Chapter 165: Ch 165: Staying Together - Part 1

The scientists put them in a safe space for observation not long after. Their room had a one-way mirror for observation.

There was no privacy in the world, but as kids, it was not a concept that they were well aware of either. Both Subject E-001 and G-002 seemed to stick to Noah quite well, and it made him feel safer to be with them.

But at the same time, since he had seen a glimpse of the future, it was hard for him to insert himself between the two who flanked his sides.

As a result, the air ended up being awkward, but the duo still clung to him like glue and followed him everywhere.

The scientists allowed them to remain like this for two days, and on the third one, they decided to pay them a visit.

"Hello, children. From today onwards, we will be your caretakers. It is also time for you to meet other kids at this facility. You all know your codes, right? Then, it is time for us to give you names."

The scientist pretended to be a happy person, and she even clapped her hands together in order to keep up the illusion of happiness. But Noah could read the weariness in her eyes as she looked at them.

She slowly approached them when Alan looked up, and he threw the researcher against the wall, startling everyone.

"Subject E-001 has gone rogue. We need to get him under control right now—"

This was not good. The scientists had been triggered, and they were talking about taking action against Alan. At this rate, he might be in danger. And that was the last thing Noah wanted for him.

So he immediately grabbed Alan’s hand tightly in his own, and that calmed Alan down enough to make it easy for the scientists to cautiously approach them.

Daniel did not want to be left behind, so he reached out to grab Noah’s other hand, which he granted him.

He awkwardly stopped between the pair, and the scientists let out a sigh as soon as they realised that the danger had passed.

"Subject E-001 is dangerous and suspicious of individuals trying to approach him. This is bad. It will make our task much more difficult in the future."

"But at least we have Subject S-001 to keep him under control. Subject S-001 must be one hell of a guide to be able to calm such a dangerous esper like this."

"Hmm, maybe we should pair them officially. As for Guide G-002, we will have to look into another batch. Should we separate them—"

Noah felt Daniel’s hand tighten in his own, and the other guide cuddled closer to him. He did not want to leave Noah behind in any way, which he understood.

But since he could not speak to reassure Daniel, he only clutched his hand tightly in return. It was a silent promise on his part to assure Daniel that he wouldn’t let the scientists separate them.

Especially not when Daniel’s and Alan’s destiny lay with each other.

He looked up at the scientists with his wide eyes, waiting for them to look back at him. And the second they did, they let out a sigh and rubbed their foreheads.

"Let’s postpone that decision for later. This is still early development, and we don’t know how the esper-guide bond will react once they are mature. It is possible that Esper E-001’s obsession might shift to the other guide."

One of the scientists sighed and proposed, causing everyone to look at her as if she had lost her mind.

But no one wanted to argue with her and create more paperwork for themselves, so they agreed to shelve this topic for now.

Noah let out a sigh and pretended not to notice what was going on. But he was very aware of what was going on in these labs.

...

Not long after that, it came time to test their power levels, and this was where Noah knew he needed to hold back.

He could see the head researcher sitting in between the scientists as well, but his eyes only seemed to be looking at Noah.

It made Noah feel nervous about what he was going to do next. But this was what was needed for the progressive development of the plot.

"Next, Guide S-001. We will begin the experiment now."

Noah nodded, and he felt the cold device interacting with his energy, reading it to see what grade he was at. And that was where Noah’s training from the past few days came in.

[Please hide your abilities for the sake of the plot.]

The system window greeted Noah as he looked at it with a complicated expression. But then his eyes hardened, and he got himself back under control.

The reading on the machine rose before it stopped near level B, just as Noah wanted it to.

He noticed the way these scientists flinched as soon as they saw the reading. They were wondering what was happening.

’That’s good. Keep thinking about what went wrong and where. As long as I act like nothing is wrong, you will be forced to stay this way.’

Noah suddenly felt proud of himself, and he closed his eyes. He had seen more than enough reactions for now.

He was about to tune the outside world out when he felt a presence standing in front of him. It made him open his eyes and look up.

The one looking down at him was the head researcher, and he had a weird expression on his face.

"Are you really a B-class guide? Or has the machine malfunctioned? Shall we check this myself?"

The man asked, reaching for Noah’s face, and it made Noah flinch in terror. He had a feeling that all his lies would be exposed if he got touched by that hand.

So he remained tense, and that hand kept coming closer and closer.

But the head researcher pulled back at the last second and instead flicked him on the forehead.