"Neries, let's talk about the exams. What exactly are you planning to do?"
"........."
After entering Neries's room, Yugo observed the interior while listening to Peewee press her for answers.
The room contained two beds, but with only one person's worth of luggage visible, it was clear Neries was living there alone. Snack wrappers and bread packaging littered the space, revealing that she had been subsisting entirely on junk food.
(It looks like she’s been leaving the room to buy these. She probably sneaks out while everyone else is in class.)
Judging by the wrappers and the fact that Neries herself looked tidy, she was likely still bathing regularly. She must have been sneaking out to the school store or the baths only when she was sure no other students would see her.
Yugo was genuinely relieved to see that her mental state hadn't deteriorated to the point of total apathy. He turned his attention back to Neries. Under the weight of Peewee's concerned questioning, she kept her head bowed and remained silent.
"Hey, please. Listen to me. If things stay like this, you'll..."
"........."
Every time Peewee spoke, Neries's mouth twitched, her lips pulled tight as if she were biting back a sob. Seeing this, Yugo raised a hand to signal Peewee to stop and spoke up in her stead.
"Hey, Neries. Are you eating okay?"
"Eh...?"
Startled by the unexpected concern from such an unlikely source, Neries looked up with a bewildered expression. Well aware of his own intimidating features, Yugo forced a gentle smile to avoid scaring her further as he continued.
"See, I heard you've been shut in here for a while, so I was worried about whether you were getting enough to eat. I just wanted to check on you."
"...I've been eating bread I bought, for the most part. There's tap water in the room, so..."
"I see. Well, that's a relief. But doesn't it get boring eating the same thing all the time?"
"Not really... I don't mind that sort of thing..."
Don't intimidate, don't make her cower, and don't dismiss what she says. While it wasn't a conscious strategy, Yugo was instinctively creating a safe space for Neries to speak, hoping to get her to open up.
If she wouldn't even listen to Peewee, her former party member, then a stranger like him jumping straight to the point would only cause her to shut down. Yugo planned to take things one step at a time, but Neries broke the silence sooner than he anticipated.
"...What are you doing here? Why did you come to see me?"
"Neries, we were the ones who asked Yugo to come. We've been constantly indebted to him lately," Verda explained.
"We thought he might be able to help you," Peewee added.
The two of them explained the situation to Neries, who had voiced a natural suspicion. She looked at Yugo, who remained silent as he waited for her reaction. In a voice thick with emotion, she forced the words out.
"...That's not the real reason, is it?!"
"Neries? What are you—?"
"You really just came here to laugh at me! You don't actually care about me at all!" Neries shouted at Yugo at the top of her lungs. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at the three of them. "I'm not stupid. I know what they're calling me! They don't say it to my face, but they're all mocking me behind my back!"
"Neries, that's not—"
"They are! I heard them! I'm the coward who froze up and pissed herself in the middle of a fight with a Magic Armor Beast! That's what they say!"
"......!!"
Verda and Peewee fell silent at Neries's agonizing plea. Seeing their reaction, Yugo realized that her words weren't just a delusion born of paranoia. Neries began to groan in pain.
"'Coward Piss-pants Neries, who can't fight for herself.' That's what everyone calls me. You're the same, aren't you? You came here just to get a good look at my face and have a laugh!"
"It's nothing like that! Yugo is genuinely worried about—"
"I don't want to hear it! I'm sick of this! Cyan-san abandoned me, everyone mocks me... and now my door gets destroyed just so you can laugh at me? This is the absolute worst!"
Refusing to listen to anyone, Neries slumped her shoulders and began to sob. Seeing her wildly fluctuating mental state, Verda and Peewee were at a loss for words. Yugo, however, reached out toward her.
"Neries...!"
"Hie...!"
"W-Wait, Yugo! Neries isn't in her right mind right now!"
Fearing that Yugo had been provoked by her outburst, Verda turned pale and tried to intervene. Instead, Yugo firmly took Neries by the shoulders. He looked her straight in the eyes and gave a deep, solemn nod.
"That feeling... I know it all too well."