108 Next Battle
The escape from the girls' floor was quite a hassle, but I succeeded without much problems. Once I entered the elevator to ride down to the eleventh floor, a fire of fury burned within me. When the elevator doors opened and I marched down the hall, I had a mysterious urge to release it all on Noah.
I quickly unlocked the door to our hotel room and slammed the door open. This drew the attention of the three boys that were sitting around inside, causing the three of them to look over at me. On Loyd's and Zaksus's faces, there were looks of surprise. However, on Noah's face, there was an amused smile.
"Where were you last night?" Loyd asked as I stormed into the room.
"He was having fun," Noah said with a smile.
I ignored Loyd's question and made my way directly over to Noah, standing over him as I glared at him. He continued to smile in that foolish manner of his as he gently elbowed my knee.
"How'd it go? "he whispered in a volume that was only audible to me only. "How does it feel like to have two at the same time?"
"Care to explain why you did that?" I said to him with a forced smile on my face so as to not draw any suspicion from the other two boys in the room.
"Did what?" Zaksus asked.
"Nothing," Noah laughed and said."I played a prank on him."
"Prank?" Zaksus raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"It's nothing big," Noah said as he got up from his bed. "I guess Alevian here wants to vent at me for that prank. We'll do it outside."
Then, he started walking for the opened hotel door. He didn't look back at me, but I knew for a fact that he was certain that I will follow him out. I started walking after him, leaving the hotel room and the two boys behind before I closed the door. Then, standing in the hallway alone was only Noah and I.
"So why did you do that?" I asked, confronting him about the mission.
"Because things got a bit boring," he casually responded. "Besides, did anything happen?"
"No..." I muttered.
"Then isn't it all fine?" Noah then turned to the side and glanced over at me from the corner of his eye. "I suspect that this one night led to you learning more things."
"I did," I whispered, gazing at the carpeted floor of the hallway as I recalled what Muria had said to me this morning. "In a way..."
"Then there's your answer," Noah responded. "Because of this mission, you earned 5000 SP and also learned about the trust that someone's putting on you. This only benefited you."
"Well..."
I couldn't find anything wrong with his reasoning. Did he anticipate that nothing was going to happen even if I were to stay the night in the girls' room. Did he really knew beforehand that Muria would open up about herself like she did this morning? I studied the angel boy before me, feeling as if he was a compelling mystery. Is this how all angels are?
"I have something else for you to do tonight," Noah said with a serious countenance as he turned to face me once again. In his eyes, I no longer saw that playful spirit of Noah. Rather, he felt as if he was a completely different person. However... maybe this is the true Noah and the Noah that I knew was simply one of his many personas that he used to disguise himself in this world.
"What is it?" I sighed. "It better not be anything stupid."
Then, I heard a notification from my phone.
--
Current Objective:
Spend the Night in Luna's Room
Reward: 5000 SP
--
"Luna?" I raised my head and looked at him in surprise.
"Correct," he said in a cold and apathetic voice. "Her room."
"Why?"
"Because it's the next step."
"The next step of what?"
"That's not something that you're ready to know," Noah sighed and closed his eyes. "Her room number is 1305."
1305? I was perplexed by why Luna didn't live on the same floor as the other female students.
"So all I have to do is spend the night there?" I asked as I gazed into his eyes in a testing manner.
"Right," Noah nodded. "You don't have to do anything else. Just stay the night there."
"Is that so..." I nodded as I looked down at the screen on my phone and at the notification. "Did you make any progress about what you promised on the train?"
"About ways to save her? Nothing so far..." He calmly recollected.
"Even if I use my points?"
"I don't know about that," Noah said as he turned to face the door to our hotel room and scanned his phone on the scanner. "You can try, but chances are, there's nothing there that can save her. Somethings in this world is just irreversible. You can't stop what will eventually happen. Let me tell you this," he said as he brought his hand to the door handle. "Her death is inevitable. Stop struggling and just accept it."
Then, with a trembling sigh, he opened the door and entered, leaving me standing in the empty hallway alone. My head was drooped low as a gloomy atmosphere seemed to surround me. It was difficult to breath, but I continued to exist. It was as if I was in a airtight chamber and the oxygen was slowly being used up, but I continued to exist. It was as if I am slowly marching towards me death, but I continued to exist.
She will soon die, but I will continue to exist.
Later on that day, Noah organized a trip to a theme park in Saroff. Surprisingly, the members that went were only just us four guys. It was rather... awkward and strange. We had arrived at the theme park an hour before noon, and our plan was to just enjoy the attractions. However, according to Noah, we were supposed to go "Wilding out" later tonight. The specifics, I didn't know because I was to return to the hotel and try to enter Luna's room and stay the night...
"Why's it only guys?" Zaksus whined as we waited in line for a roller coaster. "It's very weird."
"Cheer up," Loyd smiled. "I mean we could be ourselves without any girls around."
"Yeah, cheer up, Zaksus," Noah said as he patted Zaksus on his back. "We're bout to go wilding out tonight. Plus, I've already arranged for a mixer with girls from a local high school."
"R-really?"
"Yup," Noah said as he held his head high in pride.
Noah seemed to have returned to the usual playful boy that he was, making the earlier seriousness seem almost as if it was an illusion in my memory. However, I can still remember how cold his facial expression and voice was.
When the sun had set and night officially embraced the world, the four of us slowly made our way to the entrance to the theme park. It was quite cold in the winter, but because of the jacket I wore over my shirt, I was able to keep warm. Beside me, the three other boys were all dressed in coats and jackets in order to maintain their body temperature in this autumn night.
"I'm so tired," Zaksus yawned as he stretched his back. "What're we doing after this?"
"Some guy from class 2-C is having a party," Noah smiled as he looked over at us. "We're bout to have a great time."
"Is it far from here?" Loyd asked.
"By train, it's not that far," Noah answered.
The four of us then made our way out of the theme park and walked on the rural streets of Saroff. Our destination was the nearby train station, which from there we were to head our separate ways.
We first rode the train back to the hotel to refresh ourselves and take a momentary respite. Zaksus started for his own hotel room in order to change for the party and the remaining three of us returned to our own room. In our room, Loyd and Noah began preparing themselves for the party, doing so by taking turns in the shower and changing. While they did so, I sat on my bed with my jacket off, revealing my white button-up shirt underneath.
"Why're you not changing?" Loyd asked as he glanced over in my direction. He had taken off his shirt and was preparing to put on a stylish button-up.
"I'm not going," I said, laying back down on my bed. "Too tired to do so."
"Let him be, Loyd," Noah said as he emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist. Then, he went over to his suitcase and began picking out an outfit for himself. "He doesn't need to go if he's that tired. It's detrimental for both him and the others."
"I guess..." Loyd sighed.
After about ten minutes, the two had finished their preparations and started for the door. Waiting outside was Zaksus, who had already changed into a nice-looking black coat. He was initially surprised by my unwillingness to accompany them to the party, but he soon accepted the fact since it was me and he was quite acquainted with what type of person I am.
The three then walked down the hotel hallway, closing the door for me before leaving, and leaving me alone in the silence of our hotel room. I continued to lay on my bed, gazing at the ceiling overhead. A suffocating feeling existed in my chest as I prepared myself for the upcoming journey I must make to Luna's hotel room. It will likely be a difficult battle that I must endure, one that I am the inferior force.
With a determined sigh, I forced myself up from the bed and exited the hotel room. I left my jacket on my bed, knowing that the air-conditioned hallway wouldn't be too cold. Therefore, I proceeded down the hallway towards the elevator in my simple long-sleeved button-up shirt and pants. Then, I rode the elevator up to the thirteenth floor with Luna's hotel room being my destination.
