Resolve
When I opened my eyes, all I saw was sky.
And not just any sky — I was plummeting from an absurdly high altitude.
I forced myself to stay calm and scanned my surroundings. Everywhere I looked, girls just like me were falling through the air in dense clusters.
One thing stood out immediately.
Why were they all wearing military uniforms?
And why did every one of them have some kind of enormous staff strapped to her back?
"W-wait···! Where the hell am I···!"
Was this some other world's battlefield? And since when did girls wear combat gear and haul staves around on their backs, anyway?
More importantly — was I even going to survive this?
I checked myself over carefully. Thankfully, the ring-like handle attached at my side looked like it belonged to a parachute. Glancing down, I found I was wearing a full military uniform complete with goggles. That probably explained why, even falling this fast, my body felt surprisingly stable. At least I wasn't spinning helplessly in the wind.
But then—
Why could I see a chest attached to me?
And only now did I notice something else. There was no sensation of anything rod-like between my legs.
No way.
Had I possessed some girl's body?
Why all of a sudden? I was definitely at home reading a novel called Magic Frontline when I dozed off···!
Wait.
Magic Frontline?
Was this the world of Magic Frontline? I was pretty sure it had been a tragic fantasy war yuri novel.
Ah, forget it. Right now, figuring out how to stay alive took priority.
Ugh. I feel like I'm going to die.
The moment I broke through the clouds, the ground finally came into view.
"Whoa··· what is that···"
Below, two opposing forces were locked in a tangled, brutal melee.
Hold on. Those looked exactly like the Erdia Empire and Velora Federation armies from the original story.
Magic bullets tore endlessly through the air and detonated, sending black smoke billowing skyward with every blast.
"A-am I··· actually going to make it through this···?"
All around me, the uniformed girls deployed their parachutes in unison. They had to be from the 3rd Division. I copied them and yanked hard on my parachute ring.
I definitely pulled it hard, and yet—
"Why won't it open···!"
Mine alone refused to deploy. I kept freefalling. I could feel the girls who'd already opened their chutes glancing my way one by one.
"Hey···! Don't just stare — help me···!"
They could hear me, sure, but there was nothing they could do. Once a parachute was open, there was no way to close the distance.
That was when it happened.
Something cut through the wind behind me, dropping fast.
"···Huh?"
In a blink it shot past my side, then banked hard and came back around.
And in the next instant—
Whump!
Someone slammed into me and locked their arms around my body.
A girl with short red hair and emerald eyes filled my vision.
Wait. That's Ireli.
One of the main heroines of Magic Frontline.
"Laila, are you okay···?"
Hold on.
Laila?
Laila was the protagonist of Magic Frontline.
Then did that mean···
I had become Laila?
Given the situation, playing it cool seemed like the smartest move. Recalling that the original Laila had been timid and prone to stuttering, I opened my mouth.
"Y-yeah, I'··· I'm fine···"
Whether the answer landed right or not, Ireli didn't seem the least bit suspicious. If anything, she only held me tighter.
"I was so worried···"
"···"
Wait a second. Ireli's body was pressed flush against mine.
U-um? You're a little too close···?
I couldn't quite bring myself to say it out loud, and swallowed the embarrassment as best I could.
"Laila, your face is red···?"
"Nnh··· i-it's nothing···"
"Hmm··· is that so?"
Ireli studied me with a faintly suspicious look. I did my best to avoid her eyes.
"Nnh··· more importantly, could you open my parachute···?"
"Hm···?"
"If we keep falling like this, we're going to die···?"
Only then did Ireli look down. We were still dropping through the sky without a single parachute between us.
"Ah."
"So hurry up and—···!"
But instead, Ireli only squeezed me tighter.
"But··· holding you this tight up in the sky feels so nice."
The closer our bodies pressed together, the harder it became to ignore how strangely aware of her I was. Come to think of it, the original Ireli had basically been head-over-heels for Laila.
"H-hold on···?"
If this was the original Ireli, she would absolutely wait until the last possible second and only open the chute right at the brink.
But still···
Scary was scary.
In a panic, I grabbed the ring on Ireli's back and yanked.
Fwoomp.
The parachute bloomed open and jerked our bodies upward. No longer able to cling to me from the front, Ireli pouted in open disappointment.
"Ah, Laila···!"
"B-but··· I was scared···"
Well, she was still holding me tightly from behind either way. I could feel her chest pressed against my back through the fabric — but this was still a whole lot better than before, right?
As we drifted slowly toward the ground, I looked down at the mages locked in combat far below. At this range, it wouldn't be long before magic bullets started flying up at us like flak.
I glanced at Ireli beside me. Without so much as a flicker of tension on her face, she gazed down at the battlefield below with perfect composure. Somehow, she was starting to look like a beautiful warrior.
No. This was not the time.
I rapidly ran through what I remembered of the original story. It had gone something like this··· right?
I thrust my right hand forward, ready to cast a defensive formula.
"First Formula. Magic Wall."
Half doubting it would even work, I used magic for the first time in my life.
Something flowed up from my lower abdomen. The mana traveled along my right arm and gathered in my palm, coalescing into a sphere before slowly spreading outward. Along its center, blue magic circles began to etch themselves one after another.
The entire formation took only a single second to complete.
"···Done."
Looking around, I saw the rest of the 3rd Division's mages had also opened their parachutes and were casting Magic Wall formulas just like me.
Five···
Four···
Three···
Two···
One···
KRA-KOOM.
Magic bullets streaked up from the ground and scraped screaming across the Magic Walls. From behind, Ireli — still holding me — whispered against my ear, clearly worried.
"Laila, are you okay···?"
"Yeah··· I can hold it···"
"It doesn't look that way···?"
"Th-that's···"
She wasn't wrong. My mana was unstable — the magic circles shuddered and wavered. No matter how much the original said Laila had the strongest magic in the world, this was my first time actually using it. There was only so much I could do.
From behind, Ireli took hold of my right arm.
"Then I'll pour some of my mana into you···"
"W-wait···!"
I tried to stop her, but her mana was already seeping slowly in through my right arm.
A strangely sweet, tingling sensation bloomed from my lower abdomen.
"Nnh··· ahh···"
A moan slipped out of me on its own. I knew perfectly well from the original what a Magic Exchange felt like in this world. Experiencing it firsthand was something else entirely.
I-is this for real···!
Still, the Magic Wall that had been trembling moments before now held firm and steady.
"Th-thank you··· nnh···"
"···Don't mention it."
Ireli answered with perfect composure, only the faintest flush on her cheeks. Apparently I was the only one feeling this. The vague sense of betrayal that came with that realization was hard to place.
Well. We were almost on the ground. Time to get ready for a fight.
I managed to block every incoming magic bullet with the Magic Wall after that. Before long, Ireli steered the parachute toward a dense stretch of forest, and at last our feet touched earth.
"There we go···"
First hurdle cleared, at least···
Ireli cut free of the parachute at once and drew the staff from her back. I did the same. Other mages from the 3rd Division had landed nearby, but they were scattered so far apart that none of them were visible from where we stood. Up ahead, though, the ones who'd come down farther forward already seemed to have engaged the enemy.
"I wonder if the others are all right···"
"Y-yeah···"
This was the battle where Laila, the protagonist of Magic Frontline, first set foot on a real battlefield — the Velora Federation Frontline Breakthrough Operation. And I belonged to the Erdia Empire.
···Wait.
I remembered now.
This battle was recorded as the Erdia Empire army's first defeat. The 3rd Division alone would take countless casualties. And Lumi — one of the main heroines — would infiltrate the enemy line alone in an attempt to punch through the center of their front. She would be surrounded and cut off by enemy mages.
And after that···
I bit down on my lip.
Lumi would be driven to the brink of death.
That was the kind of novel Magic Frontline was. Main heroines died. And died again. Even the ones who survived never knew when their turn would come.
There was no reason for me — someone who already knew the original story — to just sit back and watch. No reason to let people die simply because that was how the future was supposed to go.
I wanted a different ending.
If this was a world without dreams or hope··· then this time, I would be the one to rewrite the original.
If the main heroines who died were already decided···
Then I'll overturn every last one of those fates···!
There was just one problem.
I was inside Laila's body — the protagonist of Magic Frontline, the mage with the strongest mana in the original story. But that power came with a terrible price. Every time Laila used her magic, her lifespan was carved away. The original Laila had known that full well, and so she held back her power as much as she could. Because of that restraint, there were times she failed to save her comrades even when she could have.
"···Hah."
But I couldn't just stand by and watch my comrades die.
I slowly clenched my fist.
This time would be different. If the original Laila had fought in fear of her own power, then I would stake my life to keep my comrades alive.
Today, I would save Lumi.
And if the original was anything to go by··· Ireli would die someday too.
I looked at the girl standing right in front of me.
"···Hm?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
I adjusted my grip on the staff.
"More importantly — we should go hunt down some enemy mages ourselves."
"Yeah···"
The battle had begun.
And I already knew. In this Velora Federation Frontline Breakthrough Operation, Lumi would end up isolated deep in enemy territory. In the original, she would be driven to the edge of death here.
But not this time.
"First, Lumi··· Even if I have to pour out every last drop of mana I have, I will save her."