There was no time to rest in my daily life.

On weekdays, I soldered until dawn.

On weekends, I worked at a convenience store.

I lived like that until I collapsed from overwork.

In the final moment I fell at the factory, only one thought crossed my mind.

‘I want to escape this miserable routine.’

Strangely enough, that wish came true.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a completely different world, in a different body.

It wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.

After all, this was the world from the web novel I used to steal moments to read in my busy life, The Gritty Mage of the Academy.

I realized this fact on the day I sent off the person who had raised ‘me’.

After the funeral, I returned home.

I reached for the doorknob and, unconsciously, saw my reflection in the window.

Ash-gray hair falling to my waist, eyes clear as water.

If there had been social media, a few selfies alone would have swept up followers—this delicate beauty frowned lightly.

“Is this... me?”

Severe cognitive dissonance hit me.

I didn’t resemble the me I remembered at all.

Not in appearance, not in body shape.

Even the gender was different.

Lunaris Evermoon.

This was the strange, awkward name I had now.

It wasn’t a name that appeared even once in the novel The Gritty Mage of the Academy, which formed the basis of this world.

In other words, I had been reincarnated as Village Girl A, who had no impact on the canon of a world with an existing original story.

“Maybe that’s for the better...”

I pushed the complicated thoughts aside and opened the door.

The empty house was a mess.

Thick magic books lay open across the floor, and piles of parchment covered with messy formulas were stacked on the desk.

Amidst the chaos, one piece of paper caught my eye, neatly stamped in gold.

[Recommendation for Royal Mage Candidate]
[Candidate: Lunaris Evermoon]

The moment I saw it, a sigh escaped me.

Turns out, I wasn’t just Village Girl A—I was Candidate A for a Royal Mage.

The memories of the girl swept through my mind.

Waking at dawn to memorize magical formulas.

Immediately after lunch, meditating with mana without even a moment to digest.

All afternoon assisting experiments.

Evenings spent copying magical texts as homework.

...I was on the overwork death route, fantasy version, without fail.

“Grandpa.”

A voice echoed through the empty room.

On top of it, I faintly heard my grandfather’s voice telling me never to slack off on magic, even when I lacked confidence.

I also vaguely heard him saying that I could surely become a Royal Mage after him.

At one point, I had mistaken that for pure encouragement.

But now, knowing my previous life, it was clear.

Grandpa, that wasn’t praise.

It was just gaslighting to make me follow in his footsteps.

“Sorry, being a Royal Mage is too much.”

A small flame flickered at my fingertips.

Using magic felt as natural as breathing.

“I’m not dying after working myself to death in this life, too.”

With a flick of my finger, the flame shot toward the desk.

The recommendation letter, possibly worth thousands of gold to someone, went up in smoke along with the parchment.

Watching the ashes fall, I set a new goal.

To laze around as much as possible, including in my previous life.

To lie in bed, not moving a finger.

Yes, in this life, I would—

“Become a master of lying around.”

If I was Extra A, a character whose name didn’t even appear in the original, I could at least have that much freedom.

Fortunately, in this world, there was a way to live without moving a finger.

Magic.

Yes, that one from fantasy novels.

With the ability to use mana to make imagination into reality, my dream was attainable.

I scanned the study and picked the most promising magic book.

[Advanced Null-Attribute Magic Book: Basics of Telekinesis and Spatial Magic]

Telekinesis.

The magic to freely move objects from a distance.

With this,

“I can lie in bed all day...!”

Creak, squeak—

The door opened with a groan of hinges.

I didn’t even need to look to know who it was.

At this hour, there was only one person who would come here.

“Of course, still one with the bed today, Lunaris.”

A girl with short red hair peeked through the door.

As expected, it was my childhood friend, Ria.

“Knock next time you come in.”

I mumbled absentmindedly, eyes glued to the book.

“I always do. But, you’ve never answered even once, have you?”
“...Never?”
“Not even once.”

Ria smiled and perched at the edge of the bed.

A familiar routine.

“Studying magic?”
“No way.”

I had long since given up on magic studies.

Why strain my brain?

“Then what are you reading?”
“Classics.”
“You always read such difficult stuff. Is it fun?”
“Just killing time.”

Honestly, it wasn’t really fun.

In this world with no smartphones or internet, lying in bed, reading was all there was to do.

The only relief was that the ‘classics’ here were books that had been classified as ‘fantasy’ in my previous life.

Of course, I couldn’t just read forever; I’d need to find other hobbies eventually.

“You should go outside and get some sunlight instead.”
“Too much trouble...”
“Or you’ll become one with the bed for real.”
“Oh. That’s perfect. My lifelong dream.”

I felt Ria’s gaze fixed on me.

A cute sigh escaped her.

“If you do that, you’ll never get married and live alone.”
“Living alone is the best.”

Even though I had lived as a woman for six years, being around men was physiologically unbearable.

“...I knew it.”

Ria shrugged with a strange expression, gathered the basket she brought, and naturally headed to the kitchen.

“Did you eat breakfast?”
“...I managed.”
“You probably just grabbed a few cookies again.”

Was she spying on my house?

Feeling guilty, I pressed my lips together, and Ria sighed.

“I knew it.”

Tap, tap, tap. The rhythmic sound of a knife filled the room with a savory aroma.

...Honestly, Ria’s cooking was worth enduring the trouble. She was amazing at it.

Her egg tarts were the best I had ever eaten, in both lives.

No scoundrel would take Ria from me.

“Ah, Lunaris. I’m taking the Elterion Academy entrance exam this year.”

...I had resolved that, and now that cursed academy was going to take Ria away.

“You know, the biggest academy in the East? With its diploma, you’ll never worry about money.”
“Really? Lucky you.”
“Aren’t you thinking of going? It’d be nice if we went together.”
“Nope. Too much trouble. And expensive.”
“Your magic is strong enough to get a scholarship.”
“Maybe... but...”

I would never, ever go to that academy.

After all, the Elterion Academy was the main stage of countless trials and tribulations in the original novel.

I even wanted to stop Ria from going.

“Ria, I’ll have an egg tart—”
“No snacking before lunch.”
“That’s mean...”

After lunch, we sparred lightly to aid digestion.

It was also practical training for Ria’s academy exam.

She’s my adorable little sister; helping her wasn’t a problem.

...Not that I was lured by the egg tarts at all.

Of course, only Ria moved her body.

I lay on the bed, moving the wooden sword with telekinesis.

Thud—thud—

The sound of wood clashing echoed rhythmically.

I pushed my book aside and looked out the window.

‘She’s definitely improved.’

At first, Ria flailed wildly at the sword I moved.

Now... almost equal?

She’d probably earn the scholarship without trouble.

Ria caught her breath and said,

“Phew... I don’t think this practice is enough anymore.”
“Really? Then shall we stop here for today?”

Sleepiness from lunch was creeping in; I was tempted to nap right there.

“But, Lunaris.”

Ria didn’t look ready to rest.

Tsk. Of course, a naturally athletic outdoor type wouldn’t understand indoor types.

“Could you use an offensive spell on me?”

...Huh? What?

“Why an offensive spell all of a sudden?”
“Well, I might have to fight magic students at the academy. I want some practice first.”
“Too much trouble...”

I sighed lightly and moved my finger.

Ria’s body lifted softly.

“W-wait a sec... kyah?!”

I sent her on a thrilling, rail-less rollercoaster ride, and instead of being scared, she laughed excitedly.

“Ahaha! This is fun! Faster... no, I mean a real offensive spell!”

Cold sweat ran down her forehead.

Not telekinesis... a real offensive spell?

“Other spells are a bit... but...”

Before I could finish, Ria’s eyes curved like a crescent moon.

“Huh~ You can’t use other spells, right?”

...This little brat?

“If you get hurt, don’t blame me.”

I sighed and gathered mana at my fingertips, mentally calculating the simplest offensive spell.

Magic Missile.

A basic spell, below even beginner level, manageable even if accidents occurred.

A small light flickered at my fingertips.

“...Wait, Lunaris. Isn’t something... weird?”

The light grew and wavered precariously.

...I knew this would happen.

This was why I avoided using other spells.

“...Ria? You can dodge it, right?”
“What? Wait... kyah?!”

Before she could react, the light shot out the window.

KABOOM—!!

A huge crater appeared in the yard with a deafening explosion.

...Who would believe this was just a basic spell?

Ria huddled beside the crater, trembling.

“...Oh, she’s alive.”
“Alive? I thought you just died!”
“It came out stronger than expected.”

I blinked slowly and shrugged.

“...This is the level of scholarship students in the magic department you’ll face.”
“Don’t lie! I may not know much about magic, but how is this a student level?!”
“Anyway, it wasn’t on purpose.”

It was true. An accident.

And my magic had a deadly flaw.

Any spell other than telekinesis came out overpowered.

Basic spells hit intermediate levels.

This was bad.

High-level spells consumed a lot of mana.

Overuse would lead to mana exhaustion.

Being able to use high-level spells and being able to use only high-level spells are very different things.

All because I rushed to become an advanced mage for telekinesis, neglecting the basics and increasing my mana recklessly.

Relearning magic from scratch? Too late.

Too much trouble.

After all, I learned magic to live life easily with telekinesis. My goal was already achieved.

The incident with Ria and my five-star Magic Missile was truly a rare accident.

...Really.