The next morning…
Mist covered the surrounding fields, while Haruka stood firmly in a small clearing behind the hut.
Yu approached her and stopped in front of her, putting his hands in his pockets. Then he said in a serious tone:
"Alright. Let's begin the training. Show me your magic."
Haruka blinked, as if she didn't understand.
"My… magic?"
Yu nodded.
"Yes. Everyone in this world possesses a unique type of magic. A magic they are born with… like a fingerprint.
For example, I… have darkness magic."
He calmly raised his right hand, and suddenly, a small sphere of darkness formed in the palm of his hand, resembling a slowly spinning vortex.
A flying insect approached it, and the moment it touched the edge of the vortex, it was swallowed instantly, leaving no trace behind.
Yu said,
"I can absorb anything into this void… and either release it later, or keep it there forever."
Haruka looked at him with genuine amazement and murmured,
"That's… incredible."
Yu placed his hand on his waist and said,
"Now it's your turn. Show me what you've got."
Haruka hesitated for a moment, then looked at her empty hands and said in a low voice,
"…I don't have magic."
"…Huh?"
"I… I don't know how to use magic. I've never felt anything like that inside me."
Yu fell silent for a few seconds, staring deeply into her eyes. Then he turned his back to her and sat beneath a nearby tree, leaning against its trunk.
He said in a calm yet deadly tone,
"I suspected this from the beginning… I couldn't feel any magical energy within you.
If you don't possess magic… you cannot enter the academy. It's impossible."
"What do you mean by impossible?" she asked.
He replied,
"The entrance exams require the use of magic. If you can't use it, you won't even set foot there."
She said to him,
"Then why don't they accept those who don't use magic? Isn't that completely unfair?"
He answered,
"That's because no one has ever been born without magic before. That itself is impossible."
She replied hesitantly,
"W-What? Wasn't there even a single case?"
He answered,
"Yes, there is."
She said,
"Really? Who?"
He pointed at her and said,
"You. You are the first and only case.
That's why it's impossible for you to enter. The academy never expected someone to be born without magic, and they won't change all the magic-based exams just for you."
She stepped closer to him with hesitant steps and whispered,
"But I still want to enter… even so."
Yu let out a long sigh, then pointed with his finger toward a small meadow of wild grass at the bottom of the hill and said,
"Do you see that field?"
She nodded.
He said sarcastically,
"That land is filled with clover… thousands of them.
If entering the academy without magic is possible, then it's like… finding a four-leaf clover there."
Haruka looked at the field for a moment, then turned back to him with blazing eyes.
"And if I find it… will you train me?"
Yu stared at her silently, then said,
"If you can… then I will."
From that night on, Haruka began waking up every morning and heading out to the fields, patiently searching among the grass for a four-leaf clover.
One day passed, then two, then a week… then two weeks… and Haruka was still searching.
On a rainy day, as dark clouds filled the sky, Yu's father appeared at the door and called out,
"Haruka! It's raining today! You'll catch a cold! Be careful!"
As for Yu, he would sometimes pass by nearby, appearing indifferent, but his eyes would watch her from afar.
One day, his mother noticed that look and smiled as she asked him,
"Are you worried about her? Why don't you help her?"
He shrugged coldly and replied,
"It doesn't matter. She's the one who chose this."
But deep inside, he felt worry he didn't want to admit.
Days passed.
On the twenty-third day, while the rain was pouring from the sky, Haruka went out as usual despite the mud and cold, searching patiently.
As she walked under the rain, her eyes scanning the ground…
Suddenly, her eyes widened.
There it was… a four-leaf clover, hidden among the grass.
She gasped, then shouted at the top of her lungs,
"I found it!!!"
She ran toward it, pulled it from the ground, and raised it toward the sky. Mud covered her clothes, rain streamed down her face, but she didn't care.
Joy flooded her, her heart raced, and tears of happiness mixed with the rain.
She had done it.
Haruka was panting from excitement, her heart pounding as she held the four-leaf clover tightly in her hands. After a long search that lasted for days, she had finally found it.
"I found it! I found it!" she shouted loudly as she ran at full speed toward the house.
She pushed the door open forcefully and ran straight to the corner where Yu usually slept. Entering the room while holding the clover with pure happiness, she said excitedly,
"I found it! Here it is! The four-leaf clover!"
Yu woke up quickly, his eyes still half-closed, but he soon understood what had happened when he saw her standing in front of him, her eyes shining with joy and the clover in her hand.
He said calmly as he lay back down,
"Alright then. Tomorrow, we'll begin the training."
Haruka was glowing with happiness, unable to hide her smile. She replied,
"Thank you, Yu! I'll do my best!"
"Why are you thanking me?" he said.
"You worked hard to find it. All of this is the result of your own efforts."
She replied,
"Even so… thank you."
He then turned to sleep on the other side, where she couldn't see his face—
and he smiled.
To be continued…