Chapter 29
Let’s say there’s a person who only drinks cola.
This person would choose cola anytime, anywhere, but there might be a rare occasion when they choose cider instead. After drinking cola, this person always stretches, but when they choose cider, they might stretch or they might not. In this way, depending on whether they choose cider, this person’s future could change or remain unchanged.
Other Espers who could see the future only saw the future where this person drinks cola and stretches, but not Yeonhwa. She could foresee the possibility of this person choosing cider and how that choice might change their future.
Like this, a person’s future isn’t just one path—it changes according to the choices they make. Countless choices create innumerable paths for the future.
But the protagonists in the book were different. No matter what choices they made, causality led them to a predetermined future.
No matter how hard they tried to avoid a dungeon break, they would eventually get caught in one. Despite taking every precaution to prevent injuries in the dungeon—surrounding themselves with all kinds of buffs, bringing potions, and even accompanying healing Espers—they would somehow return injured. Unlike the association that coveted Yeonhwa’s ability to know and prepare for all these events, others wanted to use her ability for personal gain.
Like their parents, countless people wanted to locate dungeons to claim gate rewards. There were ability users who aimed for dungeon rewards by entering dungeons in place of the protagonists, or who sought financial compensation for revealing the future to them.
Some even attempted to replace the protagonists’ futures with their own, but all of them faced the boomerang of causality and paid the price.
That’s where the problem began. Despite fearing the boomerang of causality, people didn’t stop trying to change the future. Even though the rewards were never meant to be theirs in the first place, those who failed to change the future became outraged as if something had been stolen from them.
After numerous attempts, people realized that the “initiator” who tried to change the future would get hit by the boomerang, so they started manipulating innocent people instead.
These innocent people, struck by the boomerang without knowing why, threw stones at Yeonhwa rather than questioning the cause and effect. Instead of blaming those who had used them as puppets, they cursed Yeonhwa, who was young and lacked strong backing.
Rather than seeing Yeonhwa sit like a doll with an emotionless face, absorbing all the resentment, it was better to be the greedy older brother who refused to share even a grain of his sister’s ability.
“Well… to be honest, I didn’t expect to hear this kind of story.”
Choi Dongwon nodded at Bae Jaeyoung’s words. The contract explicitly stated that they would not approach Esper Han Yeonwoo because of Esper Han Yeonhwa’s ability, nor would they bring up stories about Esper Han Yeonhwa. Though they felt disappointed that Yeonwoo hadn’t explained the situation to them before, they could understand.
But now that Yeonwoo had taken the initiative to explain, it felt like he was showing trust in them as teammates. Park Seohyun seemed to feel the same way, as she smiled brightly without trying to hide her upturned lips.
“That book is causing hyung a lot of trouble.”
At Chahun’s words, Yeonwoo blinked. Come to think of it, he was also a protagonist in the book. Staring at Chahun, Yeonwoo tried to recall the book’s contents. But he couldn’t remember it properly. Only fragmented scenes flashed through his mind.
Did he become the Center Director? He clearly remembered carefully turning the pages of a worn-out book he had read over and over, but he couldn’t recall the content.
“Should we wait inside until those people give up and leave?”
“You can go ahead. Wouldn’t it be better for Esper Choi Dongwon to go to the treatment room?”
“I’m feeling better after resting a bit. Still, it would be better for us to move together.”
Yeonwoo supported Choi Dongwon, who sat down with difficulty despite saying he was fine, then looked at Jo Heeseo. Avoiding the gazes directed at her, Jo Heeseo stood beside Chahun.
“How was your training today, Esper Kang Chahun?”
As usual, Chahun chose silence in response to her gentle question and sat down next to Yeonwoo.
“Doesn’t this person need Guiding?”
At those words, Choi Dongwon shook his head with an awkward smile.
“It’s fine. I don’t need Guiding to the extent that—”
“Really? Is this person’s mana normally like this?”
At Chahun’s question, Yeonwoo looked at Jo Heeseo. Under the unspoken pressure, Jo Heeseo made a blatantly annoyed face and took Choi Dongwon’s hand.
“What kind of training would…”
Chahun mumbled, then observed Yeonwoo. As he looked around at the exhausted faces of the team members who seemed about to collapse at any moment, Bae Jaeyoung suddenly interjected beside him.
“Would Esper Kang Chahun like to try too?”
“No.”
At his quick refusal, Bae Jaeyoung pursed her lips and nodded. Well, if you don’t want to, there’s nothing I can do. She stood up and set the hologram background to a narrower area.
“Hyung.”
Please wait for someone to respond after calling them. Yeonwoo, weakly pulled along by Chahun’s gesture, answered each question Chahun asked while watching him stare with sparkling eyes at the glittering sand.
“It feels like real sand too. Go touch it if you want.”
At those words, Chahun was about to get up but glanced down at Yeonwoo’s colorless face and sat back down. Not just Yeonwoo, but all the team members looked like they could collapse at any moment. If one of them fell, it seemed certain they would all fall together. The only one who appeared fine was the Guide, but she wasn’t paying any attention to the team members, so Chahun felt he should stay put.
As Bae Jaeyoung breathed mana into the magic beast orb, the air rippled. Perhaps because only one person’s mana was used, the appearing magic beast was D-rank, a Sia slime. The slime, which appeared with a fluttering blue tail, was split in half when hit by an ice blade.
“Is that it? Does it die like that?”
“No.”
The split slime’s body trembled finely, then a new tail emerged. Chahun, seeing the slime instantly multiply into two, gestured to Yeonwoo asking if he saw it.
Yes, I’m watching well, so please just let go of me…
The slime, which multiplied each time Bae Jaeyoung waved her hand, was now bouncing around the beach making “kyup kyup” sounds. An Esper of Bae Jaeyoung’s caliber surely knew how to defeat slimes—she was probably just playing with them out of boredom.
Having set a boundary, Bae Jaeyoung froze any slime that crossed it with a small gesture. Chahun, who had been completely focused on Bae Jaeyoung, instinctively waved his hand when he saw a slime jumping toward them. Ice flew from his fingertips, sticking to the slime and frosting the sand.
“Wow. That’s really inefficient.”
Bae Jaeyoung caught a jumping slime and waved her hand in front of Chahun.
“You don’t need to pour in so much mana. Like this.”
With a flicking gesture, the slime froze solid. See? After showing Chahun how the slime was perfectly frozen without affecting anything else, Bae Jaeyoung withdrew her mana and herded the slimes toward him.
“What is this—Hyung!”
Chahun, who had pushed Yeonwoo behind him, glared at Bae Jaeyoung who was driving the slimes toward them like a shepherd.
“I’m fine, go ahead and try.”
When Yeonwoo pushed his back, Chahun moved his hand with a tense expression. Bae Jaeyoung admired the slimes frozen as one mass and approached Chahun with an excited face.
“Have you ever used a weapon?”
Bae Jaeyoung walked to the wall, displayed various weapons, and beckoned to Chahun. With Yeonwoo’s gentle push on his back, Chahun reluctantly walked over, hesitated for a moment, then chose a bow.
As Chahun hesitantly held the bow, Bae Jaeyoung ran in front of the slimes and urged him to hurry. With an expression that said “What kind of person is this,” Chahun walked over and felt around his thigh. His fingertips couldn’t feel any arrows. Before he could make a confused expression, Bae Jaeyoung split the frozen slime in half.
The slime jumped up with a “kyup!” sound, making Chahun step back, and Bae Jaeyoung made a gesture of drawing a bowstring in the air. Just shoot? Without arrows? Chahun, glaring at Bae Jaeyoung, instinctively moved his hand toward the slimes rushing at him with “kyup kyup kyup” sounds.
Just as Chahun was startled by the ice arrow flying with a “ping” sound, Yeonwoo’s phone rang.
“Well done. Aim with the feeling of hitting the rear where the tail is attached. Once more.”
The praise he wanted came not from behind but from beside him. Chahun glanced at Yeonwoo looking at his phone, then drew the bowstring again.
It wasn’t Yeonhwa’s designated ringtone, but you never know. Yeonwoo quickly checked his phone and let out a defeated laugh. It’s just spam. After blocking the number, Yeonwoo watched Chahun drawing the bowstring. After guiding Chahun for quite some time, Bae Jaeyoung looked at the clock and was startled.
“It’s already this late. It’s almost lights-out time, so let’s wrap up.”
Just as Bae Jaeyoung withdrew the mana from the magic beast orb and grabbed the bow Chahun was holding, Chahun swung his arm widely. Seeing the ice that rose following the trajectory of his arm and the chest heaving with excitement, Yeonwoo stepped forward.
“Give me the bow, please.”
At Yeonwoo’s words, Chahun, who had been staring at the ice wall with a surprised expression, handed over the bow almost throwing it. Yeonwoo passed the bow to Bae Jaeyoung and patted Chahun’s stiff back.
“It’s okay, calm down.”
It was common. Chahun was excited after facing a magic beast for the first time, and when an unfamiliar Esper approached to take away his weapon, he identified Bae Jaeyoung as a threat. Then he calmed down when Yeonwoo, whose mana was familiar, approached.
While Chahun was calming down, Bae Jaeyoung, who had been tidying up the surroundings, slightly opened the door and peered outside.
“Looks like they’re gone… wait, they’re still there.”
Pesky brats. Yeonwoo gritted his teeth and glared at the employees sitting on stacked documents.
“Hmm. What should we do?”
There’s nothing we can do. Unlike other zones, the common area had no lounge, so they couldn’t stay overnight. When Yeonwoo walked out, the employees, with exhausted but smiling faces, waved their hands.
“Are you finished now? Wow, won’t your sister worry if you train this late?”
Seeing the approaching employee, Park Seohyun grabbed Yeonwoo and whispered quickly.
“Should we just run? They won’t be able to keep up anyway.”
After checking Choi Dongwon’s condition at those words, Yeonwoo put strength into his toes. Just as he was about to run, his body staggered at the force of someone grabbing his shoulder. Chahun, who had raised an ice wall, was glaring sideways at the employees.
“I should have done this from the start. Then hyung would have had more time to rest.”
Seeing the ominously rising ice wall, Yeonwoo found himself nodding without realizing it. At Yeonwoo’s words that he would handle the employees and follow, Park Seohyun left supporting Choi Dongwon. Leaving behind Jo Heeseo, who couldn’t tear herself away due to regret, and Bae Jaeyoung, who looked troubled, Yeonwoo looked up at Chahun who was holding his shoulder.
“This is the second time. Being helped by Esper Kang Chahun.”
“Why make a big deal out of something like this?”
Despite his flat tone, Chahun’s expression looked somewhat proud. Watching the employees turn back after hesitating to approach, Yeonwoo made a resolution.
From now on, whenever employees get annoying, I’ll threaten them by mentioning Kang Chahun—
“What kind of relationship do hyung and I have that I wouldn’t do this much?”
Wait…
What kind of relationship do we have?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
