It had been a few weeks since the summer festival, and though the fireworks had long vanished into memory, some of the warmth still lingered in the hearts of those who attended. For Reina, the festival had been… complicated. Moving, exhausting, and unexpectedly precious. She hadn't anticipated being so deeply touched by Shion's music, or to find herself crying in front of her friends. Yet it happened. It wasn't weakness. It wasn't shame. It was proof that she was human, that she could be vulnerable.
And now—school had started again.
The late summer air was still hot, the cicadas still screaming from the trees beyond the classroom windows. Hana, Kaito, and Ayumi were waiting just outside the classroom door, trading quiet whispers.
"Do you think she's changed?" Hana asked, brushing her short hair behind her ear, eyes half-anxious, half-hopeful.
"She cried that day," Ayumi said softly. "I've never seen Reina cry. It has to mean something, right?"
Kaito leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. He looked calm, but his gaze was sharp. "Don't expect miracles. She doesn't change overnight. Still… maybe she'll be easier to talk to."
As if on cue, the sliding door rattled open.
Reina stepped inside, her presence immediately shifting the atmosphere of the classroom. She carried herself the same way she always did—back straight, uniform perfectly pressed, hair falling neatly behind her ears. Her expression was cold, serious, unflinching. For a moment, Hana's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
But then—something subtle. Something different. Her eyes. The sharpness was still there, but the walls seemed thinner now, as if there was a window where before there had been only a barricade. An approachable aura.
Reina walked to her desk without saying a word. She placed her bag down, sat, and began preparing her notebook.
"Let's go," Hana whispered, nudging Ayumi forward.
The three of them approached her desk.
"Good morning, Reina!" Ayumi said brightly.
Reina glanced up, her gaze flicking from Ayumi to Hana to Kaito. Then, instead of dismissing them, she gave a small nod. "…Morning."
That single word shocked Ayumi enough to freeze her in place. She fumbled for what to say next.
"You look… the same," Hana said carefully, watching her.
"I am the same," Reina replied, her voice even and flat. "But maybe not exactly."
Hana tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Reina's lips twitched, almost into a smile. "You'll figure it out, idiot."
The word caught them off guard. Reina never used playful insults. She always cut with precision, not warmth. Yet now, her tone carried the faintest trace of teasing.
Ayumi gasped dramatically. "Did she just—did she just call us idiots?"
Kaito smirked. "Sounds like progress."
"Don't misunderstand," Reina said, shaking her head. "You are idiots. That part hasn't changed."
But when she returned her attention to her notebook, there was no hostility. No sharp dismissal. For once, she didn't shoo them away.
Instead, she listened.
The three of them chatted around her desk, filling the air with talk of summer homework, awkward family gatherings, and the upcoming sports festival. Reina said little, but her presence in the circle was unmistakable. She didn't shut them out. Occasionally, she added a blunt remark or corrected their exaggerations, but she didn't push them away.
It was strange. Different.
And then—
Her vision flickered. The edges of her sight glowed faintly, a soft signal only she could see. A message, delivered through her contact lens HUD.
Reina's brow twitched. She tapped her desk lightly, activating the private overlay only visible to her.
Incoming Message: Shion.
Except—her eyes narrowed.
The sender name wasn't "Shion." It was labeled: Shion (Boyfriend).
"…What?" Reina muttered under her breath.
The artificial voice of ANIER, her ever-present system assistant, spoke quietly in her ear. "I thought it was an appropriate designation based on the development of your relationship."
Reina pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. ANIER…
"Change it back," she demanded silently through subvocal command.
"Refused," ANIER replied cheerfully.
Reina closed her eyes for a second, exhaling through her nose. She could already imagine the smug tone in ANIER's synthetic voice. Sometimes, she wondered if the AI had learned too much from observing human behavior.
Ignoring the irritation, she opened the message.
Shion:Hey. I was thinking… do you want to keep this secret? Us, I mean.
Reina's heart paused for half a beat. She blinked, staring at the words.
"…Secret?" she whispered.
"Reina?" Hana asked, noticing her murmur.
"It's nothing," Reina replied quickly, waving them off. Her eyes refocused on the message.
She thought carefully. What did it matter? Did she care?
Keeping it secret wasn't necessary. But telling everyone wasn't necessary either. Their bond didn't need validation. It didn't need to be broadcasted or hidden.
It simply… was.
Her fingers hovered in the HUD interface, and she began typing.
Reina:It doesn't matter. It's not something to hide, but it's not something I'll announce either.
She sent the reply, then leaned back in her chair. For some reason, her chest felt heavier than before.
Her thoughts spiraled, uninvited. How did this even happen?
It had started with something simple. Helping him with equipment. A casual task. An inconvenience she took upon herself, nothing more. But somewhere in the process, she had taken his hand. She had chosen to take it.
That memory burned quietly in her mind. The warmth of his palm against hers. The certainty of the gesture.
"…Sigh."
She caught herself, exhaling louder than intended. Hana, Ayumi, and Kaito turned to look at her curiously.
"You okay, Reina?" Ayumi asked.
Reina straightened, regaining her composure. "Fine. Just… distracted."
"By what?" Hana pressed, suspicious.
Reina's eyes sharpened, though the edge didn't carry the same coldness as before. "By how idiotic you sound, probably."
They laughed. Even Kaito smirked, shaking his head. And for a moment, Reina felt the tension in her chest soften.
Maybe she hadn't changed entirely. But something was different now.
And though she would never admit it aloud—at least, not yet—she didn't dislike the change.
The day at school dragged on longer than usual. For Reina, it wasn't the lessons that distracted her but the constant noise around her. Hana and Ayumi had started sitting closer, whispering too loudly during breaks. Kaito, as usual, watched everything with a faint smile that told her he noticed more than he said. She didn't dislike their company anymore, but it still left her restless.
By the time the final bell rang, she was craving silence.
When she arrived at her lab, the familiar quiet welcomed her like a friend. The faint hum of the machines, the sterile light reflecting off metal and glass, the faint trace of chemical cleansers—it was hers. Her space.
Himari was there, as always. The gentle girl moved quietly, wiping down one of the workbenches with practiced ease. She turned slightly when Reina entered, offering a soft smile. "Welcome back, Reina."
Reina nodded in return but said nothing. She didn't stop at her usual seat. Instead, she went directly to her main console, her fingers already activating the holographic display. The lab lights dimmed slightly as the screen projection bloomed into existence.
A marketplace window appeared before her eyes, countless tabs and categories flashing.
She began with computer parts. New CPUs, memory expansions, server-grade hardware. For a moment, she was caught by a product advertisement.
RTX-5070.
Her eyebrows rose. Already? She opened the details, scanning. The specs were high. Memory bandwidth impressive. Rendering performance unmatched.
But as she skimmed further, her interest dimmed. "Just display output," she muttered under her breath.
The card could enhance hologram rendering quality, yes. Sharper details, better light diffusion, maybe even smoother projections. But the size—bulky, inefficient, inconvenient for her lab's compact systems. "Too large," she murmured, flicking her finger to dismiss the page.
Her browsing shifted. Materials now. Iron. Gold. Kyanite. Crystals. Glass. Fake stones for jewelry craft. Nothing new. Nothing that sparked ideas. She sighed, the faintest crease appearing on her forehead as she scrolled.
Diamonds appeared next. She paused.
On the display, the sharp brilliance of a cut diamond rotated slowly in 3D view. A stone worshipped by people for centuries. The hardest material on Earth. Beautiful, rare, but for her?
"ANIER," Reina said aloud, her voice flat but curious.
"Yes?" The AI's calm tone chimed into her ear.
"The melting point of diamond."
There was a brief hum as data streamed. "Approximately 3,550 to 3,600 degrees Celsius."
Reina leaned back, tapping her pen against her lip. "I don't have that kind of furnace."
Silence lingered for a moment, then ANIER asked, "What do you intend to do with diamonds, Reina?"
She let her gaze linger on the rotating jewel, then sighed. "Nothing. I was just… thinking. If it could be used for something else. Something other than decoration."
ANIER processed this, then replied softly, "Utility is limited, but value is subjective. Humans place worth on beauty."
"Which makes it useless," Reina said firmly, closing the page. "Diamond is just diamond. Only valuable for wearing. Nothing more."
Before ANIER could respond, a knock echoed at the lab door.
Reina looked up, blinking. Rarely did anyone knock here.
Himari set her cloth aside and moved to the entrance. She peeked through, then turned back with widened eyes. "It's Shion."
Reina froze. Just for a fraction of a second, her heartbeat skipped. But by the time Himari opened the door, her expression had already calmed, the familiar mask returning.
Shion stepped inside with his easy posture, offering a small wave. "Hey."
"…Welcome," Reina said, her voice steady. She returned her focus to the console, pretending to be entirely absorbed in her browsing.
Shion's eyes wandered curiously over the projected window. "What are you doing?"
Reina considered ignoring the question, but something in his voice made her answer. "Looking through materials. Trying to see if there's anything new I can use. But…" she gestured dismissively at the hologram, "…it's all the same. Nothing useful."
"I see," Shion said, leaning closer to examine the display. He looked genuinely interested, even though she knew most of the data was probably nonsense to him. Still, he listened.
After a pause, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, I came here for something else."
Reina glanced at him. "What?"
"Your microphone," he said. "The one I borrowed last time. The sound quality… it's better than anything I can buy in stores. Even the most expensive ones don't match it."
Reina's lips parted as if to argue, but instead, she let out a small sigh. "Figures."
"Can I… borrow it again?" he asked carefully.
Reina turned her gaze toward one of the service bots idling in the corner. Without a word, she issued a command through ANIER. The robot hummed to life, rolled forward, and presented Shion with a neatly sealed box—the microphone already inside.
Shion blinked in surprise, then laughed lightly. "Efficient as always." He bent down, lifting the box from the robot. "Thanks, Reina. I owe you."
Reina waved it off, her attention already shifting back to the online shop. "Just don't break it."
"I won't," Shion promised. His smile lingered on her for a second longer before he headed toward the door. "See you tomorrow."
"…Mm."
When he was gone, the lab returned to its calm hum. Himari, however, hadn't moved from where she stood, her gaze darting between the door and Reina.
Finally, she asked, "Reina… are you and Shion going out?"
The question landed like a stone in water. Direct, without hesitation.
Reina's hands paused over her console. Then, just as directly, she replied, "…Yes."
Himari blinked, her cheeks coloring slightly. The answer was so blunt, so without hesitation, it startled her. And then—she giggled. Soft and sweet.
"Just as expected from you, Reina-chan. No hesitation at all."
Reina gave her a side glance but said nothing. Instead, she reopened the materials menu and continued browsing. Her focus was already back on the list of alloys and crystals, as if the question had been as ordinary as asking the time.
But Himari kept smiling quietly as she returned to cleaning. The air in the lab felt just a little lighter.