Chapter 226: Ch 226: Joining the Association - Part 4

Noah turned around, only to find Alan standing behind him with an expression that made it clear he had no intention of letting him leave without resolving the matter first.

"Take this."

Alan held out his security card, and Noah stared at it for a moment before looking back at him in confusion.

"What about you? How are you supposed to get back into your quarters without your card?"

"I have other ways of getting in. Besides, I can always get a replacement if necessary, so there is no need for you to worry about such a trivial matter."

Alan’s tone made it sound as though he were offering Noah a piece of candy rather than handing over something he needed to access the upper floors of the association.

Noah, however, was not particularly keen on accepting such a favour, especially when he knew that Alan would undoubtedly use it as an excuse to stick even closer to him in the future.

"I can manage with my own card. I will figure something out when I need to come back."

"I don’t doubt that you will find a way in here, Noah. But I would rather not see you suffer unnecessarily."

Alan’s answer came so quickly that Noah could not help but stare at him.

"Alan, I am not a child who needs someone to hold his hand every time he goes somewhere."

"I know that. But you are also someone who will stubbornly insist that everything is fine even when it clearly isn’t, so I would rather not take any chances."

Noah opened his mouth to argue, only to realise that there was very little point in doing so.

Alan was looking at him with the same unyielding expression he used whenever he had already made up his mind, and Noah had a feeling that the two of them would remain standing here until someone finally gave in.

In the end, Noah reluctantly accepted the card with a sigh, deciding that it was better to get this over with than waste any more time arguing with Alan.

"Fine. I will return it once I get my own access upgraded. You will help me with that, right?"

"Of course I will."

Alan replied with a smile that suggested he had no intention of asking for it back anytime soon.

Daniel, who had been watching their exchange from the side, stepped forward.

"We should be the ones to accompany Noah to the meeting room. That way, the others would know not to bully him."

Alan immediately agreed, apparently unwilling to let Daniel have the opportunity to spend time alone with Noah, and for a moment, it seemed as though Noah would have two escorts accompanying him on his very first assignment.

Unfortunately, their plans were interrupted when both their intercoms began beeping almost simultaneously.

Beep

[Esper Alan, Guide Daniel, you are both being called for emergency assistance. Please report to the emergency terminal.]

The two who were being called exchanged a glance before answering their calls, and their expressions grew increasingly unpleasant as they listened to the instructions coming from the other end.

It was clear that this call had been made deliberately in order to separate them from Noah.

"Looks like we have a mission as well," Daniel said, looking as though he would rather throw his intercom out of the nearest window.

Alan’s expression was no better, but neither of them could simply ignore an official mission without causing trouble for themselves.

After a brief discussion, the esper leader who had been standing beside Noah offered to accompany him instead, assuring the pair that he would make sure Noah reached his destination safely.

Noah accepted the offer, and the two of them headed towards the elevator together.

However, when they finally arrived at the designated floor, the people waiting there turned around and stared at the esper leader in complete surprise.

"Why are you here? We never requested your assistance! Are you even in the system?"

The esper leader looked just as confused as they did, but before he could answer, someone checked the mission logs and discovered that his name had indeed been included in the assignment.

His designated task was to assist the research and assistance team.

Noah stared at the screen, and the little patience he had left began to disappear.

’Of course. Why wouldn’t it be something like this?’

He had a terrible feeling that his first day at the association was going to be far worse than he had anticipated.

"Are you sure about this? We were there when the intercom called for him. Esper Alan and Guide Daniel were there as well, and they can vouch for him."

The esper leader spoke calmly, but his words were clearly a threat that made the other side flinch.

The threat of getting Daniel and Alan involved was just too much for them, and they decided that it was better to clear up the situation before that happened.

"We are quite sure about it, but let us check again... How weird. It turns out you do have an assignment."

The assignment officer looked shocked as he examined the assignment report in front of him. It was displayed on the screen with Noah’s name on it.

Seeing this, the assignment officer looked a little embarrassed and decided to clarify.

"It was not here when I checked ten minutes ago. It must be truly urgent if someone sent it on such short notice. It is about helping the research team with their work."

The assignment officer told Noah, which made him flinch.

This was the last thing he wanted to do. But work was work, right? And it would be best if Noah did as he was being asked to...

At least, not as long as he was under cover. He could not afford to make anyone suspicious of him.

Noah forced himself to maintain a calm expression, accepting the assignment without further complaints, although he had already begun planning how to investigate the research team without exposing his identity.