* * *
Beep beep beep– beep beep beep– beep–.
Before the blaring alarm of the old smartphone could fully ring, a man’s hand silenced it.
As he shifted, the worn-out sofa serving as his bed let out a creaking groan.
He tossed off the thin blanket and pushed himself up, though his mind still lagged behind.
His heavy eyelids remained closed as he instinctively gripped his phone, head drooping.
His hazelnut-colored hair, soft and slightly tousled, swayed gently, revealing and then concealing his downturned, gentle eyes.
The loose black t-shirt he wore contrasted sharply with his pale neck and slender arms, making him appear thinner than he actually was.
However, the toned muscles beneath his lean frame—built through occasional workouts—gave him a restrained, almost ascetic presence rather than frailty.
Having spent the night curled up on a narrow sofa that was too small for his slightly above-average height, his body ached in various places.
Eventually, Ben chose to stand and stretch.
Crack— crack—.
His joints made unpleasant sounds, but he had no choice but to open his eyes in search of the water bottle on the small table beside the sofa.
His light-colored eyes lingered briefly on the nearly empty bottle before his hand naturally reached for the mini fridge.
He pulled out a full plastic bottle of water.
Ben Plaskun was not good with mornings.
It wasn’t that he overslept all the time, but shaking off drowsiness in the morning was always a challenge for him.
Last night’s overtime shift had only given him barely three hours of sleep.
He scrubbed his face roughly to fight off the drowsiness, then staggered toward the bottle, twisting off the cap and taking a drink.
The cool water rushed down his throat, soothing his chest, and at last, he felt a little more awake.
Riiing— riiing—.
His smartphone screen lit up with an incoming call.
The caller was his boss.
Ben glanced at the clock.
He still had at least two or three hours before he had to leave for work, making the early call unexpected.
With a puzzled expression, he answered.
“…Yes, this is Ben Plaskun.”
Ahem.
His voice cracked more than he had expected, forcing him to clear his throat before continuing.
His boss, as if waiting for the call to be picked up, quickly got to the point.
—Ah! Ben, it’s me! Sorry to bother you, but can you come in a bit early? You know, the shipment from Central yesterday? The guys from Central are already here to move it to our storage facility on the outskirts. Unbelievable, right? They gave us so much trouble yesterday, and now they act like nothing happened!
Ah, Central.
As his sluggish brain processed the words, the memories of last night’s overtime came flooding back.
Central referred to the national institution that managed Espers and Guides.
Each country was required to have its own branch under the Main Central, a global organization.
As a Guide himself, Ben technically worked under this institution.
However, his city and the capital’s Central had very little connection.
This was understandable, given that Hermannsen, the city where he lived, was a small town about an hour away from the capital.
It was an aging city with a high elderly population and no major industries to speak of.
Still, as a city, it required a branch office under Central’s jurisdiction, and that was where Ben worked—just another small cog in the system.
Then, out of nowhere, a few days ago, the capital’s Central had sent them a trailer truck, insisting they store it temporarily.
More specifically, the truck carried a massive, black metal container, covered in layers of locks.
There was no way to open it.
When they asked what it contained, Central had remained silent.
After struggling through the bureaucratic procedures, they had finally managed to move the container into the branch’s front yard last night.
And now, first thing in the morning, Central wanted to relocate it to a designated storage facility.
“…Understood. I’ll head in right away.”
Ben didn’t bother questioning it.
It wasn’t his place to pry into the higher-ups’ business.
As a low-ranking employee, his job was simply to follow orders.
∗ ∗ ∗
Technically, Ben was a civil servant.
However, in emergency situations related to Central, he was also considered combat personnel.
Unlike regular Guides, F-Guides were merely registered with Central rather than being directly managed.
They lived relatively normal lives, but from a legal standpoint, they were still part of the reserve forces.
These days, international conflicts were rare, and domestic Esper-related incidents were entirely handled by Central.
As a result, the term “combat personnel” had become little more than a formality.
However, Ben had still undergone formal military training and had even participated in real field missions a few times.
It wasn’t as if the government had high expectations for F-Guides, who made up barely one percent of the entire Guide population.
But for someone like Ben—who had little to differentiate him from an ordinary civilian—being an F-Guide came with a few minor perks.
Discounts for public servants, dormitory benefits, small conveniences like that.
“Hello. I’m Liran Siu, head of the Capital Central’s Second Division under Eternita.”
When Ben arrived at the front yard of the small but well-kept branch office after a twenty-minute walk, his boss and a woman from Central were already waiting for him.
The woman stood in front of the massive trailer truck.
Dressed in a neat office outfit, her sleek black bob just touching her shoulders, and her sharp, slightly slanted eyes giving her an intense look, she observed Ben with an unreadable expression before greeting him.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Ben.”
“I’ve heard about you. Ben Plaskun, right? I’ll drop the formalities.”
“That’s fine with me.”
Ben wasn’t familiar with Central’s internal hierarchy, but from Liran Siu’s attitude and her title alone, he could tell she was on a completely different level from a small-town administrator like him.
Besides, his boss, standing beside her, was visibly nervous and awkwardly smiling—a clear indication of the power dynamics at play.
“I’ve already explained everything to your boss. You and I are going to drive that truck to the storage facility on the outskirts. That’s it. Simple, right?”
“Yes… that does seem straightforward.”
The few sheets of paper fluttering in Liran’s hand were probably the detailed documentation of her curt explanation.
Ben glanced at her face.
She looked bored, as if she wanted to get this task over with as quickly as possible.
“I’ll drive. You can come along as the supervisor, if necessary.”
“Of course. Ben Plaskun will accompany you.”
‘Ah, so that’s why they called me in.’
Watching his boss hurriedly push the responsibility onto him before making a swift retreat, Ben finally understood why he had been summoned so early.
Not that it mattered.
Liran, unfazed by her knee-length office skirt, climbed into the high driver’s seat of the trailer truck without hesitation.
Ben quickly followed, settling into the passenger seat.
As Liran started the engine, Ben glanced at the container through the side mirror.
A massive, pitch-black container.
Not just a mere storage box, but something deliberately and securely sealed, as if to protect something invaluable inside—or to keep something dangerous from getting out.
* * *
