Chapter 116: She is suspicious
Third person's POV:
Hannah and Kai Lee were engaged in a friendly chit-chat.
Karthik on the other hand remained silent, his gaze fixed on the door, anticipating something.
Nola was sat near a window.
She was about to speak when suddenly the room's door swung open.
Instantly, a crushing pressure flooded in that hit everyone by surprise.
It was a D rank mana pressure—almost near D+.
But there was something strange about it—the mana felt murkier, and strangely pure.
This was due to the mana circuits.
Nola's eyes widened in surprise, her gaze finally absorbing the figure stepping through the door.
It was Noah.
Noah, scanned the faces of his unit members, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"Oh, right," he let out in realization, before skillfully reabsorbing the mana leaking from his body.
With politeness, Noah greeted his unit.
Karthik and Hannah, were unfamiliar with Noah's background. They were not from class A1.
Hannah couldn't help but blush slightly. She shied away, offering only a small 'Hi' to him.
Nola was Noah's friend, so she knew him a bit.
Despite feeling skeptical about his sudden rise in ranks, she chose not to immediately ask about it.
On the other hand, Kai, who had only known Noah by the nickname 'machete guy,' wasn't sure what to make of this situation.
***
Noah's POV:
I sat by the window, my head cradled in my hand, my eyes gazing up at the blue expanse overhead.
Sometimes, I almost forget to appreciate this blue. It's not something I was used to.
'Perhaps, this is exactly how my world was, back in the past.'
Lost in my thoughts, a gentle, sweet voice broke through, coming from my right—"Um, hey?"
I tilted my head, only to be met with a blonde beauty. Her hair gracefully framed her neck, styled in fashion.
Her eyes resembling the color of rosy bubblegum.
With a soft smile, I addressed, "Yes, Nola?"
As I took a moment to see her, I couldn't deny that she was undeniably good-looking.
But, it didn't matter.
"Why did you ignore my messages?" she asked, her gaze piercing, and a hint of frustration in her voice.
Puzzled, I replied, "What message?"
She narrowed her eyes, as if to imply 'seriously?'
Now that I think about it... I didn't touch my phone after Svetlana left for the academy.
I was too busy researching about laboratory 1817.
On top of everything, who needs a phone when I could connect with Nathan using Nano? It made the whole concept of a phone redundant in my life.
I gave her a wry smile saying,"Maybe you messaged a wrong number?"
'Buy my bullshit!'
I Added, "Why were you even trying to text me?"
In response, Nola playfully waved her hand in the air, mimicking a motion as if it were broken.
"Remember what you promised?" she asked, teasingly.
Ah, right... I did promise to make it up to her when I broke her hand in the unit test. Although, I must admit, there was a kind of satisfaction when I watched her writhe in pain.
"I will make it up to you"—I promised.
Dismissing her complaints, whatever they were, I shifted my attention to Karthik.
-"Noah! Look this wa-"
The guy had his eyes fixed on the door with a hopeful anticipaton.
-"Stop ignoring m-! "
As for Kai Lee, he was busy chatting with Hannah, a rather peculiar sight. I always thought Kai was a shy guy.
I turned my attention to Nola, who was screaming in my face, and asked, "What's up with Karthik? Why is he molesting the door?"
Nola shot a disdainful glare in Karthik's direction before replying, "He's waiting for Ahmya." With an exaggerated volume, she added, "Because he's a simp!"
Immediately Karthik glared at Nola.
The later also didn't back down.
I shook my head, 'These kids...where am I stuck?'
?????????!—Suddenly, the room's door swung open, and in entered an enchantress.
Her grey-white skin was the first thing I noticed. It was unnaturally inhuman.
Her lips were mahogany, and her cornsilk hair flowed slightly over her shoulders.
There were two tiny moles beneath her left eye, and her eyes: her eyes were pure amethyst.
As her gaze met Karthik's, a subtle curve graced her lips ;it was not a smile. Her eyes radiated warmth, but somehow seemed empty—devoid of any life.
I didn't know much about Ahmya Xinzumi. So, I took the liberty of conducting a short background check on her, since I was in this unit.
Even though I wasn't able to get much info, I was sure of one thing.
'This woman is sus.'
Her eyes then shifted towards me, accompanied by a soft smile. "You must be Noah."
"Yes, senior," I replied, adopting a composed and polite demeanor.
Sometimes, the most effective way to create a wall between oneself and others is through politeness.
"I've heard quite a bit about you," she continued, her gaze briefly scanning my attire. "You certainly seem to enjoy certain privileges."
She proceeded towards the central table, and with a commanding presence, called everyone over.
Without hesitation, the rest of us obediently gathered, forming a semi-circle around the table.
Karthik was looking at her with puppy eyes.
Kai Lee didn't express any emotion, but he even was staring at her.
Nola looked at her with half-open eyes as if to say 'you are beneath me woman.'
As for me, I prided myself on being distinct from the rest.
Ahmya was undeniably captivating, perhaps the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes upon, but...
I maintained an upright posture, hands neatly clasped behind my back, portraying an image of obedience and formality.
"Now that Noah has joined your ranks, your unit is complete." Ahmya's voice resonated with authority.
She produced a file, seemingly out of thin air.
"With that being said, I shall be entrusting you all with your first mission," she announced.
Hannah's voice trembled in certain disbelief. "Already?" she let out, clearly taken aback. "B-but we haven't even had the proper training yet!"
Ahmya's response was curt. "This, Miss Hannah Kovalyova, 'is' your training," she stated firmly.
her eyes had no emotions, yet somehow carried a sense of warmth.
Driven by some unknown determination, Karthik acknowledged, his eyes gleaming with resolve. "I promise to do everything in my power to fulfill the mission, Miss Ahmya. Give me your orders."
'Damn, he is already acting like a dog.'
"What is the mission, senior?"—I asked keeping a professional tone.
"You will have to collect information"—she explained, distributing files to each of us.
"These profiles contain the details you need. How you go about acquiring the information is entirely up to you. You have one week. Once collected, the information will be forwarded to Unit 1 to carry out the necessary actions."
"Necessary actions? You mean kill them?"—I asked.
"Precisely."—Ahmya confirmed.
"Why not eliminate them ourselves?"
Amused, Ahmya met my gaze with a hint of curiosity. "You certainly have that option," she replied, "but it involves a different procedure, and I would personally oversee the entire mission. I fail to see why you would willingly take on extra responsibilities though."
I looked at the profiles.
'Criminals huh?'
***
As the midday hunger gnawed at my stomach, I found myself in the bustling cafeteria.
Countless gazes were drawn in my direction, most of them, of course, were girls.
"Seriously, this is giving me a headache," I muttered under my breath, feeling the weight of their gazes.
I was accompanied by my unit, as per Supervisor Ahmya's instructions to stick together and become acquainted with one another.
It seemed that Karthik had taken her instructions to heart, willingly following her every command.
'The guy is seriously in love,' I thought to myself, shaking my head.
Suddenly, all eyes shifted towards a particular area, as a new group made their entrance.
It was Svetlana's unit.
The boys around her seemed to be drawn to her like butterflies to a flower.
She was absorbed in conversation with the same blondie from earlier.
As her gaze swept across my unit, she completely overlooked my existence.
Without even sparing me a passing glance, she continued on her way.
Her attention was fully trapped by her new friends.
I smiled. 'She looks happy.'
"Noah?"—Suddenly Nola called to me from the side.
I turned around to her, "What is it?"
It was only now that I noticed, even Hannah, Karthik, and Kai were casting their gaze on me.
"What?", I demanded.
"Nothing...", Nola replied, her voice laced with sympathy as she raised her brows. "You just seemed a bit lost there for a moment."
Krrr!—My stomach let out a loud growl, interrupting the conversation.
Unable to contain my hunger any longer, I let out energetically—"Man, I'm starving! Let's grab some food, guys!"
I hurried towards the counter and just as I was about to pick up my tray and fill it up with delicious food...
[Master Noah, Nathan is on the line. Important information about 1817 was found.]
'Ah?!'—I immediately smiled, brightned by the good news.
"Sorry guys, I remembered something important...I need to go"
"So suddenly?"—Karthik asked me with a confused look.
I apologized to Nola and others leaving immediately.
-"Wait! Aren't you going to eat?" Nola shouted after me, her voice trailing from behind.
Kai and Hannah merely waved their hands in understanding.
I gestured back to Nola, assuring her with a wave of my own hand, and continued on my way out of the cafeteria.
I was heading back to my room.
I was not hungry anyway..
***
Svetlana's POV:
When I first joined Arcanaum, I had a bubble of excitement about meeting new people. Making new friends.
I won't deny it, I was pretty happy about the whole deal.
But truth be told, there was a nagging part of me that felt a bit down.
It's as if I had left something important back at home...
Perhaps, I was missing my mother or Uncle Liam? I couldn't tell.
It was hard to pinpoint the exact source of my sadness.
I just missed something.
But when I heard that Noah returned to Arcanaum, my mood immediately brightned up.
I was eager to meet with him and that's also why, today I was more merry than usual.
Noah was my friend after all.
Actually, he's the very first friend I ever made, like ever!
And he was kinda cute... ahem.
And, he was handsome. And kind. And talented. And breathtaking...
B-but the important part was, he was my friend!
I had a very brief encounter with him this morning.
Honestly, I couldn't lie... It felt like my heart was fluttering.
His dark abyssal eyes—not the usual dark-brown you see in public. His eyes were a shade of darkest black...like the emptiness of space.
His gait, the way he carried himself, his style- I don't know if it was just me or my mind playing tricks, but he looked even more tempting than before.
It took every ounce of my will power to ignore him. I didn't want to expose his cover. He looked really adamant about people not learning his connection to us. And that's why I did what I could.
Yet, a mischievous part of me yearned to seize this opportunity, perhaps sparking a hint of jealousy in him... Ahem, just for fun, of course.
I once heard from a maid that the easiest way to get a man's attention was to make him feel jealous.
And, I obviously wanted his attention...cause... cause he was my friend!
But to my surprise, all he did was smile.
There was no sign of jealousy in his eyes or demeanor. The entire time, I scanned him carefully, using vision magic, to scrutinize every detail, hoping to catch a glimpse of any trace of jealousy.
But, alas, it was nowhere to be found.
I was sad.
Why did his lack of jealousy leave me feeling so disheartened?
I messaged him but he didn't even bother to read my messages. Was he avoiding me?
The day went on and my eyes were stuck on my phone hoping for a reply but, nothing came.
Now again, I found myself in the cafeteria.
I was currently with my unit.
My eyes were locked infront of me, but behind the scenes, my vision magic and heightened perception were activated.
My attention was solely devoted to Noah, his presence, his breath...
Careful not to let my gaze linger for too long, I stole a quick glance at his unit, ensuring I maintained an air of nonchalance.
'Why is she clinging to him?'—I thought while looking at the blonde beauty beside him.
Suddenly Noah stopped and left the cafeteria.
"Guys, I'm sorry, but I really have to go. Something important just came up," I informed my unit, ready to make my exit.
But before I could depart, Kenta's firm grasp on my wrist caught me off guard, causing a frown to etch across my face. "Aren't you going to finish-" he started.
I cut him off coldly, jerking my wrist out of his grip. "I need to go" I replied.
Without hesitation, I followed Noah.
'He didn't even have lunch. Well, I'll just have to cook something for him!'
I thought, a soft hum escaping my lips.
Mom once told me that a man's heart is through his stomach and... and Noah was my friend so...yea.
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