Cyril Berna approached on a day when Lian was absent, having been summoned to the temple.
It was past noon, as I was crossing the courtyard.
“Senior Rune?”
I turned around.
A male student was standing there. He was tall. His hair was a subdued brown, and he wore square-framed glasses. His eyes looked gentle. His uniform was impeccably worn, yet it carried no sense of intimidation. His smile seemed natural.
Cyril Berna.
I knew his face. He was the student who had spoken to Lian during the entrance ceremony. Light attribute. Top of the second-year class in last year’s evaluations. I had heard from multiple sources that he had a reputation for being gentle and sincere.
And in the game from my previous life, he was one of the romanceable characters who could end up with Lian.
“That’s me.”
“Do you have a moment? Just a little while.”
I searched for a reason to refuse. I couldn’t find one.
“Alright.”
We sat side by side on a bench at the edge of the courtyard.
Cyril was good at gauging distance. Not too close, not too far. He was the kind of person who could naturally choose the appropriate space with someone he’d just met.
“I’ve wanted to meet you for a while,” Cyril said. “I heard you’re researching dark attribute magic.”
“About the research?”
“Your name came up as Senior Edvard’s research partner. I also heard about light and dark interference experiments. I found it interesting.”
“You study magic too?”
“Only as a hobby,” Cyril said. “My expertise is far from Senior Edvard’s. But I enjoy magical theory. I’ve read some literature on the interactions between attributes, in particular.”
His way of speaking was polite. It wasn’t annoying.
He’s not a bad person, I thought. In the game, Cyril was portrayed as a sincere character. When I played it, he was a romanceable character I had liked.
That made it all the more complicated.
“So, what did you need?”
“Could you tell me a little about the interference experiments? Only if it’s no trouble. When light attribute mana interferes with dark attribute—there’s no record of it in the literature.”
It was an academic question. He didn’t seem to have any ulterior motive.
As I was about to answer—memories of the game surfaced.
Cyril’s route was gentle. He gradually closed the distance with Lian, and their relationship deepened quietly. No rush. No pressure. He matched Lian’s pace. That was the kind of ending it was.
When I played it in my previous life, I had liked this route.
But now—
“May I ask you something?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“What do you think of Lian?”
Cyril’s eyes widened slightly. It seemed like an unexpected question.
“Lian, you mean your sister?”
“Yes.”
Cyril thought for a moment. “We spoke a little before. I thought she was bright and straightforward.”
“Is that all?”
“‘Is that all,’ meaning…”
“Do you have any special feelings for her?”
I regretted it a little after saying it. I meant to be indirect, but I hadn’t been indirect at all. But I couldn’t take it back.
Cyril paused for a moment.
“Haha,” Cyril laughed.
“Senior Rene, are you worried that I’m getting close to Lian?”
It was a direct way of asking. But his tone wasn’t accusatory. It was just a tone of confirmation.
“…If you’re planning to do anything strange to my sister, I want you to stop.”
“‘Strange things,’ meaning…”
“You know what I mean.”
Cyril looked at me. He was silent for a while. Then, he said gently,
“Please rest assured.”
“About what?”
“That I didn’t approach Lian with romantic interest,” Cyril said. “I spoke to her because we were next to each other in a light magic practical, and she seemed easy to talk to. That’s all.”
“Is that so?”
“It is,” Cyril continued. “If anything, Lian kept talking about you, Senior Rene. ‘My sister this, my sister that.’ Your name came up every time we spoke, so I became curious about what kind of person you were.”
Lian, talking about me.
“That’s the real reason I approached you,” Cyril laughed. “It wasn’t Lian I wanted to meet, but you, Senior Rene.”
“…Me?”
“Yes. As a dark attribute researcher. And as the person who appears in Lian’s stories. In both senses.”
The way he said ‘in both senses’ felt like it carried a slight implication. But I didn’t press further.
“I see.”
“I apologize for causing you concern,” Cyril bowed his head slightly. “I think of Lian simply as a fellow student. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“…I understand.”
Cyril stood up. “We can talk about the interference experiments another time, if there’s an opportunity. Thank you for your time today, even though it was sudden.”
“It’s fine.”
Cyril walked away across the courtyard. His back was straight.
I was alone.
I remained seated on the bench, looking at the courtyard. The moon-viewing stones shone white in the daylight.
If you’re planning to do anything strange to my sister, I want you to stop.
I was now thinking about why those words had come out.
He approached me as a researcher. He had no ulterior motive. I believed Cyril’s words. He didn’t seem like someone who would lie.
And yet, those words had come out.
I made an excuse to myself: it was because I remembered Cyril’s route in the game. As knowledge from my previous life, I was wary of the possibility of Cyril getting close to Lian. That was all.
But—
I had liked Cyril’s route. When I played it in my previous life, I thought this ending was the gentlest and the one I liked most. Because Lian looked happy.
Even with that memory, what had I been saying today?
I had told him to stop.
I had been trying to keep Lian away from Cyril.
If the reason I wanted to keep her away wasn’t just the judgment of a reincarnator…
I thought about it.
I thought about it and decided not to reach a conclusion now.
The moon-viewing stones in the courtyard were shining.
Lian should have been at the temple by now. She said she’d be back by evening.
Would she come to the library when she returned?
Today, I wanted her to come.
I didn’t know if I wanted her to come because I had spoken with Cyril, or if I wanted her to come regardless. Today, I couldn’t even distinguish that.
I got up from the bench.
I returned to the research lab.
I opened a book.
I couldn’t read a single line.
In the evening, I went down to the library.
Lian was there.
She was sitting in the seat opposite, reading a book. She looked up and saw me.
“Sister, where were you today? Someone said they saw you in the courtyard.”
“I was outside for a bit.”
“Were you with someone?”
“I talked with Cyril Berna for a little while.”
Lian’s eyes widened slightly. “With Lord Cyril? What did you talk about?”
“Magic.”
“I see.”
Lian returned her gaze to her book. She didn’t ask anything further.
I opened my book too.
This time, I could read a little.
Having Lian nearby—across from me, to be precise—was calming. I felt like I could accurately put that sensation into words for the first time today.
I didn’t know if ‘calming’ was the right word.
But I couldn’t find any other word.
“Sister.”
“What?”
“What kind of person was Lord Cyril?”
“A good person.”
“I think so too,” Lian laughed. “I think so too.”
She said ‘I think so too.’
‘I think so too’ meant Lian also thought Cyril was a good person. I knew that. But hearing those words today, something shifted slightly inside.
“Lian.”
“Yes?”
“Do you like Cyril?”
Lian looked at me.
“It’s not like that.”
It’s not like that. It was immediate.
“…I see.”
“Why do you care so much, Sister?” Lian tilted her head slightly. “Are you concerned about Lord Cyril?”
“I’m not concerned.”
“Then—”
“…I’m just worried about you.”
There was a pause.
Then, Lian smiled a little.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For worrying about me.”
She didn’t say anything more. She returned her gaze to her book.
I returned to my book too.
I settled it with the word ‘worry.’
A sensation remained in my hands that it wasn’t just that, but I didn’t put a name to it tonight.
The sound of pages turning came from across the table.
Listening to that, I followed the text in my book with my eyes.
I still didn’t understand the reason why I had told Cyril ‘I want you to stop’ today.
But Lian’s voice, saying ‘It’s not like that’ so immediately, was echoing in my head once more.