Lucien raised an eyebrow at the protagonist's exaggerated reaction.
"Do you want me to repeat myself?"
But instead of responding, Erick was already in front of Zephyr, completely ignoring him—which made him scoff.
Still, he found a hint of satisfaction in watching Nana quietly grit her teeth as Erick sat down across from Zephyr.
Erick's voice was solemn as his golden eyes met those empty, blank gray eyes.
"How did this happen, Zephyr? You weren't blind before… Did it happen in prison? Did those criminals do something to you?"
He reached out to hold Zephyr's hands.
However, just as his fingers touched him, Zephyr pulled back, avoiding the contact.
Erick's face tightened as he rubbed his fingers—Lucien had held Zephyr's hands earlier, but his touch had been rejected.
Still, he didn't take it to heart.
After all, they had only just reunited.
They hadn't been close back then either.
He had only been a shy boy who couldn't even hold a conversation with Zephyr.
But now, things were different.
He was stronger. More confident.
This time, they could grow closer.
Zephyr's expression remained calm.
He was grateful to Erick—that bright, kind boy from the past. But they had never been close. And that didn't mean he would stand by if Erick wronged Lucien—his light.
"How it happened. It's a boring story."
He said quietly.
"But I'd still prefer if Lucien were the one to stay with me. We were never that close to begin with. You can leave. I want to spend the little time I have left—before I return to prison—with the guide who saved my life."
He glanced around before calling out.
"Cien…? Can you stay with me? Maybe it's because you're a guide, but your presence is really calming. It's helping me cope with the trauma of ending up in that dungeon."
Zephyr lied—well, not entirely.
Lucien's presence was comforting.
But the part about trauma... that was a stretch. Perhaps it was because he had survived—but he didn't feel too broken.
Still, a small lie was fine… if it meant he could keep the person he wanted close.
Erick's gaze was calm.
But Lucien, who suddenly found himself under that calm look, knew all too well—
The protagonist was anything but calm!
A sudden pressure rooted him to the spot, leaving him unable to respond to Zephyr's request—let alone speak a word.
Erick turned to Zephyr, his voice soft.
"You don't have to return to prison. Since you're an Esper now, I had the rest of your sentence pardoned. It wasn't difficult—your record showed consistent good behavior."
He hesitated, then asked.
"But Zephyr… how did you end up there?"
"Did you really kill someone?"
Zephyr blinked, surprised.
"Why did you've my sentence pardoned?"
Erick simply patted his shoulder.
"We're friends. It's the least I could do... I even scheduled an appointment for you at the Awakened Association so you can get your rank tested and receive your Esper ID."
Zephyr tilted his head slightly, a flicker of confusion clouding his face—and his next words made Erick's smile fade entirely.
"We're not friends. We never were. But… thank you for doing so much for me. I'll make sure to return the favor someday."
The room descended into silence, which was broken when Lucien let out a laugh.
Due to the shock, Erick had automatically lifted the pressure holding him down.
Suppressing a smirk, Lucien quickly gave Zephyr an inward thumbs-up, enjoying the way Erick's expression visibly darkened.
'Nice one.'
Nana couldn't take it anymore—but since arguing with Erick was out of the question, she just stormed out of the room in a fury.
Inwardly, she vowed that if Zephyr ever joined the Association, she would make sure he regretted it—and that he'd suffer.
'Erick is behaving like a fool around that annoying criminal! He is just a nobody—how dare he come between us!'
Erick watched her leave, but for the first time, he didn't go after her. Instead, his attention shifted back to Zephyr.
"Then… can we be friends? Once you get your Esper ID, you can join my team at the Association. With your eyesight the way it is, it wouldn't be safe to join just anyone."
Zephyr smiled calmly.
"Are you pitying me? That's unnecessary. I've learned to live without sight. I'm fine."
Erick let out a quiet sigh.
"Why are you being like this…"
He trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished, then slolwy stood up.
"It's late. Get some rest. I wanted to come with you myself, but I've been assigned to clear a dungeon and have to leave for the city center. So, I will send someone to pick you up in the morning for the test."
Zephyr started to say he could handle things on his own, but Erick cut him off.
"Just accept it. Consider it an old classmate helping you out."
As Erick headed toward the room exit, he shot a glare at Lucien, who was grinning.
"Please… just don't cause trouble. Stay away from Zephyr. Don't mess with him."
Lucien smirked.
"I'll try~"
"You..."
Erick paused, regaining his composure almost immediately. After all, why waste his energy arguing pointlessly—when he could just assign Lucien more work, like before, and keep him away from Zephyr?
He turned and left.
Lucien snickered at the door as it closed and made his way to Zephyr, yawning. He planned to catch up on sleep and recover the energy he'd lost working nonstop and guiding an SSS-rank Esper on a rampage.
But as he flopped onto his bed, he finally noticed—Zephyr was still sitting on it.
"Hey… how about you move to your own bed? It's almost midnight. I wanna sleep."
Zephyr's response made his brow twitch.
"Thank you for staying. And don't worry—you can go to sleep. It's just that this place is unfamiliar to me, and I feel more at ease being near someone. I won't disturb you."
Lucien didn't even bother forcing a smile—just tried to sound as polite as possible, since Zephyr couldn't see him anyway.
"But I believe you will be uncomfortable sitting at the side of bed all night."
"No, I'm not uncomfortable."
Lucien screamed internally.
'I am, you jerk!'
He dropped back onto his pillow, ready to ignore everything and just go to sleep. But no—Zephyr had to open his mouth again and make an even more absurd request.
"Can I hold your hand while you sleep? It would help me feel more at ease."
Lucien's face went blank.
'Now he's really pushing his luck! I would never do that even if someone beat me up!'
He yanked the white blanket over his head like it could shield him from the madness.
But only after a few minutes of silence… one of his hands slowly came out of the blanket—as it blindly reached for Zephyr's.
'Ah, damn it… Why the hell does this side character have to be so damn pitiful?'
'This is emotional blackmail!'