Chapter 18: A New Day

“Ugh, eh? S-sleep…together…?”

Regina’s ruby-red eyes trembled.

The girl, burying her face completely in the pillow, looked at me with only her eyes peeking out.

Her face was completely red. Regina was trying to hide it somehow, and watching her like that was cute, but Regina would be tired soon.

I lifted the blanket and asked again.

“Yeah. You said it earlier, right, Regina? That when you’re alone, you’re scared because it feels like you’ve been abandoned again. So come in.”

“Ah, ugh…”

Regina was still stuttering. Was she really that embarrassed?

I wouldn’t mind if I were a man, but isn’t this a bit too embarrassing for girls? I had a moment of doubt, but then I remembered Regina’s past and understood.

This must be the first time for Regina in her 999 lives. It was no wonder that such an experience would be unfamiliar to a girl who had just been living her life without thinking.

If I left Regina alone, she would probably stay like that until late at night, so I grabbed Regina’s wrist.

“You’re not coming in?”

“Ah, no…well, I need to prepare myself mentally…!”

“It’s already one in the morning. I’m going to sleep first, okay?”

“Ugh…okay, okay…!”

Startled, she hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes tightly and lay down next to me. Her heartbeat was so fast I could hear it. She slowly peeked her head out from the pillow she was hugging.

I held Regina’s hand and asked.

“Well, how is it? Now you won’t be scared when you wake up tomorrow, right?”

“Uwaah?! Sian…?”

“Ah, sorry. Was that unpleasant…?”

“N-no…it’s just. This sensation is so unfamiliar…Ah, that. It’s not that I dislike you..!”

Regina stammered at my sudden words. Her voice was trembling violently. Regina, who flinched at the mere touch of skin, held my hand tightly and spoke in an urgent voice.

“Sian doesn’t need to apologize…! It’s all, it’s all my fault for being inadequate, so just don’t abandon me, please don’t abandon me. I’ll do anything, so please…”

Regina’s body trembled visibly. The emotion contained in her unfocused red eyes was desperation. I quickly grabbed Regina’s trembling wrists and hugged her.

Regina, who had started to have another seizure, sobbed pitifully in my arms and begged.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…! So please, please don’t leave me. If Sian is gone, I, I’ll go crazy…”

“…”

I silently stroked Regina.

A girl completely broken from endless regressions, with her self-esteem at rock bottom. She would take whatever I said the wrong way.

What Regina needed now was not lip service, but warm affection. A girl who was tied to ‘fate’ and couldn’t feel emotions for people who always behaved the same way needed the warmth of a human being.

And I couldn’t just abandon Regina. No matter how unintentionally, Regina had broken down because of me. Because I had lived through the playthroughs that I had thoughtlessly abandoned.

How could I abandon Regina, knowing that?

How could I let a fragile girl who had forgotten how to trust people, yet who longed for the warmth of a human being, be broken?

Murmuring to myself, I slowly revealed the secret I had kept since I was possessed, a secret I had never told anyone.

“Don’t worry. I will never abandon you, Regina. We are friends who share a secret, after all.”

“R-really…?”

“Yes. So stop crying.”

“Ugh…”

As if being treated like a child had finally made her embarrassment surface, Regina’s face turned red. I gently stroked Regina and smiled.

“Regina.”

“I, I’m sorry…! I won’t do it again next time…I just have trouble controlling my emotions, it’s because I’m broken from the regressions…”

“It’s okay. You can pour it all out on me, and I’ll accept it all. If you’re having a hard time, you can say it. If you want to cry, you can cry in my arms.”

Everyone needs a pillar of support in their heart. And I wanted to be that pillar for Regina, who had been swept away by the huge current of the world.

At the very least, a person to rely on when things were tough. Someone to share her worries with. And a comrade to lean on in battle.

The feelings I had for Regina were closer to those of an older sister looking at a cute younger sister, rather than romantic interest. If it was about romantic interest, Yelena was probably higher on the list.

I just purely wanted to protect Regina. I wanted to break the ‘fate’ that imprisoned Regina and bring back her smile.

“C-can I…?”

“Yes, of course.”

“But. But…I’m, much more broken than you think. Even now, I don’t think my mind is right. After the 100th playthrough, I lived with my mind half-gone. Since then, I can’t really distinguish between emotions.”

“It’s okay. I can accept it all.”

I wanted to see Regina smile again.

Regina’s smile, which could be seen on the screen in the game. A cute expression unique to Regina, where pure, untainted happiness could be felt.

So, I slowly stroked Regina’s back and continued.

“I know that feeling well. I suddenly fell into a strange world, and I had to struggle to survive in the slums where I didn’t know anyone.”

“…Is that why you’re being so kind to me?”

“Well, that’s part of it. Besides, people don’t need a reason to help each other, do they?”

I muttered that and turned my gaze to the window. Somehow, I felt burdened by Regina’s gaze on me.

It felt like I was just wrapping up my own wrongdoings as an act of goodwill.

Feeling a prick of conscience for some reason, I let out a small sigh and closed my eyes.

“Good night, Regina.”

“Ugh…? W-wait a minute. Are we, going to sleep…just like this…?”

“You said you were lonely. That’s why I’m doing this…Do you want me to let go?”

“N-no! It’s fine…! I like this too…”

Regina answered in a trembling voice and carefully held me. I covered us with a blanket and manipulated the mana to turn off the lamp.

The room became dark, and the only sounds were the breaths of the two girls. A calm atmosphere filled the hospital room, and sleepiness washed over me.

It had been a busy day today. In the morning, I became friends with Yelena, entered a dungeon during the exam, entered a double dungeon, met Regina and shared our secrets, and fought the ancient lich.

I didn’t resist the fatigue that had accumulated in my body. As soon as I entrusted my body to the soft bed, I fell asleep.

Without even noticing Regina, who was blushing in my arms, at a loss for what to do.

The morning greeted in the academy’s infirmary was quite warm, despite it being early March when the last of the cold weather lingered.

It wasn’t because of heating magic. Since it was the first day of the academy year, the heating magic hadn’t been activated in the infirmary yet.

I looked at Regina, who was sleeping soundly in my arms. I wondered if I should wake her up. It was almost time for class to start, but it felt a bit mean to wake up Regina, who was sleeping so soundly.

So, I waited for another 5 minutes before shaking Regina.

“Regina. Wake up. It’s morning.”

“Mmm…Sian…?”

“Yes, it’s me. I didn’t go anywhere, so don’t worry.”

“Ehehe…”

Still half-asleep, Regina rubbed her face in my arms and wiggled her body. Her thin hospital gown allowed our skin to touch.

Even though I had been living as a girl for over five years and had built up a resistance to girls compared to my past life, this cute girl’s appearance was quite damaging to my heart.

So, I pulled the blanket off.

“It’s time to get up.”

“Kyaa?!”

With a chill, Regina shuddered. Then, to protect the remaining warmth, the girl clung even closer to my body.

I carefully pulled Regina away from me and said.

“I’m sorry, Regina. As much as I’d like to stay with you, today’s first class is swordsmanship. Regina, do you have class today?”

“Ugh…no…”

Regina, who had been silently clinging to me, answered as she slowly let me go.

“I, it’s okay…you have already done so much for me, so if I keep holding onto you, it will be a nuisance…”

Slowly unfolding the crumpled parts of her patient gown, Regina stood up and raised her index finger towards me.

“Instead…please do me, one favor.”

“What is it?”

“When class is over, even if it’s just for a little while, please stay with me.”

“Alright. That’s not difficult at all.”

I put on the uniform jacket that was hanging on one side of the hospital room and greeted Regina.

“Then, see you later?”

“…Yes!”

March 8th, after the class placement exam. The academy at 7 AM was bustling with students looking for their classes.

And among them, there was a place where particularly many students gathered. In front of the bulletin board where the results of the academy class placement exam were posted.

The bulletin board that said [Academy Swordsmanship Class A List of Successful Applicants] was a gathering of emotions, with cheers and sighs mixed from the students.

Approaching such a bulletin board was not an easy task. The body of a seventeen-year-old girl, who was only about 160cm tall, was helplessly pushed around by the strong boys.

“Ugh, excuse me. I’ll pass through, ah…!?”

As I was pushed around among the crowd of students and staggered precariously, someone grabbed my body and pulled me in. A familiar girl’s hand wrapped around my waist, and neatly arranged silver hair flowed over my shoulder. I could feel the sensation of a soft, fatty lump on my back…

“Ugh…?”

Without realizing it, my body trembled. At the same time, heat rose to my cheeks. I wondered if this was how Regina felt when I held her.

I carefully called out the name of the girl who had pulled me out of the crowd and held me.

“Yelena…?”