The clone was still dissolving into fading wisps of wind when Enji spoke.
He was looking at Reishin with the expression of someone who already knows the answer but needs to hear it out loud anyway.
— So we're joining the guild.
— Not exactly, said Reishin.
Enji closed his eyes for a second.
— I knew it was too simple.
— The final admission isn't my call to make. I don't have that authority.
— Then whose call is it?
— Examiners. Every candidate presented by a guild member goes before them. They evaluate. They decide.
— And what exactly is your role in all this? said Enji.
— I present you as candidates. I vouch for your potential. That already means something — not every member has the right to do it.
Enji sat down on the edge of the arena.
He stared at the ground.
The rosette carved into the melted ice. The marks from two weeks of combat. A hundred and eighty-seven confrontations to get to… a candidate presentation.
— So there's still another test ahead of us, he said quietly.
— Yes.
— Of course there is.
Next to him, Yuma shot to his feet.
— That's perfect.
Enji looked at him.
— Perfect?
— Yeah. Another test. A real one this time — examiners, an official setting, actual stakes.
He was smiling. Not the forced smile of someone trying to convince himself — the genuine smile of someone who just found out there's still road ahead and couldn't be happier about it.
— You seriously have zero filter between what you feel and what you say, Enji murmured.
— Is that a problem?
— No. It's just exhausting to watch.
Reishin looked at both of them. Something in his expression had loosened slightly.
— Yuma's reaction is the right one, he said. Not because it's enthusiastic — because it's correct. You've progressed. You've proven something. And now there's one step left. That's how growth works.
Enji slowly nodded.
He looked up.
— When and where?
Reishin crossed his arms.
— One month from now. You'll need to make your way to Vantarcity.
Yuma repeated the name under his breath, like he was locking it into memory right then and there.
— How far is it?
— Three days on the road. It's a major commercial and administrative hub — one of the biggest centers for hunter activity in this region. That's where the official admission sessions are held.
Yuma and Enji exchanged a glance.
Something passed between them — not quite fear, not quite excitement. A mix of both, with something quieter underneath. The weight of knowing that what was coming in a month was real.
— One month, said Yuma.
— One month, Reishin confirmed.
— We keep training until then?
— Obviously. But differently. I've given you the foundation. From here, you need to learn how to build yourselves.
He reached into his dimensional bag.
Two objects appeared in his palm.
Badges. Dark metal, lightweight, with a clean engraving — a stylized wind blade enclosed in a thin circle.
He held one out to each of them.
— As long as you carry these, you're officially under my protection. In the hunter world, that carries weight. No one with any sense will come after you without a solid reason.
Yuma turned the badge over in his hands. The engraving was sharp and precise — the kind of thing made to last.
— This is your symbol? he asked.
— Yes.
— Cool.
Reishin picked up his bag.
— I have a mission. I'm leaving now.
— Already? said Enji.
— Time doesn't stop because you need rest.
He moved toward the arena exit, then stopped without turning around.
— Two things before I go.
Yuma and Enji waited.
— First — keep fighting each other. Every day. Not to win. To understand each other. A duo that truly knows itself is worth more than two brilliant individuals fighting side by side.
He paused.
— Second — Yuma. The darkness will come back. When it does, don't fight it. Stay inside it as long as you can before it takes over. That's how you learn to stay yourself while it's there.
Yuma didn't answer.
But he nodded.
A gust of wind.
Reishin was gone.
The silence settled back over the arena.
Yuma and Enji stood there for a moment without speaking, staring at the space Reishin had just left behind.
Alfred appeared from the stands with his usual quiet precision. He descended the steps, approached them, and gave a slight bow.
— My sincerest congratulations, gentlemen. You handled yourselves admirably.
— Thank you, Alfred, said Enji.
— A hundred and eighty-seven confrontations. I have rarely witnessed such persistence in these stands.
— You counted every single fight? said Yuma.
— It fell within my responsibilities, yes.
He slipped his notebook into the inner pocket of his jacket.
— If I may suggest… a hot bath is strongly recommended. The need is, shall we say, quite apparent on both of you.
He let the words hang in the air with impeccable delicacy.
Yuma glanced down at his jacket.
— Is it that bad?
Alfred did not respond to that.
— I would also suggest taking the full day off. No training. No obligations. Consider it a well-deserved rest.
Enji let out a long, slow exhale — the kind that carries two weeks of accumulated tension with it on the way out.
— I accept without hesitation.
— Wonderful. The main bathroom is ready. I'll expect you in ten minutes.
He gave another slight bow and made his way back to the house with his characteristic precision.
The main bathroom of the Hyôga estate was large and stone-tiled, with a deep basin that steamed gently in the air.
Yuma sank into it with a low groan of pure satisfaction.
Enji settled on the opposite side, head resting against the edge, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
A long, comfortable silence.
The warm water worked through the two weeks of damage — the soreness, the tension, that deep exhaustion that had buried itself so completely Yuma had stopped noticing it was there.
— Yuma.
— Yeah.
Enji was still staring at the ceiling.
— Thank you.
Yuma opened one eye.
— For what?
— For everything. Since the beginning. Stepping in against those thugs. The grizzly. These past two weeks.
He paused.
— You were there every single time I could have quit. Even when you weren't trying to be.
Yuma looked at him for a moment.
Then he shook his head.
— That wasn't me.
— Yuma —
— I mean it. Everything you did since we met — you chose to do it yourself. The tournament. The guilt. Starting over anyway. Saying yes to Reishin when you had every reason to say no.
He sank a little deeper into the water.
— I was just there. The drive was already in you. The dream of becoming a hunter was already there. I just didn't let you forget it.
Enji didn't answer right away.
The silence stretched out.
Then a quiet smile crossed his face.
— You're genuinely terrible at accepting gratitude.
— I don't know how else to be.
— That's a flaw.
— I've been told.
Enji let out a small laugh.
Yuma laughed too.
It echoed through the bathroom with a lightness that neither of them had really felt in two weeks.
They climbed out half an hour later, dressed in clean clothes Jules had quietly left outside the door.
They were making their way down the main hallway when a voice stopped them.
— Gentlemen.
One of the younger domestic staff — a man Yuma recognized by face but not by name — was walking toward them at a brisk pace.
— Mr. Hyôga is requesting your presence in his study. Both of you.
Yuma and Enji exchanged a look.
— Both of us? said Enji.
— Yes, Master Enji. Mr. Kazuho was very clear about that.
Yuma tucked his hands into his pockets.
— We're on our way, he said.
End of Chapter 14