Even After Reincarnation, Patane Can't Stop Loving Sharks
Spring. At the entrance ceremony of Eden Private Academy, transfer student Lain Paterson catches everyone's attention. Silver hair, blue eyes, and a trained physique visible even under her uniform. In her previous world, she was a skilled bodyguard who protected her precious comrades. But now she's just a high school freshman. And strangely, her left chest pouch contains three cigarettes. She doesn't smoke. They're for her comrades who are no longer there.
Lain's daily life begins with strange
Even After Reincarnation, Patane Can't Stop Loving Sharks - Shark Lovers' Club, Established — The Warning Letter and Hina's Poster
"Patane, over here, over here!"
Hina's energetic voice echoed through the after-school classroom. Her orange short bob bounced up and down. She spread a large sheet of poster paper across the desk and beckoned to Lain with a beaming smile.
"Look, look! I drew a shark!"
Lain Paterson swayed her long silver hair and stood beside Hina. Her deep blue eyes fixed on the drawing on the desk.
"…What is this?"
"It's obviously a shark!"
Hina said, puffing out her chest. Her dimples stood out clearly. The handmade shark-shaped strap at her neck swayed.
Lain looked at the drawing again.
A round head. Eight wriggling legs. At their tips, round patterns that looked like suction cups.
"…That's clearly an octopus."
"Whaaat!? How!? I even drew the dorsal fin!"
Hina pointed at part of the drawing. There, perched atop the octopus's head, was a tiny triangle.
"…The dorsal fin is in the wrong place. A shark's dorsal fin is further back. Also, sharks don't have legs. They have pectoral fins, pelvic fins, and a caudal fin. And gills—five to seven pairs. The eyes are on the sides of the head, and—"
"W-wait a second, Patane! I haven't even said anything yet!?"
"…Ah, sorry."
Lain suddenly shut her mouth.
(There I go again.)
When it came to sharks, she lost all awareness of her surroundings. It had been that way since her previous life. Even back when she was on the battlefield as a bodyguard, she'd keep lecturing her comrades about shark ecology while they stared at her in exasperation.
(…But now, that's…)
Lain let out a quiet breath.
"…I'll draw it."
"Huh?"
"The picture. I'll draw the shark."
Lain took the colored pencils from Hina's hands. She sat down in front of the blank poster paper.
"Patane, you can draw too?"
"…A little."
Lain began drawing in silence.
Her silver hair shimmered in the afternoon light streaming through the window. Her deep blue eyes moved precisely across the paper. Her long fingers guided the colored pencil without hesitation.
Hina held her breath and watched from beside her.
Five minutes. Ten minutes.
Lain's hand didn't stop.
A streamlined body. A sharp snout. A dorsal fin in the correct position. Five pairs of gills. A powerful caudal fin. And those eyes—unique to sharks—
"…Done."
Lain lifted her head.
"No way…"
Hina's amber eyes went wide.
What was drawn there was a great white shark so realistic it looked like it might start moving at any moment. The shading, the flow of muscle, the texture of the skin—it surpassed even encyclopedia illustrations.
"Patane, you can draw too!? Amazing, amazing! This is already professional level! You could make a shark encyclopedia!"
Hina shouted while bouncing up and down.
"…You think so?"
Lain looked away, slightly embarrassed.
"Yeah! But why are you so good at this?"
"…Because I used to draw a lot, in my previous life."
"Previous life?"
"…No, never mind."
Lain hurriedly shook her head.
Previous life—in a world of swords and magic, she had drawn shark pictures to show her comrades. Kyle laughed, Sophia was impressed, and Glenn made a face like "not again."
(…Everyone.)
Lain pressed a hand to the pouch on her left chest. The feel of three cigarettes. Her comrades' keepsakes.
"Patane?"
"…It's nothing. More importantly, what should we do about the poster text?"
"Oh, right! How about: 'Shark Lovers' Club, Recruiting Members! Anyone who loves sharks, gather round!'"
"…That's pretty plain."
"Ehh, then you come up with something, Patane!"
Lain thought for a moment, then picked up a colored pencil.
"…'Sharks are great.'"
"That's it!?"
Hina made a comical stumbling gesture.
"…And also, 'I will convey the appeal of sharks. Those wishing to join, see Lain Paterson, Class 1-A.'"
"Hmm, well, simple might be good! I'll help with the coloring!"
The two of them worked on the poster side by side.
Around Lain's great white shark illustration, Hina drew colorful decorations. Wave patterns, bubbles, small fish.
"Hey Patane, why are shark dorsal fins shaped like that?"
"…To cut through water currents. With a dorsal fin, the body can swim without swaying left and right. Also—"
Lain's voice gradually sped up.
"Shark skin is covered in tiny scales called placoid scales, and these reduce water resistance. What's more, these scales have the same structure as teeth. In other words, a shark is basically covered head to tail in teeth. Amazing, right! Also, shark teeth are arranged in multiple rows, and as they're used, they fall out from the front and new teeth grow in from behind. Over a lifetime, tens of thousands of teeth are replaced. Depending on the species, some can replace an entire row in a week. Also, a shark's sense of smell is—"
"P-Patane! I only asked one question!"
Hina laughed and shook Lain's arm.
"…Ah, sorry."
Lain closed her mouth again.
But Hina was smiling.
"No, it's fine. You really love sharks, don't you, Patane."
Hina's voice took on a thoughtful tone.
"…I do?"
"Yeah. I mean, this is the first time I've seen you talk so happily. At the entrance ceremony, you seemed so cool and unapproachable. But when it comes to sharks, your eyes sparkle and your voice lifts—"
"…Stop."
Lain turned her face away.
The tips of her ears were faintly red.
"Ah, you're embarrassed! Patane's embarrassed!"
"…I'm not embarrassed."
"You are! Ehehe, cute!"
Hina hugged Lain from behind.
"…Let go."
"No! Patane, you're so warm!"
Lain sighed.
But she didn't shake her off.
(…Not bad.)
In her previous life, she'd hardly ever been touched like this by anyone.
(So this is what friends are.)
Lain gently touched Hina's hand.
"…Thank you, Hina."
It was a small voice.
"Huh? Did you say something?"
"…It's nothing. More importantly, let's finish the poster."
"Yeah! Oh, that's right! I want to see more of your shark love exploding, Patane. Next time, let's make shark plushies! And decorate the club room with tons of them!"
"…The club room, huh. It hasn't been decided yet."
"Then let's look for one together! I might know a good place!"
Hina's amber eyes sparkled mischievously.
"…Where?"
"The library basement! There's this place called the Special Archives that's barely used. I asked the librarian, and she said it's available!"
"…The library basement."
Lain thought for a moment.
"…Let's go check it out."
"Yay! Then let's put up the poster first and then go!"
The two of them carried the finished poster and left the classroom.
The bulletin board is next to the entrance hall on the first floor. It's a place students pass by every day.
"This is the most noticeable spot, right!"
Hina pinned the poster to the center of the bulletin board.
"…There."
Lain stared at the posted flyer.
'Sharks are great.'
The words she'd written herself were illuminated by the setting sun.
(So this is really starting.)
Something her previous self could never have imagined.
"Patane, let's go!"
"…Yeah."
The two headed for the library.
The library was one of the oldest buildings on the school grounds.
A collection of one hundred twenty thousand books. The largest in the city. A quiet space with high ceilings and the smell of books drifting through the air.
"Hello! I'd like to borrow the key to the Special Archives!"
Hina called out to the librarian at the counter.
"Oh, Hina. The Special Archives? That place hasn't been used in ages, so it's dusty."
"It's fine! I'm good at cleaning!"
"Is that so? Then here you go. Don't forget to return it."
Hina received the key from the librarian and showed it to Lain with a smile.
"The stairs to the basement are over there!"
At the back of the library. In a place students normally didn't enter, there was a staircase leading underground.
The two descended the old wooden stairs.
They creaked with every step.
The air was chilly. The smell of books mixed with the smell of dust.
"Here it is!"
Hina stood before a heavy door.
'Special Archives'
An old brass plate was mounted on it.
Lain inserted the key and turned it.
Click.
The door slowly opened.
"Wow…"
Hina let out a gasp of admiration.
It was a dimly lit room.
No windows, and a single fluorescent light on the ceiling flickered faintly.
Old bookshelves lined the walls. Cardboard boxes were stacked on the floor. The air was dusty, with a stillness like time had stopped.
"…It's big."
It was about thirty tatami mats in size.
"This is perfect for a club room! We can put up shark posters, line up plushies, and even hold movie screenings!"
Hina spun around, taking in the room.
Lain slowly walked toward the back.
Rows of old bookshelves. On their spines were books with titles she'd never seen.
'Mirror Lake Hydrological Survey Report'
'Eden Academy Founding Documents Collection'
'Lakeside City Local History'
(…Nothing but old documents.)
Lain picked up an old file.
Inside were yellowed papers.
"…What's this?"
Lain's fingers stopped.
At the back of a shelf.
Inside a dusty wooden box, she saw something white.
Lain gently pulled it out.
"…A shark tooth."
It was a triangular, sharp fossilized tooth.
Small enough to fit in her palm. The edges were serrated—touching it might cut her finger.
(A great white's tooth… no, older. This is a megalodon—)
Lain's heart pounded.
"Patane, what's wrong?"
Hina came to Lain's side.
"…It's a fossilized shark tooth. And quite an old one. Megalodon—it might be from an extinct giant shark."
"Megalodon!? The one that became a movie! Amazing!"
"…Why is something like this here?"
Lain peered into the wooden box again.
Inside was one more thing—a rolled-up piece of paper.
Lain spread it open.
"…A nautical chart?"
It was an old, hand-drawn map.
It depicted the area around Mirror Lake. The shape of the lake, the flow of rivers, the positions of mountains. And—
"…An X mark."
A red X was marked in the center of the lake.
Beside it, something was written in small letters.
Lain strained her eyes.
'Sacred Leaf.'
"—!"
Lain's breath stopped.
Sacred Leaf.
The brand of the three cigarettes in the pouch on her left chest.
The cigarettes that Kyle, Sophia, and Glenn had smoked in her previous life.
(Why, in this world—)
Lain gripped the nautical chart.
Her fingertips trembled slightly.
"Patane?"
Hina peered worriedly into Lain's face.
"…No, it's nothing."
Lain gently returned the chart to its original place.
(…I'm imagining things. It's just a coincidence.)
But her heart was still pounding.
"Hey hey, this place really is perfect for a club room! I think I'll start cleaning tomorrow!"
Hina was smiling innocently.
Lain pressed a hand to the pouch on her left chest.
The feel of three cigarettes.
(This lake, my past, and my comrades' cigarettes—are they connected somehow—)
Lain quietly closed her eyes.
(…I'm overthinking it.)
"Patane, let's go home! It's getting late!"
"…Yeah."
The two left the Special Archives behind.
The next morning.
Lain arrived at school earlier than usual.
As she passed the entrance hall, a single student stood in front of the bulletin board.
Long, light-blue hair.
Translucent in the morning light, her hair swayed like the water of a lake.
(…That's)
Lain stopped in her tracks.
Minase Mio.
A first-year. The ace of the swim club.
She was staring intently at the poster on the bulletin board.
'Sharks are great.'
Mio's deep indigo eyes traced the great white shark illustration.
"…She likes sharks."
Mio's lips moved slightly.
"Mio!"
Suddenly, Hina's voice rang out.
Mio's shoulders gave a startled jolt.
"Ah, Hina…"
Mio timidly turned around to face Hina, her fellow swim club member.
"Mio! You like sharks too? You were looking at this poster, right!"
Hina grabbed Mio's arm and brought her in front of Lain.
"This is the person who's going to be the president of the Shark Lovers' Club, Lain Paterson! I call her Patane!"
"…Hello."
Lain gave Mio a slight bow.
Mio looked up at Lain's face.
Deep indigo eyes. Tran
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