Chapter 15: Ch 15: Do you think I am a fool?

"Hey, are you going to keep sleeping the whole time?"

Noah was usually not bothered by his teammates, but he was in pain and also on edge from the constant looks he was getting from the other side of the classroom. That was the only reason he decided to disturb his teammate’s sleep.

However, Ethan only lazily blinked, and that was the last Noah saw of him before the bell rang.

"It looks like this is it for today. We will begin our first dungeon expedition tomorrow. Make sure you exchange numbers with your teammate and get along well."

The teacher finally left, and the espers all around the room immediately jumped at the chance to get acquainted with their guides.

Noah, on the other hand, had no choice but to wait for his partner to wake up...which did not seem to be happening anytime soon.

Moreover, he could see Daniel walking toward him with swift steps, with Alan following behind not long after.

"Are you done here? Then we are heading back to our room now."

Daniel did not even wait for Noah to confirm before dragging him away. And all this while, his partner refused to say anything...and Alan was still following them around.

It ticked Daniel off, and he decided to snap at the esper following him.

"Don’t you have anything better to do than follow me around?"

"But we have not exchanged numbers. How will I be able to contact you if I need you-"

"Figure it out yourself. Or better yet, get the teacher to change your teammate. I bet you are good at that sort of thing."

Daniel slammed the door shut, and Noah felt bad for Alan. He knew that it was Alan’s destiny to deal with Daniel’s mood swings before they started getting along, but even he felt like Daniel was being too sensitive about the situation.

’Should I say something? But what if I make the situation worse? Ugh, why is this so difficult?’

Still, Noah did not want to leave the situation alone, so he turned to look at Daniel, only to see an enraged expression on the other guide’s face.

"That bastard! He’s fooling everyone with that innocent face. Noah, don’t you dare fall for his act as well. That man will eat you alive if you give him a chance."

Daniel sounded sincerely worried for Noah, and that made him swallow his words. In the end, he could only sigh and try to ease the situation a little.

"Hey, maybe you should ease up and give Alan a chance? He might be acting fake, but it doesn’t seem like he intends to cause you any trouble."

Noah tried, only for Daniel to tighten his grip on him.

"You are only saying this because you don’t know the true nature of espers. They are bastards who will take any advantage they can get. This school is proof of that. But if you still want to believe in the goodness of espers, then go ahead. I won’t stop helping you next time."

Daniel sighed before turning around and heading back to his bed.

’Great, now he is mad at me as well. What the heck is wrong with this pair and their love for dramatics? Can’t they give me a break?’

Noah wanted to complain as well. It felt unfair that only one of them got to speak their mind.

’No, be the bigger person here. Fighting would only make the situation worse for me. I am the one who is desperate to get these two together, so I need to let this go.’

After all, it was not like Noah did not know why Daniel was saying all this.

He knew what kind of jungle this school was better than anyone else. The hierarchy here was brutal, and it would only get worse as the espers realized just how much power they had. Even an SSS-class guide like Daniel had not been spared.

’But all of it has nothing to do with me. If things follow the right track, then I will be out of here by the end of next month. I won’t have to take part in any of those incidents.’

At least, that was what Noah hoped as he went to sleep that night.

...

"Everyone, welcome to today’s class. As I reminded you all yesterday, we will be heading to the practice dungeon today. Please stay close to your partners and cooperate with the instructors as much as you can."

The teacher loudly proclaimed, causing the students to let out a groan...well, the guides did at least.

The espers, on the other hand, looked ready to burn off their energy and get some exercise...

Not that Noah could say the same for his partner. Ethan was still sleeping, and Noah could not leave without him.

"Hey, we need to get going. Are you going to wake up?"

Noah poked the sleeping kid sitting beside him, and Ethan looked up with a sleepy look in his eyes. He looked around and finally noticed that they were all alone. ℯℯ𝘭.

"Where did everyone else go?"

Those words pretty much confirmed that he had not been listening to a word Noah or the teacher had said until now, and Noah felt obligated to fill him in.

"We are entering a dungeon today. The teacher asked us to follow her. Let’s leave before we are late."

Noah explained, only to see Ethan sigh and rest his head on his arms.

"I’m not interested. You can go ahead if you want to, but I’m not going."

The esper refused to budge, and Noah felt lost. What could he even do in this situation?

’Tsk, should I sit this first exercise out? It might be fine since I don’t care about my grades. But that does not feel right. Ugh, maybe I should just use a little bit of my strength and pull him up-’

He did not even realize what he was doing until he noticed a pair of wide eyes staring back at him with a blank expression, causing him to take a step back.

Noah had accidentally grabbed Ethan and pulled him up without meaning to.

’Shit!’

"You...how did a B-class guide like you pull me up?"

Ethan asked, finally becoming suspicious. Even the slightest hint of sleep was gone from his eyes, and Noah’s mind started to go blank. It did not help that Ethan had him pinned against the desk with his arms on both sides, ensuring Noah would not be able to run away.

He was about to go into a fight-or-flight response, and his instinct was to knock Ethan unconscious and then dispose of him.

"It was my desperate attempt that made me stronger...?"

"Do you think I’m an idiot who would fall for that excuse?"

Noah’s excuse did not fool Ethan, and he was quickly running out of options.

’Shit! Let’s do that. I’ll think about the consequences of my actions later.’