Banteon stared from a distance at the crowd gathering with a heavy heart. Amid the people forming a dome around Delroz, his tall frame and black hair, standing a head above the rest, could be seen clearly.
What was the Center thinking, sending an Esper who hadn’t even completed basic training into the field? He didn’t even have a guide accompanying him. That meant they hadn’t even assigned him a temporary match yet. No matter how urgent the situation, they shouldn’t have sent someone carrying that much risk here.
Banteon let out a deep sigh and looked down at the ground. Surrounded by a crowd cheering the arrival of an SS-rank Esper, he alone scratched at the dirt gloomily.
“An SS-rank! It’s my first time seeing one!”
“This is insane. I’m so glad I applied to the Subjugation Squad.”
He could hear the voices of people thrilled by this rare sight. Banteon lowered his head among the crowd craning their necks and standing on tiptoe, trying to get a better view. Another sigh escaped as his gaze followed the dusty ground.
Nothing ever went according to plan. He’d come here trying to avoid a maggot, only for that maggot to follow him. And worse—he’d followed him to a place where they were even more likely to clash than at the Center.
This was worse than the worst-case scenario he’d imagined. At the Center, they lived in different buildings and rarely crossed paths. But here, most operations took place in a single building. Their chances of running into each other had drastically increased.
Banteon pulled out his terminal, checked his schedule, and tapped on the edit button. What was done couldn’t be undone. The only option was to come up with a solution quickly.
‘Team 2 is likely to be the advance unit. Team 4, which just returned, should be safe.’
He calculated how best to avoid Delroz. Team 4 had only recently come back, with many injured and in need of guiding. Other guides avoided them like the plague, but for Banteon, they were ideal. He made plans to work from early morning to late night for the foreseeable future.
Better to wear himself out physically than to mortgage the rest of his life.
He requested to be assigned to Team 4 for the entire remaining period on the calendar and confirmed the change. As he watched the slowly shifting crowd, he noticed how people moved fluidly like a school of fish with every step Delroz took.
Even among the masses, his bluish-black hair stood out like a beacon.
At least he’s easy to spot—makes him easier to avoid. With that pathetic thought, Banteon turned away.
Wherever he went, that guy would attract attention. As long as he avoided crowded places and kept his head down, there wouldn’t be much chance of them crossing paths.
Cheers burst out behind him, aimed at Delroz. The atmosphere had already become celebratory. People shouted with joy as if the monsters had all been dealt with. Feeling like the only mourner at a festival, Banteon tilted his head toward the sky, then shook it with a sigh. Then again, even funerals could be seen as festivals, couldn’t they?
Banteon walked toward his tent, feeling like he was trudging toward his own grave.
With his mind tangled in thought, Banteon didn’t notice—among the cheering crowd watching the newly arrived Subjugation Squad, one pair of eyes was fixed intently on his retreating back.
***
“Didn’t expect you to apply here.”
“If I’d known you were here, I wouldn’t have.”
“Cold as ever.”
He’d been too distracted to think about it. Team 4 was a unit composed of additional Espers sent in as reinforcements. Of all people, Tearot was their team leader.
He should have remembered, especially knowing Tearot had recently gone to the abandoned mine. But he’d been so preoccupied with Delroz that it completely slipped his mind.
“Our team’s just returned and probably has the heaviest workload. And you volunteered, no less?”
“Shut up.”
“So you’ve finally decided to fulfill your noble duties?”
He smacked Tearot hard on the back, earning a loud smack. Of course, it only made Banteon’s palm sting.
“I’m serious. That’s what people are saying, you know? I heard you even volunteered for extra shifts?”
“I did.”
“The rumors are wild. They say you’re the model noble, a textbook guide. People are calling you practically a saint. I thought I misheard.”
This was exactly why Banteon didn’t want to be placed in the same team as Tearot. He was already insufferably frivolous, but he also had a certain level of social standing. And only when he was with Banteon did he become such a chatterbox. He’d been that way since they were kids.
The curious glances coming from all directions were seriously annoying. Even when Banteon nudged him to shut up, Tearot, oblivious as ever, just smiled and kept teasing. It might’ve been meant as playful affection, but when it came from a guy a head taller, it was just cumbersome.
“Get lost. You can’t even receive guiding.”
Guiding between relatives was strictly forbidden. In the early days of the kingdom, cousin marriages had been allowed. It was a recommended practice to increase the probability of Espers being born. But after several generations, serious side effects had emerged.
Incurable genetic diseases and hereditary illnesses began to haunt noble families like a shadow.
As their average life expectancy dropped below fifty and the quality of Espers declined, the royal court passed a law prohibiting marriage between relatives within the fourth degree. Along with it, guiding—which could easily lead to sexual intimacy—was also banned.
“Shame. I’ve heard our dear Banteon’s guiding is absolutely top-class. Too bad I’ll never get to experience it, since we’re related.”
“If we weren’t related, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”
“So cold. Icy.”
Ignoring Tearot’s whining, Banteon walked into the guiding room to begin his work. He began roughly sorting through the belongings he’d brought.
“Move. You’re in the way.”
Each time Banteon reached for something, Tearot shifted a step like he was trying to be considerate, though the playful grin never left his face.
“Do you really need a guiding room? According to legend, the great Banteon can bestow precision blessings to each individual Esper in a room packed with people…”
“You little….”
That he had followed him all the way in here just to keep pestering—Banteon flung the blanket he’d been holding straight at Tearot’s face. The guy looked like someone who wouldn’t flinch even if hit with a rock, yet when the blanket smacked him squarely, he pulled a wounded expression.
“Sniff sniff. That’s so mean. I was only worried about you.”
“If you’re going to fake-cry, at least dab some spit in your eyes.”
“Ew, that’s gross. No thanks.”
The way he said it so seriously made Banteon want to punch him for real. Knowing he’d only be wasting energy, Banteon slumped into a cushioned chair to cool himself off.
Normally, he was the one teasing Tearot and enjoying it, but lately the dynamic kept shifting. He couldn’t help it. Tearot was not the kind of person to let a flimsy excuse slide in place of an unspoken truth—especially when Banteon himself had to admit that his recent behavior was unlike him.
“But is it true? You, with your personality, gave guiding in public?”
“It wasn’t the street. It was the waiting room.”
“Same thing.”
Tearot’s reaction wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Rumors about Banteon were spiraling out of control within the Subjugation Squad. The gossip had taken on a life of its own, growing exaggerated and bloated with details even the person involved could barely keep up with.
Even Banteon, who had watched it happen in real time, found the escalation overwhelming. For Tearot, who had just returned from deployment, it must’ve been absolutely jaw-dropping.
“They say it’s dangerous when someone starts acting out of character.”
“I’ve already told you—there’s nothing to worry about.”
“You sure?”
“……”
“Bante… are you really okay?”
Before he knew it, the teasing tone had vanished from Tearot’s voice. The concern in his gaze was sincere. They’d known each other long enough to understand each other’s personalities inside and out. Tearot might come off simple-minded most of the time, but he wasn’t the type to let something go just because Banteon said he was fine.
Banteon averted his gaze slightly from the steady, unwavering eyes fixed on him.
“…I’ll tell you later.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah.”
“If you lie, I’ll really be pissed.”
“Do what you want.”
“Well… I guess I’ll be generous just this once.”
Only after Banteon confirmed again did Tearot finally relax. Done playing parent, he lazily exited the guiding room in response to Banteon’s unspoken command to get lost.
Even as he walked out, he left behind a final warning not to overdo it.
‘Finally some peace and quiet.’
With the noisy one gone, the room returned to its usual calm atmosphere. Not that it was so bad. Having a comfortable conversation after so long loosened the tension in his body, stiffened from time on the battlefield.
He complained, but at times like this, Tearot was surprisingly helpful.
Banteon opened his task log and terminal to get to work. There were eight Espers scheduled for guiding today. Depending on how one looked at it, that was either a lot or not that many.
He raised the terminal again and marked himself as available for additional sessions. He wasn’t exactly thrilled to take on more work, but if he wanted to avoid Delroz, staying holed up in here was the smarter option. The guiding room was strictly one-on-one—Banteon could completely control who he met here. As long as he stayed in this space, he wouldn’t run into Delroz.
A bitter smile crossed his face at how far he had to go just to avoid someone. He marked the first name on the list with a quick stroke of his black pen.
***
By the time Banteon finished all his guiding sessions, the sun was already setting. Darkness fell quicker in the mountains than it did on the plains. As he stepped onto the path, the red hue had fully disappeared behind the ridge, and a thick scent of forest filled the air. Instead of heading straight for the dorms, Banteon took a slow walk, glancing around as he went.
Perhaps everyone had finished work earlier than usual—unlike most days, the headquarters, which was normally aglow, now had dark patches where windows remained unlit. In contrast, the dormitory area was brightly lit.
