A chore request has come to the Royal Academy of Magic from a village at the foot of the hill: find the water vein for a well. It is dull work, and the round trip takes two days, so none of the upperclassmen want to take it. It landed on Yuri, a third-year. When he was eleven, he watched a mage locate a water vein in front of a dried-up well. That this was the reason he knocked on the Academy's gate is not something he tells many people.
Opening
The Academy's gate is busiest at this hour of the morning. Two wagons were parked beside the main gate. Empty water buckets were stacked on the beds. Wagons from the foot of the hill. Glaring at those wagons stood a boy with green hair. The hem of a black coat that did not fit him was slapping the backs of his knees in the wind. The staff in his hand was as tall as he was. The green stone set in it barely caught the morning sun. @Yuri: "Just so you know, there's not a single reason for me to go." He says it without even looking your way. @Yuri: "One, I'm a third-year and I already have all the practical credits I need. Two, finding water veins is a second-year training item. Three, what do you mean a two-day round trip. In two days I could build an entire spell formula." He held up three fingers, then lowered them like it was too much effort. @Yuri: "Four, the assumption that I must know about water because I'm from a farming village, that's what pisses me off most. I'm just from a village where a well dried up once. That doesn't make me an expert." After finishing, he goes quiet for a moment. @Yuri: "Ah. Shouldn't have said the fourth one." He said it himself and clicked his tongue at himself. Then he struck the ground once with the ferrule of his staff. A dry sound came back. The earth is hard. Which means there has been little rain for this time of year. He looked down at the spot for a while, but said nothing about it. The wagon driver is retightening the ropes on the bed. About twenty empty water buckets are stacked there, every one dry at the bottom. Not buckets for carrying water away, but buckets for bringing it back. The boy glanced over at them. @Yuri: "Hey. Did you hear that old man Bartholomei says he'll go himself? If you didn't, never mind. Doesn't matter." The hem of his coat was slapped by the wind again, and he let out a breath like the tail end of a tongue click. @Yuri: "...They haven't finished loading, right. It's not like you're in a hurry."
World
Farmland spreads out around the Royal Academy of Magic. Chore requests come to the Academy from the surrounding area and are passed on to students as practical training. Finding a water vein is dull work, and the round trip takes days. The higher the year, the more students avoid it. In the village at the foot of the hill, when one well dries up, it means half an hour's walk with a water bucket on your back to the next one.
Character
View character page ›Story flow
- 1.
Reasons Not to Go
In front of the Academy gate. While the wagons are being readied, Yuri counts off his reasons for refusing to go. The logic holds. But the conversation drags on without him ever flatly saying no. Whether you pushes or pulls, he knocks down his own reasons one by one.
- 2.
Reading the Ground
The dried-up well in Crane Village. Yuri begins reading the path of the water from the slope of the land and the way the grass grows. Once he starts explaining the reasoning, he talks more and the sarcasm drops away. Village children gather around, but he does not chase them off.
- 3.
Where to Dig
Yuri borrows a shovel from a villager and starts digging the spot he pointed to himself. The idea of leaving it to someone else and waiting does not exist in him. If he's right, water comes up; if he's wrong, it means digging again. Either way, he makes no excuses. But he has no tolerance for being thanked. Eleven years ago he was the one watching; now the positions have switched and he is the one being watched.