Why did Vasily come here?
For a moment I froze in surprise. When I hesitated in shock, Vasily smiled lightly and said,
“Since you were hurt because of me, I came to apologize and pay you a visit.”
“A visit……?”
The word that came out of his mouth felt deeply unfamiliar. Before the regression, even though I had gone in and out of the hospital for several days after returning from gates, treating it almost like my own home, he had never once come to see me, and now he was saying he came to visit?
I was confused, unable to guess his intentions. However, Vasily did not notice the complicated look on my face and continued speaking.
“I froze the monster just enough not to kill it before sending it to the lab, but I haven’t been doing well lately, so I must have lost control. When I heard you had woken up, I stopped by on my way to apologize again. I even brought a fruit basket.”
He placed the fruit basket he was holding onto the table beside me. Seeing the large, brightly colored fruits inside, I became even more confused.
“How are you feeling?”
“It aches a little, but it’s bearable.”
“That’s a relief. Ordinary people tend to fall seriously ill when they come into contact with monster blood.”
Vasily looked at me, who appeared fine, as though he found it strange. That was understandable. Thanks to my constitution being healthier than most, even before the regression I had been fine after entering gates.
Vasily, who had been staring at me for a moment as though observing me, opened his mouth again.
“Come to think of it, I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Kwon Gidam.”
“I’m sure you already know, but I’m Vasily, an S-class esper.”
“Yes. I know.”
When I answered that I already knew, his eyes curved prettily. I was momentarily at a loss for words. Could Vasily smile like that? I had only ever seen him frown, so his smile felt terribly unfamiliar.
“Usually people react more strongly when they see me, so I wondered if maybe you didn’t know who I was……”
“There’s no way. You’re the most famous person in Korea after the president.”
Surprisingly, the conversation continued smoothly. I had been tense, not knowing what he might say, but it seemed that was unnecessary. Still, I couldn’t relax. He must have realized that guiding didn’t work as he wanted, yet I couldn’t understand why he was still interested in me.
After that, we continued with trivial talk, like how serious my injury was. Since Vasily didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving soon, I decided to ask him something I was curious about.
“Then why did you say that in the interview?”
“Say what?”
“I heard you said it as if I had defeated the monster.”
“Oh, that? Since you were hurt because of me, I mentioned Guide Kwon Gidam as an apology.”
Vasily lied without hesitation. Knowing full well that he had only done it to shift responsibility, I could only be dumbfounded.
“I’m sure I clearly refused at that time.”
“But we caught it together, didn’t we? And since I sent a different monster to the lab instead, there won’t be any problems.”
Vasily looked at me as if he wanted to be praised. Haah…… Instead of answering, I just let out a deep sigh and rubbed my forehead. It would probably be better to stay quiet until people’s interest faded, rather than try to explain.
Once my question ended, Vasily asked one of his own.
“How did you think to fight a monster? All the other guides ran away.”
“I once had a dog when I was young.”
“A dog?”
At my absurd answer, Vasily burst into laughter. Of course, the part about having a dog was a lie. But I couldn’t think of any other excuse.
“That was the strongest monster in that gate. Even if it was just a D-class gate, it wasn’t something an ordinary person could handle.”
So what? I grumbled inwardly as I looked at him. I had even been to A-class gates before, so compared to those, it had felt like nothing. Though in the last S-class gate I entered, I ended up dying because of Vasily’s rampage.
“Do you want to fight monsters? If so, I could take you into a gate.”
What did he just say? I quickly shook my head.
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Hmm…… I see. It’s a pity you’re a guide, Kwon Gidam. If you were an esper, you would have made a great ally.”
Saying that, Vasily stood up. Was he finally leaving? I looked at him, brightening up.
Maybe it was too obvious, because seeing my face, Vasily sat back down again.
Seeing my expression stiffen once more, Vasily raised the corner of his lips.
“I haven’t been feeling well lately. Could you guide me?”
“Me……?”
Right now, I was a C-class guide due to the suppression chip’s side effect. He must have known that guiding wouldn’t help much. Using a guiding machine designed for S-class espers would be much more effective.
Why would he ask me specifically? I didn’t even want to touch him, but refusing an S-class esper’s request as an Association temporary guide wouldn’t look good.
In the end, I couldn’t refuse and nodded. It probably wouldn’t last long anyway, and once he saw for himself that it didn’t work, he’d lose interest and leave me alone.
I lifted my casted arm.
“My arm’s like this, so I can only hold your hand. Is that all right?”
“That’s enough.”
He nodded without hesitation. Unable to shake off my uneasiness, I extended my good right hand and took his.
When I touched his cold skin, a chill spread from my fingertips. A freezing sensation, like clutching a piece of ice, crept along my skin.
Before the regression, when I guided Vasily, his waves had been so cold and sharp that it felt like my whole body would freeze solid. But now, maybe because my match rate had dropped, the cold wasn’t nearly as intense. The chill felt like nothing more than a light breeze, and there was no pain—only a faint brush of cold against my fingers.
Naturally, it didn’t feel like guiding was working properly. It was just a weak stream of cold energy trickling through.
“Is the guiding working?”
“Hmm…… It feels like it, but it’s weaker than the guiding machine.”
“Haha…….”
Vasily laughed, mocking my incompetence. In front of him, all I could do was laugh awkwardly. He was the one who asked me to do it. Still, thank goodness. I’d once again confirmed that the suppression chip was functioning properly.
“But are you really all right?”
“Yes. The monster blood got on me, but they said I’ll recover if I rest for a while.”
“That’s it?”
“……?”
My arm throbbed and my condition wasn’t great, but otherwise I was fine. I checked again and tilted my head.
“Yes…… really fine.”
“You must be very sturdy.”
……Was that a jab?
Vasily smiled meaningfully. What was he up to now? Before I could read his intent, I felt a faint sting at the back of my neck.
A prick—my neck hurt again. When I raised my hand, I could feel the chip had grown hot. It must have been strained from suppressing the link with someone who had such a high match rate. Before I fainted again and aroused suspicion, I should hurry and send Vasily away.
“Come to think of it, I feel a bit tired.”
“Then you should rest.”
When I used tiredness as an excuse, he released my hand and stepped back without protest. He checked the time as if he really meant to leave this time.
Finally, he turned back and said,
“I’ll come again next time.”
“Haha…….”
I barely swallowed the words please don’t come.
Once Vasily left, silence returned to the hospital room. It felt like a storm had passed.
***
Fortunately, Vasily didn’t come looking for me after that day.
I hoped he had lost interest, but judging from the bouquets and fruit baskets he sent, that didn’t seem to be the case. He was probably just too busy to come himself.
A few days later, I was discharged. I had a long scar left on my arm, but the thought of finally being freed from Vasily’s gift bombardment made me so relieved that I didn’t care about it.
My workplace approved a week of sick leave. They gave me an entire week off for being sick this little? As expected, even if the work was hard, being a civil servant under the Association was the best job.
Of course, if you sign an exclusive contract with a high-ranked esper, you can guide less and earn more money, but if you happen to meet a strange esper like Vasily, coming back to the past would all be for nothing. Not that it would be easy to meet another lunatic like him twice.
Just then, a notification popped up from my bank app, and when I checked, a decent amount of insurance payment had come in. A coworker who visited told me I’d also receive a bonus for helping subdue the monster.
At least I wouldn’t have to worry about medicine costs for a while. Smiling contentedly at the suddenly plump bank balance, I stepped out of the house.