TGIC Ch 67

Chapter 67

I looked closely at his waist, wondering if he was actually uninjured, but a red wound was clearly visible on his pale skin.

A laceration that stretched from his abdomen to his side. Judging by the depth and shape of the wound, it looked like he’d been attacked by a monster’s claws.

It appeared to be quite deep, but thanks to Vasily freezing the wounded area with his ability to stop the bleeding, the hemorrhaging had ceased.

“You should really go to the hospital first.”

“This will heal in a few days.”

“And until then, you plan to keep it frozen?”

“Well, yes.”

Fair enough—given Vasily’s recovery abilities, he’d likely be fine in a week. Probably even without a scar after a month.

Realizing that trying to convince him would just make me look like I was worrying unnecessarily, I gave up on getting him to go to the hospital.

“For now, go wash off the monster blood on your body. I’ll guide you afterward.”

“Alright.”

After sending Vasily off to his room, I cleaned up the traces left in the living room. Since I couldn’t just toss out the clothes stained with monster blood, I placed them in a waste disposal bag and left them by the entrance, then contacted the Association for collection.

Sitting on the bed and waiting for a while, I eventually saw Vasily emerge from the bathroom, the humid air drifting in with him. I tossed him the cloth I’d taken from the drawer in advance. Vasily caught it, paused for a moment, and then looked at me when he realized it was underwear.

“Uh… What’s this supposed to mean?”

“If you don’t put that on, I’m not guiding you.”

Upon being threatened with guiding, Vasily looked somewhat disappointed as he put on the underwear. With less exposed skin, I could now look at him a bit more comfortably.

The bloodstains around the wound and monster blood had been thoroughly washed away, making him appear uninjured at first glance. If not for the patch of ice still covering the deep gash, it would’ve been hard to believe he was hurt at all.

I recalled receiving the injection in the back of my neck and spoke.

“From today, guiding will be limited to one hour per day.”

“Regrettable, but it can’t be helped.”

Vasily nodded obediently, as if he was already well aware. He sat down on the edge of the bed. I stared at the wound on his abdomen, thinking about the best way to guide him.

Considering I might touch the wound if I stayed in front of him, I figured it would be better to guide him from behind, so I moved to change positions—but Vasily reached out and pulled me toward him. In an instant, I lost my balance and fell across his lap.

“Ugh…”

In the fall, my elbow accidentally hit his wound. I flinched in shock when I heard Vasily let out a pained groan and quickly pushed myself up.

“Are you alright? Seriously, don’t just pull me like that—”

“Doesn’t matter. Just hurry up and guide me.”

Vasily pulled me into his arms from my half-risen position, catching me while I was checking on his wound. I ended up pressed to his chest, facing him directly.

Just from touching him, I could already feel the heat rising at the nape of my neck. More than just being injured, he must’ve fully drained himself using his ability.

Usually, because of the suppressor chip, I could barely sense his energy waves. But now, the cold, ice-like current was flooding into my body with striking clarity.

“Who told you to go on a rampage at the gate? Don’t abuse the contract terms like this.”

“Abuse? I was just doing my job.”

“…”

Shameless.

I frowned and glanced downward. Straddling his thighs face-to-face, our lower bodies were naturally in contact.

The thick bulge pressing against me through the thin fabric was nothing but uncomfortable. I wanted to shift positions, but Vasily had me held tightly, leaving me no room to move.

In the meantime, he pressed his forehead against my shoulder and leaned in closer. Then, as if lamenting the inability to fully receive guiding because of the suppressor chip, he softly rubbed his forehead against the nape of my neck.

The moment his cold fingers touched the hot, overly sensitive skin of my neck, my body flinched reflexively.

“If I could get guided like last time, I’m sure it’d feel great…”

“…Freezing the suppressor chip is also forbidden.”

I could feel the strength gradually leaving Vasily’s body. At this rate, he was likely to fall asleep. Worried about that, I brought up something I’d been thinking about for a while.

“Esper Vasily, I think it’d be best if you didn’t participate in next week’s West Sea gate operation.”

“Why not?”

“Your wound won’t be healed by then. Why bother going? Don’t get ignored while injured—just stay home and rest.”

Hmm… Vasily gave a low hum.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, I’ll have you know—I’m an S-rank…”

“Are there no S-rank Espers coming from China? I know full well you get into conflicts at the gates. Don’t go embarrassing yourself by losing to a foreign Esper—just rest quietly.”

“You think I can’t beat another S-rank just because I’m injured?”

“Do you not know they’ve got a fire-type Esper in China? You should consider type disadvantage too.”

That’s right. Whenever we had joint training with China, a fire-type Esper would always show up and provoke Vasily. Their taunting skills were second to none, and with Vasily’s own nasty personality, it wasn’t like he’d sit back and take it.

Not too long ago, I wouldn’t have cared what Vasily did in the gates. But now, I was his assigned guide. If he lost to a foreign Esper, people would turn on me, saying his guide didn’t manage him properly.

“Well now, our dear guide doesn’t seem to know just how strong his assigned Esper really is… I suppose I’ll have to show—”

To shut him up, I pressed firmly on his wound.

The muscles in his face twitched. See? Even if he’s S-rank, he still feels pain when there’s a hole in his body. There’s no way his opponent wouldn’t notice.

I let out a short sigh and said,

“Inform them in tomorrow’s meeting that you won’t be participating in the joint training.”

“I don’t want to.”

…This bastard? As my face twisted with irritation, Vasily continued speaking.

“Guide Kwon Gidam, you only guide me sincerely when I’m in bad condition.”

Unbelievable. This was practically a declaration of war. So he really was planning to go wild at the West Sea gate and come back.

“I won’t even attend the meeting.”

“…”

“Use that time to guide me again tomorrow. That way, my wound will heal faster before I head to the gate.”

The look on his face as he said that with a slight smile was disturbingly calm. I stayed silent for a moment before responding.

“Then I’ll attend the meeting on Esper Vasily’s behalf and inform them of your absence. I’ve heard that a dedicated guide can attend in place of their Esper.”

At that, Vasily responded immediately.

“That won’t do. You didn’t forget what I said yesterday, did you? There’ll be other Espers there.”

“Of course there’ll be Espers at a strategy meeting.”

“You think it’s okay for a guide to attend alone where Espers are gathered?”

“I’m just a run-of-the-mill C-rank guide. I don’t even have a high rank—what’s the problem?”

“Rank doesn’t matter. A guide without an assigned Esper looks like nothing more than a toy to other Espers. Don’t you know that?”

“That’s strange. From what I know, you’re the only one who treats people like objects, Esper Vasily.”

“…”

The atmosphere turned tense.

“I give up. I won’t participate in the joint training. So give up on going to the meeting.”

“No.”

“How am I supposed to trust you? You’ll just go to the gate anyway and demand guiding afterward—I know how this works.”

“Why don’t you trust me?”

“Because that’s the kind of relationship we have—where trust is barely hanging by a thread.”

Our relationship was built on a single contract—no real trust to speak of. A guide who could run at any moment, and an Esper who could show his true colors at any time.

If Vasily came back from the gate and asked for guiding, I’d have no choice but to comply. If I refused, I’d be the one violating the contract and taking the loss. Vasily knew full well I wouldn’t dare break the contract, which is why he showed up like this.

I’d already seen what he was capable of with my own eyes. Trust him and let it slide? Ha. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. Do that, and I’d just find him wrecking his energy wave again and demanding to be guided—just like today.

“What is it that you want?”

“I want to personally attend the meeting and confirm that I’m not listed to participate.”

“Does it have to be that way?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t like I was entering a gate. Just attending a meeting. Slightly bothersome, yes—but I wouldn’t feel at ease unless I saw with my own eyes that Vasily was off the roster.

I could sense Vasily’s mood taking a nosedive. Mine wasn’t any better. It’s rare to have the atmosphere feel this hostile while in the middle of a guiding session.

“That’s enough for today. Get out.”

“Understood.”

The moment he issued that cold dismissal, I immediately got up.

We’d only just started the guiding session, but there was no way to continue like this. Beyond the mood, I could see my breath in the air. The temperature in the room had likely dropped below freezing.

Of course, Vasily didn’t look good. But aside from the injury, it wasn’t like he was unstable enough to go berserk.

I was relieved that I’d at least done a decent job guiding him regularly. Without another word, I turned and left the room.