Chapter 89
That was the problem.
Should I tell him honestly and stop him? If I did that, and he was really being brainwashed as I suspected or already under hypnosis, I couldn’t predict how he would react.
Ji Yeohoon claimed such attacks were impossible against Espers, but this time I trusted my instincts along with what Ye Han-seo had seen and heard.
Of course, even if he didn’t fully believe me, Ji Yeohoon was the type to act according to my opinion anyway.
Even now, though he said it was impossible, his expression showed he was considering alternatives.
“If it were just Yoon Cheong or just that classmate of yours going to Chaehwa, I wouldn’t have thought it was strange.”
“…Is it because of what I discovered?”
“That’s right. Plus, I was concerned about what the Guild Master was hesitant to tell you.”
There were also those details about Ye Han-seo’s guild member who had been in a different guild.
And there was one more reason why I suspected a mental attack:
‘I said, “I thought you didn’t like the settlement system?” But they replied…’
‘Don’t drag it out, just say it.’
‘They said, “Did I say that?”‘
An Esper couldn’t possibly forget their own words.
“Transferring to another guild itself isn’t an issue. The reasons are clear, and for top-ranking Espers within the domestic top 20, contractual settlements often don’t differ much anyway.”
“Hyung, you’re thinking of telling the guild and asking for help, right?”
“Yes, since it would be difficult for just us to handle this. If what I’m thinking is true.”
“We should handle it legally, right? It would be troublesome if we did it ourselves, so let the guild resolve it.”
“You know well.”
Ji Yeohoon talked about the documents he saw at the guild last weekend.
He said there were quite a few Espers who had moved to Chaehwa after Calling was established.
They weren’t on bad terms with Calling, and some had even firmly decided to join Calling without any intention of going to Chaehwa.
“But they still transferred?”
“I only skimmed the first part. I didn’t check everything, so it’s hard to say with certainty.”
Ji Yeohoon had a thoughtful expression, as if tracing back his memories.
“I only saw about the first three pages, so we shouldn’t draw conclusions based just on that.”
“Even those three pages are important.”
“There was a commonality among the Espers listed there.”
“What was it?”
Our eyes didn’t go to our lunchboxes, which were getting cold as we talked.
Ji Yeohoon seemed to have traced back all his memories, looking directly into my eyes.
“They were all high school students. No middle schoolers or adults. All at the age when ability levels start to stabilize.”
“…Did I say I would request a visit to the guild that day?”
“Yes. The Guild Master said she would prepare an outing document anytime.”
“I’ll go this weekend.”
“I’ll contact Dad and make sure Yoon Cheong Hyung stays at school.”
I raised the corner of my mouth in response to Ji Yeohoon’s smile.
I do appreciate such perceptive guys.
“Hyung, will you praise me if I did well?”
“Praise?”
I pressed my lips together as I watched him pointing at his cheek with his finger.
Ever since I kissed his cheek once before, Ji Yeohoon took every opportunity to ask for it again.
I was tempted to do it just once… but even though you’re extremely cute, isn’t it still about two years too early for this kind of thing?
Ji Yeohoon looked dejected at my head shake, but deliberately turned his face away.
Whenever the guys showed such behavior, I couldn’t quite understand why my ears got hot.
* * *
The content wasn’t much different from the three pages Ji Yeohoon had seen.
“Guild Master, have you checked the reasons for this?”
“For moving to Chaehwa? The reasons were almost identical.”
“That they preferred Chaehwa’s atmosphere and more flexible Gate raid schedules?”
“Right. Soo-young, you’re trying to confirm if Chaehwa is using brainwashing or hypnosis on Espers, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I can’t understand why they’re only moving to Chaehwa. So from the guild’s perspective, it really didn’t seem strange?”
“That’s right. We couldn’t verify it. We couldn’t even check.”
She said there was no reason to stop an adult Esper going to a guild they liked, and the Espers who transferred hadn’t left Calling because of bad relations.
Rather, they seemed to feel guilty, acting as if they were still looking out for Calling whenever issues arose, saying it was their former guild.
Plus, even if mental disruption could be applied to Espers, it would quickly wear off, so it was impossible to begin with.
“It was one of the methods guilds tried 24-25 years ago when Korean guilds were sprouting up everywhere, trying to bring Espers in as members. The problem is that hypnosis can’t continuously affect an Esper’s mental strength, so they realized it was useless and stopped pursuing it.”
Of course, there were guilds that persistently tried hypnosis or brainwashing on Espers, but the method itself was easily tracked, and several guilds were punished legally and split up afterward.
Even after that, some guilds tried it secretly, but after several incidents where high-ranked Espers regained their senses and annihilated their guilds, it became a method no guild would attempt, she said.
“Plus, it’s extremely wasteful.”
“Wasteful?”
“It’s better to have them sign contracts with a sound mind and promise accurate settlements. Using such methods just exhausts the mental-type Espers who have to keep using their abilities, wastes Guide bigar from constant guiding. If you force them to stay and they regain their senses, it’s just a waste of time, money, and manpower.”
In the end, she was saying that due to past incidents, the guild firmly asserted that mental attacks on Espers were impossible.
So my suspicions and the data align, but there’s no concrete evidence?
“Guild Master, just hypothetically, if someone found a method good enough to solve all these problems and successfully hypnotized an Esper, would it be possible to release that ability from the Esper?”
“Hmm… May I check precisely and let you know? We have a mental-type Esper we deal with.”
The Guild Master, who seemed unable to answer immediately, carefully offered a response.
This is personally why I like Calling.
From the Guild Master’s perspective, I was just an underage Guide, not even a rookie yet, making an absurd claim.
But she gave weight to even the slightest possibility and did her best to verify it.
Though she always maintained a playful attitude, she never dismissed opinions or words just because the person was young.
Would others be able to answer like that?
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. If you’re grateful, would you consider prioritizing our guild’s Gate raids in the future?”
“I plan to move strictly according to payment, though.”
“That’s a shame…”
“If the payment is the same, I’ll prioritize Calling. I think that should be enough?”
“Deal.”
It was a condition that wasn’t bad for me or the guild.
The guild seemed to have predicted I would go freelance.
They weren’t directly saying it, but they were securing priority in case I changed my mind later and decided to join a guild.
This was a moderately beneficial arrangement for both parties.
But I had no intention of stopping there.
“I’m curious about something.”
“Yes? Go ahead.”
“If my thinking is correct, this is a big advantage for Calling, right? No one else has even thought about these Espers who have transferred, but now Calling knows about it.”
Calling could now interfere with Chaehwa or the Association.
If it was true that Espers entered Chaehwa through mind control, then once that control was released, there was a high probability that Calling would absorb these Espers, which would be a tremendous benefit.
Of course, from the guild’s perspective, it would be making up for previous losses, but if I hadn’t informed them, they wouldn’t have known in the first place.
When I pointed this out, the Guild Master smiled.
“I see.”
What do you mean, “I see”? You probably already knew this.
After accepting my offer to prioritize Calling’s raids, she seemed to be trying to gain all the benefits without giving anything in return.
She was the same person who had preemptively offered ineffective contracts when both guys were thinking of joining Calling, predicting that I would also join the guild.
For ordinary student Espers, the memory of signing a contract would create a psychological burden, often leading to renewed contracts when they became adults.
Of course, I was the type of person who could coolly terminate a contract even after signing it.
The Guild Master, who had been smiling silently for a moment, let out a small sigh.
“What are your conditions?”
“I always appreciate your quickness. I’ll write down the details and send them by email or document. Please leave it as a contract.”
“You’re quite certain.”
“Just so you know, since I’m a minor, I’ll be bringing a guardian, so don’t think you can just gloss over things.”
At my words, the Guild Master’s expression, which had been sighing, brightened as if pleased.
“How wonderful it would be if our employees were as sharp as Soo-young.”
“Your guild employees are good enough people, so please don’t elevate me above them.”
I had no intention of offering better terms just because she spoke well of me.
“What do you plan to do? According to you, if we leave things be, Cheong might transfer to Chaehwa.”
“Just please confirm precisely if it can be undone. If I receive confirmation that it can be undone, I plan to leave it alone for now. So we can release it later.”
“But he might transfer to Chaehwa if left alone? Besides, since there’s no precise evidence that he’s affected, interfering with Cheong’s mind to release a mental attack might itself become an attack.”
“I’ll capture evidence that Yoon Cheong is under brainwashing or hypnosis, so please use that to establish checks against Chaehwa and the Association.”
“…Can you just decide that on your own?”
It was practically the same as leaving Yoon Cheong in danger.
It was also like proceeding with a plan without the consent of the person involved.
“Even if he learns about it later and resents me, I think making sure Yoon Cheong can definitely get out now takes priority. So please confirm as quickly as possible.”
No, I had decided to push Yoon Cheong into a trap with my own hands.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
