Claire stopped dead in her tracks, her body shifting to look over at her comrade who was secured in the bed. Was he finally awake now, or was he talking in his sleep?

Upon closer inspection she found that he was definitely awaked as he asked her not to leave. She wondered what he could possibly want now, perhaps some clarification on the situation at hand. He had been out of it for quite some time.

“Oh, you’re finally awake, Noel. Did you sleep well?”

“No. I don’t remember much after being attacked. I was sure I was dead… how did you guys save me?”

“You were really lucky that we ran into the Prince of Ingram. He managed to suck the poison out of you before it caused any more damage. But, judging from the sound of your voice, you’re going to be out of commish.”

Noel slowly sat up against the bed, resting his back against the wall as he looked at the girl for a moment before returning his gaze towards the bed. His expression appeared to be weakened and his eyes held a considerable amount of disappointment.

“Going by everything that happened this only confirms that I have no business being a soldier.”

“You’re just learning this now?”

“No, I knew from the start, but I thought becoming a soldier would change things for me…”

Claire raised an eyebrow at this, just what was someone with everything in the world trying to change. He didn’t seem like the person to have any reason to do anything besides superficial ones. “What were you trying to change?”

Noel’s hands gripped at the white sheets of the bed feeling a bit of pressure and anxiety after being asked that question. It wasn’t something anyone has asked before, so he didn’t know how to respond to it.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t wish to.”

“No… I’ll tell you.” Noel released a deep sigh before speaking in a quiet tone. “Well… I joined Seer so I could try to get some attention from my parents.”

Claire fought hard to hide a smile, she didn’t want to seem rude to him, even though he was often rude to all of them. She made sure not to strive to the same lows as others because it didn’t seem right to her.

“Is that really the reason? It seems a lot more… humane than I expected from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“You don’t know anything about me, Claire. We’re from two completely different worlds. Unlike you, I never get to see my parents. Sometimes I wonder if they even know I exist!” Noel yelled a bit, slightly agitated now that he returned to these feelings he often kept locked away.

“Why don’t you ever get to see them?”

“Because ever since I was born my parents have been busy working to support the lives they have now. Not just that, but to also better mankind. You see my mother and father work for Seer’s technological division working on improving and creating new equipment for us to use. They take their work wherever they go and decided to let the butlers and maids raise me.”

It was still fresh in his mind even though the feelings were forged many years ago.

During his early days as a young child, he often wondered why all the other kids were picked up by his parents while his butlers were the ones to make sure he returned safely in replace of his parents. It soon made him jealous especially given the fact that the other kids envied him.

Yes, he had a fancy car to ride, but still, they had something that he didn't have and that were their parents. His butlers and maids did a really good job of making sure that he was well taken care of and did the things that his parents could not.

They fed him, bathed him, and made sure he had nice clothes to wear. They helped him with his homework and even played with him when he was bored. During those times he even began to the thought that they were his parents. But that just wasn’t the case. Even they couldn’t replace the void that was left in his heart.

“I just figured that if they saw me risking my life going on these suicide missions that maybe then they would take time out of their busy lives to acknowledge my existence. But, now I realize that was a stupid idea. I could have died here and then never know if they came to my funeral or not.”

“I never thought of things like that. I’m sorry you had to go through something like that. If you really want to give up then that’s your choice. You shouldn’t have joined something like this if you weren’t willing to put your life on the line.”

“I know, I know, I know! I was wrong and I was stupid. I just want to get out of here alive and leave this part of my life behind me! So, can you promise me that?”

“Promise that you’ll leave here alive?”

“Yeah… sadly I don’t know if I can protect myself on my own. We saw how well that went the first time.”

“Of course. You’re still a teammate for now, so I’ll do everything I can to assure your safety.” She offered him a slight smile.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the outcome that Noel thought he was going to hear from her. He thought she was going to give him a whole lot of sass and trouble, but she was actually being somewhat kind to him.

“R-right… uhh, could you also not talk about this to anyone? I don’t really want anyone knowing about this, more importantly, Keianna and Yadon.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

Noel’s expression eased up and he became less tense. He soon returned back to a lying position as he shifted his head to look at the window. “When are we getting out of here? The sooner I get home the better.”

“Once we get those spheres we’ll be on our way. So I’m going to say sometime tomorrow. It won’t be that much longer just focus on getting some rest.”

“Right… uhh... This doesn’t mean we can’t be friends anymore. You’re always welcome to visit me anytime.”

“Oh… that’s good to know. I’ll probably be too busy, but we’ll see.” Claire turned around and started to head towards the door, giving Noel one more glance before explaining where she was heading. “I’m going to clean up. Everyone should be eating soon would you want anything?”

“I don’t even want to think of food right now. Just bring me some water later and I’ll be fine until morning.”

“Okay, then try to rest well.” She said before she exited the room leaving the boy to himself.

Noel’s eyes positioned itself to stare at the ceiling as he laid in silence. It’s funny how nearly dying can awaken your mental prowess. He was lost in his thoughts and every fiber in his body was telling him that this kind of thing wasn’t for someone like him.

The world that they live in was crazy and he was the kind of person who just wanted to survive and live a normal life in peace. If he couldn’t get his parents approval or recognition then he would just do whatever he wanted back home.

After all, he had one of life’s most vital essence and that was money. Money was the key to everything and for a long time, it had been what numbed his feelings of sadness. He had just forgotten that. Money could do anything.. right?