The Extra is a Genius!?-Chapter 169: Boys Talk

"Sure." Noel answered.

Marcus whispered from the bunk below. "How are you holding up?"

Noel didn’t answer immediately. His eyes were still fixed on the ceiling, the faint outline of wooden beams barely visible in the moonlight.

"...Not gonna lie," he muttered. "It hit me."

"I see..." Marcus replied, voice quieter now. "So I’m not the only one. Though I imagine the others feel the same. Still... if I’d noticed earlier, maybe I could’ve stepped in. Way before you got involved."

’You can’t blame yourself. I knew it was coming and still couldn’t stop it...’ Noel thought, fingers tightening slightly around the edge of the blanket.

"You shouldn’t blame yourself," he said instead. "It’s not something we could’ve uncovered that easily. If they were professionals, then it’s normal. We did enough. The Saint’s safe."

"Yeah... but that feeling doesn’t go away, y’know? That sense of not doing everything I could."

"Believe me," Noel murmured. "I know exactly what you mean."

"You know," Noel said, turning slightly on the mattress, "that blue fire of yours is something special."

Marcus snorted softly. "Heh... you think so?"

’Looks like he awakened part of his power ahead of schedule too.’ novelbuddy-cσ๓

Marcus continued, "I’ve been training with Clara back in Nivaria before coming here. And even at the academy, I kept working on it. Didn’t want to fall behind."

"Fall behind?" Noel asked, glancing down.

"Yeah. Watching you grow so fast made me feel... smaller, I guess. So I made you my target. Someone to catch up to."

Noel smirked. "So I’m your rival now?"

"Now that you say it, yeah, it kind of sounds like that. You up for a bit of competition in the next exams?"

Noel chuckled. "Wouldn’t be fair. I’m garbage at theory."

"But you’re great at spellcasting."

"It’s not the same," Noel shrugged. "Theory and practical magic don’t work the same way. Hard to explain."

"I get it," Marcus nodded. "Anyway, nine days left before classes start. Second year already."

"Yeah. And being on the council means we’ll have work piled up from day one. New first-years flooding in."

"Oh," Marcus added casually, "Charlotte’s coming back with us to the academy."

Noel blinked.

That wasn’t supposed to happen. In the original version of the story, she never left the Holy Capital. But the Noel of now didn’t care about the original plot anymore. His job wasn’t to follow a script—it was to survive. And if that meant surrounding himself with people he trusted, so be it.

"...Didn’t know that," he said calmly.

"She didn’t tell you?" Marcus asked. "I saw you two walking back from the cemetery."

"No, not really. We didn’t talk much."

"Huh," Marcus said, glancing up at the underside of Noel’s bed. "Weird."

Noel stayed quiet, but the gears in his mind were already turning.

"Well," Noel said, stretching slightly. "Enough of that. How are things with Clara?"

Marcus froze for a second. "...They’re good."

Noel smirked in the dark. "That pause says otherwise."

Marcus groaned. "Alright, fine. The other day... we held hands."

"Oh?" Noel grinned. "Big progress in your slow-burn romance. Hey, at least it’s something. Good luck."

"Thanks," Marcus muttered, then added with a hint of curiosity, "What about you? How are things going with... your situation?"

Noel raised an eyebrow. "Why are you saying ’situation’ like that? And why it sounded plural?"

Marcus didn’t miss a beat. "I think it’s obvious there’s more than one. Not like it’s weird. Clara’s dad has four wives. Your dad has two."

"I wasn’t denying that," Noel replied. "But if you want an answer... I’m officially with Elyra."

Marcus let out a low whistle. "Wow. You move fast."

"Fast?" Noel repeated. "I’ve known her for almost a year. It wasn’t forced. It just happened naturally."

"Hm. Fair enough," Marcus said. "Alright then, what about Elena?"

"What do you want to know?" Noel asked, resting his arm behind his head.

Marcus didn’t hesitate. "She’s clearly important to you. She likes you too—anyone with eyes can see that."

Noel exhaled slowly. "I know. I’ve just been waiting for her to make the first move."

"Why not just take the step yourself?"

"I guess... I wanted her to go at its own pace."

Marcus stayed quiet for a moment, then asked, "Is there anyone else?"

Noel hesitated. "...Not sure."

"Oh, come on," Marcus said. "Don’t play dumb or I’ll name them myself."

"Go on, then."

"Charlotte and Selene?"

Noel shifted slightly. "Why do you think that?"

"With Charlotte, it’s obvious. You two act way too close for how little time you’ve spent together. And Selene... I dunno. Just a feeling. You’re one of the only people she even interacts with in the academy. And she actually replies to you."

Noel didn’t respond.

Marcus smirked. "Anything you want to say?"

"...Nothing."

A sharp voice cut through the darkness.

"Can you two shut the hell up already?" Laziel growled from the top bunk across the room. "Some of us aren’t blessed by the gods of romance and don’t need this shoved in our face at midnight."

Noel and Marcus froze for a second.

"...Even the damn gorilla below me has a girlfriend," Laziel continued, clearly pointing at Garron. "And I’m still out here alone. Do you know how humiliating that is?"

There was a beat of silence—then both Noel and Marcus burst out laughing, trying and failing to muffle it with their pillows.

Laziel groaned and turned over, pulling his blanket over his head. "Assholes."

The room finally began to settle into silence.

Sort of.

"...Gorilla?" came a deep, half-asleep voice from the lower bunk. "Did you just call me a gorilla?"

Laziel didn’t reply. The lump under the blanket only curled up tighter.

"Yeah, thought so," Garron muttered, sitting up and scratching his messy hair. "And yes, also I do have a girlfriend. Sophie. Got a problem with that?"

Noel rolled over on his mattress, still grinning. "You gonna talk about Sophie again?"

"Damn right I am." Garron grinned proudly. "She’s small, adorable, and could knock someone’s teeth out if she felt like it. The first time she called me an idiot, I knew she was the one."

Marcus chuckled. "A true love story."

"She makes me bring her flowers every Sunday. Me. Flowers. Do you have any idea how ridiculous a guy like me looks buying flowers?"

"Very," came Laziel’s muffled voice from under the blanket.

"Shut up, you bitter single bastard." Garron flopped back onto his bed with a goofy smile. "I love her. A lot. And if you call me a gorilla again, Laziel, I swear I’ll slap you with a rose."

Noel burst out laughing again. "Is that supposed to be a romantic threat?"

"It’s a threat wrapped in affection," Garron muttered. "Good night."

This time, silence finally settled over the room.

More or less.

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