Anger surged again.
Leaning back against the sofa, he closed his eyes to calm himself. But the chaos in his mind refused to settle.
Slowly, the events of yesterday began to replay.
From the beginning of the test, the match rate reader had been acting up. The machine made louder noises than usual, and the numbers that should have appeared clearly on the digital display were delayed. He stared at them for a long time, uneasy. The tension in the room was so heavy, it felt like breathing would shatter it.
Numbers flitted across the screen in a noisy blur, and then, with a beeping alarm, glowing red digits flashed across the display.
The result: 98.7%.
Everyone went silent at the sight of the crimson numbers. It was a value bordering on impossible. There were old records of Espers and Guides who had grown up together since early childhood breaking into the 93% range, but a match rate like this—this had never happened in all of recorded history.
Normally, the longer an Esper and Guide spent together, the higher their compatibility would become. If this was the result of the very first test, what would it become over time?
That terrifying possibility left everyone in the testing room speechless, stunned. The first to break the silence was Delroz.
“So, is it over now?”
“Th-this… how could the numbers…?”
Even the technician, who operated the machine dozens of times a day, couldn’t believe it. His hands shook as he stammered. The Center Director, usually trying to maintain a dignified air, widened his eyes in shock.
The only ones who remained calm were the people at the center of it all: Delroz and Banteon. When the technician showed no sign of regaining his composure, the two of them quietly removed the wires from their bodies.
Delroz’s thoughts were unreadable, but Banteon had already expected a high match rate. The only surprise was that the number was even higher than he’d anticipated—enough to become a real hassle moving forward.
Delroz glanced at Banteon, indifferent.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I already told you.”
“The offer to be your temporary Guide?”
“T-That’s ridiculous!”
The technician abruptly jumped into the conversation.
“It’s 98%! A temporary Guide? We need to immediately initiate an official match and report this to the Academy—”
“Don’t you dare butt in.”
Delroz’s sharp rebuke made the technician go pale and stumble back. The Center Director stepped forward with a forced chuckle.
“Well, he does make a fair point. You’re unlikely to find anyone with a higher compatibility than this. Is there really a need for a temporary Guide?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Delroz showed no restraint, not even toward the older Center Director. He spoke bluntly, gripping the wire in his hand as if he might rip it apart at any moment. The expensive equipment let out a groan, prompting a flustered technician to rush over and start organizing the cords.
Realizing that reasoning with Delroz was pointless, the Center Director turned his gaze to Banteon.
“Please, just consider it as a piece of advice from an old man.”
“This is something Delroz and I have already discussed.”
“Ho ho ho…”
When even Banteon shut him down so firmly, the Center Director frowned in dismay. He kept up a genial smile, but his eyes suggested a mind running through a thousand calculations. No matter what anyone said, Banteon would not change his stance. He had no intention of being tied down to Delroz.
“If not Banteon-nim, then who else could match with him?”
“I’ve decided to yield that right to the Guide who stopped his rampage.”
“Oh… now that you mention it, that did happen.”
The Center Director, whose memory was sharp as ever, feigned ignorance. A sly one.
“That’s the agreement we reached, so I hope you’ll understand.”
“But even if she appears, the chances of a higher match rate than this are—”
“Even if the match rate is a bit lower, a female Guide would be better than me. Isn’t that right, Delroz?”
“……”
Banteon firmly rejected the offer again and turned his eyes away. He wasn’t the least bit interested in the Center Director’s response. As long as he and Delroz were in agreement, no one had the authority to override their decision. Yet, for some reason, Delroz wasn’t answering the question Banteon had thrown his way.
What was he thinking?
He had cut off the technician who suggested an official match, so it seemed he still agreed with Banteon’s stance. But then again, he hadn’t explicitly agreed to the idea of a temporary Guide either.
“Delroz.”
“Yeah.”
Urged once more, Delroz answered nonchalantly, turning his gaze to Banteon.
“Until that Guide shows up, right?”
“That’s right. Until she appears.”
At the repeated use of ‘she’, Delroz’s eyes curved faintly.
“If that’s what you think, then fine.”
It was a strangely meaningful answer. Even though Delroz had finally said what Banteon wanted to hear, something still felt off. He had agreed with Banteon’s words—clearly, even—but the feeling wouldn’t go away.
Banteon studied Delroz’s face, trying to read his intent. As usual, there was nothing to glean from that emotionless expression.
Well, it didn’t matter.
Whatever Delroz was thinking, what mattered was that he had agreed. Clinging to that reasoning, Banteon quickly set about completing the paperwork for the temporary Guide appointment.
Behind him, he could feel the pitiful gaze of the technician, eyes full of lingering regret, stabbing into the back of his head.
***
That was the extent of yesterday’s memories. Afterward, he’d returned to his long-missed, beloved room and slept soundly for the first time in a while. And the moment he opened his eyes that morning, the first thing he saw was that infuriating front-page newspaper article.
Banteon, who rarely smoked, pulled out a cigar and clipped the cap.
He lit it, slowly drawing in a breath and exhaling deeply. The glowing ember flickered in his vision, and the sharp, hazy smoke swirled in his chest before slipping out in wisps.
He was officially on leave now. It was the reward for being beaten down and tossed around in the Subjugation Squad. With nothing scheduled until the next semester, it was time to relax and enjoy himself.
When he’d first stopped Delroz’s rampage and fled to the Subjugation Squad, he had been completely lost. There were difficult moments along the way, but in the end… maybe things had turned out alright.
Of course, now there was the shackle of being a temporary Guide—and the constant need to conceal his identity.
But that was only a matter of time. Since he wasn’t officially matched with Delroz, the man would still have to undergo regular compatibility tests with other Guides. If, among those female Guides, one was found to be compatible enough to perform actual guiding, Banteon planned to pass the shackle on immediately.
Given Delroz’s preferences, he was more likely to choose a female Guide over someone with a higher match rate. So Banteon had already decided to tip off the Center Director and have as many female Guides as possible brought in for testing.
The Center Director would be thrilled. Managing Banteon had always been a headache; having a pliable Guide to mold to his liking would be a dream come true.
It was good for Delroz, too. He could forget the fantasy woman and Banteon, and live out the stable life he wanted with a female Guide by his side. Once Delroz completed his basic training at the Center, he would be granted a high-ranking position and could live freely at the center of a new power.
Once Delroz formed a new household and had children…
At that point, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to unite the bloodlines of the Esrante family and his own. Delroz had a violent and crude side, but he could also be surprisingly gentle. He knew how to care for the sick, and he was highly capable.
He’d even carried around a man he normally wouldn’t want to touch, simply because he was a patient. The guy had his own kind of flexibility. Surely, he’d protect his Guide and child well.
Compared to the past—when just hearing Delroz’s name made Banteon recoil—this was a significant change.
As he leisurely savored the last drag of his cigar, a notification sound chimed in Banteon’s ear. It was an external call—something that rarely happened.
Recognizing the familiar signal, Banteon calmly pressed the call button.
[Heard the news. What the hell happened?]
The caller, speaking for the first time in a while, skipped any greeting or concern and got straight to the point. The familiar voice made Banteon chuckle lightly.
“It’s been a while, little brother.”
[Bit much for a greeting, don’t you think? I nearly slipped while hunting a beast.]
“Well, things just sort of happened.”
[You swore off Espers for life, and now you’re paired with that kind of partner? Were you secretly waiting for someone like him all along?]
“Don’t even joke like that. I regret not picking up some halfway decent candidate years ago.”
[Haha. That sounds exactly like you.]
“How about you? How’ve you been?”
[Me? The same. Hunting monsters, blowing them up, killing them… Damn, I want to rush over right now, but I’m on a mission and can’t get away. Nothing serious happened, right?]
Well, it was serious. Too serious to explain over a phone call. But he wasn’t so overwhelmed that he’d burden his brother with it, especially while he was mid-mission. His younger brother was an S-rank Esper, one of the top five forces in the kingdom. Always deployed on dangerous missions, yet to Banteon, he was still just a younger, clumsier sibling.
“Be careful out there. What’s the family saying?”
[The old geezers are probably racking their brains trying to figure out how to best exploit the SS-rank they’ve got in their hands.]
“And what about you?”
[Me? My opinion?]
From the beginning, Banteon had been raised as the next family head. But his brother was also a direct heir of the Esrante bloodline. Some of the clan’s more extreme blood-purity elders even supported the younger brother, since he’d awakened as an S-rank Esper.
But that talk had disappeared as his brother grew up. His philosophy was simple: Why bother using your head when you can use your body? That alone had the elders unanimously backing Banteon as the next successor.
I swear all the guys want a piece of Banteon, even his relatives 👀🌚