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 - A Hand Covered in Scars and Three Missing Fingers — The Reason for Tears, the Whereabouts of the Cigarette
The after-school library was quieter than usual.
Afternoon light streaming through the windows softly illuminated the spines of the books on the shelves. The air was cool, mixed with the scent of paper and old wood.
Lain Paterson sat by the window, a picture encyclopedia open in front of her.
Her silver long hair swayed gently each time she turned a page. Her deep blue eyes were fixed intently on the illustration of a shark.
"…So the great white shark's swimming speed really does exceed fifty kilometers per hour."
She murmured quietly.
The page showed a large photograph of a great white shark. A streamlined body. Sharp teeth. Black eyes.
(…Beautiful.)
Lain gently traced the page with her finger.
Her finger suddenly stopped.
The back of her left hand. Old scars ran across it in several places.
Raised white lines. Tightened skin. Small cut marks on her knuckles.
(…How many people have I protected with this hand?)
Memories of her previous life surfaced faintly.
Gripping a sword. Raising a shield. Standing in front of her comrades. Again and again and again.
(But in the end—)
She couldn't protect them.
Not Kyle. Not Sophia. Not Glen.
Lain quietly closed her eyes.
That was when—
"…You."
A low, quiet voice.
Lain slowly raised her head.
A male student had somehow taken the seat next to her.
Black hair with a single white streak. His bangs hung long enough to hide his left eye, and his deep green eyes were fixed on Lain's hand.
In his hands, an old leather-bound book. On his left wrist, an old leather bracelet.
(…Since when was he there?)
Lain's guard shot up instantly.
She hadn't sensed him at all.
Her instincts as a bodyguard told her this boy was "no ordinary person."
"…What do you want?"
Lain spoke in a voice stripped of emotion.
The boy closed his book.
"Kaidou Kai. Second year. I'm a library committee member."
"…I know. You think I wouldn't know a transfer student in my own class?"
"Hmm."
Kai smiled quietly.
"Your hand—you've been protecting someone, haven't you."
Lain's finger twitched.
"…What are you talking about?"
"The way the scars are placed says so."
Kai placed his own hand on the table.
Long fingers. Beautiful hands, accustomed to turning pages.
"The scars on a person's hands reflect how they've lived. A chef's burns, a craftsman's cuts, a farmer's chapped skin—and the scars of someone who protects."
Kai's green eyes stared steadily at Lain's hand.
"Your scars are the scars of someone who knows how to protect. And not just once—someone who's fought seriously, over and over."
Lain stared back at Kai in silence.
Her heart was racing.
(…He saw through me.)
On their first meeting. In just a single moment.
This boy had touched her very core.
"…Don't pry."
Lain spoke in a low voice.
"I'm not trying to pry."
Kai shrugged.
"I just thought you didn't need to hide that hand."
"…I'm not hiding anything."
"You are. Unconsciously, you're clenching your hand. Even now."
Lain looked at her own hand.
At some point, she'd made a fist.
(…He's right.)
"…What are you?"
"Just a library committee member. An ordinary second-year who likes reading books."
"Would an ordinary second-year look at someone's scars and say all that?"
"It's because I'm an ordinary second-year that I can say it."
Kai smiled quietly.
"Your hands are beautiful. Even with the scars, I can tell they're hands meant for protecting. …I don't have hands like that."
Lain had no words to reply.
(…Beautiful?)
These scar-covered hands?
"…Excuse me."
Lain closed the encyclopedia and stood up.
She couldn't stay in front of this boy any longer.
(…He unsettles me.)
Lain left the library quickly.
Kai didn't chase after her.
"…That's what it means to protect."
Kai murmured softly.
His voice no longer reached Lain.
The shark observation point was along the waterway connecting the courtyard pond to the lake.
The evening wind brushed across the lake's surface.
Lain sat alone on a wooden bench.
(…Kaidou Kai.)
The conversation in the library wouldn't leave her head.
(Does that boy know something? Or was it just intuition?)
The wind stirred her silver hair.
The lake's surface glittered, reflecting the setting sun.
"…The sound of water."
Lain closed her eyes.
The sound of water calmed her heart.
Memories of her previous life. The sounds of the battlefield. The clash of swords. The cries of her comrades.
(…It's quiet now.)
That quiet was, just a little, frightening.
"…Ah."
She heard a small voice.
When Lain opened her eyes, a girl was standing there.
Long light-blue hair. Deep indigo eyes. Skin so pale it was almost translucent.
She was wearing a swim team uniform.
"Minase… Mio."
"…Hello. Lain-san."
Mio bowed her head slightly.
"I'm sorry. Was I interrupting?"
"…No. Not really."
Mio sat down beside Lain.
There was a small distance between them.
Mio gazed at the lake's surface.
"…I can hear the sound of water."
"…Yeah."
"When I hear the sound of water, I feel calm. Ever since I was little."
Mio's voice was soft and quiet.
"…I see."
Lain looked at Mio's profile.
Her light-blue hair, translucent in the sunset, glowed faintly.
(…She's beautiful.)
The moment she thought that—
A single tear spilled from Mio's eye.
"…Huh?"
Mio touched her own cheek.
"What… why…"
The tears wouldn't stop.
One after another, they traced down Mio's cheeks.
"I'm sorry. It's nothing. Really, it's nothing."
Mio hurriedly wiped her face with her hands.
But the tears kept coming.
"…Minase."
Lain held out a handkerchief from her pocket.
"…Use it."
"Thank you…"
Mio took the handkerchief and wiped her tears.
"I'm strange, aren't I? Crying all of a sudden."
"…You don't need to know why."
Lain said, gazing at the lake.
"Tears come on their own. Mine did too."
"Yours too, Lain-san?"
"…That's a story from long ago."
Lain let out a small breath.
Memories of her previous life. The night she lost her comrades. The tears that wouldn't stop.
(…Back then, I wasn't even allowed to cry.)
Mio, still clutching the handkerchief, looked at Lain's profile.
Silver hair. Deep blue eyes.
The moment she saw that profile, tears threatened to spill again.
(…Why?)
Mio didn't understand her own heart.
But there was one thing she was certain of.
(I want to be by this person's side.)
Wiping her tears, Mio smiled faintly.
"…Do you like sharks?"
At those words, Lain's eyes changed instantly.
"…Yeah. I love them."
"I see. I… I'm a little interested in sharks too."
"A little? A little isn't enough."
Lain turned toward Mio.
"Sharks are amazing. First, sharks have existed for over four hundred million years. Older than dinosaurs. Also, a shark's skeleton is made of cartilage, and their teeth grow back endlessly. There are about five hundred species. Great white sharks, whale sharks, hammerhead sharks—"
"…Lain-san, please calm down."
"I am calm. This is important. Also, shark skin has the same structure as their teeth—it's rough to the touch. But if you stroke it the wrong way, it'll cut your hand. Yes, sharks are wonderful."
Mio's eyes went wide.
"…Amazing. You really do love sharks."
"Yeah. Sharks are the best. Especially my plushie Samecchi—it's a faithful reproduction of a great white shark, and—"
"Samecchi?"
"My shark plushie. From my previous life—no, I've had it for a long time. It's custom-made, the angle of the tail fin is exquisite, and even the teeth inside its mouth are reproduced."
Mio listened to Lain talk and let out a small giggle.
"Lain-san, you look so happy when you talk about sharks."
"…Do I?"
Lain looked away, slightly embarrassed.
"Yes. Your eyes are sparkling."
"…They're not sparkling."
"They are."
Mio smiled softly.
"…Somehow, I'm starting to feel happy too."
Mio gazed at the lake.
The sun was beginning to set. The sky was dyed orange.
"Lain-san."
"…What?"
"Can we meet here again?"
Mio's voice trembled slightly.
"…I'm usually here after school."
"Then I'll come again."
Mio smiled happily.
Seeing that smile, Lain's chest grew just a little warmer.
(…I want to protect her, huh.)
Lain murmured in her heart.
"Patane—!!"
A cheerful voice came from far away.
An orange short bob bounced as its owner ran through the sunset.
"Oh, Mio-chan's here too! What were you two talking about!?"
Hina arrived at the bench, out of breath.
"…Sharks."
"Whaa! I wanted to hear too! Patane's shark lecture is the best!"
"…It's not a lecture."
"It totally is! It's a three-hour course, right? I heard it before!"
Hina laughed, showing her dimples.
Mio watched the two of them with a warm smile.
"…Shall we stay here a little longer, all three of us?"
"Agreed! Hey, Patane, tell me more about sharks!"
"…The rest is long, you know."
"That's fine! There's plenty of time!"
Lain let out a small sigh.
But the corners of her mouth had softened, just slightly.
"…Fine. I'll talk about a shark's sense of smell. It's said a shark can detect a single drop of blood mixed into a liter of water."
"Amazing, amazing!"
"…That really is amazing."
The three voices echoed quietly along the lakeside at dusk.
That night.
Lain returned to her dorm room.
She turned on the light. Shark posters covered the walls. On the bed, the Samecchi plushie.
Lain pressed a hand to the left breast of her uniform.
"…?"
Her fingertips grasped at empty air.
(…It's not there.)
Lain searched her pouch.
Not there.
Three cigarettes.
Kyle. Sophia. Glen.
The mementos of three people.
"…Where?"
Lain searched the entire room.
On the desk. Under the bed. In her bag. Her pockets.
Not there.
Nowhere.
"…No way."
Lain's voice trembled.
The window was locked from the inside.
No signs of forced entry from outside.
(…What does this mean?)
Lain checked the pouch once more.
It was empty.
"…Kyle… Sophia… Glen…"
Lain called their names.
No answer.
Of course not.
The three of them were gone.
They died on the battlefield of her previous life.
Because she couldn't protect them.
"…Ah."
Lain's vision was stained red.
The color of blood.
Memories of her previous life surged in like a raging tide.
The sensation of swinging a sword. The death cries of enemies. The smell of her comrades' blood.
Her fingertips throbbed.
(…I'll kill them.)
Someone whispered inside her head.
(I'll kill whoever took them.)
Lain clenched her fist.
Her nails dug into her palm.
Blood seeped out.
"…No."
Lain gritted her teeth.
"…I don't solve things with my fists anymore."
She told herself.
"…I decided that."
Lain exhaled slowly.
The red in her vision gradually faded.
The throbbing in her fingertips subsided.
"…But still."
Lain sank to the floor as if collapsing.
"…That was everything to me."
The cigarettes were her only connection to her comrades.
Losing them meant having the guilt of failing to protect them once again thrust in her face.
"…I'm sorry."
Lain apologized to no one in particular.
"…I'm sorry, everyone."
No tears came.
Her previous self had never been allowed to cry.
So her current self couldn't cry either.
"…This time, I'll protect them."
Lain pressed her hand against the floor.
"…I won't lose anyone. Ever."
Her voice faded quietly into the dark room.
The next morning.
Lain headed to school having barely slept.
The hallway was bright with morning light.
The murmur of students could be heard in the distance.
Lain walked with her gaze cast downward.
"Lain Paterson-san."
A dignified voice.
Lain stopped.
When she turned around, Ayame Ayame was standing there.
Straight black long hair. Purple eyes.
Vice president of the student council.
She stared at Lain with perfect posture.
"…Ayame."
"Good morning. Do you have a moment?"
"…What do you want?"
Lain's voice was low and hard.
Ayame took a step closer to Lain.
"…I know about your past."
Lain's breath stopped.
"Oath Guardian. The youngest ever to earn that title, and then—"
Ayame's purple eyes looked straight at Lain.
"You failed to protect three comrades."
Lain was s
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.