By Zephyria 
After that, the most relaxing week since my regression began.
I stayed cooped up at home, resting and exercising occasionally. Except for the times I went out to eat, I didn’t leave the house with Vasily once. It felt as if I, rather than Vasily, was the one who had been given a vacation.
I hadn’t officially clocked into work, but that didn’t mean I spent all my time playing. Whenever Vasily requested guiding, I would hold him in my arms for an hour to provide it.
Still, perhaps because Vasily was mindful of the limit of four guiding sessions per week, he no longer requested it every day. Since there was no need to go to a Gate, his condition didn’t deteriorate, making the guiding relatively easy.
Thursday. Today was the day the conquest of the West Sea Gate began.
I sat in the living room from early morning and turned on the news. On the TV screen, an electricity-type S-class Esper, who had been dispatched instead of Vasily, was waving with a forced smile. The injuries remaining on his arm were clearly visible even through the screen.
I should be grateful to that Esper. Thanks to him coming to the meeting just to pick a fight with Vasily, I was able to push the Gate conquest onto him.
With a smirk, I lifted my water glass and toasted to the empty air.
The conquest team probably wouldn’t be able to exit the Gate until Saturday. After all, that one was a three-day, two-night operation.
Beside him, I could see a Chinese S-class Esper, whose entire body was, as expected, draped in red. The look in his eyes when I left the meeting room was still bothering me… but it’s fine, since we won’t have any reason to meet anyway. I shook my head to clear the useless thoughts, turned off the TV, and stood up from the sofa.
Now that I had confirmed the Gate conquest had started safely, it was time to head to the association.
It had been a while since my last visit to the association, but I didn’t want to go. Because today, together with Vasily, I had to participate in a training session I never asked for.
I had brought it up first, assuming Vasily would say he wasn’t going, but if I had known it would turn out like this, I should have tried to handle it myself somehow.
Before changing my clothes, I went to Vasily’s room and asked.
“Esper Vasily, are you really going?”
“Yes. When shall we leave?”
“…It starts in the afternoon, so let’s leave a bit early, have lunch, and then go in.”
I asked once more in case he had changed his mind, but the answer remained that he would attend.
Returning to my room, I began preparing to leave sluggishly. Since I wasn’t going there to work but simply to participate in training, I wore a plain white t-shirt and jeans so as not to stand out. I didn’t want my face to be openly exposed next to Vasily, who captures attention wherever he goes, so I pulled a cap down low.
Then, I checked the mirror. Looking at myself now, I looked like just an ordinary passerby…
As I stepped out of the room, I ran into Vasily in the living room. Vasily scanned me and spoke.
“Your vibe is different from usual today.”
“Yes. I’m not going to work, so I dressed comfortably.”
“It reminds me of the day Guide Kwon Gi-dam ran away.”
“Ugh…”
…Was I wearing similar clothes that day? I avoided his gaze to hide the fact that I felt a prick of guilt.
Vasily, meanwhile, was dressed in his usual three-piece suit. Vasily must be the only person who walks around dressed like that in the middle of summer. I knew very well that he would be extremely conspicuous today.
While eating lunch near the association, I pleaded with Vasily to please not stand out or do anything reckless, and then we headed inside.
I arrived a bit early on purpose, fearing that arriving exactly on time might draw unnecessary attention. Even so, a few people were already seated inside the training hall.
The people sitting there widened their eyes upon spotting Vasily entering the hall. Some looked at Vasily with admiring eyes, while others were busy hurriedly avoiding his gaze.
The former were likely Guides who didn’t know Vasily well or newly awakened Espers; the latter were likely Espers who had encountered Vasily in Gates.
Watching the polar opposite reactions, I led Vasily to a corner and sat him down.
…I’m already tired.
I felt like the lunch I just ate was going to come back up. As I rubbed my haggard face, Vasily asked me.
“Is something wrong?”
“…”
This face is the problem.
Skin that felt like it would be like touching a clean snowflake if touched, silver-gray eyes as brilliant as glass beads, and a straight nose. I would believe it if someone told me every single feature was a divine work of art.
It was a face that drew attention even when staying still. Hiding in a corner didn’t mean he wouldn’t be noticed.
Right… that flashy face and physique aren’t going anywhere, but let’s at least do something about that conspicuous silver hair.
Since there was only one hat, I had worn it, but I realized too late that it would be better to cover Vasily rather than myself.
In the end, I took off the hat and pressed it down onto Vasily’s head.
“I think it would be better for you to wear this, Esper-nim.”
“I am fine.”
“Just wear it.”
I pressed it down firmly and checked Vasily again. Just by covering the striking silver hair, his presence definitely diminished.
At this rate, it should be fine if we just stay quietly tucked away in the corner.
After waiting a moment, people began to enter. Most passed by without recognizing the hidden Vasily, but some flinched upon discovering him. There was even an Esper who started to enter the hall but turned back and left, taking their Guide with them.
Even though he was covered by a hat, it seemed he couldn’t escape the sensitive senses of the Espers. Just how has he lived his life for Espers to refuse to even be in the same space as him? Well, I roughly know the reason.
On time, two association employees and an instructor entered the training hall.
“I will check the attendees.”
One employee looked around while peering at a piece of paper with a list. Excluding those who had fled upon seeing Vasily, a little over ten teams of people were sitting in the hall. It was a smaller number than I expected.
The association employee, who said they would check the headcount, shuffled through the papers for a long time before asking in a loud voice.
“Is Guide Kwon Gi-dam here?”
As I raised my hand, I locked eyes with the searching employee. The employee spotted me and asked.
“I can’t confirm the dedicated Esper on the list. May I ask the name of the person next to you?”
I froze.
Conscious of Vasily sitting right next to me, I kept my mouth tightly shut. The people who had recognized Vasily began to tilt their heads and glance at us.
Amidst the heavy silence and the crushing pressure, one of the association employees next to me spotted me, eyes widening, and hurriedly whispered to the other employee. Hearing this, the employee was startled and stammered.
“Ah, i-it’s fine. It has just been confirmed. Then…”
The association employee trailed off in a flustered voice and continued checking the remaining people.
The employee next to them probably knew that I was Vasily’s dedicated Guide. I saw the other person hurriedly leave the room, leaving behind the employee checking the list. They were probably going to report that Vasily had been invited by mistake.
Technically, this happened because the association sent me a text forcing me to attend. Now that they’ve invited me and confirmed that Vasily came along, this will never happen again.
The training began as educational materials were displayed on a giant monitor that filled one wall.
I wondered what the content would be, and it turned out to be an explanation of basic understanding and relationship building between Espers and Guides. They explained each role with the intent of encouraging mutual understanding and consideration, but for me, it was all information that wasn’t particularly helpful.
I had already lived as Vasily’s Guide for six years, and since I had lived a life practically identical to an Esper’s by entering Gates myself, I already knew everything. Moreover, it was so basic that it was just boring.
I let out a secret yawn and glanced sideways. Vasily was listening quietly to that boring content.
As my concentration began to fade, I quietly lowered my head. I was sitting in the corner, so I probably wouldn’t be seen. I closed my eyes slightly and secretly tried to get some sleep.
* * *
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, wake up. The training is over.”
“…?”
I opened my eyes at the sound of Vasily’s voice. I woke up to find my body slightly tilted, and something hard was touching my head.
I quickly realized it was Vasily’s arm. I hurriedly straightened my body and wiped the corner of my mouth. Fortunately, I hadn’t drooled… no, that’s not the point.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Because you were sleeping so soundly.”
Vasily smiled faintly. I shook off the drowsiness and looked around.
The training seemed to have ended quite a while ago, as all the seats were empty. Vasily and I were the last ones left in the hall.
More than two hours had passed since the training started. Since I fell asleep almost as soon as it began, had I been leaning on Vasily this whole time?
If so, a fierce surge of guiding must have started from the moment I fell asleep leaning on him. No wonder my head was throbbing. This was my mistake, so it probably won’t count toward the guiding time. I did something stupid.