Chapter 86: Ch 86: Sitting together

Noah slowly opened his eyes as he woke up from his sleep. He had a feeling he had slept well, but the contents of that dream were running away from his mind.

Still, he felt refreshed, and he stretched his body to get all the kinks out.

He was about to get out of the bed when Professor Erin passed him a cup of warm milk.

"Here, have some milk. I am sure it will make you feel better in the morning."

Noah tried to refuse, but one look at his professor’s smiling face told him that refusal was not an option.

So Noah accepted that cup and let out a sigh. It felt nice to be cared for like this, but it was awkward at the same time.

Moreover, his dream about the past...

’It sure has been a while. But somehow, it does not feel as unpleasant as it usually does after a dream about the labs.’

Noah took a small sip of the milk and looked at Professor Erin.

"Professor, did you stay here the entire night?"

Professor Erin paused for a moment before giving him another smile.

"Well, considering it is my room, it would only be fair for me to spend my night here. Right? Was the sleep that good that you forgot about that?"

Erin asked with a grin, and Noah wisely chose not to answer. He had a feeling that anything he said right now would be taken out of context...or maybe it would be in context, but he had no intention of thinking more about it.

Luckily, the professor also dropped this topic, and after a quick breakfast, they headed to the class...separately.

Noah entered the class and immediately noticed the tense look on Alan and Daniel’s faces.

They were not frowning, but it was a close thing, and Noah’s instincts warned him not to head toward them or he would be in trouble.

So he quietly tried to walk toward Ethan without being spotted, but it was too late. His body was being dragged toward the esper-guide pair without being able to do much.

Noah was standing in front of Daniel and Alan before he knew it, and he did his best not to look at them. But Daniel did not allow Noah to look away for long.

"You were not in the medical wing when we went to look at it today. Where were you last night? You do know that lying to us won’t do you any good. Rightttt?"

Daniel dragged out his last words to show that he was unhappy, and it made Noah flinch even more.

"Look, I can explain..."

He told Daniel, who simply smiled in a way that said ’continue’.

Noah swallowed and tried to think of an excuse that would not make the situation worse.

But the problem was that both Daniel and Alan were looking at him like they already knew something was wrong, and Noah had a feeling that whatever excuse he came up with would only make them even more suspicious.

In the end, he decided to go with the truth.

"I was...in Professor Erin’s room."

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere around him became even heavier.

Daniel’s smile disappeared while Alan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"You were where?"

Daniel asked, his voice suddenly much calmer than before. Somehow, this was even more terrifying than when he had been openly angry.

Noah immediately felt like this was worse.

"Professor Erin’s room. The medical wing had too many patients yesterday, so he asked Professor Erin to take care of me for the night. I also thought that it would be for the best since it was too late to arrange anything else."

Noah explained honestly, hoping that this would be enough to satisfy them. But unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"You spent the entire night in another man’s room? And an esper at that?"

Daniel asked, and Noah could hear the irritation in his voice.

"He’s our professor and he seems like a decent person. He did not even do anything to me last night."

"That does not answer my question."

Daniel pointed out, making Noah feel helpless. Noah knew that he had dealt a low blow to the other guide.

Alan, who had remained silent until now, suddenly stepped closer and looked Noah straight in the eyes.

"Why did you not call us for help? If you had, then we would have come to take you. Do we seem that unreliable to you?"

His voice was quiet, but there was something dangerous hiding underneath it. Noah could not help but feel a little nervous when he heard that tone.

"No...it’s just that...he was actually very kind to me. He even made sure I got enough sleep and gave me some warm milk in the morning. Besides, it was too late to call you...."

Noah answered, but the moment he said this, Alan’s expression became even darker.

Daniel also looked unhappy, although Noah could not figure out exactly why. It was not as if they were his parents. Noah could stay wherever he wanted.

For now, he turned around to head back to his seat when Alan grabbed his hand tightly on his own. His eyes looked a little scary, which made Noah close his mouth in order not to speak.

"You are sitting with us today."

It was declared just like that, and Noah quickly looked at where Ethan was sitting with a troubled expression.

"But my seat is there..."

"I am sure our neighbours will have no problem exchanging seats with you. Right?"

Alan looked at their neighbour pair, who looked far too happy to be away from him. They headed toward Ethan, who was already looking in their direction, and he quickly headed toward them.

Meanwhile, Alan used his powers to push the tables together, creating unevenness in the class. But he did not seem to care about what he was doing.

He simply shifted a chair and forced Noah to sit between himself and Daniel, ensuring there was no way Noah would be able to escape.