System Mission: Seduce the Final Boss [BL]-Chapter 29: A friend sounds impossible
Blake’s eyes flew open.
His head shot up so fast he nearly smacked into Myles’ chin.
"—Hah?!"
He gasped loudly, the sound echoing a little too dramatically in the quiet bus.
But it was to be expected.
"Myles!"
Without thinking, Blake grabbed his shoulders.
His fingers tightened against the fabric of Myles’ uniform as he stared at him like he had just witnessed the birth of Jesus.
Then Blake froze.
Completely.
His brain replayed the last two seconds.
’Why did I grab his shoulders. Why did I shout his name. Why did I react like that?!’
Let’s just say that such reaction was meant to stay completely in his head, since he had simply noticed the number going up.
He should’ve smiled quietly like a normal person, but not whatever this was.
Blake slowly loosened his grip.
"...Ah."
He awkwardly let go.
The system window appeared calmly in front of him.
[ Dear Host, you are no longer at risk of favorability decay. ]
Blake blinked.
Another line appeared.
[ Current relationship stability: Established ]
[ Host safety level: Considerably increased ]
Blake stared at the words.
"...Huh."
So that meant no more sudden drops.
No more daily crying sessions about losing points.
His shoulders nearly sagged with relief.
’Oh thank go—’
"What is it?"
Blake snapped back to reality.
Myles had leaned a little closer, his head tilted slightly as he looked at him.
Their faces were much closer than Blake had expected, making him instinctively lean back.
Blake’s brain short-circuited for half a second.
"Oh."
Right.
He had just screamed seemingly out of nowhere.
"Haha," Blake laughed awkwardly.
It came out far too forced.
"Nothing!"
He waved a hand quickly.
"Just... uh..."
Blake glanced around, desperately trying to invent an excuse.
There were a few students on the bus looking over curiously.
Thinking fast, Blake leaned back toward Myles and gently rested his head against his shoulder again.
Like that had been the plan the whole time.
He lightly patted Myles’ arm.
"Just remembered something," Blake said.
Then, as casually as possible, he added,
"I forgot to say I love you earlier."
Silence.
Blake kept his face turned forward.
He couldn’t see Myles’ expression from this angle.
Which was for the better.
’That sounded normal, right? Yup, c’mon, the favorability didn’t decrease, so I must’ve sounded convincing.’ Blake reassured himself.
Meanwhile, Myles was looking down at him.
His gaze had darkened slightly.
There was nothing soft about it.
But nothing surprised either.
Blake, completely unaware, simply stayed there with his head on Myles’ shoulder like nothing strange had just happened.
The bus continued moving.
Ten minutes later, it arrived at the school.
Blake stretched his arms the moment they stepped off the bus.
"Ugh, finally."
The morning air was cooler here.
Students were already gathering near the entrance.
Blake grabbed his bag and started walking beside Myles toward the building.
[ New mission available. ]
Blake stopped mid-step.
’Oh my god, please, spare me.’
Another window popped up.
[ Mission: Help Myles Cortez make at least one friend ]
[ Time limit: 7 days ]
[ Favorability level: 5 ]
[ Reward: Skill from the spinning wheel ]
[ Penalty: ??? ]
Blake stared at the mission.
’...I’m sorry?’
He read it again.
Then again.
’Make... a friend?’
Blake slowly turned his head toward Myles.
Myles walked beside him quietly, hands in his pockets. He was a little bit of a stereotypical villain, of course, Blake was pretty sure he never cared for anyone that much to call them friends.
His eye twitched slightly.
’System, be serious. I would rather attempt to kiss his cheek again. How could you expect me to make a mass cold stone murder have friends?’
He somehow managed to look ordinary, but more to the point he was ignored most of the time.
Blake rubbed his forehead.
’Seven days...’
The reward sounded nice though, now that he was in a positive range, it was safe to say the skills would be more high level.
Blake sighed.
’Well, still, I’m rather doomed."
They entered the classroom together.
Just like usual, they took their seats next to each other.
Everything went on fast: attendance, introduction to a new topic, future projects.
Then the teacher had started writing something on the board.
Blake pulled out his notebook.
He stared at the blank page for a moment.
[ Temporary skill unlocked. ]
Blake blinked.
’...Huh, now what.’
A new notification appeared.
[ Skill: Through My Honey’s Eyes ]
[ Duration: 7 days ]
[ Effect: Allows Host to see Myles Cortez’s favorability toward others. ]
Blake paused.
"Oh."
Wait.
That actually sounded... useful?
’Since when has this system been useful in the slightest? I’m impressed.’
Without thinking much if it, Blake glanced casually around the classroom.
Then the numbers appeared.
Floating quietly above each student’s head.
-10
-10
-10
-10
Blake stopped writing.
His pen froze mid-word.
His heart suddenly began beating faster.
He slowly looked around again.
Maybe he had misread.
Maybe...
-10
-10
-10
-10
Blake’s stomach dropped.
’...What the hell?’
His gaze darted from student to student.
Every single one.
Every.
Single.
One.
Had.
A.
-10!
His pulse began racing.
Blake slowly lowered his pen.
He could hear his own heartbeat.
’That can’t be right!’
He glanced at Myles.
Then, above his own head, he could see his number reflected faintly in the interface.
5.
Blake swallowed.
A memory surfaced.
At the very beginning, when he had first gained access to the system, Myles’ favorability toward him had been -10, too.
Blake’s eyes widened slightly.
Back then, he had assumed something simple: the original Blake must have offended Myles in the original story. Maybe he had acted suspicious. Maybe Blake had bullied him.
Maybe something had happened that simply wasn’t mentioned in the novel.
But at the time, he hadn’t had the luxury to question it, survival had been more important.
So he had worked his way up from -10, until it became 5.
But now that he was a little bit more confident about his position, it turned out everyone was at -10 for Myles.
’It is impressive that they’re all the same exact number. Maybe he just hates this class.’
His pen slipped slightly in his hand.
’Wait, now that I think about it, this mean that Myles didn’t dislike me specifically. He dislikes everyone!’
Blake’s heart pounded harder.
It made him a little relieved, since that meant the original Blake and him had, most likely, no interactions.
But, at the same time, if it had taken him almost a month to drag that number from -10 to 5...
What chance did a normal person have?
Someone who wasn’t constantly hovering around Myles.
Someone who wasn’t forced by a system.
Blake slowly slumped in his seat.
’I’m supposed to make him friends in one week.’
He stared blankly at the board.
’...This is impossible.’
The class passed in a blur.
Blake barely absorbed anything the teacher said.
His mind was entirely occupied by one horrifying realization.
Every single potential friend candidate started at -10.
’But maybe, just maybe, there’s someone with at least a negative number that is a little lower... I can work with a -5. I swear I can!’
Lunch eventually arrived.
Students began leaving the classroom in groups.
Blake packed his bag slowly.
’Well,’ he muttered.
’Time to face everyone else.’
Myles stood beside his desk.
Blake looked up at him.
"Cafeteria?"
Myles nodded once.
They walked through the hallway together.
Blake activated the skill again.
Numbers appeared above everyone’s heads.
He checked.
Just to confirm.
-10
-10
-10
-10
Blake nearly laughed hysterically.
’No joke.’
Even random students walking past them had the exact same number.
It was almost impressive.
’How do you even manage this?’
They reached the cafeteria and grabbed their food.
A few minutes later, they sat down at their usual table.
Blake poked his rice with his chopsticks absentmindedly.
He needed a starting point.
Something.
Anything.
So he asked the most obvious question.
"...Hey."
Myles glanced at him.
Blake tried to sound casual.
"Did you make any friends while I was away?"
Myles stared at him.
The silence stretched.
Then he spoke.
"No."
His tone was completely unimpressed.
Blake felt his back start sweating immediately.
He stared down at his tray.
Exhaling slowly, something else occurred to him.
He glanced around the cafeteria again.
Full of -10 everywhere.
Then he pretended to stretch and looked at his number again.
A 5.
Blake blinked.
Then blinked again.
A small, almost shy feeling stirred in his chest.
’Wait... out of the entire school... every single person is at -10 except me.’
Blake felt warmth creep into his face.
A smile slowly formed before he could stop it.
"...Huh."
He tried to hide it by lowering his head slightly.
But the smile stayed.
He was the only one.
The only person in the entire school with a positive number.
Blake felt oddly proud.
A little giddy, even.
Across the table, Myles watched him quietly.
Blake didn’t notice.
He was too busy floating somewhere in his own thoughts.
Myles’ dark eyes rested on him.
Blake, still smiling faintly to himself, remained completely unaware.
