Chapter 63: Everyone needs a Ren.
Noah had to ask just to be sure.
"Are you guys not mad?"
Sarah shook her head.
"Of course not."
"But I got back really late."
"We know."
"And I didn’t answer any calls."
"Ren explained that you two were busy."
Noah froze.
"Ren?"
"Yes..."
Sarah answered.
"I called you several times and, since you didn’t answer, I decided to call him."
Noah felt his heart stop for a second.
"And what did he say...?"
"That you were with him."
Noah opened his mouth but couldn’t respond, so Sarah continued.
"He said you’d gone out to run some errands and then started talking, but you ended up falling asleep because you were tired."
Noah slowly looked at Ava and she frowned.
"Ren said he didn’t want to wake you."
"He said all that?"
"Yes."
Emma answered.
"He also assured us that he’d walk you to the station when you woke up."
Noah looked back at Sarah.
"When did you talk to him?"
"Almost two hours ago."
"And it didn’t seem strange to you that I wasn’t the one answering?"
Sarah sighed.
"Ren said you’d left your phone on silent."
Noah lowered his gaze to the device he was holding.
’Ren... covered for me.’
He couldn’t believe it. Not only had he kept up the lie, but he had created a complete explanation without knowing what was actually happening.
Sarah touched his shoulder.
"Sorry for doubting you. We know Ren is responsible."
Noah felt a twinge of guilt.
"It’s okay."
Emma stood up from the couch.
"Do you want dinner? I saved some food for you."
"Yes, thanks."
Ava kept watching him, and Noah noticed she seemed less convinced than her mothers.
"What’s wrong?"
He asked.
"Nothing."
"It doesn’t look like nothing."
"Ren talked to me afterward."
Noah tensed.
"What did he say?"
"To stop bothering him because you were sleeping."
Noah couldn’t help feeling admiration.
’He even got annoyed with Ava to make it believable!’
Ava narrowed her eyes.
"He also said he’d talk to you tomorrow because you’re irresponsible."
Ava continued watching him for a few seconds and then stood up.
"I’m going to sleep."
"Good night."
She walked past him but stopped.
"Next time, answer."
"I will."
"And don’t come back so late."
"Okay."
Ava went upstairs.
Noah ate while Sarah and Emma told him how they’d tried not to worry. Neither of them asked again what he’d done with Ren or why he’d come back alone.
When he finished, he went up to his room, closed the door, and took out his phone.
He had a new message from Ren.
[You owe me one.]
Noah stared at those words for several seconds and then typed a reply.
[I don’t know how you knew what to say, but you saved my life.]
Ren replied almost immediately.
[Your mom called me asking if you were with me, since you told her you were going out with me, right?]
[Yes.]
[Then it was obvious you were doing something you didn’t want to explain.]
Noah felt a bit of worry.
[You didn’t ask what I was doing?]
Ren took a few seconds to respond.
[I don’t want to know.]
Noah let out a breath and then another message arrived.
[But if you use me as an excuse again without warning me, I’ll tell them you were in a clandestine meeting with five girls.]
Noah wrote back immediately.
[Don’t do that!!!]
[Then give me a heads-up first.]
[Okay.]
Ren sent an approving emoji and Noah set his phone down on the bed.
’Everyone should have a Ren in their life.’
Despite the relief, the problem of Yume still remained.
He hadn’t received any strange messages from her, so she probably didn’t suspect anything about what happened after they met at the mall.
Noah decided not to think about it anymore that night, so he texted Luna to let her know he’d gotten home safely and then went to bed.
The next day, he arrived at school sleepy.
Ren was already in the classroom when Noah entered, so he walked over to his desk.
"Thanks."
Ren didn’t look up from the book he was reading.
"I’ll let you know when I want to use the favor you owe me."
"Okay, I’ll do whatever."
"Good... by the way..."
Ren closed the book.
"Were you with a girl?"
Noah froze.
"No."
Ren looked at him directly, so Noah tried to keep a normal expression. Ren opened the book again.
"Then I don’t want to know."
"Thanks."
Noah headed to his seat. Iris Valentine was already sitting next to him.
She sat with perfect posture, hands on the desk, gaze fixed forward. She wasn’t talking to anyone, and no one seemed to be trying to talk to her.
Noah sat down.
"Good morning."
Iris turned her head just a few centimeters.
"Good morning."
Then she looked forward again and the conversation ended there.
Noah took out his notebooks while remembering how difficult it was to talk to Iris.
Since the beginning of the school year she had sat next to him, but they had exchanged very few words. Most of their conversations consisted of greetings, questions about homework, or requests to move something on the desk.
Iris never seemed annoyed, but she also never seemed interested in continuing a conversation.
She was simply there, silent and serious.
The teacher entered and started class.
Noah tried to pay attention, but after a few minutes he felt a vibration in his pocket. He carefully took out his phone and saw the Golden Clover symbol on the screen.
’Not again.’
He looked around, but no one seemed to have noticed anything, so he opened the app under the desk.
The screen filled with golden light and the Goddess’s face appeared.
"Good morning, my favorite breeding worker."
Noah lowered the phone’s brightness.
’Don’t call me that.’
The Goddess answered as if she had heard his thought.
"Don’t be shy. We have a lot of work ahead of us."
Noah glanced at the teacher to make sure she wasn’t watching him, and new words appeared on the screen.
[MAIN MISSION UPDATED.]
The Goddess continued speaking.
"Yume and Luna have made quite a bit of progress, especially Luna, who even earned a very important personal reward."
Noah closed his eyes for a moment.
’Don’t talk about that.’
"However, the two of them won’t be enough."
The Goddess’s expression became more serious.
"The Great Mother’s organization is mobilizing more units, so its members have started acting sooner than expected. Now you are one of their main targets."
Noah stopped worrying about hiding the phone for a moment.
’More units?’
"Yume possesses a great amount of power and Luna has excellent control, but they need more support. If they try to face the entire organization alone, they’ll end up surrounded."
A new person’s name appeared on the screen.
[IRIS VALENTINE.]
Noah slowly turned his head and saw that Iris was still sitting beside him, unmoving.
The Goddess spoke again.
"You must recruit the next magical girl."
Below the name appeared an image of a crystal-shaped brooch with several symmetrical points and a transparent center that reflected a bluish light.
[AWAKENING ITEM CREATED.]
A light appeared inside the compartment under the desk.
Noah looked down and the brooch had materialized on his lap.
He quickly grabbed it and hid it in the pocket of his jacket.
’Do I have to give it to her today?’
"The sooner the better."
The Goddess answered.
"The organization won’t wait."
’And what do I tell her?’
"Improvise."
’That never works.’
"It worked with Yume and Luna."
’Both of them thought I was trying to ask them out.’
The Goddess smiled.
"Then you already have experience."
The app closed, so Noah put away his phone and looked at Iris again.
She was still staring forward. Noah remembered the anime.
Iris Valentine had been one of the most important magical girls after Yume and Luna. She was cold, direct, and possessed powers related to crystals. Her closest companion was Aria Celestia, the student council president.
In the original story, Iris and Aria formed one of the audience’s favorite couples.
Noah knew their battles, their arguments, and many important moments in their relationship, but he barely knew the Iris sitting next to him.
It was strange.
They had spent many hours in the same classroom. They were separated by less than a meter, and yet Noah almost never paid attention to her.
Iris didn’t make noise when she moved her things, she didn’t participate unless the teacher asked her to, she didn’t talk to her classmates, she didn’t eat with anyone, and even when she entered or left, no one seemed to notice.
’How can her presence feel so faint?’
Noah watched her for a few seconds and Iris slowly turned her head.
"Do you need something?"
Noah startled.
"No."
"You were staring."
"Sorry."
Iris looked forward again and Noah touched the brooch in his pocket.
He had to approach her.
He couldn’t give her a magical item without any explanation, but he also couldn’t tell her the whole truth in the middle of class, so he decided to wait until break.
During the next few minutes, he tried to think of a normal way to start the conversation and considered asking if she had time after school.
The problem was that Yume and Luna might see him talking to her.
He could also just hand her the brooch directly and ask her to keep it, but that might make Iris think it was a gift.
’Not again.’
When the bell rang, the teacher left the classroom and several students began to stand up.
Noah took a deep breath. It was time. He turned toward Iris.
"Iris..."
Before he could continue, she closed her notebook, put away her things, and stood up.
Noah opened his mouth, but Iris walked past him without stopping.
In a few seconds she reached the door and left the classroom.
Noah remained seated with one hand in his pocket, holding the crystal brooch.
"I didn’t even get to start!"
He looked toward the door and Iris had already disappeared down the hallway, so Noah stood up.
The new mission had just begun, but getting Iris Valentine to listen to a single sentence might prove more difficult than he had imagined.