“It’s okay. I’m just glad the kids didn’t get badly hurt. Still, just in case, I think it’d be best if you took them to the hospital once.”
“Thank you. You should say thank you too.”
“Th-thank you…….”
A student who still hadn’t fully calmed down, tears clinging to the corners of their eyes, offered Rion a shaky expression of gratitude.
This reminds me of that kid I took to the hospital back when I was a rookie. Ah, but that kid… no matter how much I think about it, they feel familiar, but I can’t remember their face clearly.
As he watched the scene, Rion recalled once again the middle schooler he’d met during his rookie days—someone he’d thought about not long ago. The child now being fussed over by their parents looked to be around middle school age as well, or maybe a first-year high schooler.
Back when he was new, that kid had been someone who popped into his mind whenever he steeled his resolve. Now that he’d consciously thought of them again, the memory kept resurfacing.
Ah, I really can’t remember. I don’t know what grade they were in… but they were probably somewhere between a second-year high schooler and twenty years old.
Maybe it was because he had nothing to do that his thoughts kept drifting there. The kid had been diligent enough to enter a school where the Gate hadn’t even been fully cleared yet just to retrieve their books, so Rion figured they were probably still the type of student who only knew how to study.
“Now that I’ve started thinking about it, I’m even curious what they’re doing these days.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
One of the Espers who had come along as backup—but ended up with nothing to do thanks to Rion’s performance—hovered nearby and struck up a conversation. Rion snapped out of his muttering and collected himself.
“I’m glad things wrapped up smoothly. You used your ability pretty heavily—are you okay?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief. I heard your Guide went into a Gate.”
With Yu-won inside a Gate, and even Jin-ha—the one with a decent matching rate—having departed for a Gate early that morning, there hadn’t been anyone for several days who could provide Rion with meaningful guiding.
He’d assumed it would be fine since there wasn’t much need to exert himself heavily outside of Gates, but of course something had to happen at precisely this timing that required a large output of power. From an outside perspective, it was only natural to worry.
“It’s really okay. I’ve been receiving guiding consistently, so my condition isn’t as bad as it used to be.”
To reassure them, Rion shrugged. He was exaggerating a little, but his condition genuinely wasn’t bad.
He felt a bit more tired than before using his ability, but it was nothing more than mild fatigue—not enough to affect his overall condition. Consistent guiding really did seem to help.
Having a matched Guide really is great. Of course, I can’t last as long without guiding like I used to… but even when I use the same amount of power, the level of exhaustion is way lower.
Now that he knew what optimal condition felt like, he couldn’t go back to barely scraping by on meaningless guiding like before. Instead, it felt as though his very capacity to store power had increased.
If the fatigue he used to feel after drawing out this much power had been a ten, now it felt more like a one.
He’d known how important guiding was even during the days when he’d been constantly worn down before Yu-won appeared—but now, he truly felt like he could never return to how things were before.
“Well… that’s probably why I’ve been this bothered by it.”
And that realization also served as a perfectly reasonable explanation for his recent, inexplicable behavior. Nodding to himself, Rion finished tidying up the situation in a slightly better mood.
***
Two more days passed just like that. Time had flown by when he’d been inside the Gate, but now that he was waiting outside for those who’d gone in, it felt as though time was crawling.
His guiding still wasn’t critically lacking, but he found himself wishing Yu-won would come back soon. To the point that if someone joked he looked like a man who’d sent his lover into a Gate, it would be awkward to even get angry about it.
“They should be coming out around now.”
It was the fifth day. Considering that most Gates were typically cleared and exited around the fifth day on average, it was about time. Of course, since it was an A-rank Gate, it could take a bit longer—but with one S-rank and one A-rank going in together, it shouldn’t have been an especially difficult clear.
Ding—.
“Ah, what the hell. It’s just spam.”
Even though he knew better, he’d forgotten that he’d set different notification sounds for Center alerts and personal messages. Every time his phone made a sound, he’d immediately check it—only to be disappointed, over and over again.
There were plenty of excuses for that, too. First of all, it felt awkward being left alone in a house that wasn’t truly his yet, one he was only just starting to get used to.
And if more Gates started opening in the near future, Rion would have to enter them as well—and in that case, being without Yu-won might be a little tough. Inside a Gate, he’d have to exert himself all day long. Without Yu-won—and without Jin-ha, who’d entered the Gate even later—there was no way he’d be able to work at the same pace as he was now.
But honestly, more than all those reasonable excuses, the simple truth was that he just wanted Yu-won to come back quickly. Even he didn’t fully understand it himself, but the feeling was too clear to deny.
He didn’t know why, and he didn’t particularly want to think about why—but at the very least, the desire for Yu-won to return quickly was something he had no choice but to acknowledge.
So for now, he just wanted to see his face. At the very least, if he could see him, he probably wouldn’t feel this stifled and restless.
With those thoughts, Rion waited for Yu-won to come out. But once again, the sound that rang from his phone wasn’t the news he’d been hoping for.
[Center Director: I have something to talk about. Come up for a bit.] 4:12 PM
“What the hell. You’re the one who said not to come by because you were busy.”
This time, it was a message from the Center Director. Grumbling, Rion still obediently turned on his heel and headed for the Center Director’s office.
You said you’d be busy for a while—so why are you calling me in all of a sudden? Wait… don’t tell me there are signs of a new Gate opening?
That was the most likely possibility. It had already been a week since three Gates had opened in succession. It wouldn’t be strange for another one to appear soon.
Yu-won would be back as early as today, or at the latest within two days. If a new Gate opened then, Rion would be able to enter it as well.
If it’s a B-rank Gate, they could handle it without me… but if he’s calling me in, it’s probably another A-rank.
Come to think of it, he’d been so focused on waiting for Yu-won to return that he’d completely forgotten about how much he’d been looking forward to entering a Gate again.
How long has it been since I spent time without thinking about work? Seriously… maybe people are right—I really have lost my edge.
Startled by his own thoughts, Rion came to a halt. Standing dazed just outside the Center Director’s office, he eventually snapped out of it and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Huh? The atmosphere’s kind of…
The moment he stepped inside, he could tell something was off about the Center Director’s condition. Rion, who’d opened the door with confidence, hesitated and then sat down carefully.
“Why did you call me in? You said not to come by for a while because you were busy.”
“Haah.”
“Did something serious happen?”
“It did. It really did. Honestly… I never thought I’d have to say something like this.”
Uncharacteristically, the Center Director trailed off, leaving a brief silence. He looked like he genuinely didn’t want to talk about it.
Something bad had happened. Instinctively realizing this, Rion’s playful expression vanished, and he straightened in his seat.
“What is it?”
It was rare to see the Center Director look this serious. Part of it was just his personality, but more than that, he believed that if he showed anxiety, the entire Center would be shaken—so he almost never wore an expression like this unless it was something truly severe.
When was the last time I saw him look like this? Probably the day we heard there were signs of an S-rank Gate opening…
“Don’t tell me.”
Before Rion even consciously realized it, the words slipped from his lips. Shaking his head, he spoke, trying to reject the ominous premonition that flashed through his mind.
“That can’t be… there’s no way.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but whatever scenario you’ve imagined… I don’t think it’s possible for it to be worse than the situation we’re in now.”
The Center Director spoke with a complicated expression. Something serious enough that he had to personally call Rion in. No matter what Rion imagined, it couldn’t be worse than this.
“No… that can’t be right. It hasn’t even been two months yet.”
Rion spoke as he desperately denied the hypothesis forming in his mind. But instead of refuting him, the Center Director only let out a deep sigh.
“Gates… they don’t appear on a fixed cycle, but still—can things really go this badly, all piled up in a single year?”
Neither of them said aloud what they were thinking, but even from the short exchange, they both understood they were talking about the same thing.
“Signs of an S-rank Gate opening have started to appear again. This time, in Busan.”
At last, the Center Director put into words the very thing Rion had been thinking—what he’d desperately hoped was just his imagination. It was a catastrophe so massive and so close that it made all of his previous worries feel like a luxury.
