Prologue Story

“Yoo Eun-ha, you’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

“…Huh? Are you talking about me?”

Lost in thought, I pointed to myself in surprise at Shia’s remark.

Shia nodded, lightly patting my shoulder.

I was startled by his sudden words, but what did he mean by “through a lot”?

“Playing the role of a guardian caught in between.”

“….”

Hearing that, I felt a strange mix of emotions.

Most of the time, I just let them argue among themselves.

I knew their fights usually ended as mere arguments.

Whenever things escalated into magic, I’d simply throw up a barrier, and that was that.

Besides, they had the sense not to use magic where surveillance cameras or people could see.

When we joined this school a week ago, we had to honestly disclose our magic abilities on a self-introduction sheet.

That form, which even detected lies, made it impossible to submit fake information.

They sent all those forms to the director, apparently, so at least there was no risk of leaking it outside.

But, if you had invented a magic yourself, you had to write down every detail about it.

Due to that rule and a belief in confidentiality, they knew my secondary magics were barrier and written magic, and I openly practiced those in Class I.

So, I didn’t hesitate to use barrier magic to stop them.

But Shia didn’t know that.

So, that was why I felt this odd sensation.

Aside from stopping magic-related fights, what other role did I actually play among them?

Hmm… maybe answering their questions or just watching quietly?

I usually just read quietly among them… Did other people see that as hard work?

And here I was, being treated as their guardian.

“Well, we only leave Han-soo and Inha to fight because we have Eun-ha around.”

“Sometimes I try to stop them.”

“And sometimes you get pulled into their fights, too.”

I had a strange expression as I listened to Min-hee and Hyun-ho’s back-and-forth.

‘What? Is that how it is? Hmm…?’

As I struggled to understand what they were saying, the bell rang, and the teacher walked in.

The teacher, dressed in a neat suit as usual, stood at the podium.

It looked like he was organizing a bundle of papers he brought with him, tapping them on the desk before looking over the class.

“There will be three teams: the Blue Team, the White Team, and the Red Team.”

“….”

“The teams are divided fairly, so even if you’re in the same class, you might not be on the same team.”

“When practicing, you’ll have one to three hours during class each day to practice only with your team.”

“So, don’t go spying on other teams’ practice. Got it?”

The teacher smiled as he said this.

Uh… uh… it would be nice if they’d take it easy on the practice, though.

I glanced at Inha.

If possible, I’d like to be on the same team as her.

I didn’t know exactly what they meant by ‘fair,’ but since there were three teams, the odds of us being on the same team were about one in three.

If the standard was based on skill level, it’d be unlikely for all five of us to be on the same team.

It might depend on the criteria, like whether they matched by grade or across the whole school.

Ultimately, it was all up to luck.

With all these thoughts swirling in my head, I decided to relax.

Of course, I’d be disappointed if we ended up on different teams, but it couldn’t be helped.

If we did manage to beat the odds and end up on the same team, though, I’d be thrilled.

I looked up quietly at the teacher.

“And now, the team assignments!”

With a flourish, the teacher threw the bundle of papers into the air.

The papers scattered, dissolving into the air, and then letters in different colors appeared.

They formed a table with one horizontal line and two vertical lines, listing our names and numbers under Blue Team, White Team, and Red Team.

“Where am I?”

“I’m on the Blue Team!”

“I’m Red Team!”

“Me too!”

“I’m White Team!”

The class was buzzing with excitement.

Listening to the others, I scanned the list of names in the air, feeling a little nervous.

The names were arranged in numerical order.

“I’m on the White Team. What about you, Eun-ha?”

“…Wait a second.”

Thanks to having an early number, Inha quickly found her name.

I lowered my gaze down the list until I spotted my own name, then smiled broadly.

“I’m on the White Team, too!”

“That’s great!”

“Yeah!”

Inha smiled brightly, holding her palm out to me.

She really had a goddess-like smile.

I clapped my hand against hers for a high-five.

Min-hee and Shia turned to look at us, their eyes widening when they saw.

“What? Inha and Eun-ha are on the same team? That’s great! Which team are you guys?”

“White Team.”

“Aww… too bad. I’m on a different team. I’m on the Red Team, and Shia’s on White Team.”

“So, Shia, you’re on the same team as Eun-ha and Inha! Lucky you!”

Minhee pouted as she grumbled, while Shia looked happy, though a bit shy.

“We really are on the same team. Right, what about Hyun-ho and Han-soo?”

At Shia’s question, I checked the list again and replied.

“Hyun-ho is on the Blue Team, and Han-soo is on the Red Team.”

“What, I’m on the same team as Han-soo?! I’d rather have Eun-ha and Inha than grumpy Han-soo! And Hyun-ho’s the only one separated from us.”

We both nodded.

Inha briefly looked over at Han-soo, who was standing some distance away, before glancing back at the list.

“Practice for the sports day starts tomorrow! If you’ve checked your teams, feel free to leave! Good job, everyone!”

Hearing the teacher’s words, I grabbed my bag.

Inha slung her bag over her shoulder and stood up, too.

“Well, now that we’ve checked, we’ll be off. Inha, I’m going to return the comic I borrowed.”

“Really? Nothing else after that, right?”

“Yeah. Let’s return it and head back.”

Inha nodded.

Goodbye! See you tomorrow!

We waved goodbye to our friends and left the classroom.

For now, only Inha and I had access to the teleportation function on our student IDs.

So, although we could use the warp hall to get to the shopping area, we had to walk the rest of the way.

Still, that was much better than dealing with the hassle of adjusting for skill levels.

“Oh? Isn’t that Eun-ha and Inha?”

While heading toward the warp hall, we ran into Eun-hee Unnie.

She looked a bit tired.

“Long time no see. Wait, has it even been a week since we last met?”

Thanks to Eun-hee Unnie, all eyes around us turned in our direction.

Understandable—she was incredibly popular at school.

Not only was she the high school president, but she was also ranked the third most skilled magician among Daehyun students!

For the record, the vice president was ranked second, and the top spot belonged to a male senior.

“Hello.”

“….”

Inha bowed her head silently, which made Eun-hee Unnie’s eyes light up with admiration.

“Wow, Inha is seriously pretty every time I see her! Her hair is so beautiful and soft! And today you braided it? It looks perfect on you.”

“…Thank you.”

She was absolutely right.

Nodding repeatedly, I agreed with her words.

Just then, Eun-hee Unnie snapped her fingers as if she’d remembered something.

“Oh, right. I had just the thing for this. Let’s see… here it is! Inha, take this.”

“…?”

Eun-hee Unnie rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a small spray bottle.

Inha looked at it silently, tilting her head.

I also wore a puzzled expression.

“I thought Inha might need this. It’s a magic potion, a bit strong, so use it for defense against weirdos. These days, there are so many creepy people around. It’s better to be safe… Oh! And of course, Eun-ha, you should be extra careful, too!”

Inha froze for a moment at Eun-hee Unnie’s words, while I found myself simply nodding.

It was necessary, absolutely.

Inha’s cute and pretty appearance often drew unwanted attention from strange people.

Since I frequently hung out with her, I’d also encountered creeps several times.

Each time, we either secretly used magic to escape or sought help from others.

This spray would be extremely useful for Inha.

Inha was truly popular with both genders, in that sense.

“…Thank you.”

So, Inha accepted it and nodded, offering her thanks.

Eun-hee Unnie looked at Inha with a satisfied smile and nodded back.

“No need to thank me.”

After a moment, she asked us a question.

“Where are you two headed?”

“To the shopping area.”

“Shopping area?”

“We’re returning a book we borrowed from the bookstore.”

“Really? Well, as pretty as Inha is, you’re safe in school. Still, be careful, though. Some high-level magicians act shady at times.”

“It’s natural that kids are adorable, but who knows what those creeps are thinking?”

“They’re cute and all, but honestly, it’s hard to understand that guy.”

“Our school’s strongest student has a weird preference for young boys over girls.”

“He only likes young boys, not girls at all. But don’t misunderstand! He only likes them in a pure way.”

The strongest student in this school was like that, huh.

I felt a little awkward.

“But still, I don’t get it. Why only boys? If they’re cute, they’re all cute!”

“Joo Ji-hyun has a weird taste… Oh, speaking of which.”

Halfway through her grumbling, Eun-hee Unnie suddenly thought of something.

“Ji-hyun’s little sister is eight and enrolled here this year. Do you know her? Her name is Joo Min-hee.”

My eyes widened.

Our school’s strongest magician was Joo Min-hee’s older brother?

So talent was genetic, after all.

Considering Inha’s abilities, Han-soo’s mom being one of the world’s top 500 magicians, and Hyun-ho’s brother… wow.

‘Could magical skill really be hereditary?’

While I pondered in amazement, Inha answered.

“Minhee is my friend.”

“Really? Wow, I didn’t know. Well, since you’re in the same grade.”

Eun-hee Unnie nodded in understanding.

“Even though he says he dislikes girls, he’s obsessed with his little sister.”

“He’s so much of a siscon, it could shatter anyone’s image of him!”

“With a face like that… Well, I suppose he still lives up to his looks… kind of.”

“Hmph, he’s quite the annoying guy.”

“Oh, I guess you two don’t know what a ‘siscon’ means.”

“A ‘siscon’ is someone who really loves and treasures their younger sister.”

“….”

Inha tilted her head, indicating she hadn’t known the term before.

Eun-hee Unnie sighed as she continued to complain.

“He keeps a blank expression around girls, but his face changes whenever he sees a cute little boy.”

“Honestly, sometimes I have doubts about him.”

“He never stops talking about his little sister.”

“I wonder why someone like him would be the next president.”

“Of course, his skill is ridiculously impressive.”

“And that guy, Han-soo, and Hyun-ho, right?”

“Apparently, he’s a bit worried lately, since those two have been hanging out with his sister.”

“He’s contemplating what to do if he finds them too adorable.”

“Wait, do you two know him?”

“….”

I only nodded and kept my mouth shut.

Listening to her, I realized how overwhelming his protectiveness must be.

What would it feel like to have a friend’s older brother spoil us like that?

Han-soo would probably roll his eyes and tell him to stop treating him like a child.

Hyun-ho would likely grin and enjoy it, while Shia would probably get flustered.

Lost in Eun-hee Unnie’s stories, we soon found ourselves in front of the warp hall.

Since we were headed in different directions, we waved goodbye to her as we climbed onto the warp platform.

Inha carefully tucked the spray bottle Eun-hee Unnie had given her into her pocket.

We soon arrived at the bustling shopping area, crowded with people.