Chapter 108: Taking Drey Away~

By the time Ethan reached the dorm cafeteria, his stomach was already reminding him that he hadn’t eaten properly in far too long. He quickly got something for himself and enough food for Lumi before returning to his room, where he sat down and finally ate in peace.

Lumi, of course, was much more interested in her own meal.

Ethan fed her carefully, watching as the little fox happily ate what he had chosen for her, and he couldn’t help feeling relieved now that she was acting like herself again. After everything that had happened, seeing her energetic and perfectly fine was enough to ease some of the worry that had been sitting heavily in his chest.

Once both of them had finished eating, Ethan cleaned himself up and prepared to leave again.

His next destination was the infirmary.

He wanted to check on Rin.

When Ethan arrived at the infirmary, however, he was immediately informed by one of the nurses that Rin had already been discharged.

"Already?"

Ethan blinked in surprise.

He had expected Rin to remain there longer, especially after what had happened to him.

Since there was no point staying at the infirmary anymore, Ethan decided to visit Rin directly in his dorm room instead.

He had barely gone very far when he noticed something strange.

People were running.

Several students were hurrying in the direction of the academy entrance and the front gate, some of them talking excitedly among themselves as they rushed past.

Ethan frowned slightly.

What was going on?

He considered following them for a moment, but he still wanted to check on Rin first, so he continued toward his friend’s dorm room.

When he finally reached the door, Ethan raised his hand to knock.

Before his knuckles could even touch it, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

Rin came rushing out.

He stopped abruptly when he saw Ethan standing directly in front of him.

"Ethan!"

Before Ethan could even react, Rin grabbed him immediately.

"I was just coming to find you!"

Ethan stared at him for a moment before slowly studying his friend from head to toe.

How the hell did Rin have this much energy after only just being discharged?

"When were you discharged?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow. "I went to the infirmary, but they told me you weren’t there."

"This morning," Rin answered casually.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

"This morning?"

Rin nodded.

"You were discharged only this morning, and you’re already running around like a mad dog without a leash?"

"I’m fine!" Rin insisted, already tugging Ethan along. "Come on, we need to run."

Ethan resisted for a second, planting his feet firmly.

"Why?"

Rin looked at him as though the answer should have been obvious.

"Almost everyone is gathered outside to watch the Association come take Drey away."

Ethan immediately stopped.

"The Association is coming to take Drey away?"

Rin nodded.

Ethan’s brows furrowed.

"Why?"

Rin lowered his voice slightly as they continued walking.

"Rumors are saying that after the rift mission, Drey became unstable because of the large amount of miasma in his body that the Guides weren’t able to purify."

Ethan’s expression changed slightly.

"Apparently, the academy admitted him into the infirmary and used the Association’s drugs to stabilize and guide him, but it wasn’t getting any better. So T he Association demanded that he be brought to them instead."

Rin gestured toward the direction everyone was running. "That’s why everyone’s gathering. They want to see what state he’s in before the Association takes him away."

Ethan didn’t respond immediately.

He simply nodded absentmindedly.

The situation Drey was in...

It had been caused by him.

Ethan knew that.

He hadn’t felt particularly guilty about it before. At the time, he had been too focused on surviving and protecting himself to care about what would happen to Drey.

But now, after hearing that Drey had become so unstable that the Association had to take him away, a strange feeling of guilt slowly began to settle in his chest.

"Ethan!"

Rin’s voice pulled him back.

He was already urging Ethan to run.

"Come on!"

The two of them immediately picked up their pace, hurrying toward the academy entrance with the rest of the students.

For a while, Ethan remained unusually quiet.

Rin noticed.

As they ran, he glanced sideways at him.

"Why are you so quiet?" Rin narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Don’t tell me you still have feelings for Drey and you’re sad that he’s leaving."

Ethan opened his mouth to answer, but Rin didn’t even give him the chance.

"Have you lost your senses?"

Rin looked genuinely offended on Ethan’s behalf.

"That man did so many cruel things to you when you two were engaged just because he wanted to get rid of you! And even when he didn’t do some of those things himself, he just sat back and watched other people carry them out."

Ethan forced a small smile.

He didn’t know what to say to that.

Rin was right.

Drey had treated the original Ethan terribly, and even if Ethan himself hadn’t experienced all of those things in the same way, he knew enough about the past to understand what Rin was talking about.

Still...

I did something bad too.

His gaze lowered slightly.

But then another thought followed.

If it was to Drey... maybe he deserved it.

Ethan pushed the thought away as they finally reached the academy’s front grounds.

He immediately slowed down.

There were so many people.

Ethan looked around in slight amazement.

The entire area near the academy entrance was crowded with students, and it seemed like almost everyone who wasn’t currently in class had gathered there.

Drey is that popular?

Ethan had never realized it.

Why hadn’t I heard about any of this?

He only knew because Rin had told him.

The crowd continued to grow as more students gathered around the front entrance, while those who were still in class discreetly peeked through the open classroom windows, clearly trying to see what was happening outside without getting caught by their instructors.

Ethan looked around until he suddenly spotted two familiar faces.

Jake and Lara.

The moment they noticed him, both immediately waved.

Ethan smiled and waved back.

Rin, however, frowned slightly. He nudged Ethan with his elbow, giving him a suspicious look.

"I see you were making new friends while I was hospitalized, huh?"

Ethan rolled his eyes.

He was just about to answer when the sound of an approaching vehicle suddenly caught everyone’s attention.

A van pulled up directly in front of the academy gates.

The crowd immediately became quieter.

Ethan’s eyes landed on the logo displayed on the side of the vehicle.

His expression changed.

He knew that logo. It was the Association’s logo.

The exact same logo he had seen on the shelves belonging to the association inside the research facility.

Ethan stared at the van as it came to a complete stop.

They were here.