“Then, see you next time.”
After dropping me off in front of my place, Vasily drove away. Stumbling inside, I groaned and threw myself onto the bed.
“Ugh…….”
Sinking into the soft blanket, I finally felt like I might live. Being dragged around by Vasily all day brought on a fatigue no different from having gone into a Gate.
I caught my breath for a moment and picked up my smartphone. The instant I opened the internet, I saw a headline on the main page: Vasily was leaving on an overseas business trip.
So that’s why he said he wouldn’t be able to come for a while.
I drifted briefly into old memories. I’d gone on that trip too. The moment I recalled my first overseas dispatch, my body shuddered. We stayed for, what, about a month……? It was the beginning of a horrific, hellish tragedy.
I really was right to use the suppression chip. If I didn’t have it, I’d be flying overseas with Vasily right about now.
The fact that I wouldn’t be seeing Vasily for a while was the best news I’d heard in ages. The thought that I could go to work in peace starting tomorrow lifted a bit of the weight off my shoulders.
***
A little over a week had passed since Vasily left on his overseas trip.
I’d been doing great. Just knowing I wouldn’t have to see Vasily’s face for a while brightened my expression so much that people who ran into me kept asking if something good had happened.
They were right—there hadn’t been a day without a smile on my face.
If he spent a whole month away, someone like me—a C-class guide—would naturally be forgotten. Thinking I’d finally gotten free of him, I felt light.
On top of that, a Gate had opened in the suburbs, and this time it was my turn to be dispatched. Vasily was overseas, so there’d be no unlucky run-in like last time. This would practically be a vacation!
With that in mind, I headed to the Gate, but……
“Long time no see. Didn’t you miss me?”
Why was Vasily here?
Seeing him greet me so casually, I couldn’t control my expression for a second. I quietly checked the date.
It had only been a little over a week since he left. I distinctly remembered the first overseas trip being about a month—was my memory wrong?
“Have you already finished the overseas trip?”
“You looked that up too? Our guide sure has a lot of interest in me.”
“How many times have we even met for you to speak so familiarly already?”
“I thought we’d gotten pretty close. Were we not?”
His glib answer washed me with fatigue. Pressing my brow tight, I forced myself to steady my heart.
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out why Vasily was here. I’d even checked the Esper participant list to make sure his name wasn’t on it to prevent a repeat of last time’s mess.
While I was trying to sort out the tangle in my head, Vasily came closer and asked,
“You’re here to do temporary guiding, right?”
“……Yes.”
The corners of Vasily’s mouth curled up. A bad feeling crawled over me.
“I’ll be participating in this Gate raid too, so I’ll be one of the guiding targets. I can ask you for guiding, right?”
As expected, that bad feeling wasn’t wrong. I let out a long sigh and resigned myself. I’d thought I could finally rest. I guess there was no fate of idling around written in my stars.
“Aren’t you about to head in soon?”
“I am, but I’m not feeling very well.”
“You look perfectly fine.”
“There are things you can’t tell just by looking. If I go in like this, I might slip up because I can’t control my ability—like last time……”
Feigning pitifulness, Vasily lowered his eyes slightly. I had no choice but to nod. Judging by his attitude, whether on purpose or by “mistake,” if anything really happened, it would instantly become my fault.
A mere C-class guide can’t defy what an S-class Esper says. All I could do was pray he’d hurry up and go into the Gate.
When we entered the temporary waiting tent together, the lounging guides’ gazes converged on us. Feeling awkward, I darted my eyes around and led Vasily to a corner of the tent.
“Then, let’s do the guiding……”
Sitting face-to-face to begin, I took in his clear, refreshed face—he looked in fantastic shape. Healthier than me, who was ground down by fatigue and work. A sour feeling rose in my chest for a moment.
It was obvious the “not feeling well” line was a lie. Frowning, I asked,
“Are you sure you’re not feeling well?”
“I’m not. It’s been a long time since I had guiding.”
“If you need guiding that badly, hurry up and get yourself a guide.”
“I’d like to, but it’s not easy to find one.”
At least on this point, Vasily and I were in full agreement. I truly wished he’d get a guide as soon as possible. Only then could I remove the suppression chip embedded in the back of my neck.
The chip in my neck was still nothing but uncomfortable. And the mysterious pills I had to take daily on top of that. All of it felt nasty and distracting. With a deep sigh inward, I began the guiding.
The moment I touched him, a chill seeped into me. On top of that, cold wind slipped through the seams of the tent, making me shiver. As I endured the cold and continued, Vasily suddenly asked,
“What are you doing after the Gate raid?”
“I’m going home.”
“Want to have dinner with me?”
“No.”
“Cold.”
I turned my head without a word, avoiding his gaze.
He acted as if nothing was wrong on the surface, but it was still uncomfortable to talk to him. Before regression, we’d hardly spoken at all. Our relationship had been terrible from the start.
Now, unlike back then, we talked a lot more…… but unlike Vasily, who had no memory of the past, I still carried six years’ worth of memories. The worst time of my life—every minute, every second, hell.
Maybe heaven heard my prayer, because about fifteen minutes into guiding, a call signal sounded from outside the tent. Relieved that I wouldn’t have to force a conversation any longer, I stopped and moved to push him away. But Vasily didn’t budge.
“Esper Vasily, aren’t you going?”
“Thinking about it, I don’t think I’m really necessary for this Gate.”
“……That can’t be true.”
“If a mere D-class Gate falls apart just because I’m not there, that’s the bigger problem, isn’t it?”
He wasn’t wrong, but……
Vasily’s name hadn’t been on the list to begin with. He must’ve come because he knew I’d be here, using S-class privileges. So like he said, the raid wouldn’t have any issues without him. He seemed fully aware of that.
But……
If you don’t go into the Gate, I’m the one with a problem!
A Gate raid would take at least half a day. If I had to stay with Vasily that whole time, my illegal suppression chip would be pushed to the brink of blowing. I hadn’t even brought my pills today. If I kept guiding for over an hour, I might pass out like last time.
“If you’re not participating in the Gate raid, I have no obligation to guide you.”
“Mm…….”
“When the raid’s over, I’ll guide you afterward, so hurry up and go.”
I quickly pushed him along. Vasily stared at me for a good while with a face full of complaint, then reluctantly stood up.
“Such a hassle……”
“Go quickly.”
With one more shove, he left the tent, clearly unwilling. Only after Vasily disappeared did I finally manage to breathe.
Ha……. I already felt wrung out. All that from just a short guiding session, and I’d have to deal with him again after the raid.
I’d thought he’d forget me after coming back from the overseas raid, but he returned before he even had the chance. Turns out, even with regression, my stubborn, entangled fate with Vasily wasn’t so easy to cut.
I gulped down water to shake off the piled-up tension. With him inside the Gate, I figured I might finally catch a break. I wiped the water from my lips with the back of my hand and turned around—only to meet the sparkling, curious stares of the temporary guides.
……So much for resting easy.
***
Because of the escaped monster incident, I’d gotten “famous,” and on top of that, people had misunderstood me as Vasily’s guide.
After Vasily left, the other guides swarmed me and fired off questions, so I couldn’t rest at all. I barely got through all the clarifications and things quieted down—only to hear the Gate raid was already finished.
Which meant Vasily would be out soon.
“Haa……”
With a haggard face, I let out a deep sigh.