Lee Kyujin had boasted loudly every time he went to a gate with Chae Suhyeon that this time would be the one, so he was feeling incredibly embarrassed.
Had it already been nearly ten times that he’d gone to the field with Chae Suhyeon?
Kyujin scratched his dyed red hair with a troubled expression.
At first, he too had thought that simply pushing Chae Suhyeon into the field would make it easy to slit his throat.
After all, as the leader of Esper Team 4, he had disposed of more than ten Espers who tried to step out of line by disguising their deaths as field accidents.
Based on his experience, Kyujin believed the field was the easiest place to eliminate someone under the guise of an accident, and that belief remained unchanged.
Throughout this time, Kyujin had truly done his best to get rid of Chae Suhyeon.
Since it was a task his youngest brother had entrusted to him, he had watched for an opening with eyes like a hawk.
But regardless of that, the reason Chae Suhyeon was still perfectly fine was… though it sounded like an excuse, due to several factors.
“Brother.”
Kyujin looked down piteously at his younger brother, who was glaring at him with those pretty eyes.
“I didn’t know Shin Hajin and Asher Delveron would always be with him….”
In truth, that wasn’t the biggest reason, but he first offered an explanation that his Guide brother could find plausible.
“……They’re always together?”
Sure enough, Lee Jaeram paused and asked back.
Kyujin nodded, drooping his eyes even further to look pathetic.
There were two main reasons why Kyujin hadn’t been able to kill Chae Suhyeon.
The second was the aforementioned perfect shield provided by the two S-rank Espers, Asher and Shin Hajin.
The first, however, was the fact that Chae Suhyeon wasn’t an Esper.
Chae Suhyeon possessed the ability to handle monsters; he didn’t jump into direct combat himself.
When Kyujin had made his grand promise while focusing solely on the “gate site” as a location, he had completely overlooked this fact.
It was extremely difficult to attack someone who didn’t engage in the fight.
He had tried throwing debris or monster corpses, disguising it as the work of a monster or an unavoidable situation amidst the chaos of battle.
Later, he had grown bolder and even tried collapsing the ground, but it was all for naught.
Unless he attacked directly at close range, it was simply too hard to pierce the defense of Shin Hajin and Asher Delveron.
His older sister, Lee Nahyeon, was giving him as many opportunities as possible to push Suhyeon into the field, but that too was reaching its limit.
Shin Hajin had already dropped a bombshell, threatening to terminate his contract if they kept using the monster to blackmail his Guide.
“I could handle Shin Hajin alone, but with Asher Delveron attached too, I can’t do anything. I’m sorry, little brother. Don’t be mad, okay?”
Seeing the irritation steadily rising on his youngest brother’s face, Kyujin didn’t know what to do.
He was a man who could laugh while others wailed or bled to death, but this was his precious youngest sibling.
Flustered, Kyujin grabbed his brother’s shoulders.
“I’ll ask Sister Nahyeon to buy us a little more time. If we can just separate one of them—Asher or Shin Hajin—I’ll be able to handle it. I’ll also ask if we can go to slightly stronger gates.”
Lee Jaeram looked up at Kyujin with a sullen face. Kyujin spoke while roughly tousling his own hair.
“Guide Chae Suhyeon seems surprisingly fearless. He seems to want to act out a bit more as he gets used to the field, so I’ll look for that moment when he slips up, okay? Just wait a little longer.”
Lee Jaeram still looked dissatisfied, but eventually, he nodded.
Kyujin let out a massive sigh of relief.
Shortly after they left the corner of the hallway, someone who had been eavesdropping on their conversation wore a smile of pure delight.
After the Grade 13 gate was cleared, Korea’s gates became quiet once again.
Neither large-scale gates nor the small ones Suhyeon used to attend with the fluffball appeared.
Naturally, the trait-users returned to their rest.
The same went for Suhyeon.
However, about a week after he and Hajin had been lounging at home, a request for a visit came from the Association.
Since they said it was regarding the fluffball, Suhyeon had to get up.
Accompanied by Hajin, Asher—who had somehow tagged along—and Yihan, he headed to the office of the woman who had discussed the fluffball during the summoning: Director Lee Nahyeon.
“Ah, welcome, Guide Chae Suhyeon.”
When they entered the room following the secretary, Director Lee Nahyeon greeted Suhyeon with a smile, but she froze when she saw the three large men behind him.
Suhyeon, who had only intended to bring Hajin at most, gave an embarrassed laugh.
Director Lee Nahyeon wore a troubled expression.
“There are things I’d like to discuss with Guide Chae Suhyeon privately. Would you three mind waiting outside?”
“Who knows what kind of nonsense you’ll say to the kid.”
“Why should we follow your orders?”
“Mmm, I’ll leave if Suhyeon tells me to.”
The three men spoke up one after another as if they had been waiting for the prompt.
Suhyeon knew they came here for his sake, but Lee Nahyeon didn’t seem likely to start speaking until they left.
“Everyone, please step out for a moment.”
“Mr. Suhyeon.”
“Suhyeon….”
“I know, I know.”
Suhyeon laughed awkwardly under their varying gazes.
After a bit of a scuffle, they all eventually followed his word.
Suhyeon watched the door click shut before turning back.
“Thank you for listening, Guide Chae Suhyeon.”
Director Lee Nahyeon smiled gently, her face looking no different than when he’d seen her from a distance.
“It’s alright.”
Suhyeon shook his head.
“Then, skipping the pleasantries… may I speak plainly?”
The woman didn’t seem to intend to drag things out.
When Suhyeon gave a willing nod, Director Lee Nahyeon smiled gently again—perhaps out of habit—and mentioned it was about the monster, the fluffball.
Having heard the topic before coming, Suhyeon’s back stiffened instinctively as he sat on the office reception sofa.
Because so many things had been upsetting his daily life lately, he felt a vague anxiety that another problem had arisen.
But it was a needless worry.
“Although the monster in your care did cause an injury to a civilian, based on the cross-evaluations from various researchers and your performance in gate duties over the past few weeks, it has been determined that there is no issue with you continuing to keep the monster.”
“Gyuu.”
Before Suhyeon could even fully process those long-winded words, the fluffball popped out of his pocket as if it knew they were talking about it.
This habit of popping out anywhere had started after he began letting it transform into a monster occasionally.
“Ah, you had it with you.”
Suhyeon looked down at the fluffball on his palm before looking back up.
“So… you’re saying you don’t have to kill it anymore?”
Director Lee Nahyeon nodded.
“Since you helped us conduct the research smoothly, the researchers were able to quickly issue an opinion that the possibility of this monster escaping your control is remarkably low. Furthermore, its value as a combat asset was undeniably perfect. We were able to reach this conclusion faster because you participated so willingly, even though the field must have been unfamiliar to you.”
What a relief.
Feeling as if one of the shackles binding him every time he went to a gate had broken, Suhyeon gently stroked the fluffball.
“Gyuuuu.”
Whether it knew its life had been hanging in the balance during that conversation or not, the fluffball chirped happily under Suhyeon’s touch as always.
Suhyeon watched the fluffball for a long time before looking up again.
Since she had gone as far as making Hajin, Asher, and Yihan leave, he didn’t think this was the end.
As expected, Director Lee Nahyeon soon spoke again.
“And… there is something else I would like to ask.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
The woman with short hair looked at Suhyeon with her hands neatly folded.
“While the safety of the monster has been confirmed, I’d like to ask if you would be willing to come out to the field a bit more, Guide Chae Suhyeon.”
She added that it would primarily be for low-level gates, just like now.
Suhyeon’s finger, which had been stroking the fluffball’s fur, paused.
“……Even more than now?”
He asked, wondering if he had misheard, but the woman nodded.
“The Association hopes to study the monster a bit more, and we’re proposing this because we think it might be an opportunity for you to learn more about the power you possess. The report even noted an estimation that this might not be the only ability you have.”
“…….”
Suhyeon couldn’t answer the unexpected proposal right away.
It seemed she had sent Hajin, Yihan, and Asher out specifically to ask this.
If Hajin or Yihan had heard this—Asher aside—there surely would have been a massive uproar.
