By the time I’d gotten used to life at the Magic Academy, Rei and I had begun drawing unexpected attention.

It all started with a practical exercise in mana measurement.

“Light attribute… that’s really rare, isn’t it?”

“And that girl—her control is flawless!”

Whispers spread like wildfire.

And before I knew it, I—Maikado Mai—had somehow become the Academy’s “little lady of magic,” admired and fawned over.

If that were all, it might have been harmless.

But soon my desk was piled with gifts, and one day I even received a letter that read:

Lady Maikado Mai, your mana has moved me deeply. I would be honored if we might discuss a future engagement. —Eldest son of House ○○

…How did it come to this?

In my past life, I fought in secret as a magical girl.

And now here I was, bewildered by love letters and proposals.

Wasn’t this just another kind of battlefield?

“Mai, I’ll take care of these,” Rei said, gathering the letters in his arms.

But his face was tight, his brows furrowed in irritation.

“Hey, Rei, those are mine—”

“Shut up. I’m not letting you go to any of those guys.”

A warning. A real warning.

From that day on, any boy who so much as approached me found himself pinned under Rei’s icy glare.

“Dude, Mai’s little brother is terrifying…”

“Yeah, but doesn’t it kinda feel like he’s… protecting her?”

And so, Rei and I became famous within the Academy—

as the “inseparable siblings” and as the “strange pair tied to the light’s mana.”

One day, Teacher Lorl muttered something under his breath that stuck with me:

“Hmm… Light’s mana, successor of the Demon Lord… When you two stand side by side, it feels like the world itself starts to stir.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe we did hold the power to shake things up.

But as long as Rei and I kept choosing our own path, whatever power we had would find its meaning.

Macikado Mai, age six.

Flustered by an unexpected wave of popularity, yet walking forward with my little brother at the very heart of the Academy.

A spring I’ll never forget.