episode_0021

“…”

“…”

Yerena and Regina, left alone in the room, exchanged awkward glances, their expressions ambiguous.

Both Yerena and Regina were fundamentally friendless loners, living half-heartedly without much emotion before meeting Sian.

Although Sian had opened the door to her heart, conversing with people other than Sian remained challenging for them.

Yet, Yerena did not find the girl Regina in front of her appealing.

It was merely a sense of discomfort—a realization that apart from herself, there was another person whom Sian cherished as a friend.

Realizing she was on borrowed time and having sworn revenge, Yerena found herself desiring someone for the first time.

A girl who might be the only one capable of understanding her. In the few remaining years of her life, she had finally found something she desired.

Having lost everything—parents, lifespan, human connections, happiness, the right to inherit the family line—she did not want to lose Sian, her only friend, or the person who would stand by her side till the end.

Unknowingly, Yerena asked in a sharp tone, “Regina Strellachia, was it?”

Regina felt the same way.

Sian, a special presence that appeared uniquely to her in 999 regressions.

Seeing Yerena and Sian arm in arm like close friends made Regina feel like she was being pushed aside.

The girl could not let go of this warmth she had never felt before—the only ray of light in her endless life.

“Yes, Yerena…s.”

Therefore, even in Regina’s response to Yerena’s words, there was a hint of thorns.

Unlike when facing Sian, her voice devoid of any emotion. The voices of the two girls intersected in the quiet hospital room, followed by silence once again.

The two girls could see that each other was broken.

People with internal voids often found some connection. Yerena stared at the girl without saying a word.

Yerena Frost, lacking severely in social skills, was not inherently a bad girl. Therefore, she knew well enough that Regina was not in a normal state.

Untamed hair, dark circles under her eyes, and a sense of helplessness in her tone—all these signs were familiar to Yerena.

She recognized the signs from her own despair after losing her parents in her childhood.

Perhaps Sian couldn’t bear to watch such a girl suffer silently, prompting her approach. Hence, Yerena refrained from speaking harshly.

Out of jealousy for not wanting to lose Sian, she knew it was wrong to further damage the already broken girl’s heart.

“In many ways, you’re broken.”

“You…are in a similar state, aren’t you?”

Regina also saw Yerena’s condition at a glance.

Having met Yerena countless times through 999 regressions, Regina knew her well. Of course, due to ‘fate,’ Regina couldn’t approach Yerena recklessly.

Nevertheless, even from a distance, seeing someone hundreds or thousands of times gives you a rough idea of who they are.

To Regina, the Yerena she saw had already given up on everything, much like herself after the 100th regression.

Having relinquished everything about the world, she simply lived passively.

Hence, Regina also refrained from speaking harshly to Yerena.

Regina, despite being broken over 999 lifetimes, never spiraled into madness or extreme violence. Her inherent nature was kind.

Even as a broken human, perhaps this was the last act of defiance from a girl who wanted to maintain a shred of decency.

So. The two girls couldn’t easily stab each other.

Instead, they timidly gazed at each other to avoid crossing boundaries.

Yerena was the first to speak. The girl, who had suddenly returned to her Ice Princess mode, subtly revealed her superiority in their relationship with a cold expression.

“…How did you meet my friend, Sian?”

“Yesterday. We got trapped together in a dungeon during the exam. But thanks to that, I got to know Sian a lot better… So, it wasn’t all bad. I gained a friend with whom I could share precious secrets.”

Regina responded with a relaxed expression to Yerena’s words. Yerena and Sian had only recently become friends.

Even though she met him first, she claimed to be closer to Sian. Therefore, she warned not to overstep, as she was the most important person to Sian.

“…Sian is too kind to a fault. He approached me, who had just won in the duel, with kindness. He said he would continue to spar with me in the future.”

“That’s right… He said he felt lonely sleeping alone yesterday, so I let him sleep next to me… It was nice to see Sian like that, wasn’t it?”

The fight between the two girls, who had just learned about emotions, seemed somewhat childish.

As both girls had slightly opened their hearts thanks to Sian, they were well aware that neither of them would let go of Sian.

Despite knowing this, Regina and Yerena engaged in a playful yet innocent fight, claiming, “I’m closer to him!” in a shy but enthusiastic manner.

Although the two main characters would never admit it, Regina, who made timid yet spirited expressions, and Yerena, who engaged in a childish fight that didn’t suit her image, might have elicited laughter from Sian if he had seen them.

However, Yerena and Regina were not children.

One had already lived 999 lives as a reincarnator. The other was a genius girl of Frost lineage. Both were too mature to bicker like children.

“Sigh…”

Yerena sighed deeply, running her fingers through her hair to cool down the heated atmosphere. Similarly, Regina closed her eyes quietly to calm the mood.

“Just a moment, Regina.”

If both wanted Sian, would one of them have to disappear from his side? Is possessing Sian the only solution?

Yerena didn’t think so. There was no rule stating that in a friendship, one had to be more precious than others.

Suppressing the childish jealousy bubbling up inside her, Yerena slowly regained her composure.

Although her thoughts about Sian had been somewhat tainted lately, Yerena was originally a rational girl who could make logical decisions in any situation.

“Regina.”

“Yes…?”

“I have a suggestion to make.”

From the beginning, assuming that Sian would discard one of them was a mistake. If she knew Sian as she had seen him before, he would try to embrace both rather than abandon one.

I was drawn to Sian because of his kind nature, wanting to keep him by my side. Why had I forgotten that?

“Can’t we just compromise a little with each other?”

“Compromise…?”

“Regina, do you think Sian would choose to abandon one of us?”

“That’s… not true.”

A faint smile appeared on Yerena’s lips.

Having regained her usual composure, Yerena continued slowly.

“Then. Is there any reason why one of us should claim ownership of Sian?”

“There… isn’t?”

Finally, Regina understood Yerena’s words.

From the start, there was no need to fight. Their relationship wasn’t exactly that of friends or lovers. There was no rule saying one had to have only one friend.

“…Alright. What Yerena said is true.”

Regina mumbled as she extended her hand with an awkward smile.

“Well then… Take care, even among us. As a friend of Xian’s.”

“Sure.”

Yerena took Regina’s outstretched hand.

It was a moment where a secret agreement was made, unknown to anyone else.

It was an agreement effective only as long as they remained as Xian’s ‘friends.’

“Uh…?!”

“Why? Do you feel unwell somewhere?”

“Oh, no. Professor Claudia.”

While conversing with Claudia, a sudden intense sensation overwhelmed me, causing my body to tremble involuntarily.

Commonly referred to as a woman’s intuition, this strangely accurate feeling. It felt as if it detected some unease, making me shiver.

My ‘woman’s intuition’ was rarely wrong. Even when I checked my status window, it only displayed my stats in a transparent pane.

Helplessly, I continued speaking, letting out a sigh.

“I just feel a bit uneasy lately.”

“It’s normal for new students. The academy is a new environment they haven’t experienced before. Just think of it as adapting to a new environment.”

“Haha, yeah… I guess so?”

I replied with an uncertain voice, forcing a small laugh.

“Well, it’s probably just your mood.”

In the world of academy stories, incidents don’t happen back-to-back. There’s always a break after one incident. [Arcana Academy] was ultimately part of the academy genre.

So, nothing major should happen for a while. Maybe I’ve become too sensitive lately.