From Now On, Call Me Master!

"It's pretty big..."

This whole building was the headquarters of my sister's old guild, right? Honestly, guilds these days are basically companies, so if I think about it, doesn't that make me something like a founding contributor? Saying "founding contributor" about a company sounds kinda funny, but I couldn't think of a better word.

There were a ton of machines up here that looked like you absolutely shouldn't touch them, but the magic I was about to cast was just an illusion spell, so it should be fine.

With that in mind, I drew up the mana inside me.

What I was about to show was purely an illusion. I had to keep that firmly in mind and regulate my mana output carefully. Sure, it was an illusion spell, but if I messed up, the rooftop could end up wrecked... Better to use the mana sparingly. Even illusions made of mana weren't something to take lightly. And since this was a rooftop, there were probably all sorts of electronic devices or whatever... If they were just electronics, that'd be one thing, but if any of them used mana and I botched the spell, who knows what effect it might have. A blackout would be lucky; an explosion would be a total disaster.

Anyway... I took a deep breath. Preparations were complete.

"Here goes..."

I'll show you. The magic I've honed for a whole year.

Mana extended from my fingertips, spreading wide. The space gradually darkened. At some point, as Suyeon looked around the pitch-black surroundings in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠confusion, faint streaks of light passed by her side. The light shot toward me, crossing through the air and beginning to form a single image.

"Whoa..."

A pumpkin carriage made of all sorts of colorful lights—like something out of a Christmas tree—revealed its grandeur. I grabbed the hand of Suyeon, who was staring at it with a stunned expression, and headed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠toward the carriage.

Clunk. The moment we reached the door, it opened as if it had been waiting, just like a real pumpkin carriage. Suyeon peered inside with eyes full of anticipation, but since it was made of light, she could see right through to the outside—nothing special there.

"Go on, hop in."

There's not even a real chair—can she even sit? At my words, Suyeon swallowed nervously, lifted her leg tentatively, and stepped onto the pumpkin carriage. Her eyes went wide.

It was clearly just made of light, but she could stand on it like it was real.

"I can get on...?!"

Excited, Suyeon clambered up and plopped down on the light-made chair. "It's so soft and fluffy like a real chair!" she squealed. I couldn't help but chuckle at her antics.

But I couldn't just stand there. I sat down next to her. As if on cue, the pumpkin carriage took off. It sped along the ground like it was building momentum, then kicked off and soared into the sky.

"Wheeee!!"

Suyeon let out a cheer, peering out the window. Countless streaks of light adorned the sky, tracing a beautiful curve along our path. She turned to me with a look of pure awe, her eyes sparkling as she gazed outside. Following her pointing finger, there stood a massive castle made of transparent ice, majestic and imposing.

It was pure ice, down to the tiniest detail, perfectly shaped like a castle.

"A castle!!"

I smiled at Suyeon, who was thrilled and shocked all at once, and beckoned with my finger. The path of light curved downward toward the castle's party hall. The carriage tilted, then scattered into the air. I gripped Suyeon's panicking hand tight and slid down the light path like a sled.

"Eeeeek...!"

"Hold on tight!"

She clung harder despite her surprise. Just as we neared the party hall, our descent slowed to a feather-light pace, like we had parachutes, and we landed softly on the castle grounds.

The instant we touched down, fireworks exploded behind us as if on cue.

"Fireworks!"

Suyeon looked up with delight, cheering wildly. But she shouldn't be this amazed yet. The castle wasn't finished.

I snapped my fingers. From the center of the party hall, icy energy shot up along the pillars to the roof. Suyeon—I mean, Seol-i—gaped in admiration as the roof slowly formed overhead. Wait, no, that's me smiling at her.

Once the roof fully covered the sky, snowflake-shaped spotlights burst forth, shining down on the ground. The once-dark ice castle lit up in an instant, revealing its full glory.

"Time to change outfits, right?"

Not actually changing, of course—just overlaying illusions on what we were wearing. But Suyeon gasped as she watched her clothes transform. Before she knew it, she was clad in a translucent blue dress fit for nobility.

"Sis! You gotta wear one too!"

"H-Huh? Me?"

I didn't need to... Wearing a dress wasn't really my thing anyway. But Suyeon didn't know that and was insisting I wear one too.

Of course, no matter how much she whined, I had zero interest in a dress. What to do...? How could I satisfy her without one?

Guess there's only one way...

"How about this...?"

I overlaid an illusion on my clothes—a witch's pointed hat and cloak, the standard outfit I wore in the mountains. Since Cinderella technically had a witch, it'd fit perfectly.

"Hmm..."

"Huh...?"

I thought she'd like it, but her face fell.

"Can't we match?"

"N-No..."

I really didn't want a dress. I shook my head firmly.

"I just wanted you to have fun too, sis... Don't you like it?"

Suyeon mumbled, visibly downcast. No, it wasn't that—I just preferred my usual clothes. This was within my comfort zone, but a dress? Hard pass.

After a few refusals, she finally realized I meant it and pouted regretfully. Then she smiled, saying if I liked it, that was fine.

"So... what do you think?"

It was improvised, so it was probably a bit rough around the edges. I'm flexible with magic, but only magic—drawing with light was outside my expertise. It was testing the limits of my imagination too.

Was it okay?

"Sis... can I ask one favor?"

"A favor...?"

A sudden request? I really hoped she'd just compliment it. After all this, what more could she want? The words nearly slipped out, but saying that to a kid felt too harsh. I swallowed them and asked what she wanted.

"It's... kinda a tough one. Is that okay?"

This was already a big ask. Helping with chores or healing someone would've been easier. This magic stuff was way harder.

"If it's something I can do...?"

What could it be? I fretted internally as Suyeon hesitated, then looked me straight in the eye with resolve.

"I... I wanna learn magic too!"

"Magic...?"

She wants to learn magic...?

"Like you, sis... I wanna be a cool witch and save people!"

"A cool witch..."

Cool witch? What planet was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that witch living on? If that was me, I'd blast whoever said it for talking nonsense—it was that embarrassing.

But when a kid says it...

"I wanna help Dad, but he says I have no talent... So..."

Dad... I recalled that uncle from before. He'd do anything for his struggling daughter, even bow to me after I fixed her. It was overly grateful for just tossing him a promising potion out of pity.

"Sigh..."

This father-daughter duo was really wearing me down. Why'd she have to be so young...? If she were older, we could've talked it out properly and avoided this.

Still...

"Will you take me as your disciple...?"

No one knows if she'd even be able to use magic. But how could I turn down a kid begging like this? I sighed.

"Alright... fine. I'll teach you magic."

"For real?! Really?! Really really really?!"

"Y-Yeah, really... But promise me something."

"Promise?"

Since we're doing this, there was one title I wanted to hear. I grinned.

"From now on, call me Master!"

Master! What a beautiful, awesome word. I was secretly thrilled at the idea of being someone's master.

"Got it, Master!"

Suyeon beamed and replied.

"Wanna keep playing?"

There might not be much left, but I'd do whatever she asked after coming this far. She nodded with a smile.

Once the story wrapped up, Han Chae-rin stepped out of the room with a sigh. It was just her guess, but bringing it up wasn't pleasant. And it wasn't just a guess—too many odd details for that. In the end, she told the saddened man the best she could do was get along with his daughter and help if anything came up. He wasn't thrilled but vowed to do it with a determined look.

It felt like using Seol-i, which didn't sit right, but...

"Where'd everyone go? It's been ages since I saw them..."

Well, she'd come to introduce Seol-i and say hi, and they'd already done that.

"Where's Seol-i...?"

She remembered those two taking her—probably to a guest room. Good spot for kids to play.

Ring~♪

"Hm?"

What's up? Nothing scheduled for calls today. She checked her phone screen.

The control room kids?

"Hello?"

"What? Hold on!"

A mana surge on the rooftop was no joke. Could be an attack. She reinforced her body with mana and bolted up the stairs in a flash.

With mana control, you could enhance your whole body for superhuman speed. Stairs beat the elevator.

Reaching the rooftop instantly, she wrapped herself in even more mana. Without relaxing, she whispered into the phone.

"CCTV... status?"

"Can't be helped..."

Time for a direct approach. She'd alerted the other guild members already. She flung the door open without hesitation.

And...

"Huh...?"

Nothing. Just the usual rooftop machines humming, clouds drifting lazily, bright sun. Pure peace.

Irritated, she grabbed her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠phone. "Hey, you're sure there was a mana surge?"

"What the...?"

Her senses picked up zilch—no mana at all. Walking to the center, she scanned around.

And...

"Seol-i?"

And Suyeon? Why were they sleeping here? They looked like they'd just nodded off.

...Cute.

Before picking her up, Chae-rin poked Seol-i's cheek. No reaction—she was out deep. Played on the rooftop, huh? That might explain the surge.

"It's fine. Nothing serious."

What a false alarm. Who'd dare mess with our guild anyway? Absurd.

"Yeah. Stabilize the systems."

"I'll take them down."

Couldn't leave them napping on the rooftop forever.