The X Guide-Chapter 40: The Stronghold Under Snow Storms (2)

"Uh, I’ll choose the left bed. I don’t want to sleep at the center." Without hearing the man with a buzz cut’s answer, he immediately went to the bed he chose and put down his luggage.

He directly sprawled on the bed, sighing in satisfaction.

"Finally, a bed." The days of sleeping while sitting messed him up big time.

Stunned, the buzz-cut man could only watch him. As for Ayen, he was leaning his back on the headboard, looking comfortable.

As for the buzz cut’s words, he paid it no mind. He was not the most arrogant man he met; he had seen worse.

The man with a buzz cut opened his mouth to say something, but seeing them not care, he clicked his tongue loudly and went to the bed in the center.

Minutes passed, and the room maintained its silence. Ayen preferred it that way. Just as he thought that they would keep silent, the man in the right bed sat up.

He sat cross-legged and casually put on a smile, facing Ayen and the other roommate.

"I just remembered. We haven’t introduced each other yet, no?" When he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled. He looked kind, or that was how he wanted to appear.

Ayen did not answer, and so the man with a buzz cut.

He blinked, and although the lack of reaction from the two made it awkward, his smile only faded slightly.

"Well, I’ll start. My name is Nolan."

Ayen did not react, but the man with a buzz cut already did.

"Is that necessary?" He was still keeping his temper.

"Why not?" Nolan pursed his lips at him, then turned his attention to Ayen. "We’ll be roommates from now on. We need to know each other’s names at least. It doesn’t mean we’ll already become friends."

"My name’s Ayen." Ayen was the second to be introduced. Unlike the man with a buzz cut, he agreed to Nolan’s words. It was only a name; it was hardly a big deal.

"I know you." Nolan smiled at him.

Ayen merely stared at him. He did not ask how or why.

The man with a buzz cut furrowed his brows but still told his name. "Lucian," he put his hand on his head and brushed them to the back.

"Ayen, Lucian, and me, Nolan. We’re all ending with an-en name." He let out a slight chuckle at that, seemingly finding it hilarious.

The man with a buzz cut, Lucian, did not smile. Instead, he looked at Nolan with a suspicious gaze. "You. What are you on?"

"Huh?" Nolan tilted his head and asked.

Ayen watched the exchange, but he understood Lucian.

"You’re too... friendly." Lucian appeared to have hesitated for a moment and spoke a word obviously different from what he originally intended to say.

"Friendly? That’s already friendly to you?" Nolan asked, sounding as though he was mocking.

Sure enough, Lucian frowned at him. "What’s your problem?"

Instead of answering, he only laughed, and even Ayen could not help but find him really weird. Lucian’s expression twitched, and his gaze shifted to Ayen.

His eyes spoke as if asking Ayen what was going on with this weirdo. Of course, Ayen would not answer him. And again, he looked strangely at Ayen as well.

Lucian seemed to sigh. His roommates were all weirdos. One was crazy friendly; the other was unapproachable and indifferent.

Nolan sighed after that laugh. "Sorry, it’s been a while since I laughed, so I can’t help it."

"Yeah, yeah, I don’t care." Lucian decided not to mind these weirdos.

Nolan was not offended and instead glanced at Ayen, who was watching lazily from his bed. His eyes were drooping, looking so sleepy. However, one might think that was his usual appearance.

Lucian’s lips curled into a smirk. Right, bug him and confront yourselves. He leaned on his headboard, pillowing on his arms, and watched the impending drama.

"I’ve always been curious," Nolan started, his tone lowered by a notch. "Is it possible that an E-rank Guide can really be dispatched here?"

Ayen sort of expected this scenario already. Yet he was still surprised when he heard the question. He did not hear any mocking or malicious intent in Nolan’s words.

It was as though he was truly only curious and did not intend to embarrass Ayen.

"E-class? Him?" Lucian looked surprised, and he sat up straight and pointed at Ayen.

Nolan nodded. "Yes, he’s an E-class Guide."

"I think I heard about it." Lucian looked at Ayen. Just as Ayen thought Lucian was about to mock him, he only stared and was lost in thought. "You... you offended someone?"

"Right? I was thinking the same thing!" Nolan exclaimed in a louder voice.

"Why then is an E-class here? Bastards. Using their power maliciously! I hate people like that."

Ayen looked back and forth at the two. It was strange. Somehow, he was reminded of Keeran. Unlike him, Keeran was dispatched on a green zone. He knew that the two espers were the ones who arranged that.

Keeran sent him a letter and thanked him, wanting to meet him in the future. Ayen replied before he left.

Thinking of her, it was not that everyone he met ridiculed him instantly after knowing his rank. Although most of them were indifferent for different reasons, it was more of a humiliation than a verbal insult.

He was considered beneath them, and so no one actually minded him.

Maybe Ayen had grown so used to that treatment that he forgot the rare ones who did not care about ranks. Should he consider this fortunate?

Subconsciously, he caressed the bracelet on his wrist. This was becoming his habit.

"Why not just quit?" Nolan asked, snapping Ayen from his thoughts. "Ah, sorry if that’s too personal."

Nolan smacked his lips with a sound, and Lucian’s lips twisted as if he felt the pain.

"No, it’s fine." This time, Ayen finally responded. He did not want to come off as rude when they were trying to approach him.

One thing he realized from being with Khal and Devion was that being too closed-off would not help him overcome his scars either.

They taught him, in those two weeks, that once in a while, talking with others would not hurt him.

"Someone also asked the same question." Ayen did not realize that his tone had turned softer. "I answered him... I never thought of that."

Ayen left the next words because somehow, for the first time, he was conflicted. He was already thinking of Devion and Khal.

This should be bad; of course, it was. And yet, Ayen did not berate himself for thinking about them for once.