Chapter 231: Ch 231: Assignment Mistake - Part 2

"Alright, that’s enough. You can complain about it tomorrow if you want, but I am not letting you continue like this."

Alan tried to pull Noah’s hand away from his shoulder, but the moment he did so, Noah took another unsteady step towards him and reached out again, his expression remaining dazed and unfocused.

Alan barely managed to catch him before he stumbled, and the sudden movement made Noah cling to him even more tightly, forcing Alan to steady both of them against the wall.

"Good grief, Noah. What am I supposed to do with you?"

He muttered under his breath, realising that trying to reason with someone who was not even properly conscious was a waste of time.

He had no intention of hurting Noah, but if this continued for much longer, the guide might end up exhausting himself completely.

With a reluctant sigh, Alan finally decided that knocking Noah out was the only reasonable option left.

It took more effort than he had anticipated, since Noah kept resisting his attempts to get him into a position where he could safely subdue him, but Alan eventually managed to use his powers to knock him unconscious without causing any serious harm.

The moment Noah’s body went limp, Alan caught him in his arms and checked his face, feeling relieved when he noticed that his breathing was steady.

"You had better thank me for this tomorrow."

He muttered, carrying Noah into the bedroom and placing him carefully on the bed.

He then returned to the corridor, picked up Daniel, who was still unconscious, and hauled him into the room as well.

Alan had just finished arranging both of them on the bed when he realised that he had no intention of staying there himself.

After all, he had his own room, and he had absolutely no desire to spend the night squeezed between two people who had nearly driven him mad within the span of a few minutes.

Unfortunately, the moment he tried to leave, Noah’s hand shot out and caught his wrist.

Alan stopped and looked down at him in disbelief.

"Noah, I need to go to my room. Let go."

There was no response, which was hardly surprising, considering that Noah was completely unconscious.

Alan tried to gently loosen his grip, only for Noah to tighten it further, as though even in his sleep, he had decided that Alan was not allowed to leave.

"Are you serious right now?"

Alan stared at the hand wrapped around his wrist, then at Noah’s peaceful sleeping face, and finally let out a long, defeated sigh.

"Fine. But you had better not have a sudden burst of energy tomorrow and pretend nothing happened tonight."

He gave Noah one final warning, fully aware that the sleeping guide could not hear him, before climbing onto the bed himself.

Then, after grabbing Daniel and throwing him onto Noah’s other side, Alan settled down with as much dignity as he could manage under the circumstances.

"If either of you causes trouble tomorrow, I am leaving you both behind."

With those final words, Alan closed his eyes, deciding that dealing with the two troublesome guides could wait until morning.

He felt Noah snuggling closer to him and let out a groan at this. He could feel his body reacting to the presence of his guide so close to him, and it irritated him.

Alan wanted to get up and go to the bathroom to take care of his sudden problem. But Noah’s grip made it impossible.

’It’s fine. This will pass. Just count sheep for now, and I can get through the night.’

He reminded himself, but sleep was not granted to him.

...

Noah had a strange night of sleep. He knew he had been in a deep sleep, but his body still felt tired when he woke up.

More importantly, he was sure that he had gone to sleep alone last night, but when he woke up, he was no longer alone.

Both Daniel and Alan were in his bed, and he had a tight grip on Alan’s shirt.

It made him want to scream, but his throat refused to work. His body was relaxed as well, almost as if he were in a safe space where he could do what he wanted.

And it felt nice. He did not want to move an inch.

All he wanted to do was keep sleeping in that warmth so that it would continue to protect him. But then Alan started to stir, and Noah tensed up.

He looked up, only to see Alan opening his eyes and giving Noah a sweet smile.

"Are you awake now? How are you feeling? You started sleepwalking last night, and when we came to find you, you wouldn’t let us go. Do you recall what happened?"

Alan asked, and Noah shook his head. He had no recollection of what had happened. Not a single bit.

Despite that, he had a feeling that Alan was telling the truth. He must have approached Alan and Daniel in his sleep for them to end up in his room.

Alan let out a sigh and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Don’t worry if you can’t recall how or why you ended up here. It is not important anyway. I will go and prepare breakfast. I don’t think you are in a condition to get up, even if you want to."

Noah opened his mouth to tell him that it was fine. But the second he tried to move, he realised why it was not a good idea.

It was because someone had a tight grip on his clothes and refused to let go.

That person was Daniel, who was snuggling closer to Noah. And maybe it was Noah’s mistake, but he swore something felt different about Daniel.

He felt more... clingy, and his presence felt different as well.

It almost felt like Noah was lying beside an esper when he was with Daniel. The pull of his guiding was the same... which was really odd.

After all, Daniel was not an esper.