The day of the culture festival—

A great tent and shimmering mana barriers filled the schoolyard, glowing like curtains rising on a grand celebration.

Rei and I were chosen to appear in the demonstration event of the cultural exchange, representing the Light attribute.

With upperclassmen watching closely, we stepped onto the stage.

“Nervous?”

“…Yeah. But if you’re with me, I’ll be fine.”

I drew a deep breath, then spread my hands wide.

What we performed was a dance of magic, blending light and wind.

Feathers of light fluttered through the air, while a soft breeze lifted my hair.

Rei stood behind me, weaving quiet support magic that spread rings of light across the stage.

Gasps and applause rippled through the audience at the elegance of it all.

“Beautiful…”

“Are they really from the lower grades?”

Some even clasped their hands, eyes brimming with tears.

How different this was from my lonely battles in my past life.

Now, at last, my magic was reaching people’s hearts.

But—

One upperclassman’s gaze sharpened, fixed on us.

To his eyes, it wasn’t just light he saw—it was waves.

“…That boy, Rei. Part of his mana… It’s black, corrupted.”

Yes. Though Rei wielded light, at times a shadow crept beneath it, a trace of darkness.

“Dark emotions—jealousy, hatred, fear. A wellspring of mana fed by them all.”

He did not overlook it.

And in true meritocratic fashion, he approached Rei with an audacious proposal.

“Rei, right? If you can master that darkness… would you stand as the next ‘Demon Lord’?”

—Demon Lord.

A ruler, feared and revered in equal measure.

But also a figure burdened with unending responsibility… and isolation.

Rei’s face twisted in distaste at the very idea.

“…No. I just want to live normally.”

In his eyes flickered memories of the past life he had borne—

the weight of power, and the crushing solitude it demanded.

He already knew that path, and he would not walk it again.

When I reached for his hand, he let out a small breath of relief.

We would live by our magic, nothing more.

Even if it saved some, even if it frightened others—

Macikado Mai, age seven.

On the stage of magic, I shone with light and chose to walk alongside the shadow.

A summer memory carved into both our hearts.