AAGULT Ch 133

by berry

Chapter 133

“The only thing I told them was that you were inside this gate, Jaeha. Aside from that, I said nothing.”

The first to speak to Jaeha, who sat dazed as he received treatment upon returning to the safe zone, was Aiden, seated beside him. Because Aiden’s group numbered about five people, the space had become bustling with more than twenty people gathered together. Hearing a familiar voice amidst the crowd, Jaeha turned his head toward it.

“……”

Aiden was looking somewhere. Following his gaze, Jaeha turned his head toward the group of people as well. His father was making rounds, providing guidance to espers.*

Jaeha wanted nothing more than to stay by his side, even for just a little longer, but knew that if he continued watching him, he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from crying. He forced himself to look away.

“……I figured as much.”

“Did you?”

Jaeha reached out and brushed back Aiden’s hair.

Aiden tilted his head naturally, almost instinctively, accepting the gesture. Unlike when Jaeha would normally hug or touch him, Aiden’s body was so small now… it made Jaeha’s touch instinctively gentle.

“…I shouldn’t have told you I was entering the gate. If I had known this would happen to you, I wouldn’t have come.”

“No.”

Aiden looked up at him. The boyish face bore faint traces of the adult Aiden, his expression confident and resolute. He was so different from Jaeha, whose opinions always seemed blurred and indistinct.

“Judging by the fact that I have no memory of coming here when I was seven, I think it was already decided that I would end up here.”

“……”

“And besides, in a way, you also came into the gate because of me, didn’t you?”

“That’s…”

Jaeha tried to deny it, but the words stuck in his throat. His lips only opened and closed silently.

“……”

In truth, that was partially the case. At the time, learning Aiden’s true feelings and secrets had driven Jaeha half out of anger, half out of a desire to shake off the dependence between them. He’d wanted to dive into the gate and end things once and for all. Had he known it would be this dangerous, his choice might have been different, but as Aiden said, perhaps it had been fated for both of them to enter this gate from the start.

“Hey, Jaeha.”

“…Yeah.”

Aiden sighed and opened his mouth.

“Do you remember when you couldn’t reach me for a while, right before the briefing?”

“Yeah.”

Jaeha nodded, realizing Aiden was referring to the time right after he returned from the lab. Their contact had been almost completely cut off until the day of the briefing. What had Aiden said back then…?

‘Did something happen?’

‘Mm, I just sorted a few things so we could safely pair up.’

That was it. Back then, Jaeha had assumed it was only to conceal the details about their 100% matching rate.

“…I…”

Aiden hesitated, glancing up at him. Then he gently leaned his head against Jaeha’s arm. Normally he would have leaned against his shoulder, but since his current body was too small, he chose the arm instead — which somehow felt endearingly cute.

“So…”

Separate from that, though — had Aiden ever been this hesitant to speak about something? Was it that serious a topic? Furrowing his brows, Jaeha looked at him with growing concern.

“…Whatever it is, if it’s too hard to say, you don’t have to force yourself.”

“No. I want to say it.”

“Alright…”

Jaeha quietly watched him speak deliberately, putting extra effort into enunciating clearly to compensate for the slurred pronunciation that came with his undeveloped body. Yet the words that came out of that young voice carried something far more shocking than Jaeha expected.

“I leaked my brother’s corruption to the press.”

“…What?”

“The cases involving missing and dead espers-guides. I compiled evidence — embezzlement, shell companies, insider trading — with help from the Association and handed it all over. Indictment is practically guaranteed. From that moment, my chance at succession ended.”

He scratched his cheek with a sheepish smile. The professional terminology sounded all the more surreal coming from a child’s mouth.

“By the time we clear this gate and get out, everything will probably be settled. My brother will stand trial, and his name will be erased from the line of succession.”

“Uh…”

“My father and mother too — well, I have records of their old lobbying efforts and illicit political contributions.”

“Y-you don’t mean…”

Jaeha let out a strangled gasp, horrified. Aiden chuckled lightly, as if he understood exactly what Jaeha was imagining.

“No, they won’t be indicted. They’re not the kind of people to crumble that easily. I kept it at a level they can handle. But they’ll have to announce their retirement. I told them to step down voluntarily by the time I get out.”

“……”

“From now on, Hanra will move to a professional management system.”

Jaeha frowned. Why was Aiden telling him this? Wasn’t this confidential? Should Jaeha even be hearing this? Even if everything would be settled by the time they left…

“So, um, what I mean is…”

Aiden, noticing Jaeha’s confusion, rubbed the back of his neck again. For someone who could normally explain things so fluently, he seemed unusually tongue-tied now, wearing a troubled expression. Watching him, Jaeha wondered how he was supposed to take this.

“As you know… I wasn’t exactly treated well in my family.”

“……”

“When I was little, I think… that hurt. Even when I first came into the gate back then…”

Aiden glanced down at himself. The clothes hastily fitted to him by the Association hung loose, and his seven-year-old body looked small for his age. Given the family he came from, he likely hadn’t been starved or beaten, but emotional neglect and abuse seemed inevitable.

“I used to wonder why Dad and Mom didn’t like me. Why my brother hated me.”

“……”

“It’s kind of embarrassing, actually. Haha.”

His awkward, self-deprecating smile felt painfully pitiful. Jaeha carefully reached out and pulled him into an embrace. In this small body, the hug wasn’t even burdensome.

“…I’m not lame, am I? I wish I could hug you with my adult body…”

“You’re cute. I like it.”

“This is bad. I can’t be cute. I’m supposed to be cool and sexy…”

“Haha…”

Jaeha chuckled at his joking tone. The laughter gradually faded, leaving behind a quiet, comfortable silence. As they watched the guides perform guiding for the espers, Aiden slowly began to guide Jaeha as well, speaking softly.

“So… I guess it started around this time.”

[If it weren’t for you, I would never have even thought this way.]

His guiding was clumsier and more sluggish than when he was an adult. It became clear that guiding ability was influenced by one’s current physical state, even if the mind remained the same. Still, his guiding was warm and vast. Just like always.

“If I could use something, I used it. If I could act, I acted.”

[Is this right? Is it really okay to say this…?]

“As long as I could get the result I wanted, I didn’t care how I got there.”

“……”

“Of course, I failed to win my parents’ attention. I failed this time too… Proof that my methods were wrong, I guess.”

He scrunched his nose into a wry smile. Jaeha didn’t feel the urge to question whether this was a lie. Instead, he simply felt the impulse to reach out and trace that awkwardly scrunched face with his fingertips.

“Do I disgust you?”

“……”

“Do you hate me now?”

“……”

It was different from his usual behavior. Normally, he would playfully act cute, manipulate the situation like a sly fox, or win Jaeha over with guiding, looks, or wealth.

But this time, he chose another path.

[Is this really okay?]

Thump, thump, thump. The sound of unease came from his heart, the conflict from his mind. He was bravely taking a step forward.

“Once again… I’m really sorry. I realize now the way I chose was wrong. I…”

Aiden hesitated, carefully taking hold of Jaeha’s arm. As his lips parted, as though wrestling with something, Jaeha’s own softened expression began to open — and then—

“Everyone, may I have your attention!”

“—!”

The murmur of voices in the building went silent in an instant.

“……”

“Damn…”

Their conversation cut off abruptly, Aiden’s young face twisting in visible frustration.

“Guiding and injury treatment have been completed. I’ll now brief you on what we need to do moving forward.”

It was the team leader. Standing in the center, he looked around at everyone as he spoke. Normally, they would project a large screen into the air using equipment, but inside this gate, devices including radios were useless, leaving only vocal announcements.

“As per the earlier notice, the ‘gate structure will change.’ We don’t know how, but there’s a possibility we may be scattered like when we first entered.”

“Damn it…”

Jaeha also furrowed his brows, glancing out the window at the faintly visible scoreboard.

[2 days 15 hours 15 minutes 24 seconds]

Thankfully, no more humans had died since then. But the monster team’s numbers had sharply decreased. Likely, the company president — wherever he was — or other unmerged members were out hunting monsters.

“Prepare yourselves for that possibility. If you find no mental-type espers near where you’re transported, take cover in nearby buildings first. Prioritize regrouping as quickly as possible.”

“……”

“You must regroup quickly. We don’t have…”

The team leader pointed to the sky.

[2 days 15 hours 15 minutes 01 second]

“…much time left.”

Silence fell over everyone. A palpable sense of gloom and uncertainty about the future settled over the group.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

“—!”

Almost as if something — or someone — had been watching, waiting for that moment, it began the instant he finished speaking.

The moment the “structure of the gate” began to change.