Chapter 92: Siloque Is Still Sleeping

April 24th, a Tuesday.

“Siloque…took a day off today…”

Ah, honestly, it’s about the same.

I wish I didn’t have to go to work in the morning either…sleep straight through to the evening…

The students’ inner voice: Aren’t you always sleeping all day?

Siloque is sick?

Cass stopped his pen.

He looked fine when he left yesterday.

Glancing back at Bried, he found her wearing the same surprised expression, as if she’d just heard the news.

Kersey was earnestly flipping through her notes to review, dark circles under her eyes proving she was busy last night too.

Then, Cass picked up some whispers.

Because his level was much higher than anyone in class, just a bit of focus made them clear as day:

“With that guy gone, the class atmosphere finally isn’t as heavy as a funeral.”

“He’s hardly ever in the classroom anyway, so whether he’s here or not makes no difference.”

“It’s been half a month. I’ve gotten used to ignoring him.”

“Don’t say that in front of him.”

“Uh…I wouldn’t dare. Don’t tell anyone I said that.”

Similar remarks.

Everyone seemed a little afraid of Siloque?

Now that he thought about it, he’d never seen Siloque talk to anyone in the class either.

Could it be…

He’d seen this happen at all-girls schools before too, sparking unpleasant associations—bullying.

When someone’s either too excellent or too terrible, outliers get excluded to make others feel special.

Thinking of this, Cass felt uneasy.

No, that’s not right.

Cass shook his head.

Gossip and hearsay weren’t enough to jump to conclusions.

Given Siloque’s personality, he actually seemed to prefer being alone…

And being so outstanding, there were probably plenty of people who tried to form teams with him, but got rejected—leading to this strange atmosphere.

Sigh…if you actually interacted with him, you’d know he’s a kind person.

“Ain, did Siloque do something? I feel like the class’s attitude toward him is kind of strange.”

Cass, curious, quietly asked his classmate sitting behind him—Ain Palus, who he remembered as a cheerful girl.

Ain, who’d been spacing out, visibly flinched at the question.

“I don’t know!!”

She shouted, standing up in terror.

“I’ve never known that person, never heard anything, anyway, don’t ask me anything!”

“You can’t say that, he’s our classmate…”

“Uh, Ain, calm down, calm down.”

She screamed hysterically, clutching her throat as if making sure something was there.

Her reaction naturally drew the attention of everyone in class, but Priss kept writing on the board as if nothing happened.

“I’m sorry…I feel…sick.”

With a pale face and cold sweat, Ain fled the classroom before anyone could respond.

“..”

Cass was left bewildered, unsure what to do.

***

Infirmary.

“Siloque…took the day off…his mother called in…”

“Cough! Cough! What did you say?”

As soon as Priss opened the door and said this, Beiren choked on her coffee, caught off guard.

“How Siloque is doing has nothing to do with me. By the way, do you know why he took a day off?”

Beiren tried to act calm, dabbing her face with tissues—though missing most of it, failing to wipe up the spill.

“..Fever. That’s what his mother said…”

“Fever? Is it serious?”

She hurriedly asked, panic flickering in her eyes.

“Who knows. Apparently it started last night…hah…I’m not interested.”

I see.

No wonder he didn’t reply yesterday.

Last night, using the Ability: Electronic Transmission, she had found a camera near his house that showed a blonde twin-tailed girl carrying a white-haired girl on her back.

Beiren knew who that was.

Hil Dasvey—Siloque’s little sister.

A student at Monroe Middle School three streets over, her written grades were average but she was straight A’s in physical education.

The white-haired girl, of course, was Siloque.

The side effects were worse than I thought.

I assumed he’d just overused his magic and would be back in the infirmary the next day after resting.

Never imagined it’d go as far as getting sick.

At first, I thought he was ignoring me and planned to scold him properly if he showed up today.

“Kersey…?”

“I-I’m not particularly interested…but thank you for telling me, Priss. Want a coffee?”

“No, my stomach is full…sleeping isn’t comfortable…”

Yawning, Priss closed the infirmary door and left.

“–You came all this way just to tell me that?”

Beiren was left alone awkwardly, holding two cups of coffee.

***

“Ugh…”

Siloque opened his eyes, his throat dry.

He sat up, realizing the room was dim because the blackout curtain was drawn, though the window was cracked for ventilation.

He wanted some water and found a glass on the bedside table.

Along with it sat an MS Handheld with a sticky note: –A hot-blooded game to help big brother unwind–

Just thinking about it, he knew it was Hil’s doing.

Siloque smiled, comforted, and turned on the device…

Then instantly shut off the game.

“Does Hil think I’m some impulsive teenage boy in puberty?”

He clutched his forehead, exasperated.

He’d expected something like Mario, PVZ, or GTA—casual games.

Instead, he found a collection of eroge like Saya no Uta, White Album, Euphoria, Black Mansion.

Truly, appearances can be deceiving.

His little sister’s taste in games was almost too varied, and there were some he’d only ever heard of by reputation, never daring to play.

“Sigh….”

Siloque set the game console back on the table, at least grateful for his sister’s good intentions.

On the desk sat a single-serving clay pot.

He got out of bed, opened the lid. Steam clouded his vision, but the aroma of bonito broth wafted invitingly.

Inside was a simple rice porridge.

He smiled to himself—this was the kind of porridge his mother, Cohen, always made.

“Indeed, I should eat something to recover my strength.”

Last night, after the bathroom incident, Cohen and Hil helped him wipe down, chatting about the Dungeon while dressing him in fresh pajamas before sending him to his room, then returned to the bath themselves.

Thankfully, they hadn’t dragged him back in.

Siloque had finally managed to sleep in peace.

He slept dreamlessly, and after waking up, he didn’t feel any pain or fever. He was much better.

“Hah…”

Except for the overwhelming urge to sleep.

For now, getting his strength back as fast as possible was the top priority—he’d need it for next month’s Decision Event.

He also needed to go to the Demon Landlady in the Dungeon to trade the items he and Hil had picked up.

Thinking thus, Siloque visited the bathroom, ate the porridge his mother had made in his room, stared at the blue sky outside, turned on the night lamp to keep the room from getting too dark, and lay back down to sleep.

***

1:21 PM.

“Worried about students’ health. I really am a good teacher.”

Beiren stood outside a detached house with the name “Dasvey” on it, folding her arms and muttering to herself.

Ah…in the end, I couldn’t resist coming here.

She had looked up Siloque’s student records earlier and followed her phone’s GPS here.

“That door…is that modern art? It looks like someone beat it up.”

She spotted the main entrance, curving inward and outward.

“Cough.”

Beiren cleared her throat, steeling herself.

If she ran into his family, she’d just say she was checking on a student’s health.

After all, she was the school nurse.

Uh, but is it weird for a teacher to visit a student’s house like this?

Doesn’t this make me look desperate to check up on him…?

I’m not dressed well today, either.

What if his parents think I’m rude?

Never mind, why am I overthinking this?

I’m already here.

It’s too late to regret.

I just want to check his condition and leave after confirming it.

Yes, that’s all.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Beiren gripped her fist, made up her mind, and politely pressed the doorbell.

After waiting anxiously for several minutes and getting no answer, she rang a few more times in a steady rhythm—still nothing.

“Is no one home? Maybe it’s better to see him at school after all?”

Or perhaps Siloque was so sick he couldn’t even get out of bed?

Her worries deepened.

No matter what, she had to confirm Siloque’s condition.

Sighing in defeat, she instinctively started checking out the building.

Two stories tall, three if you counted the attic, with a footprint of about 80 square meters. Laundry and bedsheets hung in the small yard.

The whole neighborhood looked like this—hard to tell one house from another if you didn’t know the address.

“Mm?”

Beiren looked up at the second-floor window.

The curtains were drawn tight, but the window was cracked open.

She scanned left and right, making sure there were no people or security cameras around.

“Heh. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this.”

She pulled non-slip gloves from her bag, a sly smile on her lips.