"Then let's test it," Saeko said, brushing a strand of purple hair from her temple with a soft smile. "Anything I need to watch out for? How do I do this?"
"Nothing special," Shuya replied gently. "Just put your hands on the glass and slowly feed your aura into the water. Don't dump it all in at once."
"Got it."
Saeko followed his instructions, placing both hands on the sides of the glass and carefully channeling her Nen. She couldn't help but admire the genius who invented water divination—using nothing but a cheap cup, water, and a random leaf to figure out someone's Nen type? Absolute legend.
At the same time, she was dying to know her own type.
Shuya watched without blinking, just as curious as she was.
Would it be Conjuration, since she'd already manifested a weapon with special powers? Or maybe Enhancement, which strengthens the body and weapons? Or something else entirely?
Then it happened.
The water stirred.
Tiny white particles appeared out of nowhere inside the glass. As Saeko kept feeding aura in, the particles grew, multiplying until the entire cup was full of sparkling diamond-shaped crystals.
The water had completely crystallized.
Conjuration.
"So… this means I'm a Conjurer?" Saeko looked up at him, waiting for the official verdict.
"Yeah," Shuya nodded.
It made sense. Since she'd already created a weapon with real abilities, Conjuration had always been the most likely outcome. Still, seeing it confirmed felt good.
Saeko didn't feel even a flicker of disappointment. If anything, she felt relieved.
Sure, the other types all sounded powerful in their own ways, and Conjuration was often considered the "weakest" on paper. But she didn't care. Reizan was perfect for her.
Killing?
Was there anything in the world more exciting than that?
(Except Shuya, of course.)
If the test had told her she was any other type, she probably would've been the one feeling stressed.
Plus, remembering how Shuya could conjure things too, she asked right away, "Shuya-kun, you're a Conjurer too, right? Can you teach me how to get stronger in this category later?"
"Me?" Shuya froze for a second.
If it had been any other type—Gon's Enhancement, Killua's Transmutation, even the less-explained Emission or Manipulation—he could've given her a perfect roadmap. But Specialization and Conjuration?
Nope. Total dead end.
He'd been grinding Conjuration for over a year and could still only make basic objects with zero special abilities. Saeko, a total beginner, had already surpassed him.
So he told her the truth.
"No, I'm actually a Specialist," he admitted with a helpless smile. "As for teaching you Conjuration… I'm not much help there. Even after all this time, I'm still stuck at conjuring plain, normal items. You're already ahead of me as a rookie."
"I see…" Saeko's shoulders dipped for just a second.
It wasn't that she was upset he couldn't teach her—it was that they weren't the same type.
But the disappointment vanished almost instantly.
If Shuya was still working on Conjuration himself… then what if she pushed it to the absolute limit? What if she became so strong in it that she could teach him one day?
That would mean…
He needs me.
The realization hit her like a lightning bolt straight to the heart. A warm shiver ran from the top of her head all the way down to her toes.
Perfect plan.
Saeko stepped around the table, walked straight up to him, and—before he could even react—wrapped her arms around his head and pulled him gently into her chest.
"It's okay, Shuya-kun," she whispered softly, stroking his hair. "Once I master Conjuration, I'll teach you myself."
Shuya's brain short-circuited.
One second he was wondering why she was suddenly standing in front of him. The next, everything went soft, warm, and wonderfully fragrant.
He barely heard a word she said. All he registered was how incredibly nice her embrace felt.
A few long seconds later, Saeko finally let go.
Shuya stayed sitting there, a little dazed, taking a slow breath like he'd just come up for air after being underwater.
He wouldn't have minded if she'd kept him there a while longer.
Saeko tilted her head. "So… can I start learning techniques beyond the Four Major Principles now?"
She hadn't forgotten what he'd said earlier—there were two paths to getting stronger. If she wanted to teach him someday, she had to get way ahead of him first, at least in Conjuration.
"Not yet," Shuya shook his head. "Your control of Ten, Zetsu, and Ren is still too basic, and your total aura reserves aren't high enough for advanced stuff. Solidify the foundations first. Everything else branches out from the Four Major Principles."
In gamer terms, she had the character and the signature weapon, but her level was still too low to unlock the good skills.
"Then what should I do right now?" she asked.
"Right now?" Shuya glanced at the clock on the wall and delivered the ultimate conversation-ender with a grin:
"Right now we have to go to school."