Chapter 132: I JUST KNOW.

Chapter 132: 132: I JUST KNOW.

June was done feeding Nyx halfway when Nyx took over, eating as June sat there staring at him.

While Nyx ate and enjoyed the homemade food June had his parents send over for him, he couldn’t help but think about Nyx’s confession. He gave it some thought and figured that he also needed some time to think about it. His heart did flutter for Nyx, and he could already recognize some of the symptoms he was mature enough to understand.

But he felt he needed more time to sit with the idea.

"I..." June suddenly said, making Nyx look up at him. "Do you like the food?" He watched as Nyx enjoyed the homemade meal like someone who hadn’t had such delicacy before.

But for someone coming from such an environment, June could understand how such warm meals were a delicacy to him.

Nyx nodded, and June smiled. "I’ll bring it to you more often. Or you can come to my place sometime and enjoy it. I’ll have them make a lot for you."

Nyx stared at him. "Can I?"

June nodded. "Most definitely."

The two of them smiled at each other for a while before June finally spoke again.

"And..."

Nyx stared at him.

"...Can you wait for me till I return to the academy?" June asked.

"Huh?" Nyx raised an eyebrow, confused.

"I’ll give you a response when I’m back at the academy," June said with a smile. "Can you wait for me till then?"

Nyx hesitated for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Sure... I will."

June smiled as he continued watching Nyx enjoy his meal.

---

Kael sat on the hospital bed as he watched Ryan drop the fruit basket he had gotten for him on the table.

Kael cast him a suspicious glare. "And what’s that? Are they poisonous?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "I’m not that evil. What the hell are you even on about? Ungrateful."

Kael folded his arms. "The same glasses who threatened me back then? How am I supposed to believe you don’t have an ulterior motive for visiting me with that?"

Ryan turned to him with his arms folded. "Well, too bad. I genuinely came to visit you without any ulterior motives. So beat it."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Why? Why are you visiting?"

Ryan kept his arms folded. "Because I’m not ungrateful. And I actually know how to say thank you when someone saves me."

Ryan took a seat before him. "You got hurt badly at the final moment because of me... or at least I contributed, so I’m here to say thank you."

"..." Kael was silent as he stared at him. He felt shivers down his spine before finally saying, "What the hell...? Were you possessed at the academy or something? It’s odd hearing that from you."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Whatever. At least I said it, unlike some people."

Kael stared at the fruits. "You don’t have to. Besides, I was able to do a lot of things in the dungeon because of your assistance, surprisingly..."

Kael paused and stared at Ryan. "Aren’t you an F rank Guide?"

"Yes, I am. Why?" Ryan maintained a calm and composed expression.

"Then how did you do all that...?"

"All what?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I mean..." Kael cleared his throat. "Guiding me, knowing every strategy to use for different monsters and situations... and knowing how to maximize the powers of an Esper..."

He hesitated, staring at Ryan, who remained as calm as ever. "How is it possible that an F rank Guide can do that?"

But Ryan smiled. "Well, being an F rank Guide doesn’t mean I’m useless, though. I just can do it. I read a lot, after all."

"..."

Kael was still skeptical, but he slowly nodded. "Is that so...?"

Ryan sighed. "Whatever. At least that should teach you not to look down on an F rank, especially in your condition." He raised an eyebrow.

Kael stared at him. He understood what Ryan meant by that, and suddenly felt the need to talk about it.

"And..."

"How did you know about that...?"

Their eyes met as Ryan asked, "About what... specifically?"

Kael hesitated, clearing his throat awkwardly. "About my condition... You spoke about it before... At the washroom... Remember? How did you know about that?"

Ryan let out a soft smile as he stared down.

"Why are you laughing...? What’s funny?"

Ryan shook his head. "It’s nothing. Well, let’s just say I’m a paparazzi who knows a lot of things. I think that’s easier."

Kael stared at him. "Makes no sense. It’s not something anyone knows. So it’s impossible that you just know unless you have some special skill for that."

Ryan smiled. "A special skill for gossip? That’d be nice, though." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Well, I don’t know how I know. Is that possible?" He stared at Kael.

There was silence as the two of them stared at each other for a while. Kael hesitated in thought before finally asking, "You... how much do you know?"

Ryan hesitated. "How much do you want to know?"

There was silence again as Kael stared down at his fingers. "No. I don’t..."

Ryan remained quiet, watching him. Understanding him, he let out a sigh. "It must be scary..."

Kael was quiet as Ryan continued. "Scary not knowing when it’ll fall. One minute you’re a C rank, the next you might be an F. It must feel bad not having full control of it..."

Kael remained silent, simply playing with his fingers as though anxious in thought. He recalled memories he possibly wouldn’t want playing in his head at the moment.

Ryan stared at him, studying him for a while before casually saying, "Hey, do you want to see something interesting?"

Kael didn’t look up at him as Ryan continued, "Right now, you’re an E Rank Esper. After all that fighting, it went down."

Kael stared up at him, surprised. "How did you know...?"

But Ryan smiled, adjusting his glasses. "Do you want to see some magic? How it can go up from E to C in a matter of seconds?"