Half a year had passed since I was reborn into this world.

My name was still Mai. Same as before. But here, people didn’t seem to have surnames.

Every time I introduced myself, it felt incomplete—though maybe that was just my old life’s habits talking.

I was apparently born into a family of magicians.

My mother, my father… even the lady who ran the milk shop next door could breathe fire or manipulate water.

“Mai, you can start practicing magic soon, you know,” my mother said in her easygoing tone.

My heart skipped a beat. This was the moment I’d been waiting for.

But there was one problem.

—Just because I was a magical girl in my past life… doesn’t mean I can actually use this world’s magic, does it?

Still, I had no reason to refuse.

Back then, I could only fight when someone needed saving.

Now, at least, I had “training” as an excuse. Surely I could manage something.

“Alright, first you need to get a feel for your mana,” my mother said, holding out her hand.

“Close your eyes, steady your breathing, and focus inward. Imagine channeling your life force into your mana tank.”

Inward. Tank. Imagine.

(I have no idea what that means!!)

I tried anyway, but nothing happened.

“…Did you feel anything?”

“…Nope. Just empty.”

Mother smiled and reassured me, “That’s fine. Most kids are like that at first.”

But inside, I was far from calm.

—In my past life, I flew through the sky and fired beams of light…

Yes, I was once Magical Girl Slumbering Pure Mai, defeating monsters and protecting the city.

That was magic, too.

But the magic they wanted here—the kind that involved filling some “mana tank” with life energy—was built on completely different rules.

The next day, a magic tutor—an acquaintance of Father’s—came to the house.

Her name was Riedel.

A hunched old woman with a strangely youthful voice.

And for some reason, the moment she laid eyes on me, her excitement spiked. Her first words were:

“This one’s a prodigy! Look at those eyes! Perfect, perfect—future archmage written all over her!!”

Yeah… she reminded me a little too much of my old-life fans. Creepy.

Her lessons were harsh, even merciless.

Hours spent sitting cross-legged, focusing only on my inner self.

If I even started to doze off—

“Don’t you dare sleep! Your mana tank isn’t just shallow, it looks like it’s got holes in it!”

—She would roar at me.

But then, one day, it happened.

For just a moment, deep in my chest, I felt it: a faint warmth, like a soft light.

When I focused, it was there.

(This… is mana?)

The joy was brief because at the same time, I realized the truth.

My mana tank was tiny—pitiful, by this world’s standards.

In my past life, the reason I could wield so much power was that I converted the “wishes” of others into strength.

Here, I was nothing more than an ordinary person with a slight edge.

Even so, I thought:

Then I’ll train. I’ll grow stronger.

The magical girl I once was never gave up, no matter the enemy.

Magical Girl Mai—time to start training in another world!