Ever since Rei came to live with us, the house had grown a little livelier.

“If something’s heavy, just leave it to Rei,” Mother said with a laugh.

And she wasn’t wrong—his strength was already above mine.

In fact, when it came to milk deliveries, Rei could handle the entire route on his own.

Whenever I tried to help with magic, he would even say, “You don’t need to.”

(…But I’m the magical girl here.)

And yet, strangely enough, that didn’t make me bitter.

Instead, my chest felt warm.

Because his help let me focus on other things.

And more importantly—

One day, when he came home from deliveries, Rei muttered:

“…Something feels weird. Like my chest is glowing or something…”

I instinctively grabbed his hand and peered at his chest.

And there it was. A faint spiral of glowing mana, swirling gently inside him.

(I knew it…)

Just as a magical girl draws power from people’s wishes,

The former Demon Lord had once drawn power from fear.

Which meant Rei and I were the same:

Conduits that could turn emotion into mana.

“Rei… you’re a magical boy!”

“…No.”

Instant rejection.

“Why not!? You’ve got real talent!”

“I just want to be normal… live normal… not use magic at all…”

A fair point.

Still… what a waste.

So I began pulling him into training little by little, without him realizing.

While I practiced mana control, I’d say, “Let’s stretch together.”

During muscle training, I’d hand him a log with, “Can you hold this for me?”

Meanwhile, his mana steadily grew more stable.

Not fueled by fear anymore, but by gratitude, respect—

emotions that turned his power into light.

It was a color the Demon Lord had never known.

Then, one day, news swept through the village:

“The new Demon Lord has awakened!”

“Oh, at last.”

“With a ruler again, the lords can rest easy.”

…Wait. What?

While I sat there stunned, the villagers were practically celebrating.

Because in this world, a “Demon Lord” was simply a title for a ruler with vast mana.

The birth of a new Demon Lord meant the rise of a new nation—a good omen.

And with that came another announcement:

“To find the prophesied child, all children will be summoned to the Magic Academy.”

A notice was delivered to both Rei and me.

“Wait—an academy!? We’re going!?”

“I don’t wanna go…”

I was thrilled. Rei looked like he’d seen a ghost.

Macikado Mai, age six.

Together with my former enemy, I began preparing for the Magic Academy—an autumn event to remember.