By Zephyria 
4 percent?
Since Vasily and my matching rate was originally 91 percent, this was a staggering drop. After inserting the illegal suppression chip, I had no way to separately check my matching rate with Vasily, but thanks to this, I now knew the exact figure.
Regardless, it seems the documents in the executives’ hands did contain information about me. I swallowed hard, bracing myself for the questions to follow. Knowing that my matching rate with Vasily was abysmal made me feel slightly more relaxed.
“It seems there are no issues even with prolonged contact with Esper Vasily. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“How was the guiding?”
“Perhaps because the matching rate is low, the guiding wasn’t very effective.”
“Hmm…”
I felt confident. The matching rate was a mere single digit. If they were sane, they wouldn’t even attempt to link me with Vasily.
That expectation crumbled futilely in less than a minute.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, would you be interested in serving as Esper Vasily’s dedicated Guide?”
“Excuse me?”
“Of course, we will provide treatment equivalent to that of an S-class guide. You would only need to stay with him until Esper Vasily finds another Guide or until the contract period ends.”
As if mocking me, the executives offered me the position of Vasily’s dedicated Guide.
They were offering the dedicated Guide position for an S-class Esper to a C-Class Guide with a matching rate of only 4 percent? I was so dumbfounded that I was lost for words.
One of the pledges the current president made during the election was the recruitment of new S-class Espers. Immediately after winning, the president brought in Vasily, who had been active overseas, under a simple condition: provide Vasily with as many Guides as he desired.
If Vasily were to sign an exclusive contract with one of them, he would officially become an Esper affiliated with Korea. However, if he failed to find a Guide to his liking within the president’s term, the contract would naturally terminate, and Vasily would leave the country again.
There were about three years left in Vasily’s contract. This meant that if I could just endure three years with the suppression chip, I would be liberated from Vasily. And yet, they wanted me to crawl into that hell of my own volition?
Naturally, my answer was already decided.
“I’m sorry, but I refuse.”
There was no need to hear more. I firmly cut off the conversation and stood up. After bowing politely and leaving the conference room, the employees blocking the exit seemed unable to stop me.
Having successfully escaped the room, I quietly organized my thoughts on the way back to my office. I felt it would be best to hide the fact that I had been summoned by the executives, as well as the conversation we just had, from Vasily.
Every time Vasily requested designated guiding, he never once mentioned anything regarding a dedicated Guide. To him, I was likely nothing more than a way to kill time; he would have had no intention of signing an exclusive contract with a C-Class Guide.
However, if he found out that such discussions were happening behind his back, his mood would plummet instantly. Not only would those executives not be safe, but the fallout could potentially reach me as well.
I never imagined the association would step in to propose an exclusive assignment.
My head throbbed from the unexpected situation. Thinking that I should stay quiet and avoid drawing the association’s attention for the time being, I returned to the temporary guiding department.
Since I had been dragged into the conference room so suddenly, there would likely be a backlog of waiting clients. I needed to hurry and get back to work…
“Gi-dam-ssi, could you come over here for a moment?”
“Yes, Team leader.”
The team leader called out to me just as I was heading toward the guiding room. For some reason, his face looked serious. Feeling a faint sense of anxiety, I approached the team leader’s desk.
“An official notice just came down from above stating that your department transfer has been decided. Have you heard anything about this?”
“What? A department transfer?”
I blinked in bewilderment. I had just come from refusing it. In my panic, I asked the team leader back.
“What exactly does it say?”
“It says you’ll be assigned as the dedicated Guide for an Esper affiliated with the association… but it seems the specific person hasn’t been decided yet.”
The person hasn’t been decided? Ha, I scoffed inwardly. It was obvious that the “undecided” Esper was Vasily.
‘…Has the association finally gone mad?’
No matter how desperate Vasily was, he wouldn’t try to form an exclusive contract with a C-Class Guide. Only the association would do something like this.
They must be proceeding with this behind Vasily’s back. If Vasily found out, the people in the association involved in this wouldn’t be safe either…
The matching rate was only 4 percent. And the partner was none other than the S-class Esper, Vasily Kairov. I knew from the start that the association wasn’t a normal organization, but I didn’t realize they were this insane.
…I even got a suppression chip just to avoid becoming Vasily’s Guide.
“…Do I have to move even if I don’t want to?”
“Seeing as an official notice was sent, probably… There might be a mistake, so I’ll check into it.”
I couldn’t hide the darkening expression on my face.
I had clearly expressed my refusal when facing the executives, but it seemed the process was already underway without them even listening to my opinion. Otherwise, things wouldn’t have progressed this quickly.
Realizing it was an unwanted department transfer, the team leader left his seat, saying he would look into it further. However, realizing that it wouldn’t be solved even with the team leader’s authority, I quietly returned to my desk.
The first thing I did upon sitting down was write my resignation letter.
I had already been excluded from my duties, and temporary guiding was prohibited. Thanks to that, I had time to write my resignation, so perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.
As I sat alone in the empty office writing the letter, I sensed someone behind me. Familiar footsteps grew closer.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, why are you alone today?”
It was Vasily.
Still writing the resignation letter, I turned to look at him with a stiff expression. Unlike my dark face, Vasily looked exceptionally happy. Given the timing of his visit and his brighter-than-usual expression, I looked at him with suspicious eyes and asked.
“And what brings you here, Esper Vasily?”
“I tried to apply for designated guiding, but I didn’t see Guide Kwon Gi-dam’s name, so I came in person.”
What, so Vasily really didn’t know.
The suspicion that had briefly surfaced faded, and I felt drained. As I first suspected, the attempt to make me Vasily’s dedicated Guide seemed to be a unilateral action by the higher-ups.
By the way, is there still someone among the association’s leadership who doesn’t know Vasily’s personality? If they knew him even slightly, they would never have made such a decision. Clicking my tongue, I thought I should resign and vanish before a bloodbath swept through the association.
To avoid getting caught up in the commotion that would soon erupt, I had to submit my resignation today. My hand, which had paused momentarily at Vasily’s appearance, began moving again to finish the letter.
“By the way, what have you been writing since a while ago?”
“A resignation letter.”
Vasily paused.
“…A resignation letter?”
“They told me to become Esper Vasily’s dedicated Guide. I’ve taken that as a recommendation to resign and am currently writing my letter.”
I intended to keep the matter of being summoned to the executive office a secret, but since I was quitting my job, there was no need to hide it. I wanted to throw the same bomb back at the higher-ups who had screwed over someone like me, who had been diligently working while enduring Vasily’s daily visits.
“…Why is that?”
“What could a C-Class Guide like me possibly do as an S-class Esper’s dedicated Guide? Just providing occasional designated guiding is overwhelming enough.”
“What will you do if you stop being a temporary Guide?”
“I think transferring to a foreign association or joining a private company would be fine.”
Was he the type of guy to bat an eye over one C-Class Guide he visited for amusement quitting? I should have quit the moment I was targeted by Vasily. I endured it only because I needed money for medicine and was too lazy to find another job, and in return, the association gave me a giant middle finger.
But the situation had changed. My bank account was now plentiful thanks to the 400 million won I received from Vasily. Unlike the beginning when I was strapped for cash, it meant I no longer had anything to fear. With this money, I could either rest until Vasily’s contract ended or go abroad.
“That’s it. I’ll go submit it.”
As I finished signing and stood up, Vasily swiftly snatched the resignation letter from my hand. I stared at my suddenly empty hand, then turned my head to see Vasily staring intently at the letter with a sulky face.
“…Esper Vasily? Please give it back.”
“I don’t want to.”
The resignation letter froze instantly. The thin paper was suddenly enveloped in ice crystals, and as Vasily applied pressure with his fingers, it shattered with a crisp sound and scattered across the floor.
I looked at Vasily in shock.
“W-what is the meaning of this?”
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, if the department transfer is resolved, will you keep working here?”
“…I suppose so?”
“Then I’ll show you something interesting. Want to come see?”
Vasily curled the corners of his lips into a faint smile.
Blinking blankly, I let out a small laugh. It was because I could clearly guess what he was planning to do.
“Show me.”
Once again, I was following that crazy plan.