The sun still shone above our heads, the heat still lingering, but the sky had grown cloudy.
I recorded this day in my memory: Friday, year 666, month 6, day 8. The beginning of us deciding the direction of our lives for the future.
Ten years from now, the little protagonists and I would be entering the academy. The four of us were determined to start training from an early age.
Our ages weren't the same, only slightly apart.
James and Natasya were a year older than me.
I was four years old.
As for Ryan, he was only six months older than me.
Ten years from now, we would become academy teenagers—entering the main story of Pe and Kob. In the premise I had created and the outline I had written, chapter one of Pe and Kob took place during our teenage years.
The prologue event had passed; the days to come were like a blank script without an outline—like a filler chapter I had never planned.
James and Ryan trained with wooden sticks under the scorching sun overhead.
Meanwhile, Natasya and I practiced mana control under the shade of a tree.
Without teachers or mentors, we trained ourselves through real experience.
It was just that James had Ryan—someone who had come from the future. Though I didn't know Ryan's true reason for this, I assumed he wanted to change the future James would face. As both friend and rival, perhaps Ryan wanted to alter fate. Just a temporary assumption.
Natasya had me—the writer of this world, the one who understood the concepts of swords and magic, and every aspect of power in it.
"Can you feel the mana, Nasya?" I asked, knowing she was gifted without having to learn from scratch.
Nasya clenched her fists, her expression trying to grasp what it meant to sense mana.
"Hmm… I don't really get it," she murmured.
I smiled and invited Natasya to sit cross-legged.
"Let's try meditating. Sit like this, Nasya."
She followed my simple instructions—quite the obedient girl.
"What next?" she asked.
"Just watch me first…" I closed my eyes. "I'll try to feel it."
I gave a brief explanation, though it was hardly possible for a five-year-old to fully understand it.
"The mana core is in your heart."
"Feel the heat of your body."
"Imagine something powerful, or something flowing and calming."
"From the mana core, it flows through your nerves to other mana points."
I could feel it—a little magic flowing—but there was no real reaction yet.
When I opened my eyes—
"W-what the—!" I was shocked.
Natasya had already done what she was supposed to be observing first. But that wasn't what stunned me.
Sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, the gentle breeze lifted her short red hair, swaying from wind magic.
"I just explained it, but this girl…" I thought, unable to make sense of it.
"I knew she was talented because she's part of the protagonists—but I didn't expect the first magic I'd see from her to be this."
Without an incantation… maybe this was her mana form.
Natasya opened her eyes, startled by her own magic.
"E-ehh…"
And just like that, everything returned to normal—her hair falling back down, the magic gone, broken by her constant surprise.
"How did you do that?" I asked sharply.
She fidgeted with her index finger.
"I-I don't really know… I just felt this coolness in my body, like the wind was blowing."
"Imagination, huh? Maybe sensing mana starts from imagination?" I continued.
"I don't know…" she replied.
In my head, my thoughts spiraled.
"Living beings have minds, and the brain as the center of consciousness."
"Does magic work because it feels conscious?"
"But mana exists in the subconscious."
"When we imagine, we enter our subconscious."
"It's like when you space out—you're physically aware, but your mind is elsewhere."
"You could call it going berserk when you're angry."
"Could magic be the deepest form of emotion?"
I closed my eyes a little longer, lost in thought—
"Lala!" Natasya's voice called me back.
"Y-yeah?" My eyes snapped open.
"What's wrong with you? You didn't even hear me calling you over and over."
"E-ehh… sorry, Nasya…" I apologized sincerely.
She nodded in forgiveness.
"I'll try again, Nasya," I told her.
She smiled again.
"...I'll watch."
I closed my eyes, trying to imagine again. Mana flowed—I could feel it—but as for magic without incantation…
Of course I couldn't do it. I could only sense mana within me.
My lips moved while my eyes stayed shut.
"Feuerball."
A small flame appeared in my palm.
When I opened my eyes, Natasya looked amazed.
"Wahhh! You did it, Lala!" Her eyes sparkled and her small hands clenched in excitement.
I looked at my palm.
There it was—fire.
"…So small," I muttered, unimpressed.
A tiny flame, no bigger than that of a lighter, sat in my hand.
But Natasya encouraged me.
"Hey, this is still great—you managed to cast magic!" she said from her sweet little lips.
I had intended to be her mentor, but who would have thought I'd be the one mentored instead? This girl was too talented.
I extinguished the little flame, then patted her shoulders with both hands.
"Natasya, you're too talented."
She only looked confused.
"E-ehh, Lala…" Her face was puzzled, mouth slightly open.
No matter what, this girl would be in danger if her talent was known too soon.
For a teenager, casting magic without an incantation would be impressive yet still rare—but for a five-year-old?
"Promise me, Nasya! Don't cast magic without chanting the spell!" I said seriously.
"W-why?" she asked innocently.
"Or else you'll get kidnapped!" I replied firmly.
"I promise! I promise!" she panicked quickly, fear settling in.
Then we both turned toward a commotion nearby.
It was James, being trained by Ryan.
"H-how did you do that?!" James shouted from a distance.
Natasya and I just smiled and laughed at their rivalry—it never failed to keep things lively.
"Well, what do you expect? In this life, Ryan could never lose to you, James," I thought. "You're up against a grown man in a child's body with a thousand experiences."
I thought about my own future with Ryan.
In some ways, Ryan and I shared similar circumstances.
But I felt something else—my smile faded.
"I hope Ryan isn't an enemy. I don't know what his true purpose is."
The future awaited. I would move forward. In this life, I would give my all.
"Hopefully, my laziness will disappear in this world."
"Ryan, you are a mystery I cannot comprehend."
****
A month had passed since I began spending time with the little protagonists. Morning came again in the same year—month 7, day 8, a weekend.
What had I done in this entire month?
Nothing much—just spending time with the little protagonists, joining in on their games.
Training, going on insect hunts in the wild, fishing, even playing adventurer.
"Children are just full of curiosity," I muttered, recalling what happened two days ago.
But we weren't always together. Sometimes I went shopping with Liria, or helped Dave in our fields.
"In my old life, I was always in front of a screen, just writing. Who knew farming could be fun…" I thought, enjoying this new knowledge.
This Sunday morning, I felt a twinge of longing for my old world—not for my ex, my family, or my friends, but because I was a die-hard football fan. One of the loyal supporters of the best football club on Earth, Manchester United.
"What if I introduced football to the little protagonists today?" My hands clapped together on reflex.
I'd combine agility and accuracy training for them, along with physical and breathing exercises—sports would be great for them outside of regular training.
And above all, it was a healthy game. Children just loved to play all day long.
Just like back on Earth—out from dawn till dusk, only returning home when your mom came to fetch you with a broom in her hand.
"First, there's only four of us—so two versus two."
"The goalposts should be about the size of a futsal goal…"
"Maybe the ball could be a coconut…"
"For mana training, we can mix magic into the game."
I fused every aspect of football with magic, just as I imagined it as a writer—and also to help them strengthen their endurance and control over their magic.
"This is perfect, this could be fun…" I grinned to myself in my room. "I'm the inventor of football in this world, huhuhu…" I puffed my chest with false pride, as if I were the most brilliant person in the world.
Before I knew it, the sun had shifted overhead—it was noon. As usual, weekends meant they'd come to fetch me to play. With Liria's shouting, of course.
"Lala! Your friends are here!"
Her calls had become a part of my everyday life that never got boring—not to mention, bathing with Liria was always the best part.
But when I went to meet them—it wasn't them.
It was only Ryan, by himself.
"Huh, why is it just you?" I asked in surprise.
Ryan's face was flushed—I wasn't sure why.
"T-the others are already waiting at the field," he stammered.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"What's with that look?" he said.
From behind the door, Liria peeked out and teased me.
"Heh, going on a date, little one?" She squinted playfully. "I'll tell your dad, you know."
I glared at her.
"Seriously? These are my parents?" I complained in my head.
Then we left the house.
I had started applying local customs to this family—kissing your parents' hands when leaving or returning home. At first, Liria and Dave were confused, but I explained it was because I cared for them. Their over-the-top reactions at the time were honestly hilarious.
And soon, the little protagonists copied my behavior too.
Ryan and I left the house after I kissed my parents' hands, heading toward the open field.
In my head, I thought:
"This must be Nasya's idea… James, that idiot, would never be subtle about things like this."
I glanced at Ryan, who stayed completely silent, face still red.
"Statue," I said flatly.
He flinched. "W-what do you mean, calling me a statue?"
"You've just been standing there like one," I retorted. "You should be making small talk with a girl like me."
"S-spoiled brat!" Ryan shot back, irritated.
Of course, I had experience in romance—I even once published a book called A Thousand and One Ways to Win a Girl's Heart, which was basically a compendium of sweet-talking lies.
"If you keep this up, you'll never get a girlfriend when you're older, shy noble boy," I teased.
"Y-you…" Ryan was lost for words.
That's how women are—they just want to be understood, loved. They don't want to start the conversation first. High-value women have their pride.
And they always win the argument.
I looked at Ryan, still speechless.
"So this is what it feels like to be a girl," I thought with a smirk.
From his reaction, I assumed Ryan's current soul was that of an adult Ryan who had traveled back in time—but his behavior was like a lovestruck, inexperienced boy.
Meaning… the adult Ryan had never experienced his own romance.
In other words—a terminally single man.
"No matter how cold you act, you're easy to read, Ryan," I thought again.
The sun was high, but clouds gave us shade. We finally arrived at the field where we spent most of our time. Luckily, it was overcast today.
James and Natasya waved to us from afar.
"I have a new game to show you," I said to Ryan, smiling sweetly under the sunlight.
His face grew even redder at my smile—the sweetest one I'd ever given while playing with the protagonists.
Inwardly, I sighed at his reaction.
"I don't know what kind of future awaits, or how much the outline of my chapters will change, or how far the premise will stray."
"But one thing's for sure—after a whole month of playing with you all, I finally understand."
"You might have accidentally fallen for Lala, haven't you?"
"But unfortunately… I'm not the Lala you knew."
For the entire month I had been with them, the one I kept my eye on was Ryan. He was an anomaly—just like me.
Ryan's gaze toward me wasn't one of resentment, but of deep feeling.
The gaze of a boy in love.
The truth was—Ryan came from a future where I, the extra character, was the final boss.
But what shone in his eyes wasn't hatred—it was affection.
And because my soul was that of a man, I could understand another man's feelings.
"L-Lala, what do you mean by 'new game'?" Ryan asked after trailing behind me for a while.
One thing I was grateful for—perhaps Ryan wasn't an enemy.
Maybe the real Lala had died in the future.
All of these thoughts swirled together in my mind.
In silence, I observed and studied him.
I was lucky to be a writer—I could read, not just books, but also the people around me.
The research I had done while writing became real-life reference material for me.
To create a living story, I needed something alive.
"Ryan, it turns out you're a good person," I thought.
"Your expression will never fool me."
"I know exactly what a liar's face looks like."
"A junkie's face, even the face of a sexual predator."
"In my past life, I'd grown tired of all the deceit humans had to offer."
When Ryan and I arrived at the open field, the four of us sat in a circle under a lush tree.
I explained to them the game of soccer, my own version in this world.
Soccer would be played two versus two. Me with Ryan, James with Natasya.
This time, my goal was to train agility and self-reflection. We made goalposts from wooden branches the size of futsal goals back on Earth, and a playing field the same size as a real futsal court.
We used a coconut, emptied of its water, as the ball. For positions, Natasya and I were the goalkeepers, and magic was allowed to help us deepen our control over mana.
Meanwhile, the rest of the field was a rivalry duel between James and Ryan. They would compete in speed, intelligence, and agility.
From his side of the field, James called out firmly.
"...Alright, let's start."
The ball was placed in the middle of the field. To begin, Ryan and James would run toward it to get the first possession.
Ryan tossed a pebble into the air.
When it hit the ground—
Whooossshh!
Their footsteps dashed toward the ball as fast as the wind.
My eyes widened; that wasn't the speed of children—
It was the speed of a novice assassin moving in the shadows.
In a fraction of a second, as they neared the ball, Ryan got to it first.
"Sorry, I'm faster than you, James."
Ryan flicked the ball through the gap between James's legs. Because James was late in reaching it, his stance widened—left foot forward, right foot back—just before the ball fully passed through.
James's reflex kicked in; without thinking, his brain made his leg move to reach the ball.
Thwack!
The ball stopped—James had caught it.
"No, I'm fast too."
James carried the ball toward our goal, but Ryan didn't give up chasing.
Ryan channeled his mana into his body, strengthening his legs with wind magic.
With precise speed, he silently stole the ball back—only for James to snatch it again in the next fraction of a second.
To me, this didn't look like soccer anymore; it was like two gladiators clashing on the field in a battle of mind and strength.
When the ball flew through the air, both jumped at the same time, as if even time itself was holding its breath watching their duel.
James always excelled in physical ability.
Of course, he was the main protagonist of this novel. His physical skills were number one.
His breathing was steady.
When the ball was in the air, James kicked it from halfway across the field.
Ryan froze.
BAM!!
The loud impact of James's foot striking the ball cracked the coconut shell.
I chanted a spell.
"Flammeur."
A thin wall of fire formed to slow the ball's speed as it came toward the goal. My body was ready to leap and catch it.
But the speed only slowed slightly—my magic was still too weak.
Two seconds too late, I jumped, but the ball still passed me and entered the goal.
"Woooh! That's a goal! I scored the first goal in this new game, hahaha!"
From a distance, James's shout could be heard, while Ryan's face grew more annoyed.
"Hey, don't get too happy," Ryan snapped at James.
We had made rules: the first team to score five goals would win.
With the score one–nil, the ball was back in our possession.
Ryan started with the ball near my goal. Dribbling it, his body weaved to outwit James—at this point, Ryan successfully passed him.
BAM!!
Ryan's powerful kick soared through the air, but unfortunately, Natasya's wind magic stopped it effortlessly.
"Not that easy, Ferguso," Natasya teased. "Wahahahaha!" she laughed annoyingly.
Every time I saw Natasya's magical talent, I was amazed—and also puzzled.
"How do I help her grow stronger?" I wondered in my heart.
The game continued. I was at a disadvantage against James, who was far too agile and precise, especially with my still undeveloped magic.
Meanwhile, Ryan was up against a goalkeeper too strong in magic.
"Th-this is still soccer, right?" I complained inwardly.
It didn't feel like soccer anymore.
The match ended after James scored the fifth goal, giving James and Natasya a five–two victory.
"SIUUUUU!"
James celebrated with Cristiano Ronaldo's signature cheer, which I had shown him while explaining the rules.
"SIUUUUU!"
Natasya followed with the same celebration.
Ryan looked sad.
"Sorry, Lala..."
I just smiled at him.
"It's fine—it's just a game."
I walked over to Natasya and muttered to her.
"You never fail to amaze me, Nasya..."
Natasya just blushed shyly, her hand rubbing her head.
"Ehehehehe, now I'm embarrassed..." her cheeks turned as red as ripe tomatoes ready to be picked.
Then we both glanced at James and Ryan.
"Their rivalry never ends, huh..." I said softly, but with a warm smile.
"You're right..." Natasya replied.
James teased Ryan, and Ryan defended himself.
"Come on, praise me—I'm amazing."
"You just got lucky. Don't get cocky."
It had been a long time since I last played sports. Even back on Earth, I'd stopped playing soccer, only watching it on TV or phone replays.
It felt like being reborn—my soccer fanaticism made me feel alive again.
"But I can't let my guard down..." I told myself firmly.
I had to be ready to grow stronger; the academy awaited, and I had to reach it.
I didn't know what butterfly effect might happen if I failed to pass the first chapter's outline.
Everything had already changed from my original plan after the system appeared, telling me Ryan was from the future.
Ten years would be enough to develop myself.
It's just that our bodies couldn't yet handle all the potential we had.
After the match, we rested under the tree, sweat dripping from our heads. James took off his shirt.
"James, seriously..." Ryan grumbled with a frown.
"You're always as noisy as an old lady," James retorted with a goofy smile.
Ryan had already gathered coconuts for us to drink from.
Natasya lay sprawled on the grass, sweat slowly dripping down her forehead.
"I'm so thirsty..." Natasya complained. "Ryan, hurry up and open the coconut."
I just smiled—my daily life was no longer boring. It felt like I wished time would never make us grow up.
"How about we go bathe in the lake after this?" I suggested.
They all turned to me and agreed in unison.
"Deal!"
We headed to the lake after finishing the coconut water.
James and Ryan were already shirtless, wearing only their double-layer shorts.
Natasya immediately jumped into the river with her clothes still on.
Whooosh!
Sploosh!
Followed by James and Ryan.
I took off my shirt, going shirtless too.
"Well, we're still just innocent kids, anyway," I thought, then looked toward them.
Ryan stared at me, his face blushing.
James called for me to hurry up and join them in the lake.
But Natasya was shocked.
"Lala!" she quickly got out of the water and came toward me.
"Boys, cover your eyes," she commanded sternly.
"E-ehh?" I responded in confusion.
Then Natasya gave me a long lecture.
"Girls shouldn't just show their bodies like that, Lala," she finished, before I entered the lake.