Snow fell from the sky, covering the lone mountain and the surrounding forest that made up the region of Panjura in a soft white blanket. A blanket that would soon be disturbed as a beast with an arrow stuck in its side burst through a bush, recklessly slamming into every tree it ran past. The beast was reminiscent of a jaguar with a bushy squirrel-like tail and four bull-like horns protruding from its head.

"I thought you said you had it?" Ciel's always happy-sounding voice said as he jumped between the tree branches.

"Don't you dare start with that, Ciel! We were meant to be gathering firewood, a simple and quick job! But no, you were so insistent that we go hunting in the winter! My hands won't stop shaking from the goddamn cold!" Ryuji's more irritated voice shouted as an arrow shot past the beast, grazing its side.

A moment of silence went by as both boys chased the beast through the tree branches, Ciel much more effortlessly than Ryuji.

"...It's not that cold." Ciel silently muttered.

"I will hunt you instead!" Ryuji's voice shouted out.

"Want to try?" Ciel said with a smile on his face.

Ryuji couldn't tell if Ciel was serious. "I'm good for now." Ryuji groaned. "Can we just hurry up and finish this hunt? I want to get back inside where it's warm."

"Kay!" Ciel's jumping got faster as he easily outsped the beast from the trees and jumped to the ground, landing in front of it.

Ciel was now clearly a teenager, fifteen years old to be exact. His reddish brown hair was not only longer, ending at his knees, but was also held in a tighter ponytail fashion with two straight, long tufts falling past both sides of his face. He was shirtless and barefoot as was the usual for him, showing off his trademark monster tooth necklace and toned-agile build, but he did wear an open brown jacket with white fur lining to protect him from the cold and he also wore a pair of black baggy trousers with the same dark-brown animal hide around his waist that he has always worn.

The beast stopped in its tracks and growled at Ciel, lowering itself and preparing to pounce at him.

Ciel smiled in return and opened his hands. The bone-like material began to gather in his hands, but instead of two thin needles they took the form of two sickle-like claws that he held in a similar fashion to karambit knives. He then bent his knees and stared back into the beast's eyes. Almost as if he was mimicking the beast which noticeably annoyed it.

The beast lunged at Ciel, claws and teeth bared and Ciel rolled backwards using the bone-claws he created to guide the beast's claws away from him. He then used his powerful legs to kick the beast's underbelly, sending it flying a few metres upwards into the air.

The beast's gaze watched Ciel before quickly turning towards a moving branch that caught its attention, noticing an arrow in the trees that was drawn back and aimed straight for between its eyes.

Ryuji took a sharp intake of breath to steady his hands before speaking a single word. "Fly." The bow string cracked and the arrow pierced through the air, embedding itself perfectly in-between the beast's eyes. The beast struggled about mid-air before going limp and falling to the ground.

"Finally, we can go back inside." Ryuji took a big sigh of relief.

The bone-claws in Ciel's hands turned to dust and faded away as he walked up to the beast and started poking it with a stick he picked up from the ground. "Aw… I thought it'd put up more of a hunt."

Ryuji attached his bow to his belt and carefully climbed down the tree. "Are you really pouting?"

Apart from his older, teenage physique, Ryuji hadn't changed that much. His forest green hair now bore a single braid going down the side of his face and his bangs still covered one of his vibrant red eyes. Along with the high-collar, his jacket now had a baggy hood that he took off his head and he also had a higher-quality bow and quiver that he received for his fifteenth birthday from his parents.

Ryuji walked up and examined the beast. "It's weird for a Jaguell to be this far west of the kingdom."

Ciel turned to Ryuji. "Hm, Jaguell? Is that what these things are called?"

Ryuji nodded as he pulled out a 'Beginner Hunter's Guide'. A book that detailed most of the creatures that dwell within the Clover Kingdom's borders. "They're usually found eastward in the kingdom, nearer to the border to the Diamond Kingdom."

Ciel never really cared enough to learn about the four-kingdoms and just nodded along to what Ryuji was saying. "...I always just called them Bushy-Horns."

"Bushy… Horns?" Ryuji slowly looked at Ciel, his eyes squinting as he knew Ciel was about to say something dumb.

Ciel nodded and with a proud expression, he pointed with the stick he was holding. "Cause their tails are bushy and they have lots of horns."

"Using its defining features, eh? How imaginative… Then again, that is how most creatures are named." Ryuji sighed as he put the book away and then realised something. "Hold on… You barely leave the forest, nor can you read. So how do you know about Jaguells?"

"The Bushy-Horns? Oh, they come here every winter." Ciel stood up and threw the stick away before putting his hands together and closing his eyes.

Ryuji crouched down to get a closer look. "Really? So Jaguells head westward in the winter? The book doesn't say that… I wonder why?"

Ciel shrugged. "I don't know. My mom doesn't either. But my grandma says that some creatures do this kind of stuff when different seasons come."

"Kind of a boring answer but I supposed it makes sense." Ryuji stood back up and glanced at Ciel, seeing that he was in a pose that was similar to praying. "Oh right…" Ryuji did the same.

After a few moments of silence, Ciel picked up the carcass of the Jaguell and they both walked towards the lone mountain talking about what creatures Ciel does and doesn't know and what he has named them.

Sometime later at the lone mountain. The lake at the bottom had a frozen surface due to the temperature but that didn't seem to deter Mary from sitting in the gazebo in the middle of the lake. She was wearing a long fur-coat covering the red turtleneck and long black skirt beneath with a hot drink to help keep her warm.

She took a sip from her drink and looked out to the land surrounding the frozen lake, noticing that it was less populated than it usually was. "A few more weeks and the rest should be coming out of hibernation."

She sat in the gazebo watching time go by until a cold breeze flew by making her shiver. "It's been over an hour. It doesn't take this long to gather firewood." She sighed before taking another sip of her drink. "I knew I should have just used my magic to gather it like usual."

"Hey mom!" Ciel's loud voice echoed near the forest behind her.

"At last." Mary stood up hearing Ciel's voice and turned around. She saw the Jaguell they had hunted hung over Ciel's shoulder, noticing why it had taken so long for them to collect simple firewood. "I should have expected him to go hunting…"

"We hunted a bushy-Horn!" Ciel seemed proud as he ran up.

Mary walked up to them. "Yes, I can see that. But what about the firewood you were meant to gather?"

Ciel's face went blank as he slowly turned his head to Ryuji. "Uh…"

"I gave the wood to you, then you threw it somewhere and ran off after seeing the Jaguell." Ryuji seemed quieter than usual, more timid.

Ciel slowly put the corpse down and went to turn around to go find the wood but Ryuji stopped him. "I'll go get the wood. You head inside." Before Ciel could say another word Ryuji jogged back into the forest.

"Kay, thanks."

Mary watched Ryuji disappear into the forest before sighing again. She had noticed why Ryuji was acting so timid. He was afraid of her, in fact he had always been since the moment he had first met her, probably due to the stories of the witch he'd heard all his life. "I was told that old habits aren't easily killed. But it's not like I'm going to eat him." Mary began to walk away. "I've been told that humans don't ripen till their thirties anyway."

Ciel looked at his mother with a puzzled face, wondering why she would say that out of the blue, before picking up the carcass of the Jaguell and catching up to her.

It didn't take long for Ryuji to meet up with them both at their house with the bundle of wood in his arms and out of breath. "I found the wood… that you threw up high… into a goddamn tree."

"Thanks." Ciel, who already had his coat and shoes off, took the wood from Ryuji's arms and placed the bundle by the fireplace in the living room, throwing a few sticks into the small fire.

Ryuji took his quiver, bow and coat off, showing the warm dark green jumper underneath.

Mary placed a tray carrying three warm drinks on the table in the middle of the room before sitting down on one of the two couches either side of the table. The small long-tailed, bi-pedal, bowtie wearing lizard from before snuggled up next to her.

Ciel and Ryuji both sat on the couch opposite her and each took a warm drink. What followed were a few different conversations as Mary barely showed any difference in expression. Ryuji sitting completely still so as to not seem rude in someone else's home and Ciel not being able to sit still at all with his expression changing at every heartbeat.

The casual conversation changed as Ryuji realised something. "Oh Ciel, that reminds me."

"Hm?" Ciel and Mary turned their heads to Ryuji.

"I know it's a bit of a short notice but the master of the grimoire tower near my village is being forced to retire due to his declining health, but his last wish was to give this generation their grimoires. So he got permission to do the ceremony a few months earlier. By which I mean two days from now."

"So the Oldman is getting up there in age." Mary muttered to herself.

Ryuji and Mary both glanced over and saw Ciel's confused face as he tried to absorb all the information all at once.

"Retire? Generation?"

Mary took a sip of her drink before condensing the information for him. "He means you will be getting your grimoire earlier than we had initially expected."

"Oh…" Ciel put his finger to his chin. "Grimoire?..."

"The magic books!" Ryuji loudly sighed before muttering.

"Oh!" Ciel smiled as he then remembered what they needed grimoires for. "And then we can become Magic Knights?"

Ryuji nodded as he too became excited but he tried to hide it.

But as for Mary, she didn't share their enthusiasm for the magic knights and it showed as she put her drink down on the table and walked out the room, catching the attention of both boys.

Ryuji's eyes turned away after watching Mary leave. "Ah- Sorry, I forgot."

"She'll be fine." Ciel smiled to reassure Ryuji.

"I'm surprised she agreed to you wanting to become a Magic Knight, considering how much she dislikes them." Ryuji said.

Ciel nodded in agreement.

Ryuji, feeling the awkwardness that filled the room, stood up and put his drink down. "I should probably get going, my grandpa's going to have dinner ready soon. Thanks for the drink." He put on his coat and picked up the bow and quiver.

"See ya." Ciel watched Ryuji open the front door and turn around.

"Oh, remember to meet me at the border of my village the day after tomorrow. I'll take you to the grimoire tower."

"Kay!" Ciel gave a smile as he waved to Ryuji.

Ciel then stood up and remembered the carcass of the Jaguell that he left just outside the house because Mary didn't allow him to bring it inside. "I wonder if grandma would like it?"

The next day went by as normal, with neither Ciel nor Mary bringing up the magic knights. But they did mostly talk about the grimoire ceremony, what it was like when Mary got her grimoire and how she was challenged to sixteen battles before she even reached the forest. And then the day was finally here.

Ciel burst out the door of his home waving to his mother who was standing in the doorway with the bowtie-wearing lizard in her arms. When he got to the forest at the bottom of the mountain he was greeted by a few drowsy beasts that had just woken from hibernation, he made sure to greet them as he ran past.

As Ciel made it to the edge of the forest, he saw Ryuji's small yet bustling village in the distance and even though he hadn't actually been to the village before, it wasn't the first time he had seen it from the edge of the forest. All the buildings and lack of trees was still an unusual sight for him as it has always been.

Ciel tried to look for Ryuji from the edge of the forest. "Where is he…" He then quickly gave up and took off towards the village. "I'll probably find him if I just run around." As he got to the edge of the village he came to a stop and for the first time in his life, he decided to walk instead of run as this was a new experience for him and also because he's never walked on cobblestone paths before. He didn't like them.

Ciel wandered through the village, curiously glancing into every shop window and trying not to bump into the crowds of people. Yet he himself kept stealing glances from the villagers as they whispered to each other from afar.

"That boy just came from the forest, didn't he?"

"Yeah. So that must be the witch's child, the one Dr. Forn talked about."

"Is the witch here with him?"

"No, I believe he's alone."

"Thank goodness. But why is he here?"

"I don't kn- Wait, could it be the grimoire ceremony?!"

"You mean he's here to get a grimoire? Oh no, not again."

"We need to tell our kids to not get involved with him."

"Definitely."

Hearing their whispers Ciel glanced at the villagers and they immediately scattered. He shrugged off their reactions as he wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying and continued walking. Then finally after going in circles for an hour a familiar voice yelled out to him.

"Ciel!"

Ciel turned and saw Ryuji running up to him. "Ryuji."

Ryuji was out of breath as he ran up to Ciel. "I've been trying to find you everywhere. Didn't I tell you to meet me at the edge of the village?"

Ciel nodded. "Yes."

"So then why weren't you there?"

"Because you weren't there, so I thought I'd come find you."

Ryuji loudly groaned as he remembered that the only time Ciel is patient is when it comes to hunting. "Nevermind. C'mon we're late, the ceremony will have started by now." Ryuji turned around and began to quickly walk away. "The grimoire tower's this way, hurry."

Ciel nodded and followed behind Ryuji. He kept getting glances as they jogged through the village until they eventually made their way outside the village and down a path that led to the grimoire tower.

Ryuji stopped in front of the large wooden double doors and turned to Ciel with a serious expression. "Remember, once we enter you have to be still and quiet or else you'll be kicked out and you'll have to wait till next year to get a grimoire. Understood?"

Ciel could tell how serious Ryuji was and nodded. "I will be like a stone."

Ryuji nodded back. "Huh, good analogy. Now then…" Ryuji turned to the doors and knocked.

One of the doors began to slowly open as someone inside poked their head out. "Are you both here for the grimoire ceremony?"

Ryuji nodded. "Yes, sorry for being late."

"It's fine, come on in." The person slowly opened the door and made a shushing motion letting them know to be quiet as he let Ryuji and Ciel enter.

Ryuji thanked the person and looked forward, seeing the overcrowded hall, filled with teenagers from neighbouring villages, the unowned grimoires that lined the shelves and the frail Oldman at the front giving a speech. "Man, this place is crowded…" he muttered to himself.

Ciel did a three-sixty as he walked behind Ryuji. "The ceiling is so high. I wonder if I can climb up there?"

Ryuji stood at the back of the crowd and stopped Ciel from spinning. "Stone, Ciel."

Those two words caused Ciel to be quiet and stand still as they both looked towards the Oldman at the front.

The Oldman noticed Ryuji and Ciel walk in. "Oh? Seems we have some late additions."

"Sorry, my friend got lost on the way here." Ryuji scratched the back of his head as he pinned all the blame on Ciel.

The Oldman smiled. "That's quite alright. We were just about to start the actual ceremony, but don't worry. As you were both late, I'll start from the very beginning so you can hear it too."

The entire hall of twitchy and bored teenagers all loudly groaned in unison, creating the worst choir you'll ever hear. One random person even screamed out: "This was the third time! It was nearly over, you bastards!"

"Settle down, you lot. I was only joking this time." The Oldman laughed.

Ryuji glanced at Ciel who shrugged back.

The Oldman stroked his braided white beard. "Now where was I… Ah right." He cleared his throat before putting his hands out. "As you all know the three leaves of a clover each represent a single thing. The first represents Integrity. The second represents Hope. And the third represents Love. But there are cas-" Before the Oldman could finish his speech a girl with a black, red-tipped ponytail and red glasses put her hand up. "Yes miss? Do you have a question?"

"Is it true that there are cases of grimoires bearing a fourth-leaf?" The girl opened a notebook in her hand and readied a pencil.

"I was just about to get to that… But yes." The Oldman cleared his throat again. "Though incredibly rare, people with exceptional potential have a chance to be chosen by a grimoire bearing a fourth-leaf. But as far as I know, there is not a single case of anyone owning one besides the very first Wizard-King. But I firmly believe this years younglings have the potential to be something gre-"

"So the chances of owning a fourth-leaf is next to zero?" The girl blurted out before the Oldman could finish again.

"Well yes. Someone bearing a fourth-leaf is bound to have similar, if not the same potential as the first Wizard-king. So of course it would be rar-"

"And what exactly does this fourth-leaf contain?"

The Oldman pinched the bridge of his nose as a vein on his forehead was about to pop. "Listen, miss…"

The girl pushed up her glasses. "Viola Grimstead."

"Miss Grimstead. I'm sure all of your questions will be answered if you just listen to my speech. And if not, then it would be my pleasure to answer any questions you have after the ceremony. Would that be okay?"

Viola closed the notebook as she looked around, seeing the entire crowd's eyes burning holes into her. "Y- Yes, I apologise."

"Thank you miss Grimstead." For the last time the Oldman cleared his throat. "So as I was saying. The fourth-leaf of a clover contains the property of Luck. And I have a strong feeling this year's youths will be something special, if not spectacular." The Oldman let out a relieved sigh as he finally finished his speech. "Now, as you've all been very patient with all of these interruptions. We will at last begin the grimoire ceremony's main event!"

The whole room erupted into thankful cheers that the long speech was finally over and they could continue with their lives once again.

Ryuji turned to Ciel and a smirk grew across his face as he realised he was about to take his first step to achieving his dream of becoming a Magic Knight captain. "It's finally here, Ciel."

Ciel gave a wide smile and nodded.

Ryuji wondered why Ciel was being so quiet, but just chalked it up to him being overwhelmed in a completely different environment than what he was used to.

"And now, without further ado…" The Oldman's grimoire floated in front of him and flipped to a specific page as he raised his hands upwards. "Grimoire…"

The grimoires began to glow all different colours and fly off the shelves, swirling in the air above everyone, creating a sight that everybody there would remember.

"...Conferment!" The Oldman swung his arms down and all of the grimoires began to slowly descend towards their chosen owners.

Ryuji held his hands out and grabbed the grimoire that floated down to him. He stood speechless as he stared down to the vibrant red three-leaf clover that sat on the forest green cover with dark grey arrow-like detailings in the corners. He slowly turned his head to Ciel to see what kind of grimoire he had, but instead… "Ciel, where's your grimoire?"

Ciel turned to look at Ryuji and shrugged again. "Dunno?"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Ryuji raised his hand to gain the Oldman's attention.

"Yes, young man? Is there a problem?" The Oldman asked.

"My friend here didn't get a grimoire." Ryuji pointed to Ciel, making everyone go quiet and turn their heads to look at Ciel.

"Are you sure? That is… unusual." The Oldman's eyes turned to Ciel. "Young man, what's your name?"

"Ciel."

"And your last name?"

Ciel turned to Ryuji with a confused face.

"He's asking for your family name." Ryuji saw the dumbfounded look on Ciel's face. "Like how mine is Furuno. We've had this conversation before, dumbass."

Ciel turned back to the Oldman. "I don't know."

"I see. I suppose not everyone has one." The Oldman put his hand to his chin to try and think about what to do in this never-seen-before situation.

A random rude guy with black-tipped blonde, pointy hair from Ryuji's village pointed at Ciel with a black-striped, yellow wand. "Wow, someone so low that even a grimoire didn't want them. How pathetic can one person be?" While the insults didn't really bother Ciel, they bothered Ryuji.

"Shut it before I make you, Flint!" Ryuji shouted at the rude boy as his hand clenched into a fist.

"Don't try acting tough just because you have the witch's boy to act as your body-guard, Furuno." Flint, the rude boy, began to snicker. "Hell, I'm surprised you're the one to get a grimoire and not the witch's boy."

"Man you're pathetic, always trying to pick a fight with me. Do you not remember which one of us won when I finally agreed to spar with you?" Ryuji's grasp on his grimoire tightened as if he was threatening to use it.

Flint opened his grimoire. "Oh please, we were children back then and you had a bow. But now that I have my grimoire, I can finally show you just how strong I've beco-" Just then something hit Flint in the face and flew away disappearing between the sea of legs. "Ow! Cheap shot, Furuno!"

"That wasn't me." Ryuji glanced at Ciel to see if he saw what happened and saw that his eyes were tracking something that moved quickly through the crowd near the floor.

Voices around the packed crowd began shouting out in chaos.

"What the hell just touched my leg?!"

"Okay, which one of you just tried to trip me!?"

"The hell did you hit me for?!"

"Something is scattering around on the floor!"

"Is it a rat?!"

"Whatever it is, it's fast!"

"Ow my shin! And hard…"

"Everyone stay calm! There is no way for a dangerous creature to have been able to get inside." The Oldman's shouts ended up getting muffled by the screams coming from the crowd.

"If it's not a monster, then it is a rat!"

"EEEEKKK!"

"There's one over here too!"

"Oh no, really?!"

"Ow my other shin!"

"Use your grimoires! Kill them!" So many people started casting spells indoors.

"Don't it's too packed in here! You'll just hit all of us instead!" It was too late, spells flew around the room only managing to be stopped by the Oldman's quick-drawn protective spells.

"Everyone! OUT!" People began to rush outside with only a third of the people staying behind out of curiosity as to what these things were.

Ryuji tried to follow whatever it was but only caught a glimpse as it flew between the crowd's legs. "Ciel, what's going on?"

Ciel's head began to dart around, tracking whatever was making everyone scream. "There's two of them."

"Two of what exactly?" Ryuji flinched as whatever it was suddenly flew between his legs, too high for comfort.

Ciel pointed towards the roof predicting that whatever was causing the ruckus would fly upwards and then saw two similarly shaped things slam into each other.

Everyone who was left looked up to see what they were.

The Oldman recognised their rectangular shapes. One was smaller and an earthy brown colour whilst the other was way larger and crimson in colour. Both were enveloped in their own different coloured magical-auras. "Are they… Grimoires?"

The grimoires slammed into each other before flying down, in between the crowd and then back into the air, crashing into each other again and again. Everyone left in the hall was speechless as they watched the grimoires clash repeatedly.

"Are they fighting?" The Oldman had never seen anything like this before and he loved every second as was shown in the wide smile that appeared across his face, like a child finally receiving a toy they've always wanted.

After a few minutes of clashing, the brown grimoire slammed into the crimson as hard as it could, causing it to fly back into the shelves and stop moving. After which the brown grimoire just stayed floating in the air.

The Oldman stroked his beard as he watched the grimoire sit still in the air. "Is it waiting? But what could it be waiting for?" The Oldman glanced at Ciel. "I wonder… Young man, Sirel was it?"

Ciel looked at the Oldman. "Ciel. I'm human."

"Y- Yes I can tell. Would you mind raising your arms for me?"

Ciel raised his arms straight up with his palms aimed to the ceiling. "Like this?"

"Lower and more in front of you."

Ciel did as he was told but didn't quite understand why as he raised one of his eyebrows.

The Oldman looked back to the floating grimoire, waiting for it to do something, anything.

After a few seconds the grimoire began to shake and slowly float downwards towards Ciel.

The Oldman snickered as his eyes showed his child-like excitement growing even more. "I knew it. This year's youngsters really are fated to be something special."

Everyone watched as the grimoire floated down into Ciel's arms.

The cover was an earthy brown colour with an off-white, bone spine and was held closed by a monster tooth and strap. Dark brown, bone-like detailings decorated the edges along with a few scratch marks, which made it look like an animal had been playing with the grimoire. The clover on the front cover was pure white with 3-leaves and sat in the eye of a large, deadly-looking lizard skull that sat in the middle of the cover.

Ryuji gave Ciel a side-eye. "Nothing is ever simple with you, is it?"

"Hm?" Ciel tilted his head as he looked at Ryuji wondering what he meant by that.

Ryuji sighed. "Nevermind." He held up his grimoire. "At least we have step one now."

Ciel smiled brightly as they clinked their grimoires as if they were tea cups.

The Oldman walked up to them using a large staff that he used as a walking cane and a giant grin on his face. "This day is full of so many surprises." The Oldman looked at Ciel as if scanning him from all angles.

"You mean his grimoire?" Ryuji asked.

"Oh yes, that too. Two grimoire's fighting over a single owner. That has never happened before, or at least it hasn't been recorded. But that's not why I came over…" The Oldman got close to Ciel's face. "There's definitely a resemblance. Young Ciel, your mother's name wouldn't happen to be Mary would it?"

Ciel nodded.

"I thought so!" The old man snapped his fingers and laughed. "She too was an odd one when she received her grimoire."

"How so?" Ryuji asked.

The Oldman stroked his beard as he reminisced. "Back during the ceremony that she attended. She, just as you two did, arrived late with her friend who seemed to already be a Magic Knight. Oh! She was also riding this strange, three-horned creature, which unfortunately I never got to examine." The oldman swung his head low. "Anyway, before I could even finish the grimoire conferment, her grimoire had already chosen her and after she had received her grimoire, she and her friend rudely left without uttering a single word."

Ciel didn't say anything but the 'friend' part caught his attention. His mother never mentioned a friend going to the ceremony with her yesterday.

The Oldman chuckled. "But unfortunately for her, so many younglings kept wanting to test their strength against the famed 'witch of the forest'."

"So she was known as the witch even when she was young?" Ryuji asked.

"Oh yes, even then she was well known. That's why the younglings kept wanting to challenge her. She crushed at least eight dreams of becoming Magic Knights before she even reached young Furuno's village. God knows how many after that."

Ryuji looked around at the crowd of people who were just staring at them, mainly at Ciel. "Whoknows, maybe Ciel will be able to beat her record?" Ryuji glanced at Ciel who was busy attaching his grimoire to his hip with the pelt he always wears.

The Oldman stroked his beard, noticing the impatient eyes. "Well, I suppose I've prattled on long enough. You two should go get some fresh-air and feel free to come by for a chat anytime, I'd love to hear how Mary is doing these days."

Ciel nodded to the polite Oldman. "We will."

"I guess he's already decided. But sure." Ryuji nodded as he walked out the doors into the blinding sun. "So that's that. And before you ask, the actual exam is still quite a few months away."

Ciel did some dramatic stretches after he entered the sun. "Kay. I'm hungry right now anyway. I think I'll hunt something in the forest on the way back."

Ryuji glanced behind them, seeing the many watchful eyes with their sights on Ciel. "I'm probably going to head straight home, my grandparents are going to want to see my grimoire."

"Race you to the village!" Ciel sped off, reaching a speed that could put the fastest runner to shame.

Ryuji watched as the crowd behind them attempted to chase down Ciel. "Yeah… I'm just going to walk."

Ryuji walked away from the tower, watching the crowd of people push and shove eachother out of the way so they could be the first one to challenge the witch's son. Flint watched from afar, but his sights were on Ryuji, not Ciel. "I'll see you at the Magic Knight exam, you asshole."