Prologue Story

Actually, even if I accidentally revealed a bit of my abilities by answering honestly, it wouldn’t cause a major issue.

The other kids would just think, “Oh, that’s how it is,” even if they saw the printout directly.

And the teacher wouldn’t tell anyone about my skills gained from this.

After all, she wouldn’t want to break the most important school rule.

Still, I wanted to keep my abilities hidden as much as possible, so I chose the questions carefully.

In the end, I marked “X” on the question about whether I could access all school information.

It was true I could access information, but it wasn’t possible to view *all* information just with a student ID.

Just as I finished marking every question, the teacher smiled and spoke.

“Alright~ Is everyone done now?”

The kids responded with smiles to the teacher’s words.

“Yes!”

“All finished!”

“Then I’ll go over the answers now. Make sure you check yours.”

“Huh? Was this a test?”

No wonder it felt as exhausting as taking a test.

I sighed and whispered to Inha, asking, “Did you write enough?”

“Yeah, but there were things I didn’t know.”

I gave her a faint smile.

So, am I the odd one out for having spent a week experimenting with the student ID?

But I didn’t expect it to be self-graded. How anticlimactic.

I thought they’d collect and check it, so I wrote just enough.

But maybe that’s for the best?

Then again, since we might still turn it in after grading it ourselves, there was no harm in being careful.

“So, regarding the places where you can use your student ID, all the discounts listed here are marked with an ‘O.’ Did anyone know that?”

“What? Really?”

“Wow, seriously?”

“I knew that!”

“You all know you can use the student ID to open your desk and classroom doors, right? You can also use it to borrow books from the school library. Plus, in some nearby libraries, you can use it as a membership card without needing to create an account.”

Some kids knew this, while others didn’t.

But really, knowing or not knowing these things didn’t matter for our skill levels.

I half-listened to the teacher’s continued explanation.

“Then the second question. Everyone probably knows you can view the school map, but did you know that if you channel a certain amount of magic into it and select the function, you can teleport to any location except restricted areas?”

“Huh?!”

“Is that true?”

“Wow!”

“See, you’ll need to learn how to use it, right? Also, did you know that school communications and announcements are all sent through the student ID? You can even connect it to a computer… and if you place it over paper, it can print out the exact text.”

“Oh, wow.”

I hadn’t known that.

I noted down the new information in my notebook.

“The GPS function needs an initial magic charge to activate. After that, it only uses a small amount of magic depending on permission, but it can guide you not just on school grounds but anywhere in the country.”

“Whoa!”

“I didn’t know that.”

Amid the excited chatter, Inha whispered in my ear.

“You knew this, right?”

“Yeah, so I marked it as ‘O.’”

I responded and looked back at the teacher.

The kids’ exclamations hadn’t stopped.

“When used as a bag, you need to channel a certain level of magic, which activates the ‘Pocket Dimension’ feature in the student ID. It’s not very large, but it can hold most things.”

“Really?”

“I have to try that right now!”

“Ah, please keep listening to me for now. Besides, it won’t work with your current magic level.”

That was true.

From what I knew, it required a considerable amount of magic to use the Pocket Dimension, and probably only Inha and I could manage it.

Of course, that wasn’t certain.

There were surely others hiding their abilities as well.

After all, this school was for people like that.

I scanned the students around me.

The various colors of magic flickered within my view.

But my detection ability was still quite lacking in terms of measuring others’ magic.

Of course, these eyes let me see the color of magic.

But ‘seeing’ itself was a bit ambiguous.

The stronger a person’s magical skills, the clearer their magic appears.

But it’s up to me to differentiate that ‘clarity.’

I had to judge based on subtle visual differences that appeared to my eyes.

So it was tricky.

Each color had its unique clarity.

How could I possibly compare the clarity of black with that of white?

Instinct or a hunch would be more accurate.

But sensing another person’s magic was quite difficult.

If someone’s magic is stronger than mine, I can’t sense it well.

Even if it’s not stronger, I tend to feel it more vaguely if it’s another person’s magic.

Thus, I judged whether they could manipulate magic by observing the energy’s density and liveliness around them.

Plus, non-magicians, who can’t control magic, don’t accumulate unique magic within their bodies, making it easier to distinguish them.

There were perhaps two kids whose magic was notably clear.

I leaned my chin on my palm and looked at the two people sitting in front of me.

Meanwhile, the teacher continued explaining.

“Everyone knows that the student ID is used as an ID card at this school. But, in fact, it shares a wealth of information. You can learn what’s in the school and where it’s located. When students request help, a help system is activated to connect them to a communication line. Important announcements are delivered, and students with the ID can even contact each other or communicate telepathically, like with mental transmission.”

I snapped out of my thoughts and perked up at her words. Telepathy! That means transmitting voices directly into minds!

I jotted that down in my notebook with a grin.

I have to try all of these!

“Many features require magic to be activated. Your student ID’s functionality varies with your skill level. As your magic grows, more features will unlock. This ID was specially designed to grow alongside your abilities.”

Hearing that, Inha and I exchanged glances.

Then maybe… the features we could use might differ considerably from the others’.

Thinking back, Inha and I did notice slight differences in our displays.

“But on average, the features you can use during elementary school are about this much. The hardest ones to master are teleportation and the Pocket Dimension.”

The teacher gave us all a serious look.

Her usual smile faded, and she addressed us in a solemn tone.

“In other words, the functions of the student ID vary according to ability. So, don’t peek at each other’s IDs, and don’t talk about your friends’ IDs to others. If you do, I’ll have to give you a scary punishment. What’s the most important school rule in four characters?”

“‘Confidentiality!’”

“That’s right. And the student ID is one way to assess skills. So never peek at it. It’s okay to look if they offer to show it, but remember, if your friend says no, you shouldn’t look.”

Wow, this school is serious.

I chuckled to myself. Confidentiality, huh? I liked it.

For someone as cautious as me, this school was practically a dream come true.

Finally, the teacher mentioned that the amount of information accessible through the ID also varied based on skill level and wrapped up her explanation of the student ID.

“Among the features I just explained, there were probably a lot that you can’t use yet. Many of them require magic. But now, I’ll explain the student ID features that anyone can use, even without magic.”

From the first period through the second, the lesson took up the entire two periods.

By the way, they did collect the printouts.

In the end, it was good that I had thought things through carefully.

As break time started, the room became noisy.

The kids socialized loudly, befitting their age.

Especially around us, it was quite crowded.

The reason was Inha.

Boys and girls alike approached her, drawn to her coolness and pretty face, but she brushed them off with a few curt words, cut them off, or ignored them altogether.

It was that charisma of hers.

No one seemed to get upset with her for her cold demeanor.

Some kids got a bit annoyed, but even they would quiet down and look shy once she glanced their way.

Inha watched the group of kids around her with irritation throughout the break.

It wasn’t until the bell rang that the kids finally left.

As they returned to their seats, they all glanced back at her.

Seeing that, I giggled and whispered teasingly into Inha’s ear.

“Inha, you’re amazing. You might end up with a fan club.”

“Fan club?”

She looked confused.

I just told her there was such a thing.

It was just a joke, anyway.

No matter how pretty Inha was, fan clubs only existed in comics or novels, right?

She wasn’t a celebrity, after all; that would be ridiculous.

But it felt like I was getting a glimpse of how popular she might become in the future.

In the third period, we listened to explanations about the school facilities.

The teacher explained the devices installed throughout the school, the restricted areas, and the student council-related systems.

By the way, I didn’t bother taking notes on this part.

It felt familiar, like I had already seen this information—because it was listed in the student ID’s announcements.

“That wraps up the third period. For the fourth period, we’ll have free time. Don’t worry about bothering other classes since the soundproofing is perfect. I’ll activate the Dispel Area in the classroom now, so no magic, just chat with your friends.”

“Yay!”

Watching the cheering kids, I whispered to Inha.

“Perfect soundproofing? For these kids, it’s paradise since they can be loud.”

“Yeah.”

But I didn’t really like all the noise…

With a slightly troubled look, I stretched out my arms and lay down on my desk.

As soon as the bell rang, the kids swarmed around us.

No, to be precise, around Inha… The ratio leaned slightly more toward the boys.

Oh, they’re quite mature, I thought with a smirk.

Well, it made sense, considering how pretty Inha was.

The first graders were adorable.

I didn’t mind the crowd too much.

The surroundings were noisy, and being the center of attention was a bit overwhelming, but since the focus was on Inha, it was bearable.

…Although saying that made Inha sound like bait.

I suddenly felt a bit sorry for her.

“Hey, you.”

Just as I relaxed a bit, someone suddenly addressed me.

It was a girl I’d only glimpsed around the classroom.

Startled, I responded.

“Huh? Me?”

“Your uniform and shoes look great together! Where did you get them?”

Now that I looked closer, this girl was also wearing a uniform.

Maybe that’s why she was interested.

I felt a bit flustered but managed to answer shyly.

“At the shoe store in the school’s shopping district… They’re selling them there.”

“Really? Where is it? What’s the store’s name?”

“Well…”

I told her the shoe store’s name.

She smiled brightly and thanked me before turning to leave.

Hmm, she’s already capable of using magic, I noted to myself.

Meanwhile, Inha ignored the kids crowding around her, pretending to be absorbed in the book I had recommended.

She finally addressed the noisy kids with a single remark.

“I’m trying to read, so could you keep it down?”

Her cold, icy tone of rejection seemed to have some effect, as the kids flinched and backed off.

Wow, she’s really cool.

I didn’t even have the nerve to apologize to the dejected kids.

I’m really too timid…

“Hey.”

The kid sitting in front of us turned her chair to face us.

She looked at me with a cheerful smile, then pointed to a slightly frail-looking boy next to her.

“Huh?”

“So, I was messing around with my student ID with him, but we’re a bit confused… We heard the teacher explain how to open the map and activate the GPS, but after that, how do you actually use it?”

I checked what she didn’t understand and moved closer.

“Hmm… I’m not sure if mine works the same as yours, but let’s start by opening the map.”

“Okay.”

She nodded and turned on her student ID in front of me without hesitation.

Well, since she had already heard about needing magic for the GPS, it didn’t matter if I saw it.

From what I sensed, this kid seemed pretty talented.

“Press the button at the top to turn on the GPS function.”

“Alright, got it.”

“You see the blinking spot? That’s where you are now. Then you press ‘Destination’ up here, and you can enter your desired location to search.”

“How do I type it in?”

“…”

I blinked.

For me, just thinking about wanting to write something would bring up a keyboard…

“For me, when I want to type, I just think about it, and…”

“Oh, a keyboard just appeared. Aha, got it. Thanks!”

She smiled innocently, so I smiled back and nodded.

After finishing the conversation with him, I noticed that Inha had been watching me the whole time.

“Why? Finished your book?”

“No, just for a moment.”

“…?”

“Hmm…”

With a slightly odd expression, Inha remained silent.

I looked at her with a puzzled expression.