How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 649: Reina’s troubles

"By the way, Riley... are you certain all these precautions are necessary?"

Alice posed the question as she finished etching another luminous mark into the soil.

"Yes."

Riley's response was instantaneous.

His tone remained composed, yet it carried a gravity that only Alice—who had recently discovered far too much—could truly grasp.

Darkness had completely claimed the academy grounds as the two traversed the outer perimeter, their forms occasionally brushed by the pale glimmer of the moon.

They paused every few paces, crouching down to scribe another sigil—no, a rune—upon the earth, the stone walls, or concealed surfaces.

Upon completion, the runes flickered with life for a brief moment before fading into a silent vigil.

Alice let out a weary breath.

"I know you're being cautious, but... we are talking about sister Liyana, aren't we? She truly loves you. Would she really do something—?"

"It is precisely because it's Liyana that I must do this."

Riley spoke with a quiet intensity that caught Alice off guard, stealing her breath for a second.

She remained motionless for a time, brushing the dirt from her fingertips.

To be honest... she wished she could argue, but she found she couldn't. Not anymore.

Having learned the truth regarding Riley—his heritage, his strange powers, and that peculiar, invisible force that drew powerful entities toward him—and remembering the secret analysis she had performed on Liyana months ago... Alice understood that his wariness wasn't paranoia.

It was simple logic.

Even Cheshire had issued warnings regarding Liyana.

Alice etched her own rune into the masonry.

The symbol glowed softly before merging into the stone like a vanishing mist.

In contrast to Riley’s complex runes, her marks were straightforward detection sigils—elementary constructs designed to alert the caster the moment they detected a specific mana or spiritual signature nearby.

They were merely early-warning systems.

Nevertheless... the pair had already installed over a hundred of them along the academy’s boundary alone.

Alice rubbed her temples.

"...Are you truly worried she might just appear out of nowhere?"

Riley didn't answer right away.

"That is part of the concern..."

He finalized a rune that looked like a twisting helix, tapped it once, and watched as it dissolved into the ground like liquid ink.

Then, his gaze drifted toward the dark woods in the distance, his expression unreadable.

"Liyana doesn't intend any harm," he eventually remarked. "However, her understanding of boundaries is... unique. If she wishes to see me, she will. If she wants to manifest, she will. And if she decides that 'checking on me' involves trespassing into the academy at midnight... that is why I have to be ready, for everyone's sake..."

"Riley... can you tell me more about Liyana?"

Riley’s hand stopped mid-motion as he was carving another rune into the stone.

The moonlight draped his face in a thin blue light, making the flicker of hesitation in his gaze more apparent.

He grasped Alice's meaning immediately.

She wasn't inquiring about Liyana’s personality, her habits, her status as his fiancée, or the fragments of truth revealed by Cheshire’s warnings.

She was seeking his truth—the reality that only he could know.

She had already crossed the threshold into his world, uncovering more about him than any other living soul. Consequently, this wasn't a question he could deflect with a simple excuse.

Despite knowing this... he took a measured breath.

"Liyana is Liyana," he finally stated, his voice firm—yet Alice didn't miss the underlying weight. "Everything you understand about her... those are the parts that count. Those are the real parts. Beyond that... matters become complicated."

Alice squinted her eyes, unsatisfied but not quite angry. "Riley... you realize I can handle the truth now, right?" she said softly, her voice carrying the quiet confidence of a Red Queen. "I'm not the girl I used to be."

"I am aware," Riley replied. "If anyone is capable of handling it, it's you. After all... you already know what I am."

He set the final rune upon the corner pillar and dusted off his palms.

No cosmic force was hindering him, nor was any divine law keeping him silent. It was his own choice—he kept the truth guarded because of what it implied for Liyana.

"However... regardless of what she is or how the world perceives her," he went on, his tone softening, "Liyana is still Liyana. She is the girl who follows me like a kitten. The girl who laughs too much. The girl who has always stayed by my side. Everything I am doing now... it is for her sake."

Alice exhaled, and the tension in her frame dissipated, even if she wasn't entirely content with the answer.

Still, she respected his limit for the moment. "...Very well," she whispered, moving to his side and carving her own rune into the earth.

A moment of silence passed before Riley spoke again.

"Furthermore... these runes aren't exclusively for Liyana."

Alice blinked in surprise, tilting her head. "They aren't?"

Riley nodded, his jaw tightening slightly. "You recall the incident with Snow, don't you?"

"Of course," Alice answered instantly. "But didn't you mention you had already handled the demonic interference? You even secured a promise from that evil goddess."

"I did," Riley agreed. "And Erebil won't step in again. But that isn't a total guarantee. There are entities... beings... who have no regard for promises. Or who don't require a reason to come after us."

Alice gave a small, cynical chuckle. "Fufu... the more powerful and dominant you become, the more careful you get. It's quite ironic."

"It isn't just caution," Riley whispered, sealing the final link in the rune circle. The sigil gave a faint pulse in acknowledgment. "I simply never want what happened to Snow to occur again. Not to her. Not to any of you."

Alice watched him in silence, her eyes softening with a mix of warmth and pride.

"...You truly are hopelessly kind when it involves us, aren't you?" she whispered.

Riley offered no reply—he simply moved to the next wall to place another rune, as the night deepened around them with a silent, protective purpose.

....

Morning arrived.

At the central park of the academy.

"This is just terrible... sigh..."

"Did you seriously summon me here just to listen to your whining?"

"Hey, aren't you my best friend? You're supposed to be cheering me up!"

"Given everything that's happened, calling me your 'best friend' is a bit of a stretch."

"Hey—you know I like to tease, but I don't usually mean what I say. Well... except for a few things. Anyway, give me some comfort! You're the only person I can talk to right now. Neru is away for a bit and everyone else is busy, which is why I need you. So please, Reina—be my therapist for a while."

Reina shook her head, letting out a long-suffering sigh.

She pushed Flamme’s face away from her shoulder and sat up straight, looking at the girl moping beside her—Flamme, the energetic firebrand who now seemed strangely defeated.

"You could have just called Emilia," Reina suggested. "If you wanted someone to console you, she's practically a professional. She'd likely serve you tea, sit you down, and pat your head—she's excellent at that."

"I know, I know, but that's too embarrassing. Besides," Flamme puffed out her cheeks, "I'd probably just end up teasing that cutie instead of talking, so that's a no-go."

Having said that, Flamme immediately latched onto Reina’s arm like a desperate cat.

Reina tried to pull away, but the moment she saw Flamme’s eyes—eyes that usually danced with mischief but now held a trace of trembling sorrow—she stopped fighting.

Instead, she allowed the flighty girl to lean against her.

Reina hadn't anticipated this side of Flamme... the vulnerable, sincere part hidden beneath all the playful arrogance. Seeing it now caused her to fall silent, her irritation turning into genuine concern.

"...Fine," Reina muttered softly, placing her free hand on Flamme’s shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong."

Flamme’s grip tightened slightly, as if she had been waiting for that invitation.

And finally—at last—she let herself vent.

Reina was well aware that Flamme had lost to Stacia the previous day, so her sulking like a wounded fox spirit likely stemmed from that... but knowing Flamme’s nature, a simple defeat shouldn't have been enough to cause this level of dramatic despair.

"Listen to this—that bitch Stacia! Yes, her! It's her fault that Neru lectured me so much—"

And there it was.

The second Flamme opened her mouth, Reina immediately regretted her concern.

Even when she seemed sensitive, fragile, and "in need of comfort," Flamme remained the same foul-mouthed, chaotic headache she had always been.

As Flamme dove into a theatrical recount—gesturing wildly, her voice rising and falling as her body twisted like a frustrated cat—Reina just sighed internally and let the flood of words pass over her.

She didn't fight back when Flamme grabbed her arm again, shaking it for emphasis as if trying to physically transfer her stress.

She simply tuned her out, nodding every so often with the patience of a saint.

Her mind wandered elsewhere... specifically to her own match scheduled for the afternoon.

Yesterday, she had been matched against a top-tier student from a foreign academy.

That girl had been capable, strong enough to make Reina stay focused, but still nowhere near the level of the monsters at Lumen Academy.

Reina had won—it was closer than she would have liked, but a victory nonetheless.

Even so, the win didn't lighten the burden in her chest.

Because her next opponent was...

Clara Luminaria.

A second-year from the Magic Department.

A student who consistently ranked in the top three every semester.

She wasn't a loud, over-the-top monster like Snow, Rose, or Alice—no, Clara was the terrifyingly consistent kind of genius.

She was a mage whose results were grounded in reality because she was a merchant first and a magician second... meaning her strength lay in practical combat application rather than abstract theory.

She was a senior Reina had truly hoped to avoid this early in the tournament.

Reina’s fingers twitched with anxiety.

She pictured Clara’s poised smile and the calm demeanor of someone who had seen countless battles and turned them into profit.

Even if Reina believed in her own abilities...

Her stomach churned.

Her heart felt heavier than Flamme currently hanging off her arm.

Should I ask big bro for some advice?

The thought popped into her head unbidden.

But just as quickly—

No way.

Absolutely not.

She shook her head so vigorously that even Flamme paused her rant to stare at her in confusion.