90
The former Guild Master’s house was located closest to the small mountain within the center’s grounds. The detached house surrounded by nature had high ceilings and exuded a tranquil atmosphere.
Woof! Woof!
In the spacious yard, two large dogs and some puppies were playing. Clothes were neatly folded under a large pine tree, suggesting that a beastkin might be among them.
The dogs, who had been happily rolling on the ground, became alert when they saw a visitor opening the gate. However, recognizing a familiar face, they soon returned to their play.
“Oh my, Happy has grown a lot.”
Nam Dongkwon, the secretary of the Baekya Guild, chuckled as he saw a puppy charging at one of the large dogs. He visited the former Guild Master’s residence frequently and knew all the dogs’ names.
Dongkwon briefly observed the peaceful scene in the yard before entering the house. Though he didn’t ring the bell or knock, the front door opened on its own. He thought a caretaker might have opened it, but that wasn’t the case.
“Mister, move! I’m busy!”
A young child who had opened the front door wide pushed past the secretary and ran out. The child was as mischievous-looking as he was loud and playful.
“Roar!”
The boy, wearing clothes with a bright yellow chick character, joined the group of dogs and made a tiger’s roar. The boy with sparkling orange eyes was a tiger beastkin.
“I’ll be it! Run away quickly! Roar!”
The child shouted at the top of his lungs and ran around energetically. Even the young puppies weren’t afraid of the tiger beastkin boy and attacked him, biting at the hem of his pants. They all seemed to be close friends.
“Secretary, shall we go up now?”
Just then, a gentle voice was heard behind Dongkwon. Quickly turning around, Dongkwon bowed slightly to the man standing at the top of the high stairs.
“You must be tired from your long journey.”
“Not at all. I arrived quickly.”
The man exuding a benevolent aura was the former Guild Master’s dedicated secretary. Though he was quite short in stature, he had the image of a perfect gentleman. Being a beastkin himself, his eyes shone with a bright amber color.
“They’re still in conversation.”
“I see. I’ll wait out here.”
Dongkwon stood next to the man guarding the room door. Inside, the former Guild Master and Taebeom were talking. Dongkwon had come at Taebeom’s summons.
“The weather seems to be getting cooler now.”
The secretary said with a calm smile, gazing at the sunlight coming through the large window. Dongkwon smiled in response and nodded in agreement.
“I hope it cools down soon.”
They made small talk typical of late summer while listening to the sounds from the yard. For the sake of the children playing energetically, they hoped the weather would cool down quickly. Geonho, who had a high body temperature, tended to become particularly depressed in summer. Most beastkin were sensitive to temperature and weather.
“I disagree.”
Dongkwon, who had been listening to the boy’s loud laughter from the yard, looked at the secretary. Just as he was thinking the secretary might like summer, the man muttered with a soft chuckle.
“I hope all the seasons this year pass slowly. Summer, autumn, and winter too.”
It was a statement that made one ponder its deeper meaning. Dongkwon tilted his head and questioned the meaning with his expression. However, all he received in return was a calm smile.
“Is Esper Kang Geonho doing well?”
Dongkwon, who had been puzzled, first nodded and answered.
“Yes, Esper Ha Seojun is also adapting well.”
“That’s good. Both of them will do even better in the future.”
The warm sunlight coming through the window made the secretary’s eyes shine even brighter. The man, who didn’t even reach Dongkwon’s shoulder in height, was a small animal beastkin. Everyone could only guess, but the specific animal hadn’t been revealed.
“I heard he met a good dedicated guide.”
At the congratulatory remark, Dongkwon couldn’t hide his proud smile. Although there hadn’t been an official announcement yet, it had been reported to the higher-ups.
Taebeom had personally informed the former Guild Master in particular. He was the only one who had supported young Taebeom when he was forming the Baekya Guild.
Without his active support, the Baekya Guild might not have been created. It was also thanks to him that Taebeom and Geonho were together.
Woof! Wooof!
Sharp barking sounds came from the yard. It seemed like a fight had broken out among the children.
Dongkwon excused himself to the secretary and briefly went out to the yard. The moment he opened the front door, the boy’s loud shout pierced his ears.
“So what! You guys started it first!”
The panting boy and the group of dogs were facing off. There was a faint bite mark on the boy’s arm, his eyes red-rimmed. Fortunately, there was no bleeding.
“Why are you fighting? You should play nicely together.”
Woof! Wooof! Waaah!
The youngest puppy took the lead in approaching Dongkwon and barking. It seemed to have a lot of grievances.
Dongkwon picked up the puppy that was barking its throat hoarse and approached the boy to ask about the situation. The puppy growled at the boy, baring its teeth.
“Mister, go away!”
“It’s not mister, it’s Secretary hyung. Come on, try saying it. Secretary hyung-nim.”
The boy, more enraged by Dongkwon’s light response, clenched his fists. With a face full of anger, he even took a stance as if about to charge at Dongkwon. The puppy in Dongkwon’s arms shrank slightly at the fierce energy.
“Ah, Leader.”
Just as the boy was about to charge at Dongkwon, the sound of the front door opening was heard. Everyone in the yard turned their attention to the entrance.
Gulp, the sound of the boy swallowing dryly echoed loudly from his small throat. The moment he saw Taebeom coming out of the mansion, the boy straightened his posture and lowered his head deeply. The dogs that had been barking fiercely did the same.
Everyone became well-behaved as if on cue. Only the real dogs, not the beastkin, wagged their tails and panted towards Taebeom.
* * *
Dongkwon maintained silence while coming to the office with Taebeom. Sensing that Taebeom’s energy was even more subdued than usual, he tactfully refrained from speaking.
After arriving at the office, he quickly conveyed the business at hand. He intended to finish the report and leave immediately. When Taebeom was in poor condition, he always preferred to be alone. He didn’t even receive guiding and always spent time alone in his office.
“We’ll know more after rehabilitation therapy, but it seems unlikely he’ll be able to return to field work.”
While reporting on the Hwayeon Guild Master’s condition, he handed over a tablet with a file displayed.
“These two seem suitable as candidates for the next Guild Master. What do you think?”
Taebeom only checked the names of the individuals in the tablet screen before averting his gaze. His desk was piled high with documents to be processed today, as usual.
“Don’t you like either of them?”
“That barrier user from that time.”
“Ah, that person.”
The secretary briefly searched through the files on the tablet. While doing so, he glanced at Taebeom from the corner of his eye. He was curious about what conversation with the former Guild Master had led to this poor condition. But he knew well that even if he asked, he wouldn’t get an answer.
“His A-class barrier accident performance is excellent, but he’s the youngest in the Hwayeon Guild.”
He was the man who had guarded the Hwayeon Guild Master’s hospital room. The secretary hadn’t received any special impression from him. However, Taebeom had chosen him as the next Hwayeon Guild Master.
They exchanged a few more words about the Hwayeon Guild. It was decided that the Baekya Guild would take charge of Guild Master Hyun Seungcheol’s assigned gates for now.
“Then I’ll relay this information as is for now.”
The secretary, who was about to check Taebeom’s complexion one last time, paused.
“Leader?”
He called out to Taebeom with a stunned expression and then suddenly let out a heavy sigh.
“Your nose is bleeding. Not there, to the left.”
The secretary’s expression turned serious as he watched Taebeom feeling his philtrum.
“Stay still. I’ll wipe it for you.”
“Get rid of it.”
Taebeom pushed away the secretary who was rushing towards him with tissues and wiped under his nose himself. Fortunately, the bleeding stopped quickly. It was just a small drop on his philtrum.
“You can go now.”
The secretary pretended to back away but didn’t take his eyes off Taebeom. What could he have been so deep in thought about that he didn’t even notice his nosebleed? It was especially worrying because he wasn’t the type of person to be that oblivious.
Taebeom had been very sensitive since visiting the Hwayeon Guild Master. He had always seemed like someone standing on broken glass, but recently his condition had been particularly poor.
The reason was obvious. It was because he couldn’t find the cause of the seizure incident.
Even after using his mental abilities to read the Hwayeon Guild Master’s thoughts, he hadn’t gleaned any information. There had been no contact with any unfamiliar individuals or consumption of drugs that could have caused a seizure.
Esper Hyun Seungcheol had been living his usual daily life. He had even received guiding almost every day.
“It’s just my thought, but…”
The secretary cautiously opened his mouth, anticipating the response he would get.
“Could it be that the seizure occurred without any reason?”
As expected, Taebeom’s cold gaze flew towards him.
“There haven’t been any cases, but it’s not completely impossible, right? Like how some beastkin have unstable conditions in their youth without any clear cause.”
“That’s different.”
Taebeom muttered coldly as he picked up a high stack of document files.
“Every rampage has a cause.”
Rampage symptoms appeared when guiding was insufficient or when an Esper’s psychological state was extremely unstable. There had been no cases of wavelength values spiking without any reason. At least until now.
“I hope there is a cause too.”
The secretary swallowed his words and withdrew. Knowing the reason why Taebeom was trying to solve the beastkin seizure problem more persistently than anyone else, he didn’t add any more words.
The cause of an Esper’s rampage had to be clear. Only then could a solution be found.
“What about Kang Geonho?”
Taebeom asked just as the secretary was about to close the door. The secretary, who had stopped in his tracks, naturally gave the prepared answer.
“He hasn’t woken up yet. Don’t worry, we’ll report immediately when he does.”
With the sound of the door closing, a familiar silence settled in. Taebeom immediately started reading the documents.
After briefly focusing on the dense text filling the white pages, suddenly the sound of a pen dropping broke the quiet room. It was the pen that had fallen from Taebeom’s left hand.
“…”
Taebeom’s expression remained dry even though he had dropped the pen he was holding. He didn’t seem surprised at all that his left hand had suddenly lost strength. He just showed a calm reaction.
After briefly looking at the pen rolling on the floor, he leaned forward to pick it up. As he tilted his head, red droplets of blood fell onto the spotless floor with a splat.
