April was awash with flowers as all things stirred back to life. Cherry blossoms bloomed like poetry and paintings, each flower a smile from nature, brimming with endless charm. In this season of springtime splendor, Academy City, too, donned fresh finery to welcome its new days.
The young girls flitted through the campus beneath the rain of petals like cheerful little fairies. They gathered in twos and threes, their bell-like laughter drifting through the fragrance of flowers. In that moment, the world seemed to stand still, leaving only their laughter and lively figures to capture the beauty of youth in every instant.
In this academy filled with cherry blossoms, discrimination and hatred had vanished like smoke, leaving only pure friendship and joy. With their laughter and vitality, the girls lit up the entire campus as they welcomed their most glorious moment.
High-ranking officials and leaders from every region of the Land of Sakura entered the city-sized school in a long procession escorted by rows of police cars. These normally stern, unsmiling figures looked at the girls curiously watching them from all around and waved warmly, smiling as they greeted those who had once been despised by the vast majority, but were now an important force every regional government sought to win over.
The girls nodded to the government officials with graceful composure.
Ever since the Holy Church had brought together all the Cursed Children in the Land of Sakura, the various regions had realized the girls' importance. They offered generous terms to the girls in the higher grades, hoping to secure their protection for their jurisdictions.
The strength of each region had also come to be measured by how many upper-grade Mages lived in its cities. The more Mages a region had, the more secure its cities were, and the