Chapter 144: Ch 144: Discharge

"Are you sure you don’t want to stay in the medical wing a little longer? Your body might appreciate it if you stayed."

Erin was the only one who had the time to come and bring Noah once he was discharged.

Both Alan and Daniel had wanted to come, but they had already gone to class and were locked up in a dungeon-stimulation exercise that had been sprung up spontaneously to ensure they would not be able to meet Noah.

This sudden change in the curriculum allowed Erin to be the only one to stay by Noah’s side during this time. Even Riku was busy with some ’emergency work’ that had been arranged for him.

Of course, none of it was done according to Erin’s wishes. Instead, it was something the labs had arranged for him so that he could slowly start to isolate Noah.

The labs wanted to observe Noah’s changes and see if anything had changed or not. Erin had no idea what it meant, but he knew that it was going to make things tougher for Noah from here on out.

’I wish Noah would stay in the medical wing for as long as possible. Maybe if they see that his recovery rate is not good, then the labs would give up on him...’

Unfortunately, the labs already knew Noah had a fast recovery rate, so trying to hide it was of no use.

Still, an esper could hope...

"I am fine, Erin. See, I have recovered. Now, shall we head back? Ugh, I cannot wait to get back to class. I want to move my body once more."

Noah looked happy, and it made Erin feel conflicted about what he should do.

The right thing to do here would be to confess to Noah about what was going to happen and beg him to run.

’But Noah is too soft-hearted. He would never leave those two experiments alone and make a run until he knows that they are safe. Shit! I really did not want to get involved, but should I just push them together so that Noah feels self-fulfilled and leaves?’

The thought crossed Erin’s mind, but he did not know how to make it happen. But what he did know was how to fake it.

The only problem?

’I really do not want to deceive Noah. But it will be a matter of life and death for him soon. I am sure he would resent me once he knows the truth, but I would be already gone by then. And it won’t be bad to remain in Noah’s memories, even if only as a phantom he hates.’

Erin was not picky. He was going to take what he could from Noah, be it love or hate.

But first, he needed to make sure Noah was able to live past what was going to happen.

Erin already had one foot on the grave. He could feel how close he was to his end. But he was going to hang on for as long as possible and ensure Noah had his happy ending before his life force ran out.

...

Noah knew that something was wrong with him the moment he opened his eyes.

His body felt far too sensitive, and he could feel his guiding actively leaking out and rushing toward Erin as soon as he was in range.

Noah had never been able to radiate-guide like this. In fact, no one had been able to radiate-guide an esper, especially an SSS-grade one. This was the first indicator that something was wrong with him.

But he did not want to worry Erin, so he plastered a smile on his face and reassured him that nothing was wrong.

He was afraid that Erin would pick up his lie and call him out for it, but Erin never did. In fact, the esper seemed like he was lost in his own thoughts at the moment, and Noah felt worried and relieved at the same time.

Erin was not asking any questions, which meant he did not have to explain. But at the same time, it made him feel as if a weight was being pressed on his shoulders.

He tried to distract himself and Erin from the situation at hand and made an off-handed comment after looking around for a few seconds.

"It feels a little weird to head back to my room with you. I almost expected Daniel and Alan to be here. And where is Ethan? Are they in class?"

Noah tried to make small talk, and it worked. Erin blinked at him before passing him a smile.

"Alan and Daniel are in class. Ethan... well, he got into an accident and is resting in his room. Don’t worry, it’s nothing major. It’s just a small scratch from the dungeon exercise..."

Erin assured Noah, but it must have been a huge injury for him to be stuck in bed like this.

Thinking back... he did not even come and visit Noah in the medical wing. Was the injury truly that bad? When did he incur it?

’Did he even come to class on the first day? I... don’t think he was there? Or maybe he was?... ugh, this headache...’

The overwhelming guiding inside him was starting to make his head ache. Noah rubbed his forehead, and Erin quickly tried to get his mind off whatever he was thinking.

"Do you want to visit Ethan before heading back to your room? Maybe seeing him will make you feel relieved?"

Erin pointed out, and Noah felt like he should not. His guiding was too unstable...

’How weird. I am sure my guiding is unstable, but Erin has not said anything yet. Maybe getting a second opinion is not that bad.’

So Noah changed his mind at the last second and nodded.

"Sure, let’s pay Ethan a visit. I am sure meeting old faces will make him feel better as well."

Erin nodded and took Noah to Ethan’s room in the esper wing, and once there, Noah knocked at Ethan’s door.