episode_0001

“Astan.”

“Yes.”

I raised my hand at the attendance call and answered, and the professor nodded before continuing to call out the names of other students. Even as I absentmindedly watched the scene, there was still a sparkling presence in front of me, as if I were the protagonist. It was difficult to erase the thought that this person was definitely the protagonist.

“Sharen Tierk.”

“Yes, teacher.”

A soft, low voice echoed in my ears. Whether it was human instinct or an extra’s instinct, I couldn’t tell, but as soon as I heard it, my focus shifted naturally in that direction.

Sharen Tierk. The name sounded sophisticated. Usually, with names like Sharen being the first name and Tierk being the last name… Sharen, what an elegant name. Even his face didn’t seem quite human, despite being a person. With platinum hair and blue eyes, he had the kind of visual you’d expect from a novel or a movie. His gently falling hair was elegant, and his beautiful, handsome appearance, even though he was a man, was truly unbelievable.

That’s how I found out. I hadn’t been reincarnated in another world… I had been possessed by a novel. And not just any novel, but the body of an ordinary extra that didn’t even have a single line in the novel.

Truly a depressing life.

The first thing that came to mind was the sound of children crying. It seemed like I had stopped thinking about the unfamiliar sight between the cries and shouts, waking up amidst such noise. My family wasn’t incredibly poor with only four siblings, but we weren’t wealthy either.

That’s where I woke up.

When I tried to dig into my past memories, I knew for sure that the place I had been wasn’t like this, but the more I tried to remember, the more it disappeared, as if telling me not to remember, and so I naturally adapted to this world. The original owner of this body, Astan, had been playing by the river and was swept away by the current, only to wake up after several days.

That’s me now. If you ask how I’ve been… farming, taking care of my siblings, farming, farming, farming, farming…

Even thinking back now, those were tough days. While I was farming, suddenly, in the middle of it all, they said I had a talent for magic and brought me to this academy.

The academy… I only read one novel and didn’t like it, so I couldn’t continue. What was the setting again? In the center of a continent called Jingga, there’s a tower, and they bring people with magical talents from all over to train them, or was there another way to enroll? Anyway, that was the setting.

I heard the former is for commoners and the latter for nobles. I heard the latter requires an entrance fee, hooray for scholarship students. It’s just painful memories to talk about more. Why on earth did I come here? Why did I enter this novel?

“Today’s class ends here. Those who want to use the training ground, feel free to do so after reporting.”

After saying that, the professor left the classroom, and as soon as the professor left, the students dispersed into groups, chatting among themselves or heading to the training ground. I watched them absentmindedly, wondering what I should do… but I had work in the evening anyway, so I hesitated to join anyone. I thought I should just go eat dinner. As I was pulling out my chair, I briefly focused on the sound of something moving, but without being flustered, I slowly left the classroom and headed to the dining hall.

The unnecessarily large academy was labyrinthine. There were many stairs, and when I arrived at the dining hall after wandering around, I cautiously sat down at a table where no one was present, and small fairies approached me and spoke.

“Are you here for a meal?”

“Yeah, if it’s not ready yet, I can wait.”

“We only have bread and soup right now. Is that okay? If you wait a bit, we’ll also have roasted chicken prepared for dinner!”

“Then first bring me some bread and soup, and when I’m done eating, bring the other dishes when they’re ready.”

“Yes!”

At my words, the fairies fluttered their wings and moved, and I absentmindedly looked out the window.

The academy’s dining hall was located on the 4th floor. Looking out the window, I could see the dormitories to the left, other buildings of the academy to the right, and in front, the city of Ignolia to which the academy belonged.

After dinner… I have to go to work. No matter how free the tuition is, I still need to support my family. I should earn a little here so that my family can be comfortable. It might be a strange thought. I know they are not really my family, but whether I have grown attached to them or if my body’s memory recognizes them as family, it was a difficult thing.

As my mind became tangled with such thoughts, just as someone sat down in front of me, I turned my head to find that the man was sitting there.

“Hello, may I join you?”

“I have no reason to use this seat alone, and above all, as the academy says, ‘Take what you want, no matter the cost.’ If you want.”

At my words, Sharen smiled faintly, and as soon as Sharen sat down, the fairies approached as if they had been waiting. Sharen placed an order as if familiar, and I glanced at that figure. He’s really handsome.

“Sharen Tierk, right?”

“That’s right, you’re Astan. Right?”

“It’s an honor that you remember.”

“That’s what I’m supposed to say.”

At that, I let out a small laugh. There isn’t a student at the academy who doesn’t know you, right?

“He’s someone who possesses the light mana that comes once every hundred years. How could anyone not know?”

“It’s just luck. I don’t even know how to handle it yet. You might be better at handling mana than I am.”

“All I know is just about this much.”

Saying so, I gathered mana at my fingertips. As a faint energy flowed out of my body, the tiny blue mass gathered at my fingertips turned into small ice crystals as I signaled in my mind, and then I slowly fragmented the mana that had turned into ice in my mind.

I carved the left, slowly trimmed the right, and attached ice around it. As the completed ice sculpture formed in my mind, a small piece of cold air was created on my hand, and I showed it to Sharen, saying, “It’s about transforming and implementing attributes into mana, Mana Operation Technique 1. That’s all I’ve learned.”

“That should be top-notch among the freshmen, right?”

“I hope so… but you’re here, and in our year, there’s also the Princess of Flames, the Witch of Thunder, and the Jester of Wind.”

“They are special.”

“The most special one is you, the Manifestor of Light.”

At the title I called out, Sharen scratched his neck proudly, and I laughed heartily at his appearance.

“I guess you’re not used to such titles?”

“I never thought I’d be called that way, I knew how other people were called though.”

“I don’t like calling you that way either, it’s cringy. So… what should I say? Nice to meet you, Sharen Tierk, from Astan and Aralia in the north.”

“Sharen Tierk, from Photon in the north, the youngest son of the Tierk family.”

Then Sharen extended his right hand, and I extended mine for a handshake.

There was no need to be bad friends with the protagonist.

“Oh, you’re early?”

“My class ended early.”

“Have you had dinner?”

“Yes, what about others?”

“They’ll come soon, you’re the first.”

I nodded at his words, went inside the counter, put on an apron, and looked at Toa, the owner of the tavern, and said, “Did anything special happen today?”

“It’s the same, quiet. I was going to give something if you hadn’t eaten yet.”

“Have you had your meal?”

“I had something simple, just a toast from the stall over there.”

“You should eat properly; evening business is the toughest.”

“It won’t be tough if done every day.”

As she said that, she smiled softly, and other staff members came into the shop, and I started preparing to open the shop along with greetings.

While attending the academy, working was something that could be done within the rules, but it was difficult. Of course, when I think about the moment I begged the professors to allow it, it naturally makes me sigh, but once I got permission after the initial difficulty, it became easier.

That’s why from morning to afternoon, attending classes, and working at a bar in the evening to make a living became somewhat familiar, but my body seemed to feel equally tired.

For example, like now.

“…Hello.”

“…Am I not seeing properly?”

The sight of the girl who fell to the ground while trying to catch a cat, who is one of the representatives of the first-year magicians, couldn’t be anything but real.

“…Maybe I should look more carefully?”