How to Make a Sinner Sleep - Chapter 15: Chapter 15

It was late into the night when they returned, a single hour before most of the crowd scurried home. The pathway to the dormitories was bleak, lit up by the elegant moonlight, surrounded by ancient stars.
The silence enveloped them in the comforting breeze, making Kaden all the more aware of the person walking beside him.
That's why Noah's question that disturbed the stagnant air was all the more startling.
"Why did you help that little boy?"
Kaden's eyes flickered over, features softened by the night. "Why not? I have enough food to last me a lifetime, and I'm not so greedy to not share."
Noah thought back to a certain person clinging desperately to the boxes of food, persistently gulping down bit after bite despite their protesting stomach.
"....." Where was this supposed 'not greedy' person earlier?
Recognition graced Kaden's face in a teasing smile. "Of course, it's different for you, Bellamy."
"...why is that?"
"I'm saving you from eating unhealthy junk food—aren't I rather considerate to your health?"
"You don't care for the health of the child, then."
"You see, I didn't have any other food on hand, and an unhealthy meal is better than no meal, right? Although I'd prefer to give something healthier, that child is used to scraps. Any meal is a gift."
The dragon was struck dumb by the logic, falling silent. Kaden smiled in satisfaction, feeling the pleasure of winning a battle.
However, Noah wasn't entirely displeased.
The teasing of the unruly fool had gone from sarcastic and biting, to more fliratious, relaxed tones.
And knowing that this lonely man had allowed Noah's presence to become something that he could relax around itched the dragon's heart, like a small paw brushing against him.
Faint, and a butterfly kiss against his feelings, almost invisible were those emotions. He chose not to think further on it—there was much of Kaden yet to know.
The dragon simply thought that making a friend of this person wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Are you thinking about your love for me, Bellamy?" remarked Kaden, more to ruin the silence between them, than out of malicious intent.
Noah scoffed, and said nothing more, but Kaden didn't mind all that much.
The quiet, in fact, was not stifling in the slightest. Tension loosened in his straight shoulders, smoothened out by the gentle air, and the sweet singing of birds. Sometimes, Kaden lifted his heads to the skies and felt overwhelmed that he was alive.
A person was waiting by the entrance, waving upon catching sight of the pair.
Niklas grinned and shouted loudly, "Hey! You guys left me to go on a date?"
"I certainly didn't want to go on with a date with you, Niklas." answered Kaden, walking up to him with a light laugh.
"That's not what I'm saying."
"With all your complaints, I'm assuming you wanted the three of us to hold hands and skip along the road?"
The image that flickered briefly in Niklas's head shocked him deeply. "Absolutely not!"
"Then are you still going to complain?"
Suddenly, the noisy man couldn't bring himself to say anything else, lest Kaden conjure a new horrible image with his words.
Instead, he swung his head over to Noah, who cracked a lazy eye over to him indifferently. "What?"
"We clearly went there together—and you left me! Stranded, in a crowd of strangers." exaggerated Niklas, swooping into his next target.
However, while Noah didn't have a hobby of creating terrifying scenarios, the dragon's barrier was impossible to penetrate, and he opened his mouth to coldly shoot one single bullet.
"And?"
"And—what do you mean 'and'? You left me!"
Noah looked up calmly with a completely indifferent gaze, as if to boldly declare, 'so what?'
The poor Niklas wilted like an abandoned plant, unable to voice his complaints to anybody. His friends had no empathy—how tragic for him!
Kaden watched the one man performance, before asking, "Did you have something to ask?"
After all, Niklas had been waiting for an unknown amount of time. The man in question paused his exaggerated sobbing and lifted his forest gaze, eyes curving into crescents as wind playfully rushed through his locks.
There seemed to be a nostalgic, curious gleam in his gaze.
"Did you have fun, Kaden?"
Another unexpected question. It was rare for somebody to wonder about his enjoyment or feelings towards things, so Kaden felt a little speechless for a moment.
Then, he nodded, lit with the slight of a genuine smile that naturally spread through his features. "Actually, yes. I did."
"Is that so?" Niklas's joy radiated. "Then I'm really glad."
Kaden fell still, unable to respond. But any traces of teasing had long faded, and he didn't think a joke would be a proper response.
However, Niklas didn't care for what was proper or not and quickly eased the atmosphere. "Anyway! You should thank me, I'm the manifestation of fate that brought you and Noah together."
Kaden laughed. "If you're my 'fate', why don't you bless me with a long life?"
"That's a big ask, Kaden. And with no pay too? I think you're overworking me, honestly. I've already done so much to give you the most wonderful life—"
"Yes, yes, alright. No need to continue."
The chattering third-wheeler followed them until they reached their doors, nearly stepping a foot inside himself before Kaden glanced at him questioningly.
Resigned to solitude after being abandoned by his friends, Niklas waved a tearful farewell and sulked back to his room. Kaden watched the theatrics plainly, shaking his head.
Exhaustion soon overtook the tired sinner, and he swept out of his clothes before rolling lazily onto the bed, dead to the world as soon as his face sunk into the pillow.
A certain dragon eyed the piles of boxes scattered on the ground, finger twitching at the mess.
Each room was equipped with a small cooling station, programmed with a rare use of magic to keep things edible or cold for longer. Noah tucked away the food neatly, arranging it until he was satisfied before walking over to his own bed.
He took a single glance over—surprising, the gluttonous man didn't have an incredible sleeping posture, curled up into a ball, pressed against the wall.
The sight rather discomforted Noah, who turned to look away.
Like a scared man, wanting to protect himself from everything surrounding, hiding away. But from what—he didn't know.
It was none of his business, the dragon was well aware and didn't intend to pry. Although the term of friends was something Noah could agree on, a particular wall stood between the two.
A barrier of sorts.
He reached out to turn off the lights, closing his eyes to the soft breathing that filled the air.
———xxx———
"Why don't you introduce me to your friend, Kaden?"
The receiver of the question ignored the pesky voice probing at the back of his head, no doubt followed by an amused curve of scarlet irises. He'd only left the dorms early in the morning after rousing from a nightmare, coming to class early.
Had he known that taking the Concept of Magic would require enduring the bothersome press of somebody he had no intention of getting involved with, he wouldn't reconsidered.
Or at least, not come to class early, when students were still bustling in the hallways, enjoying their free time.
Lux stared for a moment, before swinging his long legs over the desk and sliding beside Kaden. "Are you ignoring me?"
Being prompted so close by gave Kaden little room to continue pretending he couldn't hear. "I apologize, I was distracted."
"With?"
"Have you heard of 'studying'? A common habit of students in this school, I would say. In particular when they enjoy the subject."
"How strange." mused Lux, unbothered with the air of a lounging lion, leaning on the table. "You treat that dragon with an entirely different attitude."
"I like that dragon entirely more than you as well."
Rather, anybody with eyes could see the disparity in how Kaden typically acted with other students, and the two exceptions—Niklas and Noah, who he teased and laughed with at occasion.
Sarcastic, indifferent and malicious typically, with an air of haughty disposition engraved into his bone. The occasional awkwardness for those who paid attention, but a striking distance that couldn't be misunderstood.
It wasn't necessarily that Kaden purposely acted this way, but more that he was used to such. In his first life, his behaviour had been similar, though more extreme.
Here, he was focused on experiencing the things he hadn't before.
Anyway, he didn't intend to put on a kind, gentlemanly act that he wasn't used to simply to get along with judgmental fools that would stir up rumours about his regardless of his attitude. If he was kind, he might be called a pushover. A little mean, and he was a villain.
For those who treated him regularly, Kaden did the same. For the rest, he showed no respect or care.
He was a man used to being hated, after all.
Lux didn't mind the cold response, messing around in his seat. "I think you bear a unique resemblance to me, actually."
Kaden glanced over. "In terms of looks, or personality?"
"Looks, of course."
"Thank goodness."
If it were personality, Kaden might need to consider jumping out the window in that instant. Being compared to Lux was more tragic than any tragedy ever written before.
The sigh of relief that left his lips were loud and completely seen by Lux, who raised his eyebrows in amusement.
"I wouldn't say that we're all that different either."
Kaden laughed, a bitter tone as he shuffled his papers. "The main difference between you and I is that I know I'm a bastard—and you like to pretend otherwise."
Leaning back in his chair, Lux shook his head. "I'd say I display my horrid self quite vividly, don't you?"
"Then I'm glad you're aware."
Lux paused—had he been roped into admitting in his horrible personality?
"...well, back to my initial question. I've been rather interested in dragons recently, and knowing that somebody from the main bloodline is in the school is rather suitable, in fact. Introduce me?"
"And why would I introduce somebody I know to an idiot who considers other species as targets of observation? Do you expect me to degrade my acquaintances?"
"It's the same as being interested in another person in general."
"It's not." Kaden stopped flicking through the papers and turned sideways, pale green gaze full of contempt at Lux's tone.
"You speak of Noah as if he were a species, an animal to experiment and investigate. There's a difference in wanting to get to know somebody as a person, and wanting to watch somebody as if they were on display."
Lux's gaze deepened, a frost glazing over as the atmosphere dropped to a freezing temperature. "Hasn't anybody taught you not to assume things, lovely royalty?"
And it was true, Kaden wouldn't typically accuse a person of such things without blatant evidence, and he wasn't one that particularly enjoyed conflict either.
But there was something about the way Lux spoke of Noah—more interested in his blood than who he actually was. A degrading, objectifying sort of tinge in his voice that even reached his cold eyes.
"Are you saying that you don't care about his bloodline, then?"
Lux chuckled. "I do, but saying this will make you come up with some heroic notion to defend him, won't it?"
As a passing by thought, he added, "Well, I don't intend to experiment on that dragon of yours, regardless. I don't intend to mimic the fools that do. However, isn't that a little childish, playing hero at this age?"
At this point, Kaden slammed his papers down, pushing out the chair with a screech against the ground. Glaring at Lux he stated resolutely, "I have no shame in defending my friends."
However, he soon realized that his reaction was a mistake—the twisted smile on Lux' face increased and he nodded slowly, before spreading his arms out curiously.
"Then why don't you keep me company instead, in his place? In fact, your ability rather intrigues me."
"You—"
Bang!
From a row above, Niklas slammed his books down hastily, huffing. He held up a finger, breathing heavily, resembling a dying animal as he wheezed.
Kaden stared blankly. The classroom was in a general area, relatively easy to travel to without being late. Which meant, that in such a short time, Niklas already expended all of his energy?
"I... phew... okay... so... wait." He lifted his head and grinned between coughs. "Care if I join the conversation? I'm feeling a little lonely. I... was caught up dealing with an incident with another... student."
"Niklas?" Kaden looked over in surprise, frowning. "Why are you here?"
"How... gosh I hate running... cold of you. You don't want me here?"
"Your words would be entirely charming if you weren't choking on air." came the heartless reply. "There was another incident?"
It seemed that students enjoyed getting injured left and right. There had been several cases where a student had to take sick leave due to illness or hidden reasons.
Lux vaguely glanced over, bored at the current scene. He stood up and sauntered away, not before waving a few fingers lazily at Kaden and offering a charming smile. "Oh yes, remember to pull your collar up."
He tapped his pointed fingers on his neck languidly, and Kaden felt the phantom pain from the bruises Reed had given him the other day.
He tugged up his collar.
Lux watched quietly before wondering, "Did we have an agreement, Kaden?"
Kaden watched after him, narrowing his eyes. "If that would please you."
"Wonderful. I'll contact you soon."
Niklas almost went ballistic, scrambling over the table and shaking Kaden so violently, the latter thought he would throw up his brains. In the end, Niklas grew dizzier than Kaden and had to take another moment to calm down.
He heaved for a few minutes while leaning against the table.
In between breaths, he gripped Kaden's arm tightly again. "Are you crazy? Who agrees to dine with a maniac?"
"He's still there, you know."
"What?"
Niklas spun around before pausing, scowling up at the other. "This really isn't the time for jokes! Just look at him!"
"Handsome, right?"
"No!" Then, he stopped himself and mulled it over. "Objectively, I guess I would be inclined to admit that there's a certain appeal, but no! That isn't the point, stop joking around."
"Why are you freaking out so much?"
Although it was true that the disposition surrounding Lux at that moment had been anything but nice, powerful enough to unnerve a person.
Niklas sighed, shaking his head. "You don't get it, you always get into troublesome situation, it's like you radiate it."
"Excuse me?"
"Anyway. If you hang out with him, let me third-wheel. Or, I can befriend him and you can be the third-wheeler, whichever works."
Kaden shrugged. "If you're that determined to be with me—"
"No, stop wording it like that."
"Isn't that how it is?"
"......" Niklas rubbed his temples before rolling over, and taking the seat beside Kaden. "Anyway, I have this class with you, Kaden. Aren't you happy?"
"No, not really."