Prologue Story

“There’s no choice. Don’t you agree?”

“No, senior. I don’t know. These kids wouldn’t know either. They’re just first graders who just entered school.”

“Then I’m going to guess.”

I listened to Senior Ji-hyun’s words and scribbled on my answer sheet. The Director’s magic was known as Verbal Magic. Verbal Magic had some similarities to my Written Magic.

My Written Magic wasn’t entirely Light Attribute nor Darkness Attribute, but it leaned somewhere in between. However, if I had to choose, I felt it leaned a bit more toward the Light Attribute.

The color of the Director’s magic that I saw was also close to light… Ah, yes, it was even more brilliant platinum than In-ha’s. So…

『Light』

After thinking it over, I wrote that down. Of course, not everything associated with light was necessarily bright.

However, I figured that Verbal Magic, by its nature, might lean closer to light magic of the Mental Attribute. Verbal Magic is the power to command all things and create something.

Creating something seemed close to “light.”

Of course, since I hadn’t studied it deeply, this was just my guess.

Well… just because someone’s main magic has a certain attribute doesn’t necessarily mean that’s their personal attribute. A magician’s attribute is determined by various factors. The attribute should align well with the magician and be something the magician excels in, even if they don’t always use it directly in magic.

And it’s often one of the natural attributes that a magician adopts as their own.

In my case, my main magic was illusion, but I considered my attributes to be both light and darkness.

I pondered over the answer for a while even after writing it down, but in the end, I nodded to myself in agreement. In-ha saw what I wrote and copied it.

Of course, In-ha knew that I had a talent for sensing, to the extent that I could see the color of magic. So, she probably thought my answer had a higher chance of being correct. Meanwhile, Shia, who wasn’t aware of that, seemed to be guessing on her own.

Soon, we simultaneously lifted our answer sheets.

“Director, what’s the most appropriate attribute over there for the answer?”

For reference, Shia wrote Mental Attribute, the middle schooler wrote Special Attribute, and Senior Ji-hyun wrote Darkness Attribute. So, what’s the answer?

The answer to the question was announced directly by the Director, who was standing on one side of the field.

“My attribute is ‘Light’ and ‘Mental,’ so both are correct.”

“Ohh!”

“Gasp…”

Even though I got it right, I swallowed hard. I was correct? Really? Not just me but Shia too. But the two seniors next to us got it wrong. So, the only ones left in our team were us three elementary schoolers…

“Oh no, In-ha, Eun-ha! It’s just us left…!”

Shia clung to my arm with a nervous look. The two seniors who got the answer wrong stood up and moved away from us. Min-hee, Han-soo, and In-ho oppa did the same, waving as they left. I hung my head in silence.

“What a scene! All three people left on the White Team are elementary first-graders! Their luck is incredible! On the other hand, all members of the Blue Team are still in the game! Ah, now that I think of it, Yeon Yoon from the high school division is a sensing type, right? Wow. In contrast, the Red Team is entirely out… It’s a bit sad. But to call this a fair competition between White and Blue… haha, the first-graders seem so pitiable.”

Come on! Hang in there! You can do it! So cute! Isn’t that girl really pretty?

The more I heard those comments, the more my heart pounded with nervousness. I mumbled quietly.

“I’m about to lose it from all this tension…”

“Me too…”

“…It’s okay. This is the last one.”

“Mhm.”

I agreed faintly with In-ha, nodding alongside Shia.

“Then, to give the cute kids a chance, Teacher Joon-hwi! How about setting the next question based on one of those kids over there! Let’s make everyone guess together this time!”

“What? You can’t do that!”

“Why not? We’re up against kids.”

Some people jeered, while others supported the idea. Most of the jeering came from the Blue Team, while the support came from the Red and White Teams. I happened to catch Eun-hee unnie’s eye as she smiled softly at me.

“So, this will be the last round. Good luck, Eun-ha, In-ha, and Shia.”

“Oh! Teacher Joon-hwi has agreed! Now, everyone, no discussing your answers! Teacher, please give us the question!”

“Let’s see… among the remaining Blue Team kids, Kim Hyun-ho.”

“Huh? Me?”

Hyun-ho answered in surprise. The teacher kept it brief. “That child’s attribute,” he said before closing his mouth again. Wow, that was straightforward… but wait, isn’t this actually unfair rather than advantageous?

I tilted my head in thought.

We hadn’t shared our attributes openly, but as comrades, we at least knew the attributes most compatible with each other. Well, Shia wasn’t in the same level-based class as us, so she probably didn’t know Hyun-ho’s magic attribute. So is it fair because each side has two people who know? In-ha and I exchanged glances briefly and quickly wrote our answers. Hyun-ho’s attribute was water—of course.

After writing my answer, I glanced over at the Blue Team. Other than Yoo-jung unnie and Hyun-ho, who answered quickly, the others seemed to be struggling. Understandable, since it was hard to guess the attribute of a first-grader who hadn’t yet developed magic.

Wait…

“Now that I think about it, there was a sensing magician over there.”

One person wasn’t hesitating. After glancing at Hyun-ho, he calmly wrote down his answer. Seeing that, I resigned myself to the idea of losing. They had three people who could guess the answer, while we probably only had two.

“The correct answer is water! Oh, White Team, two of you got it right! However, with a sensing type on the Blue Team and both the person in question and his friend, they had three correct answers! The Blue Team wins first place in the quiz competition!”

Phew. I sighed deeply. Ah, I’m exhausted. In-ha may have kept her composure, indifferent to everyone’s gaze, but Shia and I weren’t exactly that strong-willed. I patted Shia on the back with a concerned look.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

She grimaced as she watched Hyun-ho’s team go up to the stage set up on the field. Ugh, it must be super embarrassing up there! With my courage, I could never go up on stage. I let out a sigh of relief. Good thing we didn’t win.

“The Blue Team gets 50 bonus points! And for the White Team, our little juniors worked so hard, so they get 20 points! As the prize for the quiz competition, each winner receives three free tasting vouchers to our school’s popular cafe, ‘Granche’!”

Wow, lucky them! Voices of envy erupted here and there. Wow, I love the coffee there too. They have a ton of delicious stuff. It was quite a nice prize.

“Well then… this concludes the morning events. Now it’s lunchtime! Enjoy your lunch!”

At those words, I stood a bit to the side of the field and stared blankly at the sky. Finally…? Phew, the exhausting quiz competition was over…

I really thought it would be just a lighthearted thing, but it turned out to be such a nerve-wracking competition. I shook my head and watched people leave the field in waves. Rather than exiting in an orderly manner, most people either flew out or teleported away.

I looked back toward where Teacher Joon-hwi had been. Teacher Joon-hwi was already heading toward the opposite exit of the field with Teacher Min.

The three of us waited for Hyun-ho and Yoo-jung unnie to join us before leaving. The last survivors of the quiz competition were just coming down from the podium.

“Phew, that was nerve-wracking. Are you okay, Eun-ha?”

Soon, Yoo-jung unnie approached us, smiling brightly, and asked. I let out a sigh and shook my head.

“As expected, being in the spotlight is exhausting…”

“Hm? Really? I didn’t mind.”

“That’s you, not me.”

I pointed at Hyun-ho as I explained.

“Eun-ha! In-ha!”

Just as we were about to go find Min-hee and Han-soo, Eun-hee unnie and Senior Seonghu came over. They seemed to be headed for lunch too. A female senior who used time magic and a male senior rumored to be a sensing type were with them. It looked like they were friends.

“Eun-ha and In-ha, you two did great. Our smart juniors are even bright to boot, right, Seonghu?”

When Eun-hee unnie asked, Senior Vice President Seonghu nodded. I had thought he would brush it off, so it was a bit unexpected.

The senior girl who used time magic lightly tapped Eun-hee unnie’s shoulder and asked, “You know each other?” “Yes, kind of,” Eun-hee unnie nodded, looking me in the eye and smiling brightly as she handed something to me.

“Well then, this is a small reward for Eun-ha and In-ha, who worked so hard! This unnie’s fine, so later go to Granche and buy yourself something tasty with this. The food there is really good

“…!”

Eun-hee unnie gave us two free tasting vouchers for the cafe. I looked at her, surprised.

“Wait, but…”

“It’s fine, really. I got them almost for free anyway.”

“But… Eun-hee unnie, you like sweet stuff, don’t you?”

Granche is known for its sweet desserts. The cakes there are so good that even people who don’t like sweets can enjoy them. They have a mild sweetness with a refreshing aftertaste, leaving a pleasant lingering flavor, so I could eat a few slices of their dessert.

At my words, Eun-hee unnie looked a bit guilty.

“Ugh, well, yes, but still…”

“What’s going on?”

At the sound of his voice, Eun-hee unnie and I turned to look at him. At some point, Senior Ji-hyun was standing next to us, looking down. With him were Min-hee, Han-soo, In-ho oppa, and another senior, who was fourth in rank. Senior Ji-hyun and Min-hee’s group, who had briefly gone outside the field after being eliminated, had returned while we hesitated near the field exit.

“What’s going on?”

Then, he directed the question at me. Caught off guard, I hesitated briefly, and Eun-hee unnie quickly placed the free tasting vouchers in my hands before stepping back.

“Ack…!”

“Little ones should graciously accept the kindness of adults! Oh, and don’t accept kindness from suspicious people, of course! Come on, let’s hurry and go to lunch.”

Before I could respond, Eun-hee unnie quickly led her group away. I ended up holding the free tasting vouchers. It was a bit overwhelming and embarrassing, but deep down, I was immensely grateful.

Then, the Vice President silently approached me.

“Huh?”

While I was still processing, he handed me a set of vouchers just like the ones Eun-hee unnie had given me. When I looked up in surprise, he spoke calmly.

“These are for your friends. Enjoy them together.”

Then he turned away and walked side by side with Eun-hee unnie. She looked at him in surprise, but then beamed and patted him on the back. Well done! I watched them walk away, noisily chatting.

“…What’s gotten into Senior Seonghu?”

“Seriously! He’s not usually like that!”

Senior Ji-hyun and the other senior looked surprised as they watched the Vice President. I stared blankly for a moment, then carefully folded the vouchers and slipped them into the small coin purse in my pocket.

Anyway, we decided to go eat lunch. While we gathered, we weren’t all going to eat together. Yoo-jung unnie and In-ho oppa said they were going to eat with their parents, so they left us.

As we waved goodbye to them, Hyun-ho asked curiously.

“What about you guys? Are your parents here?”

“Our parents are busy.”

In-ha and Han-soo answered in unison, then glared at each other with irritation. I turned to Hyun-ho without trying to mediate.

“And you, Hyun-ho? Are your parents busy too?”

“Nope! My mom’s here, but she asked me to bring Han-soo along. But I wouldn’t mind eating with you guys. Want to join us?”

“No, that’s a bit…”

I hesitated, feeling uncomfortable about eating with a friend’s parents. Even hanging out with Min-hee’s brother had felt awkward…

‘Oh, right…!’

Suddenly, I remembered and looked at Min-hee. She had been watching us talk about our parents with a quiet smile. Smiling quietly… with her mouth closed…

“…”

For a moment, I lost my words. It was only natural, I thought, feeling sorry… I looked at Min-hee, hesitated a bit, and then spoke to her. If the situation didn’t allow it, In-ha and I would eat alone, but eating together wouldn’t be bad.

“Min-hee, are you eating with your brother?”

“Hm? No. I’ll be with Shia too.”

Min-hee looked at me, tilting her head. I smiled warmly at her.

“Then, would you like to eat with In-ha and me?”

Though I hadn’t asked In-ha’s opinion, I was sure she’d follow along. And even if it was awkward, having someone with us was better than just the two of us. I glanced over at Senior Ji-hyun, thinking that with so many outsiders on campus today, it was safer.

Min-hee looked a bit surprised, but then she smiled brightly and held my hand.

“Sure!”

I gazed at Min-hee, who gripped my hands tightly, with a radiant expression, as if she were a lost child who had just found her mother. Feeling a pang of pity, I smiled faintly.

Min-hee chuckled softly. In-ha watched us silently, then furrowed her brow slightly. I noticed and was about to look away when Hyun-ho shouted in protest.

“That’s not fair! You wouldn’t come with us!”

These kids still had no sense of the situation, given their age. I should be understanding. At events like this, where parents came and went, Min-hee must have felt left out since her parents couldn’t attend.

Min-hee was still young. She was too young to handle the feeling of being left out on her own.

“Right. Eun-ha, you’re showing favoritism. Isn’t that gender discrimination?”

Oh no… Han-soo too. I sighed, and In-ha impatiently waved them off.

“Yeah, go. We’ll eat by ourselves.”

“You…!”

“Ugh, that’s so unfair!”

Han-soo scowled at In-ha, and Hyun-ho whined. In-ha proudly linked her arm with mine. Just before the situation escalated, I pulled my arm away from her and gently ruffled Han-soo and Hyun-ho’s hair. They looked up at me, startled.

I softly pushed them toward the exit.

“Alright, let’s meet after lunch!”

The two finally backed off. Walking away, they raised their hands to their heads, looking quite cute.

“Wow! Lucky! Eun-ha, pet my head too!”

Min-hee affectionately rubbed her head against my shoulder. Geez, she was like a cat. I muttered to myself and patted her head. Then, I realized something: I was joking around and feeling close to them…

“…”

Then, for some reason, I patted In-ha’s head, who was pouting and kicking the ground. In-ha’s face turned slightly red.

As I did, the two seniors looked at me with amused expressions.