Chapter 23.2 It’s A Plaything of Modern Fantasy

-Miu’s POV-

“Thanks, Tamamo-chan! Let’s go then!”

I smile as Tamamo hands us our cards, and I answer with a smile and run to the locker room.

In the locker room, I’m not particularly shy. I’ve been a girl for 9 years now. I’m used to it. I do feel a little guilty and immoral, though. I’m a man at heart, so I’d be embarrassed by an older woman.

Everyone changed into their suit, which absorbs shocks like a tight-fitting mechanical leotard, and moved to the children’s section of the [Floating Board]. These clothes are embarrassing, but I can’t help it. What can I say? When I’m older, I’ll probably have a difficult time keeping my eyes open.

As the name suggests, [Floating Board] is a game of riding on a floating board. I can tell by the children’s toys that the technology is far superior to what it was in my previous life.

There is a spacious gymnasium-like hall and a tube set up in the sky for racing. The floor is pliable like slime, and you can’t hurt yourself if you fall. The tube is transparent and is called a soap tube, and again, even if you crash into it, you will not be hurt by the feeling of being hit by bubbles.

It does come with the caveat that if you’re going about 20 kilometers per hour.

“Tamamo uses this board because it can turn in a small radius~.”

A [Floating Board] propped up against the wall. Well, it’s a skateboard with no tires, but grabbing one of them, Tamamo jumps up and down and heads down the hall.

It shows your personality to choose a [Floating Board]. My other friends also choose their boards and headed down the hall, giggling and laughing.

I looked at the boards on the floor and wondered what to choose. The board with average acceleration and turning speed seems to be the most popular, and none left. Instead, there is one board that has not decreased in number.

“I’ll take this one!”

With tiny hands, I (Miu) pick up the board that has not been picked up a single time and run over to join my friends. The other kids have thin boards with colorful pictures, but mine is thicker and plainer.

“Oh, you’re using the Demon King board again!”

“This is my favorite!”

Tamamo’s cheeks puffed out in dissatisfaction. The other kids also laugh at my choice of strange board, so she smiles back at them.

“Let’s play then!”

I press the button on the side of my helmet, and a bubble envelops my body. Now I won’t get uninjured. [Flying Board] is a game that flies at a low altitude, so they consider the maximum safety.

“Okay then, [Floating Board 152 Activated].”

Hoku-chan is the first to make the [Floating Board] float softly with a mysterious blue light. It is the power of the magic board.

The difference from a skateboard is that it floats about one meter in the air from the ground. And when you get on the board, it starts moving as if it has an engine.

The one for children can reach up to 20 kilometers per hour, but the hall is for practice, so people drive slowly and sluggishly. Once you get used to [Floating Board], you go into the tube and race.

“Teya~!”

Sei-chan immediately gets on the board and glides down the hall. We’ve played so many times. We’re used to it.

My friends around me get on too, and we glide into the hall. It was a fantasy to fly through the air, and I loved it right? I can’t help but get excited because of the memories of my previous life.

“Me too~.”

I activate my [Floating Board] and try to enter the hall, but while everyone else is gliding in, I’m the only one driving slowly. This board has extremely slow acceleration.

Just as Sei and other ordinary people activate the [Floating Board], this can be used by non-magicians.

That’s why they don’t call magicians for being dangerous. No, I’m not just talking about the [Floating Board].

[Floating Board] can be activated by ordinary people too, using magic stones as an energy source. So, magic is pervasive in this world. If that’s the case, then you don’t have to be a magician to fight, you might say, but when you use a magic stone, you can only use the magic value of the stone.

For example, the magic value is fixed at 10. The magic value of magicians is much higher. Therefore, the magic-user is far better in battle than the magic stone, which wears out. Of course, there are exceptions. Such as mobile weapons equipped with a lot of high-ranked magic stones.

But in life, even low magic stones can be used to do fun things like this. Other examples include weight-reducing turrets and belts that can levitate. The former can be used for transportation and the latter for construction, which is extremely convenient.

So, even if they cannot use magic, people do not feel aversion toward magicians because of their familiarity with magic. There are exceptions, of course, you know? It’s the same as in my previous life. You can’t have a system that everyone agrees on.

The point is for the majority of people, magic is a familiar thing, and because magicians defeat demons, magicians are recognized as a normal part of society and as a profession.

I love the magic system because it always gives me excitement.

I fly through the halls at a leisurely pace. It’s not very exhilarating, but it’s fun. Some of the kids are enjoying the feeling of falling on the slime floor on purpose.

“Pfft, look at that guy. That’s slower than a baby walking.”

“It’s your first time, don’t pick a board that slow.”

“You should pick a different board.”

Oops, I was flying at a slower pace, trying my best not to fall off, and the bad kids saw me and started bullying me. Well, I’m a slow driver. I’m a beautiful girl, so you want to bully me, don’t you?

I turned my ice-blue eyes toward them and smiled softly, and they began to blush. I know, I know. I (Miu) am a beautiful girl.

I was about to fly off again, satisfied that the bad boys had shut up with that when I heard a shuffling sound, and Tamamo sidled up to me.

“Hey, Em-chan, let’s race, shall we?”

Tamamo is a cute foxy girl, but her personality is quite belligerent. She’s probably thinking about me being made fun of and wants to get back at those bad boys. Tamamo is a good friend.

Her eyes flash a dangerous light like a predator’s, and I smile at her.

“Okay. Shall we race?”

I love to race, too. I’m in.