0.
Life is but a dream.
At least, that’s what it feels like when you wake up in an entirely different world and have to start all over again.
“Which arm do you want me to cut off? Or which leg?”
“Why bother bringing them here at all? We could’ve just burned them alive.”
“Well, well. If only they had the sense to learn! Hanging their heads on display would set an example!”
“Hehe… Maybe we could drug them first. That’d be fun…”
…Correction. Life is but a *terrible* dream.
There’s no other way to explain this mess.
“All rejected. What is wrong with you people? Is that all you ever think about?”
Anyone who steps out of line will regret it, I warned as I stood up from my seat. After all, the thug we confronted the other day merely mistook someone for someone else.
It’s harsh—losing limbs, being burned alive, hung in the town square, or drugged—but apparently, even that isn’t enough for these lunatic apprentices of mine.
‘How did it come to this…?’
A sigh escaped me as I looked at my disciples, whose twisted minds were beyond comprehension. Was this my punishment for picking up kids destined to become villains?
Still, my intentions were good.
I took in these future antagonists before they went down that dark path, aiming to reform them into better individuals. It was the best I could do, having reincarnated into an extra character who never appeared in any story.
Besides, protagonists and their allies tend to figure things out on their own anyway.
So naturally, I focused on fixing those who wouldn’t survive without guidance.
“Rita!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Throw away the hair in your pocket. Now.”
“But… There’s only one strand left…”
“It’s for a curse, right? Isn’t it?”
“…I’ll throw it away…”
Even Rita, my most well-behaved apprentice, has turned out like this. I tried teaching them proper values, so why are they like this?
The one comforting thing is that they at least listen to me… though unfortunately, they don’t listen to anyone else. Hence, my study is filled with complaint letters.
Whenever something goes wrong, the “important people” always send me letters because everyone knows I raised these troublemakers since childhood—even if my name isn’t exactly famous across the continent.
However, ninety percent—or rather, ninety-five percent—of the chaos originates from my students. Since I’m the one who decided to take responsibility for children society abandoned, I can’t exactly argue.
‘But leaving them unchecked would’ve made them full-fledged villains.’
On the bright side, they’re less evil than I remember them being in my original timeline. They’ve gained power in their respective fields, true to their roles as antagonists, but they don’t seem interested in pursuing secret ambitions—at least not yet.
These idiots called an emergency meeting just because some punk started a fight with them.
I want to believe the world won’t fall apart under their watch.
“…If only they didn’t cause so many problems…”
After sending my apprentices back to their quarters, I found myself alone in my cozy home, rummaging through the drawers in my study.
I needed stationery to write an apology letter to the tower master who was recently attacked, along with a brown parchment bearing a life-extension magic circle.
Due to severe injuries sustained in a battle long ago, I must periodically use magic to extend my shortened lifespan. Between the stress of dealing with my apprentices and lingering aftereffects of past battles, I sometimes wonder how I’m still alive.
‘Still, I can’t die now.’
If I pass away before this world reaches its “ending,” all my efforts to reform these villains will have been for nothing. And imagining what chaos might unfold if they lose control after I’m gone gives me nightmares.
Though there are still a few years until “the story” begins, life is unpredictable—you never know what might happen tomorrow.
Thus, giving up on them isn’t an option.
After sending the heartfelt apology letter to the tower and pulling out a brown parchment gifted by one of my rare friends, I prepared to perform the ritual.
This new parchment featured a slightly altered version of the life-extension magic circle.
“Said he found it in some ruin…”
Having done this countless times already, I wasn’t particularly excited. The design may differ, but the process remains the same.
Think of it like the difference between Brand X and Brand Y soda—they may taste slightly different, but their purpose remains the same.
Holding the brown parchment aloft, I traced the magic circle and recited the incantation. A soft glow filled the room, and a powerful surge coursed through my body.
‘How many days will this take this time?’
Extending life is forbidden magic. Tampering with the natural lifespan allotted to a human isn’t ordinary, so side effects are expected.
The most common result is unconsciousness; the worst case scenario involves permanent physical damage. Fortunately, I’ve prepared countermeasures, so I only need to worry about how long I’ll be knocked out.
When I opened my eyes moments later, the night sky greeted me. Sure enough, I was sprawled on the floor.
“Ugh…”
For me, only a short while had passed, but judging by the lack of additional letters in my study, I must’ve woken relatively quickly.
“Hmm?”
Something felt off. My hands… they’re smaller. No, my entire body feels smaller.
My head tilted involuntarily in confusion. What kind of phenomenon is this?
“What the…”
Leaning against the window where the moonlight illuminated the dark sky, I stared at the unfamiliar face in the mirror before me. My once-short hair now reached my waist, and my rough skin had become smooth like fine porcelain.
Had time reversed somehow? But I’ve never had such long hair in my life. And what’s this strange sensation around my chest?
“Ahh…”
Even my voice sounds thinner.
Despite the normal flow of mana, my body feels anything but normal.
And yet, I don’t feel unhealthy. If anything, I feel overly energized.
A peculiar hypothesis began forming in my mind.
“Surely not…”
To test it, I raised my now-slender arm and cast a simple clothing enchantment.
-Whoosh.
“……”
Instead of pants, the mana wrapped me in a skirt. In other words, my mana recognized me as female.
My jacket and cloak also transformed into women’s styles.
Thus, the conclusion is simple.
‘How much does lizard meat cost these days…?’
That sneaky Orpheon tricked me.
The life-extension magic he claimed to find in some ancient ruin didn’t extend my life—it reverted my age and changed my gender.
Technically, growing younger achieves the goal of extending life, but I was never informed about the gender-switching risk. This is entirely Orpheon’s fault.
With the conclusion drawn, all that remained was action.
-Swoosh…
Using the longest-range teleportation spell I knew multiple times, I crossed half the continent. Before me lay vast snowy plains and towering mountains.
Of course, I knew none of this was real. Orpheon, despite being a dragon, hates the cold immensely and detests even small amounts of ice. He wouldn’t surround his lair with snow.
Precisely because of this…
“Orpheon!!”
The illusionary landscape hiding him dispersed as I threatened to flood his den with freezing spells if he didn’t show himself. Finally, a massive shadow emerged.
「…Who are you?」
A deep, cavernous voice boomed down at me. Naturally, I looked up given his size.
But I am here as a victim seeking justice.
“Where exactly did you find the parchment you gave me?”
Skipping formalities, I dove straight into the matter at hand. Again, he asked who I was.
Eventually, the simmering anger within me bubbled over, moving my fingers.
How dare this lizard pretend not to recognize me!
“『Polymorph』”
「?!」
As I chanted the spell, the mana surged forward. Quickly locating Orpheon’s core, it seeped inside and transformed him into human form, dropping him before me.
Simultaneously, I grabbed his collar with my now-smaller hands—thanks to him, I reminded myself bitterly—and shook him violently.
“What are you going to do about this?! Fix it NOW!!”
“You… Could it be… Asher?”
“That’s right! You damn lizard!!”
Unfortunately, my voice sounded unmistakably feminine, adding insult to injury.
At least Orpheon finally recognized me, though…
“…What happened to you?”
The very one responsible for my current state dared to laugh at me.
Oh, how I wanted to fry him, roast him…
[!– Slider main container –]
![[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come](https://i3.wp.com/darkmtl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1737407792-8993-TS-The-end-of-magical-girls-has-come.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The End of Magical Girls Has Come")
