By Zephyria 
Vasily gave me a thin smile.
Damn, he’s been suspicious since last time. I tried my best to keep a straight face and played innocent.
“I don’t know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I am just an ordinary Guide. What would I possibly know?”
“Hmm…”
A tense, invisible war of nerves ensued. When no further conversation passed between Vasily and me, the association employee, who had been watching us cautiously, continued with the meeting.
I scoffed inwardly as I watched Vasily turn his gaze toward the screen with a look of indifference. As if I’d fall for your plans that easily.
I had wondered why he brought me to the meeting; it seemed he was suspicious of what happened last time. Others would probably think it was just a coincidence. He has an annoyingly good intuition…
I rubbed the back of my neck, thinking I needed to be more careful from now on. Getting caught having regressed was just as dangerous as getting caught with the suppression chip. If I didn’t want all my efforts so far to go down the drain, it seemed best to keep a low profile for the time being.
And I hadn’t given up on what would happen at the Gate yet.
‘A mutated Gate? I can just go there myself.’
Of course, I wasn’t going to do something as crazy as actually entering the Gate. I planned to use Vasily.
If I were dispatched to the Gate as a temporary Guide, Vasily would follow me. Then Vasily would naturally enter the Gate, and by having an S-class Esper participate in the conquest, all problems would be solved.
Once Vasily participates in a conquest, it doesn’t matter if it’s E-class or A-class; it’s all the same. Vasily would just have to suffer a bit more. It meant I could solve the problem without lifting a finger.
“We will end the meeting here.”
As soon as the meeting ended, people began to rise from their seats one by one.
I sprang up from my seat the moment I heard the meeting was over. My heart swelled with the fact that I was finally liberated from Vasily’s lap.
I rubbed my aching buttocks and swallowed back tears. Sitting on those cold, hard thighs for two hours had been agonizingly uncomfortable. I had shifted my posture throughout the meeting, but every time I did, I locked eyes with Vasily, which only doubled my embarrassment.
Moreover, the suppression chip was acting up because I was in contact with Vasily. If there had been a break, I would have rushed to take my medicine, but the meeting proceeded without pause. Since no one stepped out in the middle, I was forced to stay seated.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, what are you going to do now?”
“I’ll head back to the Guide Association and… gasp!”
I inhaled sharply while answering Vasily’s question. It only then occurred to me that I had attended the meeting without telling my team leader. Damn it! An unauthorized absence!
This was all Vasily’s fault for bringing me to the conference room. I was so used to occasionally attending meetings during my time as Vasily’s Guide that I forgot I had a separate workplace.
After a moment of internal screaming, I grabbed the hem of Vasily’s clothes and stammered.
“E-Esper Vasily. About this, to the team leader…”
“Don’t worry. Guide Kwon Gi-dam is listed as an attendee for the meeting, so you don’t have to return to work this morning.”
“Is that really true…?”
Suddenly, Vasily looked like an angel. I gazed at him with eyes full of emotion, but then, realizing that Vasily was the cause of all this, my expression turned cold.
“Would you like to provide guiding in my private room for the remaining time?”
“Well, if it’s just that…”
There was about an hour left until lunch anyway. Returning now would be an awkward time. Thinking it might be better to just kill time in Vasily’s private room, I nodded.
As I was about to move with Vasily, someone approached us.
“Is this the Guide?”
I turned my head to see the S-class Espers who had attended the meeting. One was an electricity-type ability user, and the other was a poison-type. Including Vasily, there are only three S-class Espers in our country.
“Esper Vasily, I heard a rumor that you got a Guide. It’s disappointing that you didn’t share such good news.”
“I don’t usually attend boring meetings like this, but I was just too curious about who the new Guide was to resist.”
The Espers spoke sarcastically.
Come to think of it, the meeting had no real substance other than a few items discussed at the beginning. It felt like a mundane monthly report. That’s why I thought it was strange for all the S-class Espers to be gathered.
…Don’t tell me they came because of me.
I have no idea how far the rumor that I am Vasily’s Guide has spread. At this rate, will I really be treated as Vasily’s Guide by tacit agreement? I frowned and let out a deep sigh.
“I didn’t know you were so interested in me. Unfortunately, Espers aren’t my type. I’d appreciate it if you’d stop being interested.”
“I can’t stand crazy bastards like you either, you know?”
I watched the Espers tear into each other, habitually imagining myself eating popcorn on the side.
Vasily didn’t get along well with the other S-class Espers. But it wasn’t just Vasily; usually, S-class Espers were desperate to tear each other apart. Both before and after my regression, they fought whenever they met… I wonder if all S-classes have personality issues. Sigh.
“So, what class is the Guide?”
While I was watching the Espers argue pathetically, the arrow of attention suddenly turned toward me.
“A-class? Since I don’t recognize the face, maybe B-class?”
“I don’t think there’s any need for you to be curious about that.”
As the Esper showed interest in me, Vasily answered on my behalf, blocking the attention directed my way.
I didn’t bother stepping forward and kept my mouth shut behind Vasily. I’ll likely run into them often once I return to being an S-class Guide, but until then, it’s better not to get involved. Dealing with Vasily alone was already overwhelming enough.
“Seeing how protective you are, I guess it’s true that you have a Guide.”
“….”
The air gradually grew chilly. It felt like they were about to fight…
It was an extremely rare situation for three S-class Espers to be gathered in one place. If these three monsters started fighting here, the association building would be more than demolished.
I should probably stop them.
As the atmosphere turned hostile, the waiting association employees showed signs of starting to move. Unless I wanted to see a scene where lightning struck alongside a blizzard and poisonous rain poured from the sky, it seemed best to leave now. I grabbed Vasily’s arm and dragged him out of the meeting room.
Once outside, Vasily quickly returned to his usual self. The cold aura no longer leaked from him.
“How old are you to react to such petty provocation? Act your age.”
“Umm…”
“Come to think of it… Esper Vasily, how old are you exactly?”
“Ugh, my head… since I just used my ability… Guide Kwon Gi-dam, can you provide guiding quickly?”
He’s blatantly avoiding the answer.
Vasily swayed as if dizzy and leaned on me. I lost my balance and stumbled under the sudden weight of his massive body. When I snapped at him to walk straight because he was damn heavy, Vasily straightened himself up again.
As soon as we arrived at Vasily’s private room, I began the guiding.
“What did you do over the weekend?”
“Nothing… much. I rested at home and exercised for a bit.”
“You must like your house. You can keep living there if you want.”
I continued the guiding, answering Vasily one by one as he kept chattering away. It seemed he had no intention of falling asleep during guiding today.
If anything, I was the one who was more tired. It made sense, as I had wasted unnecessary energy in the meeting room since morning. As I let out a small yawn and relaxed my body, Vasily noticed and stopped talking.
I had my eyes closed for a while during the guiding, but I couldn’t fall asleep because the suppression chip kept throbbing. However, just closing my eyes for a moment made the fatigue feel like it was subsiding.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, will you provide guiding in the afternoon too? I’ll apply for designated guiding.”
“I can’t. It’s not good to be absent from my post too often, so I’ll return to work in the afternoon.”
Around the end of the lunch break, Vasily asked for more guiding, but I refused and left. I was concerned about the suppression chip, which had become hot as if it were about to explode, and above all, I felt the need to put some distance between myself and Vasily.
At this rate, it really felt like it would become an established fact that I am Vasily’s Guide. But I was merely a temporary Guide; I had absolutely no intention of becoming his Guide.
It felt a bit late, but I had to draw a clear line starting now. Come to think of it, I don’t know why Vasily is still interested in me. Isn’t it about time he lost interest in an ordinary C-class Guide?