TGIC Ch 9

Chapter 9

“Why are you requesting a guiding session from me? Can’t you just get it from your assistant guide?”

Unable to hold back my curiosity any longer, I finally asked. At that moment, his body, which hadn’t moved an inch throughout the entire guiding, showed the slightest reaction.

“My assistant guide has been busy lately.”

“Busier than guiding an S-rank Esper?”

“Apparently so.”

Vasily replied meaningfully. His tone made it clear that he had no intention of explaining further.

I didn’t press him any further and kept my mouth shut. Not only did I have no desire to know the details of Vasily’s situation, but I also didn’t want to provoke him by asking more questions.

As silence fell between us, this time it was Vasily who spoke.

“How did you know I didn’t have a guide?”

“I looked it up online.”

“Next time you’re curious, just ask me directly. You can call me too. Oh, should I give you my number?”

“No need.”

I sneered inwardly. I didn’t need his number, nor would I ever contact him first.

“Ugh…”

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed my head. It felt like a needle was poking around inside my skull.

I thought it would pass quickly, but the symptoms only worsened. The heat that had started at the back of my neck spread throughout my body, and my head began to throb.

Even though I was holding onto Vasily’s cold body and shivering from the chill, the heat inside me was boiling over. It was as if cold and heat were colliding. Dizziness rushed over me, and a piercing ringing sound stabbed at my ears.

— Beep beep beep.

Just as my condition was rapidly deteriorating, the alarm I had set on my smartphone rang. The moment the cheerful sound echoed from my pocket, I pushed Vasily away without hesitation and stood up.

“Is it over already?”

“Yes. That’s all for today’s guiding.”

Vasily looked somewhat disappointed. It seemed like he wanted to keep talking, but my headache was growing more intense even as we stood there. Leaving him behind, I hurriedly exited the guiding room.

As soon as I returned to my desk, I pulled out a red pill from my bag and swallowed it immediately.

“Haah…”

Only after taking the medicine did I begin to feel my condition stabilizing. I let out a sigh of relief and finally released the tension that had been gripping me tightly.

Ever since the suppressor chip had been implanted in my neck, I’d occasionally experienced symptoms like this after guiding. It always started with a burning sensation at the back of my neck, followed by severe headaches, fever, and a heavy, sluggish body.

But today, even though I’d guided less than usual, the symptoms appeared more quickly. The reason was obvious. It must’ve been because I guided Vasily.

I rubbed the back of my neck and felt the heated, swollen flesh. The presence of the suppressor chip reassured me, but I knew I couldn’t keep pushing through like this forever.

A mysterious pill of unknown origin. An suppressor chip that overloaded more and more with each guiding.

If this kept repeating, the only one who would suffer in the end was me. I had to find a way to make Vasily lose interest in me as soon as possible. Rubbing my tired eyelids, I sank deeply into my chair.

The next day, Vasily came looking for me again. And not just once — he had reserved every single guiding session from morning to afternoon.

I frowned as I watched Vasily wave at me nonchalantly from the guiding room.

“You’re not busy?”

“I’m usually busy, but I happened to have a free schedule today, so I came. Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“…”

I didn’t even feel like responding. Letting out a deep sigh, I sat across from him.

Still, how did he manage to book this many guiding sessions? Normally, one can only request a designated guide once a week, and only for an hour.

But Vasily had reserved three sessions in the morning and five in the afternoon. That’s eight designated guidings in a single day. Was this another privilege granted to S-rank Espers? My brows furrowed.

Seeing Vasily’s face as soon as I arrived at work — the very person responsible for almost killing me — and realizing I would have to stay with him until the end of the day filled me with despair. I might at least get one hour of freedom during lunch, but even that seemed unlikely; chances were high he’d tag along.

I probably wouldn’t be able to eat at the cafeteria today. As I considered going out to find lunch, I eventually gave up, thinking I’d rather starve than eat in front of Vasily.

“Shall we begin?”

He opened his arms and tilted his head. I looked at him with a fed-up expression, then glanced up at the ceiling.

Maybe because of how I reacted yesterday, today the CCTV was working properly. That was somewhat reassuring, but not enough to make me feel entirely safe.

“You remember the rules, don’t you?”

“Hmm… not really.”

“As long as you know that violating them will get you kicked out, that’s enough. Then, I’ll begin the guiding.”

Without another word, I wrapped my arms around Vasily, who nodded silently.

Soft fabric touched my fingertips. Through his clothes, I could feel the firm muscles and the familiar chill slowly seeping into my body. As I took a deep breath, a cold, refreshing scent filled my lungs.

Everything that should have felt familiar now seemed strangely unfamiliar. Was it because this was the first time I’d simply held him in silence like this? And also the first time the guiding wasn’t painful.

“…”

“…”

Silence hung in the air. Unlike yesterday, no conversation followed. Only the ticking of the clock echoed through the stillness.

‘It’s too quiet.’

I thought silence would be a good thing, but instead it made me uncomfortable. Holding Vasily like this, I couldn’t see his expression or guess what he was thinking, and that made me anxious.

Surely… he hasn’t figured out I have an suppressor chip, right?

One thought led to another, spiraling endlessly, and my head began to ache. No, it wasn’t just the overthinking — the heat indicated it was because of the chip again.

It had barely been an hour since the session started, and already I felt like this. Not knowing when my condition might worsen, I was becoming increasingly nervous.

“…Let’s take a ten-minute break before continuing.”

In the end, I couldn’t hold out any longer and stepped out to take another pill.

After swallowing it with cold water, I felt a little better. Lunch break would come soon, and I could rest then, but the thought of having to endure the afternoon like this made me sigh heavily.

Dragging my heavy body back to the guiding room, I found Vasily on the phone with someone.

“Let me warn you in advance. Don’t do anything unnecessary.”

It sounded important, so I turned to leave again — but Vasily gestured for me to sit. Responding instinctively, I stepped in and sat down without thinking.

Then I looked up and saw Vasily smiling at me in satisfaction. In that moment, I realized what I had just done and froze in shock. I had moved on autopilot. My body had obeyed his instruction without a second thought.

Clenching my fists in disgust, I trembled with shame, while Vasily looked nothing but pleased. I stood up abruptly, trying to leave again, but Vasily ended his call a beat quicker.

“Sorry about that, it was an urgent call.”

“If it’s urgent, you should go take care of it.”

“Fortunately, it wasn’t that urgent.”

Tch. I clicked my tongue quietly. My attempt to drive him away had failed, and I had no choice but to resume the guiding session.

That’s when it happened.

Growl.

A loud sound erupted from my stomach. I wanted to believe it wasn’t mine, but the source was clear. My face flushed with heat. Vasily chuckled softly.

“Shall we go get lunch?”

“No th—”

Growl. Another rumble echoed from my stomach.

I couldn’t hide my embarrassment as I ran a hand down my face. Even in front of this lunatic who kills without hesitation, my stomach had no sense of self-preservation. I hadn’t planned on eating, but at this rate, I’d keep making noises all afternoon.

With a resigned heart, I nodded.

“…Fine.”

“Can I choose the place?”

“Do whatever you want.”

Vasily smiled and stood up from his seat.

I walked out of the guiding room with him. As we strolled side by side through the association hallways, I felt countless eyes on us.

Looking around, I saw people whispering and glancing our way. That’s when it hit me. I was no longer Vasily’s guide like I had been before returning to the past. So for them, seeing me walk alongside Vasily must have seemed quite unusual.

“…Could you walk a little further away from me?”

“Why?”

“People are staring.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Everyone’s always desperate to seem close to me.”

“…”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t arrogance — it was the truth, and I had nothing to say.

People who didn’t know Vasily’s true nature might think that way, but I knew exactly how lacking he was in character, and I wanted nothing to do with him.

I wanted to tell the world the truth about Vasily. It still haunted me that in my previous life, I hadn’t been able to expose him before he lost control in a gate and died.