This was, in a way, an incredibly remarkable thing. To put it another way, it was like the probability of meeting a Guide with a 99% matching rate.
“No, I just got a little emotional. I’m your only brother after all.”
“You’re still my only brother.”
My prideful brother strongly denied it, but I could see the emotions he was hiding beneath the surface.
The frustration, helplessness, and inferiority complex of not being able to Guide the family member he most wanted to Guide.
My past self wouldn’t have understood those feelings, but my current self could empathize with my brother’s state of mind. After all, I too had experienced a moment when I had protected everything else but lost my only brother. Of course, what Woo Jeonghyun was feeling now probably wasn’t as intense as what I had felt then, but the fundamental aspect wasn’t different.
“Hyung, you’ve really changed.”
Woo Jeonghyun said to me with a strange expression, and I closed my eyes, using sleepiness as an excuse to say I was going to sleep.
“Wait, so what about my wish?”
Woo Jeonghyun shook my shoulder as I kept my eyes closed, demanding an answer to our unfinished conversation, but I kept pretending to be asleep until the end. My brother would usually pass out quickly after midnight no matter how alert he was, so after enduring a little longer, I soon heard steady breathing beside me.
‘I had my suspicions, but to think the future was changing because of me.’
Even though I’d found the definite cause of the future changing, I wasn’t happy at all. Rather, since realizing this fact, my heart had been trembling constantly, making it impossible to sleep.
‘Should I terminate the contract with Jeong Seyeon even now and send him to the Esper he was supposed to meet?’
But I didn’t think the already twisted future would return to normal even if I did that. Moreover, that would only be a temporary measure. To change the future where I die because of Joo Seolhyeon, I would continue to do things I originally didn’t do, and unexpected events would follow me each time. It would only get worse from here, not better.
‘No, I’ve made my decision, let’s just push forward.’
When a stream is small, you might try to block it with both hands, but once it grows larger, you can’t stop it even if you throw your whole body at it. Rather than that, it was better for me to go with the flow from the beginning.
‘And maybe I can prevent Jeonghyun’s death.’
Woo Jeonghyun remained alone in this house after I left, and he was alone when he was killed by the villain. If he lives with an S-class Esper, maybe he won’t be killed by the villain when they appear while he’s home alone.
‘No, this time I absolutely must prevent it.’
I hadn’t thought specifically about how to prevent it in a situation where I was already living with temporary Guides. But for me to live this life happily, my brother absolutely had to survive.
‘You have no idea I’m thinking like this, even in your dreams.’
I could clearly imagine Woo Jeonghyun complaining about me choosing Guides over my brother if he knew my true intentions, but I firmly made up my mind.
The next day, I honestly told my brother about the decision I’d made the previous night, and surprisingly, Woo Jeonghyun smiled with a mature face, saying it was just a joke and not to worry about it, closing the subject.
Woo Jeonghyun packed his things and left early for Zone A, and as I’d been told the day before, I sent my belongings to the Center and went with just myself to the gate where I had arranged to meet the Center Director.
The Center Director had arrived first and was receiving reports on the dungeon situation, and when I appeared, he immediately pushed me into the gate leading to the dungeon.
“Have a good trip, Esper Woo Jeongjae.”
‘What, straight in without any explanation?’
I had received instructions on protocols over the phone the day before, but I thought he would give me more explanations—apparently that was just my assumption.
It wasn’t a problem for me, already worn down from the battlefield, as detailed explanations were unnecessary, but the Center Director’s attitude of treating me as if he knew everything about me—which he shouldn’t—was quite irritating.
‘Did he really notice that I’ve regressed?’
It would be questionable whether people would believe me even if I mentioned regression while sober, but how many cases would there be where someone realizes you’ve regressed without you saying anything? Logically, I thought this assumption made the least sense. But the casual way he had tossed those words at me had planted deep anxiety that I couldn’t shake.
‘Let’s focus on the mission for now.’
I was already inside the dungeon, and the mission had begun. I frowned as I looked around at the vast prairie spread out before me.
“I expected this, but experiencing it firsthand is really disconcerting.”
This wasn’t the dungeon I had received during my first mission. I had considered that might be the case in the worst scenario, but actually experiencing it was different. I could feel my muscles contracting with tension.
“It’s even one level higher.”
The band the Center Director had given me before entering the dungeon was flashing with a higher value than in the past.
‘An A-class dungeon, huh.’
An A-class dungeon required at least two A-class Espers to clear. Even if I was S-class, it was a pretty intense dungeon for a first mission. I couldn’t grasp what the Center Director was thinking by pushing me in here, but this was quite a dangerous gamble from his perspective too. What would he do if I died from lack of experience? He’s really got guts.
I hadn’t been particularly conscious of him in the past, but after everything that happened the day before and now facing an A-class dungeon, I couldn’t help thinking about the Center Director. He was occupying my mind in a completely different way than Joo Seolhyeon.
‘I should think about this after getting out of here first.’
The grass that grew up to my knees began showing subtle movements different from their swaying in the wind. Those sporadic movements were getting closer to me, and I snapped my fingers without tension. A fireball appeared at my fingertips.
‘With Guides waiting robustly behind me, there’s no need to hold back.’
As I released my energy, not just my fingertips but thousands of fireballs appeared in the air as if enveloping my body.
Thinking that I could go wild without worrying about the risk of running amok for the first time in a while, I smiled freshly.
“Welcome, future charcoal smudges.”
I scattered the fireballs floating around me over the prairie. There was nothing that could stop me in the field.
“You came out faster than expected.”
The Center Director said to me after I had destroyed the core to cease the dungeon’s activity and emerged. I don’t know how much time had passed since I entered the dungeon.
“How’s your body?”
Instead of answering, I removed the band from my wrist and gave it to the Center Director. He looked at the red number displayed on the band and openly frowned. Honestly, I was surprised by that number too, but it seemed somewhat artificial for the very person who had pushed me into an A-class dungeon from my first mission to now look at me so seriously. Shouldn’t he have expected this level?
“Esper Woo Jeongjae, go straight home.”
The Center Director abruptly grabbed my wrist and put me in an Esper transport vehicle that was waiting. It was a specially made car by the government to prevent Espers with unstable wavelengths after missions from mixing with civilians, and it was mandatory to use this for transportation after missions.
“I’m not in such an unstable state, Director.”
Due to his unexpectedly intense reaction, I spoke to reassure him, and the Center Director, still with a serious face, said to me:
“From next time, it would be better to definitely bring a Guide along.”
“I understand that temporary Guides don’t have an obligation to accompany, though?”
This was also one of the reasons why temporary Guides were less efficient. Espers couldn’t refuse Guiding requests after dispatch, but that didn’t mean Guides had to accompany them on missions.
“Those ones will do it even if it’s not mandatory, so don’t come alone next time.”
I mean, I said I was fine, so I don’t understand why he’s being so hypersensitive. I recalled the last runaway risk value I saw when leaving the dungeon.
‘It was over 100, I guess.’
But it wasn’t close to 200; it was 121. Just 121.
This wasn’t a value for the Center Director to make such a fuss about. There was even a time when I constantly lived with a value of 130, so 121 was nothing.
“We’ll talk about this later. Return home and get Guided first. That’s an order.”
I knew that I myself didn’t look like I recognized the seriousness, but it hurt my pride a little when the Center Director sighed openly. Just how young did he think I was?
“And it was your first mission, but you did well. Good job.”
‘That’s right. This was my first mission.’
Before closing the car door, he patted my head and spoke, and I acknowledged that his exaggerated reaction was normal. But there was something I didn’t understand. It was the smile he gave me as he said those words. He was worried about me but smiled with a proud face.
‘Why did he look at me like that?’
If he was going to worry so much, he shouldn’t have assigned an A-class dungeon as my first mission. But he pushed me into danger without any explanation, and he seemed very proud of me for returning alive. What if it had been me from five years ago? Assuming I would have committed the atrocity of recklessly covering the entire field with flames, the conclusion was that I would have 100% gone berserk.
‘What’s the truth?’
When I entered the dungeon, I thought he might have discovered my identity, but his attitude toward me just now had somewhat alleviated that anxiety. But I still couldn’t completely relax. There was no guarantee that his dual nature wouldn’t repeat in the future.
I experienced extreme confusion.
‘If I asked him directly, would he answer?’
The meaningful words he had said to me, his incomprehensible attitude.
The car started, and I frowned deeply in thought for a long time, but no answers came.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
