-1467- Is this okay?

That year, Yuri successfully enrolled in Mistgun as a first-year student in the Sky Wizards Prep Course.

Having grown up listening to stories of Rozen's achievements, Yuri had worked hard even during her childhood schooling, and her grades were excellent. Upon entering Mistgun, she immediately received an invitation to join a C-rank squad.

Being invited to join a C-rank squad at the start of her enrollment was truly astonishing.

Even the eldest daughter of the Flamel family, the famous genius Freon Flamel, only joined a C-rank squad in her second year of the prep course. For Yuri to join a C-rank squad as a first-year, her future was destined to be bright.

However, the first thing Yuri did after arriving at Mistgun wasn't joining a squad; it was seeking out the person she admired.

It didn't take Yuri long to accomplish this task.

Soon after, Yuri saw him.

"Ah..."

Standing outside the school gate, Yuri's eyes lit up when she saw him, and her heart started racing.

The boy, together with his squad members, walked out of the school with laughter and joy, appearing right before Yuri.

At that moment, not only did Yuri's heart race, but her entire body trembled with excitement, causing her to clutch tightly to a writing board in her arms.

This was something Yuri had prepared as soon as she arrived at Mistgun.

The first thing Yuri had decided to do upon arriving at Mistgun was...

"An autograph...!"

Yes, an autograph.

The first thing Yuri wanted to do was to ask that boy for his autograph.

He was already famous in the floating city where Yuri lived, and after arriving at Mistgun, he had become a superstar, leading his squad to A-rank in his first year and was even set to be exceptionally promoted to S-rank this year, making him a genuine star.

Yuri wanted to step forward and ask him for an autograph.

However, just as Yuri moved forward, a group of students suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"It's... It's Rorelai senpai!"

"It really is Rorelai senpai!"

"I've admired you for so long, Senpai!"

One by one, students who had just entered Mistgun, just like Yuri, seemed to have long known about Rozen's heroic deeds, swarming in from all directions and instantly surrounding Squad A128.

The crowd cheered and screamed, leaving Rozen with a helpless expression, while Kanata and Chloe smiled wryly beside him.

No one noticed that the petite Yuri was caught in the middle, unable to advance or retreat.

"Ugh...!"

Yuri was almost suffocated by the crowd and was soon squeezed out, falling to the ground.

"Ouch..."

Yuri held her waist, seemingly in pain from the fall.

As for the writing board in her hand, it had long since fallen somewhere, its whereabouts unknown.

Noticing this, Yuri looked dejected.

However, Yuri didn't notice that the noisy crowd in front of her had quieted down at some point.

"Are you alright?"

When such a voice sounded in front of Yuri, she was first taken aback, and then she finally saw it.

She saw the familiar boy standing right in front of her.

"Sorry about that, those guys can be quite rowdy."

The boy smiled faintly at Yuri, his face showing a lazy expression, but his eyes held a depth and mystery that others could hardly perceive, giving off a sense of spirituality and intelligence.

"Y... You..."

Yuri was instantly dumbfounded.

She couldn't help it; Yuri had never imagined that she would encounter the person she admired in such a way.

It was only at this moment that Yuri noticed that the students who had just rushed toward Rozen were now inexplicably frozen in place.

Nearby, Kanata and Chloe gazed in this direction, looking at the students who seemed unable to move, with a look of helplessness.

"Th-they...?"

Yuri was stunned by the state of those students.

"It's nothing, just a little spell to temporarily hypnotize them; they'll be back to normal soon."

Rozen nonchalantly explained.

"Spell?"

Yuri looked confused.

Seeing this, Rozen sighed.

"It seems I'll have to work on correcting the world's misconceptions about spells and magic when I get the chance."

Rozen muttered something that Yuri couldn't understand, then squatted in front of her and handed her something.

"This is yours, right?"

Rozen was holding Yuri's writing board.

It was only then that Yuri realized.

"Y... Yes, it's mine! Please sign... Ah..."

Before she could get up, Yuri hurriedly pulled out a pen, intending to ask Rozen for his autograph, but the next second, she was at a loss for words.

This was because the writing board Rozen handed over was no longer pristine but was instead covered with footprints.

Seeing this, Yuri froze, staring at the writing board and then at Rozen, who was squatting in front of her, tears welling up in her eyes.

To appear so disheveled in front of the person she admired was a significant blow for Yuri at that time.

Had Yuri not held back, she might have already burst into tears.

"I-I'm sorry... for bothering you..."

Yuri forced herself to hold back her tears, trying to take the writing board and run away.

She had no choice; the way she met him for the first time was far from ideal.

However...

"If we're talking about bothering someone, I've already been bothered by so many people; one more won't make a difference."

Rozen chuckled and, as if seeing through Yuri's thoughts, took the pen from her hand.

"Give me a moment; I don't know if the skills I learned when Natsuki-nee dragged me to art class all those years ago are still there, but I'll give it a try."

Speaking to himself in words that Yuri didn't understand, Rozen started drawing on the footprint-covered writing board.

Before long, the footprints on the writing board were transformed after some adjustments and corrections, turning into a sketch.

It was a sketch of a girl wielding a magic spear, dancing in the sky like a fairy.

Yuri immediately recognized that the girl was herself.

"Here, take it."

Rozen handed the restored writing board to Yuri.

It was only then that Yuri noticed that Rozen's name was signed in the lower right corner of the sketch.

Not only had Yuri achieved her goal of getting an autograph, but she also received a sketch drawn by Rozen himself.

"Is this okay?"

Rozen smiled at Yuri with a smirk.

"Th-thank you!"

Yuri was stunned, and after receiving the sketch, her face began to flush with excitement.

"Be careful next time."

Rozen left her with those words, then got up and walked away, exchanging jokes with Kanata and Chloe.

The frozen students came back to their senses, looking confused.

Yuri remained seated on the ground, staring blankly at Rozen as he walked away.

Then, Yuri looked at the sketch in her hands, seeing herself dancing in the sky with a spear, and unknowingly, a smile appeared on her face.

From that day on, Yuri's admiration for Rozen deepened.

Later, Yuri not only insisted on joining Squad A128 despite the opposition from those around her but also replaced her alchemy weapon with a magic spear.

When Yuri finally passed through numerous trials and successfully joined an A-rank squad as a first-year student, which happened to be Rozen's squad, Yuri asked him why he had drawn a picture of her wielding a spear.

At that time, Rozen responded like this:

"You reminded me of an observer I used to have, so I drew the spear."

Yuri still didn't know what this so-called observer meant, even to this day.

But Yuri knew that she could finally fly in the same sky as the person she admired, respected, and even loved.

For Yuri, that was enough.

However, at that time, Yuri had no idea that these days wouldn't last long.