Surviving as the Second Main Lead: Second Lead's POV

Howard was embarrassed to say that he had judged Horas a little too early.

As soon as Poison Ivy’s body hit the ground, his heart lunged painfully as well. He was almost sure that Horas had killed the elder lady somehow.

Howard had even doubted the older teen’s words when he had insisted on his innocence and his face felt hot as a result.

‘No, it is not my fault. Anyone else would have been mistaken by the villainess’s talk as well. Especially after the last words she spoke.’

Most people might not know what accident the villainess had been talking about but Howard Spencer knew. It was all because of Jack and his extensive network of information that found this news out.

Esper’s academy tried very hard to hide the fact that the infamous bloodhound used to be a part of them. But not everything could be hidden in this world.

‘But Jack never said that Horas was a part of that accident. How old would Horas have been? 7? 8? How did someone that young even get admitted into Esper’s academy?’

Howard had a lot of questions but he held his tongue until instructor Harris left with the criminal.

“Howard Spencer, follow me now. I will take you to get checked up by Lady Heals. Don’t worry, it’s a basic procedure and nothing more.”

Howard tried to calm himself down. His instincts flared up any time he faced a doctor but he knew that he was safe in the Esper’s academy. He would not be made to take weird tests.

He easily fell in step behind Horas and observed the man in front of him.

“So, did you know the villainess known as ‘Bloodhound?’ I heard that she used to be a part of the Esper’s academy a long time ago and now she has a grudge.”

Howard was prying into Horas’s business but his curiosity was too much. Jack had once told him that his curiosity would be the end of him, but Howard could not pick this part of him apart.

If he found something as interesting, he needed to know more about it at any cost.

“I don’t want to talk about it so leave it be.”

Horas cut Howard off in between speaking. He did not want to air out his dirty laundry in front of unnecessary people.

And usually, Howard would never let it get him to stop asking more questions. But this time he did. There was just a feeling inside his heart that asked Howard not to persuade this topic any longer.

‘It’s weird, right? I am not someone who considers others’ feelings often. But for some reason, I don’t want to get on Horas’s bad side.’

Howard fell quite soon after that and it did not take them long to reach Lady Heals’s room.

The nurse was not in the room but Horas seemed to know where she was. Horas walked up to the side room door and knocked.

Howard recognized the adventurer who walked out.

[[[Code name : Lady Heals.

Real Name: Sarah Mills, A-class]]]

Wild red hair was blown all over the lady’s head and her eyes were hazed with sleep. But Howard still felt a shiver go down his spine as a pair of wild golden eyes met his own.

“This better be important Horas. I just managed to fall asleep after last night’s emergency case and the rush of students from before. Why do all the important things happen at the same time?”

Lady Heals complained as she steadied herself.

Despite her complaints about being tired and her cranky tone, Lady Heals got up to do her work. Her gaze was strong and unwavering as she looked Howard up and down.

“Sorry Sarah, but you will have to do a routine check-up on Howard here. We just found the villainess who broke out of her prison and Howard had a little run-in with her. We need to make sure he’s not bugged or anything.”

Sarah sighed, her tiredness showing on her face.

“You don’t need to check me right now if you are too tired. I can come back later and-”

“Kid, sit down right now. The sooner I get done with you, the better it will be for my time. It will only take a minute anyway.”

Lady Heals took hold of Howard’s arm and dragged him down. Howard expected Lady Heals to tug gently but her force was too much.

Before Howard knew it, he had been pulled into a sitting position and a green light covered his body. Foreign mana was lurking inside Howard’s body now and it felt rather uncomfortable.

But before Howard could get used to this feeling, the mana retreated and Howard was pushed back.

“Found no abnormalities in his mana, but there was a huge amount of concentrated pollen in his bloodstream. Let me look for the right potion and you should be good to go.”

Howard was handed a potion which he swallowed and sleepiness hit him.

“Don’t fight the potion and go to sleep. You can head back to your room when you wake up. Horas will tell your teachers what happened and why you were excused.”

Howard wanted to stay awake but he had been asked by the doctor not to resist. In the end, the potion won and Howard fell asleep.

When he woke up hours later, the medical hall was empty and the note on the side desk said that he was free to go.

…………..…………..

Horas breathed a sigh of relief as soon as Howard Spencer went to sleep.

He knew that the protagonist would be alright but that did not help his anxiety in this case. The protagonist could not be allowed to die or the future of this world was uncertain.

“Now that one person has been taken care of, it’s time I check my other patient as well. Horas Spencer, you sit down and get checked by me as well.”

Horas was almost out of the door when he was grabbed and made to sit by Ledy Heals. It had been a near thing and Horas was bitter about being caught.

‘Shit! I thought I could get away this time for sure.’

“Stop being a baby. It’ll only take a minute.”

No matter how many times Horas had been through this same process, he could not get used to the feeling of mana swirling around his body. He would instinctively reject any foreign object in his body.

“Alright, you are done. There is a small amount of pollen in your bloodstream as well but your body will flush it out with time. You do not require any medicine.”

Horas breathed a sigh of relief as he was let go. It was always a good check-up when Horas was not handed more medicines to take.

“That reminds me, how are your nights? Are you still being plagued by those nightmares?”

Lady Heals was Horas’s primary doctor and also the one overlooking his nightly routine. She knew the most about his mental health.

“There is no change there and I don’t think the prescribed medicine is working. We might need to change the dose again.”

Lady Heals groaned as soon as she heard that.

“Of course, we will need to. This is the third time this year. I swear your body is adapting faster and faster every time we change the medicine.”

Horas agreed with Lady Heals. He had been given medicine and potions to make his nights dreamless but it only worked for a short while before the procedure stopped working.

Unless Horas ended up finding someone with a ‘dream-related’ ability, it would be near impossible to tell what was wrong with him.

“Sorry for all the trouble. I should head back and report today’s incident now.”

Lady Heals just waved back at Horas, knowing she could not do much for him. His illness was not physical so she could not help him much in that regard.

Horas’s next stop was Principal Marbel’s room to hand in his report and then he headed back to his room.

The metallic pet cat, Tora was curled up on his bed and Horas pushed her to the side to quickly get into the bed.

But before he fell asleep, a new message showed up on Horas’s screen. The sudden light and sound of the text caused Horas to yelp and wake up Tora.

He got a bleeding scratch and an apologist metallic cat as a result.

“It’s alright Tora, Sorry for spooking you.”

Horas apologized as he sat down on the bed to check his system message.

[[[Invitation to participate in the newly opened D-ranked dungeon. Only adventurers below the age of 20 and freshly appointed will be chosen.

You are being invited as in charge of the operation along with another senior adventurer. Kindly consent for further instructions.]]]

Horas occasionally got such open invitations and he had quite the experience under his belt because of this reason.

Surprisingly, nothing overly significant had happened in the past 11 years. But it all had changed now.

Since it was time for the real story to start Horas would have to be careful.

“Didn’t Jack Hollow recommend Howard to participate in this dungeon while being under covered? This is a major event that will introduce Reed into the story.'

And for that reason, Horas decided he would ignore this message.