* * *
“Anyway, congratulations. You picked the quietest city possible, though it’s unfortunate that you ran into a rogue Esper. But meeting a Guide there? That’s practically a blessing.”
When Haimar had first been sent away, it was Hoapilen who had stepped up to help him.
The outcome had been different from what she’d expected, but at least he had found a Guide.
Thanks to that, even the Main Central had softened its stance toward Eternita Central—though not by much.
Still, with her ever-pleasant smile, Hoapilen pulled something out of her clutch.
“Oh ho, this is from Main Central. Wouldn’t it be better for you to have it?”
What she placed on the glass table was a small, unmarked black box—something one might use to store a ring.
Then, she sat down primly across from him.
“For someone offering congratulations, that’s quite the gift.”
“Don’t take it the wrong way. I love Eternita, and I don’t want to see a monster rampaging through it.”
It was a small, insignificant-looking box, but inside lay the pinnacle of Main Central’s scientific technology.
An identical device to the one already attached to Haimar’s ear—his fourth suppressor.
Even though he had found a Guide, Main Central had still sent this.
A clear sign of just how little trust they had in him.
His Guide was an irregular case, a deviation from the norm among F-rank Guides.
Whether Haimar would be able to receive proper guidance—or whether he would explode before that even happened—was still an open question.
Regardless, the fact that he was now beyond their direct control must have left them feeling uneasy.
“…I’ll accept the sentiment.”
Haimar smiled sweetly as he spoke, his expression unreadable.
To an outsider, it might have looked like he was speaking to a beloved partner, but Hoapilen caught the low growl laced beneath his words.
If he wanted, he could easily silence her right here and now, simply by shifting the atmosphere. But she wasn’t one to retreat easily.
Hoapilen knew how to turn any situation to her advantage.
“Having a safety net is always good,” she said smoothly.
Across the glass table, littered with scattered documents, her smile stiffened slightly.
“But dragging others into your own fight… isn’t that a bit much?”
No matter how many times she spoke with him, she could never get used to his way of talking.
It was one of the more difficult things about dealing with him.
His words always cut straight to the raw, naked truth, making her deeply uncomfortable.
Even when she wanted to sidestep a topic, he always tore through any attempt at evasion.
“You mean her.” Haimar’s tone was light. “How is that my fight? Don’t act like this doesn’t concern you.”
“It doesn’t,” he said smoothly. “Wasn’t the cause on your side to begin with?”
His voice, usually polite and measured, could turn ice-cold in an instant, sending a chill through the air.
“I see… so tracking her down is proving difficult?” Hoapilen mused.
“Seems like she’s been poking around, but nothing’s come of it yet. And now, a golden opportunity has arrived.”
She knew that debating with him was meaningless.
The more she thought, the more she spoke, the more he would read her like an open book.
So, she stopped thinking.
“…Enough.”
With an unfailingly gentle face, his voice, colder and lower than anyone else’s, was directed at her.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t see through your pathetic attempt at testing the waters?”
Distant.
Instead of answering, Hoaphilen bit down on her lower lip, feeling as if sharp thorns were tightening around her throat.
She couldn’t see them, but she was acutely aware that if she made one wrong move, those thorns could become real and pierce through her neck.
But she wasn’t so young and foolish as to tuck her tail and run.
Hoaphilen Legius had lived long enough and lost enough.
That was the biggest difference between her and the man standing before her—who had never once lost anything from his grasp.
“You went along with it willingly, so why make a fuss now? There’s no need to take offense. Even if things had gone wrong, I was sure you wouldn’t lose control.”
“As if. You must have decided I was worth the risk, even if the situation turned unpredictable. Why not just use one of [Integra]’s hunters instead?”
“…I’m not at that point yet.”
No matter how she looked at it, this was an argument she had no chance of winning.
Hoaphilen hoped he wouldn’t pry further into her thoughts.
Even with her eyes closed for a moment, she could feel those icy blue eyes clinging to her, chasing her.
But she forced the sensation away and continued, shutting down her thoughts as much as possible.
“Is that really what matters right now? What’s important is what happens next. What do you plan to do?”
Her voice was soft, and the sudden change of subject flowed as naturally as water.
Hoaphilen was skilled at steering conversations, and it seemed Haimar had no intention of redirecting it back, as he let go of his earlier hostility and answered with a subdued growl.
“Central Capital is busy as it is. If you need assistance, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“It’s both an honor and a disgrace that someone of Main Central’s esteemed ranks is offering help to Eternita.”
The documents scattered across the glass table hadn’t been there before she left her seat.
Normally, her secretary would be responsible for handling them, but Haimar had already acquired the miscellaneous paperwork of Eternita Central from the secretary and seemed to have thoroughly reviewed them.
It wasn’t exactly a pleasant realization, so Hoaphilen didn’t bother hiding her thoughts.
Having her mind read was irritating, but when faced with such a blatant intrusion, there was a certain relief in not having to choose her words carefully.
[Sorry, but I have no need for a monster who can’t even function as a person.]
It was her thought, so what did it matter if it was a bit rude?
If anything, he was the one at fault for reading her mind in the first place.
Of course, there was also a petty bit of lingering resentment from earlier mixed in, but Hoaphilen simply smiled benevolently, letting out her signature laugh.
If he had a rebuttal, let him try.
Even if her phrasing was off, the sentiment itself wasn’t wrong.
Just because he wasn’t as dangerously unstable as before didn’t change the fact that an unproperly guided esper, one practically a nuclear bomb in human form, was not something anyone would willingly accept.
“What a shame. I happen to be quite good at this.”
Despite Hoaphilen’s sharp thoughts, a smile curved Haimar’s lips.
Then, a single sheet of paper rose from the disorganized stack of documents and floated down gently before her.
Her gaze followed it naturally.
The document contained an outline of an operation involving the 6th Division.
“It’s best if you pretend you never saw this. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
The brief moment she had regained her composure became meaningless as Hoaphilen forced herself to keep her expression neutral.
She had to suppress the urge to furrow her brow.
The 6th Division was the heart of Central Capital’s esper and guide operations, an elite unit composed of only the most exceptional talents—a point of pride for Central.
The only drawback was that they were too elite.
Since they had to cover the entire Eternita region with a small, specialized force, they were constantly understaffed, often borrowing personnel from other divisions when needed.
The document she received was more or less what she had expected.
The 6th Division had requested support from the 7th and 8th Divisions, but both requests were denied.
As a result, the 6th Division would proceed with the operation using a handful of police personnel, with a note from the director requesting additional reinforcements if possible.
However, based on the information provided, it had been deemed a low-risk mission, and the request had already been reviewed and rejected.
And now this man was offering himself as additional support?
“Use me. Everyone’s dying for the chance, aren’t they? This is a rare opportunity.”
He really had no idea.
Just moments ago, he was glaring at her for using him as a test, and now here he was, smiling like an angel while whispering like a devil.
Regardless of the truth, Haimar was a legend among espers and guides who had never met him personally.
Accepting his offer was the same as handing over one’s head on a silver platter, begging someone—anyone—to come and beat them down.
In short, this wasn’t about support.
He just wanted an excuse to take his frustration out on her.
“Is that really necessary? Just the sentiment alone is enough for us.”
“Don’t try to worm your way out of this.”
His expression exuded pure devotion to Central, as if he were offering himself completely to its cause, but the energy radiating from his eyes and body was anything but.
The discrepancy only made the unnatural aura surrounding him stand out more, leaving Hoaphilen even more unsettled.
[What a terrible hobby you have.]
She didn’t even need to voice her rejection.
Her thoughts would reach him soon enough.
But that serene, knowing expression, as if he wasn’t aware of anything at all, twisted even Hoaphilen’s normally generous temperament into knots.
“I truly appreciate the offer, but this is routine. It’s just a matter of protocol. Our Central Capital is far from weak.”
As the director of Eternita Central, she knew how to allocate her nation’s resources wisely.
That meant she needed to find a way to change his mind.
Bzzzz—
Just then, the silence in the room was broken by the vibration of Hoaphilen’s phone.
* * *
