By Zephyria 
Vasily continued to be out of contact, and I couldn’t hear any news regarding him even through a younger acquaintance of Jo Woo-yeon.
Right, there’s no way Vasily would openly let people know what he’s up to.
The problem was… Vasily wasn’t showing up at the Gates either. Normally, one or two articles about his participation in a conquest would pop up, but he had completely vanished since the last Gate I went to with him.
Since there haven’t been any accidents specifically related to Vasily—like the association’s water pipes freezing last time—I want to believe that nothing is wrong. However, I knew his personality better than anyone. He’s definitely caused some massive scene somewhere and is suppressing the media as he always does.
And while looking for a house to move into, I decided to move down to the provinces altogether. Since things are over anyway, it would be best to settle everything clearly so we don’t run into each other in the future.
I heard they provide company housing if you move to the provinces. For someone like me, who had left Vasily’s house and had nowhere to go, it was perfect in many ways.
As soon as I made up my mind, I had a meeting with the Team leader and immediately applied for a transfer to Sejong. Sejong is the region that will have the fewest incidents and accidents for the next six years. I suppose this is the privilege of someone who knows the future.
Once I get out of Seoul, the workload should decrease too. I plan to live leisurely until Vasily leaves Korea. Although the ending was bad… I won’t forget the 400 million won you gave me.
It would be polite to let Vasily know that I’m transferring my affiliation. Since a Gate business trip was already scheduled, I contacted him while I was at it.
[I’m heading to a Gate dispatch tomorrow.]
And… one more thing.
[Also, I plan to move to a provincial association soon. Thank you for everything.]
…This should be enough.
I finally feel like everything is over.
* * *
I was inside a Gate.
Surrounded by monsters, I was on the verge of death. Vasily merely stared at me from afar with cold eyes, never helping in the end. Just as those sharp claws reached right before my eyes…
“Haa…”
I woke up from the dream.
Gasping for air, I looked around. This wasn’t the inside of a Gate, and there were no monsters surrounding me. Vasily was nowhere to be seen; it was just an ordinary dawn.
“Ha… was it a dream…”
I stroked my face, calming my racing heart.
I haven’t had nightmares recently, so I don’t know why I suddenly had a dream like this. Maybe it’s because my mind is complicated because of Vasily.
The sky was still dim. It was too early to be awake, but because of the unsettling nightmare, I didn’t think I could sleep any more. In the end, I got up and began preparing to leave for the Gate.
Today was an ordinary Gate. The rank was low, and the conquest time was only about a day. The problem was Vasily; I sent him a message yesterday saying I was going to the Gate, but I don’t know if he’ll actually come. Did he even check my message in the first place?
As soon as I stepped out of the association vehicle, I scanned the scene.
“As expected, he’s not here.”
Vasily was nowhere to be seen at the Gate we arrived at.
Now it really feels like it’s over. To think that six years of grueling hardship ended like this. I feel deeply moved, yet somehow my heart feels empty.
Today was hotter because there were no ice pillars created by Vasily. While I was fanning myself with the safety regulation paper they hand out as a formality, Guides approached me one by one to talk.
“You didn’t come with Esper Vasily today?”
“Yes. I probably won’t be coming with him in the future either.”
“Did something happen…”
People looked at me with strange eyes, seeing me come to the Gate alone without Vasily. Since the dispatch areas are fixed, most of them had seen me with Vasily. They seemed puzzled that I came alone after always coming to the Gates with him.
“Esper Vasily has become a bit busy. I think we’ll be moving separately from now on. Besides, I’m not Vasily’s Guide…”
I explained with a smiling face, firmly nailing down the fact that I was not Vasily’s Guide. Since the tedious relationship with Vasily had completely ended, it would be best to clear up the surrounding rumors one by one.
People seemed skeptical at first, but when I mentioned that I would soon be transferring my affiliation, they began to accept it one by one. As expected, moving to the provinces was the right choice.
I should start thinking about removing the suppression chip soon. Lately, my condition hasn’t been great. I have severe headaches because of the overheating suppression chip, and the mysterious red pills feel like they’re harming my health, which is quite unsettling.
Since a determined rank usually doesn’t change, there’s no need to undergo a re-examination. That means if I secretly remove the suppression chip, there’s no way I’ll be caught.
I plan to stay quiet until Vasily leaves Korea, and once he goes abroad, I’ll request a rank re-evaluation. Now that I’m making plans for the future one by one, I finally feel a bit more at ease.
“Ah, it’s hot…”
I took a moment to breathe while drinking cold water provided by the site management staff. While watching the Espers preparing to enter the Gate, I suddenly remembered an Esper who had been seriously injured by Vasily because of me.
I wonder if that Esper was discharged from the hospital. In that state, they’d have to focus on rehabilitation for a while, let alone entering a Gate. I just hope Vasily didn’t torment them further after that.
Before departing for the Gate, Espers often entered the tent to request temporary guiding. However, they all glanced at me and didn’t even come near. They must have heard the rumor that the Esper who received guiding from me was beaten half to death by Vasily.
I feel as if I’ve become a dangerous person on par with Vasily. Even though I’m a very normal person, completely different from that psychopath. Such a misunderstanding wasn’t particularly welcome.
Resting my chin on my hand with a sour expression, I glared at the Espers who were stealthily avoiding me, then decided to just give up on all of them. Although the rumors are interfering with my work right now, I’m moving to the provinces in a month anyway. There will only be people who don’t know me there, so the rumors won’t have much impact.
Until then, my goal is to stay quiet and avoid getting caught up in unnecessary trouble. Since there’s no longer an Esper who would come to rescue me even if I were kidnapped, I must be even more careful with my behavior.
Soon, the Espers departed for the Gate. I thought it would finally be quiet, but that wasn’t quite the case. As time passed, the injured from inside the Gate were carried out one by one on stretchers.
I thought there wouldn’t be much to do because the Gate rank was low…
I overlooked the fact that Espers are dispatched according to the Gate’s rank. Above all, now that Vasily is gone, a low rank doesn’t mean it’s an easy Gate anymore.
The Gate conquest ended.
Bedlam. The center of chaos.
Injured Espers were carried out endlessly, and groans of pain erupted from everywhere. It was literally hell.
Right, this is a normal site. I had forgotten because Vasily always accompanied me, but this was the norm. Once a Gate conquest ends, the injured pour out incessantly. That’s probably why temporary Guides dislike field dispatches.
Just then, an Esper bleeding profusely was carried out on a stretcher. I hurriedly placed my hand on them to attempt guiding, but I felt nothing.
My heart sank. Thinking they were dead, I first checked for breath, but fortunately, they were breathing. It was simply that our wavelengths didn’t match.
“The wavelengths don’t match here!”
As I shouted urgently, another Guide ran over and began guiding. Without a moment to feel relieved, I immediately had to continue guiding another Esper being carried out.
The Espers who had been reluctant to receive guiding from me didn’t seem to even recognize who I was once their lives were hanging by a thread.
“Haa…”
I arrived at the hospital with one critical Esper and handled the guiding until their dedicated Guide arrived. By the time the work was finally finished, it was already midnight.
My whole body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. On the way back in the association vehicle with the other temporary Guides who had come to the hospital, everyone was covered in blood, either trying to sleep or tidying themselves up with exhausted faces.
I also took off my blood-stained temporary combat suit and wiped the blood off my face and hands with wet wipes.
It had been a long time since I’d been at such a hectic site. I realized once again that it was certainly easier on both my body and mind when I accompanied Vasily. Of course, after guiding Vasily coming out of the Gate, I had to endure the throbbing suppression chip and headaches.
Dragging my exhausted body, I barely made it back home.
Today was a long day. I need to wash off the smell of blood clinging to my body and collapse into bed to sleep.
An unusually peaceful day continued.
Vasily no longer came to visit me, and while the number of Espers coming for temporary guiding was gradually increasing, it was still not at an overwhelming level.
The problem is that I am not used to this kind of peace.
“Good morning.”
“Hello, Gi-dam.”
I had just arrived at work, exchanged greetings with the people in my department, and sat down. As I pressed the computer’s power button, Jo Woo-yeon, who poked his head out from across from me, asked.