By Zephyria 
Why did Vasily come here?
For a moment, I froze in bewilderment. As I hesitated in surprise, Vasily spoke with a light smile.
“Since you were injured because of me, I came to visit you in the hospital to apologize.”
“Visit me…”
The words coming from his mouth felt profoundly foreign. Before my regression, I had frequented the hospital like a second home and spent days hospitalized after returning from Gates, yet he had never visited me once. And now, he says he came to visit?
I was confused, unable to guess his intentions. However, Vasily, oblivious to my complicated expression, continued speaking.
“I froze the monster just enough so it wouldn’t die before transporting it to the lab, but it seems I couldn’t regulate it well because its condition hasn’t been great lately. So, when I heard you had woken up, I stopped by to apologize again on my way. I even brought a fruit basket.”
He placed the fruit basket he was holding on the side table. Seeing the large, colorful fruits inside the basket, I became even more confused.
“How is your condition?”
“It throbs a bit, but it’s bearable.”
“That’s a relief. Ordinary people have weak bodies, so they often suffer greatly when they come into contact with monster’s blood.”
Vasily looked at me, who seemed perfectly fine, as if I were a curiosity. It was understandable. Thanks to a constitution healthier than most, I had remained unscathed even after entering Gates before my regression.
After observing me for a moment, Vasily spoke again.
“Come to think of it, I don’t even know your name.”
“I’m Kwon Gi-dam.”
“You probably already know, but I am S-Class Esper Vasily.”
“Yes. I know.”
When I answered that I knew, his eyes curved beautifully. I was momentarily speechless. Did Vasily even know how to smile like that? Having only ever seen him with a furrowed brow, his smile felt incredibly strange.
“Usually, people have a more intense reaction when they see me, so I wondered if you perhaps didn’t know…”
“How could that be? You’re the most famous person in South Korea after the President.”
The conversation continued more normally than expected. I had been incredibly tense, not knowing what he had come to say, but it seemed my worries were unfounded. However, I couldn’t let my guard down. He must have confirmed that the guiding wasn’t working as much as he wanted, so I couldn’t understand why he was still showing interest in me.
After that, the trivial conversation continued, with him asking about the severity of my injuries. Since Vasily didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving soon, I decided to ask him something I was curious about.
“By the way, why did you say those things in the interview?”
“What things?”
“I heard you spoke as if I were the one who took down the monster.”
“Ah, that? Since you were hurt because of me, I mentioned Guide Kwon Gi-dam as a token of my apology.”
Vasily lied nonchalantly. To me, knowing that he was simply shifting the responsibility, it was just absurd.
“I recall clearly refusing that at the time.”
“But ‘we’ caught it together, didn’t we? And since I sent a different monster to the lab instead of that one, there won’t be any problems.”
Vasily looked at me with an expression as if asking for praise. Sigh… Instead of answering, I let out a deep sigh and rubbed my brow. It seemed better to stay quiet until people lost interest rather than trying to explain.
Once my question ended, Vasily’s questions followed.
“How did you think to fight a monster? All the other Guides were running away.”
“I used to have a dog when I was young.”
“A dog?”
At the absurd answer, Vasily burst into laughter. Of course, having a dog was a lie. But I couldn’t think of any other suitable excuse.
“That was the strongest monster in that Gate. It was only a D-Class Gate, but it wasn’t a monster an ordinary person could handle.”
So what? I grumbled inwardly while looking at him. Since I had even been to an A-Class Gate, which was much higher, I felt that this was nothing in comparison. Although, in the S-Class Gate I went to last, I eventually died due to Vasily’s rampage.
“Do you want to fight monsters? If so, I can take you to a Gate.”
What? I immediately shook my head with a stern face.
“No. I absolutely hate the idea.”
“Hmm… I see. It’s a shame that you’re a Guide, Kwon Gi-dam-ssi. If you were an Esper, I think you would have been a great asset.”
Vasily said this and stood up from his seat. Was he finally leaving? I looked at him with a brightened expression.
Perhaps it was too obvious; Vasily, who seemed about to leave, saw my face and sat back down.
Seeing my expression turn sour again, Vasily curled the corners of his lips and spoke.
“My condition hasn’t been great lately. Will you guide me?”
“Me…?”
Right now, I had become a C-Class Guide due to the side effects of the suppression chip. He must know that guiding from me wouldn’t be of much help. It would be far more effective to use a guiding machine designed for S-Class Espers.
Why on earth is he asking me for guiding? For a moment, I hated even the thought of touching him, but it wouldn’t look good for a temporary Guide belonging to the association to refuse a request from an S-Class Esper.
In the end, unable to refuse, I nodded. The guiding wouldn’t be much anyway, and if Vasily confirmed that once more, his interest would quickly vanish and he would leave me alone.
Lifting my casted arm, I spoke.
“My arm is in this state, so I think I can only hold your hand. Is that alright?”
“That’s enough.”
He nodded readily. Unable to shake off the feeling of discomfort, I extended my healthy right arm and took his hand.
As I touched his cold skin, a chilly sensation spread from my fingertips. A coldness, as if I were gripping ice, was transmitted through my skin.
Before the regression, whenever I guided Vasily, I used to feel a pain as if my body were freezing due to a wavelength as cold and sharp as his ability. However, perhaps because the matching rate had dropped, the coldness wasn’t as intense as before. The cold felt only like a light chill, and far from pain, it was a faint sensation, as if a slight coldness was brushing past my fingertips.
Naturally, it didn’t feel like proper guiding was happening. Only a faint, cold energy was flowing in.
“Is the guiding even working?”
“Hmm… it seems to be, but it’s weaker than a guiding machine.”
“Haha…”
Vasily laughed, blaming my incompetence. All I could do in front of him was laugh awkwardly.
And he’s the one who asked for it. Anyway, it’s a relief. I’ve confirmed once again that the suppression chip is working properly.
“But are you really okay?”
“Yes. It’s just because monster’s blood got in; they say I’ll be fine if I rest for a while.”
“That’s all?”
“…?”
Aside from my injured arm throbbing and my general condition being poor, everything else was fine. Checking my physical state once more, I tilted my head and answered.
“Yes… I’m really fine.”
“Your body must be truly sturdy.”
…Is he picking a fight?
Vasily smiled meaningfully. What is he plotting now? Before I could read his true intentions, I felt a slight pain at the back of my neck.
Sting. The back of my neck hurt again. As I lightly touched it, I felt the chip grow hot. It seemed the chip was being strained while suppressing guiding with someone with a high matching rate. It would be best to hurry Vasily out before I fainted again and aroused suspicion.
“Come to think of it, I feel a bit tired.”
“Then it would be best to rest.”
When I used tiredness as an excuse, he readily let go of my hand and stepped back. Seeing him check the time as he stood up, it looked like he was truly leaving now.
Finally, he looked back at me and spoke.
“I’ll come again next time.”
“Haha…”
I barely managed to swallow the words telling him not to come.
Once Vasily left, silence returned to the hospital room. I felt as if a storm had passed.
* * *
Fortunately, Vasily did not visit me after that day.
I hoped his interest in me had faded, but seeing him send bouquets and fruit baskets, that didn’t seem to be the case. He was probably just too busy to come.
I was discharged a few days later. A long scar remained on my arm, but I felt so relieved to finally be free from Vasily’s onslaught of gifts that I didn’t mind the scar much.
I took about a week off work on sick leave. To think they’d give me a whole week of vacation just for being bedridden for this long. As expected, even if the work is hard, being an association civil servant is the best job.
Of course, if I signed an exclusive assignment contract with a high-ranking Esper, I could earn a lot of money while guiding less, but if I encountered a strange Esper like Vasily, my efforts to return to the past would all be for nothing. Though, it would be hard to meet a lunatic like Vasily twice.
Suddenly, an alarm came from my banking app, and upon checking my account, I saw a generous insurance payout. A colleague who had visited me told me that I would also receive a bonus for the merit of suppressing the monster.
I won’t have to worry about medicine costs for a while. With a smile of satisfaction at my enriched bank balance, I left the house.