Chapter 32: Ch 32: Removing the Cast

Daniel’s room was leagues better than Noah’s, to the point where he felt jealous of his fortune. For the first time, he wondered if revealing his real designation would have made his life better or not.

’Hey, are you a fool? Why would you ever want to out yourself and close off the only way out?’

Noah could not slap himself physically without leaving evidence, so he decided to slap himself mentally instead.

After that, he let himself inside Daniel’s room and sat on the unoccupied bed while Daniel freshened up in the bathroom. But because the bed was so soft, Noah felt like he was being lulled into a shallow sleep.

He closed his eyes for a second to rest, but only woke up when he felt the bed moving beneath him.

Noah opened his eyes, only to see Daniel looming over him with a look of concentration on his face.

"Can I...help you?"

Noah asked in a small voice, feeling weirdly comfortable lying between Daniel’s arms. But the other guide did not reply for a whole minute.

Finally, he pulled back, and Noah still had no idea what he had been trying to do.

"Daniel-"

"Let’s get your foot checked out by the doctor. I heard that the medical esper is back, so we can finally get that cast off you."

Noah had no idea what was going through his former roommate’s mind, but it was clearly not anything good. He was acting too oddly for it to be normal. And moreover, it did not seem like Daniel had even realized it.

But as much as Noah wanted to point all this out, he knew that it was not his place to do that. So he allowed himself to be dragged to the doctor’s office, where he was made to sit.

The medical esper that came out looked relatively younger than the other staff, but the tired look on his face made him look like a grump.

"Who’s here to waste my precious time? Can’t you brats hold yourselves back from doing something dangerous for one second...wait! You are a first-year guide? How the hell did you manage to get your leg broken?"

The medical esper looked irritated at first, but then startled once he noticed Noah’s broken leg.

Noah could only let out an awkward laugh while Daniel answered the question.

"He jumped out of a window and failed to land properly."

The medical esper looked stunned, and he rubbed his ears to try and clear them.

"Excuse me, but what did you say? I think I misheard you-"

"He jumped out of the window. Can’t you put two and two together and figure out what happened? Do you truly need me to spell it out for you?"

Daniel was on the verge of yelling, and Noah felt like he needed to stop him before he ended up causing a scene.

"Hey, it’s fine! It was concluded to be an accident. So there is no need to get angry about it."

The medical esper looked even more awkward at Noah’s words.

"It was concluded to be an accident? I think I see what is going on here...anyway, make sure you sit still for the next part. And if you feel like yelling, don’t hold back. The healing will hurt."

The medical esper gave Noah this warning before he started to channel his power into Noah’s broken leg.

Being healed like this burned. Noah felt a scream building up in his throat that he did his best to hold back. But it was just too much for him to handle.

Despite his high pain tolerance training, nothing could have prepared him for having his insides melt and be rearranged.

"Ahhh...Fuck..."

It went on and on until Noah felt like he wanted to pass out. But his training prevented even that relief from reaching him.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the medical esper stopped, and Noah’s body sagged in relief.

"Did it hurt? I was told that it is just a little more painful than childbirth. Anyway, congratulations on getting your foot healed. I hope I don’t see you here anytime soon."

The medical esper told Noah with sincerity, but his attitude was making Noah uncomfortable.

Daniel must have agreed as well, because he grabbed Noah and decided to tug him out.

"Let’s go now that we are done here."

Noah lost his balance as soon as he was dragged away. He tried to maintain it, but it was of no use. Daniel was just too strong.

"Tell me where your room is and I will drop you off."

"My room is....wait, I need to do something else before I head back to my room. Also, can you let me go?"

Daniel demanded, and Noah barely caught himself in time before he could blurt out where his room was.

Daniel stopped dragging him and looked at him with a concerned expression.

"Is something else wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong! I just want to run around for a while since my leg has healed. Being in the cast felt truly suffocating. You should head back to your room and rest. It was a long day for you."

Noah was subtly trying to tell Daniel that he wanted to be alone, but Daniel was not getting the hint. Either that, or he was willing to ignore what Noah wanted entirely.

"I don’t think I should leave you alone. I will have plenty of rest later. So how about I accompany you for now-"

As much as Noah liked Daniel, he also needed some alone time. He had a feeling that the other guide was getting too dependent on him, and it was straying away from the person he was supposed to be in his vision.

But he was also running out of excuses to make and...

Noah’s eyes finally fell on his savior—the one person who could get him away from Daniel with a solid excuse.

Ethan noticed him and instantly turned around. But it was too late for him to run away. Noah quickly walked toward him and grabbed his arm.

"I want to work on my partnership with Ethan as well. See, I won’t be alone now. So you don’t have to worry about me."

Noah promised, hoping that this would be enough. But Daniel still did not look satisfied.

"Maybe I should still come along-"

"Hey, what is this? Are you all doing partner training without me? How sad! This is going to break my heart."

Alan decided to show up as well and made the situation worse.