By Zephyria 
I was praying that Vasily had cleared the Gate quietly, but then Jo Woo-yeon spoke.
“Mr. Gi-dam, thank you. I survived thanks to you.”
“No, I didn’t really do anything…”
“You came with Esper Vasily as soon as you were contacted. Everyone was getting exhausted, so if the support had been even a little later, it would have been a real disaster.”
I didn’t affirm or deny it; I simply gave a faint smile.
In reality, what I had done wasn’t that impressive. I had helped the Espers clean up the site, but that was nothing more than menial work anyone could do.
It was embarrassing to even be told “good job” by people who had risked their lives to stop monsters on the field for something so trivial. Therefore, this greeting was likely gratitude for bringing Vasily here.
My gaze shifted to the carcasses of the monsters the Espers had taken down. Among them were monsters killed by Vasily.
“I think Esper Vasily is amazing. To take down such strong monsters in an instant… and he even conquered all the Gates near Seoul by himself a few days ago.”
Jo Woo-yeon continued speaking as he turned his head in the direction I was looking.
“Thanks to that, my business trip was canceled. Although I’ve been called to a place like this now.”
Jo Woo-yeon shrugged and laughed.
“By the way, why are you wearing an Esper combat suit?”
“Ah, Esper Vasily told me to wear it, so I had no choice.”
“It suits you well. I almost walked right past you thinking you were an Esper.”
Jo Woo-yeon spoke with interest in the Esper combat suit. He fiddled with it, saying he wanted to try it on himself, but he recoiled in horror and pulled his hand away when I told him it was ten times more uncomfortable than a temporary combat suit.
His reaction was so honest that I burst into laughter while facing him, but then a familiar voice sounded from behind me.
“What are you talking about that’s so funny?”
“Ah, Esper Vasily.”
It seemed Vasily had finally finished the conquest and returned.
However, as soon as Vasily approached me, the fishy scent of blood brushed the tip of my nose. Looking around for the source of the smell, I discovered blood leaking steadily from Vasily’s waist.
His gray suit was becoming darkly stained. The strange thing was that his suit, which had been pristine, was only now becoming soaked in blood, as if he had just been injured.
What is this? Did he get hurt right before coming out? But Jo Woo-yeon said earlier that there were no casualties.
“Are you injured?”
“Yes. A wound reopened.”
Vasily answered nonchalantly, as if he were talking about what he had for lunch today.
“No, how could something that was almost healed just reopen… Why didn’t you get first aid?”
He had definitely been fine until this morning. Unless he intentionally tore the wound open, it shouldn’t have worsened, so why did it suddenly reopen?
As I was flustered and trying to examine the wound, Vasily suddenly pressed his lips against mine.
“Mmph…”
A cold tip of a tongue swept across my lips. He tried to enter my mouth just like that, so I pushed him away in surprise.
“What are you doing…”
“You promised to give me guiding once the conquest was over. I’m hurt; aren’t you going to give me guiding?”
Vasily, who had stepped back easily, leaned his body against mine affectionately, like a cat acting cute. I was speechless, flustered by Vasily’s sudden behavior.
Just then, I heard a small gasp from beside me. Ah, only then did I remember Jo Woo-yeon, who must have witnessed this scene.
I was about to explain to Jo Woo-yeon that it was just simple guiding, but Vasily, noticing my attention shifting elsewhere, didn’t even allow me to turn my gaze.
“I’m hurt. Let’s go home quickly.”
Vasily urged me, rubbing his forehead against my shoulder. I froze in place, bewildered by the sight of his massive body curling up and acting spoiled.
‘Did something happen inside the Gate?’
It didn’t seem like he was slightly off; it felt like a screw had completely come loose. I was so flustered by a side of him I had never seen before that I couldn’t speak. I glared at him, trying to gauge what new kind of madness this was.
I didn’t detect any particularly strange energy in his wavelength. As expected, I felt I needed to check if he had hit his head in the Gate.
To the attending physician… no, it would be better to go to a psychiatric hospital first. I spoke with a deliberately serious expression.
“Guide Jo Woo-yeon. Esper-nim’s condition doesn’t look good, so I’ll just…”
I was about to say, ‘I’ll be going now,’ but suddenly my body was yanked away.
What?
Vasily and Jo Woo-yeon were still standing in front of me. Then who on earth had snatched my wrist with such brute force…
“Esper Vasily, I’m sorry! This fellow hasn’t been awakened for long, so he doesn’t know the atmosphere of the field!”
“…?”
“Still, this brat discovered a monster that was playing dead, so we were able to handle it quietly. If it weren’t for Esper Kwon Gi-dam, the site would be a mess right now…! What are you doing, bow your head quickly!”
It was the voice of the Esper Captain. My head was forced down by the pressure on the back of my neck. My waist didn’t just bend; I almost collapsed entirely.
I trembled as I looked at the dirt floor filling my vision. The dry, black clumps of earth felt like my own bleak future.
…I’m screwed.
It seemed the Captain had completely misunderstood something. Yes, in the Captain’s eyes, it must have looked like the life of a fragile C-Class Esper, like a candle in the wind, was being threatened by Vasily. Since Vasily had indeed tried to cram his large body into my arms and almost knocked me over, it probably did look that way.
A large, rough hand desperately pressed down on my head.
Since he was just pushing me down with mindless strength, I could have escaped at any time, but I didn’t want to. I could feel Vasily’s gaze looking down at me with a terrifyingly cold look. I felt a chilly frost emanating from somewhere, and I wanted to believe it was just the cool night air.
“I don’t know what mistake Esper Kwon Gi-dam made, but I will apologize on his behalf. If you could just let it slide this once…”
The Esper, still unable to grasp the situation, seemed to think that I had made a mistake and that was why Vasily’s mood had soured.
By the way, “Esper Kwon Gi-dam.” I thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, but as if mocking me, it spiraled further into the worst possible state.
What sin did Jo Woo-yeon commit to be suddenly caught up in this? I closed my eyes tight, imagining his face as he stood there unable to leave, his eyes darting around nervously.
“Aha… Esper Kwon Gi-dam?”
Vasily murmured lowly. Realizing there was a faint anger in that voice, I grit my teeth.
“It’s a name I’ve never heard before…”
“Yes, he hasn’t been visiting sites for long, and his rank is low, so you wouldn’t know him, Esper-nim.”
I felt like I wanted to shut the mouth of the Esper next to me before more useless words came out, but my instinct refused to straighten my bent waist. My reason and impulse were persuading me together to just faint right here.
Then, Jo Woo-yeon, who had been quietly watching this absurd situation from the side, raised a small objection.
“Um… I’m sorry, but that person is a Guide…”
“Yes…”
Silence flowed.
The hand resting on my head flinched.
Now, let’s recall the reason I was able to enter as a temporary Guide. The association employee who came to find me definitely said so.
‘Because you achieved a matching rate above a certain level with most Espers…’
That’s right. The Captain pressing down on my head was currently receiving guiding.
Through the dissonance felt in his hand and Jo Woo-yeon’s statement, the Captain finally realized I was a Guide, and his hand dropped from my head. However, I couldn’t lift my head.
Drip. A small droplet fell onto the ground. I didn’t know if it was cold sweat dripping from my forehead or a tear I had shed.
Fine… first, mental preparation.
I counted to three in my head and lifted my head. Vasily, who was smiling faintly but had terrifyingly cold eyes; Jo Woo-yeon, who was bewildered and unable to grasp the situation; and the Esper Captain, who was horrified, his eyes trembling as if there were an earthquake.
I’ve successfully ruined everything.
Facing the reality I was in, the urge to run away suddenly reared its head. However, given the situation, I felt it would never be resolved unless I cleaned it up, so I barely managed to keep my legs steady.
Shall I start by sorting out the Esper Captain, whose jaw is about to drop?
“Captain, I am indeed a Guide. I didn’t intend to deceive you, but I’m sorry for telling you late.”
“Th-then why the combat suit…”
“I thought it would be dangerous since we’re near a Red Gate, so I borrowed it for a while.”
When I admitted to being a Guide with my own mouth, he fell into even deeper confusion. I shifted my gaze away from the flustered Esper Captain and turned my head to the side.
Now it was Jo Woo-yeon’s turn.
“Um… Guide Jo Woo-yeon. I think there was a small misunderstanding. I’ll handle things here, so you may leave now. Isn’t it almost time for the shuttle to the association to depart?”
“Yes… then I’ll go first.”
And so, I safely evacuated Jo Woo-yeon, who had been swept up in this ridiculous situation.
Jo Woo-yeon left while glancing around. Even as he moved away, he kept looking back with a worried face before finally disappearing completely.
Finally, it’s Vasily’s turn…
“….”
I locked eyes with Vasily, who had remained silent until his turn came. The gaze looking down at me with arms crossed was chillingly cold.