NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: Moving Out
The sky had already started getting bright by the time they finally left the Gate. It was only afternoon when they entered, and now, the whole night had already passed. It was a B-rank dungeon, after all - even with no monsters to fight, the area was simply so large it took hours to inspect.
Lane stifled a yawn, getting onto the front seat of the car, right next to Damien. He had been flirting with Arlo before, but now he decided to take a break. Mainly because Arlo insisted on riding in Hallie's car. Why would Lane want to squeeze in tightly with the rest, when Damien's car had so much space?
Besides, after all this walking around, he was feeling exhausted. They left the Headquarters early in the morning, and now it was already another day. It was understandable for a person to get tired… Lane didn't want anyone to notice that though. What was normal for a regular person wasn't necessarily the same for the Awakened. And a long day like that should be nothing to a high-ranker, even a Guide.
He scooped a piece of candy from his pocket, and placed it in his mouth. Soon, a refreshing feeling spread through his body. Lane leaned back in his seat, finally relaxing himself.
What he just ate wasn't actually a piece of candy, but rather a Recovery Pill disguised as one. It was what Lane frequently used to secretly raise his stamina and recovery rate when possessing civilians' bodies. While it wasn't supposed to work on the non-Awakened, it interacted with Lane's DNA present in the body he possessed, resulting in the medicine working, just with a bit less effectiveness… Or something like that, Lane didn't really understand it well himself.
The only drawback was that it sometimes affected his wavelengths, throwing his mind into a more chaotic state, or, more frequently, caused minor Mana fluctuations within his body. None of that was harmful to Lane in any way, but if that were to happen during a dungeon inspection, it could affect the readings of the Mana Scanner. As Lane didn't want any such accidents to happen, he had no choice but to endure until it was finally safe.
"Murray. Are you sure you are okay?" Damien asked again, as they left the site of the Gate, driving back to the Association. "There are several great doctors specializing in treating the Awakened working at the Headquarters, we can have them give you a checkup, or we can try to contact one of the healers…"
Lane let out a light chuckle. Really, his Team Leader was so overly caring. It was so stupid that his teammates were so afraid of the man, just because he was a bit strict. Well, maybe a bit more than 'a bit', but still.
He shook his head. "I'm really fine. The bleeding had already long stopped, and I don't feel any pain. It's just an allergy. I'm already used to it."
"…If you say so." Although Damien wasn't convinced, he didn't insist. "Then at least let me drop you at home. I want to be sure you arrived safe."
"Well, that's alright. If it isn't a bother, then thank you so much, Team Leader!" Lane flashed a bright smile. Noah Murray's current place, where he lived together with his father, was a fair distance away from the Headquarters. Coincidentally though, it was in the same direction as the B-rank Gate they were just in. With just a small detour, Damien could easily drop Lane off on the way. It saved Lane quite a lot of time he'd normally have to spend going back and forth.
Just like that, not long later, they arrived at Noah's place.
"Take a good rest today. We have a few more Gates to inspect tomorrow," Damien reminded, as he stopped the car at the side of the road.
"Will do! Thank you, Team Leader, and see you tomorrow!"
Lane jumped out of the car, and without even looking back, went into the building. As he climbed the stairs and entered the Murrays' apartment, he noticed the lights were on.
Noah Murray's father was in the kitchen, having breakfast.
It's been around a week since Lane took over Noah's body, but it was the first time he actually met the man. Most of the time, they passed each other by somehow. The father was out before Lane even got up, and Lane was also away most of the day, coming back mainly to sleep.
It wasn't anything unusual for the two, so the father just nodded at Lane, and was about to go back to watching the news…
But as he did, something clicked in his head, and he turned back to Lane. "Your clothes… Is that the Awakened Association's uniform?" he asked with disbelief.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah," Lane shrugged his shoulders, taking out a strawberry shake from the fridge. "I'm a Guide now, A-rank."
The father was so stunned that he didn't even know what to say. He just stared at Lane, as he grabbed some snacks from the cupboard and left the kitchen.
He was still staring at the door when Lane popped back in a moment later.
"By the way, I forgot to mention. I'll be moving out today."
"Moving… out?"
"Yeah. This place is too far away. I want to be closer to the Headquarters, so I don't have to waste so much time commuting, you know?"
Of course, the distance was just one of the reasons. Lane also wanted to hide his identity by staying away from all the people who knew Noah… And most importantly, he wanted to live alone, so that there would be no one around Noah's body when Lane had to switch back to his real self.
He was about to walk away again, when the father finally snapped out of his confused state.
"Wait a moment! You're moving out today? Isn't that a bit too sudden? Do you even have a place?" he called out, abruptly standing up from the chair and catching up to Lane. He accidentally knocked the sandwich he was eating off the plate, but he didn't even seem to notice.
Lane stared at him for a moment, before letting out a sigh.
What a bother.
"Yes, I've already found a nice place. I went to view it yesterday… Or I suppose it's the day before yesterday now. Anyway, everything is settled. It's a nice two-bedroom apartment with high security and a parking space, in a good neighborhood," he calmly explained. "Don't worry, as a high-ranking Guide I will get paid well, so I can fully support myself now."
"That's not what…" The father let out a heavy sigh, covering up his face. "Noah, you know it's not about money. I'm just worried about you, that's all. Ever since your mother died… I mean, I know that I haven't always been there for you, but…"
"If that's what you want, then of course, that's okay, I won't stop you. What I'm trying to say, is that I wish you talked to me before making a decision like that. I'm still your father. I care about you, and I would like to know what's going on in your life," he finished after a long silence.
Lane scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward. He really wasn't familiar with that sort of thing.
Not that Noah's father's feelings changed anything. He was still going to follow with his plans.
"…Right," he finally said. "I'm sorry, I just didn't really have a good opportunity to tell you? But, more importantly… Don't you have to get ready for work?"
The father stared at Lane for a while longer, before letting out another sigh, and returning to the table. Lane was right. No matter how he felt about the situation, that wasn't a good enough reason to be late for work…
Lane's eyes followed after him. But in the end, he shrugged his shoulders, and went to Noah's room to pack his stuff.
It wasn't the first time he took over someone else's life, after all. Destroying the relationships they used to have was just the natural order of things, there was no point caring about that.