#49
After everything I’ve been through!
I firmly survived by reading the room even in the absurd and confusing situation of transmigration and regression, and when I suddenly became three years old, I was surprised but somehow adapted.
As a result of that adaptation, I’m now attending the academy, meaning I’m confident I could survive somehow even if I woke up in the middle of a desert.
But of all places.
Ending my life by drowning in the academy swimming pool was something I’d never even considered. Noah had thought about sudden regression, but never once about his own death.
They say your past life flashes before your eyes like a panorama when you die, but that was all a lie. They say you reflect on your past life unfolding before your eyes, but where is that? I can’t see anything—so maybe I’m not dying?
Though he found his own stupid thoughts ridiculous in such a desperate situation, Noah instinctively struggled to survive. Though his eyes seemed open, he couldn’t see properly, and when he opened his mouth to breathe air, only water rushed in.
As Noah flailed his arms and legs, just before sinking down with a gurgle, he felt something lifting him into the air and simultaneously lost consciousness.
“…so Noah… swimming…”
Ray hesitated and stepped back as he saw Derik’s fierce expression as he walked out of the swimming pool carrying Noah in his arms. Noah had definitely learned swimming with him and had passed the course with quite a high grade. How could he suddenly not know how to swim?
Moreover, the depth of the swimming pool Noah had entered was only 150cm, which wasn’t that deep. Although Noah was small compared to his peers, it wasn’t deep enough for him to drown even if he stood on his tiptoes.
“Are you really so eager to die?”
Noah’s eyes remained tightly closed as he coughed in Ray’s arms. Before Ray could do anything, Derik had moved first, and now Noah was in a state of near unconsciousness.
He’s not dead and he’s safe. What, what’s the problem!
It’s just one human. He’s not dead, and although it was a bit dangerous, nothing serious happened. But now Ray also started emanating energy toward Derik, who was displaying fierce energy toward him, a fellow kin.
It was more of a defensive measure to avoid death rather than confronting him, but as Ray released his energy, one of Derik’s eyebrows rose crookedly.
A heavy silence fell over the swimming pool, which had been bustling with excited chatter of children until moments ago. The sound of Derik’s footsteps as he trudged past Ray, carrying Noah outside, echoed emptily in the space.
The moment Derik and Noah went outside through the door, all the students in the swimming pool floated up into the air.
“Ahhh!”
“Wha… what’s happening!”
“Put me down!”
“Who is it!! Ray!!”
The students who suddenly found themselves floating in the air momentarily panicked, then all began looking for Ray. He was the only magician present, and he was the one who had lifted Noah into the air and then dropped him into the water earlier.
Splash— Splash—
A strange satisfaction settled on Derik’s lips as he left the swimming pool, hearing the water sounds and screams of surprise as the students who had been floating in the air fell one by one into the pool.
This would end here today, but if Noah’s safety was threatened again, he couldn’t guarantee their safety. Of course, there was no reason to guarantee it either.
Derik was also surprised seeing Noah fall into the water, but he didn’t think it was that serious. Because Noah had learned to swim. He had expected Noah to quickly regain his balance and get annoyed, not to struggle helplessly.
Why he’d been saying strange and irrelevant things since yesterday, I don’t know. Saying unheard-of things when asked who he liked. Even when they were alone, asking if he could change clothes underwater in 10 seconds—all completely incomprehensible statements.
It wasn’t strange at all that Ray, who could hear nearby sounds with just a little concentration, had heard his conversation with Noah. If it had been a really important conversation, he would have put up a shield to prevent others from hearing, but honestly, none of the conversations he’d had with Noah so far could be considered important.
At first, he was angry at Ray for dropping Noah in the water, but now that Noah was safe, the careless words the students had been saying hit him more strongly.
The academy proclaimed the nonsensical ideology that there was no class system and everyone was equal. However, that was only on the surface; in reality, the privileges Matthew and Merry received as imperial family members were countless, and this was a place where numerous factions centered around students with high-ranking parents formed and disappeared.
This was because when they graduated from the academy and inherited their parents’ wealth and titles, the connections made at the academy would become their lifeblood.
But strangely, all of this was an exception for Noah.
He is the only son of the Grand Duke of the North, whom no one except the Emperor could treat carelessly. As the son of the Grand Duke, who held more power in the northern region of the Empire than the Emperor himself, it would benefit everyone to crawl at Noah’s feet for the rest of their lives.
Considering the ore that only comes from the North and the recently discovered magic stone mines, this shouldn’t be the case, but there was a valid reason why Noah received such treatment.
Noah’s trait.
Omega.
Someone who could never become the Grand Duke ruling the northern region.
If you wanted the northern region, you just had to marry Noah.
Whether beta or alpha, if you won Noah’s favor and married him, all that vast northern territory and enormous mining revenue would be yours. Along with the powerful position of Grand Duke.
Although it was said to have been greatly alleviated, contempt for omegas still persisted, and being young was no exception.
Moreover, since Noah started attending the academy, it seemed like Lucas had cut off all interest in him. Just assuming he was doing well? Believing that if Noah didn’t speak up first, everything was fine? It was quite different from other parents who frequently visited the academy.
Noah wasn’t talkative and wasn’t a student who created factions or had a boisterous school life. His grades were neither outstanding nor lagging, maintaining a middle ground, and he never took the lead in anything. If it weren’t for his eye-catching appearance, he lived so quietly that one might not even know he was in the same class.
I don’t know what situation will unfold after Noah becomes an adult, but there was one unpleasant element in the gaze directed at the alphas and betas who were friendly with Noah currently.
That they were trying to get on Noah’s good side to become the Grand Duke of the northern region.
And such absurd things became sensitive issues for adolescent children. If someone showed favor to Noah, they would immediately receive low-quality questions like, “Why? Are you trying to seduce him to become the Grand Duke of the North?”
Derik had also received this question, and he lightly hit the student who asked it. It was literally just a light hit, but the fragile human broke four ribs, which led to a brief meeting with the Dean who had a long white beard.
He didn’t receive that question afterward, but that’s what Noah was at the academy. A child who, though desired to be a beta or alpha who could continue the lineage, was born an omega and abandoned by Lucas, the Grand Duke of the North.
That’s why he thought that even after sending an omega to the academy, Lucas hardly ever showed his face properly. Therefore, even if someone seduced Noah and reached marriage, it was uncertain whether they would properly inherit the northern region.
He seemed not bad because he was noticeably pretty and had a decent personality, but if you wanted to get close to him, you would not only hear the basic accusation that you were adjusting your personality on purpose because you coveted the Grand Duke position, but you also had to become friends with Ray and Derik, who were like massive mountain ranges on either side of Noah.
While one might get along reasonably well with Ray, who was always smiling and kind to everyone, becoming friends with Derik, who rarely made his voice heard properly except when directed at Noah and always maintained an indifferent and cold gaze, was not an easy task.
And knowing all this, Derik looked even colder at the insignificant humans approaching Noah. He treated those who came with useless, superfluous delusions rather than pure affection for Noah as a person, even more harshly.
Small things like shoulders accidentally bumping when passing by. Of course, minor incidents like students who bumped into Derik getting cracks in their collarbones or breaking their arms by falling backward and unfortunately placing their arms wrong came as bonuses.
Thanks to this, he often saw the Dean who prided himself on his white beard, but that was just a bit troublesome and not a big problem for Derik either.
Anyway, hearing the screams of the students, Derik entered his own dormitory room rather than Noah’s, and sat comfortably on the wide sofa still holding Noah.
While there was a trail of water droplets falling from the soaking wet Noah all the way to the front of the dormitory room, as soon as they entered the room, Noah was dried fluffy and warm. Looking at Noah, whose rough breathing had changed to even and comfortable as he fell into a deep sleep, Derik’s pupils were more peaceful than ever.
It was obvious that as soon as he woke up, he would rapidly spill out everything about what had just happened at the swimming pool, and then question why he was in Derik’s room instead of his own, but that would happen a little later.
“Ten years. Infinitely short, but if you count it as long, it’s quite a long time. But you know what? Why are you more interesting the more I look at you…”
Thinking that the curly hair seemed to be tickling Noah’s forehead, Derik pushed the hair back and self-deprecating words flowed from his lips. He had thought he’d just watch for a while and then leave, but the fun of watching him grow was so enjoyable that he kept staying by his side.
Somehow, it now felt like he would feel empty if Noah wasn’t by his side.
For the first time, Derik, who had been filling his empty time with long sleep and momentary amusements, developed a complaint about the infinitely short life of humans compared to dragons.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
