How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 649: Reina’s troubles

”By the way, Riley... are you sure we have to take this much precaution?”

Alice asked as she finished carving another glowing mark into the earth.

”Yes.”

Riley didn’t even hesitate.

His voice was calm but heavy with a weight only Alice—who had now learned far too much—could understand.

Night had fully settled over the academy, and the two of them walked along the outer borders of the grounds, the faint shimmer of moonlight brushing their silhouettes.

Every few steps they stopped, lowered themselves, and wrote another sigil—no, another rune—onto the soil, walls, or hidden surfaces.

The runes pulsed for a moment after being drawn, before sinking into silence.

Alice exhaled softly.

”I understand that you’re wary, but... it’s sister Liyana we’re talking about, right? She adores you. Would she really—?”

”It’s precisely because it’s Liyana that I’m doing this.”

Riley said it with that quiet seriousness that made Alice’s breath catch.

She stood still for a moment, clearing the dirt from her fingers.

Honestly... she wanted to disagree, but she couldn’t. Not anymore.

After learning the truth about Riley—his origins, his abilities, the odd invisible gravity that pulled certain powerful beings toward him—and after recalling the pre-assessment she had secretly run on Liyana months ago... Alice already knew that his caution wasn’t paranoia.

It was common sense.

Even Cheshire had warned her about Liyana.

Alice placed her own rune on the stone wall.

The mark glowed faintly before dissolving into the structure like fading breath.

Unlike Riley’s intricate runes, hers were simple detection sigils—basic constructs that would immediately alert the caster if they sensed a specific mana or spiritual signature approaching.

Just alarms.

And yet... the two of them had already placed more than a hundred around the academy perimeter alone.

Alice rubbed her forehead.

”...You’re worried she’ll suddenly appear?”

Riley didn’t respond immediately.

”That’s part of it...”

He finished drawing a rune that resembled a spiraling helix, tapped it once with his finger, and let it sink into the ground like melting ink.

Then he looked toward the distant forest—expression unreadable.

”Liyana doesn’t mean harm,” he finally said. ”But her concept of boundaries is... different. If she wants to see me, she will. If she wants to appear, she will. And if she decides ’checking on me’ means breaking into the academy at night... that’s why I need to be prepared for all our sakes...”

”Riley... will you tell me more about Liyana?”

Riley paused mid-stroke as he inscribed another rune onto the stonework.

The moonlight cast a thin blue sheen over his face, making the hesitation in his eyes more noticeable.

He understood immediately what Alice meant.

She wasn’t asking about Liyana’s personality, her quirks, her role as a fiancée, nor the bits of truth already revealed through Cheshire’s warnings.

She wanted his truth—the one only he could possibly know.

She had already stepped into his world, already discovered more about him than anyone else alive. And so this question wasn’t something he could dodge with casual excuses anymore.

But even knowing that... he took a slow breath.

”Liyana is Liyana,” he said finally, voice steady—yet it carried a weight Alice didn’t miss. ”Everything you know about her... those are the parts that matter. Those are the genuine parts. Beyond that... things get complicated.”

Alice narrowed her eyes, unsatisfied—though not angry. ”Riley... you know I can handle a bit of truth now, right?” she said softly, confidence laced with the quiet pride of a Red Queen. ”I’m not the same girl as before.”

”I know,” Riley answered. ”If anyone can handle it, it’s you. After all... you already know what I am.”

He placed the final rune on the corner pillar, brushing off his hands.

There was no cosmic pressure stopping him, no divine prohibition silencing him. It was simply him—keeping the truth close to his chest because of what that truth meant for Liyana.

”But... regardless of what she is or what the world sees her as,” he continued, voice gentler, ”Liyana is still Liyana. She’s the girl who clings to me like a cat. The girl who laughs too much. The girl who’s always been by my side. And everything I’m doing right now... is for her sake.”

Alice exhaled, the tension in her shoulders loosening though she clearly wasn’t fully satisfied.

Still, she accepted his boundary—for now. ”...Alright,” she whispered, stepping beside him and drawing her own rune into the ground.

A moment passed before Riley spoke again.

”And also... these runes aren’t just for Liyana.”

Alice blinked, tilting her head. ”They aren’t?”

Riley nodded, jaw tightening slightly. ”You remember Snow’s incident, right?”

”Of course,” Alice replied immediately. ”But didn’t you say you already dealt with any demonic interference? You even got that evil goddess’s promise.”

”I did,” Riley confirmed. ”And Erebil won’t interfere again. But that doesn’t guarantee everything. There are entities... beings... who don’t care about promises. Or don’t need a reason to target us.”

Alice let out a small, wry laugh. ”Fufu... the stronger and more overwhelming you become, the more cautious you grow. It’s kind of ironic.

”It’s not caution,” Riley murmured, tightening the rune circle’s final connection. The sigil pulsed faintly in response. ”I just don’t ever want what happened to Snow to happen again. Not to her. Not to any of you.”

Alice watched him quietly, a warmth—mixed with something like pride—softening her eyes.

”...You really are hopelessly kind when it comes to us, aren’t you?” she whispered.

Riley didn’t respond—only moved to the next wall to place another rune, as the night around them deepened with silent, protective intent.

....

Morning.

At the academy’s central park.

”This is so shitty... sigh...”

”Did you really call me out here just to complain about your frustrations?”

”Hey, aren’t you my best friend? You’re supposed to cheer me up here!”

”After everything we’ve been through, you can’t exactly call me your best friend.”

”Hey—you know I can be a tease, but none of my words really mean anything. Well... except maybe a couple here and there. But anyway, comfort me! You’re the only one I can vent to right now. Neru’s gone for a bit and all our other friends are busy, that’s why I need you. So come on, Reina—be my personal therapist for now.”

Reina shook her head with a long-suffering sigh.

She pushed Flamme’s face away from her shoulder, sitting upright before glancing at the girl slumped beside her—Flamme, the fiery troublemaker who now looked strangely deflated.

”You could’ve just called Emilia, you know,” Reina said. ”If you wanted someone to comfort you, she’s basically an expert. She’d probably give you tea, sit you down, pat your head—she’s good at that sort of thing.”

”I know, I know, but it’s too embarrassing. And besides,” Flamme puffed her cheeks lightly, ”I’ll probably end up teasing that cutie more than actually talking to her, so that’s a no.”

As Flamme said that, she immediately clung to Reina’s arm like a needy cat.

Reina attempted to pry her off, but the moment she caught a glimpse of Flamme’s eyes—eyes that usually sparkled with mischief but now hid a faint, trembling sadness—she stopped resisting.

Instead, she let the whimsical girl lean on her.

Reina hadn’t expected this side of Flamme... the vulnerable, honest part buried under all that playful bravado. Seeing it now made her fall silent, her annoyance melting into concern.

”...Alright,” Reina muttered quietly, resting her free hand on Flamme’s shoulder. ”Tell me what’s wrong.”

Flamme’s grip tightened just a little, as if she’d been waiting for those words.

And finally—finally—she let herself breathe.

Reina was well aware that Flamme had just lost to Stacia yesterday, so it probably had something to do with her sulking like a wounded fox spirit... but knowing Flamme’s personality, a simple loss shouldn’t have been nearly enough to plunge her into this melodramatic depression.

”Get this okay—that bitch Stacia! Yes, that bitch! It’s all because of her that Neru scolded me so much—”

And there it was.

The moment Flamme opened her mouth, Reina instantly regretted asking herself that question.

Even when she appeared sensitive, fragile, and ”in need of comfort,” Flamme was still the same foul-mouthed, chaotic, headache-inducing Flamme she always was.

As Flamme launched into a dramatic retelling—arms waving, voice rising and dropping, her whole body twisting like an irritated cat—Reina simply sighed internally and let the torrent of words wash past her.

She didn’t resist when Flamme grabbed her arm again, shaking it for emphasis as if that would transfer her frustrations.

She just tuned her out, nodding occasionally with the patience of a saint.

Her thoughts drifted elsewhere... specifically to her upcoming matchup later in the afternoon.

Yesterday, she’d been paired against a top student from a foreign academy.

The girl had been strong, competent enough to force Reina to actually focus, but still far from the monstrous geniuses of Lumen Academy.

Reina won—narrower than she liked, but still a win nonetheless.

Even so, the victory didn’t ease the weight in her chest.

Because her next opponent...

Clara Luminaria.

A second-year. Magic department.

A consistent top-three student every single semester.

Not a loud, flashy monster like Snow, Rose, or Alice—no, Clara was the terrifyingly stable kind of prodigy.

A mage whose results were real because she was a merchant first, magician second... meaning she excelled in real combat application rather than fancy theory.

A senior she genuinely hoped she’d never have to face this early.

Reina’s fingers twitched with nerves.

She imagined Clara’s composed smile, the calm air of someone who had faced countless battles and made them profitable.

Even if Reina was confident in herself...

Her stomach twisted.

Her heart felt heavier than Flamme clinging to her arm.

Should I ask big bro for advice?

The thought surfaced unbidden.

But just as quickly—

Nope.

Absolutely not.

She shook her head hard enough that Flamme even paused mid-rant to stare at her.