Turning-Chapter 917

"...Second Awakening? Me?"

Fruelle touched his own face with a bewildered expression. Kanna was equally surprised.

"Really? I had no idea...."

"Of course you didn’t. You’re a non-awakened Second Leveler."

No matter how good Kanna was at reading information, she couldn't know something even Fruelle himself hadn't noticed. If there had been at least one Second Awakener among those who had gone to the desert, they might have recognized it earlier, but Nathan Zuckerman wasn’t even an Awakener, and Kanna and Nipolen were both non-Second Levelers, so it wasn’t possible.

Even Yuder, when he had been a non-Second Leveler, hadn’t sensed Jimmy’s Awakening right before his eyes. But now was different. Though still faint, the energy gradually pouring out from Fruelle was unmistakably a sign of an impending Second Awakening.

‘And most likely... he’s almost certainly going to be an Omega.’

The feeling emanating from Fruelle resembled Yuder's own innate scent and essence. Had it been an Alpha Awakener, it would have felt different.

"Get up. I’ll take you to your room. As soon as we get there, lie down immediately. As for what you need to do during the Second Awakening..."

"I know. I already heard the instructions from the Cavalry before... I just need to avoid contact with other non-medical members and stay quiet until the Awakening is complete."

Fruelle calmly recited what he had been told before. Even though hearing that someone was going through a Second Awakening usually caused surprise and tension, he quickly composed himself, probably because he had been through many experiences to get here.

"Wait. But... then what about Nipolen? If I don’t let him into the room, he’ll get anxious."

Fruelle, who had hurriedly stood up, reached out toward Nipolen, who was sitting comfortably on Yuder’s lap, but then hesitated. Nipolen blinked his round eyes and let out a small meow.

"Kanna and I will take responsibility and look after him, so don’t worry."

"That’s right. Nipolen will understand once we explain! So don’t worry too much and go rest."

"I'm causing trouble again like this... I'm sorry."

"It’s not trouble. It's the natural help between comrades. Didn't we agree not to say things like that?"

Before Yuder could say anything, Kanna made the appropriate comment.

"I see... Right. Then I’ll just say thank you."

Fruelle gave a weak smile and bent down to stroke his brother's head.

"Nippi. You probably heard, but I won't be able to see you for a little while. Listen well to the others... don't skip meals, and see you later."

"......"

Yuder left Nipolen in Kanna’s care and supported Fruelle to his feet. Though Fruelle awkwardly insisted he didn’t need support, after staggering once from dizziness on the way to the room, he obediently accepted Yuder’s help.

"Oh? It’s Yuder."

Just as they were nearing the room, they ran into a group of Cavalry members. Yuder immediately noticed Gakein and Ever among them, both of whom were Second Awakeners, and extended his arm.

"Don’t come closer."

"...Huh?"

"Yuder? Elre? What’s going on?"

Gakein and Ever stopped in surprise.

"It seems a Second Awakening has started. We’re moving him. Don’t approach, just step back."

"What?"

"If you could block off the area too, that would be even better."

Apparently, they had drilled it well into their heads that they should avoid contact with someone undergoing a Second Awakening, because they quickly backed away. In the meantime, Yuder efficiently guided Fruelle into the room and laid him on the bed.

Fruelle removed his outerwear and shoes with Yuder’s help, then collapsed onto the bed, covering his face with his hand, breathing heavily.

"...Of all times, running into others like this... I don’t know why this makes me feel so embarrassed. Is this how Second Awakenings usually feel...?"

"There’s no need to think like that. I went through it, all the other Second Awakeners went through it, and no one thinks it’s strange."

"Is that so... Well, it’s probably best to recognize it quickly and respond immediately for everyone’s sake. It couldn’t have been easy to set up such a system from the start... The Cavalry Commander really is amazing..."

Fruelle gave a weak laugh but then groaned and curled up. Through his clenched teeth and short, gasping breaths, an incomplete scent and energy began to leak out. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face turned pale. Though he was holding on as best he could, the pain was clearly severe.

‘It’s just starting, and it’s already this bad... He's worse than most Awakeners.’

In the past, there would have been no choice but to let it pass with sleeping medication until the Awakening ended. But now, there was someone in the Southern Branch who could be very helpful in this situation.

"Alik. Do you have any medicine for Second Awakeners right [N O V E L I G H T] now?"

"Huh? All of a sudden? I do have some extra..."

Alik, who had been diligently working on something, pulled out a small medicine bottle from his pocket with a bewildered expression. It was a trial version of the innovative medicine created by his master, Tais Yulman, for a student who had Awakened as an Omega.

"There’s an Awakener undergoing a Second Awakening right now, and he seems to be in quite a bit of pain. Would it be alright to use this?"

"Ah... In that case, it would be better to use this instead."

Alik, looking a bit embarrassed, pulled out another medicine.

"This is something I was trying while my master was improving the formula. It worked really well for reducing pain but didn’t do much to suppress the scent. It's useless for me now, but for someone in the middle of Awakening..."

Alik explained that using medicine that excessively suppressed the scent during Awakening could cause problems with the process itself. Yuder agreed with his opinion and took the medicine.

The medicine was handed to Fruelle through Inon and Lusan. Just as Alik had said, it significantly alleviated the pain without affecting the scent that was just beginning to form.

"He's properly asleep now. There’s enough left for him to hold out until it’s over."

Inon came out after closing the door and reported the status with a nonchalant face. Yuder nodded and let out a small breath.

"If any problem arises, let me know immediately."

"I’ll handle it fine, so worry about your own body instead. You know, your body is ten times more dangerous than Fruelle’s, right? Huh?" freewёbnoνel.com

Inon, whether out of worry or threat, clicked his tongue as he looked Yuder up and down.

"Still, seems like you’ve been getting along well with your Commander these days."

"Why. Has my soul gotten better?"

"...You’re not leaving?"

After a brief silence, Inon smacked Yuder hard on the back and shoved him away.

"You said you’re busy, right? Get lost already. If you stay, the Commander will come too. I don’t want to see that, so go away. Go eat something! I heard you skipped breakfast today!"

His shout about eating rang out loudly through the whole corridor. With that volume, it seemed likely that even with access restrictions, everyone in the branch would soon know about Yuder Aile’s skipped breakfast.

Yuder swallowed a faint laugh and answered obediently.

‘If I said Inon seems almost cute now, he’d probably hate it so much.’

"Yuder!"

"Is Elre okay now?"

As Yuder turned a corner and left Fruelle’s isolated room, Gakein and Ever approached with worried faces.

"He’s fine. He’s fallen asleep after taking medicine, so he just needs to finish Awakening safely."

"Thank goodness... It must have been shocking for him too, going through Awakening right after returning from the mission."

Ever sighed. Gakein also spoke with a relieved expression.

"I didn’t even notice Elre was Awakening until you told us to stay back. It's really lucky you were with him."

"...You didn’t notice?"

Although the energy leaking from someone undergoing Second Awakening wasn’t always obvious, Yuder didn’t think Fruelle’s was that faint. It seemed strange that both Gakein and Ever, who should be more sensitive as Alpha Awakeners to Omega scent, hadn’t noticed.

‘Could it be that my powers have grown so strong that it’s affecting my ability to sense things?’

As Yuder looked down at his palm thinking that, Gakein and Ever continued speaking.

"Elre’s Second Awakening energy seemed really faint. I’ve never seen someone leaking so little scent while Awakening."

"Right. I didn’t notice either. How did you realize so quickly?"

"Ever. Isn't that kind of a meaningless question? It’s Yuder. His scent control is so perfect that you can’t even feel it, so of course he’d notice it that easily."

"Ah. That’s true. I wonder if that control ability affects things like this too?"

"...Wait."

Yuder lifted his head. Something he had just overheard suddenly stuck strangely in his ears.

"My scent control... what about it?"