Chapter 1

I lifted my head and rubbed my eyes.

There was saliva on my cheek. It seemed I had fallen asleep with my face on the desk.

I must have lost consciousness again while reading a book.

It’s unhealthy, but no one is there to scold me.

My mother was already gone when I was old enough to understand, and my father was stabbed to death with a knife when I was young.

My grandfather, who took me in, died of old age last year, so now I live alone.

My father was a magician known in the industry, but he was an eccentric who loved to travel.

He would leave me behind and wander off to foreign countries, buying meaningless souvenirs to try to please me.

‘I am a real magician!’ was his catchphrase when he was working.

Apparently, he had a performance where he would have a plant stab him with a knife, but an excited customer attacked him with his own knife.

He never regained consciousness and passed away quietly.

When I was young, I believed my father was a real magician and thought he would return from somewhere.

Whenever I asked, ‘When will Dad come back?’, my grandfather would narrow his eyes and stroke my head in silence.

Looking back, I was probably pitied.

I looked at the cover of the book I had been reading.

‘Comprehensive Guide to Medieval Black Magic’

I don’t want to admit it, but my interest in this kind of dubious stuff is definitely due to my father’s souvenirs.

Not just this suspicious book, but there are many dubious black magic kits in my house.

There’s no such thing as magic, but I’ve been wishing for it for seventeen years.

In the past, I was just a dreamy kid, but now I’m known as a second-year high school student with a delusional disorder.

There’s no one in my class who can relate to me, and I’m treated like a rare insect and isolated.

The only people I can call friends are the members of the Black Magic Research Club, but with senior Yamashita retiring to study for exams, only junior I-chan and I are left.

In other words, I-chan is my only conversation partner, which is a lonely fact.

Incidentally, according to school regulations, if no new members join next year, our Black Magic Research Club will be disbanded. Evil will be destroyed.

The Black Magic Research Club is my only place to belong.

I must protect it at all costs.

I need to have a meeting with I-chan about how to recruit new members soon.

If only one of the black magic kits I bought online was real, we might have new members. But I know that’s impossible.

The incident happened after school.

“...Ie, I’m thinking of quitting this club.”

After school, my trusted junior abruptly submitted a resignation letter.

Looking back, it was a miracle that I-chan, who was beautiful, friendly, and basically a sensible person, stayed in this weird club until now.

However, even though I understood, considering the current state of the club, it wasn’t easy to accept.

I wanted to negotiate at least a temporary leave or to keep her name on the roster to maintain the numbers.

However, I-chan was unapproachable.

By the time I recovered from my shock and tried to continue the conversation, she had already left the club room.

I managed to catch up with her at the school gate, but we couldn’t have a proper conversation.

In the awkward silence, I-chan walked away quickly, as if trying to escape from me, and started to cross the street.

The signal was red.

She probably didn’t notice it had changed because she was distracted by me.

Unfortunately, a large truck was passing by at that moment.

Before I knew it, I had rushed out.

I felt a strong impact on my body, and my vision went dark.

It’s hot. My whole body is hot.

I managed to open my eyes, but my vision was terribly blurred.

It seemed my brain was damaged rather than my eyes.

The surroundings began to stir. I thought it was noisy, as if it were someone else’s problem.

Someone was hugging me.

“---Y, Yaaah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault, this...”

I could hear my junior’s voice, broken and intermittent.

Good. She’s safe.

If I had rushed out and we both died, it wouldn’t have been heroic.

More people would be sad if a popular student died than if a nobody like me did.

Ironically, I don’t have any family. I hardly have any friends.

The only thing I regret is that my recent alchemy history research was incomplete, and the ‘Dragon’s Claw’ I ordered from overseas was supposed to arrive today. It’s sad even to think about it.

I don’t even have any dreams for the future.

With that final thought, my consciousness faded.