Chapter 2

It was a pleasant dream.

I felt myself growing day by day. When I could walk and speak to some extent, I could also run. It was strange, even though it was my own body. Well, I had already experienced it once.

And around that time... I began to sense mana.

This was truly surprising. Compared to other children my age, it was very early.

The way I came to sense mana started with something trivial. I would sometimes open the pocket dimension given to me by the goddess when my parents weren't looking. Inside, it was packed with items from my previous life. From trivial things to very precious ones, literally everything.

The contract with the goddess for the pocket dimension was quite special. While I could store items myself, basically, all the items I owned at the time of my death would move to this pocket dimension, except for the ones I wanted to leave behind. So, this meant that all the items I had collected in my previous life were contained within.

Thinking about this made me feel a bit melancholic. In my previous life, I died in an abnormal way. It was an incurable disease. My cells kept being destroyed, and I would vomit blood. In the end, I became unable to even feel pain. That's how I died.

I died like that without leaving a single memento. Wasn't that a bit too much? In my previous life, my parents... my family... especially "that person" must have been so disappointed. What must they have thought seeing my house without any mementos?

I would sometimes secretly look at the items from my previous life, thinking about this.

One day, while repeating this, I felt something. It was literally "something." An alien sensation, like a wind blowing from somewhere. It became clearer over time. One day, I realized it was "mana."

It was something that moved according to my will but wasn't mine, yet it was the source of power that moved the pocket dimension given to me by the goddess. It was probably the power the goddess had engraved in my body to handle the pocket dimension.

I could sense mana thanks to the pocket dimension. From the moment I started developing my blood flow, I didn't realize it at first, but over time, I could sense that some power not my own was flowing out of my body to open the pocket dimension. From then on, I began to feel the mana around me clearly.

It didn't end there. Not long after, I could also move the mana.

At first, I could only sense it. No matter how much I tried to move it in my mind, it wouldn't budge, and I would just sigh. Of course, it didn't work as easily as I imagined... I felt a bit disappointed.

Imagery training was my habit. So, instead of trying to force the mana to move, I decided to "imagine."

Anyway, I would become a magician someday. That was a given for me.

So, I imagined. I imagined the mana circling around me and moving through my hands. The moment it moved was then. Suddenly, the mana was clearly forming shapes and circling around my hands and arms.

Of course, I was startled. And I realized something. Moving mana wasn't about giving commands but about my will and belief to move it, and my imagination. Just as moving my body is natural, moving mana should be natural too.

I stopped moving the mana and quietly sat down to read a fairy tale.

Imagination. The magic of imagination.

The magic that allows me to fully utilize my imagination. ...Yeah, that's good.

Perhaps from that moment, the magic I would primarily use was already decided, even if I hadn't realized it.

And time passed... I eventually turned five.

☆

"Okay, everyone in the Sunflower Class, hello."

"......"

"Come on, you need to repeat after me. When I say 'hello,' you say 'hello.' Hello, everyone in the Sunflower Class."

"“Hello!”"

I made a face of disgust as I watched the teacher smile at the children. "Sunflower Class," why such a name for the class! Oh, how embarrassing! How childish! I shivered. Well, I couldn't expect much from a kindergarten, but still.

I followed the teacher's words half-heartedly and looked around. The children, with their big, wide eyes, were happily repeating after the teacher. They were very cute, and I liked children, but being among so many people made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I made a slightly uncomfortable face.

I was naturally uncomfortable being among many people. Should I say I was bad at mingling with children my age? Of course, kindergarten kids were very young from my perspective, but it was still uncomfortable. In short, I was timid.

The teacher gave us a few instructions. It wasn't much, just an introduction and a tour of the kindergarten building... and then, self-introductions. The teacher asked us to introduce ourselves.

"It's not difficult. We'll be together for a year, so we need to know each other. Just stand up and say, 'I'm so-and-so, and I'm five years old.' It's easy, right? And then, bow like this."

The teacher showed us how to bow while explaining how to introduce ourselves. Ah... Ah... Damn! I watched this with a sigh. Self-introduction... self-introduction, huh...

Being naturally timid, I was very reluctant to introduce myself in front of many people. It was embarrassing and awkward.

While I was fidgeting, the teacher assigned numbers to each desk and told us the order for self-introductions. The desks were arranged in groups of four or five, forming about five groups.

"Let's go around from the front to the right. Okay."

In this order, I would be almost last. I was sitting with five other children in the fourth group.

I swallowed hard. In this situation, I should at least try to remember the names of the children introducing themselves. To be honest, I'm not good at remembering people's faces and names...

The children introduced themselves one by one, smiling brightly and saying their names and ages. Occasionally, a shy child would speak. They were so cute, and I felt my eyes being purified.

My turn came soon. I suppressed my nervous expression, stood up, and spoke quickly and lightly, then passed my turn.

"I'm five, Yoon Eun-ha."

I bowed and quickly sat down, then placed my hand on my chest and sighed in relief. Well, I guess I'm the only one who gets this nervous introducing myself among children. The girl next to me, with her hair tied in two pigtails, introduced herself brightly.

"I'm five, Yoo Mi."

Yoo Mi. What an easy name.

I thought this as I heard the name.

Fortunately, nothing embarrassing happened after that. The teacher gave us some free time. It might have been because it was the first class, or to give the children time to get to know each other.

The children played with toys around them, but I took out fairy tales and other books from the bookshelf in the Sunflower Class (Oh, the class name is really embarrassing...) and read them. To be honest, not many children tried to read books. I guess I was a special case. There was one other special case, the girl next to me who introduced herself as Yoo Mi.

The free time passed. When the children seemed to have gotten along a bit, the teacher gathered us. The teacher held up a large, crystal-like sphere and said,

"Today, we're going to play a game with this sphere."

"Game?"

The children gathered around the teacher and chattered. I fixed my gaze on the sphere, which was about the size of a fist. It was not only because the sphere was quite beautiful and had a mysterious color, but also because I felt a strange attraction. Yeah, it felt different from other objects... I don't really trust my intuition, as it only rings the alarm in emergencies, but still.

"Teacher, what kind of game?"

"That sounds fun!"

The children were excited at the mention of a game. The teacher smiled and continued,

"Yes. This sphere is often used to train in sensing mana. Playing with it helps you sense mana faster. It's a special sphere with magic."

"Wow, that's amazing."

"Teacher! Can I have it?"

"I want one too!"

While I was half-listening to the teacher, I realized why the sphere kept catching my attention. It was because a peculiar mana was seeping from the sphere.

I could sense mana faster than my peers. It would have been nice if it was because I was sensitive, but I knew it was because I had been in contact with mana a lot. That is, the pocket dimension.

Mom and Dad didn't know that I could sense mana. I hated standing out, so I didn't tell them. I was aware that I could sense mana abnormally quickly thanks to the goddess's pocket dimension.

"Okay, now I'll explain the game, so listen carefully! We're going to play 'Treasure Hunt' from now on."

"Treasure Hunt?"

"Eh~. Let's do something else!"

"Yes, we'll do something else tomorrow. But today, we're playing Treasure Hunt. I hid this sphere outside before you all came. Today, we're going to find this sphere. And the most important thing is, if we find more spheres than the other class, the teacher will give out prizes!"

Other class?

"We're going to compete with the Star Class from now on!"

"Competition!"

"I want to win!"

The children, being young, seemed to be more competitive. They clenched their fists and looked at each other. The teacher smiled contentedly. Meanwhile, I was thinking to myself,

'The other class is called the Star Class... This is also childish!'

I shivered. The teacher raised the crystal sphere and said loudly,

"Within 30 minutes, the class that finds the most wins! The winning class will get one of these spheres as a prize, so everyone, do your best!"

"Wow!"

"Yay!"

But still, the sphere was quite beautiful, and it was right up my alley. I wanted it even more because it was said to have special magic. I bowed my head and clenched my fist slightly. Alright, I'm fired up too.

"If anyone can sense mana, they'll find it more easily. Because this sphere is designed to attract people who can sense even a little mana."

"......"

And my competitiveness cooled down. ...I'll just find it casually. Of course, I wanted the sphere. But even if I didn't get it as a prize, I would have many more chances to touch it in the future. I really hate drawing attention, especially in places like kindergarten or school! It would be the worst.

It's hard for me to talk to people I don't know, and I sometimes find it burdensome to talk to children my age. If it became known that I could sense mana faster than others, would I really enjoy the attention from teachers and children? I turned my head.

...The other class is called the Star Class... This is also childish!

I shivered. The teacher raised the crystal sphere and said loudly,

"Within 30 minutes, the class that finds the most wins! The winning class will get one of these spheres as a prize, so everyone, do your best!"

"Wow!"

"Yay!"

But still, the sphere was quite beautiful, and it was right up my alley. I wanted it even more because it was said to have special magic. I bowed my head and clenched my fist slightly. Alright, I'm fired up too.

"If anyone can sense mana, they'll find it more easily. Because this sphere is designed to attract people who can sense even a little mana."

"......"

And my competitiveness cooled down. ...I'll just find it casually. Of course, I wanted the sphere. But even if I didn't get it as a prize, I would have many more chances to touch it in the future. I really hate drawing attention, especially in places like kindergarten or school! It would be the worst.

It's hard for me to talk to people I don't know, and I sometimes find it burdensome to talk to children my age. If it became known that I could sense mana faster than others, would I really enjoy the attention from teachers and children? I turned my head.

...The other class is called the Star Class... This is also childish!

I shivered. The teacher raised the crystal sphere and said loudly,

"Within 30 minutes, the class that finds the most wins! The winning class will get one of these spheres as a prize, so everyone, do your best!"

"Wow!"

"Yay!"

But still, the sphere was quite beautiful, and it was right up my alley. I wanted it even more because it was said to have special magic. I bowed my head and clenched my fist slightly. Alright, I'm fired up too.

"If anyone can sense mana, they'll find it more easily. Because this sphere is designed to attract people who can sense even a little mana."

"......"

And my competitiveness cooled down. ...I'll just find it casually. Of course, I wanted the sphere. But even if I didn't get it as a prize, I would have many more chances to touch it in the future. I really hate drawing attention, especially in places like kindergarten or school! It would be the worst.

It's hard for me to talk to people I don't know, and I sometimes find it burdensome to talk to children my age. If it became known that I could sense mana faster than others, would I really enjoy the attention from teachers and children? I turned my head.

...The other class is called the Star Class... This is also childish!

I shivered. The teacher raised the crystal sphere and said loudly,

"Within 30 minutes, the class that finds the most wins! The winning class will get one of these spheres as a prize, so everyone, do your best!"

"Wow!"

"Yay!"

But still, the sphere was quite beautiful, and it was right up my alley. I wanted it even more because it was said to have special magic. I bowed my head and clenched my fist slightly. Alright, I'm fired up too.

"If anyone can sense mana, they'll find it more easily. Because this sphere is designed to attract people who can sense even a little mana."

"......"

And my competitiveness cooled down. ...I'll just find it casually. Of course, I wanted the sphere. But even if I didn't get it as a prize, I would have many more chances to touch it in the future. I really hate drawing attention, especially in places like kindergarten or school! It would be the worst.

It's hard for me to talk to people I don't know, and I sometimes find it burdensome to talk to children my age. If it became known that I could sense mana faster than others, would I really enjoy the attention from teachers and children? I turned my head.

...The other class is called the Star Class... This is also childish!

I shivered. The teacher raised the crystal sphere and said loudly,

"Within 30 minutes, the class that finds the most wins! The winning class will get one of these spheres as a prize, so everyone, do your best!"

"Wow!"

"Yay!"

But still, the sphere was quite beautiful, and it was right up my alley. I wanted it even more because it was said to have special magic. I bowed my head and clenched my fist slightly. Alright, I'm fired up too.

"If anyone can sense mana, they'll find it more easily. Because this sphere is designed to attract people who can sense even a little mana."

"......"

And my competitiveness cooled down. ...I'll just find it casually. Of course, I wanted the sphere. But even if I didn't get it as a prize, I would have many more chances to touch it in the future. I really hate drawing attention, especially in places like kindergarten or school! It would be the worst.

It's hard for me to talk to people I don't know, and I sometimes find it burdensome to talk to children my age. If it became known that I could sense mana faster than others, would I really enjoy the attention from teachers and children? I turned my head.

...