[158]
“Never use guiding energy as a negotiation condition with Guides under any circumstances.”
When Anong first heard those words from Yuri, she was shocked.
“Are you sane? It’s obvious there will be strong resistance.”
“So, you want to continue living the way you have until now?”
“The more drastic the change, the greater the resistance.”
Anong had a concerned look on her face.
She wasn’t someone who thought Yuri’s suggestion was complete nonsense.
“Of course there will be resistance. But this is a non-negotiable issue.”
Those purple eyes were cold.
“And it shouldn’t be negotiated.”
“You’re literally threatening them by holding their lifeline.”
In response to Anong’s words, Yuri asked in a calm voice:
“If a passerby tells you that they’ll die unless you hold their hand, what would you think of that person?”
“A madman.”
“But when a passing Esper begs a Guide to hold their hand, saying they’ll die otherwise, you think there must be circumstances. Isn’t that right?”
“…Yes.”
Anong lowered her eyes.
Having lived as an Esper her entire life, Anong couldn’t help but empathize more with them.
Realizing this fact made her feel as if an invisible sharp thorn was scratching her heart.
“I’m not saying I want to completely separate Espers and Guides. It’s just that Rosenhauser’s influence on Northern Light is extensive. We need to rebuild the relationship from the beginning.”
Anong’s complexion darkened.
Rosenhauser had conditioned Espers to treat Guides like objects rather than people to make them easier to control.
“…Before they meet as Guide and Esper. First, they need to recognize each other as people. That’s the minimum standard that can’t be compromised.”
“I understand what you mean. I’ll add it to the items for further coordination.”
‘This means my time as temporary center director is getting extended again.’
Her head felt like it was going to explode thinking about the repercussions this would cause.
With a gloomy expression, Anong carefully asked:
“Are you a mafia… or a Guide human rights activist?”
She couldn’t understand.
She was curious why Yuri Sobolev, who lived far away in the Winter Continent, would care so much about the treatment of Guides in the Summer Continent.
Wasn’t he supposed to be cold-blooded?
‘I’ve always wondered why Chris likes a man like that.’
Yuri gave her a contemptuous look.
“Thinking that I work only for Guides is the fundamental problem with you Espers.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Anong’s apology came quickly.
“Yes. Perhaps you’re right. If this discussion passes, we’ll gain nothing but bloodshed.”
Before Yuri could say anything, Anong quickly waved her hand.
“From a short-term perspective! I meant we’d gain nothing but bloodshed. In the long run, I also think you’re right.”
A one-sided relationship inevitably sinks.
“Honestly, the results of exploiting Guides are becoming visible. Espers proudly reveal their abilities, but Guides try their best to hide that fact.”
Anong smiled bitterly.
Northern Light had portrayed Guides as living comfortably. As if they didn’t need to go to dangerous sites like Espers and could just enjoy themselves in indoor buildings.
However, those who are aware of being Guides tend to try hard to hide their abilities.
“Someday, there might be only one Guide left.”
“You’re naive to think even one would remain.”
Yuri clicked his tongue as if telling her not to be so innocent.
“…Too many Espers don’t know that Guides get physically tired when they expend guiding energy. They treat them more like precious treasures than fellow humans.”
He looked at Anong and asked his final question.
“Can you name even one Guide who looks you in the eye when speaking? Have you ever heard about their families or dreams?”
Anong was silent.
The answer was ‘no’.
Instead of saying he knew it would be so, Yuri stood up.
“I’ll see you again.”
Because it seemed like they had a lot to talk about in the future.
***
“Unlike before when we worked on a fixed schedule rotation, Guides and Espers now interact in daily life. All one-sided demands for guiding are prohibited.”
“Then… aren’t Northern Light’s Espers suffering from the risk of going out of control?”
January asked cautiously. Luka answered in a matter-of-fact tone:
“There was some resistance. For instance, accusations that we were telling Espers to go out and die.”
January made a disgruntled face. He wondered if he had heard correctly.
It was quite a strong statement coming from such a delicate-looking face.
“To get to the conclusion. We had no intention of letting everyone go out and die.”
“…”
So I heard correctly.
“We have a separate situation room to monitor the Espers’ condition. When they reach a dangerous level, Guides on shift rotation provide guiding.”
“Wouldn’t that only be for some?”
“Do you think so?”
Luka placed his interlocked hands on his knee.
“Excluding special cases, all Guides in indoor buildings volunteered.”
“…What?”
Why on earth?
“What would you do if a stranger asked for help?”
“…I would consider it. My decision would vary depending on the level of the request.”
“You might avoid it. It’s a harsh world, and who knows who’s suddenly asking for help?”
He had noticed earlier, but despite the delicate face and gentle speech, Luka made subtly biting remarks.
‘…He doesn’t seem to be saying people who don’t help others are necessarily bad.’
January suddenly had that thought.
Perhaps because he looked like someone who couldn’t hurt a fly, it seemed quite unexpected.
Whether aware of those inner thoughts or not, Luka continued:
“So let’s assume this time it’s someone you know well asking for help. Someone you have a friendly relationship with, exchanging help. Such an acquaintance. For example… the owner of this pub, Ms. Susanna.”
At Luka’s words, January involuntarily grimaced.
Partly because she was his former boss, but mainly because Susanna was the type of person who didn’t need help from others.
‘Besides, with that personality, she wouldn’t ask for help anyway.’
“Was that a bad example?”
Luka asked, seeming to read the mood for the first time.
“No, no.”
January shook his head. Instead of Susanna whom Luka mentioned, he thought of Chris who had saved him.
“What do you think if such a person asked for help?”
“…I would help.”
Of course I would.
“It’s the same. We helped because we genuinely wanted to help as fellow humans.”
Luka added with a bitter smile:
“Just as we became human to Espers. Perhaps Espers have also become people related to us.”
The feeling of receiving thanks while making eye contact was quite strange and new.
In the past, new Espers who first entered Northern Light would thank them right after receiving guiding. Some would even tear up.
But that was only for the first few months.
As years passed, Espers treated Guides more and more like objects.
They would look at Luka’s grade as if to say “you again,” and complain that they wanted to meet a better Guide.
Things he pretended not to hear, but thinking about it now, they must have been wounds.
“And you know. Almost all of us are starving for self-efficacy.”
Luka lowered his voice and spoke as if whispering.
Like he was revealing a great secret.
“Um… what do you mean?”
Curious, January hesitated before carefully asking.
He didn’t realize it, but January was becoming increasingly engrossed in Luka’s story.
“It means after living like a hamster on a wheel, doing what others tell us to do, our hearts were moved when we could finally do something by our own choice.”
January’s expression became peculiar.
“Guiding used to be something they, the Espers, would come to get on their own. Honestly, it felt like it wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t there, like there could be a vase or chair in my place.”
“Ah.”
“But now it’s different.”
His smile seemed somewhat relieved.
“There’s something I realized during this process.”
Luka said quietly.
“We shouldn’t make guiding energy be thought of as a commodity.”
Commodity.
It was an expression that was vaguely understandable.
“The moment you assign material properties to it, it becomes something that can be extorted.”
“Extortion…”
January rolled the word around on his tongue.
“…That’s what someone I met before said.”
Luka murmured.
He recalled Yuri Sobolev’s purple eyes.
The man who had said that the relationship between Espers and Guides needed to be rewritten from the beginning.
“They say Espers will die without guiding. This ability is absolutely necessary for them.”
Luka continued speaking quietly.
“Current humanity is striving for development and recovery. In this process, Espers were mobilized. And in this process, Guides were treated like resources to be consumed as needed.”
Isn’t some sacrifice natural?
“We were unilaterally forced to understand, and even I believed this was natural. And until this belief is shaken from its foundation, it will be difficult for Guides to be treated as human.”
“I see…”
January nodded slowly.
It was somehow grand and impressive, but it was ultimately someone else’s story. So while he could sympathize to some extent, it was difficult to understand deeply.
What could he do? At best, he was just a fake imitating the real thing.
“Not all Espers agree with the current situation. Some Guides also show resistance.”
Luka looked at January with clear eyes.
“That’s why we need your existence, Mr. January. Yours and that of other ‘fake Guides’.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
