Chapter 138: Ch 138: It happened at Night

Three days after taking that mysterious medicine provided by Ethan’s mother, Noah finally woke up refreshed and feeling like he had energy. He immediately stretched his arms and looked at the door.

Professor Riku entered with a tired expression, but it brightened as soon as he noticed that Noah was awake and capable of doing much more than just lying there and resting.

"How are you feeling now? You gave me quite the scare last night. You wouldn’t wake up after your walk, and I had a feeling you wouldn’t wake up. So I decided to get a little rough with you. If you feel pain, then it is nothing more than tough love."

Riku quickly explained himself while looking at Noah. But the guide did not recall a single thing about what happened after he retired to bed.

For him, he had simply collapsed on his bed and gone to sleep.

Seeing his clueless expression, Riku let out a sigh and then shook his head.

"Seriously? You don’t recall anything that happened last night? Well, I guess that is for the better. I was so sure you were going to die that I was getting ready to face those brats after announcing your funeral."

The doctor looked stressed, which made it seem like last night had been truly brutal. But no matter how much Noah thought about it, he could not recall a single thing.

In the end, Professor Riku decided to inform him about what happened after he was taken to bed by Ethan.

...

Noah’s body looked heavy in Ethan’s hands, and the esper unconsciously held tightly onto him.

He seemed unaware of his own behaviour and his desire not to let go of Noah. It was an expected behaviour, so Professor Riku was not worried.

What he was worried about was the look in Ethan’s eyes when he looked at Noah. The esper looked like he did not want to leave Noah alone, and that was dangerous. A territorial esper could become a threat.

"Ethan—"

He called out, and the esper immediately looked at him. This was a good sign that showed that Ethan had not completely lost himself and that there was still some way to reason with him.

"Ethan, listen... you need to get back to your room for now. I will take care of Noah for you, alright? I am a medical professional, so you can trust me."

Riku reminded the student, who looked shocked but nodded quickly to show that he understood.

It took considerable effort for Ethan to pull back, but he successfully did so and headed out. But not before he looked at Noah one last time.

Riku let out a breath of relief and then looked at the unconscious guide in front of him.

Noah’s face was still pale, and there was a faint sheen of sweat covering his forehead. Riku carefully checked his pulse and breathing before pulling the blanket a little higher over his body.

"Honestly, what am I supposed to do with you? How do you manage to get in trouble every time I take my eyes off you?"

Riku muttered the words under his breath, knowing that Noah could not hear him. The guide had been through far too much lately, and yet he still seemed determined to push himself until his body could no longer keep up.

He checked the medicine Noah had taken and frowned slightly. There was something strange about the medicine or any food he had been given.

Everything was working as intended... just a little too fast.

Noah’s condition had been frightening only a few hours ago, yet his body was already showing signs of recovering. His fever had dropped, his breathing had stabilised, and even his energy seemed to be returning.

"Is this even normal? I know the esper and guide bodies are special, but even so, this is..."

Riku sighed and looked towards the door where Ethan had disappeared.

He was more worried about the boy than he wanted to admit. Ethan had behaved differently when he saw Noah like that, and Riku knew enough about espers to understand how dangerous that could become.

If Ethan developed a territorial attachment to Noah, things could become complicated very quickly, especially with both Alan and Daniel involved.

For now, however, Noah needed rest.

Riku pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down, deciding that he would keep watch until the guide woke up.

He had a feeling that once Noah opened his eyes, there would be far more questions waiting for him than answers.

But this was not even the start of bad things.

The truly bad stuff happened two hours after giving Noah the medicine.

Riku was busy doing his own thing when he heard a sudden noise and turned around. He noticed that Noah was awake. And not only that, but he was looking at Riku with a strange look in his eyes.

The guide gestured for Riku to come closer, and he felt like a moth to a flame, ending up in front of Noah before he knew it.

’What am I doing?’

Riku asked himself as he looked at Noah and waited for him to say something. But all Noah did was reach towards his face, and then guiding forcefully slammed into Riku, making him feel good and filled at the same time.

It was nice, awkward, and hurting, all at the same time. Breathing was so hard all of a sudden, but he could not pull back either.

He needed to allow Noah to do what he was doing. So he held still, almost as if he was under Noah’s command.

The guiding did stop, but Noah did not seem happy with this.

"Noah—"

Riku’s voice was so soft that he was surprised he even said anything at all. But Noah only looked at him as if he did not know what he was saying and let out a sigh.

"It hurts. I need to let out more. I cannot keep it contained."

And then, it felt as if something had broken, and Noah’s guiding filled the area.