Reborn in Mushoku Tensei

Pov: Sylphie

I used to get bullied a lot.

Every time I went outside, my green hair would catch everyone's attention. Nobody wanted to be around me. If it weren't for my parents' love, I think I would've given up entirely. My mom even bought me a shirt with a hood to cover my hair, and I cut it short, hoping that maybe… just maybe, people wouldn't notice.

But they always noticed.

No matter how hard I tried to hide, the stares never stopped. People treated me like I wasn't human, like I didn't belong. I asked my mom and dad if I was a Supard. They always said no, but their answers didn't change anything. Why did everyone hate me? I didn't have a gem in my head. I didn't do anything to hurt them. I was just born with green hair. If only I could've been born normal…

At first, it was just the stares, but that didn't last.

Three older kids started bullying me. It started small. They'd call me names "monster," "demon," things I didn't want to believe were true. They told me to leave the village, like I wasn't meant to be here. My mom told me to ignore them, but it was hard. Their words hurt, but I kept walking. I didn't want to let them get to me.

I thought if I could just be strong, I'd be okay. Strong for myself, strong for my parents. If I smiled through the pain, they wouldn't have to worry about me.

But ignoring them only made things worse.

One day, I was skipping along the road, carrying food for my dad. It was a good day or it should have been. Then I saw them. The usual group, standing in my way. "Demon," they said. "Monster."

I kept walking, holding the basket close to my chest, pretending they didn't exist. I told myself I wouldn't cry. I couldn't cry. Not in front of them.

That's when the first rock hit me.

It struck the side of my head so hard I fell, and my food tumbled out of the basket. Before I could get up, a clump of mud hit my face, cold and wet, sliding down my cheeks. I wiped it away quickly, trying to protect my dad's food, but it didn't stop. Rocks, mud, sticks—everything they could grab, they threw at me. Their laughter echoed all around me, filling the air with cruelty.

I didn't fight back. I just sat there, shielding the basket, letting them humiliate me. The mud clung to my skin, soaking into my clothes. It felt like I wasn't even a person. Maybe they were right. Maybe I really was a monster.

After that day, it didn't stop. Every time they saw me, it was the same. Rocks, mud, laughter. I tried running, I tried hiding, but they always found me. So eventually, I stopped trying. I'd just sit there, take it, and focus on protecting my dad's food. That was all that mattered.

I couldn't tell my parents. If I told them, they'd overwork themselves trying to fix something they couldn't fix. So I suffered in silence. Whenever they asked why I came home muddy, I'd lie. "I was playing in the mud," I'd say, trying to smile. But I couldn't smile—not really. Smiling wasn't meant for people like me.

I started to believe that I wasn't meant to be happy.

Maybe I wasn't meant to exist.

It was like the world was punishing me for being born. For having green hair. For being different.

One day, I was out delivering food for my dad again when an unexpected storm hit. The wind howled, rain pouring down so hard it hurt. I tried to run, but the mud slowed me down, and soon I was soaked, shivering, and cold.

I found a tree and curled up beneath it, clutching the basket tightly. I didn't cry. I just sat there, waiting for the storm to end, letting the cold seep into my bones. This was normal for me. Misery was normal.

And then… he came.

I didn't even hear him at first, not over the sound of the rain. But when I looked up, I saw him standing there, my world my love my god my life a boy my age with dirty blonde hair and a mole beneath his eye.

He wasn't afraid of me.

He wasn't staring at me like I was a monster.

For the first time, someone saw me. Just me.

A/N: get me to 30 power stones and I'll release 3 chapters