* * *
“Did you come here thinking I’d be cooperative?”
“Don’t tell me you’re not coming back?”
“Who knows? Which way do you think it’ll be?”
The man leaning his face lazily against Ben’s shoulder, smiling with a sparkle like scattering sunlight, was as arrogant and mean-spirited as ever—Haimar Eilec.
He buried his nose in Ben’s neck and drew in a deep breath, letting the scent of fresh milk fill his lungs.
After a few seconds, having basked in the warmth and scent to his heart’s content, the well-fed predator murmured lazily:
“Depends on how things go?”
“Do whatever you want, just leave Ben here with me. I’ll play with him.”
“Your nonsense has increased.”
When Haimar pressed a light kiss to the back of Ben’s neck, a wave of energy rippled through him.
Ben wanted to tell him to back off, but the aura was so much cleaner than before that he couldn’t bring himself to push him away.
To make matters worse, his heart started beating faster—ridiculously so.
Trying to calm himself, Ben exhaled slowly, and just as he let his tense shoulders relax, the break room door suddenly burst open.
“Look, Ben! Triplet game~!”
A small figure dashed toward him and clung tightly.
Still seated in Haimar’s lap, Ben lowered his body to better receive the sudden hug.
Pink-blonde hair, now familiar to his eyes, swayed at his waist.
“I’m Penka!”
“I’m Pinka!”
The other twin came running in, dragging someone by the hand.
“…Uh, I, um…”
One identical face.
Two identical faces.
Three identical faces?!
Even though their appearances were the same, the one being dragged in looked clearly troubled.
The drooping brows and hesitant voice sounded familiar from somewhere.
And most tellingly, the atmosphere clinging to the person was something Ben had experienced before.
“Ben, guess who?”
“It’s Penka and Pinka, the twins!”
“D-Do you… r-remember me…?”
The twins’ sheer energy made the third identical face feel like a different person entirely, but the sense of déjà vu only grew stronger.
“Mr. Xenon…?”
“Y-Yes! Hello! It’s b-been a while!”
“It’s been a while. You’ve been working hard.”
As Ben looked at the twins rubbing their faces against his waist, Xenon scratched his head awkwardly.
Now that he thought about it, they had said that Xenon’s guide—paired with him through Integra—would be coming along with the Reablem twins.
Could it be…
“My baby! My esper! You’re so cute when you act spoiled!”
Before the words were even finished, Ellyn tossed the envelope in her hand onto the table and swooped Xenon up.
At the same time, Xenon’s hair color began to change, and his height and build shifted back into the form Ben remembered.
Freckles on the bridge of his nose, a shy, reddish face—unchanged from before.
But the way he handled his powers now showed a newfound ease, no doubt thanks to having a guide.
“Uh… Ms. Ellyn…”
“Yeah, yeah, my baby.”
Ellyn peppered his face with kisses, rubbing against him relentlessly.
It should have been overwhelming, but a faint blush bloomed on Xenon’s cheeks.
Even if he looked shy, the way he clutched Ellyn’s clothes betrayed his excitement.
“Ellyn and Xenon are lovey-dovey!”
“They fell in love~!”
“You two sure are having the time of your lives, huh, twins.”
The moment they heard that, Penka and Pinka whipped their heads around and bolted toward Elgran, who was half-buried in another sofa.
“Hi, Elgran! Xenon can change his face! It’s super fun!”
“Hi, Elgran! Are you gonna play with us?”
“Stay away from me, you brats!”
“Kyahahaha!”
Elgran shrank toward the far edge of the sofa, but the twins were not the sort to give up easily.
Xenon, being soft-hearted, probably found that letting them hang around was the easiest solution.
But Elgran was cut from a different cloth—he had a temper—so a chase began across the sofa from where Ben and Haimar sat.
Meanwhile, Ellyn and Xenon’s affectionate scene continued.
It might have looked one-sided at a glance, but the difference was only in the degree of expression; anyone could see the green light flashing between them.
It wasn’t friendship, loyalty, or business—it was clearly budding love.
They weren’t just an esper and a guide.
“What are you staring at? Jealous?”
“N-No, I’ve never thought that!”
Haimar’s face pressed a little heavier against Ben’s neck.
Startled, Ben raised his voice louder than he intended, then clamped his mouth shut in embarrassment.
Maybe he’d been staring too much.
The fact that he’d rushed to deny a teasing remark made him feel even more self-conscious.
Jealous? Him?
Whether he was or not… well, so what if he was?
At least Haimar was behind him and couldn’t see his expression.
“Anyway, how about getting off me now…”
Trying to mask his lingering fluster, Ben shifted to slide the body on his lap onto the sofa.
But Haimar ran a hand through Ben’s messy hair, mussed from the hood, and tightened the arm around his waist to hold him still.
He was far too pleased with the feel of the warm body in his arms to let go now.
“Looks like you’ve recovered.”
“Yes, y-yes! I’ve been fine for a while now. I even got all the checkups done at [Integra].”
Deciding to change the subject, Haimar suddenly asked after someone who had been quietly minding his own business — something he normally wouldn’t do.
It was a random question, but maybe Ben was curious too, because he stopped rustling around and studied every inch of Xenon’s face.
If it had been an ordinary person, there would’ve been a nasty scar, but thankfully, Xenon’s face was spotless, not a mark in sight.
Ben silently breathed a sigh of relief, impressed yet again by an Esper’s incredible healing ability.
“Right. I heard you were the one who messed up our baby’s face last time, Haimar? Did you apologize?”
With Xenon’s face hugged tightly to her chest, Ellyn adjusted the glasses slipping down her nose and shot the words like arrows.
An apology? As if.
But before Haimar could even think about answering, Xenon was already waving his hands in denial.
“N-no… no, Ms. Ellyn! Thanks to him… I-I’m still alive.”
Of course, he couldn’t quite hide the way his complexion paled the moment his eyes met Haimar’s.
Still, in the end, it was thanks to Haimar that Xenon’s rampage had stopped — an undeniably positive result.
And if it hadn’t been for Ben, Xenon wouldn’t even be here now.
Xenon, with genuine sincerity, was grateful for that.
It was a stroke of luck to have met such a good Guide because of it.
“You damn twins. You really wanna end up as frozen tuna?!”
“Elgran says he’s gonna freeze Penka~.”
“Elgran says he’s gonna freeze Penka~.”
On the other side of the room, the chase had dragged on long enough that frost was starting to gather around Elgran, his irritation reaching a peak.
But Twin No. 1 and Twin No. 2 just pretended to be scared, using the lounge door as a shield without an ounce of real fear.
Peeking their faces out from behind it, they stuck their tongues out, then bolted down the hall.
“Wait right there. I’m gonna freeze your guts one organ at a time.”
Naturally, an enraged Elgran shot up from the couch to chase them down.
Elli, who had been watching them disappear with a blank stare, casually wiped the frost off the table with her hand and muttered, bored:
“Doesn’t matter how long it’s been, they always play out exactly the same.”
“M-maybe… they’re just really close…. A-anyway, uh, shouldn’t we… go see the Director now?”
“Oh, right. The Director’s briefing. I almost forgot.”
When Xenon gathered the slightly damp papers from the table and handed them over, Ellyn — apparently having completely forgotten about the schedule she herself had mentioned upon arriving — clapped her hands in a small, “Ah!” of realization.
Still, even as she picked up the papers, the motion in her fingers screamed ugh, fine.
“We’re not late, are we?”
“Mmm… we’re late. By about ten minutes?”
Even after glancing at the clock, Ellyn didn’t move any faster.
Neither did Haimar.
It was Xenon, now looking uneasy, and Ben, springing up from his seat like a tardy schoolboy, who reacted.
“Being late doesn’t matter.”
“That’s your opinion.”
Ben didn’t know exactly what they’d be talking about in there, but whatever it was, it would definitely be important to him.
Watching Elli’s sluggish pace — and Haimar not even pretending to move — Ben couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed Haimar’s hand, yanking him up.
“Don’t dig in your heels. Get up.”
“…No.”
“…What?”
‘Is he five?’
Ben’s face crumpled as he glared at Haimar.
Maybe he should’ve gone for the collar instead of the hand.
Not that even grabbing him by the collar would actually make him budge, but his fingers twitched at the thought.
Luckily, before Ben could figure out how to sweet-talk or wrangle the man into cooperating, Haimar — apparently only joking — got up without further fuss.
To Ben, who had been seriously considering whether to lure him with flattery or a snack like a child, it was a relief.
Haimar let out a quiet laugh at Ben’s slightly irritated expression, then headed for the door first.
Ellyn finally stopped lazing around and followed, and Ben, though tempted to throw in a lecture, had no choice but to trail after them.
After all, he could scold them on the way — getting to the Director’s office came first.
* * *
