“You need to take good care of your health, because oppa will be sad if you’re sick, Major.”
“Regina…”
“Next time, let’s meet when you’re in even better shape. Or else, I’ll sacrifice my hair once more.”
Regina stepped back slightly after her final words of advice. Then, as if trying to lighten the serious mood, she added playfully.
“What? That’s not allowed.”
“Haha. If you don’t like that, then you just need to stay healthy, Major!”
Regina laughed out loud, holding her skirt with both hands and bowing her head slightly. It was an incredibly graceful pose, unlike her usual mischievous self.
“Please take good care of our oppa.”
“…Okay.”
Iberis, suddenly feeling emotional, tensed his lips. He felt a lump in his throat, deeply moved by Regina’s sincere concern for Lucas and her wish for his happiness.
He thought that perhaps it was because of Regina that Lucas had been able to endure and not lose himself while living under a false identity for nearly 10 years.
The sense of duty to protect his only family, the guilt of owing his life to his younger sister, and her pure-heartedness that comforted his tired heart must have been the support for his lonely and difficult life.
At least when meeting Regina, he could take off the mask of Luke Illum and return to being Lucas Lowell Blake, her brother.
“Alright, that’s the end of our goodbyes!”
Regina sat in her wheelchair with a refreshed expression. Having said everything she wanted to say, she felt relieved.
“What secret were you two whispering about? Why did I hear something about taking care of me?”
At that moment, Lucas, who had been quietly watching the two, spoke up curiously.
“Oppa doesn’t need to know!”
“It seemed to be about me though…”
“Oh come on, did you think I was saying something bad?”
Regina glanced at Lucas as if to say ‘why are you so curious?’ Then, as if feeling mischievous, her eyes sparkled.
“Okay, I’ll tell you, since I’m feeling generous. I was lobbying because I was worried you might get dumped by the Major!”
“What?”
“I asked him not to abandon our hopeless oppa, but to date you nicely and then marry you.”
“Huh…”
Lucas let out an exasperated sigh as Regina looked at him with an expression that said ‘I did well, right?’
“Oh, that’s right. If you ever get tired of oppa, come to me. The proposal I made before is still valid.”
Regina winked at Iberis.
“What do you mean ‘still valid’? Didn’t I tell you not to trouble the Major?”
Lucas hugged Iberis from behind with a grumpy face. Even though he knew it was a joke, it was hard to take it lightly.
“Hmm, the Major doesn’t look troubled at all though? It’s ugly when a man gets jealous and obsessive over trivial things, oppa.”
“Are you going to keep acting up? Sigh, enough.”
Lucas shook his head and pulled Iberis closer to him. It seemed better to leave quickly rather than engage in a childish argument with Regina and lose points with his lover.
“Let’s go now. We need to leave now to make it in time for the flight.”
“Is that so?”
Iberis looked at Regina with a regretful expression when Lucas announced that it was time to leave. He bent down to meet her eyes and said goodbye in a kind voice.
“Regina. Study hard and have fun with your friends.”
“You too, oppa! Don’t get hurt, and um, fighting!”
Regina clenched her fists to show support for Iberis, then immediately opened her hands wide to wave.
“…Next time we meet, I’ll come back fully recovered so you won’t have to worry.”
“Oh, that would be great! Take care!”
Iberis got into the car, receiving Regina’s send-off. He hoped that next time, whenever that might be, he could return here with good news.
* * *
“This is impossible!”
Yuki, who had received the results, screamed as if in disbelief. She hoped she had seen it wrong, but the words “Matching rate 80%” written on the paper remained unchanged.
“Umm, Ms. Shiroi Yuki. I understand you’re shocked, but please try to calm down.”
The doctor tried to soothe the agitated Yuki with a businesslike expression and calm voice.
“You know that the matching rate changes from time to time, right? It’s not easy to maintain a certain level for a long time.”
“But this is too serious! It was 87% just last month!”
Yuki crumpled the results sheet and shouted loud enough to shake the infirmary. Objectively speaking, 80% is not a bad figure. But not for her. Because if it falls below 80%, she’ll be cut from being Livio’s exclusive guide.
Although she barely made it, she didn’t know what would happen when the report went up to him. Even though she met the minimum criteria, her matching rate had suddenly dropped by 7%, so Livio wouldn’t leave her alone.
Things that lose their value are meant to be discarded.
Even if she somehow managed to get through this time, if her matching rate dropped just 1% from here, Livio would immediately discard her. No, it would be fortunate if he just kicked her out. Knowing Livio, it wouldn’t be strange if he eliminated her.
But she couldn’t quit the guild on her own either. Over the past few years, Yuki had seen and heard too much while living as Livio’s secretary. She had often carried out illegal tasks under his orders. Livio would surely try to erase Yuki from the world, if only to maintain secrecy.
So, even if she didn’t like it, she had to stick close to Livio as his guide. That was her only way to survive. But now a red flag had been raised.
“There must have been an error! Please test me again!”
“That’s impossible. We received mana stones according to the number of the Guild Master’s exclusive guides, so there are no extras.”
The doctor coldly refused. Currently, Livio had five or six exclusive guides besides Yuki. So he favored the method of injecting mana into mana stones when testing matching rates. The reason was that it was bothersome to test each one individually.
“More importantly, we need to figure out why your matching rate has dropped this much… Have you been under a lot of stress recently? Or have you been seriously ill?”
“…”
“Or, well, this is delicate, but… have you felt disappointed in the Guild Master? As you know, matching rates are greatly affected by the emotional rapport between the esper and guide.”
“I don’t know.”
Yuki, with her head bowed low, refused to answer. The reason for the drop in matching rate? Of course, it was because of Livio. After being stripped of her secretary position, her daily life had become a mess.
Livio demanded high-level guiding from Yuki every time. Even in situations where guiding wasn’t necessary, he summoned her to relieve his stress. Now she wasn’t sure if she was a guide or a prostitute. In such a situation, how could her matching rate be high?
“Um, doctor.”
After pondering for a moment, Yuki called out to the doctor in a desperate voice. No matter how she thought about it, if the news of her lowered matching rate reached Livio’s ears, nothing good would come of it. Anxious, she opened her mouth as if grasping at straws.
“Well, you know, the method using mana stones is somewhat less accurate and reliable, right?”
“That’s right. And?”
“When you submit this inspection report to the Guild Master, could you please say that it seems there was an error with mine?”
“…Are you asking me to lie?”
“It’s not a lie, it’s actually a possibility…”
“Enough, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that suggestion.”
The doctor cut off Yuki’s words and became serious. He snapped at her with a face that suggested he had heard something very insulting.
“How could you make such a proposal… I’m very offended. You seem to be taking me lightly because I haven’t been working here long…”
“No, that’s not it! It’s just that I’m so desperate…”
“Sigh, Ms. Yuki. I understand you’re flustered. But it didn’t drop to the 70% range, so don’t worry too much. Even if you’re cut from being the Guild Master’s exclusive guide, what’s the problem? You can guide other guild members.”
“Doctor… you’re saying that because you don’t know how terrifying the Guild Master is.”
“What don’t I know? Although I’ve rarely met the Guild Master directly, I’m well aware that he treats people like tools. Just look at what happened to the Information Team Leader last time.”
Yuki’s shoulders flinched when the doctor mentioned the deceased Isaac.
“Still, what’s not possible is not possible. If I make a mistake, I could lose my medical career.”
“If I just keep my mouth shut…”
“Haa, Ms. Yuki. Stop being unreasonable. And what if we get another mana stone and the test shows the same result? What will you do then?”
“That’s…”
Just as Yuki was at a loss for words, there was a knock at the door.
“Excuse me. I’m here to collect the inspection results for the guild guides.”
“Come in.”
Before Yuki could say anything, the doctor let the visitor in. As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of the doorknob turning was heard.
“Oh? Are you still being examined? Huh? Yuki?”
The one who came to the infirmary was Karas. As he opened the door, he saw Yuki sitting in a chair and his eyes widened in surprise.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
