Chapter 184: Ch 184: A New Dungeon is Opening - Part 2

"We have recently noticed large-scale dungeon activity in the remote areas outside the city. The dungeon is likely going to be a nationwide problem if we do not resolve it now. As such, all of you will be sent—! Alan, are you paying attention to the briefing?"

The government official who sat in front of the bunch of espers and commanded them was the chief of public security.

He had been put in this position ten years ago by the government and was being made to work like a dog.

With the increasing danger of dungeons growing every day, his job was to keep the public safe and to send espers out to take care of the emerging dungeons. And he had become quite jaded due to his job.

Finally, when he felt like he could not take it anymore, the heavens had shown him mercy and sent Alan and Daniel to him.

The SSS-grade pair was a godsend to his department. But at the same time... there was something off about them. It was as if they were a ticking time bomb that could go off at any second.

The esper, Alan, looked especially fragile mentally and needed to be handled with care. Just looking at him was enough to give the chief of public security a headache.

Not to mention...

There was this air between the pair that was concerning.

Espers, by nature, were submissive to their guides and would not intentionally go against them, no matter what. That was true, no matter who you were or what you did.

However, there was a sense of disharmony in the pair.

They still guided and protected each other, but that sacred bond that a pair held to cherish each other felt like it was missing.

’Their relationship feels so forced. It’s like they do not want to be together, but are forced to by circumstances.’

And as a result, it felt like they both could not become each other’s leashes, and that was a problem.

An esper and guide without a leash could become troublesome in a terrifying way. But since it was only a possibility and there was no evidence, there was nothing he could do. He could only follow orders and allow the pair to flourish.

After all, even if the pair felt like a bomb, it was one under control for now. So it was worth using... at least for now.

...

The briefing felt like it would never end, and Alan felt his eyes closing.

He did not care about what was being discussed, and he did not care to pay attention either. After all, he knew that Daniel was taking notes and he would inform Alan of what they needed to do.

But honestly, it all felt useless. Living like this felt useless to Alan.

He just wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep. That way, he could meet Noah sooner, even if it was only in his dreams.

In fact, he was going to close his eyes when... a sudden pain in his side made him open his eyes wide and look at the culprit. And who else could it be but Daniel?

"Pay attention. I know you want to go to sleep, but now is not the time. He wouldn’t have wanted us to be like this."

Daniel’s words made Alan want to squeeze his throat and show him exactly what he thought about his words.

But the second his fingers twitched, his body froze. He could not bring himself to harm Daniel, and there was only one reason behind it—it was because Noah cared about Alan.

He would never want to see Daniel getting hurt... so Alan could not bring himself to hurt Daniel either.

In fact, that was the only reason he was still involved with Daniel in the first place... because he could not bring himself to go against what Noah wanted from him.

"Tsk, I have no desire to live like I am their guard dog. If you want to live that life, go ahead. Wake me up when the briefing is over."

Alan complained and closed his eyes.

He knew that he was being stubborn like this, but he was not going to change himself. What was even the point anyway?

The one person he wanted to look good in front of was no longer there.

Their teachers had told them that both Professor Erin and Noah had died during the attack on the academy, and even their bodies had not been recoverable.

Hearing this had broken something inside Alan, and he had never been the same ever since. His lips refused to smile, and his eyes became forever dull.

Even his energy levels dropped, causing the teachers to become concerned.

It was then that they suggested for him to head to the field—to forget what happened and to be able to live his life.

But that only made Alan resent them even more. They were driving him away from the one place where traces of Noah still remained.

So he thrashed the academy before he left and took Daniel with him. At the same time, he was convinced that Noah could not be dead.

The reason? It was simple—there had been nobody.

No, even if there had been a body, Alan’s intuition told him that he was right and that Noah was alive somewhere.

And if he was alive, he might come looking for them one day.

Once that day came, Alan was going to hold Noah down and make sure he wouldn’t be able to ever leave again. It was the least his guide could endure after putting him through hell and more.

You see, Alan had made the mistake of giving Noah freedom before. But it was a mistake he wouldn’t make ever again. This time, he would make sure Noah knew where he needed to stay in order to be safe.

There would be no need for Noah to go out anymore once he was done.

He could not wait for that time to come. And once it did, he wouldn’t listen to anyone and would do what he wanted.