* * *
Before he knew it, Ben was holding the car keys and heading for the stairs to the parking lot.
And it finally dawned on him — this guy wasn’t the type to take “no” for an answer.
Sure, if Ben really fought back, maybe he could win.
But who really says no to skipping out on work when it’s technically allowed?
So, yeah. He gave up.
Whatever.
It wasn’t his idea anyway — he’d just blame the guy who dragged him out.
Resigned and ready to go along with it, Ben had just let go of all resistance when—
“Where are you going?”
“GAH! Haima?! You scared me!”
Right when he thought he could sneak out in peace… the final boss appeared.
Of course.
‘How are you gonna get out of this one, genius?’
Just like they say “a good face completes the outfit” — Haimar stood there in a casual beige cashmere sweater, wearing it like it was high-end designer couture.
At his appearance, Ben instinctively glanced at Elgran, hoping for help.
But the guy looked completely unfazed, as if this whole thing had nothing to do with him.
“Ah… well, that is…”
“I told him we should go. Just needed some fresh air.”
Ben opened his mouth first, but Elgran cut in smoothly.
He was telling the truth, so Ben didn’t bother correcting him.
And then Haimar’s voice cut through the air:
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Tch.”
With a scoff, Haimar shut Elgran up cold, then stepped closer and reached for Ben’s cheek — brushing over the still-healing wound.
Ben instinctively turned his gaze away from the intense eye contact.
“…Yeah, we’re just going out for a bit of air.”
“See? Told you I wasn’t lying.”
Since Ben’s bad cold, something subtle had shifted between him and Haimar.
Outwardly, not much seemed different — but for Ben, something just felt different.
What was it, exactly?
It was hard to explain. Just that every time their eyes met, that moment came rushing back to him.
It was… awkward. Not unbearable, but definitely not easy to ignore.
Sure, waking up next to the guy, stuck to him like glue in his sleep, was still plenty embarrassing — but at least that had become sort of routine now.
Still.
Still!
Every time he let his guard down, memories from Hermannsen came flooding back.
And that was hard to shake.
“Is that so?”
It was a simple, normal-sounding question.
But the cool edge to Haimar’s tone made Ben wonder if he was imagining things… or if Haimar really was displeased.
Logically, Haimar probably didn’t care that much — but Ben was the only one flustered here, which just made it worse.
Awkwardly, he nodded in agreement with Elgran’s statement.
At that, the hand on his face moved up to his soft, coffee-brown hair — gently grabbing a handful.
…Why the hair?
It didn’t hurt, but Ben went rigid, locking eyes with Haimar again.
The look in Haimar’s eyes was unreadable, calm but probing, like he was trying to gauge something beneath the surface.
His aquamarine gaze didn’t let Ben go.
He didn’t seem like he was literally reading Ben’s thoughts, but Ben felt like a guilty man under interrogation.
He started to panic — if he didn’t do something, Haimar might realize he was avoiding him.
So Ben gently reached up and pushed Haimar’s hand off his hair.
“I-I’ll go grab something delicious, okay?”
The excuse sounded weak, even to him.
But surprisingly, Haimar let go without resistance.
The man’s face was so handsome it was almost unreal — even without any expression, he looked like he belonged in a museum.
But that lack of expression was the strange part.
Usually, he wore at least a hint of polite detachment.
Now… he looked like a lifeless doll.
Cold and unreadable.
Ben’s eyes darted nervously.
A second ago, Haimar was reading him — now, Ben was the one trying to read him.
Say something. Say something!
“If anything comes up, let me know.”
Just as Ben’s internal panic peaked, Haimar spoke.
The low voice was calm, almost casual.
He was clearly referring to the fact that they now had each other’s numbers saved in their new phones.
Without waiting for a reply, Haimar turned and walked off like he had somewhere else to be.
Watching him leave, Elgran couldn’t hide his shock.
“…I just got chills.”
Even after they reached the parking garage and got in the car, Elgran kept rubbing his arms, trying to shake off the goosebumps.
“What did you do? The guy looked ready to kill, but instead of telling you to drop dead, he says ‘let me know if anything happens’? If the Leablem twins heard that, they’d faint.”
“…So it really wasn’t just me. That didn’t feel normal at all.”
“Normal?! Haimar’s the type who can murder someone without blinking. And when he gets really pissed? He’ll destroy everything. You’re lucky to still have your head attached.”
Ben didn’t know the full story, but he could tell he was at least partially responsible for Haimar’s sour mood.
“…One more word out of me and I might’ve gotten decked again.”
Haimar might be known for being cold, but judging by Elgran’s reaction, this kind of behavior wasn’t typical.
If Ben had asked, Elgran would probably say this was downright impossible behavior from Haimar.
With a guilty conscience, Ben silently pressed on the gas.
“Where to?”
“There’s that busy downtown area, right? Let’s head there.”
“There’ll be a lot of people. Is that okay?”
“It’s fine. Just noise. It’s not like I’m made of glass or anything.”
As Elgran said, they drove about thirty minutes from Central and arrived at the bustling downtown district.
After finding parking amid the growing crowd, they made their way to a café with outdoor parasols.
Once they were seated with two coffees, Elgran leaned back in his chair with a deep, satisfied sigh.
“…Not having to look at Central anymore is a damn blessing. God, I hate that place. Everyone’s so uptight it’s suffocating.”
Resting his arms on a rickety-looking metal chair, Elgran let out a disgruntled grumble.
Ben took a sip of his coffee as he listened.
The rich aroma of premium beans teased his nose, fragrant and warm, but all Ben could taste was bitterness.
After a few sips, he set the cup back down.
“Doesn’t sound like you had a pleasant conversation.”
“Nothing worth hiding, really. I’m sure even the Deputy Director figured it out. The main reason I came here is to check out the famous guide of Haimar—that is, to see you. And yeah, I’m also looking for that woman. But she’s so slippery… honestly, it’s not a big deal if I don’t find her.”
The story Elgran had once been so tight-lipped about now came pouring out like a dam breaking.
If Enton had been here, he would’ve been pounding the ground in frustration, but Elgran didn’t care and just kept talking.
“That woman?”
“Yeah. Name’s Loilnia. Super annoying. She’s been making noise in all kinds of ways for a while now. Real pain to track down.”
If even an agency like Integra had trouble locating one person, then Loilnia must be incredibly capable.
As doubt flickered across Ben’s face, Elgran seemed to have expected it and added,
“To get rated S as an Esper, yeah, strength matters. But there’s also uniqueness. That’s actually a separate criterion. You could call it an exception—if a power is extremely rare, it gets an S-rating even if it’s not combat-heavy. I heard she has a one-of-a-kind ability—like, globally unique.”
Apparently, Integra had plenty of standards Ben hadn’t known about.
That tidbit piqued his interest, and he leaned in, listening more closely.
“The Reablem twins are kind of like that too. Dream Espers. They love messing around in other people’s dreams.”
“Never heard of that kind of ability before. Fascinating.”
He’d never even heard of anyone being able to interfere with another’s dreams.
Espers’ powers were usually clearly categorized as mental or physical.
Now he was starting to understand what Elgran meant by “rare.”
“There’s a newbie who just joined. Got an S-rating based on one of those rare traits. What was his ability again…? Shapeshifting, I think? Haven’t seen it myself though.”
Ben nodded slightly, listening in silence.
Nothing they were talking about was technically confidential, but since Integra was packed with secrets, just hearing all this made him feel like he was uncovering something classified.
As Ben blew gently on his hot coffee to cool it, Elgran tapped a finger on his mug, instantly sending a chill through the liquid.
In contrast, Elgran gulped down the still-steaming coffee like it didn’t even register and muttered nonchalantly,
“Ugh, I wanna have sex.”
* * *
What a line to end the chapter on