* * *
Looking around in slight confusion, Ben saw that aside from Liran Siu and Enten Nebail, the rest of the Sixth Division’s espers and guides, now recovered, and the officers handling the situation, all had question marks written across their faces.
…Ah. Right.
They were all staring at him and Haimar, dumbfounded.
Considering how Haimar had practically toyed with the battlefield, it must have been shocking to see someone suddenly appear and interact with him so familiarly.
And worse, Ben had been talking nonstop, without any regard for his surroundings.
Now, as he put it all together—Haimar’s behavior, his own words—embarrassment hit him like a tidal wave.
Up until now, Haimar’s guide had been shrouded in mystery, an almost mythical figure.
Only a select few even knew of their existence.
But now, the infamous “monster” himself had shown up in public, and what’s more, a potential guide had appeared beside him.
No wonder they were shocked.
Under the weight of all the sudden attention, Ben’s face began heating up.
He fidgeted, trying to pull his hand free.
“Why?”
Noticing the movement, Haimar glanced down at him.
Ben dropped his gaze, unable to admit that he was trying to escape his grip.
Instead, he looked away as if nothing had happened.
Haimar let it go, but that only seemed to confirm something for the onlookers.
The espers and guides began to buzz with excitement.
Their faces, previously serious, now lit up with curiosity and exhilaration.
“It’s… an honor. Truly. I’ve always wanted to meet you! That battle just now was incredible!”
“It’s an honor!”
A man, likely a guide, and a woman, probably an esper, both practically sparkled with admiration.
Ben, standing right next to Haimar, felt secondhand embarrassment just from watching them.
But Haimar himself?
He wasn’t bothered at all.
Instead, he simply glanced at them with a lazy look before flashing a smooth, almost dazzling smile.
“Oh my…”
The woman blushed instantly.
Ben couldn’t blame her. The guy’s face was practically a cheat code.
“Then, the person beside you…?”
The guide’s gaze naturally shifted to Ben.
“…Uh, I’m…”
Ben hesitated.
Haimar alone was enough of a spectacle—he didn’t want to become another talking point.
If he got involved in this mess, it would only bring unnecessary trouble.
And besides, Haimar was the last person who would tolerate that kind of annoyance.
“Alright! Let’s wrap it up here!”
It was Enten Nebail who took the initiative to loudly break the tense atmosphere.
As the vice director of Eternita declared the situation over, the mood quickly shifted.
The police, who had briefly assessed the scene, seemed to lose interest and promptly got into their cars, preparing to withdraw.
They weren’t particularly involved with Central, so a little glossing over would be enough to let the matter slide.
Enten was sharp—he had likely already mapped out how things would unfold in his head.
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Ben quickly pulled his hand away from Haimar’s grip the instant it loosened.
He could feel an irritated gaze drilling into the top of his head, but he stood firm.
“My hands are dirty.”
“Oh, really?”
The way Haimar responded, it sounded like he was saying, ‘So what?’
It wasn’t just Ben’s imagination.
To be fair, his hands weren’t exactly clean after rolling around in the muck.
But if he stayed like this any longer, the attention that Enten had just dispersed would return to him.
Still, why did Haimar look slightly displeased when he let go?
He’d grabbed Ben’s hands plenty of times before without issue.
Ignoring the tension, Ben stiffly turned away and walked toward where Enten and Liran stood.
The members of the Sixth Division, whom Enten had reluctantly called over, were also gathered there.
Even Zereno Ocel, who had arrived late to the chaos, was among them.
Ben had assumed he’d be the only one looking like a mess, but seeing the others, he realized that wasn’t quite the case.
Zereno, for one, looked like an absolute wreck, covered in sweat and grime.
Liran and the two from the Sixth Division, who had been caught between fire and snow, also looked somewhat disheveled.
Ironically, the only ones who appeared relatively neat were Enten—who always looked a bit scruffy—and Haimar, the one responsible for this whole ordeal.
“Well, y’all worked hard. You two from the Sixth Division, stick around for a bit.”
While Enten took the Sixth Division members aside for a separate discussion, Zereno launched into an epic retelling of how he had ended up there, gesturing animatedly as he spoke to Liran.
When Ben approached and stood beside him, Zereno’s voice grew even louder as he reached the climax of his tale.
“And then I fired the spray gun—BAM! And the bastards went down!
Luckily, that Esper wasn’t too strong, or I might’ve been a goner!”
Honestly, it wasn’t that impressive a feat to be boasting about.
Liran already looked like she regretted asking, but Zereno showed no signs of stopping.
“And speaking of which—Ben Plaskun! You’re one hell of a guy!!”
“…Huh? Wait—!”
‘Why am I suddenly part of this?!’
After rambling non-stop, Zereno, overwhelmed by his emotions, suddenly grabbed Ben and pulled him into a tight hug.
Ben tried to pry him off, but Zereno only pounded him on the back with enthusiasm.
Realizing there was no escape, Ben resigned himself to waiting until Zereno calmed down.
“You were amazing too, but let’s be honest—without my secret weapon, we’d all be in trouble. Am I wrong?!”
Instead of answering, Ben locked eyes with Liran across from him.
They exchanged equally exhausted expressions.
‘Seriously, why would you ask him how he got here?’
Ben silently chastised her with his gaze, and Liran, looking guilty, averted her eyes.
“…Anyway, why the hell did you rush all the way to Zone 8? It was even more chaotic here than back there.”
“Uh… Well, I had something urgent to take care of.”
Ben glanced at Liran as he tried to think of a vague excuse for Zereno.
But before he could come up with anything, Liran, who had just been making eye contact with him, suddenly shifted her gaze behind him and furrowed her brows.
‘What’s she looking at like that?’
“Could you, I don’t know, let go while we’re talking—”
“Yeah. I’d appreciate it if you let go.”
Just as Ben was about to push Zereno off, a firm grip encircled his waist, pulling him effortlessly backward.
A cool scent enveloped him, making him jump in surprise.
‘W-Wait, why is he doing this?!’
His waist was tightly held, and when he turned his head, Haimar’s face was right there—close enough that their lips nearly touched.
The sensation of being wrapped up in his solid embrace wasn’t comforting—it was enough to make Ben’s face burn.
He tapped on Haimar’s arms, signaling for him to let go, but the man didn’t budge.
He even smacked the back of Haimar’s hand a couple of times, but there was still no reaction.
Left with no choice, Ben glared at the handsome face resting against his shoulder.
But Haimar simply curved his deep blue eyes into a smile.
Zereno and Liran, who were witnessing this unfold, had very different reactions.
Zereno looked less surprised and more… entranced.
His gaze darted between Haimar’s face and Ben’s, as if trying to process what he was seeing.
“You got something to say?”
A low voice hummed directly into Ben’s ear.
Then, Haimar’s lips brushed against the skin behind it.
A soft smooch.
‘OH MY GOD!!’
Ben’s entire face, from his ears down, flushed a deep red.
He trembled, unable to scream, and buried his head as Haimar chuckled under his breath.
His usual pale complexion was nowhere to be seen—it had been replaced by an unmistakable shade of embarrassment.
With how flustered he was, he really did resemble a small, trembling rabbit.
If Ben ever found out someone compared him to a rabbit, he’d probably lose his mind.
“…N-No… Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Ben kept his head down, completely oblivious to how Haimar looked from Zereno’s perspective.
The man practically radiated an overwhelming, predatory allure—so much so that Zereno momentarily forgot how to think.
Then—
A sharp, teasing nip at his earlobe.
Ben shuddered involuntarily.
‘W-Wait, is this revenge for pulling my hand away earlier?!’
‘No way. He wouldn’t be that petty, would he? No, no—!’
Just as Ben tried to rationalize it, Haimar’s lips ghosted over his nape.
Ben stiffened, recoiling instinctively—only to lean further into Haimar’s chest instead.
His body betrayed him before his mind could react.
It wasn’t often that someone touched him in these places.
And having it done in such a slow, deliberate manner made him hypersensitive to every movement.
When a warm tongue briefly flicked over his earlobe, Ben nearly wanted to cry.
Shaking, he finally lifted his gaze—only to see Liran’s face frozen in absolute horror.
Unlike Zereno, who was utterly dazed, Liran’s mouth twitched, caught between sheer disbelief and secondhand embarrassment.
* * *
