* * *
“Uh, I’m not even sure if I’m really your guide yet.”
Zap.
The piercing blue eyes that met his made his headache flare up again.
It wasn’t as bad as it had been in the container, though, so Ben chose to be honest, hoping to stall for time.
Haimar had said it himself—the one who would be affected the most by this relationship was the esper.
Guides, in contrast, could live perfectly fine without an esper.
Even if Ben refused to guide him, Haimar couldn’t exactly force him, could he?
“Do you want to confirm it?”
W-Wait, why is he getting closer—?!
Before Ben could protest, Haimar closed the distance, guiding Ben’s hand to his cheek.
His flawless skin brushed against Ben’s fingertips, his warmth contrasting with his cool exterior.
Then, without warning, Ben’s palm grazed his lips—soft, warm, and impossibly smooth.
Ben twitched at the ticklish sensation of Haimar’s breath against his hand, instinctively trying to pull away.
But his fingers, caught in a firm grip, instead brushed past Haimar’s ear.
There, three heavy rings adorned his earlobe—thick, circular piercings standing out against his otherwise elegant features.
A control device.
High-ranking espers often used them when their abilities became unstable or when they needed emotional regulation.
But seeing three of them stacked together like that?
Ben’s face drained of color.
Haimar must have noticed because he suddenly intertwined his long fingers with Ben’s, lacing them together.
“If I hold you, I think we’ll be able to confirm it for sure.”
Th-This is dangerous.
Haimar murmured the words against their clasped hands, his breath ghosting over Ben’s skin.
Ben wasn’t stupid—he understood the implications.
The angelic face from moments ago had vanished, replaced by something much more predatory.
He licked his lips slowly, sensually, the movement sinfully deliberate.
The distance between them was close enough for a kiss.
Heat surged up Ben’s neck, and without thinking, he reached up with his free hand and gripped Haimar’s collar—intended to hold him back, but given their positions, it probably looked more like he was clinging to him.
“Wait, I—!”
BANG!
“I forgot to mention something earlier~!”
Just as Ben was about to blurt out something—anything—Enten Nebail burst into the room like a savior.
Under normal circumstances, such an intrusion might have been considered rude.
But given the flashing red alarms in Ben’s head, he welcomed the interruption with immense relief.
“Oh dear, I’ve walked in on something, haven’t I? I should really learn better timing—”
“No! Please, go ahead and speak!”
Realizing the awkwardness of the scene, Enten turned to leave, but Ben practically sprang up and grabbed onto him, desperate for escape.
Thankfully, Haimar let go without resistance, and Ben exhaled deeply as he perched on the edge of the bed.
“Ah, well. There’s a basic training session scheduled at ten. But it can be postponed if necessary.”
“I can do it now! I’ll do it!”
An escape route from this embarrassment? Ben wouldn’t miss this chance for the world.
Without hesitation, he leapt at the opportunity, eagerly following Enten out of the room as though fleeing for his life.
Haimar watched him disappear, then flipped his palm over—the warmth of Ben’s touch still lingering.
Serene.
Every time he came into contact with him, the chaotic storm in his head would clear, and the unruly power within him would settle.
In those moments, he even wanted to break every restraint holding him back and release his true self.
It also made him fully understand why espers were so drawn to guides—why they went mad without them.
Honestly, if it weren’t for Enten Nebail’s presence, something might have already happened.
He had believed himself to be more capable than anyone at self-restraint, having lived for decades without a guide.
Yet the moment one appeared, he found himself in this state.
It was as if he were a candle flickering in the wind.
But even as his body welcomed the connection, a cold part of his mind maintained its distance.
Could he trust that man?
Was this guide truly prepared enough for him to entrust his leash so willingly?
The answer was a definite NO.
From the very beginning, Haimar Eilec’s relationships with people were bound to be abnormal.
Winning someone’s heart—or rather, controlling them to do so—was something easily within his abilities.
Since he could read thoughts, he only needed to respond with the perfect answer for allies and eliminate enemies.
A simple, predictable cycle.
And yet, Ben Plaskun had become the greatest anomaly in that cycle.
It all started with something as natural as breathing.
“Hey! Are you even listening?!”
A sharp voice cut through the air above him.
Ben, momentarily lost in thought, jerked his head up to meet the gaze of the speaker.
Just yesterday, Liran Siu had been in a rumpled office look, but today, she was dressed neatly, like a proper instructor, her displeasure evident as she tapped the whiteboard with her hand.
“Ah, sorry.”
Ben awkwardly lowered his head, popping open an energy drink can on the desk.
With no one else in the lecture room, there was no question about who was at fault here.
Yet Liran merely swept back her sharply cut hair without further comment.
Perhaps she felt a little guilty for having thrown him into that container yesterday.
“Alright, let’s continue.”
After blindly following Enton, Ben had ended up here—subjected to Liran Siu’s passionate theoretical lecture.
Of course, he already understood the basics of an esper-guide relationship, so most of the lecture was focused on irregular guides.
But since there was so little information on them, it was less of a lecture and more of a rundown of a few scattered facts.
“For example, it’s a known fact that if an irregular guide or their matched esper dies, there’s no precedent for them ever finding another partner.”
Liran sighed, flipping through her notes.
“Well, this is all common knowledge, so I don’t really need to explain it. But basically, if an esper uses their power without a guide, they’re screwed. You know the concept of equivalent exchange, right? Espers have abilities beyond human limits, but in return, their mental state is fragile as hell. That’s why guiding is essential.”
“But Haimar Eilec… hasn’t he survived for over ten years without a guide?”
“I was waiting for that question. Do you know what my first thought was when I met that monster?”
Liran, who had been skimming the printout she’d handed out, finally looked up.
It was well-known that espers who used their abilities without a guide inevitably suffered physical consequences.
Yet Haimar, despite being a top-tier esper, had lived without one for years.
“How the hell is he not insane?”
Ben’s question was valid.
Espers without a guide struggled with even basic daily life.
Until they found a suitable match, they often relied on temporary guides, sometimes even using F-ranked guides.
When that wasn’t enough, they resorted to suppression devices.
But these were only stopgap measures—not true solutions.
“No matter how mentally strong an esper is, surviving alone for over ten years without going crazy is nearly impossible. And on top of that, that man isn’t just a psychic-type esper. He’s also crossed into the physical realm. Without a guide, he should’ve either lost his mind or died ages ago. Living without guiding is basically hell.”
Liran shuddered at the thought, rubbing her arms as if shaking off a chill.
“Then how has he endured?”
“That’s why he’s a monster. Think of his power as water, and his body as a fragile, leaking jar filled to the brim. Even as it spills over, the jar somehow holds together. From what I understand, he’s using less than a third of his full strength.”
She compared Haimar to a fragile container—seemingly on the verge of breaking yet never quite shattering.
He was, in essence, a ticking time bomb.
“Look at those three suppression devices on his ears. That alone tells you how dangerous he is. They even considered adding another, but it would’ve backfired and sent him into a rampage. That’s why he agreed to lock himself in that container. He was probably right on the edge of breaking. And then, at the last moment, he found a guide.”
Liran turned her gaze to Ben, her expression shifting into something almost pitying.
Feeling oddly uneasy, Ben took another sip of his energy drink.
Liran, suddenly serious, spoke.
“You’re hesitating about becoming his guide, aren’t you?”
“Of course. Until yesterday, I was nothing but an F-ranked guide, a complete failure by all standards.”
“Sorry, but you don’t get to choose. You’re a guide now, and you need to think about what that means.”
Ben understood.
Ever since he woke up in that bed earlier, he knew he had no choice.
But hearing it stated so bluntly made it all the more bitter.
* * *
