Chapter 3: Ch 3: New Roommate

Sleeping in a new bed was as hard as adapting to a new environment. There was no way Noah was going to be able to rest under these circumstances.

But he needed to try if he ever wanted to live a normal life. So he forced his body to relax and fall into a deep sleep. It was not very successful, but he made sure he did not toss and turn during the night and disturb his roommate.

Daniel did not show the same consideration toward him.

The older Guide tossed and turned in his bed the whole night, gasping for breath and fighting against unseen hands trying to grab him.

His actions spoke of unhealed trauma, and his torment belonged to a time he did not even recall. But there was nothing anyone could do for him at this moment.

Based on Noah’s memory, the one who was supposed to help Daniel was Alan, but it would take some time. Until then, he would have to suffer like this.

Noah pulled his covers over his head to block out Daniel’s pain-filled voice. He could not allow it to start affecting him, and that was how his night passed—lying still in bed and listening to Daniel’s pained voice.

And once morning came, the loud alarm finally broke Daniel’s sleep.

Noah did not move as he felt Daniel moving around the room and gathering his belongings. His footsteps paused as he came closer to Noah’s bed before deciding not to wake him at the last second.

It was a decision Noah appreciated, mainly because he did not want to face Daniel at the moment. But he did wonder when he should pretend to wake up without making it look awkward.

Finally, Noah heard the sound of the door opening, and he waited a few seconds before pushing himself up. His eyes snapped open and immediately fell on Daniel’s startled expression.

"I...get up and change quickly, or you will be late."

Daniel let those words out at the last second before he slammed the door behind him and left for class.

Noah immediately looked at the wall clock and noticed that there was half an hour left before the lessons were due to start.

He did not know whether Daniel had left because he had felt awkward or because he simply wanted to arrive early. But either way, Noah felt thankful for it.

Noah walked toward the door and locked it before pulling his shirt over his head. His torso, covered in scars, met the cool air, and the still-open wounds made him flinch.

"Those ’guardians’ sure took a lot of blood before they decided I could come to the academy. Let’s hope I don’t need to show these wounds off anytime soon."

Noah grabbed his clothes and headed toward the bathroom.

He was going to take a quick shower and then rebandage his wounds to ensure they healed properly.

The chances of him getting an infection were next to zero because of his genetic make-up. But if anyone was capable of defying those odds and ending up with bad luck, it was surely him.

"Let’s not take any chances and do this properly. I need to get to class quickly. I don’t want to be late on my first day and attract unwanted attention."

...

Daniel was not disappointed with his circumstances. He already knew he was not going to get a single room, no matter how well he performed, and that hope had all but disappeared after the written portion of the exam.

But when his results as an SSS-Class Guide came out, that hope had reignited once more...only to be dashed when he saw his room assignment.

However, Daniel tried his best not to be disappointed. Having a roommate was not the end of the world, and he could adapt to this new change...

Right...

He should have been able to adapt to having a roommate easily after growing up in a house filled with various siblings who hated his guts.

But one look at his roommate had made his head start to hurt, causing his mood to go down the drain.

There was something vaguely familiar about his roommate, but he could not pinpoint what it was. ℴℴ𝘮

All he knew was that it made him feel irritated, and that, in turn, made it impossible for Daniel to keep his expression neutral.

It had even brought back the nightmares that he had finally managed to suppress.

And yet, despite all this, Daniel knew that none of it was his roommate’s fault. That kid was just trying to do his best and live a fulfilling life.

"Let’s take a deep breath and forget about all this. I’ll just pretend I don’t have a roommate. I don’t need to interact with Noah if I don’t want to-"

Daniel opened his bag to check his belongings, only to realize that he had forgotten his books.

The obvious thing to do would be to turn around and head back to his room...

But just the thought of facing his roommate made Daniel’s mood sour, and he turned toward his classroom instead.

Since it was the first day, he doubted anyone would ask them to open their books. And if they did, then he would simply admit his mistake. That would be far better than having to face Noah’s expressive face.

No one approached Daniel once he sat down, and he was thankful for it. The machine breaking down had been the greatest blessing of his academy life so far. It had ensured that his SSS-Class classification remained hidden from the other students.

But the teachers knew, and the looks they gave Daniel made him certain that they wanted to exploit him. Just letting them stare at him made his skin crawl.

He wanted to lower his head and pretend he could not see the looks he was getting.

It was so distracting that he did not even notice someone taking the seat beside him. He only realized he was no longer alone when his seatmate passed a familiar-looking book toward him.

"Here, you forgot this in our room, so I brought it along. Make sure you don’t lose it again, alright?"

Noah gave Daniel a smile, but instead of reassuring him, it made Daniel’s skin crawl.

The headache that had barely disappeared came rushing back, taking Daniel’s good mood with it.