Chapter 199: Ayane to the Rescue.

Ayane stopped between the two of them, looked first at Noah and then at Nozomi.

"What are you doing?"

Nozomi smiled.

"Talking."

Ayane crossed her arms.

"This doesn’t look like a normal conversation."

"That’s none of your business."

Ayane answered without hesitation.

"It is now."

Nozomi narrowed her eyes.

"I don’t think so."

"I say it is."

Ayane positioned herself a little farther in front of Noah, something Nozomi noticed, and her expression changed immediately.

"Get away from him."

Ayane shook her head.

"I won’t."

"He’s coming with me."

Noah raised a hand.

"I’m not going with her."

Ayane glanced sideways.

"I figured."

Nozomi spoke again.

"Noah is confused."

"I’m in full possession of my faculties."

"He needs time."

"I don’t think so."

"And privacy."

"I already told you no."

Nozomi looked at Noah with a certain irritation.

"Can you stop answering?"

"I won’t."

Ayane almost smiled, but Nozomi didn’t.

"This has nothing to do with you, Ayane."

"You’re trying to take a high school student out of school against his will."

"I just want to talk to him."

"Then talk here."

Noah discreetly pointed at Ayane.

"That’s exactly what I told her."

Nozomi ignored him and Ayane took a step forward.

"You’re not taking him."

Nozomi also advanced.

"Who’s going to stop me?"

"Me."

The atmosphere changed, so Noah looked at one and then the other.

’This could end very badly.’

Nozomi smiled without joy.

"You always do this."

Ayane frowned.

"Do what?"

"Interfere."

"Because you always do something stupid."

"I don’t interfere when you get obsessed with your things."

Ayane’s expression changed while Noah raised an eyebrow and Nozomi continued.

"Or should I say your Prince Charming?"

Ayane clenched her teeth.

"Don’t start."

"Why?"

"Because you don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Of course I do."

Noah began to slowly back away, but neither of them looked at him.

’Good.’

Nozomi pointed at Ayane.

"You always act like you’re better."

Ayane replied.

"That’s not hard."

Nozomi smiled.

"At least I’m honest."

"Honest?"

"That’s right."

"Kidnapping Noah and forcing him to sign a marriage certificate isn’t honesty."

"I told him exactly what I wanted."

"That doesn’t make it acceptable."

Noah took another step back, then another, and they still weren’t looking at him.

’Perfect.’

Nozomi crossed her arms.

"You’re just jealous."

Ayane’s eyes widened.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"I have no reason to be jealous."

"Sure."

"I don’t."

"Then step aside."

"No."

"See?"

Ayane clenched her fists.

"This has nothing to do with jealousy."

"Then let me take him."

"No."

Nozomi smiled.

"Thanks for proving my point."

"That’s not your point!"

Noah was already several meters away, so he looked toward the next hallway and could run, but he needed to do it without them noticing too soon.

Ayane pointed at Nozomi.

"Besides, we received orders not to cause unnecessary incidents."

"This isn’t unnecessary."

"You want to kidnap Noah."

"Exactly."

"That’s unnecessary."

"To you."

Noah slowly turned another step while Nozomi spoke.

"When he and I are married, you’ll understand."

Ayane let out a dry laugh.

"That’s never going to happen."

Nozomi stopped smiling.

"What did you say?"

Ayane held her gaze.

"That Noah will never agree to marry you."

Nozomi changed completely.

"Take that back."

"No."

"Take it back."

"I said no."

Noah looked toward the exit.

’Now.’

He started walking quickly, then sped up, reached the corner and ran while behind him he heard Nozomi’s voice.

"Noah!"

’She saw me.’

Noah didn’t stop.

"Come back!"

He kept running while he heard Ayane.

"Leave him alone!"

Then both of them started arguing again, so Noah went down some stairs, crossed the lobby and passed by several female students who looked at him in surprise.

He didn’t care.

He left the building, crossed the campus and only slowed down once to look behind and check that no one was following him.

’Thanks, Ayane.’

He continued, since he had no intention of staying nearby, so the station was the best option to relax because he could board a train quickly.

While he ran, he took out his phone and wrote to the group.

[Nozomi is at the high school.]

Yume replied almost instantly.

[WHAT?]

[Luna: Where are you?]

Noah wrote while walking fast.

[I’m heading to the station.]

[Aria: Is she following you?]

[I don’t think so.]

[Iris: Don’t stop.]

[Ren: Are you okay?]

Noah replied.

[Yes.]

[Hikari: And Stella?]

Noah looked at the message.

[She already left earlier.]

That was good, since at least Stella wasn’t nearby.

He put away his phone, reached the street and the station was a few minutes away, so Noah slowed down.

He was already tired.

Besides, running down the street would draw too much attention, so he started walking fast.

’This is getting worse.’

First the Great Mother, now Nozomi inside the high school and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

The organization knew where he studied and several of its members were obsessed with him for different reasons.

Nozomi wanted to lock him up, while Ayane...

Noah preferred not to think too much about Ayane and he didn’t know how many more agents existed.

’I need a way to keep them from finding me.’

Changing high schools wouldn’t work, since they would track him down.

Stopping the use of his usual routes could help a little and he could also ask Luna to expand her detection barriers.

Aria could probably organize security while Iris could check cameras or systems.

Maybe even Hikari could come up with some method to detect members of the organization.

Noah kept walking.

’I can’t always depend on someone showing up to save me.’

Besides, now there was an even bigger problem, which was the Great Mother.

Noah slightly reduced his pace, since he remembered the fake Stella, the conversation, the ease with which she had entered his house and the way she had knocked him unconscious.

His family had been there completely vulnerable, so Noah clenched his teeth.

’We need to know how to detect her transformations.’

He couldn’t spend the rest of his life asking private questions to every person he met and it also wasn’t enough to rely on magical energy, since he didn’t know if the Great Mother could copy that.

’And what did she want with me?’

That question also remained pending.

Noah stopped and the station was already visible a short distance away, but a question had just appeared, one that was far too obvious.

Noah stood still.

’Wait.’

The Great Mother had had him under her control for hours, since he had lost consciousness.

He couldn’t defend himself, nor could he ask for help, nor activate abilities.

She had been alone with him, so she could have taken him anywhere and she could even have done exactly what Nozomi had just tried.

But she didn’t, instead she returned him to his house, let him wake up and then left.

Noah frowned and his fatigue disappeared for an instant.

’If the Great Mother had me under her control for several hours...’

He looked toward the station.

’Why didn’t she kidnap me?’