By Zephyria 
“……I haven’t guided any other Espers.”
The moment I saw that cold gaze, those words popped out first, sounding like an excuse.
Since the contact with the Captain a moment ago wasn’t intentional… I hoped he would consider it an exception.
“And dangerous acts?”
“Dangerous behavior also—”
“Given the story about the monster that just came out, isn’t that lacking in credibility?”
Ugh… I unnaturally avoided his gaze. Because the Captain had blabbed uselessly, I’d been caught completely.
Damn it. Since it happened while Vasily was inside the Gate, I was confident I wouldn’t get caught… but this unplanned situation had put me in a bind.
“I think I smell monster’s blood on you, too…”
Vasily’s gaze shifted toward the combat suit I was wearing. At the end of his gaze, there was a stain of monster’s blood that I hadn’t managed to wipe off.
When did this get on me? I tried to cover it with my hand, but it was already too late.
“I believe I told you not to do anything.”
“The scene looked too hectic, so I judged that it would be better to help in some way rather than just waiting around.”
“Was it more important than the promise you made to me?”
Vasily’s voice sank coldly. For some reason, it felt like Vasily’s mood was getting worse with every exchange.
In the silence, I stole a glance at Vasily’s waist. Blood was still slowly spreading across his suit.
If he was trying to make me anxious, he had succeeded brilliantly. I genuinely wanted to ask why he wasn’t stopping the bleeding even in this atmosphere.
Thinking that I should do something about that bleeding first rather than arguing here, I spoke up.
“Esper Vasily, I think it would be best to move to another location first.”
“…….”
No answer came back, but he didn’t refuse either. Seeing Vasily quietly turn his gaze away, I realized it meant I should do as I pleased.
“Captain, I’ll be going now.”
I gave a polite bow to the Captain, who was still reeling from shock, and returned to the car with Vasily.
I sat in the driver’s seat instead of the injured Vasily and checked the map on my smartphone. After searching for the nearest hospital from our current location, I spoke to Vasily.
“Since you’re injured, we’ll go to a nearby emergency room.”
“I’ve already stopped the bleeding.”
I turned my head at the unexpected answer. As he said, the bleeding seemed to have stopped; the blood was no longer spreading.
If he could stop the bleeding, why did he just let it flow earlier?
I didn’t understand, but my intention to go to the hospital didn’t change. Just because the bleeding stopped didn’t mean the wound had disappeared. I didn’t know how severely he was hurt, but judging by the amount of blood, it wasn’t a light injury.
“Still, it would be better to get treatment…”
“There’s no need. It wasn’t caused by a monster in the first place.”
“……?”
If it wasn’t caused by a monster, does that mean he was hurt by his own ability like last time, or did he intentionally harm himself?
I looked at Vasily with a frown. However, Vasily was simply staring out the window without any change in expression.
“……Then we’ll go home.”
That stubborn man. It was obvious that even if I took him to the hospital now, he would refuse treatment and take his anger out on innocent doctors and nurses. In the end, I changed the destination and headed home.
A heavy silence filled the car on the way home. Since it was dawn, there were almost no cars on the road, and the monotonous scenery continued.
Being in the combat suit made my whole body feel stifled, and the smell of blood was vibrating beside me. In that uncomfortable atmosphere, Vasily had been sitting there, radiating coldness and making it blatantly obvious that he was in a bad mood. I kept the window down, letting the hot outside air hit my face, and focused only on driving.
Upon arriving home, I opened the front door and quietly stepped inside. When Vasily, having taken off his shoes, tried to head straight to his room, I grabbed his arm and asked.
“How are you feeling?”
I asked, but no answer returned. Instead, I instinctively flinched at the cold gaze looking down at me, then continued speaking.
“I’m asking because I think you might need guiding. You’re injured, after all.”
I couldn’t tell if the cold air emanating from his body since earlier was just my imagination or if his physical condition was truly poor. Of course, it could be both.
I tried to gauge Vasily’s wavelength through the arm I was holding, but I couldn’t get a good feel for it. If the matching rate were high, I would have known just from this brief contact, but it was frustrating that I couldn’t grasp it immediately.
“I did use a lot of my ability to get out quickly before Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi could do something reckless.”
“……Then I’ll get ready and proceed with the guiding.”
“Do whatever you want.”
His arm slid out of my hand.
My brow furrowed as I watched Vasily turn his back to me. I knew it was my fault, but as Vasily acted this way, my mood began to sink as well.
Still, since he went to the Gate at my request, it was right to provide guiding. I roughly ruffled my hair and entered my room.
After showering and changing into comfortable clothes, I stood in front of Vasily’s room.
“Esper Vasily, I’m coming in.”
I knocked lightly and opened the door to see his pale face illuminated by the light of a smartphone in the dark room.
Vasily, who had been looking at something on his phone, slowly raised his head as I entered. Feeling his gaze pierce me, I asked.
“Is contact guiding sufficient for the guiding?”
“Probably.”
“Then I’ll proceed with guiding for just one hour and return to my room.”
I said that, but I wondered if I could actually endure an hour.
While waiting for Vasily, I had helped the other Espers with the cleanup, and my whole body was exhausted. I’d be lucky if I didn’t fall asleep and snore while guiding.
Swallowing a sigh, I dragged my heavy body and sat down next to Vasily.
For once, Vasily was properly dressed. A white shirt and suit pants. It seemed to be different clothes from before, as there were no traces of blood on either the top or bottom.
My plan to subtly check the extent of his injuries, assuming he would be undressed, fell through. In this state, it was difficult to check the wound. Then again, it would look a bit strange if I rushed to strip Vasily’s clothes off myself just to check the wound…
Inevitably, I gave up on checking his injury and began the guiding.
‘He’s colder than usual.’
The moment I touched Vasily, my body shuddered. As if reflecting his mood, the body temperature I felt through the thin clothes was like a sheet of ice. Fortunately, it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t proceed with the guiding.
Tense, I monitored Vasily’s mood. He had seemed upset ever since returning from the Gate, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of doing anything else.
Is he just going to receive the guiding quietly for now? I continued the guiding while remaining suspicious.
“…….”
I felt like it was getting colder…
As time passed, I felt the temperature in the room, as well as Vasily’s body, gradually dropping. I should have turned on the heating when I entered the room. At this rate, my breath would soon be visible.
Since I was wearing only a single layer of thin pajamas, my body began to tremble helplessly, unable to withstand the cold. I figured it would be better to change into thicker clothes before I caught a cold. If I turned on the heating and opened the tightly closed window while I was at it, it would be bearable.
To go back to my room for a moment, I slightly pulled my body away from where I was hugging Vasily. However, the arm wrapped around me was clamped firmly around my waist and didn’t budge. As if he had no intention of letting go.
“……Esper Vasily?”
Sensing something strange, I cautiously called his name. However, Vasily remained silent, hugging me without any answer. Suddenly becoming anxious, I shifted my body, and the arm trapping me tightened further as Vasily spoke.
“Are you trying to run away?”
“No. I was just going to my room for a moment—”
“Liar. If I let go now, you won’t come back.”
As he spoke, the arm wrapped around my waist tightened even more. Ugh, as I let out a heavy groan from the suffocating pressure, Vasily leaned his body against mine and murmured.
“You’re clearly by my side… so why does it feel like you’ll keep disappearing…”
A voice leaking out softly. Every time he whispered, a cold breath escaped between his lips.
‘Wait, his eyes are gone.’
Something felt off, and when I belatedly checked Vasily’s face, his pupils were dilated. An emergency light went off in my head.
“If we just freeze like this, we could be together forever…”
Hearing the words Vasily murmured, a chill ran down my spine. I felt the blood in my entire body turn ice-cold.
Is he seriously planning to freeze me like this?
Seeing the surrounding air turn cold with a murderous intensity, it seemed he was serious. The air surrounding us and his body temperature touching my skin were becoming increasingly frigid.
No matter how I thought about it, Vasily was not in his right mind. I struggled desperately to escape him, but the only response was an even stronger pressure.
I didn’t want to die so futilely. In the rapidly cooling room, I racked my brain, desperately thinking of a way to escape.
Vasily was only strongly controlling the movements to escape his embrace; he seemed uninterested in any other actions. In that case, instead of pushing away, I had no choice but to dive straight in.
I grabbed the tip of Vasily’s chin and lifted it. Then, without hesitation, I crashed my lips against his.