Reina wore an unreadable expression even as she left the examination room.
When she saw me approaching, she hesitated briefly before speaking.
“Thank you for helping me. But I’d rather you didn’t do that again.”
She gave me a bright smile, yet it looked strangely sorrowful.
I knew why.
Reina had a goal, and she wanted to become stronger through her own efforts, without anyone else’s help.
But someone had assisted her along the way, allowing her to achieve more than she believed she deserved. The result left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Seeing her complicated smile pained me, but I did my best to ignore it.
Working hard toward a goal was admirable.
Wanting to achieve it through one’s own strength was admirable too.
But before any of that—
She had to stay alive.
The dead could not move forward.
If I did not interfere, Reina would eventually die. So whether directly or indirectly, I would continue helping her in every way I could.
Whenever she discovered that she had received someone else’s help, my task would be to soothe her afterward.
This would be the last time I intervened so openly.
I smiled brightly.
“For now, just let yourself be happy. No matter how it happened, you placed first.”
“Placed first?”
“When the proctor announces the result on the spot, it means you’re the top-ranked student. Didn’t you know?”
“I didn’t…… Really?”
“Of course. There isn’t even a recorded case of a senior knight breaking the test stone.”
Within the Knight Order, senior knight was the third rank, following apprentice knight and regular knight.
Senior knights could command platoons and were recognized as genuine contributors to the Order’s fighting strength.
“It was that impressive?!”
“I’m telling you, it was.”
They practiced shattering the test stone into pieces, after all.
So technically, there were no cases of them merely breaking it.
I decided to keep that detail to myself.
Reina looked bewildered, but the corners of her mouth gradually rose.
“You worked hard, so we should eat something good. Let’s have a celebration. What do you want? Fried chicken? Pizza? My treat.”
I naturally reached into my pocket to pull out my phone and open a delivery app—then froze.
Naturally, I did not have a phone anymore. Even the clothes I wore had an unfamiliar design, and I could not immediately find the pockets.
Come to think of it, this world probably did not even have the concepts of fried chicken and pizza.
Realizing my mistake, I laughed awkwardly. Reina followed suit.
“What was that? You looked ridiculous. Are you really Scoundrel Van?”
“D-Do you think I act like a scoundrel every waking moment? This is how I normally am.”
Reina stared at my face, then burst out laughing again.
It was embarrassing, but at least she seemed to have recovered her spirits.
“You really are strange.”
“Would the Empire’s Greatest Scoundrel be normal? Anyway, is there anything you want to eat?”
“Hmm…… I’ll think about it later. And what did you call them? Fried chick? Pissa? I’m curious about those too.”
“Fried chicken and pizza. I can’t promise they’ll be exquisite, but if you want them, I can make them.”
With ten years of cooking experience from living on my own, I could manage simple versions of both.
Reina laughed yet again.
“You can cook too?”
Ah. It probably sounded unusual for the child of a prestigious house.
“Once the family head turns against you, learning to cook becomes necessary if you want to keep causing trouble. It’s hard to behave like a scoundrel on an empty stomach.”
“You’re a scoundrel who cooks his own meals so he can keep causing trouble?”
Reina cackled as if she had never imagined such a thing.
“That’s completely unique. You’re hilarious.”
“……Thank you for the compliment.”
“Hmm…… Forget buying me something delicious. If the family head dislikes you, you probably don’t have much money anyway. Let’s call it even if we eat together sometime. I’m the one who received help, so I can’t ask you to pay.”
“Then let’s do that.”
Reina and I parted after promising to meet again.
As I watched her walk away, waving, I reviewed my future plans.
After today, I should avoid forcing help upon her whenever possible.
By design, Reina hated having someone hover beside her and solve every problem.
So just as I had done in the game, I needed to help her covertly rather than openly.
There was much to prepare. I was going to be busy.
And then there was the greatest variable in my current situation: the protagonist.
His examination number was always the same. If I waited here a little longer, I would meet him.
I was mentally simulating ways to befriend him when I spotted a female student in Iris Academy’s uniform.
She was slightly shorter than me, with straight black hair that fell to her waist like the night sky.
Her equally dark eyes curved into a distinctive smile as she spoke in a teasing voice.
“You made a friend? Now that’s unusual.”
……! I never expected to meet her here.
Suppressing my surprise, I greeted her as naturally as possible.
“……Greetings, Sister.”
I reviewed her character profile in my mind.
An overwhelmingly powerful ace officially recognized by the Magic Tower while still a student. A direct descendant of House Astraea and the older sister of the body I now inhabited: Seren Astraea.
Like Van, she did whatever she pleased, yet somehow never crossed certain lines. She often displayed an innocent side, only to occasionally overwhelm everyone around her with sheer charisma. She was impossible to predict.
I recognized her instantly for a simple reason.
No matter which route the player followed, Seren assisted the protagonist until the final battle.
That was precisely why I knew her so well.
And why I knew that the dependable Seren from the game was currently the most dangerous person in the world to me.
She could discover that I was a transmigrator faster than anyone else. If she did, she would also be the first to try to kill me.
Because Seren was universally known to have an extreme brother complex.
Whenever the player saved the game, the characters would take a brief rest and chat.
Most spoke about their pasts, events from their journey with the protagonist, or pieces of worldbuilding that had never appeared elsewhere.
Seren, however, talked about Van incessantly—even immediately before the final battle. Her stories were not particularly varied either, so she frequently repeated herself.
Back when I played the game, those details had been irritating because they were useless for strategy. Now, I could not have been more grateful.
Using what I had heard then, I had to perform the Van Astraea Seren knew.
Unlike my tense self, Seren smiled brightly.
“‘Sister’ again? I told you, you can call me ‘Sis’ like you used to.”
You said he never once called you that!
My nerves were so taut that I nearly retorted aloud. One small mistake felt liable to cost me all four limbs.
Instead, I answered as naturally as possible.
“Even so, I should observe the minimum decorum expected of a noble.”
“Hmph. You ignore every rule except the absolute minimum, then become strangely particular about things like this.”
Seren pouted, then abruptly pinched my cheek.
“You were chatting so happily with that girl, yet you’re only cold toward your own big sister. Keep this up and I might get ‘jealous.’”
Was it my imagination, or did the word jealous carry some hidden, terrifying implication?
“Well, ahaha……”
I could not tell her the truth, so I answered with an awkward laugh.
Once, Seren had said:
—Whenever something is difficult to answer, he always tries to laugh it off. He smiles so awkwardly that it’s obvious he feels uncomfortable, and then I can’t bring myself to question him further. Maybe that’s why, even though we’re siblings, I never feel as if I truly know Van.
Then she had stared into space and added, ‘Was I a good older sister to him……?’
Even I, whose opinion of Seren was particularly harsh, had pitied her then.
—But that prickly side of him is just so adorable!
Of course, when she concluded every story by displaying her brother complex without restraint, my sympathy vanished as quickly as it came.
At my awkward smile, Seren released a deep sigh and gave up.
“Fine. Keep hiding everything from your sister. But if you continue, I’ll become so sad that I cry.”
“I’ll try to improve.”
“You always say you’ll try.”
Seren pursed her lips, but that was all. Fortunately, she did not seem to notice anything strange about me.
I needed to learn why she was here and escape before she did.
“In any case, what brings you here?”
“Me? I came to see my little brother, of course.”
“And how did you know I was here?”
“I searched every corner of the main building until I found you.”
I sensed a deep madness within Seren’s radiant smile.
You lunatic sister! Do you have any idea how enormous the main building is?!
“—That was a lie. I actually have a message for the professor serving as proctor today. I arrived early to wait and happened to spot you.”
“I see.”
I released a breath of relief.
“But to meet by chance in a place like this! We really are destined for each other!”
“We have the same parents. We were destined to be siblings.”
“Hmph. You used to say you would marry your sister.”
I was wondering how long this nonsense would continue when the professor who had served as proctor spotted Seren.
“Seren Astraea. What is a third-year student doing here?”
Facing the professor, Seren set aside her playfulness and straightened with a serious expression.
“I came to deliver a message.”
She handed him an envelope from an inner pocket. He examined the outside and tucked it into his coat.
“It does not appear urgent, so I will read it later. More importantly……”
He turned toward me.
As he appeared to remember something and prepared to speak, Seren’s familiar mischievous smile returned.
“This is my little brother, Van!”
“……Right. Van Astraea. You are already old enough to enter Iris Academy. A pleasure. I am Hazen Rauzer.”
His voice was neutral, but contempt colored his gaze.
Hazen was an ardent believer in merit. There was no chance he would approve of someone rumored to be both weak and a scoundrel.
I bowed politely anyway. Then Seren abruptly declared with complete confidence,
“Van is going to enter at the top of his year!”
Hazen smirked.
“Unfortunately, this year’s top position is already decided. A candidate broke the test stone, even if it was only at the edge.”
He declared it impossible, yet still studied me with a hint of expectation.
“Still, if you speak so highly of him, perhaps his ability is exceptional despite the rumors—even if he cannot take first place.”
“I’m telling you, he can! Van! Split that test stone in half and get rid of it!”
What am I, a PokXmon?! And it isn’t going to split just because you order me to do it!
Hazen smiled at her agitation.
“According to the order, his turn will come soon. We shall find out shortly.”
Both of them stared at me, and the pressure was immense.
“Ahaha……”
I smiled outwardly while releasing a sigh deep enough to sink the earth inside my heart.
What kind of suffering was this, all because I had the wrong sister?
***
The proctor called out in a booming voice.
“Candidate 430! Van Astraea!”
I had originally intended to take the examination lightly. With Seren and Hazen watching through the window, however, I had no choice but to do my best.
What would happen if I failed to meet their expectations?
Would Seren become angry that I had disgraced the family?
No. Van disgraced the family constantly, so probably not.
Still, she would not decide I was no longer her brother just because I disappointed her…… would she?
My thoughts were a tangled mess, but time continued mercilessly.
“Begin when you are ready.”
Whew…… For now, I had to ignore everything else and focus on the test. If things went according to plan, there would be no problem.
The magic test allowed only one strike.
I had to pour everything into a single attack.
I extended both hands, closed my eyes, and concentrated.
I sensed mana flowing like blood and drew it into my palms. Then I constructed the spell’s magic circle in my mind.
Seen another way, this was an opportunity.
An opportunity to discover the greatest power I could draw from this body.
I prepared the highest-circle spell currently available to me: the Second-Circle fire spell, 【Tracing Fire】.
The spell first launched mana to create a mana line. Flame then raced along that line like a burning fuse and erupted into a powerful blaze at its destination.
Its activation method made it inaccurate in combat, but its power came perilously close to the Third Circle. Against an immobile test stone, its weakness was irrelevant.
In the game’s tutorial, players could use only First-Circle magic. That alone was sufficient to pass, so a Second-Circle spell would guarantee an excellent score.
I also knew the test stone’s interior was vulnerable.
So I constructed the image.
When the mana line reached inside the stone and exploded, I ‘willed’ the destruction to begin from its core.
KIIIIIING—!
The magic circle formed according to my will and fired a mana line into the test stone.
Now all I had to do was ignite it—
“Candidate 430. The examination is over.”
“What?! But I haven’t……”
I had not even activated the spell yet.
“The rules permit only one magical attack. The mana you just used has already registered as an attack upon the test stone.”
Ah.
In the game, 【Tracing Fire】 was treated as a single spell. I had never considered the mana line separately.
Faced with this unexpected result, I immediately turned toward Seren beyond the window.
The corners of her lips were raised, but her eyes were not smiling at all……