Chapter 15
It wasn’t that studying was difficult, nor was life hard.
The morning classes were ones I had already learned before my regression, so it felt like I was hearing them again from the outside while listening once more on the inside. (The 3rd school curriculum progresses slower than regular schools.)
The three meals—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—were so delicious that they made me feel like I was dining at a hotel, which reduced my desire to go outside.
The afternoon Guide classes weren’t particularly difficult either. I just had to briefly touch hands while thinking about filling the Espers with the energy I possessed, or rather, the energy that gathered around me.
The students would immediately look refreshed afterward.
I felt this energy was like wind, and sometimes I even felt as though my power had become a fan drying the sweat off the Espers.
“Soo-young, me, me!”
“Sure.”
Yoo Ji-ae, a ranged DPS student who supposedly had poor matching rates with other Guide students, seemed to have a good match with me. She moved her body energetically, raised her hand, ran over for a high-five, and then hurried back.
Of course, Yoon Cheong was always near me, and since we were registered as prospective Esper and Guide for the Calling guild, I always had to guard his vicinity when he was using his abilities at school.
“Your ability still isn’t stabilized, right?”
“Yeah.”
What worried me was that Yoon Cheong had experienced an outburst the year we turned twenty.
I remember when the emergency occurred while I was going back and forth to the Association for Guide ability lessons after graduating high school, so even if the dates or seasons were different, the year couldn’t be wrong.
If not for my current situation where I suddenly manifested early as a Guide, Yoon Cheong would have risen to A-class during high school and become S-class upon graduation.
If a similar outburst phenomenon occurred when he became S-class, I would need to be near this guy when he became A-class, and then again when he became S-class.
“Me too! Soo-young! I want to get guiding from you too!”
An excited puppy-like male student—no, the huge Yoon Seong-jin—came running over.
I hadn’t memorized all the students’ names yet, but this guy was easy to remember because of the lunch incident.
The good thing about being S-class was that I could quickly guide the students before they became exhausted from using their abilities.
I couldn’t do it for everyone, but whether it was the quality of my ability or how quickly my power filled up, it wasn’t difficult, so guiding the B to C-class students in my class was relatively easy.
So I usually helped when asked.
The students who had been keeping their distance had become noticeably more comfortable after just a few days of effort. Espers and Guides started talking to each other and conversing well.
After quietly observing them talking, I brought snacks I had requested from the dormitory the night before and distributed them to the children without even needing to play games.
Of course, I made sure everyone could eat together by having them sit in a circle, and sometimes I walked around sharing my own portion.
The children who had been awkward about mingling began to naturally gather in circles, first through games, then through snacks.
Later, they would talk to each other without any reason, and when someone got hurt, instead of just staring and hesitating, they would step forward and ask if the person was okay.
In just the few days since my transfer, the children who used to only play in their own cliques had begun to think about each other bit by bit.
The virtues that would normally be learned in regular schools through observing adults and through teachers’ lessons were beginning to be practiced, albeit awkwardly, by these children.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks!”
As one excited puppy ran off, another large boy who had been roughhousing with him timidly rolled his eyes.
That must be Sun Cheol-ho. I figured I’d memorize their names properly eventually. As I watched, Sun Cheol-ho carefully extended his hand where Yoon Seong-jin had been.
With a feeling of “there, there,” I firmly held his hand for guiding and let go, and his expression immediately softened before he thanked me and ran off to Yoon Seong-jin.
Though these kids are big, they don’t bite—no, they don’t harm others, so it should be fine to let them loose like this.
I relaxed at the peaceful scene around me.
“Huh…? What…?”
“Ah! Baek Da-hyuk is flying!”
“Hey, hey!”
“Be careful!”
“I’m falling…!”
“Got… you…”
Yes, of course, chaos ensues when I relax.
While the kids were playing, Baek Da-hyuk was halfway launched into the air and almost crashed into the ground. Yoon Cheong panicked and tried somehow to bring him down, but it seemed beyond his control as he sweated profusely.
Since those three were physical enhancement types and Yoon Cheong had telekinesis, they often clashed with their abilities since they complemented each other.
Yoon Cheong used his power to protect himself and to figure out how to use it helpfully. The three giants, in turn, freely expressed their power, releasing what they normally forcibly controlled to keep their bodies from stiffening.
Today, Yoon Seong-jin and Sun Cheol-ho were together, while Baek Da-hyuk was with Yoon Cheong, but in the process of blocking, Yoon Cheong had flung Baek Da-hyuk straight into the sky.
His body was sturdy, so he probably didn’t feel pain from Yoon Cheong’s power, but the impact of falling from above was too much for a fifth-grader to experience.
Yoon Cheong somehow caught Baek Da-hyuk with his power, but he seemed to struggle with controlling the descent, frantically moving his hands.
“Don’t force it too much. Take a deep breath in and out.”
Noticing Yoon Cheong’s eyes gradually reddening, perhaps from overusing his uncontrollable ability, I approached and grabbed his hand.
Even in his young body, his veins seemed about to pop from the strain, but he relaxed a bit when I touched his hand. Baek Da-hyuk, who had been wobbling in midair, now seemed to be standing on something, with his feet planted.
“Is it flat?”
“Yeah… feels like I’m standing on the ground! It feels like I’m flying, it’s really nice…”
He seems like a peculiar kid, still grinning despite nearly falling and getting hurt moments ago.
Yoon Cheong still couldn’t control his power delicately.
He was young, and telekinesis was a power with fluctuating strength until it stabilized. If he recklessly tried to grab Baek Da-hyuk, problems could arise, so he chose to create a floor instead.
If he held him weakly, Baek Da-hyuk would fall, and if he held him strongly… it’s frightening to imagine, even for Baek Da-hyuk who could enhance his body.
Baek Da-hyuk stood still, looking down at us blankly as if standing on a transparent glass panel.
While examining Baek Da-hyuk, I told Yoon Cheong to slowly lower him. However, lowering the created air layer seemed harder than expected, as whenever Yoon Cheong used his power, the transparent ground where Baek Da-hyuk stood seemed to shake.
Of course, the assistant homeroom teacher of the Guide class could resolve this quickly.
The fifth-grade Guide class assistant was also a physical enhancement type Esper, so even if Baek Da-hyuk fell, they could catch him.
The situation would end immediately if we called a teacher, but that would make Yoon Cheong miss an opportunity to control his ability, so it wasn’t the right choice yet.
“Let’s try as much as we can for now. If something like this happens again and we just call the teacher, when will you learn to control it? You need to try now.”
Yoon Cheong looked surprised, as if he had been waiting for a teacher to come.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m fine. I think I’ll be fine even if you use your ability the whole time.”
Of course, I felt my inner energy continuously flowing to the Esper throughout the guiding.
Besides, even when I was D-class, I had performed emergency guiding for Espers on the verge of outbursts.
As an S-class now, one little kid is definitely manageable.
I let go of his hand and hugged Yoon Cheong’s waist.
“How are you using your power right now?”
“Right now? Like supporting… how should I say it, like I’m doing this with my hands.”
Yoon Cheong kept his right hand still as if using his power, but raised his left hand to explain, as if he were holding Baek Da-hyuk floating in the air with his palm.
Since I wasn’t an Esper myself, I couldn’t fully understand that feeling. However, due to the sense of power gradually flowing to Yoon Cheong, I could roughly tell how much power he was using.
“Then, can you make another one like that palm?”
“I can make several of those. I didn’t do it before because it starts hurting when I make too many.”
“Try it with me here. Can you make one in front of where he’s standing?”
“Yeah.”
Yoon Cheong moved his left hand and said he made it, but since telekinesis isn’t a power visible to our eyes, we couldn’t tell if it worked or not.
After watching Yoon Cheong’s hand, I looked up at Baek Da-hyuk, who now seemed comfortable in midair and was sitting cross-legged.
“Can you try stretching your legs forward from there? Like you’re coming down from a high place. I just asked Yoon Cheong to try making stairs in front of you.”
“Like this…?”
“Yeah, yeah, like that.”
He uncrossed his legs, placed his arms behind him as if bracing against the ground, and tapped the front with his feet.
Baek Da-hyuk, who had seemed to be at the same height all along, suddenly put his foot down as if touching a stair below.
“Yoon Cheong, when he comes down and stands, remove the one above and make another stair below.”
“Okay.”
“Hey! Come down one more step!”
By repeatedly creating, removing, and creating again step by step, we managed to bring him down to about 1 meter in height.
When I said that was enough, Yoon Cheong simply released his power, and Baek Da-hyuk, who had been staring blankly around, jumped down.
The transparent wall created by telekinesis also disappeared. The problem was that Baek Da-hyuk miscalculated where he would land and fell over. Still, he seemed to know it was his mistake in applying force, so he didn’t cry.
Well, with his size, it would have been quite jarring if he had cried.
“Teacher, he fell down.”
“I’m not hurt…? I’m fine…!”
He might not be hurting, but his hands are silently crying in pain right now.
Since we were on the playground, his hands were covered in sand, and there were slight scrape marks as if he’d been grazed.
Despite being a physical enhancement type, he hadn’t particularly been using his ability while coming down, so regardless of his size, his body itself had the delicate, white skin of a twelve-year-old.
“Ah… Thanks to them, I’ve memorized their personalities. The puppy-like one, the timid one, and the blank one.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For teaching me. And for suggesting we try this now.”
Yoon Cheong met my eyes.
I wondered if that was something to be thankful for, but as he gave me his full attention with those dark eyes, as if stating the obvious, I found myself at a loss for words.
“Sure…”
Though I was used to helping Espers as a Guide, receiving gratitude was uncommon, so it felt strange.
I awkwardly accepted his thanks, and Yoon Cheong subtly took my hand.
What are you doing, making me embarrassed…
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
