TGIC Ch 40

Chapter 40

A stream of water, slightly warmer than skin temperature, flowed over the ice. The thought that the skin could become necrotic if I didn’t melt it quickly made me anxious.

As I continued pouring warm water, I could feel the frozen skin gradually thawing. When the sensation began returning, I turned off the water and saw that my wrist, though red, appeared to be unharmed.

“Haah…”

Only then did I exhale in relief. When Vasily’s condition was bad, things like this happened often. Anything that touched his hands would instantly freeze, so he used to wear specially-made gloves during severe episodes. Judging from the fact that I hadn’t seen him wear any since my regression, they probably hadn’t been made yet.

Relieved by the intact skin, I shook my head and gathered myself. This wasn’t the time to be relaxing. After confirming my arm was fine, I returned to the bedroom.

Vasily was still in the same position I had laid him in on the bed. Still unconscious, his breathing was rough.

I wrapped a towel I’d brought from the bathroom around his hand. Fortunately, as long as there was no direct contact, I could prevent the areas that touched him from freezing. This should be safe enough for now.

“Esper Vasily, excuse me for a moment.”

I respectfully sought permission from the unconscious Vasily as I removed his blood-soaked suit.

Undoing the buttons and lifting his shirt, I checked his injuries. There was a cut across his chest, as though he’d been slashed by something. The bleeding hadn’t stopped yet, but thankfully, the wound itself didn’t seem too deep. With his healing ability, this much should be manageable.

I brought all the towels I had at home and began to stop the bleeding. While applying pressure to the wound with the towels, I also took off my own shirt and pressed my chest to his, aligning it with his heart. Then, I gauged Vasily’s condition by how quickly the suppressor chip began to heat up.

‘Just as I thought—it’s serious.’

The chip heated up much faster than usual.

With my guiding alone, it would be hard to stabilize his condition. Realizing I wasn’t enough, I picked up my smartphone. As I scrolled through my contacts to call the Association, Vasily’s words suddenly came to mind.

‘But… even with a little prolonged contact, they all freeze. My body saps their warmth…’

“……”

Silently, I lowered the phone. How could I ignore those words when he had spoken them with such an expression, someone I’d thought of as cold-hearted?

Sighing deeply, I gently repositioned Vasily to make him more comfortable on the bed. He was still unconscious. Just by his furrowed brow and ragged breathing, it was obvious how bad his condition was.

To prepare for the cold, I raised the room temperature to the maximum setting and brought a handful of medicine, placing them at the bedside. I swallowed one pill right away and began guiding him in earnest, wrapping my arms around his body.

Even in his unconscious state, Vasily’s breathing remained labored, as though he was in pain. His brow kept furrowing.

I gently tried to smooth out his frown by running my fingers across his forehead, but when I saw his face crease again almost immediately, I quietly withdrew my hand. It seemed better to simply focus on the guiding.

And so, I guided him through the entire night.

Shivering from the cold, swallowing pills whenever the headache became unbearable… I also kept checking how much his wounds had healed throughout.

Around 3 a.m., his condition slowly began to improve.

Finally, the bleeding stopped and his breathing stabilized. I tossed the blood-soaked towels onto the floor without care. Feeling that things were now under control, I closed my eyes.

The next morning, I was awakened by the sound of something rustling nearby—and saw Vasily standing next to the bed. He seemed to have finally regained consciousness.

If he was awake, why hadn’t he put on clothes yet? And in his hand was… a red pill?

I shot up immediately.

“E-Esper Vasily?”

“You’re awake?”

Trying to hide my flustered expression, I glanced at the pill in his hand. Thankfully, it was still neatly wrapped in its packaging.

“This cold is lingering.”

“Uh… It’s almost gone now… Haha…”

“Hm…”

Vasily eyed me skeptically, then quietly set the medicine down. Phew… I let out a sigh of relief internally at the sight.

Watching him calmly scan the room, I asked,

“Are you feeling alright now?”

“Yes. I think I’ve stabilized to some extent.”

“What in the world happened?”

“I just went into a gate as usual. I told you before, didn’t I? I tend to be in worse shape during summer.”

“…Yes. You did mention that.”

I had heard it before, but seeing him in this bad of a state had still been surprising.

Was Vasily always like this before we met? Ever since I became his exclusive guide, I’d hardly seen him in such a condition… Well, I suppose since he regularly received guiding from me, things rarely got this bad.

“If you were in such bad shape, why didn’t you contact me?”

“Were you waiting?”

“I wouldn’t say that…”

I averted my gaze slightly, and Vasily replied with a pleased smile.

“I’ve been busy running around gates.”

So it was because of gates, after all.

All the recent articles about Vasily mentioned his participation in gate raids. It was something he did regularly, but the frequency had definitely increased. No wonder he’d been busy.

I glanced at the reddish mark still faintly visible on his chest and asked,

“That wound…”

“Oh, this? Just a minor cut from some flying ice shards.”

“……”

So that’s how he got hurt—because of his own ability. In any case, it wasn’t serious, which was a relief. If it had been any deeper, I really wouldn’t have been able to handle it with my power alone.

“Guide Kwon Gidam…”

Vasily lowered his voice. His sudden serious tone made me tense up unconsciously.

“I think you need to clean up a little around here…”

“…!”

His silver-gray eyes swept over the room. I quickly jumped off the bed and blocked his gaze with my body, stammering an excuse.

“T-this was just for stopping the bleeding yesterday…! Never mind that, just put your clothes on!”

I grabbed his clothes from the floor and shoved them against his chest hard enough to make a thud.

“Urgh…”

Vasily suddenly bent over, letting out a pained groan. Alarmed, I checked his condition.

Was the wound not fully healed yet? Did I somehow reopen it?

“E-Esper-nim, are you alright?”

I nervously looked him over, but then Vasily raised his head and muttered with a perfectly calm face,

“Who knows… Maybe I’ll feel better if I get guided again…”

My expression immediately turned cold.

“Seeing as you’re acting so dramatic, I think you no longer need any guiding.”

“You’re so mean…”

“Put your clothes on and go home.”

“You want me to wear these bloodstained clothes again?”

“Yes. The wound was caused by your own ability, wasn’t it? Deal with it yourself.”

Instead of leaving right away, Vasily lingered. At this rate, it was going to take an eternity just to get him out of the room. Clenching my jaw to suppress the urge to smack his broad back, I said,

“Hurry up and leave. I don’t have any clothes to lend you.”

“Well, I guess Guide Kwon Gidam’s clothes wouldn’t fit me anyway.”

His serious gaze roamed up and down my body, making me flare up in irritation. I was about to chase him out of the room when he suddenly grabbed my arm and asked,

“Did I do this?”

His eyes fixed on the reddened area of my arm. Ah, that’s when I remembered my skin had frozen slightly due to his power the previous night. I nodded as if it was nothing.

“My arm got a little frostbitten from touching your hand, but I treated it right away, so it’s fine.”

As I tried to pull my arm away while saying that, Vasily didn’t let go. He stared intently at my flushed skin and then spoke.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, get dressed.”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m taking you to the hospital.”

He said quietly. I quickly waved my hands in protest.

“No need. A little ointment and—”

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

The look in his eyes as he bowed his head and met mine left me speechless. He clearly had no intention of backing down. If I resisted further, he seemed ready to drag me out by force.

Haah… He’s the one who caused this, and now I’m about to be hauled off to the hospital without a moment’s rest.

“Fine. I’ll get ready, so please wait outside.”

Only after hearing the answer he wanted did Vasily finally step out of the room.

I took a quick shower and changed into a suit. I planned to head to work straight after treatment, so I chose something lightweight.

When I stepped out dressed, Vasily frowned and asked,

“You’re going to work in that condition?”

“It’s just mild frostbite. It won’t interfere with my duties, so it’s fine.”