Chapter 33: Preparation (3)

Regina came to visit that evening.

I had just finished showering and was sitting at my desk wearing only a simple robe when I sensed a girl’s presence outside the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

A cute voice accompanied the somehow timid knocking sound.

“Sian…are you inside…?”

“Yeah. It’s not locked, so you can just open it and come in.”

Creeeak…

With a cautious sound of the hinges, dark blue hair peeked out. Regina scanned the room, and only after confirming that no one else was there did she step inside.

Perhaps it was because she came to talk about the heavy topic of the academy attack, but Regina’s actions were more cautious than usual.

Rather, it made her cuter. The appearance of a small animal, wary of its surroundings, stirred a protective instinct in my heart.

Thinking that, I looked at Regina, and as soon as she locked the door, she looked at me and flinched.

The girl’s red eyes were directed at me. At first, her gaze was directed at my face, but as it gradually lowered, a slight ripple appeared in her calm, lake-like eyes.

“Eh, Regina?”

“Ah, ugh…that’s not it…!”

Only after I called out did she shake her head and shake off her thoughts, then she deployed a soundproofing barrier and spoke.

“…Sian. I have something to tell you.”

Regina’s expression turned serious.

Not her usual cute expression, but the stiff face I could only see in the ancient lich’s tomb. Her usual clumsy demeanor had changed to a serious one.

In the unusual atmosphere, I put down the pen I was holding and stretched lightly. It wasn’t the time to be studying.

Since she had come to find me secretly at a time when no one else would be around, she was probably here to talk about the attack that would happen during the midterm exams.

“Are you, busy…?”

“No. I just finished my homework for today and was about to rest. Anyway, what’s wrong? You even put up a soundproofing barrier.”

“Ah, that’s…actually, you see…”

Even though she locked the door and put up a soundproofing barrier, Regina couldn’t relax. Anxiety filled the girl’s expression, her distrust of the world deeply ingrained in her heart after a thousand regressions.

“…”

It seemed like it wasn’t the time to talk about potential holders of fake Stigmata.

It wasn’t an urgent situation that required me to press such a fragile girl, and I had already taken out some insurance through Elin-sensei.

Besides, there was still some time left until the midterm exams.

I felt sorry for Regina, who was showing signs of anxiety again.

No matter how much she tried to release information about the future and struggle to survive, all that came back was cold indifference or cold betrayal.

The girl, who had struggled to live, had to face a terrible death every playthrough, betrayed, confined in a mental hospital, and used.

I wondered if the reason she couldn’t relax like that was because of those memories.

Because the nightmares of previous playthroughs kept tormenting her, making it difficult for her to even talk to me, her only understanding person.

“Are you having a hard time?”

“Hngh?”

So, I gave Regina a tight hug.

I wouldn’t betray her, so she could say anything she wanted. So she could relax, at least in front of me.

A girl who couldn’t trust people but longed for human warmth, a girl who couldn’t see people as human anymore after 1,000 regressions.

I was the only existence who could embrace such a girl. And I couldn’t turn away from the girl who had been broken because of me.

“Is it about the future?”

“Ah, that’s…that’s….!”

At the unexpected skinship, Regina’s body stiffened. The girl stuttered as if buffering, and trembled with red eyes, but still clung to me.

She was a girl who had never received sincere comfort in a world where everyone gave mechanical answers.

Perhaps that was why. Even though she had approached like this several times before, she still seemed awkward with this closeness. And yet, the look of her not knowing what to do because she liked this feeling was quite cute.

“Ugh…”

With a completely red face, the girl who let out a cute, unintelligible groan, hugged me tightly with both arms.

“I’m sorry…I have to tell you right away…but, bad memories keep…”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself. If Regina is in pain, you don’t have to try so hard to tell me. Just relax while you’re here.”

An endlessly repeating routine is torture in itself. Living among machines that give the same answer every time would probably be overwhelming, even to maintain sanity.

The only place Regina could relax was around me. I was the only existence who didn’t belong to Regina’s ‘fate’ and could twist ‘fate’.

So I carefully lifted Regina, who was hugging me. One hand under her knees, one hand supporting her back, the so-called princess carry.

“Kyaa?! Si, Sian…?”

“Yeah. Let’s rest today. Honestly, I’m a little tired of studying, sleeping, and repeating every day.”

Seeing Regina struggling shyly in my arms, I chuckled and walked straight to the bed.

The students assigned to Class A, Year 1, are assigned good dormitories. Arcana Academy was a place that operated on a thorough meritocracy.

Thanks to that, my bed was large enough to accommodate one more small girl. As I carefully laid Regina down on the bed, Regina cried out urgently.

“W-wait, a minute…! Sian, um, that’s…!”

“What?”

Only then did I look down at Regina’s expression, which was flushed red. Her heart was beating so fast, like a 16-bit rap, that it was audible.

Was it because she was excited? Or was it because she was nervous? Regina’s breathing became rough.

Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes with both hands and shouted timidly.

“Sian’s, clothes. Your clothes keep slipping down…I can see, a little…!”

“Oh.”

Only then did I realize that I was still wearing a shower gown. It was a habit I had formed from living like this, so I was a little late in noticing.

I glanced in the mirror.

Due to the nature of the loosely fitted shower gown with weak fastening, it was bound to slip down when performing large movements like holding someone and carrying them in a princess carry.

Perhaps that was why. The girl in the mirror was wearing a slightly slipped-down shower gown.

One fair shoulder and collarbone were completely exposed beyond the gown. Below that, a fairly voluminous lump of flesh was vaguely visible, and a single mole between the valleys caught my eye.

The water droplets that hadn’t completely dried yet looked somehow bewitching.

Even though my body was quite attractive due to the Charm (A) stat, and Regina was a cute girl who could sublimate even a haggard appearance into decadent beauty.

A half-undressed girl carrying another girl in a princess carry.

The posture of looking at each other on the bed had a somewhat suggestive atmosphere.

If one of them had been a man, it would have been a situation that could be misunderstood as something more. Realizing that situation, my cheeks also flushed red.

“…Ugh!?”

“So, that’s why…!”

If I had been a man in my past life and had done this to another man, it would have been really unpleasant.

I hadn’t had much interaction with others while living as a girl…but wouldn’t girls feel the same way?

I knew that Regina was relying on me in many ways, but relying on someone and having those kinds of feelings were a little different.

“I, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable…!”

“…It’s not, like that…”

So, I carefully put the girl down and immediately took out clothes from the closet. I didn’t hear Regina’s small murmur that followed.

I quickly went into the bathroom and changed into ordinary white pajamas, and when I came back out about 3 minutes later, Regina seemed to have calmed down to some extent.

The girl, who had been sitting on the bed, had returned to her initial serious expression, her melted expression nowhere to be seen.

Regina slowly began to speak.

“Have you, by any chance, heard of fake Stigmata…?”

“Yeah. I heard about it a few times when I was exploring the southern jungle. I only know that it’s a substitute for Stigmata made by the dark cult, and that it consumes life force.”

Then Regina’s expression brightened. It seemed that she didn’t have to explain the complexities of fake Stigmata.

“There are kids in the academy who have turned to fake Stigmata. Because of them, there will be an attack during the midterm exams.”

“An attack?”

“Yes. The fake Stigmata they received have a magic circle hidden in them. A space transfer magic circle that is activated using their life force as material.”

“A space transfer magic circle… Are they trying to open a gate inside the academy?”

“Yes. They’re going to open a gate to summon magical beasts, and in the midst of that, they’re going to infiltrate the main building and tamper with the core of the barrier.”

What Regina explained was not much different from the midterm exam episode of the original work. So, I carefully discussed the information about the midterm exam with Regina.

What I asked Regina to do was to monitor the students suspected of being fake Stigmata holders. Regina nodded with a bright face and returned to her room.

“Ugh…Is the preparation over with this?”

I muttered that and lay down on the bed.

Having mentioned it to Elin-sensei and Regina, and with both of them moving, I hoped for a better outcome than in the original work.