"About the incident… was that you?"
Noor froze in shock.
(How did Suvro find out? There's no way. No… this isn't possible.)
"What do you mean?" Noor asked nervously.
"Ah, forget about that. Today I saw a dream—haha. I saw you beating Roy up. Maybe it's because of the news: someone beat Roy and his group nearly to death. The culprit is unknown, but it isn't possible that a single man beat fifteen wrestlers over 300 pounds. But at least that piece of shit got a lesson. Ah—"
Cough.
Cough.
"Arrgh…" Suvro groaned.
"Calm down, your body hasn't fully recovered yet. Doctor discharging you tomorrow doesn't mean you can mess around. You have to take full rest until you completely recover," Noor said.
"Ah, I see… Cough. But Noor, something about you changed lately. You're feeling like you've grown up. Also, how did you get injured?"
"I got hit by a truck."
"But Ashraf said you fell from the stairs." Suvro squinted his eyes.
"...…"
(Shit, I didn't know that. I have to do something.) Noor looked away.
"Ah… I lied to Ashraf about that. I don't want new problems. And it was my fault—I ran into the truck," Noor said, scratching his head.
"Why did you run in front of a moving truck? Are you planning to get isekai'd or something?" Suvro cringed.
"No, I was just carried awa—"
Suvro grabbed Noor's arms.
"Brother, listen. I told you before and I'm telling you again: no matter what the problem is, we will be with you. Us getting beaten by Roy wasn't your fault—it was my arrogance, my stupidity. I even got YOU into danger. Why do you think nobody values you anymore? Why did you try to do something stupid?"
"No… it's not like that…" Noor stumbled.
"Don't lie to me, Noor. I know it was because you couldn't do anything when Roy was hurting us."
Noor kept silent.
Sigh.
"Being weak isn't a crime. Nobody is born strong."
"YES IT IS!" Noor snapped.
His voice echoed in the room.
Suvro froze in shock.
"From my birth…
being stupid was my mistake.
Being a weakling was my mistake.
"But don't worry. Even though I am a weak human being… I won't let any of those bastards lay a finger on you." Noor gritted his teeth, looking down.
"Noor… what are you saying?" Suvro whispered, frightened.
"If those bastards try anything again… I will snap them into two." Noor gave a terrifying smile.
"Noor—"
"Huh? What?" Noor looked like he snapped back into his senses.
He got up.
"Get better soon, Suvro. Remember to eat well and take your medicine in time. I'll see you later." Noor left.
Suvro sat silently, staring at the door.
Some days passed.
I didn't get out of my room. The school was shut down.
My mind felt hollow. I stopped enjoying anything.
Miss Rosy kept checking on me to see if I was alright.
And Mr. Kevin… I haven't seen him for a long time.
Jenne—
Even though we live in the same place, I prayed I would never run into her again.
About Ria… I had no idea.
My mother kept calling me since that incident with Roy. She was worried something bad happened to me. After all, she's my mother—and a mother can't abandon her child.
But I never picked up her calls.
I heard Miss Rosy tell her that I was okay.
Maybe I'm angry with her… or rather ashamed that I couldn't do anything for her.
Noor was sitting on his bedroom floor, reading some books and drawing random things on paper—just like he used to since childhood.
Skritch.
Skritch.
"I used to love drawing from childhood. But now… I don't feel anything inside. What has happened to me?"
Noor looked out the window.
"The moon is bright tonight."
Noor got out of his room silently, holding the keycard.
After sneaking out from the mansion, he started walking along the road.
"The night is chilly… I wonder why I don't feel fear anymore. Even though I'm just a fragile human stuck between supernatural beings… it scares me sometimes, but then it fades away. It's like my mind is playing games with me."
The bushes by the roadside rustled.
Noor quickly looked over.
"You know, it's not okay for a 15-year-old kid to walk alone here this late."
Ria appeared from the bushes.
"What the—where did you come from?" Noor asked, surprised.
"I was about to meet you in your room. You know… through the window. My usual style." She scratched her head, grinning.
(Oh god… again. She changes her personality more than people change their clothes.)
"Oops, I said that out loud." Noor covered his mouth.
"Oi, that's so mean! Also, what are you doing here? I saw your room empty—that's why I tracked you through your scent."
"That's creepy," Noor said, disgusted.
"Again, Noor, that's how wolves track their prey."
"Huh? I'm your prey? You're planning to eat me?" He spoke with a grimace.
"No! No, that's not what I mean. We can also track our close ones."
"I'm your close one? Since when? I still haven't forgotten."
"Aw seriously—you're acting like this because I slapped you back to your senses and lectured you. It was for your own good, dumbass. Also, did you forget we saved your life from those bandits?" Ria said, annoyed.
"Yes, but Miss Jenne wanted to kill me. Didn't she?" Noor looked away, pouting.
"Oohhh, man… If she wanted to kill you, she could've done it the moment we arrived there. It was just to scare you so you wouldn't blabber your mouth everywhere. It would take her less than a millisecond to kill you—so why would she go through all that drama?"
"Oh." Noor replied carelessly.
"You look like you don't even care…" Ria cringed.
"Huh? Would you please explain why you're taking her side? And why are you two killing bandits? And why are vampires and werewolves fighting side by side? Aren't they enemies? What in the world is really going on?" Noor kept asking.
"Woah, woah—wait! I'll explain everything to you. But why are you acting so casual about these things? A normal human should break down after experiencing what you witnessed. What really happened to you?" Ria asked, confused.
"Oh, it's jus—"
"HEY! ARE YOU NOOR?!"