“By the way, how long have you two been in Alpha Team together?”
When the atmosphere mellowed a bit, the Commander-in-Chief, Park Junghoo, asked Dojin.
Dojin, who showed no sign of having drunk alcohol, opened his mouth curtly.
“A little over two years.”
“Hmm, well. It’s a period that is short if you call it short and long if you call it long.”
Perhaps because it was an ambiguous figure to give a positive response to, Junghoo smiled awkwardly and glossed over it.
Raon looked away from his glass and gazed intently at the two.
Since Junghoo and Dojin were Espers, they were drinking something different from the alcohol Raon was having.
It was a strong alcohol for Espers.
However, perhaps because Dojin was an active S-Class Esper and Junghoo was an Esper whose rank had dropped due to injury, there was a noticeable difference in their complexions.
“Still, I heard you two used to get along well.”
“Us?”
“Yes, I heard Team Leader Raon even requested Seo Dojin as a pair.”
“Ha…”
Sure enough, Raon’s prediction wasn’t wrong.
The Commander-in-Chief had arranged the dinner to mediate the relationship between him and Seo Dojin.
Although they were drinking alcohol instead of having a meal from the start.
“That was in the past, and I already have a pair Esper.”
“Hmm, Esper Yoon Siwoo is also very excellent.”
The Commander-in-Chief nodded while drinking his alcohol.
But even without asking directly, a look of disapproval was noticeable.
“Still, wouldn’t it be better to carefully consider the Esper you choose as a pair? Especially if you are considering Imprinting later.”
“Imprinting, you mean.”
“Yes.”
Among ability users, Imprinting was no different from marriage.
No, perhaps it was far more instinctive and powerful than a legal system that allowed for divorce if feelings cooled.
Unlike pairing, Imprinting bound the souls of the Esper and the Guide.
A Guide could not Guide an Esper unless they were the one they were Imprinted with, and an Esper could not stabilize their value unless the Guide was the one they were Imprinted with.
Although Imprinting might seem unreasonable, various countries were actively encouraging it for ability users.
Especially for high-rank Espers.
It was extremely difficult for S-Class Espers to find a Guide with a matching wave.
However, Imprinting naturally made the efficiency of a Guide’s Guiding better, even if their compatibility rate was a bit low.
Therefore, they did not prevent S-Class Espers from Imprinting.
“As you know, the situation is chaotic now with the Irregular Gate and everything. But this too will stabilize someday, and then…”
“…”
Raon let the Commander-in-Chief’s rambling words pass through one ear.
He didn’t need to listen closely to know what he meant.
He had already grasped everything while reading the novel.
‘The current President hasn’t changed for ten years.’
The president who held power when the Gate first appeared was an incompetent man.
During his five-year term, he was only preoccupied with blocking the Gates, and in the process, he mercilessly suppressed people who protested.
Then, around the end of his term, the rights of Guides were trampled, and many Espers lost their lives in the Gates because of the former president, who managed to be reappointed without a national vote under the pretext that the country was in chaos.
Then, the current President staged a military coup, and he succeeded in being reappointed, governing the nation for ten years.
The difference from the former president was that the current President was relatively young and competent.
The rights of Guides were improved to some extent, and the Gates had been stabilized thanks to the establishment of the Alpha Team.
If the Irregular Gate hadn’t appeared, there would have been no problems even now.
“The President is also keeping an eye on you.”
“…”
The Commander-in-Chief spoke in a suggestive tone.
Raon quietly stared into his eyes.
This was, in short, a suggestion to align himself correctly.
He probably wouldn’t arrange this kind of meeting later on.
It was a foregone conclusion.
Perhaps accepting the Commander-in-Chief’s offer right now would be a good thing for him, too.
The System would return someday, and when that time came, he would have to live the life of the real Han Raon anyway.
Then he might regret having displeased the Commander-in-Chief.
‘But what can I do about it?’
Raon had already experienced death once.
Whatever happened now, he wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.
He did not regret his choice to choose Siwoo over Seo Dojin for a second.
Raon smiled and opened his mouth.
“That is an honor. For a mere Guide, I mean.”
“A mere Guide! Team Leader Raon is different from other Guides. You are S-Class, and, hmm, anyway.”
He was about to mention that Raon was the Team Leader of the Guide Team, but he seemed to be self-conscious because Seo Dojin had recently taken the command authority from him.
After all, the person who had stripped him of that command was the Commander-in-Chief himself.
“If Team Leader Raon wishes, I can speak well to the VIP and arrange a meeting.”
“…”
The Commander-in-Chief spoke in a suggestive tone again.
Raon quietly stared at the alcohol he was pouring.
This was probably the moment the real Han Raon had longed for so much.
It would be a golden opportunity to not only pair with Seo Dojin but also to connect directly with the President and be recognized by Han Myunghoon.
“I apologize, but that situation is a bit too burdensome for me.”
“What?”
When Raon answered with a smile, the Commander-in-Chief’s face crumpled. Raon continued.
“I am perfectly content as I am. I am also satisfied with my pairing with Esper Yoon Siwoo. If I were to Imprint with someone, I would like it to be with a person whose heart matches mine.”
“Team Leader Han Raon!”
“I will take my leave now.”
Raon stood up and bowed.
The Commander-in-Chief’s face, already flushed with alcohol, turned crimson with rage.
“If you leave now, you will surely regret it!”
“…”
The Commander-in-Chief shouted in a menacing tone, as if this was his final word.
Raon paused briefly as he walked toward the door.
His regret didn’t last long.
In the first place, Raon didn’t regret it.
Although he was worried about what kind of reprisal might follow, he felt that he would never regret his current choice.
Raon walked forward again.
The sound of the furious Commander-in-Chief overturning the table roared loudly.
Since the man wouldn’t have the guts to harm him directly anyway, Raon ignored it and continued on his way.
“Han Raon.”
“…!”
Then, Dojin, who had followed him, grabbed Raon’s shoulder.
Raon turned back and frowned as if annoyed, but he was secretly relieved to spot the nearby guards.
“What is it?”
“Are you really not going to enter the next Irregular Gate?”
“Ah.”
He had expected him to say the exact same thing as the Commander-in-Chief, so this was unexpected.
Raon failed to control his expression for a moment and looked blank.
“Well, I’m still thinking about it.”
“I didn’t know you would give up your career so easily.”
“How much do you really know about me?”
Raon chuckled and answered Dojin’s reproachful words.
Dojin’s cool eyes scanned Raon’s face.
“Remember this. From now on, you won’t get the chance even if you want it.”
He was sick and tired of the warnings now.
Raon turned to leave, not wanting to hear any more.
At that moment, Dojin’s chilly voice stopped Raon in his tracks.
“Don’t underestimate the Commander-in-Chief. He’s a man who has stabbed a knife into the back of his political rivals several times.”
“…!”
Raon flinched and slowly turned his head.
Dojin looked at Raon with his characteristic cold eyes, then this time, he was the one who turned around first.
Raon held his breath and stared at Dojin’s retreating back.
‘The Commander-in-Chief who survived the Gate alone.’
The worst Gate, called the Tomb of Despair, where countless high-rank Espers of the first generation died.
The Commander-in-Chief was the only Esper who survived that place.
Since that anecdote was only briefly mentioned in the novel, Raon hadn’t thought about it carefully until now.
‘What if the Commander-in-Chief deliberately killed the other Espers back then?’
A chilling feeling instantly ran through him.
Just as Dojin had tried to kill Siwoo inside the Irregular Gate, the Commander-in-Chief might have done the same thing.
Thinking about it, the circumstances aligned.
The Esper who was nationally popular at the time was not the Commander-in-Chief.
It was the figure of the statue installed in the center of the Center, the representative S-Class Esper of the first generation, Hyun Yooseong.
If he hadn’t died and had survived, the Commander-in-Chief commanding the military would most likely have been him.
Goosebumps instantly rose all over Raon’s body.
‘No. It might not be true.’
Raon forced himself to deny it and got into the waiting car.
It was right in front of the entrance, as if waiting for Raon, and it was the same car he had arrived in, so he didn’t suspect anything.
‘Thud’, as he closed the door, the car quietly started. This time, Raon didn’t even think to greet the driver.
His mind was too complicated.
“You seem tired, Team Leader Han Raon?”
“…”
At that moment, the driver spoke to Raon first.
Raon suddenly lifted his head belatedly and looked into the rearview mirror.
“Ah, yes. I suppose I am.”
Raon answered with an awkward smile.
But something was a bit odd.
Was the driver originally such a young person?
Raon tilted his head, looking at the driver reflected in the rearview mirror.
