I, the Lord of the Fifth Throne, am the source of all things!

Tick-tick-tick...

Alone, Himuro Rei lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes and falling into the bento box in her hand.

She was afraid, she was just afraid.

She often has a blank expression and doesn't show her emotions because there's no one she can vent her feelings to.

To be nurtured as a component of a transmutation array, and then die—who can accept such a future?

............

After walking down from the rooftop and washing her lunchbox, Duanmu Lian strolled around the school playground.

He didn't care about Himuro Rei, this poor girl.

After all, there are many unfortunate people in the world, and he has no sympathy or pity for them, and he never pities or sympathizes with anyone.

Moreover, this world has already gone through countless cycles.

Himuro Rei has also experienced countless times being used as a sacrifice, so what use are sympathy and pity?

Destined happiness and destined misfortune are locked away in the eternal cycle of rebirth.

Himuro Reia's fate is firmly in the hands of the Mercury Serpent and the Golden Beast of this world.

Bang---!

"pain!"

Suddenly, as Duanmu Lian was deep in thought, a little girl bumped into her from around the corner.

Looking down, I saw the black-haired girl slumped to the ground, tears welling in her eyes.

"I'm the one who got hit, don't cry in pain in front of me."

Duanmu Lian grabbed the other girl's clothes by the shoulder with one hand and lifted her up from the ground.

"Well?"

Before she could even shed a tear, Sakurai Hotaru was arrested, staring blankly at Duanmu Lian.

This was the first time Hotaru Sakurai had encountered such a situation where her spellcasting was interrupted, and she was momentarily at a loss as to what to do next.

"What are you daydreaming about? Go play somewhere else, you crybaby from the next class."

Duanmu Lian waved her hand to shoo away Sakurai Hotaru, then walked to the school's vending machine to buy a drink.

Upon hearing the term "crybaby," tears welled up in Sakurai Hotaru's eyes again.

This time it wasn't because of pain, but because of feeling wronged and angry.

Duanmu Lian was known for his independent and unconventional behavior in the class, while Sakurai Hotaru from the class next to his was known for her tendency to cry.

Therefore, they are in a relationship where they know each other but are not familiar with each other.

"I...I'm not a crybaby!!!"

Sakurai Hotaru watched Duanmu Lian go to the vending machine to buy a drink, and angrily shouted at her back.

"Oh right, right, right. The guy who's waiting for his older brother or sister to pick him up just wants to run into their arms and cry. If he doesn't let others see, he's not a crybaby, he should be called a spoiled brat."

Without turning her head, Duanmu Lian bought the canned coffee and then spoke in a sarcastic tone, neither warm nor cold.

For the first time in her childhood, Sakurai Hotaru was being mocked and ridiculed. Her face turned red with shame and anger, and it even seemed as if white smoke was rising from the top of her head.

It wasn't because Duanmu Lian was talking nonsense, but because Sakurai Hotaru had actually done that, that she felt ashamed and indignant.

However, Sakurai Hotaru, who was about to burst into tears of anger, was suddenly stunned as she watched Duanmu Lian's lonely departing figure.

Then, as if she had just thought of something, she suddenly realized something.

She was no longer angry, and a smug expression suddenly appeared on her pretty, innocent face.

"Hmph, you're all alone, you must be envious of me having older brothers and sisters while you don't, you jealous bastard!"

"So, does that mean I can understand that you only have older brothers and sisters, but no parents?"

"Well!!!!"

Duanmu Lian's casual words caused Sakurai Hotaru's face to turn green suddenly, as if her vital point had been hit, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Because Duanmu Lian was right, now only she and her brother Sakurai Kai remain of the Sakurai clan.

It was precisely because she lost her parents and relied on her older brother for support that Sakurai Hotaru felt that her brother and sister were very important to her.

In her heart, her older brother and sister were not just brothers and sisters, but also replaced the parents she had never had.

"And why should I envy you? Your older brother and sister will leave you sooner or later anyway."

Duanmu Lian turned her head, a strange, oppressive glint in her eyes, and uttered a sentence that made Sakurai Hotaru's expression change drastically.

Unsurprisingly, Sakurai Hotaru's expression immediately turned anxious upon hearing those words.

She trotted up to Duanmu Lian, blocked her way, and said angrily:

What did you mean by that?

"Oh? Don't you know? Girls have to leave their families and become independent when they grow up."

"No, I don't know... why do I have to leave my older brothers and sisters when I grow up?"

"Because men and women will get married sooner or later. If your brother gets married in the future, he can't possibly take care of his sister forever, right?"

"!!!"

Sakurai Hotaru was stunned when she heard this, and then she remembered that when she went to her brother's school, in addition to her sister Beatrice, there were many other women who approached her brother.

Beatrice had complained to her more than once that her handsome brother was too popular with girls at school.

"Damn, damn tape! Sister likes brother, and brother likes sister. They'll be together!"

Sakurai Hotaru breathed a sigh of relief after realizing the true situation of her older brother and sister. Then she looked at Duanmu Lian triumphantly, indicating that what you said would never happen.

Her brother, Sakurai Kai, is in love with her sister, Beatrice.

If the two people you love most and are most important to you love each other and are together, you will never be separated.

"Sigh... Aren't your older brother and sister blood relatives? How could they become lovers?"

"Hmm...the older brother is Hotaru's biological older brother, and the older sister came later, so they're together, like they're wearing duct tape!"

"Oh, I see. Then you should leave your older brother and sister even more."

"Waaaaah!! Why do I still have to leave my older brother and sister?!?!"

Sakurai Hotaru was so angry she was almost crying, glaring angrily at the blue-haired boy in front of her.

If the other party doesn't explain things clearly, she will definitely pounce on them and fight them.

Why should she have to separate from her older brother and sister when they don't need to be separated?

Duanmu Lian remained calm, looking at Sakurai Hotaru as if she were a complete idiot, and said in a calm tone:

Do you know where children come from?

"Ugh?"

"Boy + Girl = Child. Since your brother and sister will be together, they will become parents sooner or later. Do you know what that means?"

"...What does it mean?"

Sakurai Hotaru looked extremely nervous. Although she didn't understand matters between men and women, she knew that a man and a woman could create a child.

Duanmu Lian's words gave her a vague idea of ​​what was going on.

"It means your older brother or sister will have a new baby."

A smile of amusement appeared on Duanmu Lian's face as she looked at Sakurai Hotaru, whose face already showed an expression of disbelief. She chuckled and said, "That child will take your place, and you will grow up sooner or later. When you grow up, you might be in a corner or behind a pillar, secretly watching your older siblings holding hands with the little child they created and laughing, while you... can only watch silently!!!"

Duanmu Lian spoke the last sentence in a louder and heavier tone.

"Ugh!!! I don't want to grow up!!!!"

Sakurai Hotaru broke down in tears and then ran away right in front of Duanmu Lian.

Because what Duanmu Lian said was so vivid and relatable.

I can no longer hold hands with my older brothers and sisters, and I can no longer be loved by them.

He could only watch his older siblings and the new children who had taken his place laughing from behind the pillars and in the corners.

This would be an absolute nightmare for little Sakurai Hotaru.

"Hmm, a pleasant cry, it has made me feel much better today."

Watching Sakurai Hotaru run away, sobbing uncontrollably, Duanmu Lian felt a sense of satisfaction.

He has no good feelings towards anyone in this world.

Rather than making Sakurai Hotaru cry, he would rather beat Mercury Serpent to tears, and even want to see her break down.

...........

School lets out, and parents come to pick up their children.

And Sakurai Kai, who is Sakurai Hotaru's older brother, naturally came as well.

The other person was a very handsome man with medium-short hair, a gentle smile on his face, and a gentle and polite demeanor.

Many young women were secretly watching this handsome man.

If it weren't for the blonde, blue-eyed foreign beauty standing next to them, some of them would have already gone up to strike up a conversation and get to know each other.

"Kei, how about we take Hotaru to the newly built amusement park in Suwahara today?"