“What’s wrong?”
“Ah.”
At Raon’s question, Nahee barely managed to turn her head.
Nahee bit her lip, looking at Raon with trembling eyes.
“It’s nothing. You just look like someone I know.”
“Is that so?”
And Nahee couldn’t look back at Siwoo.
Raon was momentarily perplexed.
Who did Siwoo resemble for Nahee to react like that?
Nahee had worked as a Guide for quite some time after awakening her ability.
After losing her ability and retiring from the Center, she must have lived quietly to avoid public attention due to her contract with Han Myunghoon.
So, if she mistook Siwoo for someone, the person was more likely to be a fellow Guide or an Esper rather than a civilian.
However, he couldn’t be certain yet.
Raon continued speaking with an awkward smile.
“This is the Esper I’m paired with, Yoon Siwoo.”
“Siwoo? Yoon Siwoo?”
“Yes.”
“Is your last name really Yoon?”
“Pardon?”
Nahee questioned him again as if she couldn’t believe it for some reason.
Raon became even more confused.
“Yes, it is… Why?”
“Oh, ah. It’s nothing…”
“…?”
Nahee shook her head, looking utterly distraught.
Raon unconsciously glanced at Siwoo.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Siwoo didn’t seem bothered by Nahee’s strange reaction.
“Hello, my name is Yoon Siwoo.”
“…Yes, nice to meet you.”
When Siwoo bowed in greeting, Nahee nodded reluctantly.
It clearly felt like she was avoiding Siwoo.
Raon was frustrated, wondering why she was acting this way, but he wasn’t in a position to push Nahee.
The real Han Raon might have pressed her for answers, but Raon was still cautious about dealing with Nahee.
“Siwoo is an S-class Esper.”
“What’s his ability?”
“Pardon?”
“What is his ability?”
Nahee asked as if she were interrogating him.
Raon was again perplexed, but managed to answer.
“Water ability…”
“Water…”
Nahee quietly repeated the word and then asked in a low voice.
“Then he can also control ice.”
“Yes.”
“I see, so that’s it.”
“…?”
Nahee muttered vaguely, as if she had expected it.
Raon had no idea why Nahee was reacting this way.
“I apologize for being rude on our first meeting. You just resemble someone I knew too much. It startled me.”
“Not at all. I am fine.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Nahee still looked startled, but she was calmer than before.
Raon watched the two of them, then spoke to Siwoo.
“Siwoo, I’m sorry, but I’m thirsty, could you get me something to drink?”
“Yes.”
Siwoo readily agreed and left the room.
Raon watched his retreating figure with a look mixed with guilt.
He had no choice but to send him out of the room because Nahee was so startled, but he felt terribly sorry for Siwoo, who complied obediently without seeming upset, even though he knew the reason.
Raon sighed, then turned his head back.
And cautiously asked Nahee.
“May I ask who Siwoo resembles?”
“Well…”
Nahee let out a long sigh, as if trying to calm her trembling heart.
Then she spoke again.
“That child resembles the Esper I had a spiritual mark with.”
“What?”
The Esper who had a spiritual mark with Yoon Nahee.
However, the name didn’t immediately come to mind.
He was an Esper whose condition had deteriorated so badly that Nahee gave up, and the military eventually discharged him, not just granted him a leave of absence.
But that was too long ago, and naturally, it wasn’t detailed in the novel.
Nahee disliked talking about the Esper she had a spiritual mark with, so even with the real Han Raon’s memories, he couldn’t deduce who it was.
“Who is that? Does he resemble him that much?”
“But you said their last names are different…”
“Siwoo is an orphan.”
“…!”
“His parents were caught in a Gate and died when he was very young, and he said he didn’t even remember his name or last name. So his real name might not be Yoon.”
“That can’t be.”
Nahee’s eyes widened in surprise. Raon stared blankly at her turmoil.
The relationship with her marked Esper must have been a long time ago.
They loved each other enough to get a spiritual mark, but he heard the mark broke after the Esper was completely ruined in a Gate.
Considering the timing, it was unlikely that Siwoo was their child, but this might be an opportunity to find out who his biological parents were.
It seemed more than just a resemblance, judging by Nahee’s reaction, and the two’s abilities seemed to overlap.
Just as the children of excellent Guides have a high chance of awakening as high-grade Guides, the same was true for Espers.
That’s why the current class structure was like a hereditary system.
A person who inherited the ability of a high-grade Esper had a great chance of being equally, or even more, outstanding.
So, if he tracked down the marked Esper of Nahee, he might be able to find Siwoo’s blood relatives, who had been overlooked as an orphan until now.
“His name was Hyun Yooha. He was an Esper with an ice ability.”
“Hyun Yooha?”
The name sounded familiar for some reason.
Raon pondered for a moment after hearing the name, then suddenly lifted his head.
“The younger brother of Hyun Yooseong, who was called the hero of the first-generation Espers?”
“Yes.”
At the time, Hyun Yooseong was an S-class Esper.
And his younger brother, Hyun Yooha, although not as famous, was a high-grade A-class Esper.
The reason he became semi-crippled was due to the Gate called the ‘Tomb of Despair,’ where all the first-generation S-class Espers died.
Raon knew Nahee had also entered that place.
Nahee’s words continued.
“There were quite a few people mobilized for the Tomb of Despair, but the S-class Espers were the ones who defeated the final monster. We were merely backup because our skills couldn’t match theirs.”
Was it because she was reminiscing about things from a long time ago?
Nahee’s dark blue eyes looked distant.
“Then, as if he sensed something, he tried to go to where the S-class Espers were. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“And then?”
Raon listened to her words nervously.
He felt that something important was about to be revealed.
“I couldn’t follow him because I was guiding other Espers in the melee. Then, I belatedly chased after him with other Espers. The final monster was dead, but… all the other S-class Espers were also dead. Except for one person.”
“Commander-in-Chief Park Joonghoo?”
“Yes. He’s the Commander-in-Chief now, I see.”
This was a well-known event.
The worst Gate, called the Tomb of the first-generation S-class Espers.
Only Commander-in-Chief Park Joonghoo survived there, but what exactly happened was not widely known.
‘Now that I think about it, Seo Dojin’s words made the Commander-in-Chief seem suspicious.’
The Commander-in-Chief who eliminated anyone who got in his way.
And despite Siwoo’s exceptional abilities, it felt like all the high-ranking military officials avoided him.
Raon felt there might be a key to solving the puzzle in Nahee’s words.
“Was there anything strange there?”
“I was so shocked, too, that I don’t remember well. Just…”
“Just?”
“I remember Yooha, who was barely alive at the time, was angry at Park Joonghoo.”
“…!”
Hyun Yooha, Hyun Yooseong’s younger brother, was angry at Park Joonghoo?
What could have happened there to make him angry?
Raon swallowed hard and asked again.
“Did you ever hear what happened in the Gate from him later?”
“…No. His condition worsened so much after that, I couldn’t exchange a single proper word with him.”
“I see.”
Nahee frowned, as if she didn’t want to recall the events of that time.
Since it must be a very painful memory for her, Raon did not press further and just nodded.
“I tried to treat him until the end… but I felt so much guilt over having you that I couldn’t meet him anymore. Our spiritual mark also broke.”
“So you don’t know what happened to him afterward.”
“Yes.”
In any case, hearing Nahee’s words made Commander-in-Chief Park Joonghoo even more suspicious.
What if he truly killed Hyun Yooseong, who would have been an obstacle to his path, and also killed the other first-generation S-class Espers?
And what if Hyun Yooha, Hyun Yooseong’s brother, witnessed it, got angry, and denounced him?
Furthermore, Hyun Yooha, who seemed to have retained consciousness at the end of the Gate suppression, saw his symptoms worsen afterward.
While it sometimes happens that Espers injured in a Gate don’t recover and their condition worsens, the timing was too suspicious.
‘I should probably investigate that angle further.’
It might be an opportunity to both find Siwoo’s biological parents and bring down the Commander-in-Chief who was threatening them.
Raon clenched his fist in determination.
Click.
“Are you done talking?”
“Ah.”
After Nahee, who had been agitated, finally calmed down and fell asleep, Raon quietly left the room.
Siwoo, who was waiting outside, approached him.
“I’m sorry, Siwoo. Mother was so surprised, she was rude to you. I apologize on her behalf.”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”
Siwoo still maintained an indifferent expression.
Raon hesitated for a moment, then asked him.
“But was there anyone in the military who had a similar reaction to Mother? Someone who said you resembled someone a lot, or…”
“Ah.”
At that, Siwoo’s eyes flickered momentarily.
That slight hesitation made Raon certain.
