[103]
With the sound of applause, the platform where Chris stood rose upward.
A woman, barely containing her excitement, asked:
“It’s pretty easy for an Esper, isn’t it?”
“If it’s easy twice, I’ll die.”
Yuri snorted.
“I’m Meredith. Meredith Gold.”
“You’re quick with introductions.”
“Well, there’s no point getting acquainted with someone who won’t make it past the practice matches, is there?”
Meredith didn’t seem to feel any guilt.
“Efficient.”
Chris approached Yuri. Yuri skillfully attached the chain to his collar.
“So now you’re off to reunite with your Guide?”
“Hardly.”
Yuri answered while playfully tickling the wolf’s chin.
Meredith wouldn’t know it, but this Esper had already reunited with his Guide.
“The recording seems to have turned out well.”
Meredith took out a device and muttered while tapping the screen.
“Recording?”
“Ah yes. Everyone wants to know when a new talent appears, right? So we edit footage from the practice matches to create promotional videos.”
“How professional.”
Chris agreed with Yuri’s assessment.
He realized it had been the right choice not to use his telekinesis while navigating the traps.
Someone might have noticed something strange if they watched the recorded footage.
“It’s tempting…”
The reflected light from the screen flashed across Meredith’s face.
“I’d prefer if you didn’t eye someone else’s dog so covetously.”
“Haha. Sorry, sorry.”
But even as she said this, a strange gleam lingered in Meredith’s eyes before quickly disappearing.
“Here’s your permit.”
“Permit?”
“Authorization to go down to the lower floors. Insert the included chip into your device, and you’ll see which matches you can choose from. It’ll also display a map to your designated waiting room, so don’t lose it.”
“Ah,” Meredith added, as if suddenly remembering something.
“This is just because I like you… but you’d do well to avoid accidentally entering another fighter’s waiting room without invitation.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, everyone wants to eliminate their competition by any means necessary, don’t they?”
Meredith grinned, showing her teeth.
“It increases their chances of winning.”
“So you can harm other contestants even outside of matches.”
Meredith faltered.
Because Yuri was smiling as he said this.
“Most people don’t make that sound like an advantage… you’re a scary one.”
His thought process of turning a warning into an opportunity was rather extraordinary.
‘Is this the kind of person who would put an Esper in the arena without realizing how dangerous they are?’
He even claimed to be holding the Guide hostage.
Meredith couldn’t understand the mentality of someone who would deliberately make an enemy of an Esper.
A terrible death would find him sooner or later, yet his calmness suggested uncommon courage.
Or perhaps a lack of attachment to life.
“Farewell. I’ll send you a nicely edited video.”
“How much will you pay me?”
Meredith let out a hollow laugh at Yuri’s question.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not just using it for ‘promotion,’ are you?”
Meredith stared blankly at John Doe.
His face, though possessing soft lines, couldn’t be called exceptionally handsome.
But those eyes.
Those two eyes had a strange magnetism.
An allure that made it impossible to look away and compelled one to listen to what he had to say.
“This is an arena. Gambling is allowed. Some people want to identify promising fighters before anyone else to place their bets.”
“Hmm, hmm.”
“I think you’ll be getting money from them. What do you think?”
“…You’re quick-witted.”
The woman sighed deeply, approached the wall, opened a cabinet, and took out a piece of paper.
“It’s a revenue-sharing contract.”
“You had this ready but tried to act like you didn’t.”
“The ones who get blindsided have only themselves to blame.”
“Right?” Meredith grinned.
“That’s true.”
Yuri carefully reviewed the contract and modified the distribution section.
“No way—I do the recording, editing, and handle the clients, but this shameless distribution is ridiculous.”
“That’s the split for someone who tried to be clever but got caught.”
“…Ha.”
Meredith exhaled in disbelief.
“There have been a few who noticed I sell promotional videos… but you’re the first to modify the distribution.”
“Do you mind?”
“No. I’ll sign it.”
Meredith answered Yuri’s question straightforwardly.
“I thought you’d at least try to negotiate.”
“You seem like you’ll last quite a while in this place.”
Meredith curled up the corners of her mouth.
“Let’s get along until one of us dies.”
It was a rather strange thing to say when offering a handshake. Yuri readily extended his hand.
Seeing his glove, Meredith made a face of disgust.
“What do you think is on there that you can’t shake my hand?”
“What might be on my bare hands, I wonder?”
At this suggestive remark, Meredith completed the handshake without protest.
“…See you next time.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Yuri led Chris out of the room.
The corridor fell silent as Yuri reappeared with the enormous wolf, having entered the office earlier.
He was walking perfectly normally on two legs, with no burn marks or blood trails visible anywhere.
People swallowed and made way, and Yuri naturally walked through the middle.
Chris moved along, thinking how inconvenient it was that he couldn’t see Yuri’s face.
Even if he pricked his ears, he could only hear breathing.
‘This is suffocating.’
He’d always thought he acted like a dog, but becoming an actual beast was an entirely different experience.
There were no stairs leading to the lower floor; instead, a simple elevator was installed at the end of the corridor.
When Yuri held up the device with the inserted chip, the doors lit up and opened wide.
The interior was not much different from other elevators, even including a number panel.
This floor was marked as “L.” It probably stood for lobby.
Below it were B1, B2, B3… and so on.
The last floor was B6.
Pressing any random number did nothing.
Yuri held the device to the panel inside the elevator again. The B1 button lit up and became active.
“Convenient.”
Chris, sitting quietly, nodded in agreement.
B1 was quieter than the lobby floor.
There didn’t seem to be many people around, but as Chris passed through the corridor, he noticed eyes watching through windows in the doors.
Wherever there was a window, there was always someone watching.
It was inherently tense.
“This must be it.”
Yuri checked the map, opened a door, and went inside.
A solitary iron bed stood in the room.
The bathroom with a small sink was separated by a partition rather than a door.
It was a space where even breathing felt constrained.
Chris pressed himself close to Yuri, who was sitting on the iron bed.
Well, the room was cramped, so it couldn’t be helped.
When Yuri laughed softly, Chris could feel a slight vibration from the body he was touching. Chris looked up at Yuri.
“You can return to human form now.”
Chris slowly released his transformation.
Where the wolf had been, a naked man now crouched.
“Put this on first.”
Yuri handed over the bag he was carrying. It contained spare clothes he had brought in anticipation of the transformation.
Chris slowly put on the pants. As he was buttoning up his shirt one by one, he felt Yuri’s gaze.
“I didn’t expect you to change right here when there’s a partition.”
His voice carried strange amusement rather than embarrassment.
If anything, it was Chris who was flustered.
“Ah. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize.”
Yuri, his interlocked hands resting on his knees, leaned forward.
“How was it?”
“The practice match was manageable. But I felt a subtle malice.”
It wasn’t about testing reflexes, nor about testing strength.
It wasn’t even about checking if one could think well.
“Indeed… it didn’t seem like they were assessing abilities.”
“If I had been accidentally impaled, they would have been more delighted.”
“The matches held down below must be even more terrible.”
Yuri spoke in a calm voice.
But Chris now knew.
That he wasn’t entirely calm deep inside.
“It will be fine.”
“Just like that woman said, the matches will be recorded. Which means you can’t act freely like you usually would.”
Chris nodded as Yuri euphemistically said he couldn’t use his “power.”
“I know.”
For Chris, telekinesis was like a third arm. More free and able to reach further than his physical body.
Being deprived of this was like losing his wings.
“You don’t seem very tense. Planning to rely on luck when a life-or-death crisis arises?”
“Rather, I’m confident in my abilities.”
Yuri’s lips tightened slightly before relaxing. Then his face grew serious again.
“All talk.”
“I won’t disappoint you in practice either.”
Chris looked straight into his eyes and spoke deliberately.
But Yuri only exhaled a deep sigh.
“It’s not you disappointing me that I’m worried about.”
Chris nodded.
“I know.”
“You know?”
Yuri looked at Chris as if the idea was absurd.
Despite the prominent distrust, Chris didn’t feel angry or intimidated.
However.
“What I meant to say was…”
Chris, cursing his poor eloquence, carefully selected a few words.
“I won’t get seriously injured or risk my life in a way that would make you worry.”
How many times had he experienced such shoddy traps? He’d faced dangerous situations countless times.
He’d always lived a life of walking tightropes.
Thinking about it, wasn’t he actually quite fortunate now?
The current Chris had discovered that Yuri was concerned about him.
“And I’ll perfectly fulfill my mission as well.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
