29 Chapter 29

Syl was sitting on a bench alone.

He had a complicated look on his face.

"I miss you guys…" He mumbled.

Two people slowly approached him.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Hirata asked in a soft voice.

Syl didn't even bother looking up.

"I'm fine."

Hirata and Karuizawa just awkwardly looked at each other and stood around, not willing to take the seat next to Syl on the bench in fear of angering him.

A few moments of awkward silence went by before Karuizawa couldn't stand it anymore.

"Ugh, like, who does she think she is?? She's so annoying, right guys?!"

Hirata had a panicked look. "Well, I'm sure she didn't mean anything, she probably didn't know. I don't think Horikita was trying to be mean."

He tried to mediate.

"Hirata?? Are you, like, seriously taking her side right now?! After what she just said!" Karuizawa was shocked.

She probably didn't even realize she was projecting onto Syl and empathizing with him through her past experiences.

Hirata tried to correct himself. "I'm not saying she was right. What she said was wrong, it's never okay to hurt a classmate. It's just that I don't think she meant to be mean."

Karuizawa was getting angry. "Seriously? What's with you? Would you do the same thing if it was me? I thought you said-" Karuizawa quickly caught herself. "Nevermind. You should just be more mindful of how Syl feels."

Syl sniffled, before standing up and laughing.

"Haha! I told you guys I'm fine! Thanks for worrying about me though." He said with slightly red and puffy eyes.

"Yeah, no problem. But are you sure your al-" Hirata started to speak but Karuizawa cut him off.

"No problem! Anytime, doggie!" She said with a smile.

Syl scoffed. "What?? I'm not a dog! You are!"

Karuizawa giggled. "In your dreams."

Syl chuckled. "Don't worry about me, Karuizawa. Hirata was probably right, Horikita probably didn't know. Ah! The curse of being a loner!"

She smiled wryly. "It's fine if you are. But I still don't really like her, feel free to talk to me if you want to rant."

Syl smiled. "Thanks. Also, Hirata. I love you, but boy do you suck at this whole cheering people up thing. Maybe stick to the class mediator…"

Hirata smiled. "Well, I'm not sure I'm very good at either. But, I'm glad to see you back to normal."

Syl chuckled. "Normal… right. Well, I gotta go! My pink bunny slippers await my presence! Hahaha!"

"See you tomorrow!" Hirata called out with a smile as he watched Syl walk away.

Hirata mumbled under his breath. "Does he really have pink bunny slippers? He always mentions them but I've never seen them before... It's kind of like the class's folklore..."

Karuizawa didn't hear this and looked at Hirata nervously. "Would you, like, really treat me like this if Horikita did something to me?"

Hirata sighed. "Karuizawa, what do you want me to do? I can't sacrifice any of my class members. I know Syl didn't want to hear that, but he needed to. What if he started hating Horikita because of a misunderstanding? It would tear the class apart! I'm just trying to do what's best for everyone."

Karuizawa had an unreadable facial expression. "Umm... I'm gonna go home, I don't think I can make our 'date' tonight, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. A lot happened today, you must be tired, I feel the same. But, are you sure? You're the one who wanted to go to Keyaki mall today." Hirata said with a smile.

Karuizawa nodded. "Yeah, I'm just tired. Sorry." She apologized again as she walked away.

Hirata sat down on the bench and looked at the pavement, sighing. "How am I supposed to make everyone happy? I just don't know how to keep the class together. At this rate, it's gonna end up just like… No, I won't let that happen. I've changed."

Hirata looked up with a newfound conviction. He wasn't gonna let this class fall apart.

If only he knew…

Anyway!

Syl was sitting in his room with his pink bunny suit (Bunny slippers + Bunny onesie + night vision sunglasses) on.

He was eating a bunch of comfort foods and watching his favourite shows over and over. Trying to escape his own mind.

[Ding! Host has greatly improved the reputation of class 1-D by beating class 1-A, you have received 10 spins.]

"Sure."

[Ding! Host has received. (Observation haki) [Low] x1, (Body optimization pill) [medium] x1, (Duplicates) x8]

[Would host like to see what duplicates are?]

"No."

[Would host like to claim his rewards?]

"Sure."

Syl glew yellow and was able to sense his surroundings very slightly better.

Then a pill appeared in his hand.

[Does host know what Body optimization pill does?]

"No."

[It changes the body to be a better version of itself, in every single way.]

"Ok."

[It can even increase strength slightly due to optimization of muscles! If you could curl 10 pounds before, now you can curl 12!!]

"Ok"

[It even makes you look better! And boost all 5 senses!]

"Sure."

[... Sorry, I wasn't able to cheer host up.]

"It's fine, thanks anyway."

[Host can have a free sleep token and get a good night's rest if he wants. It's on the house.]

"Thanks, I'll take that."

Syl swallowed the pill and took the sleep token, falling asleep immediately.

[Haaa… What an insensitive bitch!]

Syl missed out on this reaction due to him being asleep, but he probably would have chuckled.