* * *
“Hm. I told Mikhail Esper I’d let it go quietly… Guess I’ve ended up looking like a fool.”
Mumbling to himself, Raon realized he had unintentionally lied to Mikhail.
Seokhyeon shot back with a shrill retort.
“Well, then he shouldn’t have pulled that crap in the first place!”
“Yes, of course.”
Raon didn’t even feel like convincing Seokhyeon anymore, so he just nodded along.
Honestly, he didn’t particularly dislike Seokhyeon getting angry on his behalf.
Raon tried to suppress the smile twitching at the corners of his lips despite the seriousness of the moment.
“Then take this opportunity to wring everything you can out of the Union. And if you can, put Mikhail Esper in his place so he doesn’t try this again.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Got it.”
Seokhyeon’s response was swift, like he’d been waiting for a reason.
Since the Union had made a big show out of dispatching their Espers, this would be a great excuse for the Center to get something out of it too.
Whatever it was, Raon didn’t care.
Diplomacy and politics were for people higher up.
If he got involved, it’d just be a pain.
So he didn’t ask any more questions.
“If anything like this happens again, don’t hide it—tell me everything. And don’t say nonsense like, ‘let’s just move on peacefully.’”
“‘Nonsense’… Fine, fine, I get it. Now stop yelling.”
At this point, Raon couldn’t tell if Seokhyeon was yelling out of concern or just venting stress.
It took several rounds of back-and-forth before Seokhyeon was finally satisfied and let him go.
“And if Mikhail Esper makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to deal with him anymore.”
Seokhyeon even tried to separate Mikhail from Raon entirely.
Raon stared at him blankly.
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
“You don’t have to force yourself.”
“I said it’s really fine.”
Raon waved his hands, flustered. He hadn’t expected to be treated like something so precious.
Of course, as the nation’s only S-Rank Guide, Raon had always received good treatment.
But most of it had been earned through his own force and effort—not like this, where the Center was stepping in like a mother bird shielding her chick.
It made Raon feel oddly uncomfortable, but he tried not to show it.
“This is my responsibility, so I’ll see it through. Besides, Siwoo’s always with me.”
“Good. Make sure to stick together as much as possible.”
“Yes.”
For a moment, Raon wondered if he should mention that Siwoo had almost killed Mikhail.
But unlike Raon, who’d been tormented by the reverse-guiding, Mikhail had walked away unscathed thanks to his gravity-based powers.
He’d only been threatened, not actually hurt or killed.
Besides, he didn’t want Siwoo to get punished or have to lower himself because of that bastard.
So Raon kept his mouth shut and left the Director’s office.
“All done talking?”
“Yeah.”
Siwoo, who had been waiting, came up to him.
Raon naturally looked up at him as he stood by his side.
“Siwoo.”
“Yes?”
Instead of walking down the hallway, Raon led Siwoo to a quiet corner and lowered his voice.
Siwoo, as usual, didn’t flinch at the unexpected shift and answered obediently.
Raon looked at him with a tense gaze and spoke again.
“You can’t kill S-Rank Espers.”
“…”
“A-Rank is… somewhat okay. But not S-Rank. Got it?”
Raon repeated himself several times, firmly emphasizing it like a stern warning.
Siwoo’s brows furrowed.
Globally, but especially domestically, S-Rank espers were extremely rare—and that made them precious.
Cases involving A-Rank espers could be smoothed over with the authority he and another person held, but S-Rank?
Not so easy.
Even for someone like Siwoo, avoiding punishment wouldn’t be simple.
Of course, the military wouldn’t just abandon Siwoo now that his stats had improved.
But instead of sending him to the brig, they might change strategies and work him to the bone in gates instead.
That would be even worse.
Their cohabitation had only just begun—Raon couldn’t stand the idea of the country exploiting Siwoo like a salt farm slave and taking him away.
“No matter how angry you are, don’t pick a fight with Mikhail the Esper.”
“Why are you only saying this to me? That bastard was the one in the wrong.”
“He’ll get scolded by someone else, not me. That’s why.”
“Hmph.”
Siwoo pouted, clearly displeased.
He looked cute, just like always, and Raon bit his lip.
If he wasn’t careful, he might forgive Siwoo too easily, even though the guy showed no sign of remorse.
“Do you not get it? If you mess up, you’ll be spinning through high-grade gates instead of being locked up. You’d leave me all alone at home—how could you do that to me, huh?”
“That’s…”
Siwoo faltered under Raon’s pointed questioning.
It was obvious he’d never thought that far ahead. Raon leaned in even harder.
“Are you going to keep making me anxious like this? Then how am I supposed to take you anywhere with me?”
“…I was wrong.”
“You were, right? You’re not going to do that again, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Only after hearing the answer he wanted did Raon finally look satisfied.
Siwoo, seemingly subdued for now, kept nodding his head.
Raon couldn’t be entirely at ease, but he figured this was good enough.
After all, espers who rampaged recklessly without listening to their guides were a dime a dozen.
Raon raised his hand and instinctively ruffled Siwoo’s hair.
Siwoo even lowered his head slightly to make it easier for Raon to do so.
“Then let’s head back to the training ground.”
“Okay.”
Raon took Siwoo’s hand and began walking ahead.
Unfortunately, even though Siwoo was acting like a tame herbivore in front of Raon, his mind was brewing something far more sinister.
‘I’ll kill him. Without hyung knowing.’
Just like when he pushed the Representative into the water, he figured it’d be fine if no one found out.
Sadly for his enemies, Siwoo had no intention of letting anyone who laid a finger on Raon go unpunished.
“Esper Dasom, how’s the training going?”
“Oh! Team Leader!”
Raon approached Dasom, whose expression lit up noticeably upon his return.
Whatever they’d been talking about, Dasom and Jamie had been laughing together just a moment ago, and the smile still hadn’t left Dasom’s face.
“So, I was saying that I couldn’t really distinguish between guiding energy and healing, and Jay…”
They could’ve only known each other for a few hours at most.
Raon, watching the seemingly too-close Dasom and Jamie, kept a friendly smile on his face but didn’t drop his guard.
In his previous life, he’d played the role of a villain and hadn’t gotten close to either of them, so he didn’t know how their relationship had been back then.
But they definitely seemed far more familiar now.
He knew Jamie wasn’t a bad person, but things had changed since last time. It didn’t hurt to be cautious.
Even while Dasom rambled excitedly, Raon threw a glance at Jamie, who sat there with a calm smile.
“So I said I didn’t understand why this guiding energy was bothering me so much when I don’t even have any high-compatibility espers, and Jay just laughed like it was a joke. Haha.”
“Esper Dasom, I wasn’t laughing at you…”
“Oh, I know! It’s fine, really. When I was just a guide, the esper I had the highest match rate with was only 33%. That’s insane, right?”
“…Esper Dasom.”
Dasom tried to sound upbeat, but it didn’t fully mask the wounds buried deep inside.
Jamie’s green eyes shimmered with sympathy.
“Still, you’re doing better than I was. The highest match I had with a guide in the Union was only 31%.”
“Huh? Really?”
“It’s true. They even said I’d be better off just taking meds than trying to guide.”
“I got told the same thing!”
The two of them burst into shared laughter over this strange bond.
But it really wasn’t something to laugh about.
Raon, now looking serious, turned to Jamie.
“Are you really getting by on meds alone?”
“Oh, no. Thankfully, I managed to scout a high-match guide from another country. The match rate just barely exceeds 50%, though.”
“Well, that’s something at least.”
Raon let out a deep sigh of relief.
Occasionally, there were espers like Dasom or Jamie—uniquely gifted, with resonance patterns so unusual that finding a good match was near impossible.
The higher their rank or the more special their ability, the harder it became.
Given that both Dasom and Jamie were high-ranking and had the rare “healing” ability, it was no wonder.
That’s probably why Dasom, back when he only manifested as a guide, had such trouble finding a matching esper.
Jamie still seemed to be struggling with that now.
Dasom was slightly better off, at least—being a multi-espers, he didn’t necessarily need a guide.
“If I had a high match rate with Jay, I would’ve guided him every day instead of paying for lessons. Hehe.”
“Even just saying that is appreciated.”
Jamie gave Dasom a soft smile, as if he wanted to reach over and pat his head for being so sweet.
“But the contamination buildup is slower with healing than other abilities, so it’s manageable. That’s why I came alone this time, too.”
“If you ever need guiding, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I will!”
Even if the match rate was low, the guiding of an S-Rank guide would still be more effective than others.
Raon had said it generously, just thankful that Jamie was being so kind to Dasom—but then he felt a sharp stare boring into him.
He didn’t even need to look to know who it was.
* * *
