Chapter 74
“You saved him?”
“I can turn back time. Of course, I can’t turn it back very far, and even now I’ve painfully rewound about 10 minutes.”
I felt my blood run cold.
Saved? Does that mean Yoon Cheong or Ji Yeohoon got hurt?
Among the Calling’s Espers, there were quite a few I was acquainted with and kept in contact with, and Auntie was with them too, but among them, there were only two I could say I truly cared about.
“You had that same face before I turned back time too. Between your world-collapsing expression and the fact that from our perspective, having a skilled Esper seriously injured would be disadvantageous for completing the raid, I decided to turn it back just this once.”
What nonsense is this?
They’re strong guys. Even if time was rewound, there’s no way they could have gotten hurt.
“It was actually quite dangerous. That monster over there, Galrok, has a tail strong enough to pierce through even the sturdy bodies of Espers. The brown-haired Esper over there dodged it well, but the black-haired one got injured pretty badly…”
Unlike Ji Yeohoon, who would have protected himself with sharp instincts, Yoon Cheong had a habit of not dodging until the end if he judged he could block something with his own power.
My hands trembled as the scene played out in my mind.
Trying hard to restore my surely wrecked face to normal, I finally opened my mouth.
“I don’t know if it’s true, but thank you.”
“You already know it’s true, don’t you? Thanks to this, I’ll be powerless for a while. Since I can’t use my ability for some time, you’ll have to take responsibility.”
“…”
What they said was right.
Ordinarily, when people speak, they don’t repeat the same sentence unless they’re joking or emphasizing something.
A moment ago, not only were the words repeated, but the actions of others were also repeated, as if the same scene had been spliced back together.
My body, which had moved slightly, was in a position I hadn’t intended.
What I experienced was certain—what more evidence did I need?
Besides, I had experienced regression.
It’s not strange that there would be an ability to turn back time.
Anyway, I needed to get in touch with this Esper as I had questions.
I quickly muttered in a low voice so others wouldn’t hear.
“Contact me when we’re outside. 010…”
“Sure.”
After taking my number, the Chaehwa Esper got up to return to their colleagues as if they had completed all necessary business.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, they turned around and tilted their head.
“But I’m curious about something.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“How did the temporary Calling Guide return with my power?”
“What?”
“There’s no way you wouldn’t recognize my power. Since it seems the temporary Guide and I are truly destined for each other, make sure to answer my call when we’re outside the Gate.”
“What do you mean, hey!”
Hey! Tell me exactly what you mean before you go!
I could only stare blankly as he returned to the other Chaehwa Espers.
* * *
The Gate raid ended extremely smoothly.
I heard that normally, when jointly raiding Gates, Chaehwa Espers tend to act separately, outside the protective range of Calling’s Espers.
They supposedly demanded not to have Calling’s rules forced upon them.
I thought this time would be the same, but instead, Chaehwa entered Calling’s protection range first, making it easier for everyone to help each other attack.
Moreover, since Ji Yeohoon used his ability to enhance other Espers’ powers according to the situation, we were able to finish even faster than the usual C-rank Gate raid time.
Normally they would charge ahead on their own and draw all the aggro, but even Uncle said this was unusual.
“On their own?”
“They’re extremely stiff-necked. Normally, their pride is so high they wouldn’t join us, insisting they can handle it themselves. They’d keep their necks stiff and refuse to bow till the end.”
Uncle, that’s some strong language. I know you’re using fewer honorifics because Auntie isn’t around, but still…
“Are the Chaehwa Guild members usually bad-tempered?”
“Looking at individual Espers, not particularly, but Chaehwa is a high-ranking guild in its own right. They have quite a few Espers. But we have fewer Espers than other guilds yet maintain a higher rank.”
Normally, they would stubbornly maintain potentially dangerous formations for the sake of their pride, which is nothing in the face of life or death.
But today they cooperated quietly within Calling’s attack range.
It made sense. It was probably thanks to that strange time Esper from Chaehwa who warned about the dangerous situation in advance.
“Hyuuung~”
“We’re back.”
“I don’t see the father of our sons…”
“Honey, I’m here…”
“Honey, are you okay?”
Uncle, who was about to scold the guys rushing toward me, quickly went to Auntie as she approached.
The guys seemed fine in their memories, with no recollection of getting hurt or almost experiencing something terrible.
As Ji Yeohoon came close and opened his arms, I hugged him back, patting his back and asking the two various questions.
“Was there anything unusual?”
“It was a bit difficult. At first, the Bainu was fine since applying fire doesn’t make it grow bigger. But the Galrok was tricky. It had a large body but was fast…”
I half-listened to Ji Yeohoon’s voice as I passed my bigar, but through it all, what I’d heard earlier kept echoing in my head, making it throb.
The guiding seemed to be coming to an end, but I continued to gently pat Ji Yeohoon’s back without letting him go as he deliberately whined more. Then Yoon Cheong tapped my shoulder from the other side.
“What are you thinking about that’s making you space out?”
“Thinking about my guiding?”
“Quiet. I’m guiding.”
“Ah, right. Yeah.”
I released my arms from Ji Yeohoon and opened them for Yoon Cheong, who immediately came closer and hugged me.
“How did it seem to you?”
What were we talking about again?
After quickly trying to remember, I asked Yoon Cheong, who looked at me and then continued with an expression that suggested he’d let it slide.
“…The epidermis was tough, so weak attacks didn’t penetrate well. It seemed worse because many C and D rank Espers came from Chaehwa’s side.”
“How were Ye Han-dam and Ye Han-seo?”
“Sunbae Ye Han-dam was incredibly helpful with area-of-effect damage. In the middle when several Galroks swarmed us, it was chaotic and we couldn’t protect Chaehwa’s side, but he stepped forward to block them despite being A-rank. Seeing him create small explosions to keep the Bainu from approaching, I think his ability use is even more refined than what we heard from you and Yoon Cheong hyung.”
“Ye Han-seo moved well too, right?”
“Well, he…”
Ji Yeohoon had only accumulated negative feelings from hearing stories about Ye Han-dam when he first transferred.
Today, after raiding the Gate together, he seemed to think he wasn’t bad as a raid companion.
That’s right. You have to experience people directly to know them. Especially regarding others, you shouldn’t rely solely on hearsay.
Of course, seeing that Ji Yeohoon didn’t want to mention Ye Han-seo anymore, I didn’t ask further.
As we were preparing to exit the Gate, Yoon Cheong grabbed my hand.
“What is it?”
“Are you really not injured anywhere?”
“No monsters charged toward the barrier side. And there weren’t any Espers who could manipulate the ground this time.”
I’m fine just as you two are fine. I nodded to assure him, but Yoon Cheong shook his head, indicating that wasn’t what he meant.
Though I tried to loosen my expression and act normal, they could apparently see right through me, as they both had worried faces.
“I’m fine except for being a bit tired.”
“Really?”
“You guys handled the monsters well. I’m just tired from being inside the Gate the entire time. I was exhausted just from hearing the Galrok sounds before we entered—they gave me the creeps.”
Since I insisted I was fine, the guys eventually accepted it and relaxed their expressions.
I continued guiding Yoon Cheong until we left the Gate, then separated.
Noticing that I was trying to act normal, the guys also bickered as usual.
“No, that wouldn’t have worked without me.”
“I’m the one who struck it directly.”
“Do you think you could have attacked so strongly without me?”
“Without me, you couldn’t have attacked at all in the first place.”
Their conversation turning into an argument was also normal.
I walked ahead, leaving the noisy guys behind, and they finally quieted down and followed beside me.
As the air tore open and the Gate exit appeared, everyone headed outside.
Checking the time, it was just past 5 o’clock.
Why is it so dark for 5 o’clock?
“Should we have dinner?”
“Hyung, it’s not evening…”
At Ji Yeohoon’s words, I quickly checked my phone screen again. Not evening? It was dawn.
“Hyung… you must be really tired.”
“A bit, yeah. Being in the Gate has me disoriented. You know I hate Gates.”
I gave a fairly ordinary excuse to Ji Yeohoon, who seemed worried.
Uncle and Auntie waved their hands among the guild members handling post-raid procedures.
Since going home right away was impossible and we had to return to the school dormitory, we decided to see them first and set another date to meet.
When the Gate opening notifications came pouring in, I had already told them I would be at school, and to leave again, I needed to get school permission.
“Since it’s vacation, going out is easier than during the semester.”
“Still, it would be nice to travel together… We could talk to the school again.”
“It’s okay. You must be tired and need to leave now. Could you please tell our parents and Yoon Cheong’s parents that we’re fine? They must have been very worried. I’ll call them after waking up, but it’s dawn now…”
“Of course.”
The two of them said they would join at the travel destination despite the late hour.
I thought it worked out well since I had things to look into.
If we all went to the travel destination now, neither the guys nor I would have time to check things separately from our parents.
At least in my room at the dormitory, I would have time alone.
[Is this the temporary Calling Guide’s number? This is Hong Yun-hak^^ Would you save this number?]
I need to have a conversation with this person.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
