Chapter 169: Ch 169: Kids will be Kids - Part 2

Noah looked between the two of them and could not help but feel a little helpless. They were still children, yet somehow they had already developed personalities that made it impossible for him to treat them like ordinary kids.

"Daniel, Alan is not a bad person. He just does things differently from you. That does not mean you have to hate him."

Daniel looked unconvinced, but he slowly loosened his grip on Noah’s arm. It was a possessive grip that would leave marks.

"I don’t hate him. I just don’t trust him."

Alan immediately leaned over Noah’s shoulder with a smug smile.

"I don’t trust you either."

"See?"

Daniel pointed at him as if Alan had just proven his entire argument, causing Noah to sigh and gently push both of them apart before either could start arguing again.

"You two are supposed to become important to each other in the future, so you need to learn how to get along even when I am not here."

The words slipped out before Noah could stop himself, and both boys stared at him with confused expressions.

"What does that mean? Are you going somewhere? Why won’t you be here with us in the future?"

Alan asked without missing a beat. Sometimes, Noah hated how sharp he was with these things.

Noah froze for a moment before forcing a smile.

"It means you should become friends. I might have to go out to school or learn other stuff. We might even be sent to dungeons with other people, so having more friends won’t hurt."

Neither of them looked convinced, but they eventually nodded. He could read it in their expressions that they had no intention of listening to him.

Noah quietly looked towards the observation mirror afterwards, his expression becoming serious.

He knew the scientists were watching them.

And if he wanted to save everyone, he needed to make sure they never discovered what he truly knew. And he also needed to repair this strained relationship in front of him within a limited time span.

’What a hard life I am living. Do these people know that I am the only one who is working hard to prevent the end of this world?’

Noah let out a sigh as he felt his spirit leaving his body. But he just smiled and bore all the burden of this task with a smile.

...

Time passed like this, and the personalities of the kids did not really change. What did change was the level of dependence and overprotectiveness he was facing from Alan and Daniel.

Daniel was very on-the-nose about it, clutching Noah when he could and dragging him away when he did not like something.

Alan, on the other hand, was subtle and found ways to isolate Noah even when he was surrounded by the others.

The worst part was that these two could still not stand each other, and it was starting to get annoying for Noah. He knew he needed to do something about it eventually. But now was not the time...or, at least, he did not think it was.

As he walked around, he eventually came across a group of scientists. He was about to call out to them when his instincts stopped him and told him to hide.

"—in the field. The data is not sufficient."

"Then we should start sending kids to the rifts to prove our point. Our funding is getting cut off if we do not show results."

"But these kids are too young and hardly understand their powers. We will be sending them to their deaths. I don’t know about you, but I have a conscience as well. I am not a bastard who would send kids to their deaths."

"Conscience? And you? Please don’t even joke about it. Aren’t you the one who suggested the new testing drug where the wrong dose could kill these children? Just say that you don’t want to lose any more."

"Tsk, fine! I don’t want to lose any more subjects. We are always on a limited budget—"

"But if we are able to prove that these kids are useful, then our budget would increase. What do you think? Still not interested?"

"Hmm, if that is the case...then I guess it is worth a shot."

The scientists continued to discuss more, but Noah felt frozen in shock. He could feel his mind trying to figure out what was happening, and it kept flashing warning signs in it.

Noah had a feeling that something was going to happen and that it would be huge. But he was not sure what.

"What do I do now—"

He asked himself when his mind flashed red.

[Congratulations. You have met the conditions to trigger resonance. You will now be shown a glimpse of the future.]

And the future was filled with fire. The whole facility was burning down, and people were running. The kids were burning, and Noah was...smiling?

"Finally, they will all be free. I have made arrangements."

His tired eyes looked at the kids being saved. The social services had been called, and the kids were being taken to safe places one by one. The facility was still burning behind him, but Noah felt a sense of safety and security...

And then he was pulled out of his daze and back to reality. He blinked as he tried to pull himself together, but it was a hard task. His head was hurting far too much.

However, he was sure about one thing—he could save these kids if he tried hard and got them out of danger in time.

It was going to require time and resources, but it was possible. It was something he had done in the future.

"Alright, let’s start recalling what I know. First, I need to get across to the scientists and make calls to social services and leave messages. I will need to work hard—"

Luckily for Noah, he was surrounded by espers who could help him out. But he needed to be swift.

Within a week, he would launch this operation to save these kids from this place.