Noah didn’t need Blackie’s mind-reading powers to deduce what dark thoughts were going through Levi’s head. The incident had clearly dealt a huge mental blow to this obstinate brother-in-law.
Astar Levi was a proud man who was hard on others but harder on himself. He had little tolerance for mistakes to begin with, so having his own power hurt people he cared about would undoubtedly be something hard for him to accept. Even though he logically knew that it was out of his control, he couldn’t escape from blaming himself.
‘If only he had waited for Trey’s shield before coming out of the Magcart. If only he wasn't so impatient to meet his fiancée. If only he had been a bit more careful.’
But how could he have possibly known that someone was waiting in ambush at the station and would perfectly exploit those several seconds? No one could have predicted that.
And even if they assume, for the sake of argument, that the incident occurred due to Levi’s mistake, how could one blame him for it? He hadn’t had enough sleep last night and hadn't seen his fiancée for days. Of course he would be looking forward to reuniting with his darling wifey! No one could stay perfectly rational all the time! It isn’t a matter of being right or wrong, it’s just a matter of being human!
And thus, Noah, this wordborn with an attention span of a goldfish, forgot about going to the toilet like he had claimed and climbed back onto the bed.
“Brother, don’t be sad. Everything is alright now.” In his anxiousness to comfort his pitiful brother-in-law, Noah even forgot his previous embarrassment and straightforwardly pounced on Levi to give him a warm hug. A hug is the chicken soup for the soul! What could be more immediately comforting than a warm hug?
Alright. So, for the moment, let’s just ignore the awkwardness of trying to hug a person who was lying flat on their back. Yeah, let just pretend that this one-quarter-hug, one-quarter-straddle, and one-half-snuggle was actually a completely ordinary, touching brotherly hug.
…
(ノ꒪Д꒪)ノ︵ ┻━┻ Screw that! Who could look past all that?!? Levi sure as hell couldn’t!
Feeling his darling pounce on him, Levi’s soul nearly leaped out of his body in a mix of shock and disbelief.
Was he hallucinating?!?
It must be his mind playing tricks on him!! This pig teammate! Giving him false hope like this would only make the reality all the more unbearable!!
Noah felt Levi’s body stiffen, and due to his cheek that was once again pressed onto the other’s chest, he could even feel Levi’s heart racing. Levi’s mental power got even more agitated, but the nature of the flow showed clear signs of switching from something chaotically self-destructive into something healthier, an orderly liveliness of youth.
Noah interpreted this as his quasi-hug being super-effective. His brother-in-law was neither catatonic nor out of his mind. He just nearly lost a person he cared for and was still not over it. He was unused to experiencing such intense emotions, so now he had this suffocating feeling in his chest that he didn’t know how to vent out. He could only hold it in until it overflowed.
But that was no good! Strong emotions needed an outlet! They absolutely couldn’t be bottled up!
Brother-in-law needed to just cry his heart out, to spill out all his grievances! Only then, after properly venting, would he be able to fully recover and move on.
And to help Levi with this process, Noah would make sure to properly soothe him, both literally and metaphorically. Thus, Noah immediately activated his soothing, or attempted to, because as soon as he tried to crank it up, a sharp pain suddenly flared inside his head.
“You can’t use your power right now, host!” Blackie admonished, “You went over your power limits earlier, so for the time being, you won’t be able to use your full power output. Overdoing stuff is no good, ah! Take it easy until you are fully recovered.”
Ah, right. Overuse of power wasn’t something a Healer could fix.
Noah frowned, “But my brother-in-law needs my soothing right now! Can this natural healing process be sped up? How long until I can use my power again?”
“It depends. Maybe a day, maybe more. Your mental power has high compatibility with Levi’s, so if you are in his vicinity, you’ll both recover faster.”
“Can you do something about it from your end? Didn’t you claim to be a super awesome AI system that comes bundled with cheats?”
Blackie was rendered speechless by his host once again, ಠ_ಠ ‘There are terrorists amok, power rampages happening every day, you nearly died three times, and only now that your brother-in-law is sad do you remember to ask about those cheats!!! Host, how do you still have the cheek to claim this relationship as a pure and simple brotherhood?!?’
Blackie swallowed down his internal outrage with great difficulty, “Of course I’ve got ‘cheats’! But these special effects don’t come out of thin air; someone has to pay for the operation costs! Everything is an equivalent exchange, and you, host, are broke. Forget about it for the time being; you don’t really need to use your power actively anyway, your passive soothing is still fully functional. Just go back to coaxing your ‘good brother’...”
Noah didn’t need Blackie to tell him what to do; he was already on it. He had wanted to rub Levi’s back consolingly, but since Levi was already lying on his back, he could only settle for rubbing his cheek on the other’s chest. Like a little kitten acting coquettishly.
“Was it very painful? Does your head still hurt?” Noah gently asked, his voice tinged with concern.
Levi, who felt electrocuted out of his wits by the overwhelming dose of sugary cuteness, couldn’t help but open his eyes wide and blurt out, “How can you ask ME if it hurts?! It’s you who had been hurt!!”
“Oh, so you are awake after all,” Noah hid his smirk by burying his face in Levi’s shirt.
‘Foul!!!! Baby, you are too much!!’ the colorful expression Levi made at that moment couldn’t be adequately explained in words. Wide-eyed, sluggish yet ecstatic. He was an image of a diabetic, moments away from dropping dead due to a sugar arrow his baby had pierced straight into his heart, yet still unable to believe he had been shot at.
Not daring to hope for anything, yet still unable to stop himself from hoping. Thrilled that his baby seemed not to want to cut ties with him, yet indignant because he felt that his baby didn’t properly cherish himself. Blissful that his baby had returned back to his arms of his own accord, yet upset that he’d been caught pretending to be dead.
Astar Levi had never been so flustered and confused in all 24 years of his life.
Noah looked up at his brother-in-law's current adorably foolish state and couldn’t stop his eyes and mouth from curving into a brilliant smile filled with affection, “I’m not hurt. My body is already fully healed.”Seeing that incomparably beautiful smile, Levi felt as if he had been shot at again.“That’s not what I meant...” Levi furrowed his eyebrows, “Your body has recovered, but it cannot change the fact that you almost... almost...” Levi swallowed hard and was unable to continue his words. Instead, he instinctively clutched at the smaller body lying on top of his as if holding for dear life.
Levi didn’t need to do anything for a silent crack to form in everyone’s mind. A subtle change of perception that grew and grew until what they saw looked nowhere near what was initially there.Their perception was like a mirror. The image reflected on a smooth mirror was clear, but once the mirror cracked, the reflection would become distorted and split until it could no longer be recognized.Back when everyone had distanced themselves from him, he had even felt it was a good thing. His power was excellent - not only was it very convenient in many ways, but it also kept unwanted company away.
Levi felt like he would be able to reach heaven in a single step. His idea of boiling this cute little frog in warm water had been the right approach. He was nearly fully cooked.The twists and turns of life were truly unpredictable! Within a single day, he had fallen from heaven to hell and then soared back into the sky once again.It was all so very good, almost perfect even. It was just that his heart still hurt for this sensible baby of his that worried for others before himself. How could his heart ever be at ease when his darling didn’t know how to treasure himself properly? When he didn’t know that he was the most precious thing in
“Brother, did you say something? I couldn’t hear you over the water.” Noah yelled from within the bathroom.Levi exhaled a long sigh charged to the brim with emotion. “I’ll tell you later…”Noah dried his hands with the towel, “Blackie, did you hear what he said?”Blackie side-eyed his blissfully ignorant host, “Yes. He proclaimed his undying love for you.”No
Levi swallowed hard, “You… could you go ahead and check whether my mother came in person?”Noah eyed Levi strangely, so Levi was forced to explain. “My mother is… uh… an Empathizer…”Noah’s confusion was instantly replaced by understanding. Empathizers could sense the emotions of others as if they were their own. His brother-in-law was worried that if his mother came in person, she’d be able to feel how much today’s incident had affected him. He didn’t want her to worry, and how could she not if she felt his pain and distress?
While making their way towards the study, Noah couldn’t help but inquire, “What happened to your manor?”Levi avoided his eyes and pretended he hadn’t heard his question. Noah waited for his response, and only after a long while had passed did he realize that the other had no intention of responding.“Brother?” Noah tugged at Levi’s sleeve, but the other lunged to knock on the study door as if chased by a flesh-eating zombie.Noah stared at the fleeing brother-in-law speechlessly, feeling a bit am
After visiting his father, Noah took a minute to send a message to Fynn, telling him to drop by the manor so that they could further discuss the case. He also updated his social status to say he was resting at home, but otherwise fine.After that, he recorded and sent a long and touching video message to Trey, ensuring him that everything was fine, and he would keep him updated on the happenings. He also encouraged Trey to properly rest and recuperate, apologized for getting him into this mess, and thanked him for his hard work both verbally and monetarily with a thick electronic envelope of cash. He also ordered a get-well gift basket to be sent to his hospital room.
At that moment, Noah finally realized why his pitiful brother-in-law looked so undead in the morning. Not only was his sleep quality poor, getting tormented by nightmares, but he even ended up destroying his room!How horrible would one feel if, in a blink of an eye, they destroyed their own home?!Never mind the stress, pitiful brother-in-law was the one who lost the most in this accident, yet instead of mourning his own loss, he even had a crushing sense of regret and guilt! Feeling as if it was his fault, as if there was something wrong with him!