“Ugh…”
His shoulders instinctively tensed. From the nape of his neck down to his lower back, goosebumps broke out in an instant. A violent shudder rippled through him as he felt Delroz’s wide palm press against his back muscles. Like a person whose throat had been caught in a beast’s jaws, Banteon froze stiff and completely stopped breathing.
Delroz buried his face into Banteon’s neck and gave a light bite, as if marking his territory. When Banteon’s body stiffened, Delroz rubbed his cheek against him in satisfaction before slowly pulling away.
He stared at Banteon with blazing, golden eyes—eyes that were clearly furious.
‘Who the hell has any right to be angry here?’ Banteon clenched his teeth.
“You’ve finally lost your mind.”
“It seemed like you were into this.”
That same incomprehensible line again. Who the hell would be into this kind of aggressive behavior? He’d always known Delroz wasn’t normal, but he hadn’t expected him to be this completely, beautifully deranged.
‘What the hell is going on inside that black-haired head of his… Ah.’
One memory flashed through his mind. What had happened earlier that day with Keslan. That brief, almost stolen kiss—just a fleeting touch—followed by Banteon hugging him gently, patting his back. The situation had looked… a little too much like this.
Delroz must’ve seen it from somewhere.
Only then did the pieces begin to fit together—the reason Delroz had shown up in the middle of the night. Somehow, he’d seen that moment, and it clearly didn’t sit well with him. But still… why go this far?
Banteon clutched his neck where Delroz’s lips had touched. The lingering heat still burned faintly beneath his skin.
“Is this about Keslan?”
“You’d better stop meeting that rat-faced little punk. And that damned cousin of yours too.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I don’t want to see it.”
Their agreement had always been strictly business. Neither of them had any right to interfere in the other’s personal life. The absurdity of Delroz’s behavior bewildered him, and beneath that confusion, anger rose at how he tried to control Banteon’s actions.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I’ll have no choice but to stop you.”
Meaning he’d come at night like this, pin him to a wall, and try to assert control. Just showing up secretly like this was grounds for punishment—and now he was openly threatening to suppress a Guide? This wasn’t just a lack of education, it was a dangerous lack of education.
Of course, if Delroz really decided to force things with brute strength, it wouldn’t be easy to resist. In this small room, Banteon had few ways to overpower him.
But there was a reason Banteon remained calm despite the situation.
Avoiding Delroz’s slightly loosened gaze, Banteon slid his hand along the wall. As his palm glided over the smooth marble tiles, his fingertips caught a small groove. He hated making a scene and had intended to endure this—but clearly, reason wouldn’t work here.
“You’re not even thinking of apologizing, are you?”
“Obviously not.”
Delroz stood there shamelessly, clueless about what he’d done wrong. Let’s see how long that look lasts.
Banteon pressed hard into the groove with his fingertip. A portion of the marble wall opened, revealing a round button. Without hesitation, he pressed it.
–BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
A shrill alarm blared in his ears, and the emergency light on the wall began flashing red. It wasn’t just his room—soon the entire building rang with the sound as if it were on fire.
“What’s going on?!”
People from other rooms burst into the hallway. The sound of rushing footsteps echoed loudly from outside. Delroz’s expression twisted ever so slightly at the unexpected turn.
What Banteon had triggered was a standard-issue alarm installed in all Guide quarters—an emergency system embedded in every room for exactly this kind of scenario. It paid off, sticking close to this wall on the off chance something like this happened.
Moments later, hearing the alarm, security personnel banged loudly on Banteon’s door.
“Are you inside?”
“Mr. Banteon, are you alright?”
Only then did Delroz realize the full scope of the situation, and his eyes twisted into something hideous. Banteon shoved him away with ease, walked calmly to the door, and opened it. The guards rushed in and immediately scanned the room.
A Guide and an Esper alone in a room in the middle of the night. An Esper with a violent aura, and the Guide’s emergency alarm blaring nonstop.
The security team took in the scene in an instant. They swiftly surrounded Delroz and created a buffer around Banteon, as if to shield him.
“Mr. Delroz. We’ll need your cooperation.”
“So this is how it’s gonna be, huh?”
The low voice that slipped through his clenched teeth wasn’t directed at the guards—it was aimed at Banteon. Even though the threat wasn’t directed at them, the guards flinched slightly from the sheer menace in his tone. Banteon, unbothered, adjusted his disheveled clothes, straightening them where Delroz had grabbed too forcefully. Once his outfit was neat again, he nodded and—rarely for him—waved with a bright, almost radiant smile.
From the moment he found Delroz collapsed in the bushes, there had been one thing he’d always wanted to say. He’d missed the right moment and held back, but now, finally, the chance had come.
“Goodbye. Hope you enjoy solitary confinement—and make sure you actually learn some Esper ethics this time.”
‘Stay as long as you can, if possible.’
Clenching his jaw, Delroz followed the guards out of the room with a murderous expression carved into his face. Banteon, unfazed, poured cold water into the black tea he had been preparing. The tea was ruined.
He’d dealt with more than enough Espers obsessively clinging to Guides. He’d installed emergency buttons in multiple spots besides just the standard terminal. Threats like this didn’t even register anymore.
Honestly, it had been worse when an Esper once flipped the entire Center just to find the Guide who’d stopped his rampage.
Now alone in the room, finally quiet again, Banteon stood in silence and thought to himself—Guess I’ve got a few weeks off from guiding. That thought alone made him smile in satisfaction.
***
[Hahahaha! Man, I wish I’d been there!]
“It wasn’t exactly a fun situation.”
Tearot, who Banteon hadn’t heard from in a while, had called with concern the moment he heard that Delroz was placed in solitary confinement. But as soon as he heard Banteon’s explanation, he burst into laughter.
For barging into a Guide’s room uninvited and initiating unnecessary contact, Delroz had received a fifteen-day solitary sentence. Shorter than expected. The judge had ruled that the two were under temporary matching and that Delroz’s mental state had been compromised at the time.
Compromised, my ass. Banteon scoffed inwardly as he leaned back. The truth was, the judges had been terrified of Delroz’s menacing aura and settled on a compromise just to preserve their own necks.
[Still, I’m surprised he let them drag him off without a fight. Figured he’d cause a scene.]
Despite it being three weeks since they last spoke, Tearot sounded as laid-back as ever. His voice was a bit rougher and deeper than usual, but that familiar teasing tone was unchanged.
“If he had even a shred of shame, he’d have followed quietly. Still, the guy calls himself an Esper and couldn’t stand seeing his temporary Guide with someone else. Once it hits him, I bet he’s gonna be kicking his blankets in embarrassment.”
[Hmm… you think so?]
What do you mean, “you think so?” Has he been away from the Center so long that his instincts dulled?
“Anyway, were you busy? You were totally unreachable.”
[Just had a lot on my mind.]
Tearot, who never seemed the type to worry about anything, saying he was off thinking—that was definitely a first. Was he finally growing up?
“That’s rare. So, you done thinking?”
[Yeah, well, it wasn’t something I could solve on my own anyway. I’ll be back at the Center soon.]
Tearot’s voice sounded relieved. Banteon had always assumed his brain was made of muscle too, but apparently he’d been dealing with something fairly serious.
“Is the restoration going well?”
[Yeah. Thanks to some generous donor, the whole project’s practically luxury-class.]
At that, Banteon let out a quiet laugh. After returning to the Center, he had personally donated a large portion of his assets to the village reconstruction effort. It couldn’t undo the lives that were lost, but he hoped it might at least help those who survived. Tearot had joked that the place was going to end up even better than before the attack.
[And about that Esper you mentioned, Banteon…]
At those words, Banteon straightened up and leaned in toward his terminal, sharpening his focus.
“Did you find out anything?”
On his way back to the Center aboard the airship, Banteon had quietly asked Tearot to investigate Rohan. He hadn’t reported the encounter with the unregistered Esper to the Center, suspecting it would stir unnecessary trouble, so he had confided only in Tearot.
Once Tearot’s intel lined up with what he knew, he’d planned to submit a formal report to the upper ranks. That a powerful unregistered Esper was wandering the kingdom—and that he might be the main cause of the monster outbreaks.
But Tearot’s reply was completely unexpected.
[It’s weird. I asked the survivors, but not a single one remembered seeing someone like that.]
“What?”
[They did mention someone blond, but no one matched the description you gave—tall, red eyes. As you know, red eyes are rare. Someone like that should’ve stood out…]
“…Yeah, exactly.”
Rohan hadn’t worn a hat or a hood. He hadn’t used anything to hide his appearance. And yet no one had seen him?
During the festival, both Banteon and Delroz had constantly drawn people’s attention. Even with so many outsiders present, people had been intensely curious about everything around them. Rohan’s shimmering hair and the sheer presence he exuded were more than enough to make him noticeable.
For no one to remember him— It made no sense at all.
