TAMWSFB 01

Chapter 1

  The Reincarnation Destination Is… What?!?

The holy sword in the hands of the hero Abel, shining silver-white, pierced deep into the chest of his former best friend—Serios.

“Serios… why…? We fought together. We were comrades who defeated the Demon Lord!”

Crying out in anguish, Abel’s voice trembled.
Serios, blood spilling from his mouth, gave a faint smile.

“…We were comrades once, yes. But I’ve always hated you. Why is it that only you are allowed to shine… when my own light was taken from me?”

Perhaps speaking had strained his failing body—Serios coughed up more blood, a dark gush, and slowly fell backward.

The holy sword slipped free from his chest.
The feeling of resistance that had been in Abel’s hand disappeared completely.

Then—
Silence.

It was as though the entire world had gone still.
Only the sound of Serios collapsing to the ground echoed in the air.

“Ah… my light…”

Lying on his back, Serios reached his hand toward the heavens—
as if grasping for something just beyond his reach.

But that hand caught nothing.
It fell, powerless, into the spreading pool of his own blood.

“SERIOOOOOS!!”

“Ahhhh! My favorite character—my favorite character just died!”

I slammed the book shut and hugged it to my chest, shouting without thinking—even though it was already lights-out time in the hospital ward.

“I mean, sure, it is the final volume, so I knew the Demon Lord, Serios, might die in the end…
But come on, couldn’t it have been a redemption arc with a happy ending instead?!”

My name is Mana Sakurai, and because of my weak health, I’ve been in and out of hospitals all my life.
I barely have any friends my age.
My only friends are the characters from manga and novels.

Inside those stories, I can live like a normal girl—
laughing, going to school, even adventuring in another world.

My absolute favorite story is “Gran Avere: Wings of a Glorious Future.”

It’s not just a novel—it’s been made into manga and movies too.
Even in the so-called “publishing recession,” it caused a massive boom.
On release day, bookstores had lines stretching down the street—it became a full-blown social phenomenon.

The story itself is classic fantasy:
A boy obtains a holy sword, meets companions and rivals along the way, and grows stronger as he journeys to defeat the Demon Lord.

What set it apart was how it didn’t just focus on the hero and his friends, but also on the struggles and pain of the villains.
It resonated deeply with readers of all ages.

And my number one favorite character—my “oshi”—is Serios Rosenberg.

Before entering the academy, he lost his beloved little sister and became an emotionless “Ice Prince.”

His eyes are a pale ice-blue, and his silver hair is tied loosely behind him.

Even just visually, he’s completely my type.
But what truly captured me was how, when he realized his fiancée—the party’s healer and the story’s heroine—had fallen for the hero during their journey, Serios quietly stepped aside without resentment.
That quiet nobility broke my heart—in the best way.

After countless hardships, the hero and his companions defeat the Demon Lord and return triumphant to the capital…
but then—Serios appears as the final boss, standing in their way!

The story never explains why he turned against them.
He and the hero fight—
and Serios is defeated.

“As president of the ‘Make Serios Happy’ fan club, I’ve spent so long thinking about how to give him a happy ending, and this is what I get? No way!
We’re talking about a man who’s national-treasure-level—no, world-heritage-level handsome!
How could someone like that not get happiness?!”

If the nurse found out I was still awake, she’d confiscate the book.
So I pulled the blanket over my head and whispered furiously.

I could just stay quiet, but the shock was too much. I had to say it out loud.

“If I were his little sister, I’d make sure Serios-sama found happiness!”

In the story, Serios’s younger sister is also frail and dies young…
But if I were her, I’d survive through sheer willpower.

Because—come on! Serios-sama would be my brother!
If I were blessed with that kind of life, I’d cherish every single second of it.

“And to think, he still loved that princess fiancée who dumped him for the hero till the very end—so pure, so tragic, so beautiful!
Ahhh, I love him so much!”

Clutching the book to my chest, I flopped back on the bed.
Then, as I lifted the novel to reread the final scene—

“Ugh…!”

A sharp pain pierced my chest.
I couldn’t breathe.

A heart attack—another attack.
I had to call for help.

With trembling fingers, I pressed the nurse call button.

And then—

Waking up after an attack never feels good.
But at least I was alive—
and that meant I could still finish Gran Avere’s ending.

Even though Serios-sama was dead, maybe he’d show up again in a flashback.
I couldn’t die before that happened!

Thinking that, I looked up at the ceiling of my hospital room…

Wait.
The ceiling isn’t white?

Instead, a bright blue sky was painted there, with white birds flying and a rainbow arcing across it.
It looked like one of those European castle murals.

Maybe they moved me to a special hospital suite?
Still, would a hospital paint something like this on the ceiling?

I tried to sit up—but my body wouldn’t move.

“Ah… nnng…”

Not only that, I couldn’t speak either.
This was… seriously bad.

If I had to put it in words—
I was really close to dying. Or maybe…

Just then, I heard a door open.

A boy—so beautiful it almost hurt to look at him—stood over me.

The sight stole my breath.
Literally—I couldn’t breathe. Another attack?

I tried to inhale, exhale—but it just got worse.

I reached out instinctively for help—
and my hand was small.

Someone grasped it gently.

And then—
everything went black.