Chapter 17: Ch 17: Are you interested in him?

’This stupid fool! Just what does he think he’s doing? Doesn’t he feel angry about the discrimination he is facing from the teacher?’

Daniel could not understand Noah and that made him angry.

Not only was Noah allowing Alan to walk all over him, but he was also enduring all kinds of injustice without talking back or doing anything about it.

To Daniel, this looked nothing short of foolishness and he would never even dream of living like this. So seeing Noah being this submissive to others...got on his nerves and made his instincts flare up to protect the other guide.

’Darn it! Why am I so affected by Noah? I have no reason to feel this concerned for him. We just met a few days ago, so where are these feelings of longing coming from?’

Daniel almost mistook his feelings for a crush before he decided to inspect them more carefully.

And he immediately noticed that it did not feel like a crush. Rather, his feelings were something deeper and older. But they were locked behind something he was afraid of opening.

Just being aware of all this made him feel pent up, leaving him short-tempered and ready to fight. And Noah was not helping with his laid-back attitude that suggested he would accept any abuse that came his way.

Daniel wanted Noah to fight, but if the person in question was not willing, then there was only so much Daniel could do.

Besides, their teacher seemed to have already made up her mind and she was ushering them all toward the dungeon.

"Once you are inside, be careful. This dungeon is not dangerous, but it can still be a hassle. Make sure you send a signal if it gets too much for you. And be responsible for each other."

Their teacher advised them before sending them inside the dungeon and Daniel braced himself.

It was not his first time in a dungeon and even Alan looked used to being in one. But Noah’s wide-eyed look of surprise was what caught him off guard.

Somehow, he had expected Noah to have already been inside a dungeon before, so it was strange to see his genuine shock.

"This is my first time in a dungeon like this. Is it usually this quiet and peaceful inside?"

Noah asked in awe as he tried to take in as much as he could. His injured leg was clearly bothering him but he tried not to show it.

’Huh? How weird! Why did I assume Noah had been inside a dungeon before?’

Somehow, Daniel found himself making too many assumptions about Noah without meaning to, and that was not good. He needed some time away from Noah to clear his head.

"Now that we are here, should we separate for a bit? Our teacher said it is a safe space and I want to check a few things out."

Noah asked and Daniel’s instincts instantly flared into action.

"I don’t think we should-"

"Uhm, do we have to move around too much? I’m too tired, so I would like to go to sleep. You can look around by yourself."

Ethan waved his hands in surrender before plopping down under a shady tree and closing his eyes. Daniel noticed Noah’s frustration with his partner before he decided to sit down beside him.

"I guess our team will be staying here. You both should look for the assignment objective in the meantime."

Noah sounded a little annoyed when he said this and it fueled Daniel’s desire not to leave him alone.

"I think I will stay back as well. I’m not feeling that well."

Daniel made up an excuse to sit beside Noah and try to figure him out. And he would have been successful...but he forgot about the one person who was determined to cause him trouble—his partner.

"Hmm, you want to stay back? That works perfectly! Then you should keep Noah’s partner company. Meanwhile, I can look around for the objective with Noah and we can bring it back for both our groups."

Alan proposed and before anyone could voice a rebuttal, he had already dragged Noah away with him.

Noah looked startled and kept glancing back at Daniel with a helpless expression. But Alan did not look like he was going to listen to anyone. And before anyone realized what was happening or could stop them, they were gone.

’What the heck just happened? Did Alan kidnap my roommate? That bastard!’

"Alan took your partner. Are you not even going to look for him?"

Daniel asked, hoping to see Ethan go after Alan and Noah. That way, he would also have an excuse to search for Noah.

But Ethan looked completely uninterested.

"Tsk, that is way too much work. If you want to look for Noah, then you are more than welcome to. But aren’t you a little too concerned about my partner? Do you like him or something?"

"Like him...? It’s not like that..."

Daniel instantly denied it, but his heart was not in it. The more he tried to deny it, the more it felt like the truth. Did Daniel...seriously like Noah? Maybe as a potential friend. But anything beyond that was questionable...

"Hmm, whatever you say. Whether you like Noah or not is none of my concern. I don’t even care about putting effort into this class because I already know I’m going to pass, but I cannot say the same for my partner. If he wants to pass, he will have to put in some effort himself."

Ethan closed his eyes again and went back to sleep. He seemed to have no interest in continuing his conversation with Daniel.

This felt refreshing and Daniel could not help but feel like Ethan was the kind of person he could get along with—someone who had no interest in him.

And yet, he could not help but feel irritated whenever he faced the esper, and he had a feeling it was all because of Noah. That was forcing some unfortunate realizations on Daniel that he would rather remain unaware of.

He had his own goals for this academy, and romance was nowhere among them.