By Zephyria 
Vasily nodded with a faint smile.
“That’s right. Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi should come in too.”
Though he answered without showing any agitation, it was difficult to hide his anticipation. Was he really going into the Gate? And a Guide, at that?
Only then did Gi-dam’s strange clause in the contract make sense. He had gone out of his way to add a provision stating he would not enter Gates; it turned out this was the reason.
It was true that it was somewhat dangerous to take Gi-dam into a Gate when he had only just awakened from a coma yesterday. Furthermore, this particular Gate was on the higher side of the grading scale.
However, if Gi-dam showed signs of overexerting himself, Vasily could simply let him rest, and if he fell into a dangerous situation, Vasily could save him. Could an S-class Esper not protect his own Guide inside a B-class Gate?
Leaving Gi-dam among the Espers, Vasily quietly approached the site manager.
“Send all the Espers back.”
“Do you plan to conduct the conquest alone?”
“No. Not alone. I’ll be entering with my Guide.”
“Pardon? W-with the Guide?”
The manager was utterly bewildered. He blinked, doubting his own ears, and soon his face turned pale.
“That is far too dangerous… To take a Guide into a Gate…”
Yes, this was the natural reaction when told a Guide was entering a Gate. Yet, Gi-dam, the party involved, was calmly—perhaps with a hint of nervousness—carefully checking his equipment. It was as if he had experienced this situation many times before.
Considering his track record so far, there was a high possibility that Gi-dam had even faced monsters. Vasily had no intention of sharing such an interesting spectacle with others.
A Guide with no abilities fighting a monster—how? Vasily’s heart was pounding with the desire to take Gi-dam into the Gate right this instant.
Vasily watched as the site manager issued the withdrawal order to the Espers via radio. Before long, the Espers began to buzz with commotion.
“Esper Vasily! Taking a Guide into the Gate—what on earth do you mean by this!”
Just then, one of the Espers who had heard the withdrawal order approached angrily. He looked familiar; he seemed to be someone Vasily had encountered at the previous rampage scene.
“Do you have a problem with my decision?”
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam collapsed on site after stopping your rampage, Esper Vasily. And now, as if that weren’t enough, you’re taking him into a Gate!”
“Then would you like to follow us in? Though, of course, you wouldn’t be able to come back out again.”
“….”
The Esper shut his mouth tight, unable to offer a retort.
Pathetic. As Vasily stared at him with cold, sunken eyes, a round back of a head intervened between them. It seemed Gi-dam had stepped forward after being unable to watch the commotion from afar.
“Esper Vasily, I am ready.”
“Shall we go then?”
Vasily’s demeanor shifted instantly into a beaming smile. It was the complete opposite of how he had treated the Esper a moment ago.
As Gi-dam walked, he glanced back at the lone Esper. He seemed worried that Vasily might have harmed the man. His tendency to care for others remained the same as ever.
“By the way, did something happen? Everyone has been restless for a while…”
“I told them that the other Espers would be a hindrance, so only Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi and I would enter the Gate.”
“….”
Gi-dam’s expression darkened noticeably. It looked as if he were discouraged by the fact that he had to enter the Gate alone with Vasily, but Vasily dismissed it as a misunderstanding.
Vasily headed toward the Gate with Gi-dam.
Amidst the shocked gazes of the association staff and the Espers, Vasily and Gi-dam entered the Gate side by side. As they passed the entrance, the space shifted, and silence descended instantly.
This Gate was inside a dark cave. A damp, chilly energy seeped through their skin.
This is my first time entering a Gate with a Guide…
Along with Gi-dam, who was tense and wary of his surroundings, Vasily also found the current situation extremely unfamiliar. Unlike the times he had been with burdens who only hindered the conquest, he now had someone by his side whom he must absolutely not let get hurt.
If he conquered the Gate as quickly as usual, Gi-dam’s stamina would not be able to keep up. Having no idea at what pace he should proceed with the conquest, he decided to walk slowly for now.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi, seeing you yesterday, it seemed your memories were incomplete. Are you alright now?”
Gi-dam hesitated for a moment. Vasily waited for him, anticipating what answer would come out of that small head.
“…It seems I have forgotten my recent memories.”
“Oh dear.”
Vasily let out a sigh. On the surface, he looked sympathetic, but inside, there was a faint disappointment that Gi-dam had ultimately decided to hide his situation.
As expected, he has no intention of telling the truth. Then I have no choice but to change the question.
“Do you remember what class you are?”
“I am S-class.”
Gi-dam answered immediately, as if he remembered at least that much. Hearing those words, Vasily could not hide the curl of his lips.
S-class… Yes, an S-class guide…
He had expected him to be B-class or higher, but he didn’t know he would be S-class. Then again, if he was to be his Guide, he should be at least that much.
“Then, what about the matching rate?”
“91 percent.”
“You remember well.”
Pretending to test Gi-dam’s memory, Vasily resolved the things he was curious about one by one.
Since Gi-dam had no reason to lie, these words must all be true. Now that he had obtained the information he wanted, there was no need to conduct a matching rate test, but he wanted to see the numbers with his own eyes.
A Guide with a 91 percent matching rate with him. One who could even withstand his wavelength.
It was becoming difficult to suppress the smile spreading across his face. Ah, if only he had known this a little sooner, he wouldn’t have let Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi go in that manner.
He would have covered his eyes so he couldn’t look elsewhere, tied him to his side so he couldn’t go anywhere, and monopolized him. That way, they could be together for a lifetime.
But it wasn’t too late. He just had to keep him by his side from now on.
From trivial meetings to Gate conquests, he planned to take him along for every single schedule without exception. Then, there would be no occasion for him to have friendly conversations with anyone other than himself, nor any need to build useless social ties.
As Vasily walked happily, imagining a perfect future, a monster appeared before him.
Groups of black, slimy creatures crawling on four legs were densely filling the passage. However, Vasily’s expression as he looked at the monsters was not very pleased.
“Hmm…”
They weren’t fast, so Gi-dam could easily dispose of them, but there was a possibility he could be seriously injured if he happened to touch the fluids the monsters secreted. Since there were so many of them, it wasn’t appropriate to push Gi-dam into the fray without knowing his skill level.
I suppose it can’t be helped.
It took Vasily an instant to freeze the monsters. Ice spread across the floor, swallowing the monsters and freezing them solid. Soon, the noises echoing from all directions vanished, and silence fell.
Vasily stared at the monster corpses with indifferent eyes before turning his head. Gi-dam was not running away or panicking; he was checking the dead monsters beside him. He remained calm even as he walked over the path covered in monster carcasses.
Ah, he couldn’t stand the anticipation of seeing Gi-dam fight.
However, the monsters blocking their path continued to be rejected for various reasons. That one was too big, this one was too strong… and some monsters looked too hideous to let Gi-dam fight.
Every monster that poked its head out failed to meet the criteria and was killed by Vasily. Then, finally, a suitable opponent appeared.
It was a young Basilisk specimen. It was slightly larger than an adult human, and its toxicity was weak, making it no different from an ordinary snake. At this level, Gi-dam should be able to handle it.
Having just witnessed two adults be instantly felled by Vasily, the creature was terrified and couldn’t even lunge first.
Vasily spoke to Gi-dam as if granting a favor.
“I’ll leave that one to Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi.”
“Understood.”
Gi-dam finally drew his weapon.
A medium sword of moderate length—neither too long nor too short. When they first met, he clearly seemed to use a spear; did he prefer this kind of weapon? Vasily thought it would be good to keep an eye on the weapons Gi-dam used.
Sshhk!
As Gi-dam approached, the Basilisk raised its neck stiffly in caution.
“You should be careful not to get bitten. No matter how young it is and how weak the toxicity is, if Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi is hit, you’ll be bedridden for another month.”
“I—ugh! I know that!”
As Gi-dam answered, he narrowly dodged a tail flying toward his flank.
Given his personality, Vasily thought he would engage cautiously and attack when an opportunity arose, but Gi-dam immediately raised his sword and thrust it straight into the Basilisk’s mouth.
Thuck. With the sound of flesh being pierced, the tip of the sword penetrated the throat. Gi-dam then swung the sword, splitting the head in half.
He has a more cruel side than he looks.
The young Basilisk met a gruesome death, split in two. Vasily checked the limp corpse and turned his head to look at Gi-dam, who was collapsed on the ground.
“Huff… what… huff… this trash-like body…”
Having swung his sword only a few times, Gi-dam was already exhausted, horrified by his own desperate lack of stamina.