TGIC Ch 64

Chapter 64

What had happened during the summer of my first year after being matched with Vasily?

The memories of desperately fighting for my life inside the Gate overwhelmed everything else, pushing out the recollection of major and minor events alike.

As I sifted through the series of all the hellish ordeals I’d endured, one finally came to mind. Come to think of it, around this time, there had been an A-rank Gate that appeared in the international waters of the West Sea. We’d handled it jointly with China as part of a combined training operation.

Since both countries needed to attack the Gate together, personnel, schedules, and plans had to be coordinated between the two sides. A meeting with the Chinese side was scheduled soon for that purpose.

I wondered if I’d end up attending the meeting with Vasily again this time.

Back then, I’d been consumed by the compulsion to enter Gates and fight monsters myself, so I didn’t remember much about the content or atmosphere of that meeting. Only a vague memory remained of desperately poring over the Gate data that had been compiled from intel brought back by the first team dispatched.

The Gate… hmm.

At that time, my skills had still been immature. About half a day after entering, I’d nearly lost an arm and blacked out for a bit. I only regained consciousness near the end of the raid, slung over Vasily’s shoulder like a sack of luggage.

If I were to tackle that Gate now, things might go a little differently. But even so, I had no desire to enter the Gate and prove my abilities.

As the sun rose, the sky gradually brightened.

I’d wrapped up most of what I needed to. I’d recalled a few of the Gates and incidents that had occurred during my first year as an awakened Guide. The only problem was pinpointing the exact timing—but with Vasily right beside me, I could just use his clearance to monitor all the Gates that had opened nationwide.

At that moment, the area near the Gate started to become busier. It looked like the raid had finally come to an end.

Ah, that took forever. I thought I was going to die of boredom trying to endure hours without a smartphone.

“Did you wait long?”

“Not that long.”

A little time passed before Vasily returned. As the driver’s seat opened and he climbed in, I immediately checked his condition with my eyes.

Vasily looked so pristine, it was hard to believe he’d just come back from a Gate. Not even a speck of dirt marked his shoes, and his stiff suit remained perfectly uncreased. Even his complexion, which had improved ever since he started receiving guidance from me, was unchanged.

The complete opposite of me, who looked haggard from lack of proper sleep. Glancing at my own weary face occasionally reflected in the window, I asked Vasily,

“Esper Vasily, is there perhaps a scheduled Gate raid involving foreign Espers?”

“Yes, there’s a joint Gate training exercise with China next week.”

Vasily nodded slightly while gripping the steering wheel as he answered.

“I was going to mention it anyway—how did you know?”

“It just seemed like this was the time of year when we usually had joint Gate exercises with other countries, so I asked.”

Vasily looked puzzled at the mention of a schedule he hadn’t yet told me about. I tensed for a moment, but fortunately, such training around this time was a factual occurrence, so he didn’t question it any further.

Sensing that his suspicions had eased a bit, I followed up with another question.

“When’s the meeting?”

“This Sunday.”

I’d figured it would be soon, but not quite this soon. It was practically right around the corner. As I nodded, thinking I’d better check the timeline alongside the incidents I’d organized once we got home, Vasily added quietly,

“Just so you know, Guide Kwon Gidam won’t be coming to the meeting.”

“Excuse me? Really?”

…What’s this about?

Even in this current Gate raid, he dragged me along saying I might run off—so why suddenly say he won’t bring me to the meeting after taking me everywhere else?

“Why won’t I be coming?”

“It’s better if Guides don’t attend. There’ll be a lot of Espers, so it’s bound to be a chaotic environment.”

Well, that was true. Normally, Guides weren’t brought to strategy meetings.

Before regression, I’d had to enter Gates myself under special circumstances, so I always attended strategy meetings with Vasily. But now that the situation had changed, it seemed I’d been excluded. Frankly, I was glad to skip the tense atmosphere of those meetings.

Before I knew it, the sun had fully risen. As I absentmindedly looked up at the bright sky, I suddenly realized we were passing a familiar location. This place—it’s near the Association.

“Don’t tell me we’re heading straight to the Association?”

“I wasn’t planning to go in, considering I’ve been at the Gate since dawn… Unless you want to?”

“No, let’s just go home.”

He asked me despite clearly knowing I wouldn’t want to visit the Association in pajamas. As I shook my head in revulsion, Vasily let out a soft chuckle.

Whether it was just a coincidence in our route or not, we soon passed the Association and arrived home. After the car came to a stop in the apartment’s underground parking lot, I hesitated as I was about to step out.

‘Come to think of it, I don’t have shoes.’

Would I have to walk barefoot across the parking lot floor and up to the house like this? I imagined the soles of my feet turning pitch black by the time I reached the door, and faltered.

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing I wasn’t getting out, Vasily came around to the passenger side and asked.

“I… don’t have any shoes.”

Only then did he seem to remember that he had practically kidnapped me without them. His gaze dropped to my feet.

“Should I help?”

“Are you going to take off your own shoes for me, Esper-nim?”

“I could just carry you the same way I did when we left the house.”

Vasily spread his arms wide, giving me a charming smile as if to say it was a simple problem to solve. My face crumpled in mortification as I watched him.

“I’d rather go barefoot.”

“I’m kidding.”

Just as I started to extend my foot, fully prepared to get out of the car, Vasily stopped me.

His silver-gray eyes flickered blue. It was a sign that he was using his ability. Cold air began to swirl in his palm, rapidly taking shape.

“Here, wear these.”

What appeared before me next were slippers made of ice.

“Cold, sure—but better than nothing, right?”

“…Yes.”

Literally, better than nothing.

I cautiously slipped my feet in. The ice slippers fit my feet perfectly, almost unsettlingly so. It was just the right shoe size, yet it gave me the eerie feeling that he knew everything about me.

“How are they?”

“Uncomfortable.”

A brief and blunt review. They were hard and, naturally, cold.

Still, since Vasily had made them, I didn’t have to worry about them melting before I got inside. The real issue might be on my end. I needed to hurry home before my feet froze.

“You can carry the blanket, Esper-nim.”

Given that I had to hobble along in these rigid indoor slippers, I couldn’t also carry the blanket. I pulled it from the passenger seat and dropped it into his arms, which he accepted quietly.

Once I got upstairs via the elevator, I headed straight for the bathroom.

I turned on the shower and thawed my frozen feet with warm water. After walking barefoot on ice with no socks, my feet had turned bright red in a short amount of time. As the skin slowly warmed, the soles of my feet began to tingle.

After sufficiently thawing them out and drying off, I exited the bathroom. Vasily was standing just outside, still holding the blanket, waiting for me.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Sleep, of course.”

I’d been yawning nonstop for a while now. Thanks to Vasily kidnapping me in the middle of my rest, I’d only slept for three hours. I was absolutely exhausted.

Taking the blanket from Vasily, I left him behind and entered the bedroom. I threw myself onto the bed with the blanket and immediately shut my eyes, but…

Sleep wouldn’t come.

“….”

The harsh sunlight streaming through the window pierced my eyelids. Unlike Vasily’s room or the living room, this room didn’t have blackout curtains. Even with my eyes closed, it didn’t feel dark—there was no way I could fall asleep like this.

So much for sleeping. With a sigh, I sat up.

“Maybe I should go for a workout…”

The weather was nice, and instead of staying cooped up indoors, a light jog sounded appealing. After all, some exercise might help shake off the stiffness from being in the car so long and clear my head.

I changed into workout clothes and stepped out of the room.

As I returned to the entryway, I noticed that the ice slippers I’d worn were still sitting there. They’d probably melt and vanish on their own once Vasily fell asleep. I paid them no mind and put on my sneakers beside them.

After tying the laces tight, I reached for the doorknob—only to freeze.

The doorknob was covered in ice.

And there was a distinct chill in the air coming from somewhere.

When I turned around, I saw Vasily standing there, leaning against the wall, having approached without a sound. His expression was devoid of its usual warmth. His gaze was icy. I could see the misunderstanding written all over his face.

“Planning to run away?”

As expected.

I let out a hollow laugh and asked him in return,

“Do I look like someone about to run away?”

I wasn’t carrying a bag, and all I had in my hand was a bottle of water taken from the fridge. I was dressed in training gear—what part of this looked like someone escaping?

“The Guide who said he was going back to sleep is suddenly trying to leave without a word. Of course, I’d be suspicious.”

“I’m just going out for a quick jog.”

“Or maybe you won’t come back at all.”

“If you really don’t trust me, you’re welcome to come along.”

“……”

Vasily fell silent.

A chill spread in the silence that followed. His frozen gaze seemed to strangle me, but I didn’t flinch and stared back at him.

“I’d like to… but…”

Vasily’s eyes drifted toward the window.

Beyond it stretched an exceptionally clear sky, unbroken by a single cloud. He stared at the sky for a long moment before speaking quietly.

“Unfortunately, the sunlight is too strong for me to go out right now.”

Crack.

Something broke with a brittle sound. When I looked down, the ice slippers by my feet had shattered into pieces. The ice covering the doorknob had also cracked, fragments falling to the floor with soft thuds.