CHAPTER 1 · 7 · Talented

FREE TIME

And who do I walk into?
“Neo.”
Not quite. Oscar is standing in the middle of the hallway, alone, and immediately calls to me.
“What’s up?”, I say, but I immediately understand what’s going on.
“Oh my, did you lose sight of Mina?”
“Yes.”
He looks around one more time before he walks towards me.
“You haven’t seen her?”
I shake my head before I instinctively glance around. I was convinced I’d never see one without the other, but Mina’s nowhere to be seen right now.
“She left the dining room when I wasn’t paying attention.”
He crosses his arms, inexpressive as always.
“I searched everywhere but I couldn’t find her. I am so annoyed.”
Are you really..?
I haven’t really had yet the time to get used to everyone’s… quirks and habits, I guess. Him crossing his arms should probably be enough for me to see that he actually is annoyed, no matter how disconcertingly inexpressive his face looks.
“I’m really sorry, I just went outside and didn’t walk into anyone… Huh…”
I hesitate, unsure whether I should even *think* about what I’m going to say.
“Are you… worried?”
He stares at me…
Couldn’t he at least frown or something?! He looks dead inside and *that’s* what’s the most worrisome.
“No.”
He finally shakes his head.
“There is no reason for me to be. If someone were willing to commit a crime, I would have sensed it already. I’m just annoyed she’d try to go somewhere without me, in case things become more dangerous in the future.”
I tense up a little. I really don’t want to think about things getting any worse – and that’s probably why I’m trying to ignore Monokuma’s invitation, for now at least. I’d rather not talk about it either, and that’s why I’m trying to focus on anything else. Not that I’m not actually curious…
“You’d… sense it? What do you mean? Is that something to do with your talent?”
Each word was pronounced a little quicker, like I was trying to get him to focus on what I was bringing up rather than the rest. He glances around once again, then shrugs and looks at me.
“Yes. As a trained bodyguard, I am used to different types of dangerous attitudes.”
He sounds like he’s having a hard time with wording, but I simply wait for him to be done – it’s not like I have anything else to do really, and his accent obviously tells me English isn’t his first language.
“I wouldn’t compare it to a sixth sense, but I can tell from people’s words and actions if they’re at risk of committing a crime. It’s because of my experience.”
“So… You can easily tell if someone’s becoming aggressive, is that it?”
He nods.
“But it isn’t just about aggressiveness. People can be dangerous because they are scared or sad.”
It looks like he was expecting me to answer something, but I don’t know what to say. The first thing to cross my mind is “I’m actually pretty scared…”
“Just being scared or sad, or even aggressive, doesn’t make you immediately dangerous either. Some of us here are very scared, depressed, some look like they may easily become a little violent, but no one is thinking about turning on each other.”
I have to say I’m a little surprised. I stare at him for a few seconds, but it looks like he’s dead serious, as always.
“But… I don’t understand. How can you really tell..?”
“I’ve been surveilling everyone. No one has said the words or had the actions of a criminal.”
“I’m… Still unclear.”
“I am very efficient at this. It helps me tell in advance what I should be careful about.”
I don’t really know why, but I let out a laugh.
“I believe you, alright! So I guess you’re just good at reading people’s emotions?”
No reaction. He stares into nothingness for a little while.
“I-I… Don’t think so.”
“Wait, was he seriously just hesitating?!”
“I don’t understand why people do or say certain things. I just can tell the danger from the rest.”
“Oh…”
I think about it for a little bit.
“Well, I guess it’s better than nothing! I don’t even know if I’m that good at it myself. Yeah… Maybe I’m not.”
Seeing how much of an idiot I was the other day with Lois…
But I quickly change the subject.
“And I guess this is just what you need in order to do your job, right?”
He nods.
… And that’s it. Well, I guess I’ll have to keep the conversation going…
“’cause it’s your job, right? How long have you been practicing?”
Most Ultimates are quick to get a job, but it does happen sometimes that they’re just talented without really practicing it professionally yet. It’s fairly rare, though. Plus I don’t know how old Oscar actually is – though I’m assuming given everyone else’s age here, he’s probably younger than he looks to be.
“My whole life.”
“Your… Whole life? As a bodyguard? Really? I mean, how?”
“I was raised to be a bodyguard. But I think it was also instinctive of me. I always tried to protect people and things.”
“Oh, so you have like, a sharp sense of justice!”
“I think-”
The door suddenly opens and someone bursts in.
“Oscar! Is that where you were this whole time?!”
I jump a little, surprised to hear Mina, and… she’s so loud! Who does she think she is, Emily?
Oscar turns around at once and quickly walks towards her.
“Why did you leave without me? I thought you agreed to stay with me.”
She crosses her arms.
“Hmpf! Why didn’t you follow me, is the question! I thought you’d be behind me, and when I turned around, you weren’t even there!”
“I just… Didn’t see you leave.”
At least his voice has some sort of tone – and he sounds confused, nothing else.
“You should be paying attention to me at aaaaall times!”
“I…”
“Ha, don’t sweat it, I just didn’t pay attention, and I don’t really care. Let’s try to be more careful in the future, that’s it.”
“I..?”
Even more confusion. For the both of us, honestly.
“Why didn’t you ask Neo where I was anyway? I walked right past him.”
“Haha… Did you?”
“… Did she?”
“Young man, if you’re going to tell me I’m so small you didn’t notice me you’re going to have a bad time.”
…
…
…
“You’re in danger.”
…
“Oooh, I just remembered I totally have a rendez-voooouuus. With, like, someone. So see ya!”
I laugh, and turn around to leave as quickly as possible. If Oscar says I’m in danger, now I know not to take the risk!

Aaaaand back outside I am. Where do I think I’m going? If anything, I wanted to go talk to Noah, so why did I come here? It looks like at the end of the day, it’s not Oscar I’m terrified of, it’s definitely Mina.
I can’t help but let out a chuckle.
“And I love that!”
“Do you, now?”
Surprised, I immediately look up and in front of me. Here stands Isabella, smiling sweetly.
“Hi, Neo. Sorry to interrupt your monologue, but I thought I’d better bring you back to Earth. So, tell me, what is it that you love?”
I was taken aback, but I quickly mirror her giddy expression. Isabella’s smile, her words – they’d lighten up the most depressed hearts there are. I chuckle again.
”Ha-hi ! Nothing important. I just talked to Oscar and Mina and realized the latter had much more potential to scare someone than the first.”
Here I am again, trying to match her speech, but she doesn’t seem to notice or care. She simply nods.
“I see! It is possible indeed, though I think Oscar being so intimidating definitely plays into his potential.”
I nod back. Monokuma may have invited me to his (probably gruesome) party, and the Ultimate Detective may want to murder me with her own two hands, but everything about my interlocutor is so soothing, I can’t help but feel at ease.
“Hm-hm. Say…”
I glance around, and find that I may be in the exact same situation I was a minute ago.
“Isn’t Emily around?”
Isabella calmly shakes her head.
“No, she is not. She insists on giving me space from time to time, even though I keep telling her she doesn’t have to. I may even go ahead and say I would rather she never leaves my side!”
I listen attentively and instantly become curious.
“Why is that? Ah, is it that you’re worried?”
I know why Emily’s doing it, though – she thinks she’s annoying and wants to give Isabella enough space that she doesn’t make her life hell. It’s pretty reassuring to me that the latter doesn’t seem to agree.
“Well… I am worried, yes, but so am I about everyone. No, there are other reasons… For example, I simply enjoy her company. She may get a little while to get used to, but she is fun to be around.”
“I have to say I’m pretty glad to hear that’s how you see it! I’d have understood if she felt like too much for you. You know, on top of her personality, with her insisting to go out with you and all that.”
She laughs sincerely.
“I was taken aback at first, that is true, but why would I dislike that? It is flattering anything. Plus, you know, we are actually trying this out.”
“Huh?” I blink quickly a few times, and stare at her for a second, surprised and, or confused, I don’t even know.
“Trying what out?”
She goes back to peacefully smiling, though she looks very amused.
“Dating!”
“You and Emily are dating?”
I would add a million more question marks if I could. I totally didn’t expect that..! Aren’t they a little quick?!
… Though I can’t say I’m better, in a way. I grew attached to a certain person very quickly myself…
…
You know, Ciel. They’re such a good friend.
“I guess so? I’m not sure if we could call it dating, especially in a situation such as ours. But you know, it is all about the way we view our own relationship. We are trying things out at our own pace.”
“I… I’m glad to hear it! Yeah, I guess it makes sense. I just… Hm… What made you want to accept her request?”
She thinks about it for a second.
“Well… Emily is very sweet. And as I already said, I enjoy her company. I find her cute, and making her happy by accepting to try being in a relationship makes me happy too. Part of me is surprised that I would realize so late that I am willing to try such things with another woman, but I don’t mind much, as long as it feels nice.”
She looked very serious as she said this, but she soon starts to laugh giddily.
“This situation is definitely in need of a little more sugar, so she’ll be my honey! Whatever happens, we will be able to appreciate that we are together.”
I’m starting to feel very giddy too. I really didn’t expect Isabella to take a liking to Emily like this, and I’m really happy for them both! It’s cool to know that they’ll be here for each other against this situation. I don’t really know what to answer – I kind of what to say I’m happy again, but wouldn’t it be a little redundant?
“Hi, Mina.”
“Oh-oh.”
Noticing that Isabella is looking behind me, I slowly turn around. So she’s back… Is this how it finally ends?
“You! We need to talk!”
Oscar is following her – and behind them are walking Akiro, Jan and Alice, who just seem to be coincidentally leaving the main building at the same time. Mina’s interjection seems to make them curious, though, as they slow down and look towards us.
“Ah? Do we?”
I turn back around to look at Isabella. She looks surprised, though, in a way, calmer than I remembered her to be. Everything about this exchange seems to remind me how long I’ve been away and how many things I’ve missed…
“Yes. I’m bored.”
A pause.
“… Okay, can I help you in any way?”
“Absolutely! You see, when I’m bored, my brain has to question all my surroundings. It’s in constant action, you see. And right now, it wonders – it wonders about your talent.”
The Ultimate Make-up Artist looks a little relieved and smiles again.
“In that case, tell me what you are wondering about. It is probably nothing I could not answer.”
Mina laughs… proudly? Cruelly? Both?
“I think that to really prove yourself, you’ll have to act rather than answer, lady. Hm-hm…”
It’s definitely both.
“There has to be something to differentiate you from just any make-up artist… Say, Isabella Jewell, could you apply make-up on a man without making him look ridiculous?”
Isabella stares at her for slightly too long.
“What do you mean by… ridiculous?”
“Ah, I know what you’re gonna say – “but a lot of men wear make-up already”! But! Here comes my objection. As I have observed, a lot of them look like clowns... because it just doesn’t work. And yes, still, some men look good wearing make-up, but…”
“Got something against clowns?”
“With every statement she makes, I wonder a little more if she’s not actually clinically insane.”
So the three of them are still here, now still and listening – Oscar’s silent and emotionless look towards Alice makes her shut up immediately. Mina continues on.
“It makes them look feminine. What I want to know is… Isabella Jewell, Ultimate Make-up artist, could you apply manly make-up?”
Isabella looks completely taken aback.
“No cheating either! I know actors wear make-up, but it’s made not to be seen. I want visible make-up, on a man, that doesn’t make him look more or less feminine. And choosing someone too manly to begin with will be considered cheating, so Oscar is out of the question!”
“Phew.”
Isabella silently looks up at Oscar, looking somewhat expressionless. It looks like she thinks about it for a minute, but she then looks down towards Mina.
“Oscar is much taller than I am, so he would not have been my first choice anyway. Though I cannot really say I agree with your statement, seeing as make-up is-”
“She’s got a point, though!”
Everyone suddenly looks at Alice. It makes me notice that Jan and Akiro don’t look particularly interested, but they’re sticking with her anyway.
“I mean, not that I know much about make-up or anything. Anything you could say about make-up being genderless would probably be right, Isabella. However, it’s true that when a man wears make-up, it makes us perceive him as more feminine. Wouldn’t it be an interesting challenge to try and get around that?”
Another pause – everyone seems to be thinking about it, except for Mina, who looks extremely happy.
“I think I understand what you mean. In that case, yes, I think I would be able to do something of the sort. But for me to prove it to you, Mina, I would need a man to agree to the experience.”
Slowly, but surely, everyone’s heads turn towards Akiro. He, of course, notices.
“Uuuh…”
“Yes! Akiro would be perfect for this. As he has a naturally cute face, it’s probably even more challenging to do it on him! Yes, I repeat, Akiro’s perfect.”
“Hm, yes, I can definitely see how I would proceed around his traits…”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuh…”
Akiro quickly looks at everyone in turn, visibly not knowing what to say. Is that pure panic I see.. ?
“Yeah, Akiro, you should totally try it out, I’m sure Isabella could make you look sooooo cool!”
“Hm… Hmm…”
He nervously looks down towards the ground. Poor him… I guess I should step in and say something, they don’t seem to be realizing that he-
“But what if I’d like to try it?”
“Oh?”
“Quoi?”
Jan takes a step forward and smiles, looking amused.
“Why, I wouldn’t choose to put on make-up myself, but I have to admit I’m a little curious what Isabella could do. What do we say? If it works well and Akiro wants to do it too, you could probably do it again later with him. He doesn’t seem so sure, right now.”
The Ultimate Make-up Artist immediately nods.
“You would definitely do perfectly too. You have rather fine traits, which should match Mina’s requirements. Akiro does not seem to want to do it, but…”
She smiles as she looks directly at him.
“No regrets needed here – if you ever change your mind, I would be happy to practice on you. Most of my clients are women after all, and here, I have only been doing Emily’s make-up so far. Apart from mine, that is.”
I check her make-up out as she says that last sentence – hers and Emily’s look very different, but they both match each of them perfectly. It’s like a perfect fit, but in make-up, if that makes sense.
“Then it’s decided?”
Mina nods, looking extremely serious.
“I didn’t expect you to willfully do it… But yes. You work perfectly too.”
Having been speechless for as long as Jan talked, Akiro suddenly claps his hands together once.
“Y-yes! That’s much better! I can’t wait to see the results.”
Surprisingly, he looks genuinely interested.
“Yeah, same! Now that I think about it, it’s even fun- I mean, better if Jan’s the one to do it.”
“Then it’s decided. Would you like to follow me, Jan? I have set up my own make-up station in my room.”
She looks at Mina.
“Would you rather see the whole process, or only the results?”
Who shrugs.
“Nah, I don’t care how you do it, as long as you do it. We’ll wait for you here.”
“As you wish. I’ll make sure to take the challenge as seriously as I can!”
She know looks like she’s really getting into it, and she immediately turns around to walk towards the dorms. Jan stays for a second longer, to shake his head at Alice and smile to everyone, before he follows her.
I hear a hush – it was so discrete, so silent, other people with normal hearing may not even have noticed it.
(“I’m sorry.”)
And for some reason, Jan shrugs as he walks.
…
…
“I kinda wanted to do it, though.”
“Alright! Everyone entertain me while we wait!”
Luckily, Alice had borrowed a set of cards from the storage room upstairs, so the five of us played while Isabella was at work.






I didn’t really look at the time, but if feels like we didn’t wait for that long. Not that I had any idea how much time it should take-- either way, Isabella and Jan are coming back.
And… How do I put it? I’d say he looks fabulous, but doesn’t he always? Haha. I don’t know, really. His make-up looks awesome, like it perfectly suits everything about his face, down to shape and tone. As for the challenge…
Yes! It’s amazing, she did it! It’s clear he’s wearing make-up, in a fairly traditional way, but it doesn’t look feminine. It’s just. Wow. I can’t even describe it. Isabella really is an Ultimate, after all…
I look at Mina, thinking her lesson was learned, but she looks lost in thought.
“Hmm…”
“Here we are. What do you think?”
Smiling as always, Jan isn’t looking at anyone in particular.
“It’s perfect!”
“Well fuck, I kinda hoped it’d be laughable but it looks plainly cool.”
Akiro starts laughing either way.
“I love it! You look awesome!”
He genuinely looks happy- I guess he must be so relieved that it’s over and it wasn’t done to him, but I’m sure that if it had been him he would have ended up liking it!
Jan passes his hand through his own hair.
“Well, I’m satisfied with the results. Isabella did a great job.”
“Hmm… Yes. You performed amazingly, congratulations.”
Isabella hadn’t been saying a thing, but she sighs in relief.
“Thank you. After all, this was fun to do. Jan was very patient, which is unusual of first timers, but it helped me concentrate a lot better, and I appreciate it fully.”
“Please don’t make it sound like I’m hiding that I’m actually used to it.”
Jan looks somewhat embarrassed, through his endlessly chill attitude.
“So you won’t keep it or do it again?”
He shakes his head.
“I’m glad I tried it the one time but I don’t really want to live with make-up on my face.”
“Haha!”
“Bummer.”
“You definitely could, though. It suits you very well…”
She looks deep in thought.
“Let’s go, Oscar. My research is not yet over.”
She starts walking back towards the main building, and Oscar, who had not been very talkative the whole time, stays a moment longer to look at Jan.
“Thank you for your sacrifice.”
Then he leaves.
Isabella’s chuckle is the loudest, until something much louder appears.
“Sweetheart!! Noooo! You put make-up on Jan! Oh my goooood!”
Emily appears out of nowhere and runs towards Jan, grabbing his arms as she looks at his face very closely. He seems surprised at first, but lets her hold him without complaining.
“I love iiit!”
She lets go of him to jump into Isabella’s arms.
“Emily wants to know how you did it! Show me, say, show me!”
Isabella hugs her and laughs.
“Of course! Come to my room, I will show you what I used.”

Emily and Isabella have fled the scene, and Alice, Akiro, Jan and I remain.
“She’s very interesting.”
“Which-”
I turn my head to look at Jan, curious to hear what he wants to say about either one of our companions, and that’s when I notice them – the marks she left, where she held him just a minute ago.
He’s standing perfectly still, but something about the way he positioned his arms tells me he feels some discomfort, if not pain. Where each of her hands held them lie two red marks, so bright they look like they may burst open and bleed out at any moment.
All I can do is stare. Wh…
“What… happened..?”
My question must have been what caused Alice and Akiro to notice something was up, as her hand suddenly grabs his and lifts his arm closer to her eyes.
“Hey, what’s this? Did something bite you?”
Akiro stays silent, but he definitely gets closer to look at it too. So would I, but I’m scared it’d start to be overwhelming for Jan. Especially since if it’s what I’m assuming… It can’t be that bad, can it?
“You could put it this way, but it’d be confusing.”
He softly takes his arm away from Alice’s grasp and looks at the red mark himself.
“Emily… She must have been nervous.”
He grimaces.
“That’s how I felt it, anyway.”
“Wh-wh-what d-do you mean… th-that’s how you felt it?”
“I don’t really know… It’s something about the way she grasped my arms. The way she started holding on tighter and tighter… And seeing that she really didn’t look angry or anything, that all made me feel like she was extremely nervous.”
“Well, it’s definitely not swelling so… It must just have been that, huh? I mean, Emily holding you.”
No one says anything for a few seconds, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I learned that everyone else is lost having the exact same thoughts I am.
What does this all mean? Emily sounded so cheerful, and yet, she held Jan’s arm so violently she left those bright, scary-looking marks.
“D-does it hurt?”
“Less and less.”
“Hmm…”
I can’t help but keep staring at the marks. It looks like they’re slowly becoming more pink than red, but I feel like it’s going a little bit too slowly.
“Well, that’s good. I mean… It doesn’t look that bad, I guess. It’s just… worrying.”
I hesitate.
“For Emily more so than for Jan…”
I immediately feel embarrassed I just said that. Isn’t that really rude? I don’t want him to think I don’t care about him, or that I care about him less- either way, he nods calmly.
“I didn’t get enough sleep.”
“What?”
I reacted quicker than I actually thought it through… This answer’s just… Too weird, is it not? Jan looks pretty neutral too.
“Sometimes when I’m tired, my skin feels really sensible, like I could sometimes barely touch it and give myself a bruise. I was guarding the weaponry room last night and only took a nap this morning, so, you know… Maybe Emily isn’t such a brute as I may make it look.”
“Oh. Ooooh…”
“That actually makes a lot of sense.”
“That’s totally believable! Though I’m pretty sure she did put some force into it to make your arms look that red.”
Jan nods.
“That’s why I’m still saying she must have been nervous.”
He starts smiling as he stretches his upper body.
“And that all reminds me I could do with another short nap.”
“Yes!”
Alice is frowning at the same time she’s smiling.
“Just take one! You need to sleep well if you want to feel well.”
“I… We… We’ll wake you up in time.”
“In time for wh-”
“In time for Monokuma’s party.”
Yet another instance of myself talking before I thought, and I’m just now realizing that it’s something I’ve been doing all my life. So why is it only bothering me now? I’m okay without being rather careless, usually at least. Is it the stress? Is it our situation in itself, that’s making me worry like I never have before? I don’t know… I don’t want to know. I just want this all to be over.
I guess I could also tell myself I just didn’t want to think about Monokuma’s gruesome party to begin with.
“Mono… Monokuma’s… thing. Y-you know ? … I mean, do you know?”
I nod.
“Yeah… Do you think he told everyone already?”
“P-probably… He probably doesn’t have anything better to do with him-himself.”
“And in case someone doesn’t show up in time… We’ll make sure to run and find them, won’t we?”
He looks to Alice as he says that- I remember her making a fairly good leader within the first few hours we were here. Is that the role she’s definitely taken? Maybe it’s just her role within their trio. Though I doubt either Jan or Akiro really need a leader…
“Def! But you know what… I’m worried he couldn’t find Lois or Benjamin, since we definitely couldn’t. I’ll try to grab their attention while you’re napping, just in case.”
She turns to Akiro.
“Want to tag along?”
“S-sure, why not.”
“In that case, I’m off. See you later.”
With his usual smile, Jan half-waves at us and turns around to leave. Akiro silently stares at him for a few moments.
“He… He’s curious.”
“As in?”
He looks away.
“About Emily… I’m sure he is.”
“And what about it?”
I’m kind of curious to understand what happened to make her so nervous about Jan too. Is it weird that he is? Maybe I’m missing something.
“So what about you, Neo?”
“What?”
“Want to tag along too?”
“Ooh, no, sorry! There’s someone I want to talk to right now.”
I’d even say it has to be two people. I hope Chris is with Noah, right now… Well, I guess he’d understand me anyway, but I want him to be able to express himself.
“Okay then! See you tonight!”
Akiro lets out a nervous chuckle.
“We’ll need the both of you t-to… cheer us up when we have to deal with that stupid bear.”
I can’t help but smile in turn.
“I’ll make sure to be at my best. See you later!”
I nod and we go our separate ways, myself getting back in the main building, and Alice and Akiro heading to the dorms.
… Why is that? Would Lois happen to…
In that case, the voice I heard would be…
Ah, don’t think about it, Neo. I can’t just overthink everything when our situation is already so troublesome by itself.
I don’t run into anyone else as I walk up the stairs, and I can quickly see Noah and Chris sitting in front of the infamous weaponry room. The both of them immediately notice me and Noah waves his arm, smiling, visibly inviting me to come towards them. That I do.
“Hi! How’s it going?”
“We’re good.”
She looks at Noah as he signs something.
“Yeah. How about you, Neo? Our boy would hate to see you unmotivated.”
I laugh nervously.
“I’m totally fine! I mean… Apart from worrying about tonight. Did Monokuma tell you about it too?”
The both of them nod simultaneously.
“Yeah, I bet the little demon does his job well and everyone’s aware already. We were actually talking about what to do with guarding duty.”
“Oh, right… You’ll have to come with us.”
I take a glance at the door and no more, because just knowing what’s inside makes it ominous.
“We decided I’d make sure everyone’s there and come back running to get Noah, this way he’ll be the last one in here.”
“Ah, that’s a good idea!”
I turn to Noah. He’s smiling calmly as always… He kind of reminds me of Jan in that sense, but there’s something different about his expression. Jan smiles as if he’s aware of something and choosing to be calm, I don’t know how to put it, but there’s something intelligent about his eyes when he does it – Noah, on the other hand, just seems… Innocent, or something. Like he’s genuinely happy to see everyone, like he doesn’t mind much.
Then again, maybe that’s not the correct way to put it. Noah’s a soldier, he has to have a lot more experience than we all do, so… There has to be something intelligent behind his smile too.
Either way, I want to make sure he keeps it up.
“Hey… Sorry to change the subject, but could I tell you something?”
He immediately nods, and Chris doesn’t say anything.
“Well, about last night. Sorta. I just wanted to tell you, I have no idea how hard it can be to live with a handicap like yours… But I want you to know that it really doesn’t stop you from being charismatic and sweet. And I know Monokuma’s a prick but no one has any issues with the way you look. I think you’re beautiful the way you are.”
He looks taken aback at first, but soon answers with a warm smile. He turns to Chris and signs something.
She follows attentively and quickly starts translating.
“He says he’s thankful that you see it this way and that it makes him happy you went out of your way to tell him, but you don’t have anything to worry about, he’s fine.”
I was instinctively looking at Chris as she talked, but I remind myself that they’re really Noah’s words and turn my head towards him again.
“I’m glad to know you are..! Well… I thought it was important to tell you that anyway, since it’s true, and someone had to fix Monokuma’s hideous actions.”
He looks really pleased, which makes me exactly that too. I’m glad to know I could make things a little better.

I stayed here and we chatted for a while, mostly about what Monokuma’s invitation could possibly be about – and we all agreed he was probably just trying to waste our time and upset us – until came 7pm.