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Chapter 2
“Mom, I want to go here.”
If a magic academy admission letter arrives and you don’t go, you’re definitely not from 21st-century Earth.
And if I learn magic, I can grow fruit anytime I want. I could eat expensive fruits from Korea endlessly for free for the rest of my life. Hehehe.
“This is phishing.”
My mom casually poured cold water over my excited dream.
“They’re trying to scam you into paying tuition.”
“There’s no mention of tuition in the letter.”
“Of course there isn’t. That’s exactly why naive kids like you go to the entrance ceremony and then—bam!—they shut the gates and go, ‘Pay up! If you don’t have money, we’ll sell you as a slave!’”
Selli narrowed her eyes and leaned her nose toward her mom.
Sniff sniff.
“What’s this smell?”
“Huh? Smell? I just chopped firewood and took a shower.”
Mom sniffed her shirt too.
Not that smell!
“You smell like a liar!”
“L-Liar? You just don’t know because you’ve never been out there. The outside world is terrifying.”
Her expression turned dark and distant—unlike before. This time it felt real.
“Selli, think logically.”
“Alright, let’s hear it.”
Selli crossed her arms proudly, trying to look convincing—but a 10-year-old squirrel-faced kid and “dignified” didn’t go together at all.
“Wizards are about bloodlines. Your mother is just an ordinary human, so how could you possibly be a mage?”
“So that means…”
She pressed her chin with her thumb and index finger in a V-shape, narrowing her eyes like a detective.
“…my dad is a mage.”
At that moment, Mom’s mouth dropped open.
“…Where did you learn the word ‘dad’?”
It was understandable. Selli’s mother had never once used the word “father” in front of her.
She was so thorough that in Mom’s version of “Baby Shark,” the daddy shark was replaced with a “toothy shark.”
All fairy tales involving fathers had been locked away deep in storage, leaving only books like The History of Modern Technology on the child’s shelf.
Even the dictionary had been so meticulously edited that all synonyms related to “father” had been erased. Selli had once admired that level of dedication.
But…
“You were born through budding.”
That was a bit much!
Even for someone who had been accepted into a science high school in her past life.
Honestly, she almost believed it. Magic already made no scientific sense—why couldn’t humans reproduce through budding?
In fact, Mom had even shown her a scar on her back, claiming it was proof.
“I got this fighting a giant wolf one day…”
It honestly sounded more believable than the budding story.
Still, Selli felt a little sorry for her mom, who was desperately trying to hide the existence of her father.
I’m not actually curious about my biological father anyway.
Well… she was a little curious, but not enough to go searching.
Good mom vs. (good mom + random dad)
Of course, option 1 wins. Especially for someone who already suffered a terrible life in her past world.
So even though she had a strong guess about who her father was, she pretended not to know.
Every year on “Love Day,” three winged boxes would arrive at this remote cottage. Mom always returned them without opening them.
But Selli clearly remembered the names written on the packaging:
Kai.
Lyon.
And one that wasn’t even a name—just a raven symbol.
One of those three must be my dad.
“…So one of them is a mage.”
Selli murmured, and Mom suddenly snapped back to attention.
“No, Selli. You don’t have a father.”
That was just Mom’s wish.
“Selli, answer me honestly. I can talk to animals.”
“Huh? Since when?”
Mom blinked in surprise.
It was a newly awakened ability.
“Since the day the chicks hatched.”
It had happened when she was feeding chickens.
“The bird that breaks out of its egg must struggle! The egg is the world! One must destroy a world to be born!”
“…Huh?”
What kind of worldview is this? Why is Demian showing up in a chicken coop?
At first she thought Mom was saying it—but it turned out to be a hen scolding newly hatched chicks.
I can understand what chickens are saying…
Could such an ability suddenly appear one day?
The answer was simple: genetics.
“Where did this ability come from?”
Mom’s narrowed eyes suddenly widened.
As if she had just realized something.
See? It really is from Dad!
“…Oh… my God…”
But then Mom buried her face in her hands.
“What kind of cursed inheritance is this… and it’s not even something you can call a father…”
What did she mean by “not even a father”?
“Bwak bwak bwak!”
Selli turned toward the urgent cries outside the window. A rooster was chasing chicks.
Male animals caring for their young were rare. She had seen plenty of cases where fathers harmed their own offspring.
“Bwak bwak! Help! Help!”
A chick ran toward the window. Selli quickly picked it up and put it in her pocket.
While the chick calmed down and dozed off, the rooster proudly chased it away as if he had done something great.
Did my dad leave because he was like that rooster? A bad man?
If so, it made sense why Mom tried so hard to hide him.
But Mom was also terribly bad at lying.
Even now, her reaction to the letter clearly showed that it was real—not phishing.
“What kind of ridiculous tone is this? Hah, that insane bird…”
“Huh? Insane bird?”
“Is Lexarion still the headmaster?”
Her hands holding the letter were trembling.
“How is the world even functioning right now?”
“Why? Who is Lexarion?”
And why does a farmer living in a remote forest know so much about a magic academy?
But Mom didn’t answer. She crumpled the letter.
“No. Spellmore is not allowed. Absolutely not.”
Judging by her reaction, this wasn’t the first admission letter.
The crumpled paper would likely join the pile of previously hidden letters.
No way!
Selli tried to grab it back—but Mom stopped her urgently.
“Selli, you promised we’d be happy living here together, just the two of us.”
We’ll live happily here together.
That was Mom’s favorite line. And Selli always answered, “Okay!”
She meant it back then.
But not anymore.
“Sorry, Mom. I have a new dream.”
Living peacefully in nature, detached from society—that was an adult’s dream after suffering in life.
Selli had already lived a painful life. Even though she was still a child, she had chosen an adult’s dream.
Was this really what I wanted? Or not?
Her calm heart started beating wildly again.
Maybe she just needed time to recharge.
Now that she had regained strength, it was time to run toward her goal again.
I couldn’t even enter science high school in my past life. This time, I’ll graduate from a magic academy.
And what is a magic academy? The ultimate Earth-born fantasy.
Would they sort students with hats?
Would there be random-flavor jelly beans?
…Please no earwax flavor.
But Mom wouldn’t understand all this.
So Selli spoke sincerely.
“Adults dream of deep roots in the ground, but children should dream of flying high in the sky.”
Mom suddenly looked shocked.
“How do you know that…?”
“Huh? I just said what came to mind…”
Is that really such a surprising thing?
