Chapter 38: Ch 38: Visit to the Hospital Room

’Sir, if I could have run away, do you think I would choose to put my life in danger like this?’

Noah’s mouth itched to say those words. But he chose not to say anything for now and instead allowed this misunderstanding to deepen.

Since the medical esper had offered Noah a way out of danger, he was going to take it. And the more pitiful he looked, the more help he would be able to get from the esper.

That was how Noah spent his first of many nights in the medical wing, and he also got his shoulder cured.

...

"Your shoulder is healed. When did you get it checked out?"

Daniel instantly caught Noah as soon as he entered the class, and Noah was forced to sit beside the other guide.

"Ah, I got it checked last night. It was too uncomfortable to sleep...I should head to my seat now..."

The other students had started to enter the room as well, but they all kept looking at them, trying to figure out what Noah was doing out of his usual seat. However, Daniel had other plans, and his grip prevented Noah from being able to change his seat.

He looked around to see if he could spot Alan, and the esper thankfully made his way toward their desk.

"Excuse me, but where am I supposed to sit today? Can I take this as an invitation to sit on your lap?"

Alan was just teasing Noah by asking this, but the glint in his eyes almost made it seem like he was serious.

"You wouldn’t dare..."

Daniel started to say, only to realize whom he was talking to and quickly let Noah go.

Noah quickly moved toward the back of the classroom, not wanting to risk Alan changing his mind about sitting with Daniel. But the uncomfortable feeling would not leave his mind even as he sat in his assigned seat.

Ethan arrived not long after and quickly noticed that Noah’s shoulder was healed.

"Did you get healed yesterday?"

The S-grade esper asked, and Noah nodded as he moved his arm around.

"I went to the medical wing during the night and got lucky. So you don’t have to take responsibility for me anymore."

Noah assured him, and Ethan looked relieved but also upset. He ultimately decided to hide his face between his arms, and his lazy habits started to resurface.

Not that Noah minded it even a tiny bit. He actually welcomed the fact that Ethan was distracted, and soon his partner would forget all about him once more.

Their teacher arrived not long after, and she held some papers in her hand. That meant that another important event was about to happen soon.

’What was supposed to happen during this time? I know I can recall it. Was it the drill training?’

The teacher confirmed his thoughts as she smacked the pile of papers on top of her table and gave them all a happy smile.

"Now that you brats have some experience with the dungeon, it’s time to get you all back in shape. We will be going for some real combat training at the drill hall tomorrow. Make sure you wake up early."

The drill training was the second important event during the original timeline...but Noah needed to focus a little if he wanted to recall what happened.

He was sure that there had been an accident, but it must not have happened to Daniel or Alan if he could not recall it.

’Why can’t I remember? Ugh, my head is starting to hurt now.’

[Warning: Please do not try to pass the mental barrier.]

The system warned Noah, which startled him. He had not expected the system to pop up.

Speaking of the system, Noah could not recall what it was. It had first appeared after he had seen a glimpse of the future when he was small, and it had advised him to hide his grade.

At first, he had jokingly thought that he had awakened as both an esper and a guide, but that was likely not true because Noah could not control this system.

’I am getting distracted now. I need to pay attention to the class...’

But since Noah had already gotten distracted, he could not bring himself to drag his attention back to the matter at hand.

Once the classes ended, it was time to head back to his room...or rather, the medical wing since his room was still in a dire condition.

The medical esper did not even bat an eye as he watched Noah entering the wing. He simply gestured toward the back side of the room for Noah to spend his night.

It was comforting and the fact that the medical esper did not ever introduce himself to Noah told him that the older esper was not interested in taking advantage of him.

Still, it was reassuring to have gotten some real sleep two nights in a row. Especially when the rough morning of the training drill started.

Noah was used to waking up at 5, but waking up for training made him feel unusually lethargic. He quickly freshened up and headed out toward the practice hall where he came neither too early, nor too late.

He was not surprised to see that the espers had gotten here earlier and were playing around to get their energy under control. But little did they know they would regret this decision soon.

Noah simply took his place and he felt Daniel’s familiar presence standing beside him not long after.

"You did not come to my room the past couple of days. Is something going on?"

Daniel asked in a quiet voice and Noah felt like he had to answer his carefully.

"Was I...supposed to come to your room?"

Noah asked and Daniel went quite all of a sudden. His face was so red that Noah feared he had gotten sick. But Daniel went back to normal after a few seconds.

"No"

But his tone made it seem like he expected Noah to come to him and was disappointed when Noah did not. And for some reason, it made Noah feel guilty.