“Neries, let’s talk about the exams. What do you intend to do?”
“…”
Yuugo entered Neries’ room, and looked around as he heard Peewee, who immediately approached Neries.
There were two beds, but only the belongings of one person, so it seemed only Neries used the room.
There were candy and bread paper wrappers all over, and it was clear that was Neries’ main diet.
(It looks like she left the room to buy them. She probably snuck out when everyone was in class.)
There were the wrappers, but also the fact that Neries looked clean, so she was taking baths.
Surely she was leaving the room to buy things and clean herself when others were not looking.
Yuugo was glad to see her mental state had not collapsed completely to the point where she felt like doing nothing, and looked at Neries again.
She was facing down and saying nothing, as a worried Peewee pressed her with questions.
“Please listen. At this rate you…”
“…”
Neries’ lips twitched every time Peewee said something.
Yuugo saw her move as though she was biting her lip, motioned for Peewee to stop, and spoke to Neries.
“Hey, Neries. Have you been eating properly?”
“Eh…?”
Neries was surprised to hear worry from an unexpected person, and raised her head while letting out a confused sound.
Yuugo was aware of his scary face, and tried his best not to intimidate her, as he continued with a smile.
“I heard you’ve been in this room all this time, so I’m worried you haven’t been eating well. Have you?”
“…I buy and eat bread. And I have tap water in the room…”
“I see. That’s good. But don’t you get tired of eating the same thing?”
“Not really… I don’t care about that…”
Do not intimidate, do not make the other person shrink back, and do not deny what she says.
Yuugo was not focusing on doing that, but tried to make it easier for her to talk, and open her heart.
She would not listen to Peewee who was with her in the same party, so if someone she was meeting for the first time suddenly pushed into the main topic, she would simply go quiet.
And so, Yuugo thought to set the groundwork for that, but Neries advanced faster than he thought.
“…What do you want? Why did you come see me?”
“Neries, we asked Yuugo. He helped us a lot recently.”
“We asked him to come here because we figured he could help you.”
Neries asked a natural question, prompting Velda and Peewee to explain.
Yuugo quietly waited for her to respond, and Neries spoke as if mustering up her voice.
“…It really isn’t like that…!”
“Neries? What did you…?”
“You came here to laugh at me, didn’t you!? You’re not worried about me!”
Neries yelled at Yuugo.
All three were surprised by the sudden change in her attitude, and she continued with tears welling up in her eyes.
“I’m not an idiot. I know what people call me…!! They don’t say it directly, but I know everyone makes fun of me…!!”
“Neries, that’s not…”
“It’s true. I heard it…! The wimp that got scared because she fought a monster armor beast and wet herself…! That’s what they say…!”
“…!!”
Velda and Peewee went silent as they heard Neries’ grief.
That reaction told Yuugo what Neries said was not some persecution complex, and she began to groan with a pained tone.
“I can’t fight on my own, I’m a wimp who wet herself… Everyone’s saying it. You too, right? You came here to look at me and laugh, didn’t you?”
“That’s not true. Yuugo really is worried about you…!”
“I don’t want to hear it! No more… Shian abandoned me and everyone is making fun of me…!! You broke my room’s door and now you’re ridiculing me, you’re the worst…!”
Neries dropped her shoulders and sobbed, not listening to anyone.
Velda and Peewee saw her mental state fluctuate wildly, but had no idea what to say… And Yuugo reached towards her.
“Neries…!”
“Eek!?”
“W-wait Yuugo! Neries is not herself…!”
Velda’s face turned pale as he tried to stop Yuugo, thinking he was angry about what Neries said.
But… Yuugo grabbed her shoulder and empathized with her, looking straight at her with a big sigh.
“I… Totally understand how you feel.”
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