Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: 06. The Children's Guardian
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A little while later, as I walked through the shopping district, I gave Inha a rough explanation of those terms. Siscon means someone who treasures their little sister a lot, shotacon... um, I'd rather skip it... but in the end, I told her it refers to people who like young boys. And finally, I explained very frankly that a pedophile is a pervert who sees kids as romantic targets.
'Ah, she shouldn't be learning about stuff like this yet.'
I felt a bit self-loathing. Her follow-up response was just as shocking.
"Then, is Minhee's brother a pervert?"
"Ah, no. You can tell from how Eunhee unnie talks. They seem close, but it's just talk. Just talk."
"A joke? Teasing?"
"Yeah, something like that."
Inha seemed convinced. I sighed as I watched her. Good grief, Eunhee unnie....
Only after finishing all the explanations could I finally chat casually with Inha.
"But that's unexpected. Hansu and Minhee have gotten pretty close. If even Minhee's brother knows about it, doesn't that mean you've been over at their house?"
"Yeah."
Inha doesn't like Hansu much. She frowned briefly at the name 'Hansu,' then nodded.
Honestly, I doubted it was because Hansu and Minhee were close. More likely, since Hyunho and Hansu had been friends since they were little, and Hyunho and Minhee got close, Hansu naturally started hanging out with them too. Oh, come to think of it, I've seen Hansu hanging out with Siha a lot lately too. No....
No, I shook my head. It wasn't just them—we were all like that. At some point, we started hanging out together all the time.
As Eunhee unnie said, kids who are born with talent must be naturally mature. I might be timid, but having been an adult before made it hard to truly hang out with kids as friends. Yet with them, things clicked perfectly, and I felt no distance when we were together.
I figured I wouldn't make any friends here besides Inha... what an unexpected connection. Minhee is lively, but surprisingly mature too. Among us, the most childish one was unexpectedly Siha.
Siha is a bit shy for a boy his age, but mentally, he's right at his peers' level.
"Huh? Eunha and Inha?"
As Inha and I chatted on our way to the bookstore, we turned at the familiar voice. There stood Yujeong unnie and Inho oppa, side by side, looking at us. Yujeong unnie had her jet-black hair tied in half-twintails, which suited her perfectly. I blinked at the two of them.
They were second-year seniors in the same special magic development class as us. I'd heard Inho oppa developed his magic during spring break, and Yujeong unnie during last winter. So, they probably first learned about each other this year when we all met and formed Class I together. Maybe due to anxiety over early talent blooming, they seemed to always stick together, just like us.
The two smiled at us. Compared to their peers, they were mature too.
"Which team are you two on for the sports festival?"
"What about you two?"
Inha was the one who asked back. She had a strong fondness for everyone in Class I. It was a stark contrast to how cold she was to the other kids in our class. Of course, her expression stayed stern. Ah, and Hansu was a bit of an exception.
"Uh, I'm on the blue team, and Inho's on the red team, right?"
"Yeah."
Hmm, so... me, Inha, and Siha on white team. Hyunho and Yujeong unnie on blue team. Minhee, Hansu, and Inho oppa on red team. Yeah, that seems right. Oh, I forgot to ask Eunhee unnie which team she's on. Eh, whatever, it'll work out. Anyway, so far, it seemed pretty evenly split.
"You two are on the same team? Lucky. How'd the others end up?"
I recited the team breakdown I'd just sorted out in my head to Yujeong unnie. What? The only one on my team is Hyunho?! Yujeong unnie let out a regretful sigh.
"Well, anyway, let's do our best. The sports festival here is huge. Last year's was no joke, you know? I'm super excited!"
Yujeong unnie laughed as she said that. Inho oppa grinned childishly too, clearly looking forward to it. Yujeong unnie pumped her fist and stomped her foot energetically.
"I can't wait to see what events there are! Oh, last year in first grade, we did that opening ceremony thing? You put mana into mana orbs and hit this big ball, and if you hit it enough, it opens. The orbs shattering is pretty too. Of course, they shatter harmlessly and disappear."
"I've heard they always do that at the start of the sports festival? It's the only thing first-graders can handle. By now, most first-graders in this school can move their mana."
I nodded at that. Recalling our lessons so far.
We'd learned various things, but since most first-graders still couldn't move mana, we'd focused heavily on how to do that. There were ability-based special classes too, and thanks to them, everyone in our class could now move mana, even if to different degrees. We'd even started seeing other kids with mana accumulated in their bodies besides us.
No one besides us had grown enough to accumulate mana through meditation on their own yet. It probably takes time to reach that stage. Well, we can obviously accumulate it ourselves. Plus, our mana grows bit by bit every time we use magic. For those of us who've already created magic, that's only natural.
And from the start until now, I had the most mana and skill in Class I. I almost smirked bitterly.
"We've already started learning basic spell magic, which is super foundational. By the end of the first semester, even the worst at magic in our group could use at least two spells. What we're learning now is mostly spell magic, where you draw arrays using those spells."
"Right."
"Array magic is the one that requires the most brains among magics. So...."
Yujeong unnie, who'd started with sports festival talk, soon chattered excitedly about other class topics with a joyful expression. I knew the conversation had derailed, but she looked so cute animatedly sharing what she'd learned that I listened happily along with Inho oppa. Inha seemed intrigued by upperclassmen's lessons, listening with a fairly serious face.
"...Ah, but what are you two doing in the shopping district?"
"Hm? Oh, returning books."
"Yeah? Ah, we're here. There's this fortune-telling draw that's popular among second-years lately, so we came to try it."
Yujeong unnie laughed as she said that. Fortune-telling draw...? They have that too? This shopping district really has everything.
"Ah, I just came along with Yujeong. I need to buy something else. Right, we should go."
"Yeah? Oh yeah. Ah, Inha, Eunha, see you!"
"Yeah. See you too, unnie, oppa."
Inha and I waved back at the waving pair before heading to the bookstore again. The bookstore in Daeyeon's shopping district was quite large. I didn't just return my book—I picked one out while having Inha wait. Well, Inha browsed a bit too. The people around were mostly upper elementary or middle schoolers, but I wasn't intimidated and rented a novel before heading out.
"The sports festival's starting to get me excited too."
I looked up at the sky and said that on impulse. The blue sky was stunning. Inha gave me a puzzled look.
"...? Weren't you annoyed about it earlier?"
"But think about it—it's a chance to see tons of magic? How often do you get to see high school seniors' magic up close like this?"
"Hmm... true."
Inha nodded. Then she looked at me and smiled faintly.
"Let's head back then."
"Yeah."
We immediately activated the teleport function on our badges.
Beep beep.
『Popped up^^』
I stared at the translucent window that floated up from my student ID, then checked the sender. Ah, Minhee. Figures.
"Popped up" probably means the sports festival schedule. I popped the balloon-shaped barrier and checked my student ID. Sure enough, among the recent notices was one titled 『Sports Festival Schedule』. I tapped it firmly. Another window popped up with the schedule listed out.
I scrolled through the sports festival schedule. At the top, after the opening ceremony, there was 『Opening Event』 highlighted in bright fluorescent color. It was the only event just for first-graders. The student ID must mark events I'm in automatically.
I tapped 『Opening Event』 for details. Opening Event. Burst a giant ball with mana orbs to signal the start. Yeah, for something a first-grader can do, it's about this level. Even this, most other first-graders couldn't manage.
Other first-grade events had lighter lines—not fluorescent—and were all group events for all grades. Relay with one rep per grade, scavenger hunt, cheering squad picked from all grades—that was it for first-graders.
Some had stars instead of lines, probably for grade-irrelevant popular or key events. The last one had the most stars: Aerial Race, anyone can interfere as long as they stay in bounds—wow.
If I had to say, I didn't need to participate—just spectate. I grinned happily. But man, they had everything. At least it ends by 5 PM, so one day. Good.
Main participants were middle schoolers whose talents were blooming fully. Yet the key combat events were left to high schoolers. Glancing at the elementary 5th-6th grade magic performance demo, I frowned.
『Selected standout kids from each team.』 ...Ugh, hate it, no way.
I absolutely don't want to do that. Illusion magic is super flashy depending on ideas and use—perfect for shows. Gotta hide it until lowest middle school. I skimmed event descriptions and yawned. Suddenly, another small window popped up.
『Sender: Kang Inha
Saw the sports festival schedule?』
I smiled and tapped the message window. Then hit reply and typed.
『Recipient: Kang Inha
Yeah, saw it^^ Sounds fun』
I meant it. Soon, a positive reply came from Inha. Then another from Minhee.
『Sender: Joo Minhee
Rankininfo!』
...Info? What's that? ...Ah, typo.
『Sender: Joo Minhee
Our school's #1 rank my bro! White teamㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ』
So that "info" was "info." Nice, white team. Hope we win. I smirked. Then looked at the rest.
『Sender: Joo Minhee
#2 high school VP! Blue team
#3 high school pres! Red team
You know them Eunha Inha? Right?
#4 Cheonho oppa red team
Ah bro says he'll handle the rest』
Phew, glad spelling wasn't an issue. A pause, then another message.
『Sender: Joo Minhee
School ranks
#5 In Juyeol white team
#6 Kim Juyeon blue team
#7 Seon Sihyeon red team
#8 Kim Ju-han red team
#9 Yeon Yoyun blue team
#10 Kang Seoyeong red team
#11 Yoo Seojun white team
Too lazy beyond that』
...Minhee's brother sucks at spacing too. Anyway, got it. Haha, should be fun. Pretty well split...
Then I gave an awkward smile. But this "school ranking" thing is so hard to get used to... Feels cringy and insta-like.
After the awkward laugh, I turned off my student ID, lay on my bed, and started imagining what was coming. Seeing lots of magic, whatever it is, helps me. My heart raced at the thought. I shivered excitedly and laughed.
The next day, our first period was upperclassmen magic demos. Exactly as it sounds: watching seniors show off their magic one by one. This school teaches magic way faster than others. From 3rd-4th grade, they steadily do unique magic development classes, and by 5th grade, half the students have developed magic. So upper elementary can all use at least one or two decent spells.
To gain experience, upper elementary does magic demos once each. ...Ugh, hate it. So eventually I'll have to do it too?
But that's then, this is now. It'll happen years from now anyway. I couldn't hide my grin at the upcoming demos.
We sat in our seats waiting for class to start. Our seating stayed as originally assigned. Siha and Minhee in front, Hansu and Hyunho next to us (different sections). Actually, that's why Hansu picked a fight at first. Kids crowding our seats during breaks was too noisy.
So we ended up clustered together by coincidence. From semester start till now~. Our quick bonding probably owed to the seating.
It made sneaking chats during class easy. Hansu was prickly to others but cute to me, so I didn't get mad at his attitude, and he'd chat with me sometimes, seeming to enjoy it.
Now too, not Hansu, but Hyunho—closer to me—whispered. Everyone buzzed with magic excitement. Fair enough—demos are always amazing and fun.
"Eunha, what magic do you wanna see? I hope for water magic this time!"
"Hmm... I want barrier magic."
"Yeah, got it. Inha, light?"
"No, want that too, but lightning today."
"Ah...! Inha, you're pondering sub-magic lately, right?"
"Yeah."
Inha nodded at Hyunho. Ahh... right, Inha's been focused on planning her sub-magic. Scouring lightning data. Building magic foundations. She first tried making it blindly, but I and Teacher Junhwi stopped her. Not a good way.
For me, creating every magic involved tons of thought. I'd pondered uses since infancy.
Unique magic can't be deleted once made. Initial mindset hugely impacts later growth. Even if you later think "I wanted it this way," changing a grown magic's direction takes ages.
I did it right from the start. Tons of deliberation, ideas on use. Filled a notebook with settings. Believed I'd achieve it in future, made magic hoping it'd grow that way. So now I have firm goals for my magic. Teacher Junhwi even praised me for it.
Since this world's magic grows by will, unique magic needs thought and heart over blind creation. That's the foundation for big growth.
Same for Inha. Needs thinking, not rushing. Instinct works for main magic—can be base. But sub-magic supports main, so needs deliberation. Thoughts may shift with growth, but initial foundation matters for magic to follow.
Inha heeded us and stopped blind sub-magic. Started pondering deeply.
She had direction though: add lightning to light. Directly aiding the magic itself. But it'd be super destructive attack magic, which worried her a bit.
I habitually touched my cheek.
"Would be cool if rare magic like Inho hyung's shows."
"Ah, yeah."
Hansu agreed with Hyunho. Not just Inho oppa's—familiar magic overall is rare. Looks cute but takes tons of time/effort.
We all nodded.
But I still wanted barrier magic.
Practicing settings I made years ago from easiest, I'm now stuck at basics on barrier magic (space-time)—the hardest to make. Size... hard to enlarge. Gate won't open even a hole. For now, it's pure barrier, not space-time. Space-time still feels pipe dream, so calling it barrier now....
But I knew it's tough. Barrier magic is hard for kids—spatial type. Takes long like familiar magic to master. Few make it unique, rarer as main. Extremely rare to make young.
Tch. I clicked my tongue inwardly.
"Alright, been waiting?"
Just then, the teacher entered after chatting with demo seniors outside. Kids still chattered, voices growing louder.
"Everyone, quiet now. Can't demo if it's too noisy."
Voice amplified by mana had odd compulsion. Kids' voices faded. We stared sparkling-eyed at the podium. Soon, seniors entered one by one from front door, stepping forward.
"Hello! Sixth grade Class 2, Kim Seong-ah! Using summon magic!"
Tense-faced, they introduced names/magic and cast.
First senior: summon magic. Magic circle glowed on hand back, then floor. Items popped out one by one. Wow, simple but amazing to magic-less kids.
Second: Inha's hoped-for lightning. Crackle—silvery-blue lightning formed spear. Posed it at us like performance, then dispelled. Inha's eyes sparkled.
Third: super rare magic. Creating "other space." Not sub-space (my space), but hetero-space. Even small, dominates world. I gasped, hand to mouth.
Sub-space means "personal space." I got one from Goddess, read tons. Hard to explain: make space yours or create empty one. Ultimately, make void your dedicated space (level-dependent).
Easiest sub-space: widen existing space gap, claim it. High magic—needs space affinity. Easier than creating owned space.
Everything has gaps—philosophical, not physical. Soul, void—magic finds gaps.
Hetero-space: far more unique. Not space, but "dimension"—claim/control even tiny ones.
Find/use hetero-space—that's it, from what I read.
World is layered dimensions. Invisible to unaware = nonexistent. To seers, world feels vast. Thin film visually, but different physics per dimension—wide inside, different time sense.
Kid made such high magic? This world's potential endless. Once claimed, maybe easier later. Unlike my barrier starting from creating mini-world.
I swallowed. Definitely related to mine. Mine space-time, that spatial. I watched intently, noting mana color.
Seemed to appear from nowhere. Fog-like air membrane revealed cute decorated mini-room. Items real, not conjured—inserted ones.
Kid still young. Sub-space is hetero-space subset, so maybe just small space. But she summoned space. Great affinity probably. Her ambient mana wasn't that strong.
Instantly, dimension fully visible. Then gone. Caster panted heavily.
'Her limit? Anyway, impressive. Hetero-space....'
Brief glimpse, but all awed. Rare, hard for kid.
Seven demos. Fourth: cloud maker—small, paint-like low cloud rained lightning. Versatile.
Fifth: fire. Sixth: plant growth (so jealous. Hansu loved). Seventh: water. Hyunho beamed throughout.
"Everyone, thank the demo seniors properly?"
""Thank you—!!""
Kids shouted. We joined sincerely. Demos short moments, but rewarding time.
Seniors soon exited. Each took 3-5 min max. Class time left.
Rest: write impressions. Reflect feelings to study magic via emotion.
I love writing, so unlike bored kids, I enjoyed. We chattered excitedly about fave magics while writing. Minhee/Hyunho led talks most. Siha talkier than usual.
Me—. Thrilled by hetero-space. But yeah, I'm definitely their guardian.
"So! I wanna cast magic like that soon!"
"Yeah. Totally."
Kids excite over magic, but seeing them hype-talk makes me wanna pat heads. I smiled warmly.
Second period: usual theory. "Magic in Daily Life"—textbook on magic-daily fusion basics. Tools, real-life links—not hard.
First-grade first-semester theory texts: two. One daily life, other mana basics. Practice/memory mix: handling, meditation detailed. Second grade swaps for practice text?
Others: language, science, math, PE—basic non-magic. Rest: practice. Exams... worry hit.
Third period: big one. Not class—sports fest practice. All first-graders to auditorium for opening explanation. Simple: infuse mana orbs, keep hitting giant ball till bursts.
So easy, only two practices before fest.
Teachers gave rules/other info, then spare orbs to test in remaining time. Our six (incl. Siha) grouped, infused.
"...So simple, no practice needed."
"Yeah."
"Hm... I did it!"
For magic-makers like us, easy as breathing. Even Siha quick.
I glanced at Siha's orb: purple like his mana, violet-ish.
"But weird. Know? Dual mana colors like Eunha's rare."
Minhee said, fiddling my orb while I checked Siha's. Yeah, mine mysteriously cool.
My orb: inside vivid mysterious navy, outside silvery sheen shifting. Matches my mana. Center even silvers in light. Exact: navy rimmed silver.
Yet overall navy, ends silver—odd. Inside navy, thin silver shell. Like boiled egg! (Thinner shell.)
Love my mana. Spreads, silver dust inside like starry night sky.
My taste.
Playing with orbs, third bell rang. Break after: teams to rooms per teacher. White to our 1st Class, blue 2nd, red 3rd. Me/Inha/Siha stayed; Minhee/Hansu/Hyunho to others.
Kids shuffled noisily. Some picky seats, some flop anywhere. Few first-graders, all familiar faces—no issue.
Fourth bell. Nothing immediate. I read to kill time; suddenly beep, giant screen by board. Blue/red tie folks orderly. Front: high school first-year badge guy.
I tilted head at familiar-yet-unknown face. Weird deja vu.
"Uh, Je-hyeon hyung."
Siha muttered. Knows him? I blinked at Siha. Who? Minhee's bro. Inha/me eyes widened.
[I'm Joo Je-hyeon, white team captain this sports fest.]
"Wow, our school's magic rank 1!"
Kids buzzed at Minhee bro's name. Heh, heard he's #1... vaguely knew name.
'No interest, can't remember. Especially names....'
Friend's bro though—too much. Reflect. Anyway, Minhee's bro surprisingly hot.
Dry inner thought, chin on hand. He frowned at noisy kids, continued.
[Now picking participants from first grade up. Elementary first-graders only all-grade events: three. Relay, scavenger, cheering. One per grade relay/scavenger, five per grade cheering. Hurry—volunteer.]
Bored face, sped through. Glared coldly at squealing girls, softened at admiring boys. Ah, shotacon.
But seems more low temp to girls. Just first impression.
Volunteers: relay 12, scavenger 15, cheering 10. Repeat hand-raisers common. Class event/answer volunteers.
Kids excited just to join—cute.
But overlaps/excess.
[Pick one, no seconds. Choose one. Again.]
Minhee bro quick decisions. Kids pondered—30 sec. Hands up.
Relay 6, scavenger 10, cheering 4.
[One more cheering. Drop from other.]
One switched to cheering eyeing. Still excess relay/scavenger.
[You 15, test skill lunch. Done.]
Screen beeped off. 20 min meeting over.
"Hmm, more break time good?"
"Haha. Je-hyeon hyung still bulldozer...."
Siha awkward mutter. Brief fluster. Soon laughed, sports fest chatter. Like: Inha in relay unbeatable? But no blatant magic, won't. Me: hate standing out, sigh no even middle/high.
Lunch: Hyunho/Minhee/Hansu back. Hyunho/Minhee smiles, Hansu annoyed.
"I'm cheering squad! Cheer for me!"
"Hahaha! I'm relay! Hansu's scavenger!"
"I got dragged by Minhee... damn. Who said raise my hand!"
"Me duh!"
"Wow Hansu scavenger? Jealous!"
"Shut up Kim Hyunho!"
Bickering cheerful. Ah, white team lucky. I patted chest watching Hansu/Minhee.
Then questioned.
"Huh? Your numbers fit perfect? We over, later testers from late volunteers. Yours set quick?"
"No, excess... but knew senior... shoved me/Minhee in. Damn."
"Ehehehe. Same team as Cheonho oppa lucky!"
Slightly surprised. Heh, another known senior. I admired, Inha shrugged; Hyunho got it—knows too.
Ah, Hyunho unrelated btw.
"Ah! Cheering fit exact!"
Hm, indeed~.
========== Author's Note ==========
Whoa......40kb......huge......first time this size outside side stories, me.
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