Chapter 44
Ye Han-dam, who had been walking around with a smile, now had a dazed expression.
Yoon Cheong sat next to me with a constantly sharp face, clearly displeased about something.
“Relax your expression.”
When I poked him in the side saying the teacher kept looking at us, he finally released the tension in his eyes.
Maybe because he’d received steady education starting with “Guides are not possessions of Espers-” since childhood, he didn’t openly try to fight, but he reacted this way whenever someone attempted dangerous guiding with me.
It was one of the reasons Yoon Cheong always threw Yoon Seong-jin far away whenever he came running.
Since most of the Esper class received guiding from Guide class students in rotation, I also frequently conducted guiding for the Esper class.
Seeing them every day, I occasionally provided simple guiding, but one day Yoon Seong-jin came running straight at me requesting guiding.
This was after Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon had returned from their first Gate. He was asking me to go to a Gate with him and provide guiding.
Before I could even refuse, Yoon Cheong picked up Yoon Seong-jin and threw him far away, but Yoon Seong-jin continued to persistently request guiding after that.
Still, with Yoon Seong-jin, it ended at that level because we’d known each other for a long time, but Yoon Cheong had an expression that said he wouldn’t let Ye Han-dam off so easily, which made me keep sighing.
“Aren’t you going to ease up?”
“…”
“I did it for him, did he ask for it?”
“…No.”
“I told you I did it because I thought I could handle it.”
I hate being in pain.
I’d already experienced enough pain to last a lifetime before my regression, and I’d been consistently providing guiding because I couldn’t stand seeing the guys in pain.
I hated being in pain, and growing up with the guys made me hate seeing those around me in pain too, so it was also my responsibility to ensure the guides in my class wouldn’t fear guiding with Espers.
This was the small psychic society I’d somehow created since fifth grade in elementary school.
In exchange, I’d been protecting them by telling Espers to be careful since guiding wasn’t a given, so they could take care of their bodies too.
I couldn’t let the pink seed of anxiety that had flown in and been planted in the children bloom.
“How can you be so calm when reverse guiding might happen? You said you hate being in pain.”
As soon as the teacher left after class ended, Yoon Cheong grabbed my wrist.
“I did it after confirming it would be okay. I called the guild to check. It wasn’t even proper guiding.”
“Still…”
“Come outside with me for a bit.”
I led Yoon Cheong, who was holding my wrist, outside.
Going down to the school garden where trees were planted, I stared at his broad back.
I really should just hit him or something.
“You know I have two Guide graphs, right?”
“…?”
“There were two, right? One is S-class.”
“The other is D-class. I know. Why?”
“When you received guiding from me yesterday, did anything feel strange?”
“It was different from usual.”
That’s right, because I used that graph for guiding, the amount was small and the guiding was weak, but it was possible without recoil.
Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon are guys who aren’t afraid of my guiding.
But this S-class bigor that I’ve been using for 5 years already felt both familiar and awkward to me.
After all, I was originally a D-class Guide who could barely operate a very small amount of bigor.
“But it felt really comfortable.”
“What kind of feeling was it?”
“Unlike before, it was a bit less… no, much less, but somehow it felt like it definitely reached me. You know that water thing. Like this-“
Since my manifestation after regression, I always had to blow wind.
It felt like the wind generated from my body floated around with my power and wrapped around Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon, but the amount was so large that even if some escaped, it wasn’t very noticeable to me.
It was like blowing wind that you can’t see; you only know the wind exists when you feel it, and the Espers said they felt refreshed but also felt something pushing against them.
In contrast, my power before regression was flowing water.
The amount wasn’t large, and it felt like my energy was draining along with the flowing water, but according to Yoon Cheong, it felt like being refreshingly soaked.
The sensation I had felt and what Espers experienced during guiding were similar.
Each Guide in the Guide class had a different perception of bigor, and accordingly, the feeling Espers received always varied.
I’d have to ask the guild and do research to know why I had two bigors, but the important thing was that I could use all these familiar powers.
The water-like power that could match with anyone but couldn’t be fully filled by anyone still remained inside me.
“I used that power. The Guide graph that had over 90% matching rate with you and Ji Yeohoon was that D-class graph. I confirmed this again with the guild’s research team leader.”
“I was 91%.”
“Is that important?”
“A little. Then what about the S-class?”
“You were 78%, Ji Yeohoon was 79%…”
“Why? Why am I lower?”
Yoon Cheong asked before I could finish speaking.
If you ask me that, what am I supposed to answer, you hero bastard?
I stared at him in disbelief before moving toward the classroom.
“Anyway, I can’t provide the same guiding I give you guys. Now that I know this guiding works well, I’ll only use this type for the new Esper class kids who recently entered or other people I’ll have to guide later. I’m trying to be safe because I hate being in pain too. Originally, I was going to provide very weak guiding, so the reverse guiding shouldn’t be too severe.”
“…Still. It’s hard on you.”
“The difficulty now isn’t because of reverse guiding. It’s because my D-class bigor is insanely small, so I’m tired. Not because of Ye Han-dam. There’s no problem.”
“Why should you suffer because of him?”
It’s all because of you guys, you idiot.
The bigor from the D-class Guide graph had a high average guiding matching rate, so it didn’t matter who I guided.
The S-class Guide graph was confirmed to have 78% and 79% matching rates with Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon, but I received notice that the matching rates with other Espers didn’t seem as high.
Besides, these guys had been so close to me that they would accept whatever guiding I provided, so there was no worry.
Throughout our walk, I explained earnestly to reassure Yoon Cheong.
“No matter how much guiding I provide to Ye Han-dam, it won’t be as clean as with you guys. The D-class bigor is severely limited.”
Still, I thought it would definitely be better than guiding with medicine or machines, so I felt somewhat relieved.
“Really?”
Yoon Cheong finally relaxed the creases between his eyebrows a bit.
Is he wary because he’s afraid Ye Han-dam might have a higher matching rate?
When we arrived at the classroom, Ye Han-dam suddenly ran up and stood in front of me.
Yoon Cheong was startled and positioned me behind him, blocking the way, but the pink-haired (not yet completely crazy) guy was actually staring at me behind Yoon Cheong.
Thinking that the guy blocking me might throw the pink-haired one like he throws Yoon Seong-jin, I spoke up.
“Use your words, words.”
“How did you do it?”
“Just did it well.”
I just did the guiding well.
Even before my regression, I had a natural talent for bigor and never experienced reverse guiding. It just left me excessively tired after guiding.
Ye Han-dam would later go crazy to the point of directly attaching himself to Guides and causing reverse guiding even with high matching rates, eventually going berserk, but not now.
Unlike the future before my regression, it wasn’t deliberately caused reverse guiding, but rather a terrible situation with a high probability of reverse guiding even if unwanted.
If that was the case, I could still manage it.
The previous day, I had confirmed this by observing the situation of the Esper class’s assistant homeroom teacher, who had struggled but recovered not long after.
The assistant homeroom teacher was a D-class Guide with a higher-than-average Esper matching rate, while the carried-away Guide student Oh Ji-hyun was an A-class Guide who had recently manifested and was just throwing out bigor.
The future Ye Han-dam I knew after entering the Association didn’t even try to properly accept guiding, but would smile and seduce Guides, deliberately receiving guiding only to cause reverse guiding.
Of course, even with terrible matching rates, reverse guiding doesn’t always occur.
Fortunately, I could stand on the side where it doesn’t always happen. So I thought it would be a success if I could eliminate Ye Han-dam’s fear or aversion to guiding, or whatever problem he himself might not know about.
“Are you really… okay?”
Ye Han-dam asked in a trembling voice.
Indeed, he wasn’t someone who would go off the rails yet.
“As you can see. I’m fine. Not hurting anywhere.”
When I answered nonchalantly, he exhaled a sigh of relief as if thankful. Ye Han-dam shifted his gaze to the hand he had been holding, then raised his head to meet my eyes and bowed his head slightly.
“Th-thank you…”
He was someone who somehow showed a fluffy response, perhaps matching his hair color.
I asked the awkwardly greeting Ye Han-dam:
“So do you think you won’t have major issues receiving guiding now?”
“Yeah.”
“Receive it from me for a while, and look for people who can provide good guiding. Or ask them to find someone among those newly manifesting. There must be someone.”
“Got it.”
“But there’s a condition.”
“Just tell me.”
Ye Han-dam nodded his head vigorously.
“Later, if I, or this guy, or someone a year below us that I designate asks for help, help at least once.”
“Once? That… I could help multiple times if needed.”
I pointed at Yoon Cheong and mentioned Ji Yeohoon.
I had no intention of explaining the reason to either Ye Han-dam or Yoon Cheong, who were making “why?” expressions.
It was intuition.
Ye Han-dam is an A-class, strong Esper who injured several Espers who were suppressing his rampage.
Of course, it’s called a rampage because he exerted several times his normal ability, but ultimately it’s potential ability.
Ye Han-dam’s ability would someday surely be helpful to Yoon Cheong or Ji Yeohoon.
If he grows up well without causing any trouble like now, he would become an Esper of the Chaehwa Guild, which is high-ranked and under the Association, so he would definitely be helpful according to my calculations.
And perhaps…
“Multiple times would be even better. I was a bit worried about sending these guys to Gates, but if you go together, that would work.”
“…I’m not a child.”
Ye Han-dam opened his eyes wide.
“A child? Soo-young, do you… raise them?”
“Urrrgh.”
I patted the back of Yoon Cheong, who somehow seemed to have his pride hurt, and sat down.
Perhaps this guy could notice and help first during that time when the future Yoon Cheong would go berserk, and when Ji Yeohoon’s parents would die.
Before my regression, the 20-year-old rampaging Yoon Cheong, unlike now, wasn’t very involved with me or Ji Yeohoon, so he wasn’t affiliated with the Calling Guild.
Then, if Ji Yeohoon’s parents are affiliated with the Calling Guild now as they were, how did both of them end up dying?
Requests for help related to Esper rampages are sent from the Association to nearby guilds with 100% certainty.
But at that time, Yoon Cheong belonged to the Chaehwa Guild and was at the forefront of Association affairs.
He dealt with Esper crimes and chaotic situations that occurred in the Association, so I also thought of him as some kind of Association hero, and when Ji Yeohoon was causing Gate explosions, Yoon Cheong appeared as if it were natural.
The thought crossed my mind that it was strange for two people from the Calling Guild to die when the Chaehwa Guild, which is under the Association, clearly exists.
I smiled gently and took out a piece of paper, waving it.
“Shall we make a contract then?”
“…Is that really necessary?”
“Yes. Would you put your thumbprint here?”
“…”
No matter how I think about it, we’ll need your help for the future safety of my kids, pinky head.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
