By Zephyria 
Come to think of it, Vasily must have skimmed through the information on the interior of the Gate. I figured it would be more accurate to ask Vasily, who would actually be entering the Gate, rather than relying on my own guesses.
“How long do you think the conquest will take?”
“Well… judging by the size, it looks like it’ll take about two days.”
As I thought, even with Vasily, a same-day conquest is difficult. It can’t be helped. I let out a deep sigh, feeling glad that I had come prepared for an overnight stay.
“Do you want it to end quickly?”
“Why are you asking something so obvious?”
“Then I’ll finish it by tomorrow morning.”
“Yes… is it really that simple to decide?”
Instead of an answer, Vasily smiled silently.
Well, that’s fine by me. Since I’m not the one entering the Gate anyway, I’m not particularly curious about how he plans to do it. In fact, I didn’t even want to know, as it might remind me of the hardships I went through in the past.
As Vasily said, it would be great if he could just finish it by tomorrow morning. Since one day outside the conquest period is automatically treated as leave, it would feel like my break had been extended a bit longer.
A short while later, the entry into the Gate began.
Only after all the Espers had entered the Gate did the surroundings become significantly quieter. Those remaining on the surface gathered one by one around the ice pillars Vasily had left behind. The cool pillars felt like a small oasis in the midst of the midsummer heat.
Today was a D-Class gate. It was merely wide and not high-ranking, so the ice wouldn’t shatter like last time… I just had to sit in a cool spot and wait for Vasily.
The occasional breeze and the loud buzzing of cicadas crying outside the tent.
There was no rain in the forecast, so the weather was sunny and pleasant. If it weren’t for the Gate that required an overnight stay, it would have been the kind of weather that made a business trip feel pleasant.
Before I knew it, night fell.
Quite some time had passed since the Espers headed into the Gate, but not a single Esper was carried out injured. As expected of Vasily. Perhaps because it was only D-Class, it seemed he was handling the monsters inside the Gate alone. Thanks to that, my workload decreased.
Since it was in the mountains, it became quite chilly after the sun went down. Of course, there were plenty of mosquitoes. I’d already been bitten twice. This is why I hate Gates that open in the mountains.
Unfortunately, since 70 percent of South Korea’s territory consists of mountains, most Gates open in the mountains. To think I have to fight mosquitoes in the summer and climb mountains through heavy snow in the winter. Occasionally, Gates open in cities, but such instances were rare.
As night fell, silence descended in all directions. Since no one emerged from the Gate even after 10 PM, I saw people beginning to prepare for sleep one by one.
I unfolded my cot and slid my body into a sleeping bag.
It was comfortable since I had secretly taken off my combat suit and changed into pajamas. Plus, I had a pillow of an appropriate height. The small, creaky cot was a slight flaw, but this should be enough to ensure I didn’t lose sleep.
Listening to the sound of insects, I quietly closed my eyes. I felt like I had fallen asleep quickly, but in my slumber, I felt something wriggling and burrowing in next to me. What is this… As I turned my head and opened my eyes…
Vasily’s face was right in front of me.
“Aaagh!”
Startled, I almost tumbled backward, sleeping bag and all. Vasily caught me, narrowly saving me from an unsightly fall, but it resulted in a position where I was essentially embraced in his arms. I thought it might have been better to just fall.
“Shh, the others are sleeping.”
“Thank you… No, wait! Why are you here? What about the Gate…?”
Vasily whispered softly. Since the other Guides were also sleeping inside the tent, I responded in the smallest voice possible.
“They’re preparing to camp inside as well.”
“Then why is Esper Vasily here!”
“Are you telling me to sleep inside a dirty Gate?”
Usually, he doesn’t even sleep inside the Gate and focuses only on a rapid conquest, so why did he suddenly decide he wanted to sleep and come to the surface? I was simply bewildered by his inexplicable whim.
“I have to go back in three hours. I’ll just rest here until then.”
“You can’t just do whatever you…”
Vasily stubbornly settled in and lay down beside me. Even if I wanted to push him away, I was tied up in my sleeping bag and couldn’t move an inch.
Two adult men on this narrow cot. Even a slight movement caused the cot to scream with a sharp, creaking sound. I tossed and turned for a moment, then froze in place, fearing I would wake the others.
Perhaps because Vasily’s frame was so large, I felt like I was the one about to fall off at any moment. If I moved back, I’d be pressed against Vasily; if I tried to keep my distance, I felt like I’d plummet.
While I was stuck in a dilemma, Vasily wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me even closer.
“Wha—what are you doing?”
“I’m holding you so you don’t fall.”
“I don’t need that kind of consideration, so let go.”
Despite my words, Vasily acted as if he hadn’t heard me and tightened his grip around my waist. He even closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
…I have nothing to say. Trapped in a sleeping bag like a caterpillar, I was imprisoned in Vasily’s arms. To think I couldn’t even resist or push him away.
Is he doing this because he wants more guiding? I had been guiding him continuously until the moment he left for the Gate; I have no idea how much guiding he needs to be satisfied.
Thinking of the suppression chip that would soon heat up, I should have pushed him away immediately, but perhaps because I had been woken from sleep, my eyelids began to grow heavy. It was dawn, and I was drowsy… so I chose to just close my eyes.
* * *
I felt the strength that had been stably supporting my body disappear. Simultaneously, the cot let out a creak.
“Mmm…”
As I tossed and turned and opened my eyes, I could faintly see Vasily’s face under the bluish brightening sky.
“Are you leaving…?”
“Yes. Guide Kwon Gi-dam, get some more sleep.”
When I asked in a heavily sleep-thickened voice, Vasily answered quietly. I nodded silently and settled comfortably on the now-widened cot.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, I’ll finish the conquest and come out by morning, so prepare for the return in advance.”
“Yes…”
I blinked my sleepy eyes while curling my body into the sleeping bag. Looking down at me, Vasily chuckled softly and covered my face with his large hand.
“Close your eyes.”
As my vision went dark, my eyes closed instinctively.
While I breathed evenly, I heard a small laugh from somewhere. Then, I felt a cool sensation on my forehead. A cold and soft touch lightly brushed against me and left; at that moment, my suppression chip throbbed sharply, but it was buried under the drowsiness.
“Well then, I’ll be back.”
With those words, I fell fast asleep.
When I opened my eyes again, Vasily was already gone. In the landscape that was no different from yesterday, there was no trace left that he had visited.
I wondered if Vasily coming here had actually been a dream. It was such a quiet and ordinary morning that I felt that way.
As morning came, people woke up one by one and began washing their faces. The atmosphere felt as if a peaceful morning was just beginning.
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out toward the Gate. Turning my head, I saw the Espers rushing out of the Gate in a hurry.
Did something go wrong? Flustered, I hurried toward the Gate. I examined the Espers who were urgently exiting the interior.
I began providing temporary guiding while checking the Espers’ conditions. Fortunately, everyone was in okay shape. There were a few Espers with unstable wavelengths, so I just held their hands to calm them down.
Come to think of it, Vasily said he would finish the conquest by morning. All the Espers seemed to have come out, but Vasily himself was nowhere to be seen.
I looked around the Gate, checking to see when Vasily would emerge.
Just then, an Esper who was receiving guiding from me glanced at the Guide registration card hanging around my neck and spoke to me.
“Guide-nim… even though you’re C-Class, you handle wavelengths exceptionally well.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m an A-Class Esper, and this is far more stable than the guiding I receive from Guides of the same rank. I think you’re better at guiding than other Guides.”
Realizing that he was speaking sincerely, the corners of my mouth began to twitch. I couldn’t hide my cheekbones ascending toward the sky. How long had it been since I’d heard praise like this?
After hearing nothing but that my guiding was insufficient from Vasily every time, hearing this in the field made me feel as if a weight had been lifted from my chest. Look at that, Vasily! I told you I’m this good!