Prologue Story

I walked around the street in slightly uncomfortable new shoes.

As I had heard, there were plenty of things to see in the shopping district.

The area was clean and well-decorated, with several cafes offering great views.

They sold all sorts of pretty clothes, accessories, and intriguing magical items.

A well-landscaped park featured a fountain.

In the flower beds, mysterious flowers that existed only in this world bloomed, while the fountain sprayed water at regular intervals.

After exploring the park near the shopping district, we found a restaurant we liked and had lunch.

“Hey, isn’t that Eun-ha?”

While strolling through various spots in the shopping district with my parents and Inha, someone called out to me.

Turning my head, I saw a familiar face I had recognized a few months ago.

“…President Unnie.”

After some thought, I had finally chosen a title, and she smiled warmly, nodding in familiarity.

“You’re good at choosing titles~ But you can just call me Eunhee Unnie. O.K.?”

“U, Eunhee Unnie…”

“Aww, cute! Oh, and your parents are with you… it’s been a while…!”

“Hello, it’s been a while.”

As she spoke kindly, Eunhee Unnie faltered slightly upon seeing Auntie Suna.

Though I hadn’t felt it much myself, I understood her reaction.

Auntie Suna was practically a legendary figure among magicians.

Wherever she went, people would hold their breaths and bow their heads.

Because of this, she usually wore high-grade perception interference items.

She was famous enough to be recognized instantly by anyone.

Yet there were always a few who still recognized her.

My parents greeted Eunhee Unnie’s introduction calmly.

But facing Auntie Suna, Eunhee Unnie stood rigidly.

Inha quietly asked Eunhee Unnie,

“What were you doing?”

“Hmm? Well, I was out on a survey date with the vice president…”

Eunhee Unnie replied with an awkward smile at Inha’s blunt question.

It seemed she was working. Inha continued,

“…Where’s the vice president?”

“Oh, he’ll catch up after he finishes what I asked him to do. Do you want to see him? I mean, Seonghu is pretty handsome, isn’t he?”

Eunhee Unnie blushed slightly, a proud smile spreading across her face.

Now that I thought about it, I did recall the vice president being quite handsome when we met last time.

I understood her pride.

A beautiful president and a handsome vice president—it felt like something right out of a novel.

But Inha, still too young to care about appearances, merely tilted her head.

“Not really.”

“Urgh…”

I stifled a laugh.

Eunhee Unnie turned her head slightly, pretending to be a bit sulky.

“What? My vice president is pretty popular, you know. It’s just that Inha’s still young and doesn’t understand these things. Eun-ha, what did you think of our vice president? Isn’t Seonghu good-looking?”

Why would she ask that to a kid, though?

Well… these days, kids seem to know everything anyway.

After a moment’s thought, I nodded honestly. He was indeed handsome—a delicate beauty.

“Yes, he was handsome.”

“Oooh~ have a crush on him, do you?”

I made a subtle expression at her playful question.

The way she referred to him as “our Seonghu” made me wonder if they were dating.

Or maybe she simply found us cute since we were just kids.

As I pondered this, Eunhee Unnie leaned close, her face inches from mine, and I reflexively shrank back.

I replied shyly,

“Not that much… I just thought he was handsome…”

“Well, I suppose with the age difference, you two wouldn’t quite get it yet.”

Eunhee Unnie nodded, chuckling as she patted my head.

After checking the time, she straightened up and waved to us.

“It’s about time for Seonghu to be back. Well then, I’ll head off to work. Enjoy your time, Inha and Eun-ha… You all enjoy your day. Excuse me!”

Waving brightly, Eunhee Unnie walked away.

She was such a lively person.

I watched her retreating figure for a while, noticing that every student who passed her greeted her warmly, a testament to her popularity.

‘She’s admirable…’

As I stared blankly at her back, my mom whispered with a smile,

“A cheerful senior, isn’t she?”

“Yeah.”

After that, we continued exploring the school facilities and the shopping district before heading home.

It was a fun first day.

☆

One habit from my previous life had stayed with me.

Well, to be precise, I had several habits from my previous life, and this was just one of them.

Since the kindergarten bus arrived on time, it wasn’t always possible, but whenever I went to school, I was usually one of the first to arrive, unlocking and ventilating the classroom.

To put it simply, I had a habit of arriving early to every appointment.

When I went to school alone, it didn’t really matter.

But since I was now going with Inha, I’d have to let go of this habit.

I didn’t want my insistence on punctuality to force young Inha to wake up early.

For the first week, they gave us until 9 a.m. to arrive, but normally, school started at 8:40.

However, it was only 7:40 now, and I was already dressed, sitting idly on my bed.

When I woke up around 7:10, my mom was surprised and asked, ‘Why are you up so early?’

I agreed—maybe I should go back to sleep for another 30 minutes?

“Hmm, I wonder if Inha’s awake by now. Surely she’d be up soon.”

Rather than just sitting around, I decided to go for a walk.

Or maybe I should head to school early… but Inha might be upset if I did.

“Are you leaving already? And Inha?”

“Inha’s probably just getting up now, so I’m going for a walk!”

“Are you?”

“Yes!”

I picked up my bag and headed out, naturally turning on my student ID.

At this point, it felt as familiar as turning on a computer or a phone.

Being able to access the internet on the go was incredible!

I resumed reading the novel I’d started last night…though, technically, this wasn’t really a walk.

I sat down on a nearby bench.

For a moment, I wondered if I could create a chair out of condensed magic to sit on, but I decided against using magic outside, as caution was necessary.

I could use a barrier, but… goodbye, air chair. Ha-ha.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Whoa?!”

Startled, I quickly turned around.

Somehow, Inha had arrived there.

The moment I saw her, her magic glowed in a vibrant hue as she approached me.

After seeing the magic of other kids our age yesterday, I still thought Inha’s was the brightest and most beautiful.

I smiled at her.

“Did I scare you?”

“Ha-ha, a little. I was just laughing at the novel I was reading.”

I stood up, dusting off my seat.

Inha gave me a faint smile.

“You got ready early.”

“Yes… I just did it out of habit. I’m the type to arrive ten minutes early for any appointment.”

“…? No wonder you’re always here so early.”

“Yeah, so when I think about going to school, I just end up getting ready early. Are you all set too, Inha?”

I looked over at Inha.

She was neat, had her teleportation badge pinned to her chest, and was wearing her backpack.

She looked ready for school.

“Yes. I woke up a bit early too, so when I saw you were out, I just got ready and came.”

“Oh… I’m a bit sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.”

“Still, maybe we should set a specific time to leave from now on. What time sounds good?”

Inha smiled lightly and replied,

“Well…I don’t like crowds. Let’s leave when it’s quiet.”

“How about 8:15? Will you be okay getting up early every day?”

“Yes.”

Inha nodded.

Hand in hand, we teleported to school.

Arriving at 8 a.m., the entrance area was quiet, and the elementary school corridors were still mostly empty.

That was expected, as the official arrival time for elementary school was 8:40.

With my student ID activated, I used the GPS to navigate to our classroom.

This GPS feature was so convenient—I wouldn’t get lost at all!

Smiling to myself, I walked along.

Using the map was one thing, but maintaining the GPS function required a bit of magic.

However, once activated, it continued running without much magic.

If more magic was needed, a warning would appear, asking if I wanted to recharge it.

If I confirmed, it would drain a tiny amount, about the strength of a dandelion seed’s fluff.

I loved this feature.

“Eun-ha.”

“…Huh?”

Lost in thought as I navigated the map, I nearly missed Inha calling me.

Usually, I hear when someone speaks nearby, but occasionally, I zone out.

When I turned, Inha was staring at me in silence.

“What is it?”

“…Eun-ha, don’t daydream while you walk.”

Inha turned her head, slightly sulking.

Oh no, feeling awkward, I followed behind her.

After I managed to cheer up a slightly grumpy Inha, we reached the empty classroom, pleased to be the first to arrive.

I held my student ID up to the door’s lock.

I had learned the password yesterday.

After the ‘beep,’ the keypad lit up, and I entered the code I had memorized.

“It’s open.”

“Yes.”

I stepped into the classroom and took a quick look around.

But really… I felt it yesterday too, but this place was overflowing with magic.

We sat in the same seats as the day before.

The seats we’d chosen had become our assigned seats.

With spring in the air, the view outside the window felt warm.

I reached over Inha to open the window, as was my habit to ventilate the room.

With Inha’s help, I opened all the classroom windows.

Feeling drowsy, I rested my cheek on the desk.

“Ugh… I kind of feel like sleeping here.”

“Then sleep.”

“Well, alright.”

I chuckled lightly, laying my head on the desk for a while and dozing off.

I woke up only when the class bell rang, thanks to Inha shaking me awake before the lesson began.

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I focused on the teacher’s voice as she introduced the first class.

“Alright, for today’s first class, we’ll be learning about this. You all received your student IDs, right?”

“Yes!”

“Today, we’ll be going over how to use your student ID.”

“Our student ID?”

“Why…?”

Though it was a bit unexpected, I found it understandable.

But unlike me, the other kids whispered in confusion at the teacher’s words.

Why? It wasn’t much different from learning to use a computer or getting an introduction to the school.

“You all seem surprised. Let’s see how much you know about your student ID! I’ll hand out a printout now. Just answer honestly on it.”

“Aww~!”

“No grumbling! You’ll be using your student ID a lot at school.”

The teacher smiled at the students who wore bored or annoyed expressions.

“There are only two types of questions on the printout. Select all the places where you can use your student ID. Select all the tasks you can do with your student ID. Got it?”

The printouts made their way from the front row to us in the back.

As I read the contents, I felt a bit puzzled.

First, places where you could use the student ID.

Discounts on public transportation.

Discounts at the cinema.

Discounts at amusement parks.

Locking and unlocking the classroom door.

Opening and closing desks.

Borrowing books from the school library… Aren’t all of these ‘Yes’?

I checked ‘Yes’ for everything and turned to the next page.

Select all the tasks you can do with your student ID.

You can view the school map.

Connect it to a computer.

Use the GPS feature.

Use the Pocket Dimension function.

Verify your identity.

Aren’t these all ‘Yes’ too?

The next part discussed the use of teleportation and the help system. …I hesitated.

『You can communicate with people who have a student ID.』

The thought suddenly struck me, and I paused, tucking my hair behind my ear.

Huh, now that I think about it, this requires a bit of magic control; some functions aren’t easily figured out without knowing how to manipulate magic…

And I began to wonder.

If I answered everything correctly, my magical ability might become apparent.

I glanced around at the other kids’ magic colors.

Only about 20 of them, just over half, could manipulate magic in any capacity.

But would they know all these functions?

Thinking about it, I realized Inha and I should probably decide on a limit for how much magic skill we’d reveal.

“….”

I didn’t want to stand out.

After a brief hesitation, I made up my mind and wrote my answers cautiously.

I communicated this to Inha through telepathy. Just answer modestly.

Inha looked at me, then nodded.