Blaze Festival—Partire's largest magical contest, held every autumn equinox as a national celebration—had an entry deadline of 5 PM today. Dice had completely forgotten about it until last night. Running. Kicking the stone pavement of Toretta. Full speed. The Sodeian terminal—a smartphone-like magical device powered by Soltia particles—showed 4:42 PM. Eighteen minutes left. "I'll make it! Definitely make it!!" Black short hair whipped in the wind. The burn scars on her arm stung—she'd practiced magic again this morning without learning. The entry form was clutched tight in both hands. She'd written it last night, squeezing out every last bit of focus. She'd die before losing this. The Sodeian Academy—Partire's magical certification and management authority, also running the contest—had its Toretta headquarters at the north edge of the academy district. From Cadenza Magic School, it took about fifteen minutes on foot. Full speed from here meant cutting it close. She cut through the Grand Market Cantare in the commercial district. The smell of spices from the stalls stung her nose. A merchant called out, "Hey kid, where're you rushing off to?" No time to answer. Turn the corner. Climb the slope. Entered the academy district. Stone school buildings lined the street. A few students lingered after class. Dice slipped past all of them, heading for the Sodeian Academy headquarters. And then— She saw it. A construction sign. Hand-drawn arrow. "Sodeian Academy 100m ahead." "Perfect!! I got this!!" That moment. The sky split. Or seemed to. From one point in the blue sky, an impossibly bright pillar of light poured down. Not white. Colors mixed like a rainbow. Different from Soltia particle light. Something fundamentally different. Dice's thoughts stopped. Her feet didn't. "Huh?" Running. "Huh, huh?" Running. "HUUUUH?!?!?!" She screamed and kept running. Couldn't stop. The deadline was 5 PM. Something fell from the pillar of light. A person. A person falling. Silver hair spread silky-smooth through the light. Purple gradient like the twilight sky. Body descending slowly. But definitely toward the ground. Dice understood instantly. Catch her. (But the entry form—!?) That conflict lasted 0.3 seconds. Then Dice spread both arms wide. CRASH!!! She didn't catch her. Exactly: she tried to catch her, but the girl's weight overpowered her. Both of them slammed into the ground. Water pooled between the stone pavement cracks. The entry form—two sheets—fluttered away. The papers drifted slowly over the muddy water. "The paaaaaaperrrrr!!!!!" The girl sat up slowly. Silver hair. Odd eyes—left gold, right silver—colors Dice had never seen. Clothes made of unfamiliar material. Not a speck of dirt on her. Unlike Dice. "Oh, sorry. You okay?" Beautiful voice. Relaxed tone. Slightly Kansai accent. Cool expression. Apologizing while getting up on her own. Dice stared up from the mud. "You're asking me?!" She flopped backward. The Sodeian Academy staff arrived three minutes later. The sky pillar had many witnesses. Immediately classified as possible interdimensional person. The Interdimensional Person Protection Act—Partire's law protecting drifters from other worlds, with the Sodeian Academy handling identity management and living support—applied. The girl was taken to the academy headquarters. Dice came along too. For some reason. "Just come" was the vague explanation. But she'd understand at the academy. Dice walked beside the girl, clutching the mud-covered entry form. The girl kept looking around. She saw the stalls toward Grand Market Cantare. "What's that glowing sign?" Whenever a magical bus passed, her eyes went wide. "That big box is moving." Dice ended up explaining. "It's a magical bus." "It's a street light." They reached the Sodeian Academy headquarters entrance. The automatic door slid open. The girl froze. "...The wall opened by itself." Dice tried to answer. But the girl wasn't looking at her anymore. She slowly approached the open door. Started touching the edge. "Smart wall. Does it have a will?" "No!!" "How do you know?" "It's sensor-based! Magnetic or light!" Lily nodded thoughtfully. Clearly not understanding. "Is a sensor a type of magic?" "It's technology." "Is technology a type of magic?" "No." "Same thing." "It's not!!" Staff pulled them apart. They entered the academy. Passed the reception desk. Headed for the elevator. Staff pressed the third-floor button. Doors closed. Rumble rumble rumble. The floor moved. Lily pressed against the wall. "Earthquake?!" "No!!" "The floor's moving, it's definitely an earthquake!!" "It's an elevator! A vehicle that goes up floors!" "A vehicle?! This?! We don't have crazy floors like this in my world!!" "It's not crazy! It's convenient!" Ding. Doors opened. Third floor. Lily bolted out. "We made it... I'm alive..." Dice held her head. "You're exaggerating." The third-floor waiting room was small. Wooden benches and tables. The academy district visible through the window. Evening sunlight turned orange. Dice checked her terminal. 4:53 PM. Bad. A staff member called her to the window. She glanced back at Lily. Lily stood frozen in the corner. Staring at one thing. A vending machine. Juice and Soltia Latte—milk drink with trace magical power—lined up. Normal vending machine. But not to Lily. She approached slowly. Furrowed her brow. Peered inside. "...Something's in there." Dice turned to the window. Finish the paperwork first. The staff member—a woman in her thirties, glasses, calm demeanor—listened to the explanation. Interdimensional person fell from sky. Entry form got muddy. Need to make the deadline. She started preparing documents efficiently. From the waiting room, a voice came. "Um, could you lower the price a bit?" Serious negotiation with the vending machine. Silent vending machine. "You listening? Hey?" Silence. Lily waited. Sighed. "...I got ignored." The staff member slammed down a stack of documents. Tall as Dice. "Identity guarantor consent form, living support application, temporary residence permit application, and—" "Too many!!" Scratch scratch scratch. Hand hurt. Burn scars throbbed. 4:58 PM. Finally signed the last document. By handling all these papers, Dice became Lily's identity guarantor. Why her, she didn't know. No one else volunteered. That was it. "...Whatever." She muttered alone. Pulled out the mud-covered entry form. "Oh, wait a sec." She was suddenly beside her. Lily held her hand over the form. Dice had no time to stop. Rainbow-colored light particles poured from Lily's palm. They fell onto the entry form—the form began to glow. Rainbow-colored. The mud fell off. But the paper was glowing. The staff member watched for a moment. Small sigh. "...It's readable, so fine." The approval stamp came down. Thud. Heavy sound. "Yesssssss!!" "...Why is that paper rainbow-colored?!" "Oh? In my world this dries it..." Lily tilted her head. Genuinely puzzled. Dice stared at the particles. Earlier too. When Lily negotiated with the vending machine—something like particles floated around her. Same rainbow color. Calling that Soltia particles didn't fit. Soltia particles were uniform, colorless or pale blue. Lily's looked like something else moving. But don't think too hard now. The clock showed exactly 5 PM. They left the Sodeian Academy. The sky turned orange and purple. Twilight Toretta. Stone pavement in the academy district. Street lights began glowing softly. Magical lights that gradually brightened as night fell. Lily stopped. "Wow... beautiful." Soft voice. Gold and silver eyes reflected the light. Mouth slightly open. Dice stood beside her. Looked the same direction. Maybe it was beautiful. She saw it every day. Never noticed before. After a moment, Lily spoke quietly. "This world's got a lot of noise." "Noise...?" "But it's lively. Nice." She smiled. Looking at the street lights. Peaceful. Dice hesitated. Then asked. "You okay? Getting thrown here suddenly..." Lily's expression flickered. Just for a moment. But it definitely flickered. "Totally! I'm tough!" Immediately back to a bright smile. Dice saw through it. Bravado. But couldn't say anything. No words came. "...I see." She looked away. "What's your name?" "Dice Foruno." "Dice?" Lily paused. "Like a die?" "Not a die!!" "Sounds like it." "It doesn't at all!!" Lily giggled. Hand over her mouth. Amused. "Hmm... Dice." She looked thoughtful. "Good name." Her ears got warm for some reason. Why? While Dice touched her ear, confused, Lily suddenly extended her hand. "I'm Lily! Nice to meet you, Dice-kun!" A handshake. Dice reached out. That moment— Rainbow-colored light particles poured from Lily's palm. Same as the entry form. Floating in the twilight sky. Glittering. Disappearing. "What?!" "Oh, this comes out a lot. Don't worry about it." Don't worry, she said. But Dice watched the particles. Felt Lily's warm hand in hers. Rainbow particles. Different movement than Soltia particles. No chanting. No hand signs. But something like magic was definitely activating. (This girl's definitely not just any interdimensional person.) She thought it. But couldn't explain what made her "not just any." Just felt different. No proof. But certainty. The terminal vibrated. Battery warning flashed on screen. 5%. "Battery!! Gotta charge!!" "Why are we running?!" Two figures sprinted through twilight Toretta. Street lights lit one by one. Light fell on stone pavement. Cooking smells drifted from the commercial district. Dinner time. Lily laughed beside her while running. That expression that flickered earlier—Dice still didn't understand it. But now she was laughing. That was enough. Somehow Dice thought so. Today, a person fell from the sky. A muddy form glowed rainbow. Her name got read as "die." Too much happened. But the terminal's 3% battery was the only real enemy right now.