Prologue Story

It was summer.

I walked through the alley and looked up at the scorching sun for a moment.

Since kindergarten was on break for a while, I could enjoy freedom to my heart’s content.

I wandered around the winding alleys, not minding the heat.

Not a single drop of sweat flowed from my body.

There was a reason I didn’t feel the heat.

Of course, people everywhere were casting cooling magic because of the heat, but the reason I didn’t feel the heat wasn’t because of that.

It was because I was enveloped in magical energy around my body.

I recently realized that the feeling changes just by adding intention to the magic itself.

So, I infused a bit of coolness into the magic encircling my body like a barrier.

I dislike the cold to the point where I hate air conditioners, so I only let a mild coolness circulate around my body, just enough to neutralize the summer heat.

Thanks to that, I could almost ignore the heat.

The best part was that it didn’t require much magic.

It was all about thinking, “cool down,” while watching the magic circulate around my body.

Lately, I’ve been practicing circulating magic while walking, and it turned out to be a good discovery.

However, that only applied around the house.

This world was full of magicians, so getting caught at the wrong time could spell trouble.

Besides, even though I was sensitive to the cold, I didn’t really feel the heat that much, so I could manage without this.

I was just doing it as part of my training.

When I opened the gate to the house and stepped inside, a lush garden bathed in summer light came into view.

I walked to the veranda near the garden and plopped down.

But it was certainly hot.

Days like this made me crave ice cream.

I raised my hand and cast a spell.

I grabbed a popsicle that looked like it was melon-flavored, but even when I touched it, it clearly felt like an illusion.

I’ve barely made it invisible, but… ha… It looks like there’s still a long way to go.

My goal with illusions was to make them not only realistic enough to affect the mind, but also to actually materialize them.

At this rate, when will I be able to do it?

The illusion of the ice cream disappeared with a flick.

I rested my chin on my palm.

“…Oh.”

While sighing, I glanced to the side and was startled.

There was a pale leg clad in a white dress.

I lifted my head and looked up at the owner of that leg.

It was Inha.

I waved silently, and Inha nodded in return.

She sat on the veranda, a little distance away from me.

There were no words exchanged, but it felt like a routine.

My mom and Inha’s mom were very close.

Close enough that they often got lost in their own world, leaving us behind.

During those times, neither I nor Inha, nor even Dad or Uncle, had any room to butt in.

When that happened, I either went to my room to study more magic or sat on the veranda looking at the garden or reading a book, except during winter.

Inha did the same.

Inha, who had no intention of interfering between our moms and aunts like me, often came and sat quietly on the veranda where I was sitting.

Sometimes, she even brought a book on purpose, like me.

Lately, Inha would occasionally stay over at our house.

Since both Auntie Suna and Inha’s dad were talented individuals who were often called away, there were times when Inha had to stay home alone.

Every time that happened, Auntie Suna would leave Inha at our house.

Inha always slept next to me in the room where my dad, mom, and I were.

At first, it was uncomfortable, and I couldn’t sleep at all, but now I’ve gotten used to it.

We even prepared a special blanket just for Inha, but for some reason, Inha still crawled into my blanket to sleep.

Despite that, we weren’t particularly close, which now seemed more surprising.

We’ve seen each other at least once a week for over a year, and we’ve even slept next to each other, yet our relationship remained awkward.

How far does my introverted, unsociable personality extend?

Both Inha and I seem to be breaking records at this point, don’t we?

There’s really no cure for my personality.

Leaning back, supporting myself with my arms, I looked up at the sky.

The bright blue sky came into view.

But I didn’t mind moments like this.

Forcing conversation felt more awkward to me.

Lately, I’ve had fewer opportunities to talk with Yumi since we were placed in different classes, but I never felt particularly lonely.

If anything, it was only my mom, dad, or teacher who ever worried.

I wanted to become closer to Inha.

I still did.

Her cool personality and steadily growing beauty were more than enough to make me fond of her.

Her quiet nature was also nice.

It matched well with mine.

Well, the closer I get, the more talkative I become, so maybe Inha would find it uncomfortable.

Besides, there won’t be any more instances of us sleeping together.

A few days ago, I moved to a new room.

I got a room of my own.

Naturally, this meant I wouldn’t be sleeping in the same room as my parents anymore.

I was the one who wanted my own room.

My mom and dad had worriedly asked, “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” but eventually gave me permission.

It must’ve been because I was mature.

They even bought me a new bed and desk.

They decorated the room beautifully and got me a big bookshelf.

They knew I read a lot of books and often wrote things in my notebook.

Mom, Dad, I love you!

Thanks to them, I can now stay up as late as I want!

…Actually, that was kind of the point.

Now I can experiment with magic as much as I want.

Of course, I plan to sleep before midnight, as staying up too late might stunt my growth, but deep down, I wish they would stop trying to make me go to bed by 9 PM.

“How about kindergarten?”

“Huh?”

I turned my head to look at Inha.

I was a bit surprised she suddenly started talking.

I tensed up for a moment but soon replied calmly.

“Summer break started yesterday.”

“……”

For the record, Inha doesn’t attend kindergarten.

Apparently, she refused to go.

Well, if you think about it, early education at kindergarten is mostly about socializing, basic learning, and helping kids develop the ability to sense magic.

Both of Inha’s parents are incredible magicians, so she would learn everything just fine without needing to attend kindergarten.

In fact, Inha already knew how to manipulate magic.

She might even be able to use magic already.

From what I could see, Inha had enough magical energy stored in her body to cast magic.

‘Is it really rare for a kindergartener to sense magic?

Well, I’m a reincarnator and have the Pocket Dimension buff, so…’

In other words, Inha was quite the talented individual.

I focused on the magical energy surrounding my body.

I continued circulating the cool, magic-infused air around me.

I was keeping the range thin and close to my skin, so it required a fair amount of concentration.

Although Inha was next to me, I didn’t pay much attention and continued my practice.

Even with magic, unless someone was particularly sensitive, it was hard to notice what someone was doing with their internal magic.

Of course, I was circulating magic slightly above my skin right now, but I found it hard to believe that young Inha had enough magical detection abilities to notice.

Ah, but this is really rare.

I rarely use magic outside like this.

Normally, I refrain from using magic outdoors.

Auntie Suna and Uncle Jungmin were still within my “caution” range.

I learned that it’s generally difficult for others to detect magic within someone’s body and that it takes considerable concentration to sense magic stored in objects.

Some items, however, are made specifically to amplify magical detection.

For example, the crystal orbs that were handed out at kindergarten to enhance magic sensitivity.

One thing for sure is that I’m more sensitive to magic than most people.

Well, good.

Now that I can even see its color, I’ll make sure to hone this talent well!

As I focused on my magic circulation training, I heard my mom and Auntie Suna calling me and Inha.

“Eunha, Inha.”

Inha and I simultaneously turned our heads at the sound of the voice.

We saw Auntie Suna gesturing towards us.

We got up and walked over to her.

Auntie Suna smiled cheerfully as we approached.

She had a notepad or something in one hand.

“I just found out, but Eunha can sense magic too, right? So, how about we both take a magic affinity test?”

“…What?”

“Inha’s never done one before.”

My mom said, giving me a subtle look.

There was an apologetic emotion in her eyes.

I scratched my head awkwardly.

Well, it’s not like I’d mind telling Auntie Suna that I can sense magic.

“So, ta-da!”

Auntie Suna dramatically held out the notepad-like paper she was holding.

“It’s an attribute paper. I got it the other day! Just by touching it, you can find out which magic attribute you have an affinity for.”

“……”

“What do you both think? Want to give it a try?”

I hesitated slightly at her words.

I had an affinity for all magic attributes.

And most of those affinities were quite high.

According to my mom, it’s… incredibly rare.

I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head.

“Um, can I try next time?”

“Why? You can do it even if you can’t use magic yet.”

“I-I’m a little scared…”

“Really?”

Auntie Suna looked puzzled but soon nodded.

As I sighed in relief and glanced away, my eyes met my mom’s.

When she saw my hesitant expression, she smiled slightly and patted my head.

I felt a bit embarrassed.

On the other hand, Inha nodded without hesitation.

It seemed like she didn’t care whether we were around or not.

“Sure, I’ll try.”

Inha reached out her hand toward Auntie Suna.

I watched her quietly.

With a delighted expression, Auntie Suna handed Inha a piece of paper.

The paper was gray.

“If you have an affinity, this paper will turn into the corresponding attribute’s color. This paper is gray, so if you have an affinity for the darkness attribute, it will turn black. Ah, and the color only appears when you think about the affinity after touching it. It responds to your will.”

The symbolic colors of the attributes correspond to their respective elements.

Light is white, darkness is black, water is blue, fire is red, wind is transparent, earth is brown, lightning is gold, plant is green, metal is silver, mental is purple, and special is rainbow.

Inha first held the darkness attribute paper.

But there was no change.

“Hmm, looks like there’s no affinity for darkness? Well, it doesn’t always get inherited.”

Now that I think about it, I heard that Auntie Suna had a fairly high affinity for the darkness attribute, around level 8.

Inha next grabbed the paper for light.

This time, the paper was a lighter gray, and unlike earlier, the color began to spread from Inha’s fingertips as soon as she touched it.

Before long, the paper turned a bright white.

“Heh.”

Auntie Suna flipped the paper Inha was holding to check the level.

The number “10” was clearly written on the corner of the paper.

“You have a high affinity for the light attribute, Inha.”

Hearing that, I nodded in understanding.

I had expected that for a while now.

The magic gathered around Inha was always so bright and calm, like a pretty starlight yellow.

When I looked at Inha at night, I felt like her body was glowing.

So, I had long suspected that Inha was a light attribute magician.

Inha next grabbed the paper for water.

“None for water either.”

“Looks like she’s completely different from me.”

“Next is fire.”

Inha held the paper.

It instantly turned bright red.

The result was “8” for fire.

Next was lightning.

“’10.'”

“Two tens…? Our Inha must be really talented…”

Auntie Suna handed Inha the next paper with a slightly reluctant expression.

Earth was a “2,” quite low.

There was no reaction from the plant attribute.

“She really must be completely different from me.”

“Looks like it.”

The wind attribute returned a “5.”

The metal attribute also showed zero affinity.

The mental attribute was surprisingly high at “7.”

“No wonder she’s mentally strong.”

The last one was “special.”

Special was the most encompassing attribute, so most people had at least some affinity for it.

Inha grabbed the last paper.

The result… “4.”

“Hmm.”

That was it.

I organized the results in my head.

First of all, the highest attributes were light and lightning, both at level 10.

Other than that, the high attributes were fire at level 8 and mental at level 7.

Out of 11 attributes, four came out with high affinities.

For someone with significant talent, this result was fairly normal, wasn’t it?

“It seems like Inha has a high affinity for light-related attributes.”

“Indeed. Eunha, what do you think? What kind of magic do you think would suit Inha the best?”

“Huh…?”

Why was she asking me…?

I looked a bit flustered but glanced at Inha.

Inha also looked at me with her usual expressionless face, as if waiting for my answer.

The moment I looked at Inha, what caught my eye was the golden magic gathered around her like starlight.

It was the most beautiful thing I saw when looking at Inha.

So, without hesitation, I answered.

“Magic that manipulates light… would suit her well. In line with her affinities…”

“Really? I thought ice magic would suit her better, but surprisingly, it’s very low.”

Auntie Suna looked slightly disappointed.

Well, Inha always had a cold expression and dark, blue-tinted black eyes, so it wouldn’t be strange to think that darkness or ice magic would suit her at first glance.

But when you look at that shining color, all those thoughts disappear.

The soft, glowing gold surprisingly suited Inha very well.

Inha looked the most beautiful surrounded by that color.

I had always seen that glowing magic surrounding Inha, so it was only natural that I thought this way.

Light magic would suit Inha perfectly.

Inha looked at me with a strange emotion in her usually cold eyes, then turned her head.

I smiled as I watched her back.

I was really looking forward to that day.

Seeing as she was already gathering magic, maybe the day I would see Inha’s unique magic wasn’t too far off.

Well, being ordinary might be the best, but being able to achieve everything you’re capable of is certainly a fun thing.

As long as I can hide it well when I’m young, it’ll be fine, right?

I smiled as I thought about that.