Prologue Story

“What kind of magic are you practicing?”

“Light…”

“Really? You’re starting with Light attribute magic that matches your affinity. Alright, Auntie will help you.”

“Thank you.”

Inha quietly bowed her head.

Sure enough, Mom had a good affinity with light-type magic and used it fairly well.

I felt a bit strange.

It’s probably because Light was a spell I had already succeeded in last year.

While feeling somewhat complicated, I sat leaning against the glass door.

I intended to quietly watch the two of them practice magic.

Then, suddenly, Inha turned her gaze toward me.

Inha glanced at me for a moment, hesitated, and then spoke to Mom.

“Uh, what about Eunha…”

“Hm?”

“I heard Eunha felt magic power last year, so now…”

I was startled.

Huh? Me? Why?

However, Inha looked at me with a peculiar expression for a moment and then quickly turned her head.

“…No, it’s nothing.”

I tilted my head.

It seemed like she was about to say something but stopped…

However, I was rather grateful she didn’t ask about my magic skills.

I quietly watched as Mom and Inha practiced magic.

Inha was practicing seriously, her expression unchanged.

Suddenly, a deep desire to practice magic welled up inside me, but I suppressed the urge.

‘Well, taking a few days off should be fine. It’s not like Inha comes over to sleep every day.’

…Though she does come often.

That thought gave me a slight headache.

More than that, seeing Inha and Mom practicing magic like that made me feel a bit down.

In hindsight, it might not have mattered if Auntie Suna, Uncle Jungmin, and Inha knew about my abilities.

I lowered my head slightly.

But still… such thoughts sometimes made me feel melancholic.

Those feelings only surfaced briefly due to my selfishness before disappearing.

Inha eventually succeeded with the Light spell after a few hours.

Afterward, she learned a few more theories about light-type magic.

Of those, she succeeded with two more, both basic spells that I could also use.

Watching them, time flew by as I read a book in the corner.

By evening, Dad had returned from work.

Dinner ended harmoniously as well.

“Time for bed?”

I nodded at those words.

I was about to head straight to the bathroom but stopped.

“Uh… Inha, do you want to wash up first?”

Inha looked away from the TV and turned to me, then nodded.

Inha went to the bathroom first and came out.

After that, I went in, washed up, and then said goodnight to Mom and Dad.

“Goodnight.”

“Alright, sleep well, both Eunha and Inha.”

“…Goodnight.”

Honestly, I wasn’t that sleepy yet.

Even though it was night, it was only 9:30, still a bit early for me to go to bed.

I headed toward my room, thinking I could spend some time pondering magic.

As I walked up the stairs in a pleasant mood, Inha suddenly grabbed my hand from behind.

I flinched.

“…Where are you going?”

“Oh, um? To my room… I’ve had one since recently.”

“…”

In my words, Inha let go of my hand, turned, and quickly went into the master bedroom.

The door closed with a sound.

I stared blankly at the door for a moment before heading back to my room, but the door clicked open again, and Inha came out into the living room.

She was holding a pillow.

“Oh, Inha? Where are you going?”

“…I’ll sleep with Eunha.”

“Oh, really? Then I’ll move the bedding for you.”

“Thank you.”

Huh?

I looked at Inha with a surprised expression.

Inha was staring silently at me.

‘Huh?’

Feeling a bit dazed, I headed to my room.

Inha quietly followed behind and placed her pillow next to mine on the bed.

Seeing that, I felt really, truly bewildered.

Not that I dislike sleeping with Inha.

Sure, I enjoy sleeping alone, but… it’s not like I dislike Inha.

Whenever Inha stayed over, we always slept under the same blanket.

But still, this situation was quite unexpected.

A little while later, Mom brought Inha’s bedding.

Inha and I lay side by side under the covers.

“Alright, sleep tight, both of you.”

“Mm.”

“…”

Mom left, and the door closed with a soft click.

Silence filled the room.

“…Goodnight.”

Sorry, I’m not sleepy.

But since Inha had said goodnight, I responded with a laugh in my voice.

Goodnight, Inha.

…However, to be honest, I wasn’t sleepy at all.

A few minutes passed, and I could hear Inha’s even breathing, signaling she was asleep.

At that point, I slowly sat up.

A good idea regarding illusion magic had just popped into my head, making it impossible for me to sleep.

I should write it down before going to bed.

I carefully climbed down from the bed and tiptoed to my desk.

I carefully pulled out a notebook from the bookshelf and opened it.

Flipping through a few pages, the large words “Illusion Magic” appeared at the top of the notebook.

I ran my fingers over the letters detailing illusion magic below.

These were all the ideas I had come up with over time.

I pulled out a light orb from the drawer and infused it with magic power.

A soft light illuminated the room.

I sat at my desk and glanced briefly at Inha.

She’s asleep, right?

It would be nice if I could sense whether someone was asleep by detecting their magic flow.

I then carefully started writing in the notebook.

Haha… If Inha wakes up now, she’ll figure out that I can actually manipulate magic.

Even so, I couldn’t stop my hand from writing.

Once I start writing, I have to finish.

In the end, it wasn’t until after 11 PM that I finally went to sleep.

☆

It’s raining again today.

I lay sprawled across the desk, pressing the mechanical pencil over and over.

Well, I haven’t even written one-tenth of what I need, so it’s not like I’ll come up with anything new.

Inha is practicing magic with Mom right now.

Maybe I’ll secretly practice magic too.

Hmmm… but today, I feel more like reading than practicing magic.

I jumped from the chair and landed face-first on the soft bed.

“…Teleportation is still impossible.”

Even the simplest teleportation spell consumes a lot of magic power.

Mom had sternly warned me that my current magic wasn’t enough.

I drew a small barrier with one finger.

Even though it was small, the barrier fulfilled my wish, and with just a thought of ‘ignite,’ a small flame flared up within the barrier.

I created another small barrier in my other hand.

Focusing, I moved the flame from the barrier in my right hand to the one in my left.

“…If only I could make this a little bigger.”

But that’s still beyond my magic power.

Barrier magic, in particular, is the slowest and most difficult to progress in.

It’s faster to write out a barrier in letters.

That’s why I practiced using both written and barrier magic simultaneously.

However, even using both, it still felt like a huge leap to try teleportation magic.

Well, I’m steadily improving, so I’ll be able to use it soon.

Compared to the slow progress in barrier magic, written magic has expanded significantly.

For example, if I write ‘gravity,’ the floating flower seeds fall immediately, and if I write ‘the water rises,’ part of the lake water lifts into the air.

Either way, I’m content knowing that I’m growing little by little.

I’ll definitely be able to use teleportation magic proficiently someday.

But right now, I am bored.

Hmm, should I sneak out and take a bus into the city?

That thought was just a thought.

I was aware that it would be dangerous for someone my age to do that.

Besides, I had no money.

That’s the real problem.

Maybe it’s time to ask for an allowance?

Our family is actually pretty well off.

I’m an only child, after all.

But…

I sighed deeply.

‘Let’s just borrow a book from the library.’

I opened the door and dashed out.

To use the library’s checkout transfer system, you need a computer and a transfer device.

There are two computers in the master bedroom, with the transfer device next to them.

I pressed the round button on the computer.

A translucent window appeared as the computer booted up.

I looked at it with a bit of dissatisfaction.

Honestly, I prefer tangible things with substance over futuristic holograms.

It feels more real.

“…Is today just not the day?”

As I searched the library’s book database on the internet, I sighed.

There were many books that caught my eye, but none that I’d been wanting to read.

I ended up sighing again and turned off the computer.

There’s really nothing to do.

Maybe I should secretly practice magic after all.

Just as I thought that and opened the door, Inha’s face was right in front of me, startling me.

I froze in place, surprised.

From behind Inha, I could hear Mom’s voice coming from the living room.

“Eunha, did you come out? Come here for a moment!”

I turned my head in that direction, blinking, while Inha, who had been standing silently at the door, turned toward Mom.

It was only then that I realized why she was standing in front of the master bedroom door.

‘Oh, Mom asked her to call me.’

I guess I wasn’t wrong.

Inha glanced back at me and then walked ahead as if telling me to follow.

I approached Mom along with Inha.

“We’re going to meditate now. Eunha, why don’t you join us?”

“…Okay.”

I nodded and sat next to Inha, opposite Mom.

I sat comfortably, forming a circle with my hands in front of my chest, and took a deep breath.

The quality of the magic in the surrounding air instantly changed.

I peeked open my eyes, sensing the magic right beside me.

And as soon as I opened them, I was mesmerized by the brilliant colors of magic unfolding before me.

‘Wow…’

Crimson-red magic, glowing like fire, and a soft golden magic, almost lemon-colored, floated and swirled gracefully.

The magic circled around, coloring the surroundings in its hues, then eventually seeped into the body with each breath.

It was beautiful, to say the least.

I had always thought magic was pretty when casting spells, but the refined and pure magic circulating through the body during meditation was stunning.

Inha’s magic, in particular, was captivating.

Mom, a C-rank magician, clearly had more impressive magic in both quantity and quality.

But my heart was drawn to Inha’s magic.

It felt like watching my favorite stars sprinkle all around her.

‘Her face is pretty, and even her magic… It’s really unfair…’

I had never seen such beautiful magic before.

Of course, I hadn’t met many magicians…

Could it be because Inha had only recently started accumulating magic, so it was still pure?

I wasn’t sure.

None of my peers except Inha had begun accumulating magic yet.

‘But still, it’s really beautiful.’

As I watched the dazzling magic flow, I thought to myself.

Being able to see the color of magic was a real advantage.

After a moment, I quietly closed my eyes again.

Even with my eyes closed, the vibrant magic colors seemed to shine through my eyelids.

I slowly inhaled the magic.

The magic deep within me began to pulse gently.

I calmly suppressed it and opened my eyes again.

I knew this much.

While I could distinctly perceive magic down to its colors, most people couldn’t.

Even if I subtly moved my magic next to someone, they likely wouldn’t notice.

But meditation was different.

During meditation, the flow of magic could be felt like a breeze along a path.

So, I didn’t move my magic significantly, pretending to meditate while secretly watching the magic of the two others.

A little while later, their meditation ended.

Mom was the first to open her eyes.

I opened mine to match her timing.

“How about it? Is your magic replenished now?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to practice a bit more?”

“Yes.”

“How about you, Eunha? Are you going to watch?”

“Um, I… think I’ll take a walk.”

If I kept watching such beautiful magic, I’d be tempted to cast a spell.

After thinking for a moment, I gave that answer.

Mom nodded at my response.

Inha glanced at me for a moment, then turned away without saying anything.