* * *
“I’ve never done this before. And it’s not just anyone—we’re talking about him.”
“He’s not just ‘amazing’—he’s a damn monster. But unlike me, who’s terrified of him, you have the ability to stand above him. Take it as a good thing.”
Easy for her to say.
Telling him to stand above the strongest esper in existence—how was that supposed to be reassuring?
Ben sighed, glancing at Liran, but she remained unfazed, delivering her opinion with sharp precision.
“Just so we’re clear, an esper-guide relationship isn’t just about a machine-generated compatibility score. Trust and emotional connection play a huge role too. Even if a guide is deemed suitable on paper, that doesn’t automatically make them partners. So don’t go thinking, ‘I’ll just help him out a few times and be done with it.’ That’s not how this works. You need to figure out what you’re actually going to do.”
In short—stop overthinking and deal with the problem in front of him.
‘Oh, sure. No big deal. I’ll just do it.’
If only it were that easy.
But according to Liran, even this hesitation was pointless.
Ben Plaskun was a guide now.
And a guide had no choice but to guide.
Still, he couldn’t accept it so easily. His entire world had changed overnight, and he wasn’t the kind of person who could just adapt in an instant.
Yet, in contrast to yesterday, he felt a small sense of gratitude toward Liran.
Maybe this whole “lecture” wasn’t just about passing on information—it was her way of trying to convince him.
“You seem… surprisingly supportive of me.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m only saying this because my Guide told me to. It’s not like I’m trying to convince you. But since I’m an Esper, I can at least understand a little of what it must feel like to have only one Guide.”
Ben had thrown out a lighthearted comment to ease the atmosphere, but Liran responded in her usual blunt manner.
Yet, the way she said “my Guide” carried a surprising amount of affection, making it clear just how much influence her Guide had over her as an Esper.
“I imagine your Guide must be a good person, Liran.”
“Why bring up my Guide all of a sudden?”
“Why, Liri? It’s a compliment! Are you getting shy~?”
Liran crumpled the paper in her hand out of habit, but before she could respond, a petite woman suddenly popped out from behind a rankroom desk.
She was wearing a white lab coat covered in various character patches, her slightly green-tinged hair tied up in a ponytail.
With a bright smile, she grabbed Ben’s hand without hesitation.
“Hello! I’m Moria Iren, the lead researcher of the Eternita Central division and the Guide of Liran Siu the Esper. You can call me Dr. Momo!”
Like a butterfly flitting through a flower field, she approached with an airy lightness, her high-pitched voice overflowing with chatter.
It seemed Liran had anticipated her arrival, as she quickly strode over and pried Moria’s hands away from Ben.
“Momo, I told you to stay hidden and quiet.”
“But how could I when you’re having such an interesting conversation~!”
“I was just about to leave anyway.”
It was a rare sight to see Liran Siu controlling her temper and speaking calmly.
Now that he thought about it, even yesterday, after a phone call with this woman called Momo, Liran had seemed noticeably more at ease.
Was this what a good Guide and Esper relationship looked like…?
“How did you two meet? Childhood friends?”
“Why do you care?”
Ben had asked absentmindedly, and while Liran looked annoyed, Moria’s eyes lit up as if she had been waiting for the question.
“Yes! We met in kindergarten, and I’m an A-rank Guide.”
“A-rank… That’s quite high.”
Unlike Espers, Guides weren’t classified with plus and minus subgrades.
S-rank Guides were as rare as S-rank Espers, so an A-rank Guide was more than qualified to be paired with an S-rank Esper.
“Liri is C+, but that’s only because she lacks abilities. Realistically, she’s closer to a B. And since we’ve known each other since childhood, there hasn’t been any issue. Besides, I don’t like any Esper other than Liri, and I don’t think I’d pass compatibility evaluations with anyone else.”
Moria rattled off a detailed explanation about her own ranking, despite no one asking, before suddenly letting out an embarrassed squeal.
Liran, clearly used to this, ignored it and began steering Moria toward the exit.
However, Moria still had more to say, grabbing onto Liran’s sleeve and chattering away.
“Don’t you have any questions? Ask me anything, and I’ll answer with all my heart~!”
“Not really… Oh, actually. What happens to me now?”
“As for you, Ben~! I’d love to give you a straight answer, but Haimar Eilec is one of the highest authorities in Main Central, so Eternita can’t make any decisions regarding your case~. Most likely, it’ll be up to his will!”
…Huh?
So that guy’s some kind of god now? Everything just magically goes his way?
“Strictly speaking, Ben, you’re now Haimar Eilec’s Guide, right? We’ll do our best to accommodate you, but… What do you want to do?”
“I just want to keep working like I have been.”
A Guide is a Guide, and work is work.
He couldn’t just abandon the job he had been relying on to survive.
“Uh… In Hermannsen? That might be a bit difficult….”
“Oh, for crying out loud, just be direct, Momo. Let that monster handle it himself.”
“Liran! You can’t say it like that! You’re just going to confuse Ben even more. Ben, you probably already know this, but Central only facilitates matches. They don’t interfere too much in the relationships between Espers and Guides. Forcing people together never works, right? That said… Your situation is a bit unique….”
Moria visibly hesitated, choosing her words carefully.
But Ben didn’t need an explanation to understand that his fate now rested in that man’s hands.
It wasn’t like he had much control over anything anyway, and yet they expected him to stand above someone like that?
What a joke.
“Enough of this! Let’s go. We’re heading out to eat, so you figure it out on your own!”
“I’m not finished talking yet, Liran!”
“I’ll buy you raspberry mousse cake, so hurry up.”
“Oh my, really~?”
Any trace of seriousness vanished in an instant.
The moment raspberry mousse cake was mentioned, Moria’s soul seemed to leave her body, and she vanished in a whirlwind, following Liran out.
As soon as her cheerful presence disappeared, the empty rankroom felt eerily quiet.
Left alone, Ben found himself sinking into his thoughts.
Ah, what a mess.
As his mind filled with all the looming problems, he absentmindedly played with his drink can.
But the quiet ticking of the clock allowed his thoughts to settle, and the confusion from earlier began to fade.
If he didn’t take action, nothing would change.
He had steeled his resolve, but until he met that man again, nothing would move forward.
And that meant he had to meet him.
“…Haah.”
He couldn’t stop the sigh from escaping.
No wonder. Just remembering the way that man had practically devoured him like a beast on that bed—oozing sensuality, eyes filled with predatory hunger—was beyond humiliating.
Damn it, why did I have to end up as some irregular Guide…?
One thing was clear: if he just sat back and let things happen, he’d lose control completely.
If he let himself be swept away, he’d be left moving to someone else’s tune before he even realized it.
If a relationship had to be formed, it should be on his terms—not dictated by someone else.
That was the whole reason he had made up his mind.
Ben slowly cleaned up his desk and tossed the empty can into the trash.
He needed to eat first and clear his head before anything else.
As he turned off the lights and opened the door—
“What have you been doing all this time?”
“……What?”
So much for clearing his head.
What the hell? Why is he here?
Ben hadn’t expected the very source of his troubles to be leaning against the hallway wall, exuding an effortless, model-like presence.
His lips curled into a smirk, as if he knew exactly what was going on inside Ben’s head.
Ben couldn’t exactly admit that he’d been agonizing over him so much it was practically driving him insane.
So, scrambling for any form of distraction, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Do… Do you want to grab a meal?”
He hadn’t expected the man to actually agree.
“Not a bad idea.”
* * *
