Chapter 204: Is it a memory or a nightmare?

"No..."

Noah was crying, but he didn’t know where he was, and he couldn’t remember how he had gotten there.

He could only feel the tears running down his face as he tried to get closer to someone.

There was a person in front of him.

A girl whose face he couldn’t make out and whose name he couldn’t recall, but he knew she was someone important. Very important.

"Please..."

Noah reached out a hand, and the girl didn’t respond, so he tried to get closer again, but for some reason he couldn’t reach her.

"Wait!"

His voice sounded desperate, but he didn’t understand what was happening. He only knew he didn’t want to lose her.

"Don’t go!"

The girl remained still, and Noah tried to remember.

’Who is she? Why am I crying? What happened?’

He had no answers, but the more he tried to get closer, the more distressed he felt.

"Please!"

Then he heard a voice.

"Noah."

He didn’t react.

"Noah!"

The image vanished.

"Noah!"

Noah’s eyes snapped open.

"Ah!"

He sat up so fast he almost hit the person leaning over him, who was Ren. She immediately stepped back.

"Hey!"

Noah blinked, looked around, and found himself in the classroom, sitting at his desk.

Most of the students had already left, and the blackboard still had some notes from the previous class.

Noah brought a hand to his face.

"What...?"

Ren watched him with concern.

"Are you okay?"

Noah took a few seconds to answer.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"I think so."

Ren crossed her arms.

"Then stop falling asleep in the middle of class."

Noah lifted his gaze.

"I fell asleep?"

"No, you were practicing how to snore with your eyes closed."

"..."

Ren sighed.

"Of course you fell asleep."

Noah checked the clock. Quite a bit of time had passed.

"How long was I out?"

"Long enough to miss the end of class."

"Great."

"You were lucky I woke you up before the next classes started."

Noah settled back into his seat.

"Thanks."

Ren studied him.

"Did you sleep badly last night?"

Noah hesitated.

"A little."

That wasn’t a complete lie, since ever since his encounter with the goddess, he’d had trouble stopping himself from thinking about what had happened.

Even though he’d managed to get several hours of rest that night, he still felt strange, and now he’d had that dream.

’What was that?’

Noah tried to remember the girl’s face, but all he could recall was that he had been crying over someone he couldn’t recognize.

Ren leaned in a little.

"Noah."

"What?"

"Did you have a nightmare?"

He looked at her.

"Why do you ask?"

"You were talking in your sleep."

Noah went still.

"What did I say?"

Ren thought for a few seconds.

"Something about not leaving."

Noah felt an immediate discomfort.

"I said that?"

"Yeah."

Ren looked at him again.

"You seemed pretty worked up."

Noah lowered his gaze.

’It wasn’t a normal nightmare.’

For some reason, he could still perfectly remember the feeling of sadness, but he couldn’t recall what had caused it, and that was strange.

Noah had had nightmares before, and even dreams related to his previous life, but normally he managed to remember at least part of what had happened.

This time he couldn’t.

Ren sat on the nearby desk.

"Want to tell me about it?"

Noah shook his head.

"I don’t remember much."

"Nothing?"

"Just that I was crying."

Ren stayed quiet, and Noah tried to smile.

"Probably just something dumb."

"You didn’t look like you were dreaming about something dumb."

"Well..."

Ren looked at him seriously.

"If you’re worried about something, you can talk to me."

Noah stayed silent for a few seconds, then smiled.

"I know."

Ren seemed satisfied.

"Good."

At that moment, Noah’s phone vibrated, so he took the chance to change the subject.

"I got a message."

Ren raised an eyebrow.

"How convenient."

Noah pulled out his phone and saw the notification was from Stella, which surprised him.

Ever since he’d recruited her, they’d exchanged a few messages related to training.

They’d also talked in the group chat, but Stella still wasn’t in the habit of messaging him directly.

Noah opened the conversation.

[Stella: Hey, Noah. Are you free this afternoon?]

Noah blinked, and Ren noticed his expression.

"Who is it?"

"Stella."

Ren’s eyes widened slightly.

"The actress?"

"Yeah."

"What does she want?"

Noah kept reading.

[Stella: I wanted to ask if you could come with me to see a movie.]

Noah froze.

’A movie?’

He read the message again. He hadn’t misread it.

Stella Lumina was inviting him to the movies, so Noah brought a hand to his chin.

’This is dangerous.’

His goal was still for Stella and Hikari to develop a relationship.

That was exactly why he’d been trying to keep a certain distance.

Even though they were now teammates in the magical girl group, Noah still had to be careful.

Ren leaned in a little.

"What’s wrong?"

Noah partially showed her the conversation, so Ren read it and then looked at him.

"Noah."

"What?"

"Is Stella Lumina asking you out on a date?"

"It’s not a date."

"She invited you to the movies."

"That doesn’t mean anything."

"Just you."

Noah stayed quiet, and Ren smiled.

"Interesting."

"Don’t start."

"I didn’t say anything."

"You’re smiling."

"Because it’s interesting."

Noah looked back at the screen.

He could turn her down, and that would be the simplest thing, but he remembered that Stella was still adjusting to her new situation as a magical girl.

Maybe she wanted to talk about that.

It was also possible she needed a break after several days of work, and he had already explained to her that she could count on the group whenever she needed help.

’I shouldn’t turn her down without knowing the reason.’

Besides, the conversation with Hikari had made one thing clear: he couldn’t control every relationship the girls developed.

Noah typed a reply.

[Noah: Yeah, I’m free. What time?]

The reply came shortly after.

[Stella: Five o’clock. Can we meet at the station?]

[Noah: That’s fine.]

[Stella: Perfect. Thanks.]

Noah put his phone away, and Ren was still watching him.

"You accepted?"

"Yeah."

"Then it’s a date."

"No."

"A trip to the movies."

"That, yes."

"Just the two of you."

"That’s right."

Ren smiled.

"Then it’s a date."

Noah sighed.

"Ren..."

She started laughing.

"Fine, fine."

Noah slowly shook his head.

’I definitely should’ve kept this a secret.’

A little later the next classes started, and Noah tried to pay attention, but several times he found himself thinking about the dream again.

’Who was that girl?’

He got no answer.

At five in the afternoon, Noah arrived at the station.

He’d decided not to wear anything too eye-catching, so he was only wearing a plain shirt, dark pants, and a light jacket.

While he waited, he checked his phone. Stella had sent him a message.

[I’m almost there.]

Noah replied.

[I’m near the entrance.]

He put his phone away, and a few minutes later he heard his name.

"Noah!"

He turned his head and saw Stella walking toward him.

She was wearing casual clothes along with a cap that hid part of her hair, and she was also wearing discreet glasses.

Noah smiled.

"Hey, Stella."

Stella stopped in front of him.

"Did you wait long?"

"No."

"Good."

Noah looked at her clothes.

"Are you in disguise?"

Stella raised an eyebrow.

"Disguise?"

"The cap and the glasses."

"It’s so people don’t recognize me."

"So that’s a yes."

Stella smiled.

"I guess so."

Noah glanced around. No one seemed to have noticed her, which was good.

"Shall we go?"

Stella asked.

"Sure."

They started walking toward the theater, and for the first few minutes they talked about simple things, like high school, the upcoming training sessions, Stella’s work.

Noah took the chance to ask her something he’d been thinking about ever since he got the message.

"By the way..."

Stella looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you want me to come with you?"

She blinked.

"To the movies?"

"Yeah."

Stella thought for a few seconds, then answered naturally.

"Because you’re pretty much the only person I trust right now."

Noah went quiet.

’What?’

He looked at her while Stella kept walking. She didn’t seem to think she’d said anything strange, and Noah frowned slightly.

"The only one?"

"Well, not literally."

She smiled.

"But with you I can talk without worrying too much."

"What about Hikari?"

Stella looked at him.

"Hikari?"

"Yeah."

"She seems like a good girl too."

Noah nodded quickly.

"She is."

"Besides, she helped me a lot with the schedules."

"She’s really smart."

"I noticed."

Stella smiled.

"But we’re still getting to know each other."

Noah stayed silent.

’So are we.’

That was exactly what felt strange, since Noah and Stella hadn’t known each other for very long either.

They’d eaten together once, and after that she’d become a magical girl, but then they’d only shared one training session. That was it.

’How can she trust me this much?’

Then he remembered the other girls, and all of them had developed feelings toward him in ways Noah had never predicted.

Some had even started taking a romantic interest after fairly brief encounters.

Noah felt an immediate discomfort.

’Wait.’

He looked at Stella, who was walking calmly beside him.

’Don’t tell me...’

The possibility appeared in his head.

’Does Stella also have some romantic ulterior motive with me?’

Noah tried to reject the idea.

’No, not necessarily.’

But he remembered the message again.

An invitation to the movies with just the two of them, and now that answer about trust.

’Please, no.’

Noah looked ahead.

’This time I want the original romance to work.’

Stella noticed he was quiet.

"Is something wrong?"

Noah reacted.

"No."

"You look worried."

"I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About the training."

Stella smiled.

"That sounds very responsible."

"I try to be."

She let out a small laugh, and Noah decided to change the subject.

"So what movie are we going to see?"

"A romantic one."

Noah went still for a moment.

’Of course.’

Stella continued.

"Someone recommended it to me."

"Ah."

"They say it’s pretty emotional."

"I see."

Stella looked at him.

"You don’t like romantic movies?"

"I don’t have any problem with them."

"Perfect."

Noah smiled uncomfortably.

’This definitely feels like a date.’