By Zephyria 
However, it wasn’t a request for designated guiding. Upon checking, it was a notification that the next dispatched Gate had been decided. The date was this Friday… and the location was…
“…….”
One look and it was obvious this was a Gate that would require pulling an all-nighter.
It was written in plain sight that the estimated time for conquest was at least 48 hours or more. Estimated times were usually accurate. Moreover, since it didn’t just say 48 hours but “or more,” an all-nighter was guaranteed.
To think I’d hit the jackpot with an all-nighter Gate, the very thing I wanted to avoid most. I hadn’t been caught in one until now, but of all things, the day of the week was unacceptable.
The minimum conquest takes two days, and the departure is Friday. This meant I’d be dispatched to a Gate and stuck in the mountains during the weekend when everyone else was resting.
Ugh… I don’t want to go… Why is it that bad things never seem to avoid me?
I sat in my seat and clutched my head. Jo Woo-yeon, seeing this, asked if something was wrong, but I shook my head, saying it was nothing.
I read the official document on the screen once more.
[Estimated Conquest Time: 48 hours or more]
“No matter how I look at it… this is a place where I’ll have to pull an all-nighter…”
Camping in the mountains during summer. I don’t want to go… But I suppose I have no choice.
Another notification popped up on the work system. This time, it was indeed the designated guiding requested by Vasily.
Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since Vasily had requested designated guiding.
It seemed he really had been too busy traveling between Gates to request it. I thought he was avoiding me after finding out my secret, but this proved that wasn’t the case.
But why on earth did he request it just as it was almost time to clock out? With only 30 minutes left until the end of the day, my finger itched to press the reject button.
Just then, my smartphone vibrated. It was a text from Vasily.
[Did you check the designated guiding request?]
[Yes. I checked it.]
[Then pack your things and come out. I’ll drop you off afterward.]
Well, if that’s the case, requesting it at clock-out time is acceptable. In fact, I might be able to coax Vasily into letting me leave work early.
[Understood.]
I sent a reply immediately and secretly packed my things.
“I’m heading out for designated guiding.”
Keeping a low profile, I quietly left the Guide Association building and headed toward Vasily’s private room. Since Vasily’s private room had no prying eyes and was comfortable, it had become an implicit rule for a while now that I performed guiding in his private room.
As I swung the door open and entered, Vasily greeted me with a bright face.
“You’re here?”
The moment I saw him, the Gate dispatch schedule came to mind, and my mood sank for no reason. As I closed the door and walked in gloomily, Vasily seemed to notice and asked.
“Did something happen in the meantime? You look like you’re in a bad mood.”
Could I tell Vasily, who had just returned from a Gate yesterday, that I had another business trip scheduled… After hesitating, I finally spoke. It was information that had to be conveyed to Vasily anyway.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, Esper Vasily, but… I have a Gate business trip scheduled for Friday.”
“Is that so? I’ll have to clear my schedule. But why the gloomy expression?”
“Because I really don’t want to go this time…”
“Then should I get you out of it?”
Oh? For a moment, my ears perked up. If it were Vasily, he could cancel my business trip with a single phone call.
However, I soon shook my head. If I backed out, the job would pass to another Guide. And if it was a Gate I didn’t want to go to, the same would be true for someone else.
“It’s fine. If I don’t go, the work will just pass to someone else…”
A brief silence followed my words. Vasily looked at me quietly before speaking.
“I’ve thought this for a while… but Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi, I think you live far too diligently.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Anyone else wouldn’t even care about things like that. And despite struggling because of the rank difference, you guide me every single time, don’t you?”
“…….”
Did… did Vasily just praise me?
My heart gave a violent thud. Because of the thought that Vasily recognized my efforts, a strange sense of pride welled up inside me.
Feeling my face start to heat up, I desperately suppressed those emotions.
Get a grip, Kwon Gi-dam. Think about the past six years you suffered under Vasily. You aren’t the type to be shaken by a single word of praise.
Perhaps all of this is Vasily’s plan to break down my guard. That’s why I must continue to be wary of him, just as I am now…
“Ne-never mind that, let’s just start the guiding quickly. By the way, I guided you all night; do you need guiding again?”
“It’s been a while since we had designated guiding.”
As Vasily said, it had been a while. Because he had been busy, he hadn’t contacted me first.
It couldn’t be helped. Recalling last night when he seemed exceptionally unwell, I nodded. Although I had guided him all night, it might have been insufficient due to the low matching rate.
“Why were you collapsed in front of my door yesterday? You know the password, so you could have just come inside.”
“I don’t know. I don’t even remember going there.”
Did he even have a blackout?
To think he’d readily agree to follow me to a Gate while in such a poor state… I felt a bit sorry for him, having to seek out a mere C-Class like me in the middle of the night because there were no Guides.
After being lost in thought for a moment, I spoke cautiously.
“……Esper Vasily, please tell me when you’re going to a Gate as well.”
“Why?”
“If it’s a place where dispatch applications are possible… I’ll try to apply to match your schedule.”
“…….”
As I finished speaking, Vasily looked at me with slightly surprised eyes. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, I avoided his gaze.
“Really?”
“I’m not saying you should call me every day! Dispatch applications are limited to once a week… and I feel like I should repay you for letting me live in your house…”
Damn it, my voice was getting smaller and smaller.
At that moment, Vasily suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.
“Ugh! My body’s going to break…”
“I’m happy.”
Vasily murmured lowly. Like someone who had finally obtained something they had longed for for a long time.
“Over something like this…”
“This is the first time Guide Kwon Gi-dam-ssi has offered to come first.”
“…….”
I couldn’t give any answer to that. Because Vasily was right. I had never once reached out to Vasily first. I had always been wary of him and drawn a cold line.
I wondered if I had been too harsh on Vasily all this time. But remembering the things I had suffered under him for six years, it was still difficult to forgive him completely.
My head knows that the person in front of me right now isn’t Vasily’s true self. And yet, because of the weak side he occasionally shows, my guard keeps slipping.
That must be why. The reason I cannot ultimately push away this man who quietly digs his way into my life.
* * *
I arrived at the Gate.
Today it’s a D-Class gate. The rank is average, but the special note was a survey result stating that the interior of the Gate is vast, so the conquest is expected to take more than two days.
Even if Vasily enters, it’s impossible to conquer it and come out in a single day. Moreover, since it’s summer, Vasily’s condition isn’t great, so the timing was bad.
That’s why I came fully armed from home.
A pillow, pajamas to wear secretly, toiletries, and three power banks fully charged to 100 percent.
With these, I have nothing more to fear. It is the pathetic struggle of a single Guide to spend an all-nighter as comfortably as possible.
When I arrived at the Gate via the association vehicle, Vasily, who had naturally arrived first, approached me. Today, his complexion looks good even under the blazing sunlight.
“Esper Vasily, how is your condition today?”
“I’m fine. But you’ll give me guiding before we go in, right?”
“Yes. Since the Gate is wide, it would be better to receive guiding before entering, just in case.”
“That’s a relief.”
Conversing like that, we headed toward a temporary guiding tent set up to one side.
As soon as I stepped inside the tent, the air, which had become sweltering after being trapped under the hot sun, rushed over me. As I stopped at the entrance, feeling my breath hitch, Vasily took it upon himself to create an ice pillar in the center.
Only then did I feel able to breathe as the chill began to spread. Now I can finally breathe. I took a spot in the corner and prepared for guiding. Since Vasily doesn’t like receiving guiding while wearing his combat suit, I planned to just take off my vest and sit facing him lightly.
“Then, I will begin the guiding.”
As I took off my vest, Vasily also opened his arms with a satisfied expression. Sitting in a chair, I hugged him while facing him.
A cool energy flowed out. Although the ice pillar Vasily created in the center was steadily emitting cold air, the air was still hot, making Vasily’s body, which I leaned against, feel incredibly refreshing.
Perhaps because the conquest was expected to take a long time, the outside seemed quite busy today. I occasionally saw Espers requesting temporary guiding before departing for the Gate.