Chapter 283: Chapter 298: Shut In

As I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, I was finally able to let my mind roam freely without my annoying teacher interrupting me… Not that I was able to get some actual thinking in. It was mostly just me cringing from embarrassment and wanting to disappear, thinking over every mistake I made and all the stupid things I had said in the past couple of days… But once I was done with that, I was at least able to get some good sleep, thanks to the medicine the teacher gave me that completely numbed the pain in my throat.

When I woke up my manna reserves had mostly recovered, and my circuits had reconstructed themselves enough to use magic, even if they were sore. Everything eventually compiled together though and made me come down with another fever, and so my body temperature rose dramatically. That said I was getting used to the intense heat. And with all my sweat boiling off instead of sticking to me, it didn’t feel all that gross either. I figured I had my dragons blood to thank for that, but it was a bit concerning how aggressive it was becoming.

Isy went to spend time training with Bear, so it was just Mo staying by my side. She was like me, she liked being alone, and indoors, so I didn’t really feel all that bad having her stick around to look after me.

Sometime in the afternoon, a knock came on the door and she slowly stood up from her desk, brushing herself off and walking over, opening it up.

‘Did Bear come to check on me? That would mean Isy is back too.’ I didn’t hear a voice, as if neither said a word, and then Mo stepped aside, once he walked in I realized it was our teacher again, and thinking back to the last time I timidly pulled the blanket over my face ‘I think… I’m done guessing who’s at the door until I can think straight again…’

I heard his footsteps on the boards, slightly heavier than Isy’s, and much heavier than Mo’s as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to me. “So… How are you doing?”

I slowly pulled the bunched-up blanket down, uncovering my face and signing “Good” with my hands. ‘I’m pretty sure he didn’t even look my way… So really I have nothing to be embarrassed about right?’

“But not good enough to talk yet I guess.”

I lifted my hands again but he grabbed them and gently laid them to rest. Before pulling away again. “At least not without it hurting. Don’t move around so much. From what I understand, you are prone to fevers and get sick easily despite and maybe even because of your uncanny strength and dragon traits. I brought more medicine, here.”

‘How does he know so much about me…’ Mo took it from him with a chilling glare before she helped me drink it, making him clearly feel awkward again.

Considering she was an assassin though… It was a bit surprising he stayed so calm.

“I visited the man you spit fire at as well, he is fine, nothing worse than a sunburn on his face.”

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‘Well… If he visited him too that would make this a lot less creepy… And in this school, the teachers are the nurses.’ I let out a heavy sigh. “Good…” I muttered ‘When I beat him up I want to do it with my fists… It felt kind of cheap to just roast him alive… And it hurt me way more than it did him…’

“Do you have medicine to help her cool off too?” Mo asked, running cold water over her hands after touching me.

He nodded. “It was mixed in with what I gave her already.” He moved his hand over my forehead but I grabbed it before he could touch me.

“You’ll burn your hand…”

He raised an eyebrow. “If you’re that hot then wouldn’t you grabbing me so forcefully also burn me?”

I quickly pulled my hand back.

“This isn’t exactly a normal fever, so I doubt the medicine will help much… All we can really do is wait.”

I let out a long groan my speech sluring together a bit. “It’s better this way. Staying super hot… Kills all the bad stuff to make me better faster…” ‘Ugh… I sound like a toddler…’

He stood up with a sigh. “At any rate, I have confirmed that you are clearly still recovering, and so you will be taking tomorrow off from classes, even if you do start to feel better. Mo, as her roommate, you are to make sure she does this. I’ll come by to check on you after the morning classes tomorrow to see if anything has changed. I brought you both some food as well since you’re both shut-ins” He handed a small box to Mo and left without another word.

It was so matter-of-fact and almost felt cold, not that I wasn’t used to it. Although in this case, all things considered… It was probably better that way. I’m honestly not sure how I would have reacted if he showed excessive worry or anything.

Mo just looked at me curiously. “Shut in? But… I opened the door for him.”

I smiled, trying not to laugh as I let out another deep breath. ‘Tomorrow huh… Yeah… By then I should be fine I think…’

The food he brought us was some kind of liquidized meat. It hurt to swallow at first, but thanks to my magic kicking in, by the time I ate Mo’s portion I was already feeling much better, and of course, she just stuck to her pellets. Although seeing me eat so much, must have made her hungry, seeing as how she ate an extra one on acedent. I didn’t bother asking, just patently waited until she made the cutest face after realizing it, embarrassed despite practically being alone.

Isy came back, and we all got ready for bed, but something wasn’t quite right. My senses were sharpening again, slowly but surely. I could even hear Isy’s heartbeat. But Mo’s was even softer than before, her breath almost nonexistent. She lay in bed, seeming to sleep like a perfect little fairy just like always, but after Isy tossed and turned a few times, she suddenly stood up, almost mechanically, and came over to me squatting down at my bedside. “You’re awake.” She said bluntly, simply stating it.

I nodded.

“But you have cooled down some?”

I nodded again.

“But you are still hot…” She rested a hand on my forehead to confirm, and it felt so cold to the touch that it gave me chills. Looking closer, her hand was almost a faint shade of blue under her pale skin. “The Pelets that I ate earlier do a lot of things… One of them is reduce body temperature…” She timidly looked to the side.

I just sighed, lifting the blanket up and scooching to the side to make room. ‘I have to figure out how to get her to stop taking those… If nothing else than for the symbolism of fully breaking away from her father. But they can’t be healthy if they have so many side effects…’

She slowly nestled in beside me, falling asleep in one deep breath just by laying near me. A part of me thought she would cling to me like my mother used to, but she just laid there, her breath and heartbeat so faint I couldn’t help but worry… Not that they were particularly strong in the first place, with how small and delicate she was… At least in appearance.

In the end, I ended up being the one clinging to her, her icy skin admittedly providing a strong sense of relief, almost putting me out just as fast.