By Zephyria 
I looked down at his waist, suspecting that he might actually be fine, but a vivid red wound sat starkly against his pale skin.
It was a slash that ran long from his abdomen to his flank. Judging by the depth and shape of the wound, it looked as though he had been attacked by a monster’s claws.
The wound appeared quite deep, but thanks to Vasily using his abilities to freeze the area and stop the bleeding, the hemorrhage had ceased.
“I think it would be best for you to go to the hospital first.”
“Something like this heals in a few days.”
“Do you plan on keeping it frozen until then?”
“Well, yes.”
Then again, with Vasily’s recovery rate, it would probably heal within a week. It would likely vanish completely without a scar within a month.
Realizing that trying to persuade Vasily would only make me look like I was worrying unnecessarily, I gave up on sending him to the hospital.
“First, go wash off the monster’s blood on your body. I’ll provide guiding after that.”
“I understand.”
After letting Vasily into the room, I cleaned up the traces left in the living room. Since clothes stained with monster’s blood couldn’t be thrown away carelessly, I put them in a waste bag, placed it by the entrance, and requested the association to collect it.
As I sat on the bed and waited for a moment, Vasily walked out of the bathroom accompanied by humid air. I tossed him a piece of cloth I had previously taken out of the drawer. Vasily caught it and hesitated, then looked at me upon realizing it was his underwear.
“Um… what is the meaning of this?”
“If you don’t wear that, I won’t give you guiding either.”
When I threatened him using guiding as leverage, Vasily put on the underwear with a somewhat disappointed expression. The amount of exposed skin decreased slightly, allowing me to look at him more comfortably.
Once the monster’s blood and the bloodstains around the wound were washed away, he looked fine on the surface. Except for the fact that ice still sat atop the gaping red slash, it was hard to believe he was an injured person.
Recalling the injection I had received in the back of my neck, I spoke.
“Starting today, guiding is only possible for one hour a day.”
“It’s a shame, but it can’t be helped.”
Vasily nodded obediently as if he were well aware and sat on the edge of the bed. I looked at the wound remaining on his abdomen and pondered how to provide guiding.
Thinking it would be better to hug him from behind to avoid touching the wound, I began to move, but Vasily reached out and pulled me toward him. I momentarily lost my balance and fell face-down onto his lap.
“Ugh…”
As I fell, my elbow accidentally struck his wound. Startled by the pained groan that escaped Vasily’s lips, I hurriedly pushed myself up.
“Are you alright? No, I mean, if you suddenly pull me like that…”
“Enough, just give me guiding quickly.”
Vasily pulled me into an embrace while I was still in an awkward posture, checking his wound. I suddenly found myself held in his arms, facing him.
Just by touching him, I could already feel the back of my neck burning. Being injured was one thing, but it seemed he had truly poured out his abilities to his heart’s content.
Usually, I couldn’t even feel his wavelength well because of the suppression chip, but now the sensation of a wavelength, cold as ice, flowing sharply into my body was very vivid.
“Who told you to go run wild in the Gate? Please do not abuse the clauses of the contract in this manner.”
“Abuse? I simply did what I had to do.”
“….”
How shameless.
Frowning, I glanced down. Since I was sitting atop his thighs while facing him, our lower bodies naturally touched.
The thick pillar felt through the thin underwear was merely uncomfortable. I wanted to change positions, but Vasily was hugging me tightly, making it impossible to move.
Meanwhile, Vasily rubbed his forehead against my shoulder, pressing his body closer. Then, as if genuinely regretful that he couldn’t receive proper guiding due to the suppression chip, he gently rubbed the nape of my neck.
The moment his cold fingers touched my skin, which had become sensitive and hot, my body flinched reflexively.
“If I could receive guiding like last time, it would surely feel great…”
“…Freezing the suppression chip is also forbidden.”
I could feel the strength gradually leaving Vasily’s body. Thinking that he might fall asleep at this rate, I spoke the thoughts I had been harboring.
“Esper Vasily, it would be best if you did not participate in the West Sea Gate next week.”
“Why?”
“The wound won’t even be healed by then, so why do you intend to go? Instead of being ignored after being dispatched while injured, just stay lying down at home.”
“Mmm…” Vasily let out a low groan.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, I may look like this, but I am an S-Class…”
“Are they saying an S-Class Esper isn’t coming from the Chinese side? I know that disputes often break out after entering the Gate. Don’t lose embarrassingly to an Esper from another country and just rest quietly.”
“No matter how injured I am, do you think I can’t beat a single S-Class?”
“Don’t you know there are fire-type ability users in China? Consider the elemental disadvantage.”
That was true. Whenever there were joint training sessions with China, fire-type Espers always came and picked fights with Vasily. Their skill in provocation was second to none, and there was no way Vasily, whose personality was equally foul, would just listen to it.
A while ago, I wouldn’t have cared what he did in the Gate. But now, I had become his dedicated Guide. If he were to lose to a foreign Esper, the arrows would inevitably point toward me, the dedicated Guide, asking what I had been doing and why I hadn’t provided proper guiding.
“My, it seems our Guide doesn’t quite know how strong his dedicated Esper is… I should show you once…”
To shut him up, I pressed down firmly on his wound.
The muscles in his face twitched. See, no matter if he’s S-Class, he feels pain once there’s a hole in his body. There was no way an opponent wouldn’t notice this.
I let out a shallow sigh and said,
“At tomorrow’s meeting, please state that you will not be participating in this joint training.”
“I don’t want to.”
…This bastard? As Vasily saw my face contort, he continued.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, you only provide guiding with sincerity when my condition is poor.”
This is maddening. This was nothing short of a declaration of war against me. Does he intend to return after causing a complete riot at the West Sea Gate?
“I’m not attending the meeting either.”
“….”
“Instead of spending time there, give me guiding tomorrow as well. Wouldn’t that help the wound heal faster before going to the Gate?”
The face of the man speaking with a beaming smile was unnervingly composed. I remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“Then I will attend that meeting in your place, Esper Vasily, and convey your intention to abstain. I believe a dedicated Guide can attend as a proxy.”
Vasily reacted immediately.
“That won’t do. You haven’t already forgotten what I said yesterday, have you? There are other Espers there.”
“Isn’t it natural for Espers to attend a conquest meeting?”
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, do you think it makes sense for a Guide to enter a place where Espers gather alone?”
“I am a common C-Class Guide. My rank isn’t high, so what is the problem?”
“Rank isn’t what’s important. Don’t you know that a Guide wandering around without a master looks like nothing more than a toy in the eyes of other Espers?”
“That’s strange. As far as I know, Esper Vasily is the only one who treats people like objects.”
“….”
The atmosphere turned murderous.
“I lose. I’ll abstain from this joint training, so drop the idea of going to the meeting.”
“I refuse. How can I trust those words? I know you’ll say that and then eventually demand guiding, claiming you’ve been to the Gate.”
“Why can’t you trust me?”
“Because our relationship lacks even that much trust?”
In the first place, this was a relationship with rock-bottom trust, bound by a single contract. A Guide who might run away at any moment and an Esper who might reveal his true colors at any time.
If Vasily requested guiding after returning from a Gate, I was the one who would have to follow those words without fail. If I refused guiding and failed to keep the contract, I was the one who would suffer the loss. Vasily probably returned in this state knowing that I wouldn’t dare break the contract.
I had already seen him do this with my own two eyes, and I’m supposed to just trust him and let it go? Ha, a sneer escaped me naturally. If I did, I’d just see Vasily again, intentionally ruining his wavelength and returning to demand guiding, just like today.
“What do you want?”
“I need to attend the meeting and personally confirm that your absence has been decided.”
“Does it have to be like that?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t like I was entering a Gate. It was simply attending a meeting. It was a bit tedious, but I felt my mind would be at ease only after confirming with my own eyes that Vasily was removed from the list.
I could feel Vasily’s mood plummeting rapidly. I wasn’t in a good mood either. It wouldn’t be easy for the atmosphere to be this murderous while we were in the middle of guiding while hugging each other.
“Let’s stop the guiding here and leave.”
“Understood.”
The moment he gave the order to leave, I sprang up from my seat.
It hadn’t been long since we started guiding, but it was no longer a situation where guiding could proceed. Setting aside the atmosphere, my breath had been coming out as mist for a while now. It felt as if the temperature inside the room had dropped below zero.
Of course, Vasily’s condition didn’t look great. However, he was simply injured; aside from the wound, there wasn’t a problem severe enough to cause a rampage.
It’s a relief I’ve been guiding him well normally. I left the room without looking back.