Drake groaned, stretching his hands and yawning as he walked into the waiting room of the Awakened hospital.
Moments after the headmaster had finished his conversation with Drake Drakon, a nurse had come in and informed the doctor in charge that he was awake.
It didn't take long before he was discharged and given clothes to change into from the hospital gown he wore. Now he was dressed in total black—hooded cloth and a pair of dark trousers—which he recognized as his own.
Probably it was brought by one of his supposed friends for when he recovered, since the one he wore from the dungeon was certainly unwearable.
Entering into the massive expanse of the waiting room, Drake stopped to take in the sight.
Large, white, filled with nurses, attendants, and cleaners. However, apart from that, it was mostly... empty.
Not something someone would expect from a hospital that belonged to the Awakened.
In Drake's mind, he expected a swarm of people—if not awakened, then civilians without talents. However, the reason was quite clear why there weren't many people there.
It was the fact that every awakened, especially those with high ranks—the Originals—had private hospitals within their territories.
This was to prevent the leakage of their talents and to avoid getting killed while recovering.
So thanks to the low numbers in the waiting room, Drake was easily able to spot a small group of people he could recognize.
He slowly approached, at first unnoticed, but soon one of them caught sight of him and jumped off her seat in a way that alerted the others.
It was Tessa, and right beside her were Gary and Kyle.
Tessa was the first to race out towards him, reaching and embracing Drake in a tight, warm hug.
"I've missed you, snack bag," Tessa teased.
Drake patted her on the back with an indifferent face. "Remember, I'm not a hugger." To that, she gave no attention.
Kyle waved from where he stood. "I'm glad you're fine, Drake. And it's nice I saw you before I go."
Drake furrowed his brows, understanding what Kyle was referring to. While being in the academy, Kyle had constantly reminded Drake about how his father would take him into secluded training after awakening.
It was clear that him being at the hospital currently was against his father's will.
Drake nodded. "Goodbye then, Kyle. Hope we meet each other stronger."
Kyle nodded with a grin across his demeanor, turning around and walking away with his final words to his friend muttered,
"Take care of yourself."
Drake watched Kyle walk away till he finally left his sight and exited the hospital. Now all that was left was Tessa, who was still hugging him, and Gary.
Drake fixed his gaze on Gary, and this time he spoke first instead of waiting for the ear-bleeding questions from the mongrel of a human. "Thank you for waiting for me, Dwarf. I have considered your proposal, and I have accepted it."
A grin burrowed its way through Gary's countenance. "That's nice, I'm really flattered. So when do we—"
"When I'm ready, I'll contact you," he replied sharply, cutting off Gary before he could finish his statement.
This made Gary shrug. 'I'm being too much again,' he thought. 'Maybe I should be more like Kyle?'
Gary opened his mouth to speak again, however he closed it once more and then turned around to leave. "Thank you, Drake."
With that, he was gone—walking out of the waiting room and out of the hospital.
Now all that was left was Drake and Tessa, who hugged him tightly.
Drake let out a sigh, more frustrated than excited seeing her here. "Tess, I'm currently not up to strength. Can we please go home now?"
Tessa shook her head. "Buy me chocolate!"
Drake frowned. He thought as much. 'She doesn't hug me for any other reason but to extract money from me to buy food.'
Well, with no other option than to comply, Drake handed Tessa his phone, and she immediately scurried away to a vending machine, initiated a payment, and bought as many chocolate bars and drinks as would be able to feed a family of four for an entire day till they were full.
Drake, in turn, watched in what one could call a financial mistake. 'There goes my savings.'
Nonetheless, he had no guilt in spending so much on her. Money was useless to him—its value, its effect, its presence—all of that Drake counted as nothing but trivialities of life.
After all, who wouldn't think like that after living the life of a king, not once but twice now?
Unlike him, Tessa was an orphan, having no one to cater for her but Drake and sometimes Kyle. So, to some extent, Drake saw her as a younger sister to him—someone he needed to protect, no matter the cost.
"Drake, your driver sent a message," Tessa called out, snapping Drake out of his thoughts and back to reality.
She stood before him, hands wrapped around three nylon bags filled with all kinds of chocolates, snacks, and drinks... which would have cost a fortune.
Drake gulped hard, and for some reason he felt petrified to check his balance—scared to see a debt too massive for his mind to comprehend.
A low buzz from his phone called him back to light once more. He collected his phone back from Tessa and was met with two messages, which he immediately opened to read.
They were from his driver, who was already outside waiting for him. It was time to go home.
Drake placed his phone back into his pocket, and his gaze landed back on Tessa. "It will be a while before we see each other again."
His voice sounded almost saddened, but still it was composed and undoubtedly strong.
Tessa nodded. "Good thing I stocked up enough," she exclaimed, gesturing to the nylon bags she had her hands wrapped around.
Drake smirked, nodding, and then turned to walk away. As soon as he did this, Tessa's resolve broke along with her calmness, her face twisting into a contorted, enraged gaze.
She could recall how weak she had been during the Dungeon King battle—she had almost lost Drake—and this feeling had stayed in her heart, gnawing at her from within since then.
'Next time we meet, I will surely be strong enough to protect you, Drake. I promise you that.'