The Extra is a Genius!?-Chapter 551: A Warm Reunion [V]

Nicolas’s gaze lingered on him, slow and unhurried, taking in details he hadn’t seen in a long time. Not the uniform he no longer wore, not the posture of a student waiting to be addressed, but the way Noel carried himself now. Grounded. Steady. The change was impossible to miss.

He had grown into himself.

Blond hair, no longer kept short out of regulation but worn naturally now. Emerald eyes that no longer searched the room for approval or instruction, but met his calmly, with the quiet certainty of someone who had made choices and lived with them. There was fatigue there, yes, etched lightly around the edges, but it was the kind that came from moving forward, not from being lost.

Nicolas smiled faintly, something warm stirring beneath the weariness. Of all the students he had guided, of all the talents that had passed through his care, this one had always stood apart. Not because of power alone, but because of resolve. Because Noel had never looked away when things became difficult.

"You look well," Nicolas said at last, voice soft but clear. "A bit worn down, perhaps... but well." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Noel let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh, the tension in his shoulders easing by a fraction as he stepped closer to the bed.

"Thanks, Nicolas," he said, voice still a little tight, but steadier now. His eyes ran over Nicolas properly, taking in the pallor, the thinness, the way the light made him look almost weightless against the sheets. Noel’s mouth tilted, and the honesty came out the only way it ever really did with him.

"...I can’t say the same about you."

For a second, it was impossible to tell if Nicolas would take it as disrespect.

Then he chuckled, the sound quiet and tired, but real, and it filled the room in a way that made it feel less like a sickbed and more like an office again, like the world hadn’t narrowed down to this one moment.

"I’m glad," Nicolas said, still smiling, "that you can joke with me even now. It’s better than sitting here grieving things we never had a vote in." He shifted slightly against the pillows, as if finding a comfortable position was more habit than comfort. "If the world decided something, then it decided it. We can argue with it all we want, but arguing doesn’t change the outcome."

His gaze stayed on Noel, calm and unshaken.

"We do what we can with what we’re given," he continued, voice gentle, almost matter-of-fact. "And when there’s nothing left to do, we don’t poison the time we still have by cursing the parts we can’t control." A faint pause, the smile lingering. "Besides, I’ve never liked melodrama. Not in my office, and not in my last room either."

oel studied him for a moment longer, something like disbelief flickering across his expression before he spoke. "You’re taking this a lot better than I expected," he admitted quietly. "I thought you’d be... I don’t know. More bitter. Or at least angrier about how it turned out."

Nicolas laughed softly, the sound thinner this time but no less sincere. "If you had lived as long as I have," he said, "and made the kinds of choices I did, you’d find there isn’t much room left for that." His eyes drifted briefly toward the light spilling in through the window before returning to Noel. "Eighty-some years is a long time to carry regrets. Eventually, you either set them down, or they crush you."

He shifted again, careful, as if mindful of a body that no longer followed intent the way it once had. "I did what I could," he continued, unhurried. "Every step, every decision, I made it believing it was the best one available at the time. Not perfect ones. Just honest ones." A small pause followed. "That’s enough for me."

There was no bravado in his voice. No attempt to dress the truth up as wisdom. Just acceptance, settled and complete.

"I don’t look at what’s coming and feel cheated," Nicolas added. "I look at it and think... I’ve had my time. More than many. And I’ve used it well."

He met Noel’s gaze again, calm as ever.

"That’s why I can rest," he said simply.

Noel held his gaze for a moment longer, then spoke, the question leaving him more quietly than he had intended. "Is there anything," he asked, "that you regret?"

Nicolas didn’t answer right away.

His eyes lowered slightly, unfocused now, as if the room had faded and something farther back had taken its place. Seconds passed. Enough that Noel wondered if he’d asked too much.

Then Nicolas exhaled.

"...Yes," he said at last.

The word came without weight, but it carried honesty.

"There is one thing." He was silent again, fingers shifting faintly against the sheets as he gathered the thought properly. "I never formed a family." He didn’t rush the admission. He let it stand as it was. "That’s the only part of my life I would change."

Noel didn’t interrupt.

Nicolas continued, voice steady but quieter now. "I don’t think I ever told you why my relationship with Director Redna failed." A faint, almost self-aware smile touched his lips. "The reason was simple. I wanted power. Influence. To change things on a larger scale." His eyes lifted again, meeting Noel’s. "She wanted a family."

He shook his head slowly. "At the time, I convinced myself that I could do both later. That there would always be time." A short pause followed. "I was wrong."

There was no bitterness in the confession. No self-pity. Just clarity that had come too late to matter.

"I didn’t give her the time she deserved," Nicolas said. "And by the time I understood what that cost, the choice had already been made." He rested back against the pillows, the admission complete. "That is my only true regret. Not battles lost. Not power gained or spent. Just that."

He looked at Noel again, calm but open.

"Everything else," he said, "I can let go of."

Nicolas watched him for a moment longer, as if weighing whether to say what came next. When he did, his voice was softer, but no less certain.

"So," he said, "I want to ask you for something." His gaze didn’t waver. "And no, it has nothing to do with saving worlds. You’ve already done enough of that."

Noel straightened slightly, attention fully on him.

"Spend time with the people who matter to you," Nicolas continued. "Don’t put it off. Don’t tell yourself there will be a better moment later." A faint breath left him. "There usually isn’t." He let the words settle before going on. "Build a family, in whatever form that takes for you. If you do that, you’ll be happy. And so will they."

There was no command in it. No authority. Just advice offered by someone who had reached the end of his road and knew exactly where he had stepped wrong.

"You’ve been lucky, Noel," Nicolas added, not unkindly. "Luckier than most of your generation. You found people who chose you, and whom you chose in return." A small smile appeared. "That alone makes you the envy of many."

Noel felt something tighten in his chest, then ease. He smiled back, the expression honest. "Don’t worry," he said. "I already plan to." He paused, then added, almost sheepishly, "Besides... Marcus beat me to it."

Nicolas blinked. "Oh?"

"He and Clara," Noel said. "They’ve got a baby on the way. Still too early to know what it’ll be, but..." He shrugged lightly. "He didn’t waste any time."

For a second, Nicolas simply stared at him.

Then he laughed.

The sound was thin, but warm, carrying genuine amusement. "Then you really can’t afford to lag behind," he said. "I’d hate to hear you needed encouragement from a man in this condition."

Noel huffed quietly. "I’ll keep that in mind."

Nicolas shifted slightly, settling back against the pillows again, the humor fading into something attentive and focused. "Alright," he said. "Enough about my regrets and your future plans." His eyes sharpened just a little. "You’ve been through a great deal. I want to hear it."

He gestured faintly toward Noel. "Tell me everything. I’m listening."

Noel took a slow breath, eyes lowering for a moment as he ordered his thoughts.

"Alright," he said quietly. "Then... I guess the best place to start is when we left for the Northern Isles."

He looked back up as he spoke, voice steady, measured, as if laying pieces carefully on a table.

"Elyra provided the ship. A proper one. We had a captain too—experienced, cautious. The first few days were..." He huffed softly. "Monotonous. Boring, honestly. There wasn’t much to do besides sparring, keeping sharp, and listening to the captain talk."

Nicolas’s gaze stayed on him, attentive.

"He told us stories," Noel continued. "About the sea, about the islands. Warnings too. What not to underestimate. What usually kills people who think they’re prepared." His mouth curved faintly. "We listened. Mostly."

Then his tone shifted, just slightly.

"Things changed when we ran into it. A massive sea monster. Big enough that the ship felt small for the first time." He paused. "We beat it, but the aftermath scattered us. Each of us ended up sent to different islands."

As he spoke, movement stirred at the edge of the room.

Noir chose that moment to act.

With a light, effortless jump, she sprang from the floor onto the bed, landing near Nicolas with barely a sound. Her small wolf form padded closer, tail flicking once before she leaned in, sniffed him, then nudged his arm with her head in greeting.

Noel blinked. "...And then," he added dryly, "it was just me and her."