waving it off.
Undine cleared her throat. "You might not know, since you've been his friends for a while, but Lord Sekke is a being worthy of respect from the entire world. Be more respectful."
"Huh? Why?" asked Asta.
Undine wanted to drown the twerp.
"You know how royalty are the heads of kingdoms?" asked Lolopechka.
Asta and the others nodded.
"Lord Sekke here is a Mana King — the lord of all mana in the world. He's royalty of the highest order. Now do you understand?"
Everyone turned to Sekke.
Sekke simply smirked.
"His will can affect the mana of the world. If he's mistreated, mana itself will rebel against whoever disrespected their king — sometimes even an entire kingdom's mana can rebel," said Gadjah.
"What happens then?" asked Asta.
"Mana will abandon that land. Nature will wither, people will weaken, and future generations will suffer from dwindling mana pools," said Undine.
Everyone gulped.
Sekke sighed and gestured for them to relax. "Don't fret. You're my friends — and fiancées. Just act like usual. Going all formal now would be way more awkward."
"Now then, shall we go? Or are we going to stand here all day?" Sekke said with a grin.
His friends sighed. He was still the same Sekke — just… a much scarier one.
"This way, Lord Sekke. We've arranged a place for you to relax after your journey," said Lolopechka, leading them.
On the way, she kept tripping over her dress, so Sekke made a bronze platform for her to sit on.
"I-I can wa—" she began, trying to save her image.
Unfortunately, that image was already gone in Sekke's eyes.
"Just stay there. It's faster for us and less painful for you. Formality's fine to a point, but too much of it gets annoying," he said.
She tried to protest again, but a single flick from Sekke silenced her.
Noelle winced in sympathy — she knew how much those flicks hurt.
"Lolopechka-chan always finds a way to destroy her image," pouted Undine.
Gadjah sighed. Their queen truly was hopelessly clumsy.
"Don't be hard on her. Everyone has things they can't control," said Sekke.
"Lord Sekke! Thank you for taking my side!" Lolopechka said tearfully.
"Don't spoil her too much, Lord Sekke. Although… a crying Lolopechka-chan is kind of cute," teased Undine.
"Haha, you two have a great dynamic. Much better than Yuno and that fairy," said Sekke.
--------------------
Soon, they reached the royal palace and were led straight to the dining hall.
Asta and Charmy launched themselves toward the food without a thought, much to Undine's annoyance.
"Lord Sekke, let's go," said Lolopechka, getting off the bronze platform — and immediately tripping again.
She braced for impact but found herself floating in midair once more.
"Either you're the clumsiest woman alive, or just incredibly unlucky," muttered Sekke, walking alongside her floating form.
"T-Thank you once again, Lord Sekke."
Sekke nodded and placed her gently in her seat before sitting down himself.
No sooner had he done so than Anna used her magic to appear beside him, taking one seat.
Mimosa's jaw dropped, and she was about to move for the other seat — but Secre, with mana-skin-enhanced speed, claimed it first.
Mimosa froze, glaring.
Anna and Secre exchanged a look, then said in unison:
"Better luck next time."
"Ugh! You two are mean!!" Mimosa pouted before taking the seat directly across from Sekke.
Undine leaned toward Noelle. "What's with those three?"
"They recently got engaged to Sekke. They're… competing or something," replied Noelle.
"Three girls? The Clover Kingdom's future seems secure," muttered Undine.
Noelle thought about saying there was one more, but decided to let it slide.
--------------------
After the meal, those who came to train left, leaving only Sekke, Noelle, Secre, Lolopechka, and Undine.
"I hope you liked our cuisine," said Lolopechka with a smile.
"It was amazing. Everything tasted wonderful," replied Sekke.
"Lord Sekke," called Undine.
"Hm?"
"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of magic do you use? And what stage mage are you — Stage 0 or Arcane?"
"Hmm? What do you mean by stage?" asked Sekke.
Undine then explained what stages were and how they were ranked, Stage 9 being the lowest and Stage 0 being the highest. Though there was a special category of Arcane stage that can break normal norms of rank.
"Hmm? I guess Arcane stage. Since I do use some unconventional and dangerous magic. As for my magic, I can use Bronze Magic, Derivative/Debuff Magic, Sun Spirit Magic, Curses, and some Draconic Magic." replied Sekke.
Lolopechka and Undine blinked — that was way too many types of magic.
Secre puffed her chest with pride and held Sekke's hand.
"On that note, I want to ask something too," said Sekke.
"What is it, Lord Sekke?"
"You all are planning and collaborating with the Clover Kingdom to fight against the devils from the Spade Kingdom, right?" asked Sekke.
"They're devil hosts, to be specific — but yes," said Lolopechka.
He then pointed at her and asked, "Then why is it that I am feeling a demonic magic presence from you? Are you like Asta and can use devil magic too?"
Everyone froze.
Noelle and Secre knew why Sekke sensed that, but it was up to Lolopechka and Undine whether to reveal it.
"Lord Sek—" Undine started, but Lolopechka suddenly stood up and lifted her dress, exposing what was beneath.
"…Blue," Sekke muttered, getting a very clear view.
Secre immediately smacked him.
"Wha—?! Lolopechka-chan, what are you doing?!" Undine yelped, yanking the dress down.
"I was showing him the cur—" Lolopechka stopped mid-sentence as realization hit.
Her face turned crimson.
"Uwaa!! Lord Sekke, I didn't mean—!" she screamed in panic, tripping again and falling forward.
Sekke caught her in his arms.
"You really have a bad luck....though not comparable to mine but still." said Sekke with a smile.
Lolopechka looked up, face burning.
"Another one," muttered Vritra.
"Shut it," Sekke replied.
"To make a woman blush on your first meeting! As expected of my King!!!" exclaimed Exodia.
"You shut up too," Sekke ordered, making the Sun Spirit go quiet.
Lolopechka scrambled out of his arms and ran off.
"Amazing," said Undine. "I've never seen her run without tripping before."
Everyone looked at Sekke.
"Heh. Not that big of a deal for the Dark Lord," Sekke said — only to feel his cheek being pulled by Secre.
"Why do you have to…" she muttered in annoyance.
Sekke looked back, confused.
Sekke looked back at her not knowng what she meant.
"...to do all this unconciously. Such a sinful man." said Secre with a sigh.
"Think about me, Sekke," she said softly.
"I do. I do a lot," Sekke replied.
"Really? What do you think about me?" she asked, leaning closer.
"I can tell you, but my thoughts are very lewd. Do you want to hear?" Sekke asked flatly.
"Yes," replied Secre with a seductive smile.
"…" Sekke fell silent, deciding it might be better to ask for resting quarters now.
'This bird is too lewd,' thought Sekke.