You really know how to say the nicest things, huh?

Yeah, I’ve made up my mind. I can tell Yōji.

“So, what are you starting this time?”

“Yeah, the real topic starts now. Since you said that, I’ll tell you—I’m a magician.”

We stare at each other for a while.

Then, Yōji silently pushes his fries toward me.

“Did you just want my fries?”

“Hell no! Nobody said anything like that!!!”

“Did they? Then what did you say?”

“I said I’m a magician!”

“We’re still first-years in high school, so being a virgin isn’t something to be ashamed of yet. That starts at 30, you know?”

“I said that’s not it!!”

“Oh, really? Well, either way, I don’t think you should yell that loud in a McDonald’s. Feels like everyone’s staring at us.”

Tch. He’s right—I can feel the eyes on me.

Annoying, but yelling “I’m a magician!” isn’t exactly something you should shout in public.

“Also, repeatedly screaming ‘virgin’ at the top of your lungs might be a bit much.”

“I! SAID! THAT’S! NOT! IT!”

Just as I say that, he gestures for me to lower my voice with a “shhh.”

Tch.

Well, this isn’t really the kind of conversation to have at McDonald’s anyway.

Ignoring Yōji’s teasing grin, I finish my food, and we head to a nearby park.

Since club activities are over, it’s already completely dark outside.

There’s someone walking their dog in the distance, but it’s too dark to make out any details. If I use time magic now, as long as they’re far enough away, they won’t notice a thing.

“Yōji, watch closely.”

“Yeah.”

We stand facing each other.

Maybe sensing my seriousness, Yōji’s expression turns serious too—different from before—as he listens.

“Here goes… Time, halt!”

The world… the twilight park is painted in monochrome.

Right now, my time magic is Level 1. Unlike before, it’s a two-second time stop.

This’ll be the easiest way to prove it.

I quickly move behind Yōji.

Two seconds pass, and the frozen world resumes.

Then, from behind, I lightly tap Yōji’s shoulder and say:

“Yeah, I bet you don’t know what the hell’s going on. Truth is, I don’t either.”

Yōji flinches, shoulders trembling, then slowly turns around.

One second, I was right in front of him—the next, I’m gone, only to reappear directly behind him. As if double-checking, he stares at my face for a long moment before finally letting out a deep sigh.

“…That’s not your line.”

“Yeah, I know. So, do you believe me now?”

“…Yeah. Well, no—I’m still trying to process it. I mean, I get what just happened, but… My brain’s about to short-circuit. This isn’t some cheap trick—I just got a taste of something way more terrifying.”

He grins sharply as he says it.

“So, what exactly was that? You gonna explain?”

“Yeah, of course.”

First, I tell him that the magic I can use is time magic, that right now I can only stop time, that the effect lasts two seconds, and that the cooldown is nine minutes.

Yōji seems to think for a while before speaking up after a few dozen seconds.

“Is that… even useful?”

“Not really. Right now, I can’t think of many ways to use it. But there might be something, so I’ve been testing it out. Problem is, doing it alone has its limits, so I thought maybe if I told you, we could figure out something interesting together.”

“Ah, got it. So that’s why you’re quitting the baseball team—to have more time to test it. Hmm… There’s a lot I wanna ask, but… Well, it’s getting late. Let’s head back for now.”

“Yeah.”

This park is still near the school. It’ll take about an hour by train to get back to our hometown.