Prologue Story

It was an unexpected voice, literally.

When I turned my head in surprise, I saw a somewhat familiar face.

It was that older girl, Lee Eunhee, who had come looking for me before.

She wasn’t wearing a school uniform today but casual clothes.

Even though it was the cold winter, she wore short black shorts, a white T-shirt, and a blue hooded cardigan with a hat.

Her shoes were simple flats.

As I unconsciously took in her attire, my eyes lingered for a moment on a long necklace that hung below her neck.

It looked like a necklace made of magic crystals or magic stones.

“Came to see you because I was bored for a bit, but where are you off to, Eunha?”

No, more importantly, what is she doing here?

I looked at her with a puzzled expression.

No, she just said she came to see me for a bit.

I also heard she’d be around for a while, so it’s not all that strange.

Besides, she’s apparently kept in touch with Mom a few times since then.

While I stood there, too taken aback to say anything, the teacher asked,

“Eunha. Is she someone you know?”

“Yes? Yes. She’s…someone I know.”

“Is that so?”

The teacher looked curious but seemed to let it go.

The older girl gave me a big grin and said,

“If you want to go somewhere, would you like this unnie to take you?”

At that, the teacher’s face lit up.

“Oh, would you? That’s a relief. Eunha seems to wander around alone quite a bit… It’s hard not to worry.”

“Really? Eunha, you shouldn’t make adults worry, you know?”

Tsk. She said that as she patted my head.

The unfamiliar touch made me a little uncomfortable, but I didn’t pull away.

She took my hand.

“So, where would you like to go, Eunha?”

This time, I made a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

Wandering around with someone I don’t know well… feels uncomfortable. A lot.

But it’s true that roaming around the city alone at my age is dangerous.

And right now, I just feel like roaming around.

“Um, then this way…”

I mumbled softly and led the way.

Anyway, I just wanted a little change of pace.

I walked around the fence, glanced at the traffic light, and crossed the crosswalk.

Repeating this a few times, we arrived at the shopping district.

I went into a nearby stationery store and bought some necessary supplies.

Come to think of it, I was almost out of erasers.

My pencil lead was nearly gone, too.

Should I buy a notebook while I’m here?

With a bit of struggle, I reached for the items I wanted.

This stationery store was nice, but everything was placed too high up.

“Here, how’s this?”

As I struggled, the student council president lifted me up with ease.

As expected of a magician, she was strong.

I was impressed.

Though I felt a bit embarrassed, I told myself it was unavoidable for a child my age and picked out a few pencils that I liked.

The notebook was within easy reach, so it was easy to choose.

There were so many cute ones that it took a while to pick.

“Wow, this one’s cute. Should I get one too?”

After picking out what I needed, I began to look at other cute things.

From puffy hair ties that only little kids would wear to more elegant ribbons, earrings I couldn’t wear yet because my ears weren’t pierced, and ear cuffs that didn’t require piercings, to simple necklaces and bracelets.

This place was packed with items that matched my taste, so I came here often.

Then my eyes caught on some headbands.

When I was older in my past life, headbands didn’t suit me very well.

So I wanted to try wearing something cute, at least once.

Yumi wears headbands sometimes, and they look so adorable.

Inha wears them occasionally, too, and she looks incredibly pure.

My lips softened into a smile without realizing it.

Thinking like this over a child with chubby cheeks, what am I even doing?

But really, Yumi and Inha are so pretty.

Kids are always adorable no matter what they do.

I held my notebook and supplies and went to the register.

I paid with the allowance I’d been saving.

“Oh, you already get an allowance from your parents?”

“Yes.”

“These stationery items are cute~.”

I laughed softly.

Afterward, I took a stroll along the shopping district sidewalk.

There were a lot of restaurants and cafes, but also many clothing stores.

As I passed by, I glanced at the clothing stores, briefly indulging in thoughts like, *Those clothes are exactly my style…*.

They were clothes I couldn’t wear yet.

I liked those styles of shoes, too, but they were still a bit much for me to wear right now.

“Oh, there are so many delicious-looking places~. This area’s pretty nice too. Hey, hey, let’s go over there! That cafe is calling to me! It’s on me!”

“Huh, what?”

I had planned to head home after some quick sightseeing, but before I could object, she pulled me along.

Without a chance to protest, I was led by her hand into what seemed to be a cafe.

*Ding!*

A bell attached to the door jingled.

Welcome.

Hearing the standard greeting from the staff, I followed her into the cafe.

There were a fair number of people inside.

With the heater on, the interior was quite warm.

“Let’s sit here.”

She led me to a table by the window.

She pressed a button on the table to bring up the electronic menu.

“Wow, there are so many delicious-looking things!”

She must really like sweets.

I looked at her, feeling a bit uneasy.

She offered to pay, but honestly, it didn’t feel right to take on a debt to someone I’d just met, even if I had been half-forced into this.

“Well, what do you like, Eunha?”

I glanced over the menu.

There were a lot of things that looked expensive.

I tried to find something within my taste but that didn’t look pricey.

First, anything overly sweet was out! And so were the really expensive ones.

One of the nice things about being reincarnated into this world was that thanks to magic, my body had become very resilient.

In this world, even non-magicians could use magic to some extent.

Colds were something only very young children caught, eyes didn’t go bad from electronics, and aside from poisons, it was hard for food to make you sick.

So I could drink as much coffee as I wanted, even at my age.

“Then… an espresso and a coffee cake….”

“What? Why those two? And espresso? That’s going to be really bitter…!”

I hesitated and said,

“I’m not a big fan of sweets….”

She tilted her head.

“I’ve thought this before, but Eunha, you’re a bit different from other kids.

Gifted kids tend to mature sooner and act more grown-up, but still…”

That was something I hadn’t heard before.

Gifted kids mature sooner than others?

At her words, I thought of Inha’s face.

Come to think of it, Inha does seem mature for no reason.

Maybe she’s that type too.

After pondering for a moment, she started tapping the menu buttons.

She entered my espresso and coffee cake as I’d said.

She seemed to think for a moment, then tapped in what she wanted to eat.

*Beep beep beep beep beep.*

…Huh?

As the electronic sounds continued, I looked up.

Whoa, how many things was she ordering?

Caramel macchiato, strawberry cream, cheese, chocolate… just how many types of cake?

With an overwhelming display of sugary choices, I stared in a daze.

After ordering eight different desserts, she finally stopped.

“Alright, ‘Confirm’.”

When she pressed the confirm button, the menu disappeared, and a message appeared saying, *Order being processed…*.

While I stared blankly at it, she clasped her hands together on the table and smiled at me.

“So, have you decided which school you’ll attend?”

That was what she was getting at.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, I replied in a low voice,

“No….”

“Hmm, I see…”

She looked a little disappointed.

I thought, *Is that so…*

The reason she was being so kind and buying me things was probably to persuade me.

On the other hand, I found myself a bit curious about Daehyun.

After all, she came to the kindergarten in her own time and went to the city with me.

She must really like Daehyun enough to want to recruit people to it in her personal time.

Besides, isn’t she still a student herself?

If the student council president herself thought it was worth it to go this far, it must be a worthwhile school.

Just then, as if reading my mind, she pointed her finger at me and said,

“Are you wondering? Wondering why I’m being so nice to you?”

“…”

“It’s nothing much. I just want you to be my junior. Really.”

I looked at her confident smile and mumbled,

“Because I… have talent?”

Even saying it myself, I felt a bit embarrassed.

*Talent*—such a big word.

It was embarrassing to boast about something like learning magic a bit early just because I was mature for my age.

She nodded at my words, then said something unexpected.

“Yes, that’s part of it.”

“…?”

“But more than that, I saw you use magic, and I thought it was amazing.”

At that moment, as I widened my eyes, a ‘ding!’ broke the mood, and the food arrived.

The desserts were teleported directly to our table via the delivery system.

Ah, it’s here.

She reached out excitedly for the dishes and cups.

She set the coffee cake and espresso in front of me and took her drink and desserts.

She immediately took a small bite of her cake with her fork.

“Mmm~! Delicious!”

She looked so happy that I couldn’t help but smile too.

Seeing people enjoy their food always lifts my spirits, even if I’m not a fan of sweets.

She continued the conversation, eating her cake.

“So, where was I? Oh, right. That day of the attack, I thought you were really incredible when I saw you using magic.”

Before I could ask why, she went on.

It was an answer to my unspoken question.

“Think about it. What child would do that?

Children are usually immature and… powerless, aren’t they?

Even if they have talent, what kid would make those decisions in that situation?

If I imagine myself at your age facing something like that, I’d probably be trembling, crying, unsure of what to do.

I don’t think I would have been able to do anything more.”

People are just different, I thought, blushing and looking down.

Even though she was speaking objectively, I understood that her words were a high compliment toward me.

She took another bite of cake.

“But you did something kids your age wouldn’t usually do.

In that situation, rather than waiting for someone to save you, you tried to change things yourself.

It was incredible.”

“…”

“I was the one who told the other teachers about you.

Seeing you like that, I felt that I really wanted someone as strong as you to become my junior.

And I don’t want someone like you getting caught up in the troubles of adults.”

The more she spoke, the more my whole body felt warm and tingly.

Embarrassment, shyness, a bit of pride, happiness…

It felt like she was praising me so much it could make a whale dance.

Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming sense of affection toward her.

It was so heartwarming I could hardly stand it.

But her next words made me open my eyes wide again.

“But more than that, what drew me to you was your magic.

That day, I saw your magic, and I thought it was really cool.

That your magic had enough power to protect you in that situation.”

She said that with a smile, as if she were stating something obvious, her fork picking at her cake.

At that moment, a corner of my heart felt choked.

It was, yes… the same feeling I had when I received praise for my novels.

From a young age, my self-esteem had been incredibly low.

I never thought I was exceptional compared to others.

I thought of myself as nothing special.

The only thing I ever took pride in was my novels.

It was the one dream I had worked hard for since I was young, a dream I had achieved with my own hands.

Ah, I realized it now.

Magic had become the same for me.

Since I was born in this world, I’d loved magic.

I thought long and hard and chose magic.

From the moment I heard that magic was something to ‘nurture,’ I had held magic dear to me.

So, for the first time, I felt truly proud.

Honestly, I was moved.

I was so happy.

I looked at her and smiled brightly.

“Thank you!”

At that, she opened her eyes wide.

“Thank you for saying that about my magic… It makes me happy.”

Though I felt a bit shy, I was genuinely happy, unlike earlier when I just felt embarrassed.

I smiled as I began to eat the cake in front of me.

After a moment, she patted my head.

“You’re a good kid.”

For some reason, her touch no longer felt uncomfortable.