[One Year Later]
Today, the people of the Clover Kingdom were filled with hope.
Because today was the day of the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony.
The same was true for Hage Village.
Inside the old church, three fifteen-year-old boys sat in front of a cracked mirror, fixing their clothes and hair as if a grimoire might choose its owner based on appearance alone.
The shortest of the three opened his mouth—and immediately shattered the peace.
"YUNO! THEO! JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY GRIMOIRE! THEN I'LL BECOME THE WIZARD KING!"
Theo winced.
Yuno, expressionless as ever, replied calmly,
"Idiot. You need to become a Magic Knight first."
"THEN I'LL BECOME A MAGIC KNIGHT AND THEN THE WIZARD KING!"
Theo finally snapped.
"Shut up, you idiot."
A moment later, a thin veil of mana wrapped around Asta's face.
The shouting stopped.
So did the breathing.
Asta collapsed.
Yuno glanced at the unconscious body.
"You know this won't stop him."
Theo sighed.
"At least there'll be silence for a while."
Yuno nodded and stepped outside.
Theo followed.
[Theo's POV]
My hands were shaking. I tried to ignore it, but the jitters wouldn't stop. Today was the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony.
And unlike everyone else here, I wasn't truly from this world.
My thoughts drifted to the past year.
Tree climbing. Water walking.
Ridiculous ideas from my previous life, but well, they worked.
My mana control had improved dramatically. Enough that I had won the monthly matches for four months straight.
Then Yuno adapted.
That bastard figured out my tricks—slipping him with subtle mana interference, firing compressed mana projectiles all useless as that asshole simply… flew.
He could fly, even without a grimoire.
From then on, every fight was the same.
Me on the ground.
Him in the sky.
Me throwing mana needles like an idiot.
Even after a full year of training, I still couldn't identify my magic attribute.
Nothing.No element.No reaction.No affinity.
Maybe I'd learn once I received my grimoire.
Or maybe—
What if my grimoire had barely any pages?
What if my magic was something useless?
What if my grimoire didn't even have a clover?
The thoughts piled up, one after another. So many what ifs.
I didn't want this life to turn out like my previous one.Back then, I'd lost hope. Drifted. Existed.But here,I had friends.People who cared.And most importantly—hope.
That was why I was afraid.
That was why my hands wouldn't stop shaking.
Yuno had gone to help Sister Lily.
Asta had woken up and immediately gone to propose to her—again.
The other kids played outside, laughing. To them, today was a festival.
Father had gone to collect the weekly rations.
And me?
I had a strange feeling in my chest. Something was going to happen.
I didn't know what. I didn't know why.
But my instincts had been sharper ever since I arrived in this world.
After breakfast and hours of waiting, we finally left for the Grimoire Tower.
It stood just outside Hage Village.
The only tower in the entire Forsaken Realm.
Families from distant villages had gathered, children clinging to their parents, eyes shining with anticipation.
Lucky for us, the tower was close.
As I stared at it, unease crept in.
The structure was Worn out as if no repair work has happened for a century now.
It looked like it should've collapsed decades ago.
And yet, I had feeling that something about it felt absolute.
Like it didn't matter how strong you were—
If you tried anything foolish here, you would regret it.
The sky was clear, but dark clouds lingered on the horizon.I swallowed.
"I hope nothing bad happens."
I wasn't expecting a four-leaf clover.I wasn't hoping for a miracle.A normal three-leaf grimoire would be enough.
And yet, my unease refused to fade.
We entered the tower.
The supervisor stepped forward and recited the same speech he'd likely given for decades.
Then, we were dismissed.Scattered through the tower.
Waiting.