TGIC Ch 100

Chapter 100

Brushing the exhaustion from my face, I lifted my body from the bed.

“Alright… I won’t sleep either, so Esper Vasily, please stay awake too.”

Sleep threatened to overwhelm me the moment I closed my eyes, as if I might collapse, but there was no choice.

I got off the bed and plopped down onto the sofa. Seeing Vasily unbothered and sitting on the sofa opposite me, I frowned deeply.

Despite having a soft bed right next to me, I couldn’t sleep. I glanced longingly at the bed by the window, unable to shake my attachment to it. I had promised myself to catch up on sleep once the gate was fully assaulted, but even past midnight, there was no news that the assault had succeeded.

Apparently, espers of moderate rank, not high-grade ones, had been dispatched for the assault, so it was taking time. If Vasily had participated alone, it would have ended in an instant. Of course, I knew this was the usual pace, but having grown accustomed to Vasily’s swift assaults, it felt unbearably slow.

With hollow eyes fixed on the dark window, I asked Vasily,

“Can’t I just sleep a little? You, Esper Vasily, don’t usually sleep much anyway, right?”

“You think I want to stay awake? It’s because of my powers I couldn’t sleep.”

“You don’t seem very sleepy now, so why do I have to stay awake too?”

“Well, it’s boring to be awake alone.”

Sigh…

I felt my nerves fraying from fatigue. We had decided to wait at the Association until the gate assault concluded to handle any emergencies, but it seemed like we might end up staying awake all night together.

Pressing my brow firmly, Vasily asked,

“Tired?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go wake up.”

Rising from my seat, Vasily looked back as if to tell me to follow. Watching him with a suspicious eye, I trailed after him out of the private room. Doing something was better than sitting still.

The place we reached was the shooting range in the basement.

It stored the guns used in the actual gate assaults, tightly controlled and restricted, but presenting Vasily’s access card opened the door with ease. Since it was midnight, only Vasily and I were inside.

“Do you know how to shoot?”

“Yes.”

“Really? Then try shooting once.”

Vasily pulled out a pistol from the storage and handed it to me. I took it, feeling its familiar weight.

It had been a while. Whenever I entered the gate, I always wore it at my waist. It had saved my life several times.

Being a weapon made from gate byproducts, it differed slightly from normal firearms, but the usage was the same: aim at the target and pull the trigger.

Unlocking the safety and aiming at the target, Vasily approached and corrected my posture.

“Raise your arm more. That’s right. Tilt your head back.”

True to form, Vasily’s posture corrections were identical to before my regression—literally every detail was the same, though his tone was a bit softer now.

I smirked inwardly and pulled the trigger. The heavy recoil hit me as the bullet pierced the center of the target precisely.

“Good shot.”

“This much is nothing…”

My mouth twitched from the compliment, suddenly sobering up. Getting happy from a simple praise like that—it seemed my tired brain was acting strange.

To snap myself fully awake, I fired a series of shots.

The crisp gunfire echoed sharply. Clearly, my mind was clearing, so Vasily’s choice to bring me here was not wrong.

The ringing shots in my ears and the recoil shaking my body erased my drowsiness completely. Thinking it wouldn’t be bad to practice shooting until the gate assault was over to rekindle my dulled senses, I lowered my arm.

As I emptied the magazine and was reloading, Vasily approached and asked,

“Want to bet?”

“A bet?”

“We alternate shooting five shots each. If you miss the target or the center, you lose. If you win, I’ll let you sleep.”

The offer was tempting. I couldn’t miss a stationary target, so I had nothing to lose. I smiled and accepted.

“Don’t change your mind later.”

Gripping the gun again, I readied myself carefully, aimed slowly, and pulled the trigger.

Five shots rang out consecutively, landing cleanly in the center of the target.

“Esper’s turn.”

Vasily took the gun I handed him with a smile.

Thanks to his powers, he probably didn’t often use guns, so maybe he would miss a little—I hoped so internally—but the shots he fired hit the target perfectly.

“Here you go.”

I took the gun Vasily handed me, wearing a perturbed expression.

By the way, is it even possible to determine a winner? If we keep this up until sunrise, firing all the bullets would just end in a draw.

“Want to try shooting with one hand this time?”

Vasily suggested. Figuring it wouldn’t be impossible, I nodded and got into position. Vasily watched me and then crept close behind.

His hand slid down along my arm and covered my wrist. As his cold fingers touched my skin, my body stiffened. A quiet voice whispered in my ear.

“Hold it properly. You could get hurt otherwise.”

At that moment, one of his hands rose above my waist. Startled by the sudden touch, my fingers slipped.

Bang.

The bullet flew off, completely missing the target.

“Oh no, that missed.”

“No, that’s invalid! Esper Vasily was distracting me!”

“I was just trying to help your posture, and you fired without permission, Guide Kwon Gidam.”

Frowning deeply, I fired the remaining four shots in quick succession. Except for the first, all hit the target cleanly.

When my turn ended, Vasily took the gun from my hand. His casually fired shots all hit perfectly, as if mocking me.

“I win.”

I frowned in displeasure. I had lost by just one shot. How frustratingly trivial.

Vasily put the gun back and asked,

“Since I won, is there nothing you’ll give me?”

“No. You cheated from the beginning.”

“Cheated? I was just trying to correct your posture.”

I returned the gun to the storage. I had planned to spend the time here until the gate was assaulted, but my motivation evaporated quickly. Lying down in the private room sounded better.

“Enough, let’s go back.”

“Really, you won’t give me anything?”

Vasily hovered near me, persistently trying to start a conversation as I tidied up.

Damn, stubborn. He seemed determined to keep asking until he got an answer. Annoyed at having to deal with him, I tugged on my tie. Vasily bent down easily following.

I bit my lips hard with feeling. My cracked lips stung all day and had been uncomfortable. Feeling unfair to be the only one in pain, I thought he should feel it once too.

“Is that enough?”

Despite biting down with all my strength, only a faint spot of blood appeared on Vasily’s lips. Maybe I should have bitten harder. As I wiped the mushy sensation in my mouth away, Vasily, touching his lips absentmindedly, said,

“Want to do it again?”

“No!”

Leaving Vasily behind inside, I stepped out.

The cool night air brushed against my face.

If I went back now, I’d likely fight off drowsiness, so maybe I should get some coffee.

I spotted a convenience store across the street. I told Vasily, who had come out after me somewhat late,

“I’m going to the convenience store for a bit. You can head back first.”

“It’s dangerous. Let’s go together.”

“Do I look like a child to you?”

“Have you already forgotten you were kidnapped once?”

“…”

Hearing Vasily reminded me of the forgotten memory; I closed my lips. Even if I wasn’t in good condition, I had indeed been kidnapped.

Speechless, Vasily stuck close beside me. I sighed lightly and looked around. The area was dark and empty, so going with Vasily seemed alright.

I took Vasily into the convenience store. The cashier was nowhere to be seen, leaving the counter empty.

Walking around the aisles, I stopped in front of the drinks shelf and picked up an Americano. It was on a buy-one-get-one-free sale, so I grabbed one for Vasily as well and paid at the self-checkout.

Exiting the store, I wordlessly tossed a coffee to Vasily. Reflexively catching it, he gazed blankly at the bottle, so I added,

“Drink up, Esper.”

Having said that, I immediately opened the lid and took a long drink of the coffee. The cool liquid slid down my throat. The caffeine made me feel a bit clearer-headed.