Special bonus chapter,(2/2)
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Chapter 40: Ai Hayasaka's Awkward Moment?
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A few minutes later, the music died down.
Seito looked at the courtyard full of cheering, electrified students. Grinning, he leaned into the microphone one last time.
"REMEMBER THIS!! I AM KINOSHITA HIDEYOSHI FROM CLASS 1-D!!"
With that blatant lie, Seito hoisted the speaker onto his shoulder and bolted. The boys from Class E followed suit, lugging the equipment and disappearing into the school building like a well-trained commando unit.
The Light Music Club: "..."
F**! Total annihilation!*
Class 1-D
The room was heavy with silence. The students glanced at the real Kinoshita Hideyoshi, whose face was currently a shade of dark, thunderous purple. Most looked away immediately—not because they didn't care, but because they had no idea how to comfort someone who had just been "framed" for a musical war.
Except for one person.
"I understand... truly..."
Kirito (Kazuto Kirigaya) wore a sympathetic smile as he patted Hideyoshi's shoulder. He, too, had been a victim of Seito's "marketing" tactics earlier.
"Tha... thank you..." Hideyoshi's voice trembled with forced restraint.
A moment later, Seito strolled back into the room with an air of supreme relaxation. He sat down directly on Kaede Honjo's (Maple) desk, ignoring the glares.
"SEITO-SAN!!!"
Kirito and Hideyoshi marched over, fuming.
"What was that?! Why did you report our names to the whole school?!"
"Ah," Seito sighed, looking at them like a wise elder. "Young men, you shouldn't always try to stay in the shadows. I gave you a chance to shine in front of the entire student body. It's a character-building exercise!"
He pointed toward the back of the room. "Look at Hachiman Hikigaya back there. I prefer to call him 'Hiki-sensei.' Why? Because despite his youth, he understands the harsh truths of society, yet he's so low-profile it's tragic!"
The entire class turned to look at Hachiman, who was wearing headphones and minding his own business.
Hachiman: "..."
You just sold me out for a joke? You bastard. The "8-man" twitched, promptly lowered his head onto his desk, and pretended to be dead.
"But we didn't want to shine!" Hideyoshi complained.
"Well, it's done now. You'll get used to it," Seito brushed them off with a dismissive wave. "Now, off you go, you two single dogs! Can't you see I'm trying to have a conversation with a lady?"
Kirito & Hideyoshi: "..."
We really, really want to hit him.
They stomped away in defeat. Seito turned back to Maple. "So, what were you guys up to in-game yesterday?"
"Hehe!" Maple giggled proudly. "Sora-kun taught me a trick! We've been grinding my defense stats. I'm currently sitting at over 15,000 Defense."
"???"
Seito froze. 15,000? It had only been four days since the servers opened. Even at Level 20, that number was absurd.
Suddenly, his 6,000+ Speed didn't feel so special. "How?"
Sally (Risa) leaned in to explain. "Sora had Maple solo a boss and just... stand there. He let the boss break her equipment repeatedly to trigger the 'Destruction Growth' perk on her Hydra Set. By the time we were done, her stats had skyrocketed."
Seito nodded slowly. It was a strategy only a "tank" like Maple could pull off, but it was brilliant.
"And tonight?" Seito asked.
"Sora said tonight is 'Resistance Night.'
We're going to farm status immunities," Maple replied.
Resistance Night. Seito liked the sound of that. While he didn't need elemental resistance thanks to his Kamui, he was still vulnerable to debuffs like Sluggishness or Mind Control. He needed to farm "Mental Interference Nullification" to ensure his speed remained absolute.
"Has the Frontline cleared Floor 11 yet?"
"No," Maple shook her head. "The difficulty spike on the bosses is too high for their current levels. Everyone is just grinding for now. Even with the best gear, the XP curve is brutal after Level 20."
Seito nodded. Every ten floors was a bottleneck. It made sense.
"By the way," Risa added, "is the Fatui still recruiting?"
"Always," Seito replied. "We'll talk details in-game tonight."
Lunchtime...
The morning flew by in a blur of history lectures and naps. Seito woke up just as the bell rang for lunch. He looked around, seeing students opening their bento boxes.
"Finally awake, I see."
Behind him, the "Little Secretary" Ai Hayasaka was eating with a bored, deadpan expression.
Seito turned around. "Just a quick recharge. I'm planning on pulling an all-nighter in the game."
He glanced down at her and Kaguya's elegant, high-end bentos.
"Don't stare, Seito-kun," Hayasaka said without looking up, her voice flat. "Even if you look at it all day, I'm not sharing with you."
"???"
Seito gave her a strange look. Then, he reached into his desk and pulled out three massive, overflowing bento boxes of his own.
Hayasaka: "..."
The spoon halfway to her mouth stopped. Though her face remained emotionless, her ears turned a subtle shade of pink. It was a rare, awkward blunder—she had assumed Seito was a "lunch-less" delinquent looking for a handout.
Beside her, Kaguya Shinomiya let out a soft, elegant giggle. She had seen the bentos in his desk earlier that morning but purposefully hadn't told Hayasaka.
Seito didn't say a word. He just gave Hayasaka a playful, knowing smirk, picked up his feast, and stood up to leave the room. He had an Angel waiting for him on the roof, after all.
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End of bonus chapter.
Once again thank you for your support @shadow reader.
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(T/N: And thank you everyone for your support and reading my translation. Please throw some stone on me, so I could do more hard work.
Well the last part I wrote seem weird.....
If you find any mistake please do inform me.)
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Thank you for reading.