TGIC Ch 33

Chapter 33

After returning to the Guide Association, the first thing I did was visit the neighboring team to talk about the gate dispatch I had covered for recently. However, the assistant manager’s desk there was completely cleared out.

“What happened to the assistant manager who was here?”

“Oh, they were reassigned to a regional branch.”

I asked a nearby staff member and received an unexpected answer. A reassignment, sure, but just last week they were still here… and now they’ve suddenly vanished?

While I was still reeling from the surprise, a familiar face flashed through my mind. I ran a hand over my face and let out a shallow sigh.

This is Vasily’s doing.

Not that I feel particularly guilty about it. He demoted someone he didn’t like without lifting a finger. If anything, it’s a relief not to be harassed by pointless provocations anymore.

…He didn’t go as far as to kill them, did he?

Feeling a bit uneasy, I looked up the internal organization chart of the Association and confirmed that their name was still listed. So, he didn’t kill them at least…

Since the meeting, I had started to distance myself from Vasily.

You could even say I was outright avoiding him. When he submitted designated guiding requests, I refused them with the excuse of being busy, and when he came to meet me during my commute, I turned him away on his own. If we happened to run into each other, I cut off unnecessary conversations right away.

And then, a few days passed…

At last, back to my main job.

The day the meeting ended, I returned to the office, and the gate dispatch I had applied for was approved. Once the business trip was confirmed, I reached out to Vasily for the first time in a while—naturally, he followed without question.

The moment I arrived at the gate, Vasily approached me as if he had been waiting.

“Long time no see, Guide Kwon Gidam.”

“Good day, Vasily Esper-nim.”

“As soon as I heard you were dispatched to this gate, I cleared my entire schedule and joined the raid. Did I do well?”

He said this with an expectant look, clearly wanting praise.

But I knew it was all a lie. Someone like Vasily would’ve been informed the very day I applied for dispatch. He must have cleared his schedule in advance and had been waiting for my contact ever since.

He was exuding confidence, unaware of what was about to happen. I inwardly scoffed at the sight.

It’s an E-rank now, but once inside, it becomes an A-rank mutant gate. Let him suffer for once. Just imagining finally getting one over on him already felt so satisfying.

“Since you’re here for dispatch, you’ll be guiding me today, right?”

“Of course.”

This was an A-rank gate, so after the raid, Vasily would definitely need guiding. But would someone like me, with only a 4% compatibility rate, be enough…? I might need to advise him to find a guide with a higher match depending on his condition.

“I haven’t been feeling great lately… could you guide me before we go in?”

“Well… understood.”

He didn’t look the slightest bit unwell—he was acting as he always did. Just an excuse to receive guiding, no doubt. Typical Vasily. I nodded without much thought.

I had been avoiding him recently, but now that we were at the gate, I had no reason to refuse his request. Even if I turned him down, he’d probably vent his frustration on the other Espers, causing all sorts of trouble. To avoid inconveniencing others, it was better to guide him quietly.

I took Vasily into one of the guiding tents. Since it was only an E-rank gate, there weren’t many temporary guides present.

Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, as though they had come on a light assignment. None of the Espers had requested temporary guiding before entering the gate—it was a slow day. The only one who had requested guiding for an E-rank raid was Vasily.

As soon as we entered the tent, eyes turned our way. The other guides buzzed with excitement and their eyes sparkled as they looked at Vasily.

Everyone here was a lower-ranked guide. To them, an S-class Esper was an untouchable being, someone to admire. I used to feel the same way.

Ignoring the attention, I led Vasily to a corner and took a seat.

“Then I’ll begin guiding now.”

With that short notice, I wrapped my arms around him.

His large, cool body pressed against me—it was like hugging a block of ice, making me shiver slightly. But on a sweltering day like today, his cold body was actually quite welcome.

A fresh scent lingered at the tip of my nose—it might’ve been cologne or just his natural scent.

Ah, refreshing.

Even though the cooling fan was running, it was no match for the scorching midday sun. An S-class dry ice pack was far more effective.

It’d be best to keep Vasily here as long as possible before he entered the gate. Oh, and before he leaves, I should ask him to make a big ice block and leave it here. A solid one that won’t melt easily.

“……”

But judging by Vasily’s expression as he received the guiding, he didn’t seem particularly pleased. Wondering if I had done something wrong, I asked cautiously,

“Is something the matter?”

“Today’s guiding feels unusually weak.”

“Ah, perhaps it’s because of the combat uniform… maybe it’s the thickness of the clothes.”

I glanced down at the uniform as I replied. Though it was a lightweight version for guides, the vest was still thick enough to affect things.

Even before the regression, Vasily didn’t like receiving guiding while wearing his combat uniform. So right after raids, he always had to take it off. Seeing him react the same way now surprised me a bit. I guess he really is the same person.

“Why did they make something so useless…”

“But it can’t be helped, can it? We’re near a gate, and if something were to happen, guides have no means to protect themselves.”

“……”

Vasily went silent for a moment, then pulled away from me. I felt the chill leave my embrace like an ice pack slipping out, and asked regretfully,

“Vasily Esper-nim? You’re not going to continue the guiding?”

“I’ll receive guiding after I return. It probably wouldn’t be effective right now anyway.”

First, he said he needed guiding because he wasn’t feeling well, and now he’s saying he’ll get it later. With only a 4% match rate, would it even make a difference whether the vest was interfering or not? It didn’t make sense.

Vasily didn’t leave, though, and kept talking to me.

“Have you been busy lately?”

He gave me a knowing smile, but I didn’t let it shake me.

“Yes, well… I suppose it’s because more Espers are having difficulty regulating their energy patterns as the weather gets hotter.”

I had been avoiding him quite openly lately… there’s no way Vasily wouldn’t have noticed. But I was a C-class guide. Creating some distance out of feeling overwhelmed was a completely normal reaction.

Sunlight filtered in through the gap in the tent. Vasily glanced at the hot beam of light on the back of his hand and moved his hand naturally into the shade.

Come to think of it, Vasily had always been particularly sensitive to sunlight during the summer. As an ice-type Esper, it made sense that he avoided the heat and sun.

The sunlight was intense today—was it okay for him to be walking around outside like this?

Just then, a distant call sign rang out. It seemed the raid team was preparing to enter the gate.

“I’d better go. Don’t forget to guide me once I’m back.”

Vasily stood up with a parting reminder. I quickly reached out to stop him.

“Vasily Esper-nim…”

He paused and turned back to me. I lowered my gaze slightly, eyelashes trembling as I asked cautiously,

“Could you… leave behind some ice before you go?”

If possible, big and solid.

“Ah, that’s nice.”

A huge block of ice placed in the center of the tent was radiating cold air.

Word had spread that this spot had become a natural refrigerator, and all the Association staff had gathered here to rest. We all huddled together in harmony, taking a short break from the hardships of office life.

For now, the mood was relaxed and cheerful. Maybe because it was just an E-rank gate, it felt even more like a casual outing than usual. Once they found out the gate’s rank had changed, chaos would break loose. Until then, we might as well enjoy this peace while it lasted.

“Um… Guide-nim.”

I was sprawled out, finally relaxing after a long time, when one of the nearby guides struck up a conversation. I simply turned my head to look at them.

“It looked like you were guiding Vasily Esper-nim earlier… is the rumor true, by any chance?”

“That’s a load of nonsense. I’m just a temporary guide. A C-rank one, at that.”

“Oh…”

The moment I mentioned my rank, it seemed all their assumptions were cleared up.

That’s right. S-class Espers usually partner with S-class guides, or at the very least, A-class ones. C-rank was such a low level that they wouldn’t even spare us a glance.

I was used to this kind of misunderstanding by now. I offered a quick clarification, then sprawled out again.

Just then, a staff member seated across from me received a radio transmission and jumped to their feet.

“What? The gate’s rank has changed?”

Beeeep!

Almost simultaneously, a siren began blaring outside the tent. People tensed up and started murmuring. I was the only one still sitting nonchalantly, already knowing it was a mutant gate.