TGIC Ch 46

Chapter 46

It was now certain—I could get the illegal suppressant chip implanted in the back of my neck removed if I just endured for three more years. And honestly, I quite liked working as a temporary Guide. Under these circumstances, there was no reason for me to willingly take on the burden of becoming Vasily’s designated Guide.

“If that’s all it is, then isn’t the current situation sufficient? As long as Esper Vasily refrains from doing anything reckless, I have no reason to refuse your guiding requests.”

“But Guide Kwon Gidam, there’s always the chance that you might suddenly sign a contract with another Esper.”

“Don’t worry. I plan to remain a temporary Guide.”

I’d just need to stick around for three years until Vasily left Korea. It seemed there was no one else who could guide him, anyway.

Besides, if I didn’t do the guiding, another Guide would probably end up hospitalized with severe frostbite from trying to guide him. I did feel a bit guilty about the people who wouldn’t have had to go through that if I had accepted being his Guide.

Just like I said, as long as Vasily didn’t cause any trouble, I truly intended to not refuse his guiding requests and to get along with him peacefully. And three years later, we’d part ways with a smile in a beautiful farewell.

After that, a bright future awaited me, where I’d live leisurely as an S-rank Guide!

“Hmm…”

Lately, the number of Espers coming in for guiding had dropped noticeably.

It wasn’t just me who noticed it—everyone in the temporary guiding department on this floor felt the same way. In the past, all ten teams had to be fully deployed just to manage the flood of waiting Espers, but now, more than half of each team was just sitting around. So we’d been rotating duties for the few Espers who did come in.

I’d heard that temporary Guides in other regions were still swamped with work, so it was strange how only the Association headquarters had suddenly become so relaxed…

“It’s summer, so we should be seeing more Espers, not fewer… It’s strange.”

Jo Wooyeon said, glancing at the empty waiting room with a puzzled expression.

Since the Guide Association headquarters where I worked was located in central Seoul, it was natural that this place should be the busiest. According to Jo Wooyeon, this was the first time he’d seen anything like this since joining.

We still had a steady stream of minors and elderly Espers, but the number of Espers in the typical field-deployment age range had clearly dropped.

Vasily’s face suddenly crossed my mind, but I couldn’t just suspect him without cause. It could very well be a coincidence.

Beep.

At that moment, I heard the sound of a waiting ticket being printed. Finally, an Esper had arrived.

I jumped up from my seat.

“I’ll take this one.”

Maybe it was because we weren’t used to this slow pace, but everyone would eagerly volunteer to take on a guiding session whenever an Esper did come in. This time, I beat them to it.

In any case, I couldn’t submit my end-of-day report with an empty section for guide sessions. If I didn’t guide anyone today, I might end up having to beg Vasily to please request a designated guiding session.

The first guiding session of the day.

I felt energized—time to guide properly and send them on their way. With that in mind, I opened the guiding room door, only for the Esper who had entered ahead of me to flinch at the sight of me. I glanced behind me, but no one was there. So they were startled… by me?

“I-I suddenly have something urgent… I’m sorry!”

“Huh?”

The Esper brushed past me and bolted out of the room. I blinked, staring after their retreating figure as it grew smaller in the distance.

What the…? Why does this feel oddly familiar?

With dragging footsteps, I trudged back to the office.

“Gidam, didn’t you go to do a guiding session?”

“The Esper suddenly said they had an emergency and ran out.”

“Really? So many strange things happening lately…”

I sat back down at my desk, laced my fingers together, and lowered my head in thought.

“…”

Yeah… it really feels like Vasily did something.

It might be a coincidence, but I couldn’t forget the look on that Esper’s face—like they’d seen a monster the moment they laid eyes on me before fleeing. And Vasily’s unusually well-behaved attitude lately was suspicious, too…

Sigh…

Vasily hadn’t submitted a designated guiding request, but I figured I should go talk to him anyway.

I stepped into the emergency stairwell and called him. After a few rings, Vasily answered.

“Esper Vasily, are you in your private room?”

No, I’m out on external business. Did something happen?

“It’s nothing urgent… I just had something to ask. If you’re busy, I can ask later.”

Then I’ll head right back. I’ll be there soon—just wait in the private room.

I was about to tell him not to worry, that it might be a misunderstanding on my part, but Vasily jumped ahead and hung up. Judging by the background noise, he might have just come out of a gate.

Staring at the disconnected call with a frown, I lowered my phone and headed toward the Esper Association.

There weren’t any Espers coming in for guiding anyway. Leaving my post for a short while shouldn’t cause any problems.

“Esper Vasily, are you inside?”

I knocked twice on the door to Vasily’s private room. When no response came after a short wait, I tried the handle and stepped inside.

The private room was empty and quiet. This was the first time I’d been in here alone since my regression…

I looked around for a moment before stopping, feeling like I was intruding on someone else’s space.

The air conditioner was off, making the room feel a bit stuffy. But I didn’t bother turning it on—once Vasily arrived, it’d cool down soon enough. The silence, devoid even of the hum of an air conditioner, made the room feel peaceful.

Vasily said he’d be right back, but it would still probably take him a bit.

I leaned back on the sofa, intending to rest my eyes for a moment, when the door clicked open.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Not at all. I thought you were at a gate… You got here sooner than I expected.”

“I was at a gate. But I figured Guide Kwon Gidam might be waiting, so I came by helicopter.”

Vasily entered the room, closing the door behind him.

He looked so clean and tidy, it made me question whether he’d really just been to a gate. Not a drop of blood on his collar.

He walked over and sat next to me on the sofa.

“You said you had something to ask? Let’s talk while we do the guiding.”

“Alright. Since I’m here during work hours, please go ahead and submit a designated guiding request.”

Vasily nodded and pulled his smartphone from his pocket. Once I confirmed he was submitting the request, I tapped the accept button on my end, and the guiding session began.

Wrapping my arms around his large frame, I cautiously brought up the topic.

“Esper Vasily, have you done anything unusual lately?”

“Such as?”

“For example… telling other Espers not to come in for temporary guiding sessions…”

“Hmm… Not that I can recall.”

Vasily smiled faintly, denying the suspicion.

Sigh…

I couldn’t tell if he was being truthful or just playing innocent. I narrowed my eyes, trying to gauge his sincerity, but his calm expression gave nothing away. I couldn’t read a thing.

It could really be a coincidence. The Association headquarters always drew a crowd, so maybe people were just trying to avoid the rush like playing a game of amusement park timing.

But even for a coincidence, it was strange for the same thing to keep happening for a whole week. I figured I’d just grab one of the Espers back at the office and ask directly.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, I’m heading to a gate tomorrow. Want to come with me?”

Vasily asked. Since I had told him earlier that I’d be willing to accompany him on missions, it seemed this time he was politely asking instead of kidnapping me.

Of course, if possible, I did plan to go. But it was a bit sudden for it to be tomorrow. Fortunately, with the recent drop in Esper visits, it probably wouldn’t be a problem even if I submitted a last-minute deployment request.

“I’ll head back after guiding and submit the request right away.”

“I’ll just list you as an accompanying member from my side, so you don’t need to apply separately.”

“Understood.”

That saved me the hassle of one extra step. I nodded, thinking I should let the team leader know as soon as I got back.

It was a bit of a pain, but considering how Vasily collapsed after being left alone for a week last time, it would definitely be more reassuring to go with him and provide guidance onsite.

Early in the morning, Vasily personally drove to pick me up.

Since I wasn’t heading to the gate as a temporary Guide today, we didn’t use an Association vehicle and instead drove there together. Sitting like this with him again, it felt strangely nostalgic—like I’d gone back to the days when I was truly Vasily’s Guide.

My original plan had been to get as far away from Vasily as possible, and yet, I had no idea how it turned out like this. It probably all started the day I learned his secret. That’s when I stopped avoiding guiding him.

There was nothing I could do—apparently I was the only person in Korea who could properly guide him. Even if I was just a C-rank Guide with a 4% compatibility rate, he was a rare and precious S-rank Esper. I had no choice but to serve him with the utmost care.

Before I knew it, we had merged onto the expressway. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t even asked where we were going.