“Banteon. I…”
The voice that sounded like an excuse was drowned out by another noise.
Knock knock.
At the worst possible moment, a knock came from outside. The person who had come to the study pushed open the door before the knocking even stopped.
“Bante, are you in he… oh, you’re not alone?”
Tearot, who entered the room, paused when he sensed the awkward tension in the air. His usually gently curved eyes sharpened instantly, brimming with hostility toward the intruder. But just as quickly, he suppressed the rippling energy and returned to his usual mischievous expression. Then, approaching Banteon, he leaned in and whispered.
“Why is he here? Don’t tell me he followed you all the way here?”
Even knowing full well that an SS-rank Esper like Delroz would easily hear him, Tearot deliberately whispered in a teasing tone. Judging by the look he gave Delroz—like an annoying leech—it was clear he’d already heard the rumors of Delroz tailing Banteon.
“What kind of Esper pathetically trails after a temporary Guide? Tsk. You’re an embarrassment to Espers.”
Banteon calmed the sharp-tongued Tearot, who even clicked his tongue with disdain.
“I brought him. He’ll be leaving soon.”
“Yeah? Then how about he gets lost right now?”
With long strides, Tearot walked past, deliberately brushing close to Delroz. The gust stirred Delroz’s bangs even though they hadn’t been touched. Tearot threw himself down onto a nearby chair, sprawling back against the seat like he owned the place. That unspoken display of familiarity with the room made Delroz glance sideways at him.
In the past, he might have said something to Tearot, but now his lips remained tightly shut.
“Bante, I’ve got some interesting news. Got a minute?”
“Even if I said no, you’d still talk.”
“Sharp as always. So just let it happen. This time it’s news from the family… Ah, right.”
As he was speaking, Tearot turned to Delroz, who was still sitting there with a blank expression.
“You’re still here? We’ve got things to talk about, you know.”
“……”
“It’s a bit of a sensitive topic for outsiders to hear. Why don’t you take a step out?”
Instead of answering Tearot, Delroz turned to look at Banteon, standing across from him, with an unreadable expression. But there was no response to that gaze. Banteon had already said what he needed to say before Tearot arrived, so there was nothing left between them to discuss.
The silence between them was cut through by Tearot’s light, casual voice.
“Still got something to say?”
“…No.”
“Then time to go.”
Delroz remained rooted to the spot, his eyes locked on Banteon. It was as if he refused to leave until he heard it directly from the master of the room. Why was he bothering to wait through all this unnecessary drama?
Was he hoping Banteon would stop Tearot and ask him to stay? But their conversation just now had made it clear—that wasn’t going to happen. Yet he stubbornly remained.
“We ended up entering into a contract because of circumstances, but I was never happy about it from the start. You said the same, remember?”
“…Yeah.”
“There were times you helped me, and maybe I’ve gotten a little used to you, so I don’t hate or resent you like I did in the beginning.”
At those hopeful words, Delroz lifted his head.
And that was the problem. The moment he sensed even the slightest opening, he’d start expecting things—acting foolishly.
“So let me be clear. The only reason I guide you is because if you lose control, it’ll wreck my life too. I cooperate to avoid that.”
He stated it plainly, drawing a firm boundary between them.
“I do this for my sake, and I hope you don’t read anything more into it. If it were a different Esper instead of you, I’d act the same.”
“…Got it.”
Contrary to his worries about another outburst, Delroz quietly backed down. He stood up and walked toward the door, then paused with slumped shoulders.
A brief moment passed as he steadied his breath, then a soft voice emerged.
“If anything I said before hurt you… no, never mind.”
Delroz’s back receded.
“My apologies.”
The heavy wooden door closed behind him. The sound of his footsteps echoed down the empty corridor until it faded away.
Only Tearot and Banteon remained in the now-silent study.
Tearot, who had been observing everything with wide eyes, quickly darted his gaze around, piecing things together. Sensing the emotional wreckage, he let out a small sigh.
“Wow… that hurt.”
“What did?”
“I always knew you could be cold, Bante, but… I actually felt a little sorry for the guy today.”
Coming from the very person who had spent the whole time provoking him, it was rare to hear sympathy from Tearot. He let out an awkward laugh. Banteon looked at him, wondering if he’d somehow been injured or hit in the head. Tearot shifted his gaze, flustered, and rubbed the center of his chest for no reason at all.
“It’s not like I cursed him out, so what’s the big deal?”
“It would’ve been easier to take if you had cursed.”
Tearot shook his head and muttered quietly.
“Saying he’s no different from any other Esper… That just feels kind of…”
“It’s not wrong.”
“You’re right… but hearing that from someone he probably thought was his Guide—man, it hurts me just hearing it.”
Banteon turned away, dumbfounded by how Tearot went from dramatic to calm in an instant.
“I’m not his Guide. It’s temporary.”
“Yeah, true. That’s right.”
Tearot nodded several times, lost in thought as if he was mentally sorting things out. Maybe there really was some sort of unspoken connection between Espers. Banteon gently pressed his temple, where tension had gathered.
Eventually, Tearot looked up with a strangely relieved face.
“Good thing you’re so dense, Bante.”
“Why are you insulting me out of nowhere?”
Calling someone dense right in front of them—especially when they are the one you’re talking about—wasn’t exactly pleasant.
“No, really. Just keep living in your little world, thinking only about yourself. That’s one of the things I genuinely like about you.”
He grinned broadly, trying to shift the mood, but Banteon just clicked his tongue at the nonsense. Tearot rambling to himself wasn’t anything new.
Rubbing his shoulder, which had stiffened during the tense exchange with Delroz, Banteon asked,
“So what did you come here for?”
“Oh, right. This actually has to do with Delroz, too.”
The mischief vanished from Tearot’s face in an instant. His expression turned serious as he pulled an envelope from inside his coat.
“Take a look inside.”
What Tearot handed over was a plain white envelope, his face grave. It was thin and light. Banteon tore open the top, which bore the seal of the Center, and pulled out the contents.
A report.
Inside, it was filled with evidence related to Delroz’s past rampage.
“This is…”
“It’s a summary of everything from the day Delroz was attacked up to now. It’ll probably be handed over to him soon. I snuck it out before that.”
Delroz had demanded a thorough investigation into what triggered his rampage—who did it, how, and through what means. Every possibility had been combed through. No matter how high-ranking he was, Delroz couldn’t handle it alone, so the Center had formed a separate investigative team.
As far as Banteon knew, there hadn’t been any real progress.
Attached to the report was a photo of the red liquid the Center Director had shown him. Below it was a brief note about the unknown substance Delroz had ingested—colorless and odorless.
So it had only appeared red to Banteon’s eyes. To everyone else, it was invisible.
The front of the report lacked any decisive leads. It listed a few possible suspects but admitted that there was no concrete evidence.
When Banteon turned to the next page, his brow furrowed.
The next section, which should have contained vital information, only repeated earlier content with a few supplementary notes. It read like filler, as if someone had forced it in just to bulk up the page count.
“Something’s off. The Center wouldn’t produce a report this sloppy. There’s a ton of repeated content.”
“You noticed, huh?”
Tearot nodded and tapped the thinner parts of the report. The light touch almost crumpled the flimsy document.
“It’s been quite a while. No matter how perfectly this was planned, by now there should’ve been some kind of lead. But there’s still no clear suspect.”
“Is the bastard really that smart?”
Who could be powerful enough to deceive the entire Center? Even if Esrante was strong, it wasn’t omniscient—it couldn’t track every move of every noble family.
Still, this level of failure was excessive. When had such a massive blind spot opened up?
“One thing’s for sure: once this thin report is submitted, the investigation will be closed for good. No one wants to keep digging into something that might blow back on them. And there’s no more evidence anyway.”
Banteon’s hand froze as he held the report. A sudden grip wrinkled the envelope.
Saying there’s no suspect was the same as saying anyone could be one.
The longer the investigation dragged on, the more innocent people could get falsely accused, which kept everyone on edge.
If the case closed like this, both the real culprit and anyone close to the situation would feel relieved.
Except for one person.
“Whoever shut this down, Delroz won’t just sit back and accept it.”
Delroz wanted to find the one responsible for his rampage more than anyone. And to identify the Guide who had stopped it, a detailed investigation from the Center was essential.
If this was how it ended, next time, it wouldn’t just be a single training building getting destroyed.
Knowing all that, why was it being closed in such a half-assed way?
Banteon’s suspicion-filled words were finally met with an answer.
