TGIC Ch 36

Chapter 36

 

It was well past noon when I finally opened my eyes.

 

The gate had been cleared late last night, and after guiding Vasily and returning home, I hadn’t fallen asleep until dawn. The Association provides a day off the day after a dispatch. Since I had been on-site yesterday, I had planned to rest at home today.

 

Bzzz…

 

“…And here I just made that decision.”

 

The moment I resolved to rest, my phone rang. As expected, the caller was Vasily.

 

I frowned instinctively. I briefly considered ignoring the call, but since we’d been at the gate yesterday, I thought it might be something important and picked up.

 

“Esper Vasily.”

 

—Guide Kwon Gidam, did you sleep well?

 

“No, I came home late last night and I’m still tired.”

 

—That’s troubling… I’m not feeling too great either…

 

I frowned again. Why was he saying his condition was bad again?

 

“I guided you just yesterday—why are you still feeling unwell?”

 

—My condition’s been poor lately. It happens periodically like this.

 

Letting out a long sigh, I sat up from the bed.

 

Turning my head toward the window, I saw clear skies. True to summer, the sunlight was blazing.

 

Now that I thought about it, Vasily always requested guiding more often during summer. It seemed he was struggling to manage his energy waves without a guide now. During the six years I was his exclusive guide, it had never gotten this bad.

 

“Did you not get any guiding after I left yesterday? I specifically told you to receive proper guiding.”

 

—I thought I’d be fine since you guided me so thoroughly.

 

“Haa…”

 

He was really saying something absurd. No matter how carefully I guided him, our match rate was only 4%. He had to know there was no way that would be enough…

 

—So, would you come guide me?

 

“No.”

 

I rejected him flatly. Today wasn’t even a workday—I was officially on leave. Besides, guiding on a holiday doesn’t even come with extra pay.

 

Is it my fault he’s in bad condition? He’s the one who refused guiding from someone with a higher match rate. I even went out of my way to arrange a standby guide, and it all went to waste.

 

—Are you really going to refuse?

 

“Yes.”

 

—If it keeps up like this, I might accidentally freeze the whole area…

 

“….”

 

I pressed my hand to my face. That was essentially a threat—if I didn’t come, he might freeze everything nearby. If he was serious, it could cause casualties.

 

“Are you threatening me?”

 

—I wouldn’t say that… Just that it could happen.

 

That was definitely a threat.

 

It felt like his personality had gotten even weirder after yesterday’s gate incident. Like he was subtly revealing his true self.

 

“…Where should I go?”

 

—My house. I’m in too bad a condition to make it to the Association.

 

“All right.”

 

In the end, I raised the white flag first. And he wasn’t even asking me to guide him at a private room, but at his home. Truly shameless—there wasn’t a shred of conscience in sight.

 

Reluctantly, I replied that I’d head over right away and hung up the call.

 

“I should wash up first…”

 

Having just gotten out of bed, I headed straight for the bathroom for a shower.

 

I had planned to rest all day at home. Having to get ready to go out like it was any other day, even after working late the night before, made me feel a little wronged. If I’d known ahead of time, I would’ve just accepted it with resignation.

 

I changed into clothes for going out and made my way to Vasily’s house.

 

After stepping outside, I checked the address Vasily had sent via text. It was different from the one I visited last time. Well, considering his last place was flooded, it must’ve taken months to repair—of course he’d moved.

 

I checked the map and saw it was nearby. It was within walking distance, so I decided to just walk.

 

It was hot. When I returned to the past, it had been spring, and now it was already summer. The temperature had risen considerably, and the sky was blazing.

 

Unlike when I commuted to the Association, I wore a simple T-shirt and training pants. Since I was only going there to guide him, this outfit should be fine.

 

I arrived at Vasily’s house and punched in the code he had given me. A cool blast of air greeted me the moment I stepped inside.

 

Ah, cool from the entrance. The fact that he doesn’t need air conditioning in summer is one of Vasily’s few strengths. Thanks to the cold energy emanating from him, the indoor temperature was always pleasant.

 

“…What the?”

 

But the moment I took off my shoes and stepped inside, the floor was warm. What, was the heating on? I checked my soles in surprise as Vasily walked out from the inner room.

 

He was, for once, dressed in a shirt and slacks. Not in full formal attire today. It was unusual for someone who always wore a three-piece suit when not sleeping.

 

“You’re here?”

 

“Yes. But why is the floor so warm?”

 

“I was worried the house would freeze. There’s been a snowstorm threatening to form since earlier.”

 

As he approached, the surrounding temperature dropped noticeably.

 

So his comment earlier about freezing the neighborhood wasn’t a bluff. If so, I might’ve just barely made it in time to prevent an accident. If Vasily couldn’t control his powers, he could easily freeze a radius of several meters.

 

A snowstorm, though… That brought back the memory of being caught in Vasily’s rampage during a gate mission—and nearly dying. My trauma was resurfacing.

 

“You walked here?”

 

“Yes. The weather’s nice and it wasn’t too far, so I came on foot.”

 

“That must’ve been rough in this heat. But you’ll still guide me right away, won’t you?”

 

The moment I arrived, Vasily—as always—pressed me for guiding. Sigh… Fine, whatever… I gave a nonchalant nod and stepped into the house.

 

Even though he had just moved, Vasily’s place was already spotless. He hated dirt—probably because of his picky nature. If he saw how I was living now, he’d probably throw me out on the spot. I thought of my already messy room as I sat on the living room sofa.

 

“Want something to drink? Rum? Whiskey? I’ve got vodka too.”

 

“Why are you offering liquor in broad daylight… Just give me water.”

 

“Water, huh… How boring.”

 

Vasily looked disappointed. I frowned at his reaction. Did he think I was an Esper too? Drinking hard liquor in the middle of the day and staying perfectly fine?

 

He brought over a bottle of water and set it on the table. It was Evian. Of course. Even his water had to be the fancy kind.

 

After walking through the heat, my throat was dry. I took a drink, then put the bottle down—only to find Vasily sitting beside me, staring at me intently.

 

He said he wasn’t feeling well, but he looked more refreshed than I did, even after a night’s rest.

 

He gazed at my arm and finally spoke.

 

“You’ve got a scar.”

 

“Oh, this?”

 

I looked down at the arm that had been slashed by a monster’s claw. Since I was wearing short sleeves today, the scar was clearly visible.

 

I had received treatment at the hospital, so it healed quickly, but a faint mark remained. Still, it wasn’t too bad—just a thin trace where the claw had scraped.

 

“The doctor said it was fortunate that it didn’t fester and just left a scar. As you know, Esper-nim, I’m just a civilian.”

 

I emphasized the word “civilian.” See? With such a fragile body, how could I possibly be going into gates?

 

Vasily stared at my arm with a look I couldn’t read. He reached out and touched the scar, slowly tracing it with his finger. The sensation made me feel odd, and I instinctively pulled my arm away and asked,

 

“Shall we begin the guiding now?”

 

“Yes, let’s.”

 

As usual, I embraced him to begin guiding. Today, for once, he quietly received the guiding without unnecessary chatter. But after some time had passed in silence, he spoke up.

 

“Are you not going to guide me the way you did yesterday?”

 

“Yesterday?”

 

Yesterday…? I tried to recall what he meant.

 

Then it clicked. Was he referring to guiding him with our bare skin, both of us shirtless? My suspicion quickly turned into certainty.

 

“That was because your condition seemed seriously bad. It won’t happen again.”

 

“But I’m in bad shape today too.”

 

“Wait a minute… Don’t tell me… Is that why you were waiting for me dressed like this?”

 

Vasily answered with a silent smile. That was all the confirmation I needed.

 

I sighed deeply and held my forehead. Just what exactly had he been expecting? I did find it strange that he was only in a shirt and slacks today…

 

Realizing he had been waiting for me with such ridiculous expectations made my fatigue double.

 

I was too dumbfounded to even scold him properly. If I tried to address every one of his issues, I’d probably collapse from exhaustion first.