“…Really?”
“Yes, like a body at its limit struggling to survive… It’s said that the name becomes visible even to people unrelated to the name, as if pleading to find this person.”
“Then what should I do now? If this continues…”
“What else? You need to try your best to prevent mana overload. Minimize ankle exposure during emergency treatment or guiding.”
“Will that be enough?”
“Well… Let’s observe if the same phenomenon occurs after this.”
After that incident, similar events occurred a few times. It always happened when severe mana overload occurred, to the point of losing consciousness from unbearable pain.
When Ryan was alive, he helped in every way possible, and after Brenda became his adjutant, she did the same. Iberis himself was also extremely cautious in his behavior, so his name wasn’t shown to others like that day.
Iberis finished his reminiscence with a bitter smile. Looking back now, he thought it might have been a signal that his body was breaking down and collapsing beyond repair, as Ryan had said. After all, he ended up receiving a terminal diagnosis.
“In the past… someone else saw my name. I’ve become quite sensitive about it since then.”
“Your name, Major?”
“Yes, apparently it sometimes happens to people suffering from guiding deficiency like me. Anyway, since then I’ve been reluctant to show my ankle to others. I was investigating former General Logan at the time, so I had to be careful not to reveal any weaknesses.”
Iberis briefly explained the situation after organizing his thoughts and choosing his words carefully.
“It naturally became a habit… It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just don’t want to show it to anyone.”
“I understand. It’s natural to become sensitive after experiencing an unexpected accident. Thank you for telling me frankly. I’ll be careful not to make you uncomfortable from now on.”
Lucas expressed his gratitude to Iberis after learning about his story. He had thought Iberis might avoid answering, so he was secretly pleased when he received an unexpectedly detailed response. It was proof that Iberis was opening up to him.
“No, it’s okay. As long as you don’t forcibly remove it… it’s fine.”
“Pardon?”
“During guiding, we both get excited and often lose our senses, so how could you be mindful of such things every time. Um, anyway… just be a little careful.”
Iberis smiled awkwardly, rambling a bit. He wanted to experience again the sensation he felt when Lucas bit his ankle where the name was engraved, but he was reluctant to show Lucas the name. Despite being attracted to Lucas, it was still difficult to trust him completely.
How could he trust someone who admitted to deceiving him, even if there were circumstances? Iberis took a sip of rooibos tea, feeling a bit conflicted.
“…Don’t you have a name too?”
Clank. Iberis asked casually as he put down his teacup on the table. He was just as curious about Lucas’s name.
“Pardon? Ah, yes. On my left shoulder blade…”
“Shoulder blade?”
“Yes. When the name first appeared, I wondered what it was because the characters were unfamiliar. With General Bismarck’s help, I learned that it was Hangul.”
“Hangul? You mean Korean? So that’s why you knew so much about Korea?”
Iberis showed interest, recalling the day when Lucas had talked about Korea.
“That’s right. I looked into it at the General’s suggestion. The name…”
“Ah, wait! You don’t have to say the name! No, don’t say it!”
Iberis hurriedly stopped Lucas, who was about to casually mention his name. Saying the name engraved on one’s body was impossible unless you truly trusted the other person. Or if you didn’t take the name seriously.
Either way, it meant Lucas considered him important, which wasn’t a bad feeling, but it was still burdensome. It felt like if he heard that name, there would be no turning back.
“Hmm, I understand. Anyway, the search for my name match ended in failure. Even with the help of the intelligence department.”
“I see… Well, meeting your name match isn’t an easy thing. They often say it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.”
Iberis felt relieved without realizing it when Lucas said he couldn’t find his name match.
“A Korean person… Don’t you want to meet them?”
Iberis blurted out the question while fidgeting with his teacup. Just as Espers receive the best effects when guided by their name match guide, it’s known that guides also experience an immense sense of fulfillment mentally when guiding their name match Esper.
Although it’s said that the physical pleasure and emotional satisfaction guides get from guiding Espers have significantly decreased since level 1 guiding became commonplace, from level 2 onwards, they can still obtain an indescribably intense satisfaction, just like in the past.
As a result, as the matching rate or guiding level increases, guides often show strong possessiveness and excessive attachment to the Espers they manage.
The ecstasy and fulfillment obtained from guiding a name match must be incomparably intense.
In many ways, it would be easier for Lucas to guide his name match rather than Iberis, who requires a lot of care. Or he could just do level 1 guiding for other Espers at headquarters like before.
Feeling unpleasantly about his own thoughts, Iberis gripped his teacup tightly. Imagining Lucas guiding someone else made him feel queasy. As if he was jealous.
No, am I really jealous?
Momentarily confused, Iberis brought the teacup to his lips as if to hide the turmoil in his heart. The few seconds waiting for Lucas’s answer felt like hours, making his mouth go dry.
“I was curious before, but not anymore.”
Fortunately, Lucas didn’t seem very interested in his name match.
“…Why? They might need your help.”
“Well, maybe I’m hoping they never appear.”
“Huh?”
“If they’re already paired with a well-matched guide or dating someone, the appearance of a name match might not be welcome. They could also be unregistered.”
“Unregistered?”
“Yes, I think this is more likely. In Korea, it’s mandatory to register with the government upon awakening, right? The fact that I couldn’t find them suggests they’re either a Korean with foreign citizenship or an unregistered Esper.”
“Ah.”
Iberis let out a small exclamation at the plausible speculation. Having a Korean name doesn’t necessarily mean living in that country. His own mother was like that. Though he didn’t know the exact circumstances, she was Korean but lived in the slums of the Defense Zone.
Among his unit members, there were quite a few cases of people with names different from their country of origin. Some changed their names to match their new nationality after naturalization or marriage, while others used aliases for various reasons… Each had their own unique story.
“Anyway, I don’t think it’s necessary to meet your name match. It’s not like you’ll die if you don’t pair with them.”
Lucas said in a cold voice. Honestly, he hoped that neither his name match nor Iberis’s would appear before them. He was already busy trying to win Iberis’s heart; unnecessary interference was unwelcome.
So you wouldn’t look for them even if the opportunity came?
Iberis swallowed the question he couldn’t bring himself to ask out loud, sipping his lukewarm tea. He felt ambivalent, wanting to hear a definite answer from Lucas but also dreading it.
What right do I have?
Iberis let out a deflating sound and sighed softly. He felt he was asking for too much while being indecisive about his relationship with Lucas. In the end, he chose silence, suppressing his curiosity and jealousy.
Lucas also didn’t bring up the topic of names again. He felt that continuing the conversation would only make things worse. So the two of them slowly emptied their teacups in an awkward silence.
Chapter 7. 82%
Click, click.
Only the soft sound of mouse clicks echoed in the quiet office. Yuki nervously watched Livio, who had his eyes fixed on the laptop monitor. He was reviewing the reinvestigation data on Luke Illum.
“Hmm.”
Livio finally took his hand off the mouse and leaned back in his chair, humming.
“There’s nothing new. It’s all information we already knew…”
Yuki flinched at Livio’s mumbling, as if feeling a chill. He had already been worried about the lack of new findings from this reinvestigation.
“Should we investigate further?”
“No, that’s enough. If we’ve gotten the same result twice, a third time would likely be the same. But one thing has become certain.”
“Yes?”
“At the beginning of this year, there was indeed a critical health issue with Major Hyun, and General Bismarck noticed it and sent Luke Illum to him. And the Captain’s guiding and treatment have been very successful.”
Livio muttered ominously while playing a recent combat video of Iberis. In the video, Iberis was performing a feat of freezing thousands of monsters in an instant.
“Comparing from a year ago to this latest video, Major Hyun’s firepower is consistently improving. In contrast, the aftereffects he suffers post-combat are decreasing.”
“That means…”
“It means the Major’s condition is gradually improving. And the person responsible for this change is Luke Illum.”
Fierce killing intent filled the red eyes that glared at Lucas supporting Iberis after the battle in the video.
“I misjudged. Instead of planning to assassinate Major Hyun, I should have eliminated his guide first.”
