My First Friend is the Class President, Shin Seyeol (1)
The story returns to the beginning. Contrary to what I'd said, I ended up succumbing to sleep and failed to keep my promise to the class president. She came all the way to personally fetch me, still dozing away in the classroom.
"I told you to come today no matter what… Ah, forget it. What's the point of saying this now."
"Class president… I'm sorry."
"Really, giving an extra rice cake to the guy you hate… Sigh."
After grumbling in my sleep and making it obvious I didn't want to go, the moment I came to my senses I realized I'd said something unforgivable to the class president. Getting good grades at the academy, graduating with honors, and landing a great job had absolutely nothing to do with me. But that wasn't a good enough reason to ignore her goodwill. Not knowing how to repay kindness… isn't that no different from an animal?
Lately I've been discovering new sides of myself I never knew existed. Mostly the bad ones.
"Ha… I must've really lost it after coming to Earth."
"What?"
"Nothing. Just talking to myself. Don't mind me."
"You're really okay…?"
She had every right to be annoyed after I broke my promise and said something that rubbed her the wrong way, yet even now the class president was worried about me. …I really owe her a lot. I should get her a gift later. Would a neck pillow be enough as an apology?
Current time: 1:21 PM. Pouring out all the stamina I'd saved while sleeping, the class president and I sprinted toward the training arena. …The training arena? Not the practice room?
Realizing it too late, I spoke up. "Class president, we're going the wrong way."
"Why? This is the right direction."
"Practical lessons are in the practice room. But we're heading toward the training arena right now?"
"…I told you. Today's the combat power evaluation."
"What does combat power evaluation have to do with the training arena…? Don't tell me they're going to evaluate combat power through actual sparring?"
That teacher really is obsessed with sparring. We haven't even learned much yet, so why keep making students fight? No matter how much they emphasize realistic training, this is too much.
"Our homeroom teacher just really likes sparring, you know."
"Still, it's only been a month. We haven't learned much."
"Jihye, do you hate sparring?"
Hmm… It's not so much that I hate it as that I don't see the need. There's nothing to gain from beating a bunch of chicks. To be blunt, what did the students who have to spar with me ever do wrong? No matter how hard they struggle, they can't beat me. This isn't arrogance or overconfidence—it's a cold, realistic analysis. Even if my mana has dropped to below average levels, my skill at handling mana hasn't deteriorated. Even if the mana settled in my body is only a pitiful handful, it doesn't matter. Because I have confidence. Confidence that no magical girl exists who can handle mana more efficiently and completely than I can.
…That said, I have zero desire to crush the new students with overwhelming power. What would I even get out of being recognized at the academy, especially among the freshmen? A grown adult shouldn't butt into kids' games. I answered carefully.
"……There are various circumstances. It's not that I hate sparring itself. Class president, do you like sparring? Even if you don't, does it seem helpful for improving your skills?"
It's true that sparring between magical girls helps improve skills. I've experienced it firsthand, and reliable statistics exist. But whether sparring is particularly effective compared to the countless other training methods—that's a different question. It depends on the individual. Students with aggressive, growth-oriented mindsets gain insights through mock battles, but those with the opposite temperament become fixated on results and learn helplessness and frustration instead. The class president probably doesn't fall into the latter category. At least, that's how she's seemed over the past month I've watched her. Still, she might feel differently, so I asked… After thinking for a moment, she gave a clear answer.
"Yeah. At least today."
…"At least today"? Does that mean sparring has been useless until now? The only sparring we've done so far was on the day of enrollment. I studied her face calmly. She was smiling, but it was a mix of many emotions. I couldn't tell what she was thinking at all. But one thing was clear—she was hiding something. It meant the class president had a secret she couldn't tell me. Was she going to a piano battle or something?
We arrived at the training arena. The Third Indoor Training Arena, the same place we'd used on enrollment day. When we opened the door and stepped inside, the late arrival—me—drew all sorts of hostile glances. I could even hear some quiet muttering behind my back. In contrast, unlike me, the class president was met with sympathetic and respectful looks full of goodwill. Well. It was a disaster of her own making. And I wasn't about to get hurt just because some chicks hated me.
"Hm. You timed it well. Class president, it was exactly your turn."
"That's a relief. I made it on time."
The teacher didn't scold me for arriving late. She simply exchanged glances with the class president. The look was so blatant and deliberate that I wondered if they'd planned something beforehand. If it was just some romantic tension between them I'd understand, but the atmosphere in the room felt off too. Everyone seemed to be expecting something from the class president. What on earth was going on?
"So, who are you going to choose as your opponent?"
"I've had only one person in mind since the moment I first heard about it."
The teacher asked the class president. Their back-and-forth was as natural as a scripted play. I'd always been quick on the uptake. The mood of the entire class, the meaningful glances between the teacher and the class president, even that suspicious smile she'd worn earlier—everything pointed to only one possibility. I didn't even need to say it out loud. My guess was immediately confirmed as correct.
"I choose Kim Jihye as my opponent for the combat power measurement sparring."
Class president… she really is angry with me. The way she looked at me had already changed from the gentle gaze of a friend to eyes filled with resolve. Just seeing it, I could feel her overwhelming determination. It had been a while since I'd felt this pressured by someone's presence. Well. Even if I cried and apologized now, she wouldn't back down, would she? Even offering my precious neck pillow as a gift wouldn't fix this. Then there's no helping it. I'll just have to do as she wants. She has the right to ask this of me. Seeing the shift in atmosphere between us, the teacher nodded with satisfaction.
"Now that everyone's opponent has been decided, we'll begin the March combat power measurement sparring. You probably heard the explanation earlier, but since one person seems to have missed it, I'll explain again."
Did she really have to single me out like that? My mood was already bad enough from the class president hating me, and now the teacher was piling on too. The teacher might seem easygoing, but she's actually pretty petty. …Well, that's how all the martial arts types are.
"The only magic allowed during sparring is the basic projectile magic learned in class—Magic Missile—and the basic defensive magic—Shield. Using any other magic is against the rules, and martial techniques are also prohibited. In other words, light physical contact is allowed, but attacks infused with mana are not. Similarly, using the functions of your unique equipment is restricted. Does anyone not understand up to this point?"
Seeing that no one raised their hand and everyone stayed still, I guess they all understood.
"Alright. With everyone looking at me like that, I guess I have no choice. Jihye, Seyeol. You two are up first. Put on your artifacts and get on the stage."
This feels like I've become a death row inmate in medieval Europe. The time it takes to equip my artifact is my final moment, and the training arena feels like a guillotine. The students are the crowd come to watch the execution. And my opponent, the class president, is the executioner come to take my head. Does everyone want me to lose? Even the class president?
I stepped onto the stage and looked at the class president facing me. She looked the same as before, except for her hardened resolve. It meant I still couldn't read her at all.
"Huu…"
No one can be loved by everyone. I'm not some idiot at my age who doesn't understand that. But it is possible for someone to be hated by everyone. At least in this class, I've become that kind of person.
"The changed me… has become this kind of person to everyone."
I felt a little bitter. Before I heard "Sparring start," I quietly pushed the sleep mask hanging around my neck up onto my forehead.
✮✮✮
Shin Seyeol, class president of the first-year Class 2 at Magical Girl Academy, had one more worry these days. All because of one friend she'd grown close to on enrollment day. A friend with an unusually small stature compared to her peers, sleepy-looking eyes, and uncommon cherry-blossom pink hair. While a magical girl's hair color or style could become more vibrant after transformation, Seyeol—at least to her knowledge—had never seen anyone with such flamboyant color even before transforming. It was too natural and beautiful to be artificial dye. The hair was strong and resilient, untouched by dyeing. Along with her uncommon hair color and cute, pretty face, her snow-white skin and petite frame made her look so adorable that Seyeol wondered if she was a real doll. The friend had introduced herself as Kim Jihye.
"I absolutely have to talk to her." Seyeol had thought that from the moment she first met Jihye. Kim Jihye was as unique as her distinctive appearance. She yawned constantly without regard for time or place, endlessly drowsy, endlessly sleeping. No matter how hard you tried to wake her, she'd stare with a hazy gaze for a moment before falling asleep again. What on earth was she doing at night that made her sleep so consistently through class, lunch, and even after school? Curious, Seyeol had once asked Jihye.
"I slept about twelve hours yesterday too…… Ah, so that's the problem. I slept six hours less."
When she heard that Jihye needed at least eighteen hours of sleep to feel less sleepy, Seyeol was shocked. Wasn't that practically an illness? Didn't it make life inconvenient? There were many things she wanted to ask, but she thought they might be rude and kept them to herself. So for a while, she'd even worried pointlessly that Jihye, with her peculiar constitution requiring three-quarters of the day for sleep, might not be able to keep up with academy classes. In a way, Seyeol's worry was half right. More precisely, it wasn't that Jihye couldn't keep up with the academy's classes—the academy's classes couldn't keep up with Kim Jihye. Even while sleeping at her desk during theory classes, when the teacher woke Jihye to ask a question about the lesson, she'd answer correctly without hesitation even in her drowsy state. Then, once the teacher was satisfied, she'd sit back down and fall asleep again. The same went for practical lessons. Jihye already knew all the techniques the teacher taught, and in some ways she seemed even more skilled than the teacher. At this point, did she even need to attend the academy? What exactly was the academy to Jihye? As her worries deepened day by day, Jihye's presence in Seyeol's mind gradually grew larger.