TGIC Ch 24

Chapter 24

“…Thank you. Keep up the good work.”

I gave a polite bow and entered the building. Standing in the first-floor lobby, I stared longingly at the perfectly functional elevator before reluctantly turning toward the emergency stairs.

I checked the floor number as I climbed. My thighs felt like they were about to burst after just ten floors, yet I still had a long way to go. That was because Vasily—the lunatic—lived at the very top of a sixty-story apartment building.

“There’s no turning back now…”

It was clearly a setup to mess with me. My thighs ached so badly that I sat down on the stairs to take a break. I wanted to curse out loud, but I kept my mouth shut—his ears were sharp, and he might hear me.

I rose again and resumed climbing slowly. It felt like an eternity. It was like climbing to the top of a tower to rescue a princess from a dragon. Only, in my case, the one waiting wasn’t a princess but a terrifying psychopathic dragon.

“…What the hell is this?”

Then, trouble struck. Just as I began to feel a chill, the staircase ahead suddenly appeared frozen solid. Alarmed, I checked which floor I was on.

The 45th floor.

Did this mean I had to crawl my way up the remaining fifteen floors?

“Looks like I’ll have to risk my life climbing stairs…”

If I slipped while climbing, a concussion would be the best-case scenario. I couldn’t give up after coming all this way… With a heavy sigh, I began to ascend the slippery stairs.

Clutching tightly to the base of the handrail made it manageable. But with the slowed pace, each floor took much longer. On top of that, it felt like I had stepped into an ice cave. If I had known, I would’ve worn thicker clothes.

Somehow, I reached the 60th floor. But an even greater challenge awaited me.

“…How am I supposed to get this door open?”

The front door to Vasily’s home was completely frozen over.

There was no way I could open it with my strength alone. Vasily had to know I’d arrived, yet he made no move to open the door. Sighing deeply, I carefully knocked on it.

“Esper Vasily?”

…No response. As if he were dead.

I seriously considered leaving. Honestly, I hadn’t had the courage to face Vasily since the moment I started climbing those frozen stairs. This felt like the perfect excuse, and I welcomed it.

Just how foul a mood must he be in…? If Vasily was in this bad a state, even I didn’t have the guts to confront him.

Now I had an excuse: the door was frozen shut, and I even knocked with no response, so I had no choice but to turn back. Time to make my escape.

Bzzzt.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. When I took it out, I saw a message from Vasily.

[Step back.]

“…?”

No way.

A chill ran down my spine, and I instinctively dove to the side.

Crash!

The moment I dodged, the door exploded and shattered into pieces. Through the haze of white smoke, Vasily’s silhouette emerged.

“……”

“……”

“Ah, good day, sir.”

Lying flat on the floor in a pathetic heap, I greeted him. Vasily looked down at me with cold eyes before finally speaking.

“Come in.”

He said that and turned back into the apartment. I got up awkwardly and followed him inside.

The interior was familiar. It was the same home we had lived in together at the beginning of our pairing. We had stayed here for about a year. Of course, I didn’t have any fond memories of it.

Still…

“Not a single place is intact.”

Everything was frozen. The living room, the kitchen, even the bathroom—without exception.

Vasily headed toward the bedroom. When I entered after him, I saw that this room was even worse.

It was in a far more severe state than the rest.

Clicking my tongue quietly, I surveyed the room. I saw Vasily sit on the edge of the bed. Standing awkwardly by the door, I began to recite the excuses I’d prepared in the taxi.

“Esper Vasily, I sincerely apologize for acting without authorization during the gate incident the other day.”

“……”

“I was aware of the danger… but I had no way of contacting you and ended up leaving the safe zone without informing you.”

I bowed my head in apology, but honestly, I didn’t feel all that remorseful. Even if I could go back, I would do the same. It had been the only way to save the children.

As I finished speaking, I glanced cautiously at Vasily to gauge his reaction.

Truthfully, even as I apologized, I still didn’t understand why he was angry. He had seemed delighted when he got a new toy—was it because the toy wasn’t obeying him now? As a sane person, I couldn’t grasp the twisted logic of a madman like him.

Vasily remained silent. With his head lowered and no visible reaction, the tension only grew.

Then I suddenly noticed him pressing his fingers against his forehead, as though he had a headache. A familiar sight. Whenever he hadn’t slept for a long time, he’d always looked like that.

“…Esper Vasily. When did you last sleep?”

“……”

He didn’t answer, but I was now certain. He hadn’t slept a wink since the day he fell asleep after I guided him last time.

That meant he’d been sleepless for over a week. Remembering the last time Vasily had dozed off in front of me, I felt a quiet horror.

“It was too cold.”

“…?”

“It was too cold to sleep.”

Vasily finally broke the long silence and mumbled his reply.

I frowned as I looked around the ice-covered interior. Of course it was cold—he had frozen everything solid.

“Then perhaps you could try sleeping somewhere else—”

“I think I could fall asleep if I got guided. Could you guide me?”

“…What?”

“Guide Kwon Gidam is warm, after all.”

What kind of twisted logic is that…?!

Vasily made a ridiculous request for guiding. I wanted to believe he was still holding a grudge and doing this to mess with me, but the look in his eyes was far too serious.

Sighing lightly, I stepped closer to Vasily. He sat on the bed, looking up at me.

Of all places, why the bed?

Because of the location, I hesitated to start guiding. After a moment of uncertainty, I gently wrapped my arms around him. Vasily embraced me in return, and soon began to relax.

“…He really is in bad shape.”

The suppression chip was heating up much faster than usual.

With how sensitive Vasily was, I thought his sharp energy would crash into me like a wave, but the chill seeping into me was faint, making me feel strangely off. Focusing on the subtle energy as the chip on the back of my neck grew hot, I steadied myself.

“Ugh! Esper Vasily?”

The weight of his body leaning into me gradually increased—then Vasily suddenly fell backward, still holding me tightly. I lost my balance and toppled over with him.

“Va–Vasily, sir. Could you let go of my arm for a moment?”

“……”

“Sir?”

I ended up on top of him, pressed into the bed, but Vasily didn’t care. He hugged me tighter and drifted off to sleep. I could hear his quiet, even breathing—he really had fallen asleep.

And just like that, I’d become a human body pillow.

“……”

I wriggled a bit, trying to get out of his grasp, but the arms around my waist showed no sign of loosening. In the end, I gave up and let my weary body go limp.

I was shivering. The cold flowing from Vasily’s body was one thing, but the surrounding ice made it even colder.

As Vasily slept, the frozen surroundings began to melt. Slowly—too slowly, considering how cold it still was. But just as I suspected, his abilities seemed to gradually deactivate when he was asleep.

Drip. Drip.

Accompanied by the steady dripping of melting ice and Vasily’s peaceful breathing, I too closed my eyes for a moment.

“Esper Vasily, it’s time to get up now…”

“Mmm… Just one more hour…”

“…It’s already been twelve hours.”

“Then… just ten more minutes…”

“I’m freezing to death—get up already!”

Vasily finally woke up after twelve hours. And only after I shouted that I might freeze to death did he stir and show signs of waking.

He slowly sat up. Glancing at me, soaked and shivering, he gave a radiant smile and greeted me cheerfully.

“Did you sleep well?”

Even his tone had softened without me realizing. While Vasily looked positively refreshed, I was a complete wreck. I twisted my face and didn’t bother responding to his greeting.

Noticing the room turned into a flooded mess, Vasily muttered,

“Ah… I guess this place is unusable now.”

He rose from the bed and looked around the room. Every step he took produced splashing sounds in the water beneath his feet.