POV: Saiki.
"How could you have changed so much? Did you take some miraculous pill?"
"You even became a bit more handsome. Did you get plastic surgery? If so, can you recommend it to me?"
"Wow! I didn't even recognize you. Are you really Saiki Kurogane?"
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Hey..."
My head felt like it was going to explode.
I underestimated other people's curiosity.
I didn't imagine that at the first opportunity they had, they would surround me and bombard me with questions.
"Everyone, calm down. One at a time, please." Tanaka appeared to save the day.
Just because it was him, the girls calmed down while the boys also stopped for different reasons.
In part, out of jealousy, on the other hand, because he was Manaka's twin brother.
Although most had already been rejected by her, that didn't stop them from maintaining a platonic love for her.
"Can't you see that he doesn't like this?" Manaka placed herself in front of me, crossing her arms.
'Is it my imagination, or does Manaka seem irritated?'
Although she didn't mince words when saying what she really thought, I felt there was something different this time.
I was more surprised by the fact that someone like Akeno was looking in my direction. Her violet and penetrating eyes teased me with amusement.
"Akeno?"
"Yes, Buchou." She averted her gaze.
Soon after, she left with Rias from the classroom.
I diverted my gaze to the people around me.
It was clear that if I didn't say at least something that satisfied their curiosity, they would continue to torment me with questions.
That's why I continued telling the same lie. Although it's not completely a lie, I'm just not adding the crucial part: "I don't know what happened. I simply started training and before I even realized it, I changed this much."
"Is that really possible?"
"Maybe it's what they call a growth spurt?"
"But does that also apply to someone losing more than 50 kilos in a single weekend?"
"Who knows..."
Soon, they started theorizing various reasons for me having lost weight. Little by little, they started believing in their own theories.
In the end, this is like a flash in the pan. At first it starts intense, but ends very quickly.
Soon a new topic begins and they will forget about me.
"Let's eat outside." Takashi whispered.
Nodding, we slipped out quietly.
...
Outside, under the open sky, the four of us were eating while sitting on a large white wooden bench.
Manaka and Tanaka brought lunch boxes as always. Takashi and I bought bread to eat.
"Is there no problem eating something like that?" Tanaka looked at my hand holding a yakisoba pan.
"It's fine." I replied: "I just need to compensate by training more."
"If that's the case, it's fine. Just don't overdo it." Tanaka fell silent right after.
"But, man. That back in the classroom was scary." Takashi finished chewing a piece of bread and commented: "The girls in particular... Their eyes seemed like they wanted to strip all of Saiki-san's clothes and uncover all his secrets."
Tanaka waved his chopsticks in the air as he commented: "Well, for girls maybe, a magic formula to lose weight is quite seductive."
Manaka, who had been silent, nodded lightly with her head.
"Even you, Manaka-chan?" Takashi looked at her, surprised.
"What are you saying?" Tanaka laughed: "Obviously my sister is also interested in those things, after all, she's also a girl."
"True..." Takashi forced an awkward smile: "Hahaha..."
"I don't think you need to worry about that, you're fine." I commented while looking in Manaka's direction.
She stopped eating. In her gaze, there was a touch of surprise. But that didn't last, before she nodded and went back to eating in silence.
"Thank you..."
"Did you say something?" I asked.
"Nothing."
This time, I heard it loud and clear.
"If you say so." I didn't insist.
I didn't understand why Tanaka was trying so hard not to laugh.
But, whatever.
I finished my yakisoba-pan and opened my energy drink.
"Ahh, I feel alive." I closed my eyes.
"You really like energy drinks, Saiki-san." Takashi pointed out.
"Just don't overdo it." Tanaka advised: "I heard that drinking too many energy drinks is really bad. It can cause tachycardia, blood pressure spikes, severe insomnia and even dangerous arrhythmias."
"Tanaka is right." Takashi agrees.
Even without speaking, I saw Manaka nod her head.
"It's fine, I won't overdo it." I smiled.
What they didn't know was that, although it was true, because my body was now that of a player, this kind of problem had stopped being a problem for me.
But, since they showed genuine concern for me, I will reduce the amount of energy drink I drink in front of them.
"Changing the subject." I remembered something I saw in the newspaper: "I saw on the news that there's a killer on the loose here in this city."
"I saw it too!" Takashi hugged his own arms: "What a dangerous thing... Seems like there have already been 3 victims."
"Really!?" Tanaka seemed worried.
"Yes, really."
"I hope he's caught soon."
"Same."
Now that I think about it... This murder case, could it be related to the supernatural?
The way it only leaves trails of the victims' blood behind was very suspicious. Especially for managing to disappear before even being caught, although reports say the victims screamed loud enough to attract attention and the police being called.
The problem was that the police never arrived in time.
While those who heard it got scared upon hearing the screams and didn't dare get too close.
"Changing the subject. Saiki-san." Takashi had a disgusting smile when he nudged me with his shoulder: "Now that you've lost weight, I noticed that many girls in our class have shown interest in you. What do you say, interested in getting a girlfriend? You can tell me, I'll help you as much as possible!"
"Girls interested in me?" I didn't see it that way. To me, they were more interested in knowing the reason why I had lost weight. I shook my head in denial: "You're imagining things. And even if that were the case, I'm not interested."
"Ara, how boring. How can you not be interested, especially with so many pretty girls in our class. Right, Tanaka?"
"Huh?" Tanaka simply smiled, saying: "Is that so? I think Saiki has every right not to be interested in them, right, Mana?"
Manaka's eyes went from her brother to Takashi, and when they reached me, she lowered her head and muttered a "Yes" in response.
"Yes, yes. I was wrong. Damn. That's why I..." Takashi starts muttering something inaudible, looking like a grumbler.
However, that didn't last. Soon he put on a malicious smile, saying: "Well, you never know. If it's someone like Akeno-san or Rias-sama, I doubt that even you could remain indifferent."
Before I could answer, I saw him shudder, seeming to be cold: "Manaka-san?"
When I looked in her direction, I saw that she was with her head down, eating.
I furrowed my brow at Takashi's senseless reaction.
'Is he rehearsing a one-person play?'
I rolled my eyes and grabbed another bread.