Chapter 31
After a gate conquest ends, they sometimes upload videos recorded with action cams, and these videos circulate online.
But during the conquest, there’s no connection to the outside world, so you can’t check what kind of gate it is, what’s happening inside, or whether the conquest team is injured.
Thanks to Ji Yeohoon’s controlled abilities, there was no sign of the gate gauge rising.
Since Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon had joined the gate conquest team, they had sufficient personnel assigned from the start, so there shouldn’t be any major difficulties.
“This won’t do.”
Still, I couldn’t bear the anxiety.
I immediately picked up my phone and called the guild. At first, I was connected to the department that handles Calling’s main line.
“Hello, this is Guild Calling. How may I help you?”
“Hello, this is Moon Soo-young.”
“Ah, Soo-young! I’ll connect you to the Guild Master.”
As soon as they heard my name, they quickly connected me to the Guild Boss.
“…Didn’t the Guild Master enter the gate?”
“I didn’t go. What is our S-class prospective guild member curious about~?”
“It’s not confirmed. I haven’t stamped anything. Guild Master, do you know when the gate that Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon entered will finish its conquest and reopen?”
“Hmm, according to the gate conquest gauge waveform analysis… around lunchtime today?”
“Can I go there?”
“You’re worried~?”
“No, not really… Uncle and Auntie are there too, so why would I be?”
When I said I wasn’t worried about those kids but just curious about what kind of gate it was, she replied with “I believe you” in a tone that suggested she didn’t believe me at all.
This is why I dislike perceptive people.
Having raised those two since they were young, it seems I can’t escape parenting now, as I was filled with worry.
I had firmly told them I wasn’t going, but they may be big in size, but they’re still middle school brats at fifteen and fourteen years old.
I couldn’t get their disappointed faces out of my mind.
As I muttered that letting myself get dragged along would spoil them, the Guild Master laughed heartily.
“I’ll send an official document to your school now. We’ll be leaving from the guild in about an hour to wrap up the gate, so talk to your homeroom teacher and get the leave papers ready. You should be able to return after dinner.”
“Thank you.”
That’s why I like perceptive people after all.
As soon as I hung up, I quickly showered and changed clothes.
Having worn only my school uniform and casual school clothes all this time, civilian clothes somehow felt awkward. When I tried them on, I realized I must have grown taller since before, as my clothes had become much smaller.
I have money, so I should buy clothes while I’m out. I wore the gray pants from my school uniform.
By that time, the guild must have contacted the school, because as soon as I went to the faculty office, my homeroom teacher handed me an already prepared leave permit and told me to be careful.
This was the advantage of being affiliated with a guild.
Even though it wasn’t easy for parents to get approval for leave, overnight stays, or even visits, almost everything was approved through a guild.
There were occasionally students whose parents were Espers or Guides, but if those parents were freelancers, this kind of paperwork wasn’t easy.
Of course, this was easier because Calling was the #1 ranked guild in Korea.
I strongly felt that even if I didn’t join the guild after becoming an adult, I should maintain a good relationship with Calling. It was like developing a kind of company loyalty, albeit temporarily.
And that company loyalty disappeared as soon as I got into the back seat of a black sedan in front of the school gate, where the Guild Master was sitting.
“Soo-young, over here.”
“Aren’t you busy, Guild Master?”
“Of course I’m busy~.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I came to escort an S-class Guide! Do you know how busy I usually am~? I’m the Guild Master of Calling. Isn’t this a rare occasion~?”
Ah, yes… Guild Master, thank you for coming despite your busy schedule. Though I don’t believe you.
I obediently got into the car as she opened the door for me, telling me to get in quickly.
Even if middle schoolers entered a gate together, it’s not common for a Guild Master to personally visit the gate.
Wondering why she was going, I looked at her, and the Guild Master smiled with an incredibly girlish face.
“What? Am I pretty?”
“No.”
At my firm response, she looked at me with a wounded expression for some reason, but I won’t fall for such feminine wiles, Guild Master.
I have Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon around me, after all.
“Why are you really going?”
“Oh? You’re quite perceptive, aren’t you? Are you really an old man in a child’s body?”
She pinched my cheek lightly, but due to the strength difference between Espers and Guides, my cheek stung.
That hurts! I looked at her, and she finally removed her hand.
“They say the gauge is a bit strange. The gate readings are stable, but it seems like they’re wrapping things up urgently. Usually, a C-class gate takes more time, and even with extra personnel because our prospective guild members are there, it’s not a gate that should end at this speed.”
You could estimate the completion time by calculating the rate at which the gate gauge decreases. This was one of the things I learned to check when I worked at the Association.
The estimated completion time posted on the website is based on the usual conquest time, but occasionally, for first attempts, they adjust the estimated time mid-way based on the rate at which the gauge decreases.
The Guild Master said she left after seeing the estimated time, which was originally set for evening, change rapidly.
“Isn’t it good if it ends quickly?”
“Of course it’s good if there’s no danger of collapse. It’s also good for the Association since they can finish work early. But we’re the number one guild, you know?”
What does being number one have to do with speed? Looking at her with a face that showed my lack of understanding, the Guild Master made a slightly troubled expression.
It wasn’t information that shouldn’t be shared, but she looked like she was wondering if it was appropriate to tell a child.
Of course, on the surface, I’m still a not-fully-grown teenager, but in my mind, I’m in my mid-20s who regressed to four years old (having lived 37 years), so I prepared to think.
“We always try various strategies to prepare for situations that might occur in higher-grade gates. So regardless of how low the grade of the gate we enter is, the time it takes to conquer a gate is almost the same. It means we give our best even for easy gates.
So according to the original plan, if we combine all the tactics and strategies for a C-class gate, it should be finished by this evening. Even considering the possible time difference between inside and outside the gate. Unlike last time, the gate grade hasn’t increased, and looking at the gauge fluctuation, there doesn’t seem to be much of a time difference with the inside.”
She was saying that something had happened inside the gate, and instead of practicing tactics as they usually would, they were quickly wrapping up the gate to resolve it.
“What kind of situation would normally make them ignore strategy and resolve it quickly?”
“Either when the monsters in a C-class gate are weak but there are so many that they need to focus on defense, or when they’ve forgotten to bring food?”
“…Food?”
“Food is important, you know.”
It is important, but… Seeing my incredulous face, the Guild Master burst out laughing.
“Sometimes they forget to bring action cams for strategy recording, so they clear it quickly and come out.”
“Ah, I see…”
I thought it was something serious.
As I relaxed my body, which had tensed up at the joke, the Guild Master leaned back on the car seat like me and looked away from me to the front.
With the changed atmosphere, I also turned my eyes to look outside the window.
I knew why she had made frivolous remarks.
She hoped that the unspoken reason hadn’t occurred during this conquest.
She wanted to believe that the conquest was progressing quickly for the reasons she had mentioned.
“Or in case of an accident inside the gate during a guild conquest. Moon Soo-young, you’re already anticipating this, right?”
“…Yes.”
“The regular gates we enter are A-class to B-class, but for C-class gates or below, we always move as if we’re entering higher-grade gates. However, if something unexpected happens, whether it’s death or injury, we prioritize quick conquest and exit. That’s why I’m going.”
Calling had managed to clear an S-class gate on their own without help from other guilds. Just once, though.
But for an unexpected accident to occur in a C-class gate they’re handling?
Among the Espers who entered the gate today, the only ones who were young or had little gate experience were Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon.
If an accident had occurred, there was a high chance it involved those two.
I had made them promise to return without any injuries, but since gate conquests don’t always go as expected, I didn’t trust that promise.
I thought they might get hurt.
Their first gate experience had been an F-class that elevated to a C-class, but it had been a fortunate conquest in many ways—plenty of Espers and a relaxed atmosphere.
C-class gates aren’t something rookie Espers can easily clear.
After arriving near the gate, I got certified as a temporary guild member by the Association and sat waiting in a tent set up a little distance from the gate.
Though they had said it would be around lunchtime, they must have been rushing the conquest because I could see the gate entrance forming.
I heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching from inside the gate, followed by people running out while carrying someone on their backs.
Everyone watched with tense faces as the Espers came out.
“Please provide guiding for these children!”
“Call an ambulance! There was a reverse guiding phenomenon, and breathing stopped once! The pulse has returned now!”
“Here, over here! This way!”
“Does anyone have water? If you do, please bring it over here!”
The Espers laid familiar faces on the ground while shouting.
“…”
So I…
I never believed these guys’ promises in the first place.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
