TGIC Ch 74

Chapter 74

 Pressing down on his throbbing head, he asked,

“How was the training?”

“It was decent enough to sit through.”

He sure looked more satisfied than his words let on.

I thought I was going to die of boredom, but Vasily must have liked it. Now that I think about it, when I glanced over at him earlier, he was paying pretty close attention. But even so, there couldn’t have been much in that content that was actually helpful to Vasily…

My head throbbed again, so I gave up trying to think deeply about it.

“Before going home, I’d like to stop by my private room for a moment.”

“Why your private room?”

“I forgot my medication… I keep some stored there, so I need to take it before I go back.”

“You need to take medicine just because you leaned on me a little?”

Vasily frowned in disapproval when I mentioned medication. But after being in contact for two whole hours, my head was bound to hurt. What else could I do?

We left the training hall and headed to Vasily’s private room.

I retrieved the medication I’d stored in a drawer, swallowed it, and sat on the sofa for a moment to rest. Thankfully, I started to feel better soon. Just as I was about to say we should head home, someone knocked cautiously on the door.

“Ah, good afternoon, Esper Vasily.”

The ones who entered the private room were two staff members from the Association.

“Esper Vasily, we heard that a message was mistakenly sent to your guide today, leading to your participation in the training. We were informed that you’re currently recovering from an injury… We sincerely apologize for interrupting your rest…”

It seemed they had only now realized Vasily had attended the training and had rushed over from the Association. The staff member trembled as he repeatedly apologized.

But it would probably be fine. Vasily had been in a great mood since earlier.

“It’s fine. Mistakes happen.”

“Y-Yes…! Thank you so much!”

As expected, Vasily readily forgave them and sent them on their way. The staff member staggered out, as if his legs had given out from relief.

“What on earth did you do before to make them so scared of you?”

“Who knows… I’m not sure.”

Yeah, right.

I clicked my tongue at his feigned innocence.

Just remembering how he’d frozen someone solid without hesitation when his mood was soured made it easy to guess the kind of things he had done. If he was like that in the future, there’s no way he wasn’t like that in the past.

Behaving like a total piece of work with a face that could slap a Hollywood actor twice and still come out on top—

If I were a movie director, I would’ve bitten off all ten of my fingers in regret.

I have a bad feeling he’s going to be a pain in the ass going forward.

With a sigh, I quietly got up from my seat.

Friday had come.

Technically, today was the last day of Vasily’s vacation, but we visited the Association anyway.

Every Friday, I had to get an injection to separate the suppressant chip embedded in the back of my neck from my skin.

Upon arriving at the Association, we headed straight to the lab where Vasily’s doctor was.

As soon as we got there, I received my shot. I was used to the dull ache by now. A small bandage was stuck on the injection site.

“Since it’s your fourth injection, let’s do another MRI to check your progress.”

I nodded. If the results were good, we might be able to remove the suppressant chip just one month after starting the injections.

That was all we had to do at the Association today, so we were about to leave when the doctor hesitated and spoke up carefully.

“Esper, today is your scheduled checkup. You missed last month’s exam too, so this time, please…”

“Next time.”

Vasily cut in curtly and turned to leave.

I grabbed his arm as he moved to exit the lab and said,

“Esper Vasily, please take the exam.”

“The results will be the same as always. There’s no need to do it again.”

“There are a lot of people who’ll be put in a difficult position if you don’t get checked.”

For example, the doctor right next to us, sweating bullets.

Normally, S-rank Espers are managed under strict supervision. Especially someone like Vasily, who wasn’t affiliated with this country and had gone a long time without a guide—if something were to happen, the International Esper Association could hold Korea accountable.

If he didn’t undergo regular checkups, a lot of people would be in trouble. From what I’d heard, the doctor’s research funding was on the line too.

“It’ll take a while. Are you okay with that?”

“I’ll wait.”

As I replied firmly, Vasily looked at me with a faint frown.

He clearly didn’t like it, but in the end, Vasily was the one who gave in.

He walked over to the machine in the corner of the lab and removed his shirt. After hanging it beside him, he sat in the chair, and the doctor began attaching the device.

The machine whirred to life with a loud noise.

Vasily, seeming bored, closed his eyes, and I leaned back in my chair as well.

“It’s done. Would you like to hear the results before leaving?”

It hadn’t even been ten minutes before the test ended.

So much for “taking a while.” He just didn’t want to do it and made up an excuse.

I glanced sideways at Vasily as he got dressed again.

“Since I already took the exam, I might as well hear the results. Our dear guide seems curious, after all.”

…I wasn’t that curious, to be honest.

But I was the one who told him to get checked, so I at least pretended to listen.

“His wavelength is still unstable, but it’s improved compared to the last exam.”

The graph on the screen looked far more complex than what I’d seen before the regression.

The slight improvement probably wasn’t due to my 4% match rate guide skill,

but from the few times Vasily had guided me after freezing the back of my neck.

“With only a 4% match rate, there aren’t any dramatic changes. Since the suppressant chip lowers the match rate, I recommend another test after it’s removed.”

Once the chip was taken out, Vasily’s condition would improve significantly.

That’s when worry started to creep in—

How would I reveal that I’m actually an S-rank guide?

After removing the chip, any new test would instantly expose my true rank and actual match rate.

If he found out I was S-rank, would Vasily revert to how he used to be?

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how he would react.

Would he be happy? Or would he get angry that I’d been hiding it all along?

I had no idea.

My head was spinning again, so I excused myself to the restroom and stepped into the hallway alone.

That’s when my smartphone vibrated.

“Jo Wooyeon?”

Seeing the familiar name on screen, I answered with a warm tone.

“Hello, Guide Jo Wooyeon.”

—Ah, Gidam! Have you been well?

That familiar voice.

It sounded like a simple check-in, but the background noise was unusually chaotic.

“Is something wrong?”

—Well… I’m sorry to ask out of the blue, but could you possibly assist with an A-rank gate that opened in the provinces?

“What? Assist? But I’m not an affiliated temporary guide anymore, so I think that would be difficult…”

—No, no, I wasn’t referring to you…

Jo Wooyeon trailed off, sounding hesitant.

—It’s Esper Vasily…

“Ah.”

Now I understood why he had taken so long to get to the point.

—I’m currently at the site of a sudden gate opening. It’s an A-rank gate, but we’re short on personnel, and the delay in clearing it is becoming a problem. It’s a red gate where monsters can escape into the outside world, and I’m afraid the surrounding cities could be in danger. That’s why I’m reaching out even though I feel awful asking…

I closed my eyes tightly, bracing for a headache.

Jo Wooyeon probably didn’t know—

Most A-rank Espers were currently deployed to the West Sea gate for training.

And with Vasily on vacation this week, there weren’t any high-ranking Espers available for dispatch.

“…I’ll ask Esper Vasily and see what he says.”

I ended the call with that.

Before my regression, I had been inside the West Sea gate during this time, so I hadn’t known about this incident.

Most likely, a lightning-type Esper dispatched to the West Sea must have handled it.

It seemed this problem arose because I had changed the future,

and now I felt responsible for solving it.

I returned to the lab and began explaining everything to Vasily in detail.

“Um… Esper Vasily.”

“What is it?”

“Would you consider going to the gate? Someone I know contacted me. They said they’re short on manpower for an A-rank gate, and the operation is being delayed.”

“A gate?”

His reaction made it obvious he wasn’t interested.

“You hit me just to keep me from being deployed, and now you’ve suddenly changed your mind?”

“Ugh…”

He nailed it.

The wound where I’d punched Vasily before still hadn’t completely healed.

Considering I’d stopped him from going to the West Sea gate out of concern for his worsening condition, this was a pretty contradictory request.

“…There’ll be a lot of casualties if no one goes. I’ll also guide you properly after the mission…”

“You do know I can still receive guiding even if I don’t go, right?”

Vasily hadn’t used up his four weekly guiding sessions yet.

He didn’t ask for any last night because I had fallen asleep leaning on him during training.

“…”

I had no more arguments left.

“You already know what my answer is, don’t you?”

Yeah… Vasily had no reason to go.

My shoulders slumped immediately.

What now?

If we delayed support any longer, the damage would increase, and there might be more victims.

“But… if the support is delayed any further, people will die, and the damage will be unmanageable.”

“They’re dying because they’re weak. What does that have to do with me?”

I’d forgotten how little Vasily cared about human lives.

Hearing his cold reply, I felt a fresh wave of disappointment.

Not just in him—but in myself, for not being strong enough to help those in danger.

I was on the verge of giving up when Vasily sighed deeply.

“Get ready.”

“…?”

“I’m going. But I’m getting guided afterward.”

“…Yes, sir!”

Vasily had suddenly changed his mind.

Why?

I didn’t have time to figure that out.

Before he could change it back, I said goodbye to the doctor and quickly followed him out of the lab.