Since people had died in a beginner's raid, the incident could not be kept under wraps and had to be reported to the higher-ups.
An emergency examination had been held in the arena and it had been found that the information reported back to the guild had been false on all accounts.
This boss was not supposed to be for the beginner class to fight against and as a result, a lot of people died. The guild was still trying to find out the one who had reported such faulty research to their associates.
This much Keith knew himself. There was no need for Clair to message him and keep him updated.
Currently, he was lying down in his hospital bed and recovering from his exhaustion. His body was in a little pain but he was alright otherwise.
He was on bed rest for precautionary measures and nothing else.
Currently, Keith was reading the newspaper article that detailed what happened in the dungeon and how it was handled. His name had finally gotten out into the world but it was far from enough.
Katy had yet to make a statement and that was what Keith was waiting for - for Katy to speak up on this so that his role could be confirmed.
'Darn, all this wait is going to kill me. Can Katy not come out and ask me already?'
Katy was taking her sweet time so there was nothing Keith could do about it.
He rested the newspaper back on his desk and was about to head out for a walk when the door opened. Keith's enthusiasm bleeds out of his body as soon as he noticed the middle-aged couple at the door.
"You look disappointed to see us, lad. Were you waiting for someone else to come in?"
The elder woman asked with a suggestive tone. She even laughed a little as soon as she noticed Keith's impassive look.
Now that Keith had gotten a little more comfortable in his new role, he was able to express himself a little more.
"No, I am not disappointed in you. But I was expecting someone else to come in and tell me what is going on. When will I be discharged from this hospital?"
Keith quickly changed the topic feeling as if he was heading into dangerous territory with the way things were going.
The middle-aged couple laughed Keith's awkwardness off and the atmosphere returned to normal.
"Don't worry kid, we are not offended. We are thankful for your help. Here, has this ring back."
The elder male passed Keith his ring back with a serene smile on his face. Keith did not refuse to take his ring back, knowing it would come in handy soon.
The ring felt hot to the touch, almost as if it was angry to be given away, and was punished for trying to cheat on him.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ 'God, I must be too tired right now. Why am I thinking that this ring is sentient? Just what is my brain doing today?'
Keith quickly pulled his ring back on his finger and it finally went to the right temperature. His hand did not have any burns so he was sure it was his imagination.
"So, you want to know what is happening out there, right? It seems like higher-ups are trying to investigate what is happening here but they are not getting anywhere."
"There are also rumors about a 'master' being involved with this case but we cannot be sure. That is why everyone is on such an edge outside. You're lucky that you are in here."
Keith heard each word these people said and he filed them away for later. It was another case he will have to investigate later.
*Knock knock*
The door to Keith's room opened and Katy entered the room. She looked surprised to see that Keith had company and instantly took a step back.
"Ah, I thought you were alone in here. If you are busy then I will come later-"
"No No! There is no need for you to do that. We were about to leave, right darling?"
The elder woman suddenly stood up and placed her hand on top of her husband's shoulder. She had an understanding expression as she looked at Katy and her husband caught her look.
"Of course, dear. We need to head out now if we do not want to be late for our appointment. Miss Katy, please take care of Noah for us. He's like a son to me and my wife and I want him to recover."
Katy looked overwhelmed by the result and Keith sighed in annoyance.
He could see that the middle-aged couple was trying to set him up with Katy but Keith did not want to be a couple with Katy.
Now, Katy was pretty and all but he could not afford to get distracted right now. The mother's pearl was still out of his reach and every day his clock was ticking down.
"I-I shall do my best to look after Noah. you all can leave him to me. I am the leader of this party until Noah is discharged from the hospital after all."
Katy's face was red and that seemed to be enough for the elder couple to leave with a satisfied look on their face.
Once they were gone, Katy coughed in her fist to gather her thoughts and then she turned to face Noah.
"So, how are you feeling now, Noah? Is your body in pain? Do you feel light-headed? Is there anything you want from me?"
Katy observed the man in front of him. Noah looked alright now, if not a little exhausted and stressed with being stuck in a hospital room.
But it was on Katy's orders that he was being kept in here. She did not want Noah to be stressed out if he had to face a lot of reporters.
His was also the reason she had not made an official announcement or started a rumor about Noah.
It was because she was worried about his mental health and not because she wanted to keep him to herself. Katy was not such a selfish person.
"Me? I feel amazing nowadays. The bed rest helped me out a lot and I am ready to finally head out. I read the newspaper which detailed our accident and I cannot believe it had my name in it."
Keith noticed how Katy was hanging on to his every word. He was not oblivious enough to not notice her interest in him and he was willing to use it.
"I s-see. Do you like it when your name showed up in the newspaper? Man, you had me fooled for real. You look like someone who would not care much for fame."
Katy tried to laugh Noah's words off but she was making notes in her mind about what to do next.
She had been avoiding leaking news about Noah to the public with the excuse that he might not find it comfortable if she told the people.
That was the excuse she had given to the front desk worker when he had asked Katy and this was also what she convinced herself of.
But here Noah was, saying he wanted to show the world his face and now she no longer had an excuse to keep his name out.
'I guess I should put an effort into introducing him this time. Who knows, I might be able to earn some brownie points with him.'
Katy spent a little more time with Noah after than before she had to head out and help in the investigation.
Since Katy was the person in charge of leading the dungeon party this time, she was being called and questioned as well. The area had been checked as well, only to be found that the exit had been blocked for the duration of the boss rush.
This was not something a normal boss did and that was what called the whole operation's authenticity into question.
"Noah, call me if you need anything. There is no need for you to suffer alone when I am here. I swear I will help you out if you need me to."
Keith watched Katy leave and breathed a sigh of relief. Her concern was getting suffocating for Keith at this point but he also needed her so he did not say anything.
Anyway, Keith had learned a lot from this raid.
His defense power was much higher than his attack power currently but his body had no endurance to keep on pumping out spells and take the burnout of mana.
So, what he needed to do was to strengthen his body.
'But there is no time for me to do that now. Master Olivia's tournament's first round will be starting in a week and I need to head back to the guild before that.'
It sucked that Keith had to manage two identities at the same time. His time was limited and his decisions stretched out.
