TGIC Ch 110

Chapter 110

The closer Vasily came, the stronger the chill radiating from him became.

If things went wrong, it seemed I would have to block Vasily myself. Maybe I should have obediently accepted when they offered me protective gear.

“Will you be okay?”

From behind, I heard the worried voice of the squad leader. Only then did I realize that it was the squad leader who had helped me avoid being caught up in Vasily’s attack. I belatedly turned my head and gave my thanks.

“Thank you for helping me. Esper Vasily… will probably be fine.”

“We Espers will handle things here somehow, so how about stepping back for now?”

“No, I won’t.”

I shook my head firmly. What could A-rank Espers do in a clash between S-rankers? At times like this, it was better for me to step in directly. Vasily wouldn’t dare harm his only Guide.

Although I had nearly been caught up in his attack just now, I believed, at the very least, he hadn’t intended to hurt me. Probably……

As I was thinking that, Vasily was already standing right before my eyes.

“Well then, I’ll get going. I hope the two of you can talk this over properly and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. In any case, I’ll be leaving Korea soon.”

Huai Yan, as if showing he had no further intention of fighting Vasily, patted my shoulder. The moment Huai Yan’s hand touched me, Vasily’s expression hardened, growing even more menacing.

A cold wind instantly swept by, and shards of ice began gathering around him. Noticing this, the air around Huai Yan flickered with blistering heat.

“Please! Both of you, stop here!”

I hurriedly stepped between them, trying to mediate. I couldn’t allow them to fight any further. Since neither of them had sustained any injuries yet, if they stopped now, perhaps things could still be patched up.

When I stood in their way, both of them withdrew their powers. I swallowed nervously as I watched the diminishing waves of supernatural energy. Without any protective gear, if I got caught up in their attacks, I likely wouldn’t escape unscathed.

For now, the situation seemed somewhat resolved. After briefly studying their expressions, I turned to the squad leader.

“Squad Leader, you and the others may withdraw now.”

“All right, I hope we don’t cross paths again anytime soon.”

The squad leader shrugged as if making a joke, then led the other Espers away from the scene. As I watched them leave, I turned to Huai Yan, who was still standing nearby.

“Esper Huai Yan, you should leave as well.”

“Yes, I’d better go before I get dragged in any further.”

Huai Yan smiled as though nothing had happened, waved his hand, and left lightly. Just like that, Huai Yan also disappeared from the scene.

On the ruined street, only Vasily and I remained. Clenching my teeth, I confronted him, who was still emanating that biting chill.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking why you couldn’t wait when I said I was coming today, and instead caused a problem!”

Anger welled up inside me. If I hadn’t by chance run into the staff member who’d been dispatched here, I might not have known about this until the situation had escalated into something disastrous.

“The real fault lies with Guide Kwon Gidam for not returning even after morning came. I only went toward where I thought Kwon Gidam might be.”

“You could have just called me!”

“I figured if I contacted you, you would ignore me. Would you have picked up?”

“Of course……! Of course I would have picked up!”

Without realizing it, I hesitated, just for a moment. Vasily’s gaze chilled further, catching that tiny falter instantly.

“……”

He stared at me in silence, then turned to leave. His ambiguous reaction made me furrow my brows slightly, and I followed after him.

“Bill the repair costs for the site to me.”

“Understood!”

Leaving only that brief instruction to the Association staff, Vasily finally seemed ready to leave and headed toward where the cars were gathered.

At last, I’d be able to return home. Brightening, I glanced about—but Vasily’s car was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is your car?”

“No need to bother looking. It’s probably in unusable condition anyway.”

So the car had been caught up in the fight as well. How long had it even been since he got it replaced? Clicking my tongue regretfully, I recalled the gleaming luxury import vehicle.

In the end, I got into one of the Association cars I’d arrived in and returned home together with Vasily.

When we arrived and stood before the front door, the door lock wasn’t responding, as if it had broken. Cautiously, I tried turning the handle, and the door opened without resistance.

Had it broken just that day? It seemed Vasily had left it that way since I’d walked out days ago.

“Esper Vasily, why haven’t you fixed the door……”

When I turned to ask, I quickly shut my mouth—because Vasily froze the door solid the moment we stepped inside.

Well, I certainly understood now why fixing the lock wasn’t necessary. But at this rate, I had no way of leaving. With the door frozen shut, even returning to my family home was impossible. Heaving a sigh at the firmly sealed door, I reluctantly stepped further into the house.

Fortunately, the interior was untouched.

I had half expected Vasily to have trashed the place in my absence. But seeing everything in nearly the same state as a few days ago, I was relieved.

As I glanced around the living room, I caught sight of Vasily quietly heading to his room.

“Where are you going? Come here and receive guiding.”

Saying that, I pulled off the hoodie I’d been wearing and tossed it aside.

Vasily stared at me silently for a long moment before stepping closer. As expected, he never refused guiding.

He approached the sofa, slowly unfastening his shirt buttons, one by one. Click, click—each time his long, straight fingers passed over, the fabric parted a little more, revealing glimpses of his body.

“No wounds.”

Scanning his body quickly, I nodded in relief. It was time to check his condition.

Carefully, I placed my hands on his seated form. Confirming from the light contact that his skin wouldn’t give me frostbite, I was reassured. Perhaps from clashing with another S-rank just earlier, his body temperature was lower than usual, but not so much that guiding would be impossible.

Having confirmed there was no problem, I climbed onto his lap, facing him.

“You aren’t hurt anywhere, are you?”

Though I’d already seen no visible injuries, I asked again, just in case something hidden might have escaped my notice.

“No.”

A curt reply.

Though his voice still blew like an icy wind, I could feel his stiff body beginning to gradually ease as the guiding continued.

Maybe his mood had lifted slightly. Watching him closely, I cautiously broached the subject we’d left unfinished a few days ago.

“Have you thought at all about the suppression chip?”

“That idiotic nonsense?”

His answer carried the air that he hadn’t considered it worthwhile even for a second.

“Ha……”

Of course a conversation couldn’t be had, when he had no intention of even considering it. He didn’t understand that I only did this for his sake, and merely clung to his stubbornness. In the end, I’d just have to go alone and see to its removal myself, wouldn’t I.

“Enough of that. Since you probably haven’t been sleeping well lately, get some rest while receiving guiding. Let’s move to your bed and do it there.”

“I don’t plan on sleeping today, so let’s just continue here.”

You don’t want to? I stared at him in disbelief.

He would inevitably fall asleep during guiding, just like last time—why resist pointlessly? Scoffing inwardly at his stubbornness, I kept observing him. But as time passed, contrary to my expectations, Vasily did not fall asleep.

What? Raising my brows in puzzlement, I realized the reason might simply be that his posture was uncomfortable.

Just as before, I guided his head to rest against me. This time, sitting opposite me, I tilted his head down so he could lean against my shoulder. I thought it might actually be less comfortable than before, but I assumed it wouldn’t matter once he fell asleep.

“And still you won’t sleep?”

But when I snuck a glance at Vasily, I was shocked to see his eyes still open. Just in case, I waited a little longer—but there were no signs of drowsiness, nor of him trying to fight it.

“I hadn’t wanted to resort to this……”

Closing my eyes tight, I raised my hand. Very carefully, I placed it on top of Vasily’s head—

And I stroked his hair.

“……”

Vasily looked at me with an expression that asked what on earth I thought I was doing. Embarrassed, I turned my face away from his gaze.

Meanwhile, his hair, soft and smooth like silk, slipped between my fingers. So even his hair felt refreshingly cool. Learning such pointless facts about him left me feeling strangely unsettled.