Chapter 58
“Ji Yeohoon seems to dislike Ye Han-seo.”
“You dislike Ye Han-dam too.”
“It’s a bit different.”
“How is it different?”
“It just is, anyway.”
Even though Yoon Cheong shook his head, I didn’t understand.
They both seemed to dislike the brothers, while those brothers were also awkward with each other.
Unlike how Ye Han-seo viewed Ye Han-dam negatively, I could tell that Ye Han-dam properly recognized Ye Han-seo as his brother.
Actually, anyone would be angry if their sibling suddenly appeared and picked a fight, but Ye Han-dam had a perfectly calm expression when he returned that afternoon.
Judging by his recent reaction, it seemed like he was trying to take care of his brother now, though he couldn’t before, which gave me mixed feelings.
“So, student Es… Huh? Why are only two of you here?”
“They’re fighting outside.”
“Is that so?”
The people who arrived first were saying how popular Soo-young was, but from my perspective, it made no sense.
What popularity? It just felt exhausting, like puppies whining and refusing to leave my side.
I approached the new Guides from Calling who had entered first and greeted them.
“Hello.”
“Ah, so you’re the one…”
“The one?”
“The one the Guild Master mentioned…”
What on earth did she say about me?
There’s an 80% chance she said some nonsense about me being Calling’s promising talent.
I clearly haven’t contracted with Calling yet, and contracts with minors are either invalidated or canceled anyway.
Typically, invalidation occurs when there’s no money exchanged, meaning when you haven’t entered a Gate with the guild.
On the other hand, cancellation happens when a minor Esper or Guide has remaining payment after attacking a Gate with the guild.
So it’s actually a decent system where you can still get paid for Gates you’ve already entered.
Anyway, it was better to think about everything after becoming an adult.
I was beginning to understand why higher-ranked Guides often worked as freelancers.
Being tied to a guild means you can’t move around as you wish.
Just looking at Ji Yeohoon’s uncle, he had to follow his wife, the healer, into Gate attacks a few times a year because of her contract obligations.
Even though the uncle didn’t have specific contract terms, he was often called out simply because he was in the guild.
“Won’t you tell me what she said about me?”
“The Guild Master will be here soon, so…”
Since the Guild Master was scheduled to join today’s Gate attack, I’d have to ask her later.
It was obvious that they’d been painting some golden picture of me.
Initially, there was a fuss when my Guide bigar was confirmed to have an S-class gauge, and they persistently tried to get me to contract even though I could cancel when I became an adult.
The Guild Master’s persistence intensified after I emerged from attacking a C-class Gate in middle school.
While it’s natural for a guild master to want to recruit good talent to their guild, this was excessive.
It seemed like the Gate entrance would close soon, but there were still people who hadn’t entered.
“Why aren’t they coming in?”
“Here they come.”
I heard a shout of “Hyung!” and Ji Yeohoon came running urgently.
When I nagged him about why he wasn’t coming earlier, he just gave me that eye smile again.
This kid knew he was handsome even when he was young, and he seems to know it now too.
When you smile like that, I can’t stay mad.
“What about them?”
“They’re coming in with the Guild Master.”
“Were they fighting the whole time?”
“Fighting? No, hyung. We were just talking a little.”
Anyone would see they were fighting, so why did he insist they weren’t?
I’ve seen him argue with others since he was young, and I’ve seen him fight with Yoon Cheong, so it didn’t really matter, but Ji Yeohoon occasionally put on this act.
Alright, alright, I’ll let it slide because you’re handsome.
“Are our guild members waiting well?”
The person I’d been waiting for entered with two students who weren’t guild members.
I wanted to ask what she had said to the new Guides, but for now, I needed to focus on the Gate attack.
“Today, we’ll be joined by prospective Espers from Chaehwa Guild for this guild attack – Ye Han-dam from the high school division and Ye Han-seo from the middle school division. Give them a round of applause!”
Is it always supposed to feel this much like a picnic?
It wouldn’t be like this if it were a higher-grade Gate, but this was an E-class Gate, and if Ji Yeohoon maintained his concentration, there seemed to be no chance of it ascending in rank.
He was also diligently wearing items that controlled his abilities, so the possibility was even lower.
Even though the Gate entrance had closed, the gauge showed it was still a typical E-class Gate.
“This won’t be a difficult attack, so let’s proceed today as if we’re at a team-building event among guild members.”
There was a difference between Espers and Guides.
Unlike the relaxed Espers, the Guides looked somewhat anxious.
I couldn’t hide my tension either.
The strangely bright sky different from outside the Gate, unnaturally vibrant trees, and rocks with a purple tinge.
At a glance, one might find these colors pretty, but they actually made me feel uneasy.
How could anyone create a team-building atmosphere in this surreal setting?
Only the Guides were tense.
“Hah…”
“Are you okay?”
Guides checked each other’s complexions and tried their best to maintain normal expressions.
Even the two Guides who had entered many times before looked tense.
“This sensation doesn’t go away no matter how many times you come.”
Only Espers moved comfortably in this surreal environment.
Monsters appeared from somewhere—they were the slimes I’d seen before.
Green jelly masses.
“Slimes again?”
“Um, Soo-young, you mentioned seeing slimes the first time you entered, right?”
“Yes. They were red slimes, something like blood slimes.”
“That incident is still very famous in the news. It still comes up occasionally.”
“Ha. Please forget about it.”
I was told slimes were common monsters in E to F-class Gates.
As you go higher, dragons and other bizarre, unheard-of monsters appear, but today we were dealing with an E-class that hadn’t ascended.
The blood slimes that appeared in middle school likely came from what was initially an F-class slime Gate that ascended, strengthening the slimes.
“We should approach from multiple directions.”
“Cheong and Yeohoon, don’t attack today. Stay a bit away.”
“Yes.”
Since this attack was meant to coordinate the new guild members, the existing Espers barely participated in the attack.
As a result, Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon were a bit removed from the battlefield with nothing to do.
Occasionally, they would wave at me, and seeing them look so comfortable in the Gate, I relaxed and waved back.
Surprisingly, Ye Han-seo moved well, taking down quite a few slimes.
“That kid’s pretty good, isn’t he? You said he’s in middle school?”
“Yes. But why are you here?”
“To protect us Guides~?”
I wondered if all the smoothness in the world had gathered in the Guild Master.
She seemed to like Ye Han-seo, watching him for quite a while.
“What about the pink-haired one, is he not good?”
“His movements are fine. But we already have many close-range types. The compatibility isn’t good. If Yeohoon enhances him, the explosions would become massive explosions, and then everyone would get caught in them.”
Ye Han-dam wasn’t making much of an impact either.
He seemed able to continuously create small fires when concentrating, but whenever he lost focus on where the fire had been, there would be popping explosion sounds.
“With Ji Yeohoon and Ye Han-dam together, the inside of the Gate would shake, right? The attack would be over quickly. It would be good for Gates that need large-scale firepower.”
“That’s right. The problem is that while Espers can withstand it, Guides can’t. Yeohoon’s ability has good compatibility with others, but that kid’s is a bit disappointing.”
I couldn’t understand why the Association kept Ye Han-dam, who had high destructive power.
In the future that hopefully won’t happen, Ye Han-dam left Chaehwa after various incidents at the guild, but strangely became affiliated with the Association.
An Esper expelled from a guild under the Association becomes affiliated with the Association itself? Something seemed off.
Whether it was the adults’ circumstances or the opinions of higher-ups unknown to me, a regular Association employee, I couldn’t tell, but it felt strange.
However, at that time, since I was affiliated with the Association, I didn’t particularly feel it was strange, and no one mentioned anything unusual.
With Ye Han-dam’s current personality, he’d be fine wherever he went, and if the issue with reverse guiding could be resolved, he probably wouldn’t need to leave Chaehwa.
“Guild Master, we don’t have anything to do.”
“Our prospective guild—”
“I haven’t contracted yet.”
“Yeohoon, you’re being too harsh, considering your parents are involved!”
“I want to think about it more.”
The Guild Master looked disappointed, but it had nothing to do with us.
When Ji Yeohoon looked at me as if asking if he’d done well, I immediately nodded.
Yes, that’s how you increase your value. If you have ability, don’t get tied down easily.
I hoped that not only these two but also the children from the same school would never be intimidated anywhere.
While there’s a high chance Ji Yeohoon will eventually join because of his parents, since he’s going to enter a guild anyway, I wanted him to receive better treatment when he joined.
The treatment of Espers from the Association isn’t particularly good, and I didn’t like the idea of innocent kids being exploited by guilds too.
“What about Cheong? Won’t you join?”
“No. I’ll think about it a bit more.”
Well done, my children.
Seeing my proud expression, the Guild Master gave a wry smile.
“Really, I need to bring Soo-young in somehow. You two will join if Soo-young does, right?”
“Maybe.”
“Probably.”
“What do you mean ‘maybe’? Hey.”
You should say “No.” Is that how I taught you?
The Guild Master was the problem, deliberately asking even though she knew these attachment-filled kids would answer like that.
“Don’t make the kids think too hard. Shouldn’t we wrap this up?”
“You’re right~ That was easy. Can we leave the guiding to the students?”
“If you assign more to me, I was thinking of going on strike.”
“You’re so harsh~ And you’re not even a regular guild member!”
“Even temporary guild members are clearly still guild members.”
Though they didn’t use much energy, both Ye brothers had reddened eyes, perhaps from the tension of being inside the Gate and preparing for potential situations.
I just tidied their hair a little and left it at that.
“Yoon Cheong, Ji Yeohoon. I’ll guide you outside. Guiding isn’t urgent right now, is it?”
“No.”
“I’m fine too.”
After they acknowledged, I went to the two brothers.
Ye Han-dam looked perfectly fine, but Ye Han-seo was staring at him alone.
How should I put it? It had a feeling of “I caught more than you,” which was absurd.
No, he’s an explosive type, so he couldn’t properly use his abilities with so many people around, you idiot.
It reminded me of when Yoon Cheong and Ji Yeohoon used to get intensely competitive over games, making me nostalgic.
These days, as their gaming skills improved, they’ve developed a taste for playing on the same team and massacring the opposing team.
“First, Ye Han-dam, let me guide you.”
“Hmm, I think I’m okay with guiding.”
“You don’t need it?”
“I didn’t use much power, so I’m fine. Thanks.”
“Well, no need to thank me.”
The stabilized Ye Han-dam was surprisingly mature, which felt a bit strange.
Meanwhile, Ye Han-seo was frowning deeply, upset about something.
Seeing not only his eyes but also his hands beginning to tremble, he seemed to be getting chills.
“Your hand.”
As I approached, Ye Han-seo calmly extended his hand, perhaps due to the weak bigar reaching him even from a distance.
“You ran around a lot. Happy you caught many?”
I initiated conversation with Ye Han-seo, who was quietly holding out his hand.
Guiding under a comfortable feeling would definitely be better.
“This is frustrating. Hugging is faster for guiding, right?”
After saying that, Ye Han-seo spread his arms and pulled at my wrist.
Naturally, Yoon Cheong sent Ye Han-seo flying far away.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
