Chapter 17: Everyone’s Angel, Reina

I slowly opened my eyes.

The sunlight streaming through the window felt languid, and the characteristic scent of medicine and alcohol from the nurse’s office tickled my nose.

‘…Huh?’

When did I fall asleep?

I carefully tried to sit up, but the strange pain in my knees and ankles made me sit back down on the bed.

Then, a calm voice coming from somewhere woke me up.

“You shouldn’t push yourself yet.”

“…Yes?”

I was startled by the unfamiliar voice and turned my head.

Lemon-colored, almost silver hair, positioned near the window, shone brilliantly. A female student reading quietly under the softly glowing long hair, and the sunlight.

I froze for a moment.

‘The person I saw in the novel?’

I could tell who it was at a glance.

A third-year student at Takamari Academy, Yukikawa Reina, called ‘Everyone’s Angel’.

As the name Yukikawa suggests, she was Aya’s older sister and a beloved figure in the academy.

She was known for her delicate health, frequent illnesses, often missing classes, and spending time in the nurse’s office.

In the novel, she was often portrayed as a ‘kind older sister to everyone’.

Fortunately, I don’t think there was a terrible setting like a terminal illness…

“Yukikawa… senpai?”

Reina-senpai closed the book, smiled softly, and nodded.

“Yes, you know me. Hello.”

Reina-senpai’s voice was so comfortable, it felt like being buried in a fluffy cushion.

If Aya had a cold and elegant charisma, Reina-senpai was a presence that could melt your heart just by being near her.

Shall I say?

“I was surprised when Aya brought you here. You were pale as a ghost.”

“Ah, ahaha… I’m a bit clumsy…”

I awkwardly smiled and scratched the back of my head.

Reina-senpai smiled softly and slowly got up from her seat.

“It’s okay. Everyone has those days.”

Reina-senpai handed me a glass of water and looked at me.

“Here, drink. It’s warm water.”

At senpai’s small consideration, I absentmindedly took the cup and took a sip.

As the warm water went down my throat, the remaining tension from before melted away.

“Thank you.”

Reina-senpai quietly looked at my ankle, then bent down and lightly touched my bandaged ankle with her fingertips.

Senpai’s touch was neither cold nor hot, just the right temperature.

“…Ah?!”

“It’s not very swollen. That’s good.”

I just smiled awkwardly.

It was a different kind of consideration than Aya’s.

Reina-senpai’s touch was cautious, but somehow familiar and warm.

Is it because she… resembles her sister?

Reina-senpai went back and sat down again, quietly flipping through the pages of the book.

Senpai’s profile was so natural as if she had been here for a long time, that I unconsciously asked, without even thinking if it was rude.

“Um… senpai, are you here often?”

I realized late that what I said was rude and a deep sense of regret washed over, but Reina-senpai didn’t mind and quietly said, looking out the window.

“Yes, I… have a weak body.”

There was no sadness or discomfort in her tone.

It was just a feeling of calmly accepting her own pain.

“But thanks to that, I see interesting things here and meet many good people.”

Reina-senpai smiled and looked at me.

“And today, I met you.”

I was momentarily speechless.

‘Ah, is this the incarnation of healing…?’

The warmth felt from Reina-senpai’s gaze was so strong that it strangely made me feel at ease.

The intensity of that gaze… is it a family trait? Like her sister, her eyes had a bluish tint, but the pigment was so light that it was closer to yellow.

It’s like a mysterious eye that doesn’t exist in reality, but wouldn’t 0.00-something percent of people have such eyes?

“Yukikawa-senpai, you resemble Aya… a lot.”

I spoke cautiously.

Then, Reina-senpai smiled slightly and shook her head.

“Aya is a much stronger and more resilient child. I… am just a person who goes with the flow.”

Reina-senpai’s calm tone naturally put my mind at ease.

Senpai slowly sat beside the bed and examined my ankle.

“It’s a little swollen. Does it hurt a lot?”

“Ah, it’s okay! It’ll get better soon.”

I waved my hands in embarrassment, but senpai looked at me worriedly.

“You shouldn’t overdo it. Especially, Aya will be worried.”

Aya.

The moment that name was mentioned, my mind went blank.

‘Ah, how worried Aya must have been again…?’

Now, just imagining it made my face turn red.

Reina-senpai looked at me intently, then smiled slightly and said.

“Aya, Mizuki, and you, you three, seem to get along really well.”

“Eh, eh?! No, I’m just, just…”

I hurriedly waved my hands, but Reina-senpai slowly shook her head and smiled.

“It’s okay to say you’re just friends. But what you think… only you know, right?”

Reina-senpai gently stroked my hair with a soft touch.

That touch made me feel so comfortable that I felt guilty.

Guilt? Why am I feeling this emotion?

“…When you’re having a hard time, come to the nurse’s office anytime.”

Reina-senpai’s comfort eased my mind.

This is… the power of everyone’s angel, Yukikawa Reina…!

…Yes.”

I answered in a faint voice.

Like Aya… senpai also closely resembled the description in the novel.

The nickname ‘Everyone’s Angel’ is not for nothing.

Reina-senpai’s presence was comforting and, at the same time, made me feel as if it were transcendent.

The fact that the world of the novel I knew is unfolding before my eyes still doesn’t feel real, isn’t it because, like this sister Yukikawa,

transcendent beings are actually alive and breathing?

At that moment.

The nurse’s office door opened.

“Rina, are you okay?”

A calm voice was heard at the same time.

I turned my head and saw Aya standing there, looking neat as she did in the classroom.

And next to her was Mizuki with a slight smile.

“Wow~ Rina, are you feeling better now?”

Mizuki smiled brightly and ran over, and Aya quietly walked in, but stopped slightly when she saw her sister sitting by the window.

“Aya, I’m glad you seem to be doing well.”

“Sister… hello.”

Aya greeted her senpai lightly, but there was a sense of distance.

Reina was still smiling warmly.

On the other hand, Aya seemed awkward with her and slightly turned her head.

‘Ah, this atmosphere… Ah, it was like this in the novel too.’

Reina-senpai in the novel was far from perfect.

She often missed school due to her weak body, and her academic performance was not outstanding, but instead, she was kind to everyone.

That’s why people regarded her as ‘Everyone’s Angel’ rather than ‘Perfect Yukikawa’.

On the other hand, Aya was perfect in every way.

Grades, sports, looks – a goddess without a flaw.

That was Yukikawa Aya, the ‘Perfect Yukikawa’.

So people naturally started comparing the sisters.

‘Why, isn’t the older sister as good as the younger sister?’

Those gazes and evaluations also affected Aya.

Aya once asked her sister, who was being compared to her.

“Why don’t you try to be perfect like a Yukikawa? Aren’t you embarrassed to be compared to a sister like me?”

At that time, Reina-senpai answered with her usual soft smile.

“I’m doing my best in my own way. Everyone has their limits.”

Reina knew her own limits better than anyone else.

Having been in and out of the hospital countless times due to her frail body, she realized early on that she could never be a Yukikawa like her sister.

So she naturally handed over not only the family heir but also the positions she was supposed to take to Aya.

But for Aya, it was difficult to accept.

The positions she obtained so easily, the things given without her own effort, were incomprehensible to Aya.

The more that happened, the more Aya resented why her sister didn’t try harder.

Why does her sister settle for reality and not strive for perfection?

Unlike her sister who pursues perfection, her sister who lives by going with the flow.

The difference gradually distanced the two.

Of course, Reina didn’t.

Reina still cherished Aya as usual, but Aya gradually began to distance herself from her sister.

‘Come to think of it, it’s still the same now.’

Reina-senpai was still looking at Aya softly, but Aya only greeted her briefly and then immediately turned her gaze to me.

And Mizuki, who was beside them, also knew the subtle relationship between the two.

That’s why she sat down on my bed with an overly bright voice and said in a more exaggerated tone than usual.

“Our Rina~ You were even taking advantage of this place?”

“Ah, no! I just… tripped for a moment. Teacher~ Are you here?”

I hurriedly made excuses, but Mizuki didn’t even think of listening to me and looked me up and down.

At that moment, the school nurse in glasses and a doctor’s gown appeared.

“Now, now, be quiet. I checked your leg while you were sleeping, and it’s a mild sprain except for a little skin abrasion. Just in case, it’s good to have a simple cast and use crutches.”

“Eh, a, a cast?!”

I was flustered, but the school nurse expertly wrapped a splint around my leg and neatly finished the cast.

In an instant, my leg was tightly wrapped.

“Yes, it’s not a serious injury, but you shouldn’t overdo it. Take a break from gym for a while.”

“Ugh… I’m sorry… performance assessment…”

I sighed and looked at the given crutches.

To have to go through school life with these…

“It’ll heal in a week. Just put on a bandage. Don’t worry about the performance assessment, just don’t overdo it.”

The teacher said reassuringly.

And Aya, feeling uncomfortable in this place, grabbed my hand and led me as soon as the treatment was over.

Mizuki smiled and said.

“Let’s go. I’ll help you~” Rina,

“No, it’s okay…”

But could I refuse these two?

I awkwardly smiled and had to return to the classroom with the support of the two.

So, I glanced back at senpai, and she was still looking at this place with a bright smile.

‘Aya is not bad…

Aya in the novel falls in love with the lacking protagonist and naturally reconciles with her sister.

But… what about now that the protagonist is gone?

Huh? Then I…?

I’m not sure if I can, but I thought it would be nice if the two of them could become close like when they were little.