Since so many students were absent anyway, a makeup class was inevitable. As Banteon closed the textbook, cheers erupted among the students.
“Don’t get excited. I’m adding this to the exam.”
“Awww.”
“There have been eight cases of naturally occurring Espers recorded so far. You remember that, right?”
“Yes!”
Naturally occurring Espers were extremely rare—only eight had appeared in nearly a thousand years of the kingdom’s history.
“When the first naturally occurring Esper appeared, the concept of an ‘Esper’ didn’t even exist. Since it happened before any records were kept, stories of it were passed down orally. People thought of him as a figure from legend. That view didn’t change until the second and third Espers appeared and founded the kingdom.”
Two naturally occurring Espers happened to be born in the same era. Each married their respective Guide, and together, their families established the kingdom—the very same kingdom Banteon now lived in.
“The children born from the second and third Espers married each other, and all their descendants manifested as Espers. That’s when people realized Esper abilities were hereditary.”
“We know that already.”
“Even if you do, listen. After that, people with mixed Esper bloodlines began to be called nobles.”
“We know that too!”
Nobles were a class born from Esper descendants marrying among themselves, greatly increasing the probability of manifestation. Over time, this bred a sense of pride in their distinct bloodline and a tight-knit bond among them, creating a new power elite.
Adjusting his glasses, Banteon continued his lecture.
“After the kingdom’s founding, five naturally occurring Espers have appeared. All of them were S-rank. Only the first Esper, the one passed down through oral history, is estimated to have been SS-rank.”
“An SS-rank exists?”
“How different is that from S-rank?”
“How do they even know he was SS-rank?”
As soon as a more exciting topic came up, even the quiet students started clamoring. Overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, Banteon slammed his hand on the desk with a loud thwack.
“Quiet. There’s no definitive evidence that the first Esper was SS-rank. It’s just an estimate.”
“But there must be some basis, right?”
“The current scholarly definition classifies someone as SS-rank if their metrics exceed those of an S-rank Esper by a factor of three.”
“That’s insane.”
“Wait, is that even possible?”
The classroom buzzed even louder than before despite his call for silence. The students’ voices filled the room like excited chatter.
“So how powerful was the first Esper to be considered SS-rank?”
One student finally asked something worth addressing. Ignoring the rest of the noise, Banteon resumed his explanation.
“There’s a massive desert in the middle of the continent. You all know it, right?”
“Yes! The Yuaru Desert!”
“The area where the Yuaru Desert now lies used to be a lush, densely forested region filled with towering mountains and deep woods. Fossils dug up there include broadleaf and tropical species. That place turned into a desert because of the first Esper’s rampage.”
The first Esper never found his Guide. In fact, it’s likely he didn’t even understand what a Guide was. He was said to have lived his entire life in agony.
It started with tinnitus and hallucinations, and eventually escalated to constant, searing pain as if his entire body were being shredded.
People who first encountered the Esper were terrified by his transcendental power and the madness that accompanied it. Anyone remotely associated with him—whether a comrade, a friend, or a lover—was shunned.
In the end, it was said that no one was spared—not even children.
Having lost everyone he loved, the first Esper finally lost control in the heart of the continent. To this day, a vast, endless desert remains at that very spot, splitting the land in two. His power scorched the soil so thoroughly that even centuries later, not a single blade of grass can grow there.
“That’s badass.”
“What happened to the people living there? Did they all die?”
“Of course they all died, idiot. A mountain turned into a desert. How would anyone survive that?”
The children, wide-eyed and fascinated, took in the tragic history like a grand epic. That kind of idolization of strength was a luxury of youth.
With the kids chattering non-stop, Banteon let out a small sigh.
This wasn’t how he’d planned the lesson at all. Watching the students now completely out of control, all he could manage was a bitter smile.
“You won’t be able to focus anyway, so just self-study for the rest of class.”
“Come on, teacher! Tell us more! If they’re both S-rank, is a naturally occurring one stronger?”
“Are there any perks to becoming a naturally occurring Esper’s Guide?”
Normally, they’d cheer at the mention of self-study, but now they were practically chirping in protest.
Pressing a hand to his throbbing temple, Banteon sat down in a chair off to the side.
If he humored them, they’d keep talking until class ended.
“Self-study. Quietly.”
“Aww…”
Realizing they weren’t going to get any more answers, the students finally began to settle down one by one. The stream of questions trickled off.
A few kept whispering under their breath, glancing around for signs of tolerance—but that much he let slide.
Even Tearot, who was practically an adult, got all excited earlier. No surprise that kids would be even worse.
Banteon scanned the empty seats again. As he recalled the families they belonged to, he retraced his thoughts. More households were reacting than he’d expected.
Tearot’s earlier words came to mind—he’d said he had a bad feeling. That beastlike intuition of his wasn’t something to ignore completely. Just as Tearot had predicted, Banteon himself likely wouldn’t be directly caught up in anything troublesome, but the noise around him would definitely escalate.
Checking the time, Banteon saw that class was nearly over. He turned to the blackboard and began writing out homework assignments. Since the lecture had been derailed, he would make up for it with homework.
Grumbles started to rise from the back as the list of assignments grew longer and longer. Banteon set down the chalk just as the bell rang, feeling a small satisfaction at their whining.
This buzz of excitement would die down in a few days. He just needed to endure it for a little while.
It wasn’t as if naturally occurring Espers had never appeared before. As always, the result would be S-rank, and then they’d be blended into the regular Esper training program. The Center would assign them a suitable Guide.
Even those who had initially been interested would gradually forget as time passed—
“Hey! Breaking news! That naturally occurring Esper—he just got ranked SS! Ah—sir.”
A student burst into the classroom mid-sentence, having sprinted in right as the bell rang. Only after shouting did he realize Banteon was still standing at the lectern. The student paled, but before Banteon could scold him, the class exploded in cheers.
The word SS-rank sent the students into a frenzy. Screams echoed through the lecture hall, and Banteon pressed his fingers to his ears, trying to muffle the sharp, stabbing noise that threatened to split his eardrums.
***
Time passed quickly.
“You were with Rete today, weren’t you?”
“Damn. Yesterday it was Joanna.”
Even if his schedule didn’t overlap with the rumored SS-rank Esper, information kept trickling in regardless.
His name was Delroz. At 192 centimeters, even among Espers he was exceptionally tall, with black hair tinged in blue.
Those who had seen him in person raved about his looks, but Banteon felt nothing. A nuisance was still a nuisance, no matter how attractive. A man that large and loud was the farthest thing from Banteon’s interest.
Still, time had a way of smoothing things out. Compared to the initial chaos, life had become relatively stable again.
Delroz didn’t attend any of Banteon’s lectures. He was planning to breeze through the beginner levels, and it would take quite a while before he reached Banteon’s advanced classes. Hopefully, this whole fuss would blow over before then.
“Sir, who do you think Delroz will get matched with?”
“Probably a female Guide.”
“Oh, right.”
There was at least one thing Banteon found mildly agreeable.
When Delroz entered the Center, he made a single, firm request—that his Guide be female.
At the Center, where people were paired strictly by Esper-Guide compatibility, same-sex partnerships weren’t uncommon. But having grown up a commoner all his life, Delroz was said to have an intense aversion to the idea. A rare, commendable stance.
Because of that request, female Guides were lining up daily to take matching tests with him. Some, too impatient to wait, had even begun sneaking into his room late at night.
According to Center regulations, sexual contact without a match was strictly forbidden. In such a tightly controlled facility, it was unthinkable. But Delroz was too tempting a prize. Everyone turned a blind eye, hoping they might scavenge even the smallest leftover crumb.
Then, one night, a male Guide sneaked into Delroz’s room.
He came bursting out at dawn, bloodied and screaming.
After that, no male Guide—joking or not—dared approach Delroz again.
No matter how much he disliked someone, for an Esper to physically attack a Guide—badly enough to land him in intensive care—was repugnant. A disgusting act, beneath contempt.
Still, thanks to that peculiar temperament of his, Banteon was enjoying a peaceful life, contrary to Tearot’s ominous predictions.
“So which female Guide do you think he’ll end up with?”
“Probably the one with the highest match rate.”
“Come on, everyone knows that. The match rates are all close, that’s the problem. They’re going to choose a temporary Guide soon, but there are way too many candidates.”
“That’s up to the SS-rank himself. Now go back to your seat.”
Grumbling at Banteon’s lukewarm response, the students returned to their seats.
