[84]
‘Talking about revenge in this situation. No empathy, that bastard.’
Though grumbling internally, Susanna kept her mouth shut.
She, too, was aware of the contradiction in her behavior.
“I…”
Chris furrowed his brow as if to say something, but quickly returned to an expressionless face.
“Never mind.”
Susanna wanted to taunt him, asking if he’d imagined life after Yuri Sobolev’s death, but refrained.
Just thinking about it made her feel good. But provoking someone who seems unkillable means dealing with the consequences.
‘Only Miya’s pub would be destroyed.’
It left a bitter aftertaste.
Susanna turned her head and her eyes fell on January.
“So, January, you were addicted to drugs and tied to a guiding establishment?”
January remained silent at the probing question.
Knowing the old January, Susanna knew he wasn’t a Guide.
Did she think he had manifested late?
“Do you know about the guiding establishments?”
Chris changed the subject.
“I’ve heard of them. Since Miya died, I needed guiding and looked everywhere.”
“Even though your own Guide died…?”
“Of course. Should I resist forcibly and die?”
Susanna shrugged.
“Those who live must live… Well, that’s not what I’m trying to say.”
She simply didn’t want to die being subdued like a beast in a frenzy or by suicide.
“If I were to wither away refusing guiding out of faithfulness, Miya wouldn’t be happy about it.”
Chris lowered his eyes.
Though he found Susanna’s mentions of Miya strangely irritating, he didn’t think her decision itself was wrong.
Because when thinking about a world without Yuri, he felt he wouldn’t be much different from Susanna.
Whatever choice he made, he would always reflect on what Yuri would have thought.
‘And only realize there’s no Yuri to decide for me.’
“Anyway, I don’t think receiving guiding from others is betraying your own Guide.”
Except for the fact that it was Susanna saying it, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
“I see.”
Chris’s expression became subtle.
He had been wavering because of this mission. Watching this, Yuri had given Chris a generous order for his sake.
“Then don’t receive guiding.”
Wasn’t this a situation where he needed to discover January’s true identity?
Unless carrying a machine to identify Guides, the best way to confirm someone’s identity is through an Esper’s contact. Yet telling Chris not to receive guiding was a consideration for him.
Consideration for Chris, who feared receiving guiding from anyone other than Yuri.
‘Very different from Susanna.’
Susanna Godrin was an Esper no less—if not more—than Chris. Hadn’t she abandoned her sister and family due to her obsession with her Guide, Miya Luciano, and left for another continent?
It seemed strange that such a person had changed so much just because Miya would have wanted it.
In a more universal, “healthy” relationship as society calls it, perhaps changing like that is appropriate.
After all, not being able to stand alone when the other leaves means excessive dependency.
But Chris didn’t want to stand alone without Yuri.
While Susanna gave up on avenging Miya, Chris wouldn’t have done so.
Though Susanna receives guiding from others, Chris would rather have blown his own head off.
Of course, that woman must have truly loved her partner. Chris had no doubt about this.
But why, despite both being in Esper-Guide relationships, were they so different?
“You look like you’re chewing a lemon. Anyway.”
Susanna turned her gaze from Chris to January.
“If you don’t want to talk, fine. It’s not like I haven’t seen kids like you before.”
Giving her attention back to January, Susanna waved her hand dismissively.
“I’ll provide room and board, so handle rehabilitation yourself. There’s a doctor’s contact who takes care of kids like you, so if you want to try something, go ahead.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Enough. If someone I know drops dead, it makes for an uncomfortable sleep.”
Susanna showed signs of getting up.
‘For now… I’ll let him rest and calm down.’
Chris was considering whether to follow Susanna downstairs for January’s rest when:
“Chris. Can we talk for a moment?”
“Yes.”
At January’s request, Chris nodded without hesitation.
He found January somewhat curious. He hadn’t expected such an unchanged attitude even after hearing the name Chris Danil.
If he had approached revealing his real name from the start, the situation would have been different. But considering his identity was exposed due to an unintended reunion, the mission didn’t seem to have failed.
‘Perhaps because I protected him during the chase?’
It made sense if January felt enough security to offset the fear from Chris Danil’s notoriety.
“I’d like you to go down first and wait.”
“Acting like the master now.”
Susanna grumbled at Chris’s words as she left the room.
January fidgeted with his fingers before speaking.
“I couldn’t answer Susanna’s question because I haven’t told you yet, Chris.”
It was ridiculous to prioritize such things when everything was in such a mess.
January shrugged a few times to suppress the sneer trying to escape his lips and said:
“What if. What if…”
A voice thin as dragonfly wings flowed from him.
“What if I’m not actually a Guide?”
Along with the question bearing a fragile resonance, a gaze mixed with some kind of expectation was directed at Chris.
“I told you before.”
Chris looked at January with indifferent eyes.
“I won’t judge.”
If that gaze actually reassures him, is he crazy?
January trembled slightly and nodded.
“Yes. You did say that.”
He had thought it was just talk.
Even when January implied he hadn’t believed his words, Chris’s expression showed little change.
At first, he thought Chris was being kind and considerate.
But now he understood.
Chris was an indifferent person.
Different from those who claw at others claiming insensitivity. When dealing with others, he set boundaries and maintained a distance that felt safe.
Though he might regret not being able to get closer, it wasn’t unpleasant.
It was even joyful in a way.
He felt such a man would keep a similar distance regardless of who he was dealing with.
Being treated the same as others actually made January comfortable.
‘I was planning to go live somewhere where no one knows my name or face after getting out of this business.’
That peaceful solitude he vaguely imagined when making that decision now felt like it was looking at him with a human face.
“…Since I’ve already run away from there, there’s not much point in hiding it anymore. So I’ll tell you.”
The persistence felt from the tracking chips intimidated January.
He remembered the debt he had been struggling to pay off. The time when he looked at his empty bank account balance but still believed he could escape someday now seemed like a bad dream.
From the moment he first stepped into this field, escape was impossible.
They never intended to let him go.
“I’m not a real Guide.”
Chris stiffened his lips at the confession, which came earlier than expected.
“Would you like to hold my hand once?”
“…Are you trying to provide guiding?”
“I’m not real. So guiding is impossible for me.”
Eventually, Chris extended his hand. January carefully took it.
‘His hand is really big.’
The hand of Chris, who had pulled him this way and that while they were escaping, suddenly felt unfamiliar.
He had expected his hand to be large because of his height, but it felt strange seeing how small his own hand seemed, almost completely covered.
“How does it feel?”
“It tickles.”
Like caressing flower petals.
A sweet, savory feeling. Like a cool breeze blowing into his complicated mind.
“All the employees at our establishment are required to buy a special drug from the manager. We take this when serving customers.”
“Are the customers Espers?”
“We can serve ordinary people too. Even non-Espers can feel this sensation just through contact.”
“That’s…”
Chris couldn’t believe this wasn’t guiding.
“We have quite a few ordinary customers. They’re attracted by the promotional phrase that they can feel the same sensation as Espers. Since we’re registered as party consultants, some people pretend to request home parties to call us.”
January spoke in a whisper, keeping his eyes lowered.
“We call this drug that grants this ability ‘Fake Guide.'”
***
The woman opened her white eyes.
“Commander, observation failed.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
The commander of Thorns Order muttered.
“Those rats are clearly in our front yard… why is it so hard to catch their tails?”
“Perhaps they’re receiving help from abilities?”
If this side has Espers, the other side must have them too.
Suddenly recalling something, the commander gestured.
“Bring me Hustle’s letter.”
Rolling her eyes, the woman brought the entire mailbox.
The contents were overflowing, leaving the lid half-open.
The commander rummaged through it and found the letter he was targeting.
His gaze stopped abruptly as he quickly skimmed through several paragraphs.
“The keymaster. Peter Garrett.”
The commander tapped his finger on the letter.
“…A spatial ability user.”
Such a rare ability, he hadn’t thought it would be at the forefront.
Well, it wasn’t that he had no desire to interpret the situation positively.
“This makes it less fun.”
Pawns should move one square at a time, and bishops should move diagonally.
But a spatial movement ability? Doesn’t this allow using pawns, rooks, knights, and bishops all like queens?
The commander smiled, baring his teeth.
“Let’s start by eliminating this bastard first.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
