Chapter 5
“Hello, Esper-nim.”
Kyun In casually ignored Ha-min’s greeting, went ahead of me to get soup and bread, and was about to return to his seat.
It seemed like he thought those were the only things worth eating.
However, perhaps thinking we might go somewhere else if he claimed a seat first, he stopped walking and waited for us.
I looked at Ha-min with an expression that said “do something,” but he didn’t seem to have any solution either.
He had been so excited when he spotted me, but now he suddenly looked deflated.
“Should we go eat somewhere else?”
When I asked, life returned to Ha-min’s eyes.
“Should we?”
When I nodded silently, Ha-min quickly nodded his head a couple of times.
But as long as Kyun In kept his eyes on us, such a plan was meaningless.
“Do you think he’ll follow us if we leave?”
Ha-min asked first with a worried face.
“Let’s try going out anyway.”
I turned with the most nonchalant attitude possible, but Kyun In was already walking naturally alongside us, as if he was included in the plan.
Then I heard sighs of relief from the people there.
The atmosphere was as if we had become sacrificial offerings.
That’s not wrong either.
“I didn’t know lower-ranked Espers eat this kind of food.”
This is normal, and it’s just that they receive special treatment, so why does he say “this kind of food” dismissively?
“Hmm… what should we do? We shouldn’t eat there, though.”
What is he talking about to himself?
The impression was that he wanted us to eat together where he eats, but there seemed to be some problem with that.
“Guide Ha-min. Wouldn’t it be better for Guide Ha-min to eat here?”
“…”
He’s supposed to like Ha-min, so why is he acting like this?
Hearing those words, Ha-min had a perplexed expression.
It seemed like Kyun In’s words were too sweet to resist, but he couldn’t leave because of me.
“I arranged to eat with Esper Seo Eunwoo, so I’ll eat with him.”
“Is that so? What if I have something to discuss with Esper Seo Eunwoo alone?”
When Kyun In deliberately tensed his eyes and spoke that way, even someone with strong courage would be scared.
However, Ha-min, uncharacteristically, raised his head stiffly and looked at Kyun In.
“Our meal times are guaranteed too. If you have something to discuss, you can do it at another time.”
“Ho… I didn’t expect you to speak like that. Interesting.”
Kyun In smiled slightly.
He was smiling with his eyes, but he didn’t seem very pleased with this situation.
“Esper Seo Eunwoo. Come out with me.”
Thinking there was no need to respond anymore, I just sat down at an empty seat in the cafeteria.
Since our purpose in leaving was to shake off Kyun In, there was no longer any reason to try to go out if it turned out this way.
Ha-min seemed to have the same thought and sat down next to me.
He sat beside me rather than across from me, and it felt incredibly natural.
Then Kyun In sat across from us as if pleased with the arrangement.
“Interesting. From now on, let’s eat together like this.”
Perhaps thinking it would be impossible for the two of us to eat alone, he was awkwardly inserting himself between us.
I thought this would be uncomfortable for Ha-min, so I looked at him.
Thinking that he would rather eat separately with me than have a meal with Kyun In.
However, Ha-min just focused on his meal, and he looked quite comfortable.
The Ha-min I knew was so intimidated when with Kyun In that he couldn’t do anything properly…
Something seemed quite off and misaligned, but I decided not to worry about it anymore.
Why are there so many things to think about just for one meal?
I thought that even if Ha-min was uncomfortable, there was no need for me to step in and do something more, but while that seemed natural to me, after a little time passed, I found myself checking on Ha-min.
Since when did I have this kind of personality?
Doing this would only end up hurting him in the end.
I would eventually leave this place, and the more Ha-min relied on me, the greater his resentment and pain would be when I suddenly disappeared.
I knew how terribly painful it is to be left behind, to fail to protect someone, and I didn’t want Ha-min to experience that.
At the very least, I wanted to prevent it from happening because of me.
While I was thinking about this, my hand slowed down, and Ha-min looked at me.
Just then, my device suddenly rang.
While I was checking my device, Kyun In looked at his own, briefly grimaced, and then disappeared.
“Is it… a deployment?”
Ha-min asked with a worried face, and I nodded.
“Why is it so frequent?”
“It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
All the Espers left, and now only Guides remained in the cafeteria.
The expressions of the remaining Guides were mixed with love and hate.
It seemed like hatred and resentment toward Espers were slightly stronger than affection, but Ha-min’s expression was uniquely different.
I can’t describe it exactly, but there was definitely a difference between him and other Guides.
Perhaps he hopes that his Espers won’t get hurt, no matter how much he might dislike them?
I looked back briefly and caught sight of him, with his anxious face forcing a smile and raising his hand to me.
I just smiled involuntarily.
I hadn’t expected to receive such a greeting from the Ha-min in the novel.
***
When I was assigned to a team, it wasn’t particularly surprising, perhaps because I had expected it from the beginning.
I became part of Kyun In’s team.
When Kyun In designated me, the gazes of other Espers turned toward me.
Each silent eye was full of doubt.
Considering that many Espers considered it an honor to be chosen by Kyun In, this was natural.
“We’ll get to see what kind of Esper Seo Eunwoo is.”
Kyun In spoke as if that was his only purpose and got into the car.
I knew that he usually hurried more, but today he seemed quite relaxed.
Though that was only until we arrived at the dungeon.
Kyun In addressed me several times, and each time I either gave short answers or just let it pass if it didn’t seem like something I had to respond to.
Each time, the other Espers gave me looks as if hoping I would answer properly.
However, Kyun In didn’t express any dissatisfaction about it.
If he had any sense, he shouldn’t have been talking and disrupting my concentration like that.
“You seem nervous. No need for that. I’m just asking you to come along; I don’t expect anything from Esper Seo Eunwoo.”
The other Espers laughed at that.
Thinking he could say whatever he wanted, I kept my mouth shut.
The dungeon was almost no different from usual, and the monster didn’t seem particularly more dangerous.
“Today, let me handle this. The rest of you just maintain a safe distance and watch.”
I didn’t know if Kyun In usually did this, but to me it seemed like he was being reckless.
However, not wanting to draw attention by stepping forward unnecessarily, I was willing to stay quietly in place.
In the dungeon, Kyun In demonstrated overwhelming prowess.
It was enough to make me understand why people made such a big deal about Kyun In.
It was certainly fortunate to be living in the same era as someone so capable.
Moreover, the fact that there were two more humans similar to Kyun In was somewhat reassuring.
Kyun In put pressure on the monster from the beginning.
The monster was animal-shaped and as big as a house, but it was helplessly falling victim to Kyun In’s telekinesis.
‘So that’s how he uses telekinesis.’
The massive monster was being thrown around and smashed into walls.
With Kyun In completely dominating and applying pressure with terrifying force, the monster was clearly uncomfortable with his attacks.
There was the sound of wind, and when the monster flew into the wall and collapsed, bones could be heard breaking, and as other Espers’ attacks followed, the monster’s flesh tore, and its bodily fluids splattered.
I thought it would collapse soon, unable to hold out any longer, and everyone seemed to believe this dungeon would be conquered without much difficulty.
But then I felt a strange sense of incongruity.
‘…Something’s odd. What is it?’
Everything seemed to be proceeding properly.
Everyone would expect that at this rate, the dungeon would be cleared smoothly in a few minutes.
Then, for a very brief moment, the monster’s form appeared to overlap before returning to its original appearance.
I wondered if others had seen it too, but no one else seemed to have noticed anything unusual.
Kyun In raised his hand toward the monster as if thinking this would finally end it.
The monster was lifted like a piece of light trash and then slammed down at a terrifying speed, and the Espers exclaimed in delight at the success.
“Good work.”
“As expected of our team leader.”
“I was worried because dungeons were appearing back-to-back, but it seems the danger level of the dungeon itself and the strength of the monster aren’t that high.”
The Espers spoke as if the conquest had already been successful, and although his face was expressionless, Kyun In seemed to think the same.
But what went wrong?
The monster that had seemed completely finished slowly rose.
Kyun In himself was unaware of this fact and was walking toward us with his back to the monster, but the monster returned to the state it had been in when we first arrived there, as if the game had been reset.
The people present froze in place, unable to imagine such a situation.
Seeing our expressions, Kyun In finally seemed to realize something was wrong and turned around.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
