By Zephyria 
Judging by his terrible reaction, it seemed he had definitely been planning to take me away again. Cold sweat trickled down my back. Thank goodness. I was right to insist on writing a contract.
“Guiding three times a week.”
“That won’t work.”
I was flustered by the immediate response.
“Three times a week? Are you joking right now?”
“Three times is plenty—”
“I can receive guiding from Guide Kwon Gi-dam without such a ridiculous contract. I could lock you away right now in a place where no one can find you and receive guiding whenever I want. Have you never considered that the reason I don’t do that is because I’m trying to respect Guide Kwon Gi-dam, at the very least? There’s a limit to my patience, Guide Kwon Gi-dam.”
…What a load of bullshit.
“Six times. I’ll give you one day off.”
“Are you insane? Let’s make it four. I can’t concede any more than that.”
Vasily frowned, looking displeased. Did I push too far? Honestly, I knew it was an unreasonable request. I felt a slight tension, fearing his true personality might emerge.
“Then let’s add an exception.”
“An exception?”
“When my condition is poor, provide guiding without a limit on the number of times.”
“Understood.”
Vasily accepted the negotiation as if he were finally satisfied. I had a bad feeling about this…
“And please postpone the announcement of the dedicated Guide.”
“The reason?”
“Esper Vasily will probably break the contract soon anyway, so is there any need to do it now?”
“…Ha.”
Vasily let out a scoffing laugh.
“Well, if that’s the reason, I don’t mind. Because Guide Kwon Gi-dam will be the one to break the rules soon and become my dedicated Guide.”
This time, I laughed in disbelief. We continued our battle of wills, glaring at each other in silence.
“It’s unfair for only Guide Kwon Gi-dam to set the conditions. I’ll add a few as well.”
“…I’ll at least listen.”
Vasily snorted and continued.
“You know there’s a cohabitation clause in the Guide’s obligations, right? Since our homes are close, move in by today. It looks like you’ve already packed all your things anyway.”
I had been planning to run away immediately, contract be damned, if he made a strange request, but this was an unexpectedly normal condition. Since I had intended to do this anyway, I nodded and let it pass.
“And guiding other Espers is forbidden.”
“What is the reason?”
“You expect me to just stand by and watch my Guide provide guiding to another Esper? I believe Guide Kwon Gi-dam knows how that feels.”
“….”
I shut my mouth. Because honestly, on the day Vasily had come back after receiving guiding from another Guide without a word, I had felt like shit too.
After that, we continued to add and reject conditions until all the terms of the contract were decided by mutual agreement.
Finally, summarizing the contents, I began writing the conditions one by one on the back of my resignation letter.
Vasily wrote down the contract terms we had decided on. I had noticed it before when seeing the handwriting on the message card mixed in with the bouquet, but his handwriting was truly elegant. It was a script that suited him perfectly.
“Why am I Party B?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Since the Esper is the one in more need, I should be Party A.”
Vasily laughed as if it were absurd, drew a line to erase the content, and began writing the details again below.
Contract
Party A) Vasily Kairov and Party B) Kwon Gi-dam
Party A) Kwon Gi-dam and Party B) Vasily Kairov enter into the following contract.
Party A shall not enter a Gate under any circumstances.
Guiding is set at four times a week. However, if Party B’s condition is critical, there shall be no limit on the number of times.
The announcement of the dedicated Guide shall be made at a time determined by mutual agreement.
Neither party shall interfere with the other’s private life.
During guiding, it shall be conducted at the level of mucosal guiding or below.
Party B shall not inflict injury upon Party A.
Party A must follow the Guide’s obligations and shall move into Party B’s house to cohabit as of today.
Party A shall not refuse Party B’s requests for guiding.
Party A shall provide appropriate guiding according to Party B’s condition.
Party A shall not guide any Esper other than Party B. However, exceptions are made for actions that were not intentional.
If Party A fails to observe the above clauses, Party A shall become Party B’s dedicated Guide for life, and all contract terms proposed by Party A shall become null and void.
If Party B fails to observe the above clauses, Party B shall no longer involve himself with Party A.
Party A: Kwon Gi-dam (Seal)
Party B: Vasily Kairov (Seal)
“Hmm…”
I nodded as I scanned the contract. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with Vasily’s added conditions, but at this rate, I wouldn’t be dragged around by him as much as I was before the regression.
Now it was time to sign.
After signing next to my name and handing it to Vasily, he completed his signature in his native language. Once the signing was finished, we each took a copy of the contract scanned by the printer in the private room.
I carefully folded the copy and tucked it away in my bag. Since I had even taken a photo with my smartphone, he wouldn’t be able to deny that we wrote a contract later. Of course, the same applied to me.
I looked down at the original contract with a complex expression. My three-letter name and signature at the bottom of the contract kept catching my eye.
Just then, a call came into Vasily’s smartphone.
“Yes, I’ll be right there.”
Vasily listened for a moment and then hung up immediately. It was so short that I couldn’t even eavesdrop on the content.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, they say the surgery preparations are complete.”
“…Understood.”
Is it finally time to remove the suppression chip?
As he stood up from his seat, I packed my bag and stood up as well. I had intended to remove the suppression chip as soon as possible, but I never imagined it would be before I could get away from Vasily…
I spoke to him as we moved together to remove the chip.
“Esper Vasily, I’ll go to the suppression chip removal alone. Where should I go?”
Since I’d been caught anyway, it was better for me to remove the suppression chip quickly too. I tried to persuade him that he didn’t need to worry because I would ensure it was removed properly, but he stubbornly walked along with me.
I thought we were going to the hospital, but we moved to a different floor. I felt like we were heading somewhere familiar, and indeed, he brought me to where his dedicated doctor was.
“Weren’t we going to the hospital?”
“It’s crowded there and the wait is long. Don’t worry. My dedicated doctor’s skills are quite decent.”
I admitted that Vasily’s dedicated doctor was a skilled person. While I had struggled to endure six years, the dedicated doctor had endured facing Vasily for an even longer period. But was it okay to leave the suppression chip removal surgery to a dedicated doctor…
As I opened the door and entered, I saw the dedicated doctor.
“You’ve arrived, Esper Vasily.”
The dedicated doctor welcomed Vasily and me moderately, but his expression seemed to say, ‘Why are you bringing this to me?’ However, neither of us could argue because we were both afraid of Vasily.
“So, what is it that needs to be removed?”
“It would be best to ask my Guide. I don’t know the exact details myself.”
“Guide…”
The dedicated doctor muttered in confusion and looked at me. Vasily gave a bright smile, placed his hand on my shoulder, and pressed his body close to mine, pretending to be friendly.
“He’s my Guide. We’re planning to go for a matching rate test after the weekend.”
“I… see. Congratulations.”
The dedicated doctor nodded with a complex expression. At the same time, he looked at me with eyes full of pity.
“First, let’s check the area where the device is located.”
“Yes.”
I bowed my head to show the back of my neck. The gazes of the doctor and Vasily simultaneously pierced my nape. Even though it was just the back of my neck, I felt unnecessarily embarrassed.
When I lifted the hair covering the suppression chip, the doctor checked it for a moment and asked.
“What did you put in the back of your neck?”
“Um…”
I hesitated to answer.
What I had inserted was an illegal suppression chip. No matter how unavoidable it had been, it was still illegal, so it was impossible to speak about it proudly.
After hesitating for a long time, I finally confessed.
“It’s a… suppression chip.”
I omitted the word ‘illegal’ instead. He wouldn’t know it was illegal until the device was removed and investigated.
“If it’s a suppression chip, isn’t that what Espers use for wavelength management?”
“Due to certain circumstances…”
“It seems that while that device is active, the matching rate with me drops significantly.”
“Hmm… I’ve never heard of such a side effect when a Guide uses one…”
While watching the dedicated doctor mutter in confusion, I glanced at Vasily. Then, my eyes met Vasily’s, and I immediately looked down.
Recalling what he had said after discovering the suppression chip yesterday, he seemed to have realized that I had inserted the chip even before my awakening to avoid him.
Seeing that he didn’t know about the side effect of the matching rate dropping, it seemed no one had noticed that this was an illegal suppression chip. If I kept my mouth shut like this, the side effects of illegal suppression chips would probably only be announced years from now.
“Since the location is a sensitive area, I think we should take an MRI first.”
“Yes…”
“I’ll judge whether surgery is possible after checking the results first. Guide-nim, please come this way for a moment.”
The dedicated doctor guided me to another room to take the MRI.
As I followed him, I heard the sound of dress shoes following me from behind. I turned around and asked.
“…Why are you coming, Esper-nim?”