“…Huh?”
Brenda frowned as if she had heard something bizarre.
“What do you mean by ‘reveal’? Why do you think that?”
Just how far have they gone without me knowing? Brenda narrowed her eyes and stared at Iberis, who was covering his face with both hands.
No wonder he seemed to have a strange sensuality when he came to work this morning.
Brenda’s tightly closed lips twitched as if they were about to curl upwards. Although Iberis seemed serious, this was great news for someone supporting their love.
Brenda let her imagination run wild as she waited for Iberis’s answer. Even if they hadn’t gone all the way, Lucas must have been making passionate advances.
“Well…”
Iberis hesitated, unable to answer Brenda’s question right away. She was the only one who knew about Lucas’s confession to him and was an excellent counselor. But even so, it was embarrassing to reveal intimate details of what happened in bed.
“You know I’m doing level 2 guiding with the Captain. I’m wondering if that’s why I keep feeling drawn to him…”
“Ah.”
Brenda exclaimed with a knowing expression. Iberis’s concern was something that every Esper experienced at least once.
“I thought… Well, it might not be entirely absent, but even if it is, is it a problem? It just means you two are compatible.”
“It’s just… liking someone because of the physical aspect…”
“You think it’s not sincere?”
My goodness, how innocent. Brenda clicked her tongue, looking at Iberis as if he were a child left alone in the world. Iberis was admittedly brilliant in other areas, but when it came to relationships, he was more awkward than a 5-year-old.
“…Yeah, don’t you think so?”
“Hmm, so to summarize what you’re saying, Major, you’re worried that you might be falling for the Captain’s guiding rather than the person himself?”
“…I’ve heard that many Espers mistake their addiction to a guide’s guiding for liking the person. I feel like I’m in exactly that state now…”
“In other words, the Captain’s guiding is good enough to make you worry about such things.”
“Ugh.”
Iberis’s lips quivered as if struck at his core, and he nodded slightly.
“…You’re right. Look at me today. It’s affecting my work. It’s really troublesome.”
“Oh my.”
Brenda let out an exclamation as Iberis readily agreed. She knew the two were compatible, but she didn’t expect Iberis to fall this quickly. She almost wanted to run to Lucas and ask him what exactly he had done to their Major.
“Is this what they call physical love…?” Iberis muttered to himself.
“…Pfft.”
Brenda cleared her throat, suppressing a laugh that almost escaped. While Iberis was serious, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Ahem, what’s wrong with love that starts from physical attraction? It’s very common among ability users.”
“But… the Captain probably didn’t like me for my body…”
“Pardon?”
“If I fall for the Captain’s guiding and skinship, wouldn’t that make me seem shallow? Wouldn’t he dislike that?”
“Eh? Not at all.”
Brenda waved her right hand as if she had heard something absurd.
“What’s wrong with being a bit shallow? Physical compatibility is crucial between lovers. And knowing the Captain, he’s probably planning to actively use his body to seduce you, and then some.”
It seems that strategy is already working brilliantly, Brenda thought, swallowing her words as she looked at Iberis with a complex expression.
Due to his unique abilities, Iberis had never experienced intense skinship with others before meeting Lucas. Having no immunity to the pleasure of guiding or sexual contact, he probably reacted strongly even to Lucas’s slightest touch. The clever Lucas wouldn’t have missed that opportunity.
“What? Could it be… No, is that so?”
Iberis furrowed his brow, momentarily confused and lost in thought. He had occasionally wondered if Lucas was using his charms on purpose.
Lucas was so good with words that Iberis had felt entranced more than once or twice. Even today, hadn’t he completely fallen for Lucas’s subtle touches and allure?
“Anyway, just because you’re feeling strange urges due to the Captain’s guiding doesn’t mean you’re a person with strong sexual desires or someone who’s into lewd things, Major.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Besides, I don’t think seducing someone with your body is necessarily bad. It’s a common method… So there’s no need to feel guilty about being swayed by it. They say the brave win the beauty, right?”
Brenda shrugged her shoulders, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia. She never thought she’d see the day when she’d be giving Iberis relationship advice. If things work out between them, I’ll have to treat myself later, she thought with a slight eye smile as she continued in a gentle tone.
“Think about when we attack rifts. We use every method at our disposal to defeat monsters, right? I think it’s the same principle.”
“Hmm.”
“It seems like you’re more confused because you have less guiding experience compared to others, Major… But surprisingly, guiding is quite affected by each other’s emotions. That’s why the matching rate increases as the relationship between the Esper and guide improves.”
“Ah.”
Iberis let out an exclamation as he recalled a fact he had forgotten. As Brenda said, when the relationship between an Esper and a guide was good, the matching rate naturally increased.
It was for this reason that Lucas had taken care of Iberis’s meals every day and performed guiding once a day when he first arrived, and even proposed psychological counseling and cohabitation – all to narrow the physical and psychological distance between them and increase their matching rate.
“While good compatibility tends to result in better matching rates, if an Esper and guide genuinely dislike or distrust each other, it’s difficult for the rate to improve beyond a certain point. Sometimes it even drops below the initial level. But your matching rate with the Captain is rising unusually fast, isn’t it?”
“…”
“That’s why I think your attraction to the Captain isn’t just because of sexual desire.”
Brenda expressed her opinion with a voice as confident as her expression.
“Although ability users are said to be more open to physical relationships compared to ordinary people… there are quite a few cases where even if they become addicted to a particular guide’s guiding, they don’t feel sexual impulses towards them. You probably know this better than anyone, Major. That you’re not just conscious of the Captain for such reasons.”
“…You’re right.”
Iberis hesitated for a moment, then nodded almost imperceptibly. He took a deep breath as if to calm himself, then met Brenda’s eyes with a more refreshed expression.
“Thank you. For listening to my strange thoughts… It helped me organize my thoughts a bit.”
“It’s nothing. I’m glad I could help.”
Brenda smiled brightly, feeling proud at Iberis’s words of gratitude. While it slightly upset her to think of the innocent Major being completely ensnared by the cunning Captain, considering Iberis’s personality, someone like Lucas was perfect for him.
“If you have any more concerns, feel free to ask anytime. After all, I’m your senior when it comes to romance.”
Brenda joked with an enthusiastic attitude. Nothing was more interesting than other people’s love stories in the austere military life. Above all, she sincerely wished for Iberis’s happiness.
“Haha, that’s reassuring.”
Iberis laughed softly at Brenda’s joke. Just then, a knock interrupted their conversation.
“Major, it’s me.”
“…! Luke?”
Iberis’s shoulders stiffened in surprise at the unexpected visitor. When he didn’t answer, Lucas’s voice was heard again.
“May I come in?”
“Huh? Oh. Come in.”
As soon as Iberis gave permission, the door swung open. Lucas’s face was noticeably tense as he entered.
“What brings you here? It’s almost time for guiding…”
Surely he didn’t come to make sure I wouldn’t run away, did he? Iberis felt oddly guilty as he asked, looking at Lucas’s rigid expression. Although he hadn’t acted on it, he had been considering excuses to refuse guiding just minutes ago.
“About 30 minutes ago, a person believed to have instigated your assassination was found dead.”
“What?”
Iberis’s gray eyes widened at Lucas’s news. He stood up abruptly and questioned Lucas as if asking for more details.
“What do you mean?”
“The Investigation Bureau just contacted Lieutenant Denver. The police responded to a report of a strange smell from the neighboring house, and they found two bodies inside. When they checked their identities, they turned out to be Isaac Miller, the information team leader of the Mars Guild, and a villain named Anna Judith. They also found documents detailing plans for your assassination at the scene.”
