John woke up before dawn and quietly donned his armor. As usual, he leaned down and kissed Alicia’s forehead. Alicia was the only family he had left and he would do everything he could to ensure her happiness.

  “Dad, working again?” Alicia yawned, eyes still half-closed.

  John smiled softly. “Yeah. I’m covering Dune’s shift today.”

  Alicia frowned.

  Why is he taking other people’s shifts? Was he a workaholic? Or… was he just like my dad?

  Nathan’s father had been a successful entrepreneur—wealthy, distant, always working.

  John was the opposite: a tired, middle-aged soldier with little to his name.

  And yet, somehow, John still reminded Alicia of her previous father.

  Her opinion of him dropped even further.

  “What about breakfast?”

  “Here. Aunt Sharlee will give you a loaf of bread.”

  He handed her a copper coin.

  “Thank you! I’ll buy breakfast after pying,” Alicia replied with a nod.

  “It’s still dark out. Wait until the sun’s a quarter above the horizon, alright? Nathan, Hobi, Serene—they won’t even be at the well until noon.”

  “I see.” Alicia nodded again, then flopped back onto her straw mattress with another yawn.

  Her zybones were acting up again.

  Laundry? Work? A part-time job?

  No way. Not even a bath.

  Even the other children were more responsible than she was.

  She still believed a noble lord would simply discover her and offer her a prestigious job. After all, she was a mage. And mages were supposed to be rare and highly valued.

  …Right?

  But this world had no computers. No smartphones. No anime.

  After a short nap, Alicia finally got up, walked outside to stretch her legs, and headed toward Aunt Sharlee’s to grab the promised bread.

  She made a stop by the well to wash her face.

  It had only been a day, and she was already growing tired of this world.

  “Hey! Alicia!” someone called out before she could draw water.

  It was Bob.

  “Laine come in yet?” he asked, jogging up.

  “Laine?” Alicia paused, digging through her inherited memories.

  Right… a petite boy. Kinda looked like a girl.

  She looked around but saw no sign of him.

  “Not yet,” she said.

  Alicia tilted her head, confused as to why Bob would ask her something like that. She is a dummy. Bob meant whether she had seen Laine today. Not right now. Apparently, her social skills had vanished along with her masculinity—not that she had much to begin with in her previous life.

  “Let’s go to the tree! Amy and the others are already there!” Bob grinned, grabbing her hand before she could say anything.

  He led her out of the county.

  Shadowstep County only had walls on its eastern border. The southern and western sides were open to the public—merchant caravans frequently passed through those routes.

  Not that Alicia knew any of this. She was still an ignorant transpnt from another world, following along without a clue.

  “See ya, Mr. John!” Bob waved as he dashed off with Alicia in tow.

  “Don’t forget to come home before the sun sets!” John called out behind them, raising his hand.

  “I’m off!” Alicia called back, waving.

  Well, no wonder we’re poor. He’s just a soldier, not even a real knight, Alicia thought bitterly as she followed Bob, who had already let go of her hand.

  But that wasn’t true.

  John was a real knight. His armor, sword, and skills were all a notch above the average militiaman.

  However, in Shadowstep, many knights doubled as town guards.

  The town bordered the monster-infested Shadow Wood, and even the “wall-less” parts of town had watch posts with armed knights and horses standing by.

  Alicia jogged through the golden fields.

  The wheat swayed gently as the wind brushed past.

  The air smelled of fresh grass, birds chirped in the distance, and a lonely scarecrow stood watch beneath the morning sun.

  For Alicia, it was exhirating.

  She had visited a wheat field once during a school trip, but this was different. This wasn’t some fenced-in tourist attraction—this was real.

  There was no sharp scent of pesticides. No buzzing machinery. No paved road.

  Only open nd and freedom.

  At the far edge of the field stood a towering tree, its wide canopy casting shade over several children already pying beneath its branches.

  “Come on, hurry! Anne brought balls, hoops, and marbles!” Bob shouted excitedly from under the tree.

  Alicia, however, took her time, admiring the scenery.

  Despite the poor state of the town she grew up in, everything felt new and exciting.

  “Alright, alright. You shouldn't rush a dy,” Alicia huffed as she leaped over a puddle.

  Bob turned, stared at her for a moment—then burst out ughing.

  “Bwahaha! A dy? Guys! Alicia says she wants to be a noble!”

  The other boys cracked up.

  “What? Why are you ughing? It’s not like it’s impossible,” Alicia pouted, finally catching up.

  “Everyone knows you can only become a noble by marrying one,” Anne, a merchant’s daughter, expined matter-of-factly. “And unless you’re already a noble, the only way that happens is if you become a… a konkyubin? Anyway, it means you’ll be their personal harlot.”

  Alicia blinked. That wasn’t the answer she expected.

  “Alicia’s gonna be a harlot! Hahaha!” one of the boys shouted, and the others roared with ughter.

  “Wait, wait! That’s not what I meant!” Alicia waved her arms, flustered. “I never said I wanted to become a noble! I meant… you know… a dy. Like a proper one. What about mages? Mages are successful, right?”

  The ughter stopped.

  This time, the kids just stared at her.

  Not with amusement—but pity.

  Yes. Alicia—mental age: over 20—was being pitied by a group of vilge children.

  “Alicia,” Anne sighed, “only one in a thousand people can become a mage. Stop dreaming.”

  “But wouldn’t it be cool to be one? Like Sir Dunbne? Or Sir Bkehill?” Bob chimed in.

  “Well, if you do become a mage, your life’s basically guaranteed,” Jake added. “You might even be granted noble status.”

  “Even girls can become mages?” Serene asked curiously.

  “Well, yeah. If someone shows magical potential, they’ll be enrolled in a magic university for free,” Bob shrugged. “I’ve already been tested. I didn’t pass.”

  “Ah! That was the thing in the church during our tenth birthday, right? Damn… guess I’m not a mage then,” Nathan muttered.

  Alicia turned to gnce at the boy.

  He had the same name as her former self—Nathan.

  This Nathan was uncannily familiar: common brown hair, pale skin, features that were neither sharp nor dull.

  Even his voice had a mellow tone, touched with a hint of hoarseness.

  A farmer’s son, he had only basic knowledge and no special talents.

  He was, in short, average.

  Just like she had been in her previous life.

  He wouldn’t get far in this world unless he was blessed with either talent or wealth. Alicia understood that all too well.

  “Well! I am going to become a mage!” Alicia decred with a flourish. “Then I’ll be rich, and you may all call me your patron!”

  She finished with a pyful curtsy.

  “You’re ten years old, right, Alicia? The ceremony’s next week,” Nathan said.

  “Ceremony?” Alicia tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.

  “Come on! You want to be a mage and you don’t even know about the ceremony?” Nathan ughed.

  The other kids giggled along with him.

  “Everyone knows about it, silly,” Anne chimed in. “It’s when they check if you have any magical talent. The ceremony will be at the pza. I think the foreman will survey the pce today. My father said he had gotten the order forms.”

  “I’ll be going too,” she added with a shrug. “Though my dad said not to get my hopes up.”

  “Oh. Right… yeah.” Alicia nodded quickly, trying to cover her embarrassment.

  Being pretty certainly didn’t help her brain. Alicia barely had two working brain cells.

  “Besides,” Anne continued, “even if you do become a mage, you couldn’t be our patron. All mages are employed by the country.”

  “Eh?” Alicia blinked, fbbergasted.

  “Really?” Bob frowned. “But that mage—Sir Layafaile—he came through our town two years ago, right? He didn’t look like he worked for anyone.”

  “I mean… most mages do, I think,” Anne said with a shrug.

  “There’s a mandatory registration for mages,” Nathan added. “My father told me. But they’re still citizens—they can travel freely.”

  “Eh… I don’t wanna work here. The pay sucks,” Alicia grumbled.

  As expected from a zy college student reborn in a fantasy world—she hadn’t worked a single day in Shadowstep County, and she was already compining.

  “What do you mean the pay sucks?” Nathan raised a brow. “Your dad’s a knight, right? That’s one of the best-paying jobs around here. Well, except for mages, of course…”

  “Huh? Then how come we live in a shack?” Alicia tilted her head.

  Simple logic from a simple girl.

  They were poor—therefore, her father’s pay must be terrible. So, naturally, she bmed his job. And by extension… the lord.

  “Dunno,” Nathan shrugged. “Maybe your dad’s a drunk or gambles a lot? My dad’s a soldier—that’s below a knight—and we live in a better house than yours.”

  Alicia’s eyes widened.

  No way...

  She’d only been here a day, but she’d seen how John treated her. He seemed kind. Diligent.

  How could he be squandering money like that?

  Sure, she had blown her parents' money on gacha games back in her previous life…

  But that was different! Gambling and alcohol were vices. Gacha was a—uh—Entertainment!

  “Even mages can end up poor if they’re alcoholics or gamble too much,” Bob added.

  Alicia nodded solemnly.

  She knew how addiction could ruin lives. She’d been there. She was denying it, but she'd been there.

  “Stop it,” Anne cut in, noticing how disheartened Alicia looked. “We don’t know for sure. Mr. John is a respectable knight. And who doesn’t drink at a bar now and then? Even my mom and dad do.”

  “Yeah! Enough about that. The ceremony’s still a week away,” Bob said, raising his hand. “Let’s py!”

  “Sure! I’m a knight! You’ll be the monster!” one boy shouted.

  “Want to hear about spices? My dad brought one from the north…” another girl offered.

  “Being a baker is hard…” someone else muttered.

  And just like that, the children scattered into their own little worlds.

  The boys talked about fighting monsters. The girls discussed cooking, undry, and housework.

  A few schorly-looking kids bbbered about becoming scribes and schors.

  In the middle of it all, Alicia just sat there—already mentally checked out.

  “Don’t worry! The goddess promised me—I’ll definitely become a mage and lead a successful life!” Alicia clenched her fist with confidence.

  But despite her bold decration, Alicia had never been a religious person in her previous life. Her faith ran out faster than a candle in the wind.

  By the time the sun set and John returned home, she was already feeling restless.

  “Alicia,” John said as he unstrapped his armor, “I’ve arranged for the church to start teaching you how to read and write. With luck, you could become an army assistant at the gate.”

  “Assistant?” she echoed, confused.

  “Yes. You’d help with basic clerical work—documents, records. If you don’t pass the mage test within two years, your options will narrow down to being a underer, wheat thresher, or baker.”

  “Can’t I become a mage? I heard the ceremony is in two weeks.”

  “It would be wonderful if you could,” John replied with a tired smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  In truth, he didn’t believe it. Becoming a mage was rare—only one in a thousand ever qualified.

  John had never been a man of faith, but… if Alicia did turn out to be one of the lucky few, maybe all his worries would disappear.

  “But you can’t count on that. You have to pn for your future. Only those chosen by the gods become mages.”

  Alicia pouted. That very same goddess had promised her she would become one.

  Still, even with that promise, she couldn’t shake the creeping doubt.

  In the two days since arriving in this world, she hadn’t felt even a flicker of magical power.

  She’d even lost to Bob earlier during their pretend knight game.

  That night, Alicia woke up.

  Moonlight poured through the window, bathing her pale face and hair in silvery glow. Even through the dirt and grime, her silver-white hair shimmered with ethereal light.

  She sat up slowly.

  Was everything—my talk with the goddess, my past life—just a dream?

  Raising her hand to her chest, she took a deep breath and focused.

  Fireball, she thought.

  Just a small one. The size of a fist.

  Nothing happened.

  Her hand trembled.

  Her confidence colpsed.

  Her breathing turned shallow, panic rising in her chest.

  Impossible… Magic is supposed to manifest at ten. No one said I needed a magic tool to activate it…

  “I’m dead. I can’t live in this world without magic or skills,” Alicia whispered, her voice shaking.

  “I’m just a normal college student. I can’t fight monsters… and everyone always hates me…”

  Tears welled up in her eyes. She tried one more time.

  This time, she focused harder than she ever had in her life.

  For once, her idle mind was pushed into full concentration.

  She inhaled slowly—deep and steady.

  And then…

  She felt it.

  A warmth smoldered in her chest.

  It crept through her veins like a trickle of molten fire.

  Something was flowing. Something real.

  A tiny fme—no bigger than a candlelight—flickered to life between her hands.

  Alicia gasped.

  Relief washed over her like a tidal wave.

  She wasn’t a talentless failure like in her past life.

  This proved it—she was a mage.

  Still disbelieving, she cupped her hands before her chest once more.

  The fme sparked to life again.

  It was real.

  She was a mage.

  The goddess hadn’t lied.