Becoming the Cupid for the Girl Who Fell in Love at First Sight
"J, are you really... the eldest son of the Primal family?"
"Yeah, so what're you gonna do about trying to steal my little sister? Got anything to say for yourself, you Press family punk?"
Lena's face drained of color, turning ghostly white as she listened to my words.
I had to play the part of the prickly asshole up front. Otherwise, they'd think I was some soft pushover and come swarming to suck me dry.
A method even the gods approve of. How brilliant... nah, that's not the point.
"So, what were you trying to ask my little sister just now?"
"Well..."
"Spit it out."
My experience as family head was shining through. I could ignore their bootlicking from below with utter detachment, and if they tried talking down from above, I'd chip away at them bit by bit with my tone and gaze. That alone let me hold the upper hand in any conversation or negotiation.
"I... confessed to Arian Primal."
"You?"
Grind...!
Lena gnashed her teeth and glared at me, but there was nothing she could do.
"Lena Press, you think the youngest daughter of some count's family can lay hands on the Primal duke's only girl?"
"B-but if we love each other, that's no pro—!"
"It's a problem through and through."
"..."
I averted my eyes from the system messages and grabbed Lena's head hard.
"Answer me. You really think a nobody like you fits into the Primal family?"
"Ugh... Graaah...!!"
Lena was a straight-up mage. She had zero training in close combat and, unlike other mages, hadn't learned any body-enhancement spells. Being part of that stubborn group that only believed in ranged and mid-range attacks meant she was helpless in melee—especially against a first-year like me.
"No guts to even speak up, and you think you can touch the Primal family?"
"Th-that's not... Graaaah!!!"
"Talking back now?"
Contradictory bullshit, sure. But that's what amps up the fear. It's a classic tactic when you're dominating a conversation or interrogating—make it so no matter what they say, pain follows. Kills any thought of lying right off the bat.
If I'd had mana, there'd be way more painful options, but this was my limit for now.
Thud!
I released her head, and she collapsed onto her ass, staring up at me with trembling eyes before quickly looking down.
"...What do you want?"
"Cut off contact with Arian."
"...That's impossible."
Lena's obsession exceeded my expectations. For someone she'd just met a day ago, this "love" was way too fervent. Even if it was love at first sight, normal people didn't get this obsessively fixated...
I'll skip that part for now.
"Fine, then let me ask one thing. Any actual reason you're so obsessed with Arian?"
"Love at first sight."
I barely suppressed the urge to smack my forehead and stared hard at Arian again. Objectively, Arian was beautiful, but I wasn't sure if her looks appealed to the same sex. Whatever... love at first sight doesn't need logic anyway.
"You know it's an impossible love, right?"
"Yes... but what can you do when you're in love?"
...Damn, that leaves me speechless.
"..."
No can do. If Arian and Lena truly loved each other, ignoring family status, I'd tolerate it—even if I wouldn't cheer them on. But Arian was obsessed with her family. The Press family were Demon King's lackeys, and she needed them for her plan to betray the Empire and join the Demon King's side.
Letting them get close would build a bond... and that had to be avoided at all costs.
"...Then get my permission."
It couldn't be helped.
"Huh?"
Lena's face lit up almost instantly.
"You'll give me permission!?"
"Only if I approve after watching you. As you are now? No way."
If I just forced them apart like this, Lena would run straight to Arian. I'd done the same myself. People in love charge ahead, thorns or quicksand be damned.
"Yes!! Of course I know that!!"
It made my chest ache even more. I could feel her genuine love for Arian, stirring a twisted mix of empathy and guilt deep inside. I knew too well the pain of love being blocked.
I knew the madness of loving someone that fiercely.
"...Until you get my permission, avoid contact with Arian. You don't seem like the type who can hold back."
"Got it! But if I really get your permission, I can date your sister, right!?"
"Yes. At that point, I won't interfere no matter what you two do."
Lena beamed like a kid who'd just learned her favorite food was for dinner, and I couldn't help but sigh heavily.
"Hah... damn it all."
Normally, I'd rip them apart hard. I knew that in my head, but if it were that easy, we wouldn't be human. I understood the scars and lingering regrets of forcibly separating lovers—I couldn't just do it.
Lena, still beaming, soon calmed her ragged breathing.
"Thank you!!"
She bowed her head to me in gratitude.
"Huh?"
What the hell? Flustered by the sudden thanks, she smiled brightly and continued.
"Well... I know this love is wrong. Your reaction is totally normal, big bro. For a count's family and a duke's to connect, it'd have to be as a concubine or no pregnancy—impossible otherwise."
Her face was cloudless.
"Plus, same-sex relationships... no one looks at them kindly, right?"
"Y-yeah."
Why did my throat feel so tight?
"To be with Arian, we have to overcome walls like that! Getting a shot at it? I should be kowtowing in thanks!!"
Ahh... so this is the feeling.
Just like my past self. The pushover vibe... the desperate effort to make love work. Even challenging it despite knowing it'd fail, like me in my later regressions.
"...Can you give us some space so I can talk to Arian?"
"Sure!! Then starting tomorrow, I'll work hard to earn your permission to date Arian!!!"
Lena left those words behind and vanished down the alley. I stood there quietly.
Personally... I wanted to root for her love.
"...Arian, get up."
"........."
"I know you're awake. Get up."
"Yes..."
Arian rose from the ground and looked at me. Her silver eyes trembled, then she bowed her head like Lena, staring at the floor.
"You know why. It's because of Lena's family, right?"
"!!!"
Arian's head snapped up in shock at my words.
Originally, I'd planned to scare her a bit, separate them, apologize to Lena but beg her never to see Arian again.
But... I'd changed my mind.
I'll make their love happen.
Says that now? Didn't you know? Who was the idiot who threw away lives chasing the dumb fantasy of happy endings with all the girls?
Hero... heroic, huh.
No, what I'm about to do is the polar opposite of anything a hero would pull.
I pulled a thin needle from the holder on my thigh and pinned Arian's shoulder blade down hard.
"Ack!!"
"From now on, Arian, I'm sealing your Mana Force Circuits."
"What!?"
Arian shrieked and tried to bolt, so I yanked off my glove and gripped her head tight.
"Hoo..."
Arian's mana flowed into my circuits as I traced its paths. Then I precisely stabbed the needle into the central hub of the Mana Force Circuit in her right wrist.
The Mana Force Circuit is more vital to a mage than their heart. Obviously. It's the unique organ that channels the world's only mana source without waste, super efficiently—and unlike other organs, it has clear weak points.
"I've hit the acupoint, so that circuit's sealed shut now."
Pinpoint the acupoint—colloquially called that—and the circuit locks. You can reopen it, but it'll be less efficient than before, and you'd have to clear impurities again like rebuilding from scratch. Normal mages are out of commission for about a year after this.
"What the hell are you doing!!!"
"Turning my idiot little sister—who tried to join hands with the Demon King's army—into a cripple even they wouldn't take."
Arian froze, mouth agape. At least she got the point.
"Your body has 412 acupoints. I'm sealing 206 of them. Half your circuits should be enough to hold S Grade for a talent like you."
"W-wait!! Bro, I was wrong!!! Forgive me just this once..."
Now, time to reform Arian Primal and hook her up with Lena.
Puuk!