Black Clover: Nah I'd Lose

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"Is there a specific reason we are going through the sea to reach the Diamond Kingdom instead of directly entering it through any part of the border?" Ren asked. 

"Well, it's the best way to enter without anybody getting alerted, as we are going for a covert operation. It would be annoying if our identity is exposed and we have everyone trying to find us in a foreign kingdom," Akeru said while shrugging. 

'Though, I do have experience with that. If we get found, we will have considerable forces after us unlike before due to the fact that I pose a Captain-level threat,' Akeru internally chuckled. 

"So, do we have some information from any of our spies in the kingdom, which we can use?" Kaiser asked. 

"We do. That's why we are going to Dustspire first. It's the city where most rogue knights or mercenaries not affiliated with the government gather, which would be a wonderful entry point." 

"Woah, it feels like we are characters in a movie or something," Erza suddenly said. 

"Take it more seriously," Akeru rolled his eyes, though his smile gave away the fact that he himself was feeling a bit excited about the mission. 

'It was really shocking when I first came to know that this world also has movies. Though, I guess, when things like rune arrays do exist, which could act as holograms and other devices, it was kind of obvious. It's mostly limited to nobility and above,' Akeru recalled.

Akeru remembered the incident when he watched a movie for the first time in this world with Leopold and Mimosa. 

'It's been a while since I spent time with Leopold. I guess I should take some time off after this whole mission is done,' Akeru thought while looking at the water. 

Suddenly, a whale tried to destroy the boat from beneath. However, Akeru repelled it with his mana zone. 

He was also moving the boat with his mana zone. 

Due to that, they were moving very quickly, and their journey time would be reduced considerably. 

'Though I am not using my own mana to run this boat, it does take some mental effort to make it go. I guess I will not move it when I am sleeping. The automatic movement array system will be doing the work at that time,' Akeru thought.

Akeru was really happy that despite the boat's size, it had an array system in it, which could be used to move it without any human interference. 

However, one would need to give some input to avoid ending up on a random island in the middle of nowhere. 

"Anyway, we will be using disguises when we reach our destination, which is a coastal city only. So, let's decide on our disguises," Akeru said while taking out various contacts and dyes from his spatial pouch. 

"I would like to be average." 

"My hair won't be harmed by that, right boss?" Kaiser asked while touching his hair with a concerned expression. 

"Don't worry. These are of the highest quality found on the market. Even people like Kirsch Vermillion would have no qualms about using them," Akeru reassured. 

'Though, I don't think he will use them in the first place,' Akeru smirked at that thought. 

"If you say so," Kaiser didn't like Akeru's smile, but he didn't really have any valid point to counter it. 

"Boss, we need to use disguises to not let our real face be seen by anybody, right?" Erza suddenly asked. 

"Yeah," Akeru didn't like the mischievous expression on her face. 

"So, let's say our information was somehow leaked to the enemy. Won't it be advantageous to have a known relationship, which will make us less suspicious?" 

"I guess we will be disguised as mercenaries, though that could be a second layer," Akeru responded. 

"So, how about using similar hair color to denote that we are siblings? I mean, it won't be odd to have four siblings working together as a group, right?" 

"Yeah," Akeru nodded, thinking, 'Why do I have a bad feeling for some reason?' 

"So, we will go with that. I and Captain will have cyan hair. Kaiser would go with blue hair, and Ren would go with green," Erza declared. 

Nobody had any complaints and started applying the dye, with similar color eye contacts. 

"This is water-proof, right?" Erza asked, now donned with cyan-colored hair and iris. 

"Yeah." 

"Hehe, it feels like we are now spies," Erza said with a giggle. 

"Yeah," Akeru agreed.

"Indeed. Though that reminds me of my encounter with a legendary spy three years ago," the blue-haired one on the boat said. 

"Wait, the one which was on the news for a time? You were the one who caught him?" Erza asked with slight shock in her voice. 

"Nah, I wasn't the one who caught him, but he was caught after having a battle with me. So I guess I probably played a significant role," Kaiser said while rubbing his head bashfully. 

"Oh, I have heard about him too before," Akeru said, chiming in the conversation. 

Though Kaiser didn't know if he really had played a major role or not, in truth, due to his battle, Yami was drawn to the commotion, so he was technically the reason Akeru and Yami met at that time. 

"Yeah, tell us about that guy. Also, from which country was he from?" Erza excitedly asked. 

"Well, it was not officially told. I would say that he was probably from the Diamond Kingdom. Anyway, he was mainly using pure mana applications at that time, with one water spell I saw at last. Also, he had a stealth spell or something that prevented me from sensing him at the last moment, which led to my defeat." 

"Pure mana applications?" Erza said while looking at Akeru subconsciously.

"Yeah, that guy's enhancement was really good. Plus, one technique he used was very penetrative in nature, with just pure mana. If he wanted to use his grimoire, I would have probably been defeated by him long ago. Though now that I am at Senior Magic Knight level, I think I would win if we fought again," Kaiser said, appearing confident. 

"It's a shame that I was only 12 back then. I really would have liked to fight him and maybe get some insights into pure mana applications," Akeru said with a tone laced with regret. 

He was doing his best to extinguish the urge to say to Kaiser that the "spy" he fought was in the same boat.

"Yeah. Maybe you could ask the Wizard King to get more information about that guy. Maybe if he is alive, then you would learn much from him, like the Commander said. We do have somebody who can see into other people's memories," Erza said. 

'I feel like something is off,' Erza didn't know why, but she felt that she might uncover something if she asked more. 

"How old did that guy look? What about his height and skin tone? Along with hair?" Erza asked multiple questions one after another. 

"Well, he did look twe-" 

"Though we are travelling currently, I still can help you guys with your mana enhancement training," Akeru said with a smile on his face. 

However, to everybody on the boat, that seemed like a devil's face. 

"Boss, how could we trouble you when you are the one moving the boat?" Erza's face went pale. All the thoughts she was having evaporated like a fish thrown into Fuegoleon's mana zone. 

"Let me help you create a rune array system which will make the boat move at current speed without your interference," Ren, who was silently listening till now, decided that if he didn't speak now, he wouldn't get a chance anymore. 

"I guess it's time to train," Kaiser said with a grimace while already starting on the task. 

Though he was the one who pushed the most among the three, he didn't really like the pain that came with it. 

"You slackers should learn from Kaiser. He is already training. I want strong people by my side," Akeru said while giving a disappointed gaze at the two. 

Akeru's statement put an end to any further argument that could have arisen from the duo. 

With that, they started working, and Akeru healed them from the same position he was on the boat. 

'Well, I am mostly done with my pure mana applications power-up. Now, looking at myself, my overall power hasn't really increased that much. I do feel that I would be stronger without my grimoire or without my mana zone. So, time to grind on that,' Akeru thought with a devious grin. 

Time passed, and soon, the quartet reached Dustspire.

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Diamond Kingdom Map:

IMG

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