Chapter 14

"You refused the matching test again today? How fearless of you."

Ah, what's it to you... What do you want me to do...

Nain had many things he wanted to say but held back with effort.

From what he heard, Ched specialized in destroying center property and had a hobby of talking back to training instructors, yet here he was lecturing him about being irresponsible. And Ched was twenty-two, not that much older than Nain. Yet he acted like he was the adult all by himself.

What a jerk...

Nain chewed and swallowed what was in his mouth, then said quietly.

"It's not refusal, I just don't have the obligation to be tested."

"That's right, you're a whole prince after all. No wonder you're not afraid of anything!"

Ched giggled while teasing him.

'That's not it, I'm a dimension wanderer so...'

He swallowed the words he wanted to say. Even if he spoke, the guy didn't seem intelligent enough to understand. Did this man even know the meaning of the words duty and rights? It was too bothersome to explain it simply.

"Come to think of it, why are you speaking informally to me again?"

"What are you talking about? I'm a foreigner. I don't know that stuff well."

"Cut the crap. You use some kind of automatic translator anyway, right?"

"..."

Flinch. Caught off guard, Nain fidgeted with his fingers and kept his mouth shut.

"You think you can fool me by pretending to be foreign now? This guy sometimes does this only when it's disadvantageous for him."

Ched suddenly grabbed and shook Nain's cheek. He treated Nain like a much younger sibling. It was easy to notice because it wasn't much different from how his brothers acted toward him.

To put it more bluntly and harshly, it meant he looked easy to pick on. His cheeks hurt a lot, but he had no choice but to endure it. Because the more mature person should be patient. Nain pressed his lips together with a displeased expression.

He had no desire to be polite to Ched, who would be far below him in mental age, and unless someone was a much higher-ranking person, it was more comfortable to respond with informal speech to someone who spoke informally.

"If you keep doing this, I'll report you for workplace harassment."

"Go ahead, try it."

Ched wasn't intimidated by Nain's timid rebellion. Instead, he just giggled as if telling him to try harder.

Nain sometimes got goosebumps when Ched laughed. Was it because of the scar remaining at the corner of his mouth, or because of his shortly cropped hair? He knew he shouldn't discriminate against people by their faces, but Ched looked like a back-alley gang boss just by his face.

Though Nain had lived with the nickname of "thug collector," Ched's face was outside his interest. Rather than being rough, he really had the face of a literal gang boss. It meant he wasn't his type.

"Nain."

"...What."

"Don't you have any intention of registering as an awakener?"

"No..."

"Think about it carefully."

"I did think about it..."

"If you just register, you get citizenship and can freely enter and exit the library as you wish."

"I know..."

"And you get something like this too."

Ched pulled out a small card from his pocket and thrust it in front of his eyes. Perhaps because much time had passed since the photo was taken, it showed a portrait that looked much more childish than his current face, along with his affiliation and name.

'A-grade Esper, Ched Woo.'

Guide registration cards were only different in having the word "Guide" instead of Esper. As Nain stared at the registration card, Ched pestered him saying, "How about it, cool right? You want it? You want it, don't you?"

From a distance, people with familiar faces were pretending not to notice while glancing at Nain and Ched. There were several HR team staff and one person from the examination room. It was obvious without asking in detail.

'They told this guy to encourage me.'

Why did they choose the stupid Ched among all the many Espers? Nain thought.

They chose the wrong person. If they had come with better conditions, he might have hesitated, but unless he was an idiot, there was no reason to endure the annoyance just for wanting a single Guide registration card.

'Not being able to use the library is a bit disappointing, but that's fine since I can ask anyone to borrow books for me.'

In the matching tests with Espers, his matching rates with them all recorded 0%. The Espers tilted their heads at the guiding that couldn't be felt even when they made palm contact with Nain and asked, "Are you really a Guide?" To them, Nain answered, "I don't know either."

In the end, the possibility that the statement about abundant potential ability wasn't true increased. Nevertheless, the center wouldn't let Nain go. This was because the number of Guides was much smaller than the number of Espers.

Guides could go through their entire lives without knowing their potential abilities if they deliberately didn't take trait tests and hid, and they were the only beings who could gently subdue incredibly difficult Espers. So the center wanted to try using Nain at least once, even if he turned out to be F-grade. Even to the point of trying to deceive him.

But...

'I looked into it, and dimension wanderers don't have the obligation to register as awakeners.'

'...What?'

'I'm a dimension wanderer so I don't have citizenship. Dimension wanderers definitely weren't listed among those subject to duties as "awakeners." Therefore, I'm not granted the rights that people here should naturally enjoy. Am I misunderstanding something?'

At Nain's words, the other person's gaze wavered. He mumbled evasively and suddenly made hurried calls somewhere.

Nain didn't let himself be easily deceived as they wished. If he hadn't listened to the Espers who doubted whether he was really a Guide, he might have been completely fooled by them, but after harboring suspicions that they were trying to scam him somehow, Nain resolved never to be easily deceived.

So Nain not only read the booklet he received on the first day, but after his trait test results came out, he deliberately obtained and read books about the treatment of dimension wanderers so thoroughly he memorized them.

There were really many restrictions on dimension wanderers. Because they legally belonged to the vulnerable, they were protected by the center but didn't have many rights they could exercise independently.

Almost everything had to go through protective facilities first. Moving to other regions without permission was prohibited, and even in "supermarkets" - grocery stores that sold all kinds of items - there were items they couldn't purchase.

However, thinking conversely, it meant that because they had no citizenship, they didn't have to fulfill the duties that people here should naturally fulfill.

The only thing that could be used against him was dimension wanderer support funds, but even this was somewhat ambiguous to apply to Nain. This was because Nain wasn't receiving support funds for free but had already found a job and was receiving legitimate compensation for his labor. Strictly speaking, it was salary.

There really was no mention anywhere that dimension wanderers were included among those subject to awakener management laws. Nain pointed this out and thanks to that, he was able to prevent being forced into registration procedures and shouldering testing obligations. The higher-ups clicked their tongues, wondering why a twenty-year-old kid wasn't so easy to deal with.

"Your Highness, give me your hand."

"What are you trying to do..."

Nain pouted but didn't have the courage to rebel, so he obediently extended his hand. Ched gripped his hand tightly and concentrated quietly. However, he too seemed to feel nothing as he tilted his head and let go of his hand.

"Hey, are you really a Guide?"

"I told you it's a waste of time. Really, do you listen with your nostrils?"

"...Do you really want to die?"

Suddenly irritated, Ched grabbed Nain's nose with his finger and shook it left and right, picking a fight. Nain's lips parted slightly. His nose was blocked so he had to breathe through his mouth. But similarly, he didn't have the courage to rebel.

I'm being patient, really. Nain comforted himself by thinking that way.

"How's the medical ward work?"

"Yeah. Everyone's been good to me."

When Nain mumbled with a nasal voice, Ched pointed at him and giggled saying he looked stupid. He still didn't let go of his nose. Even when he muttered that it hurt and tried to act pitifully, it was useless. Nain's lips pressed into a straight line.

Though his brothers had been somewhat bothersome when he was young, they had never tormented him to this extent. Whenever Nain made even the slightest whimper, they would quickly stop their teasing and hug him tightly. Compared to that...

'Damn bossy thug bastard...'

He doesn't listen. Nain had many complaints but just stayed still. If he rebelled clumsily, his head would be squeezed by those burly arms like last time. That bastard's whole body was hard as stone. The pranks of a physical enhancement Esper didn't seem like pranks at all. There was no match against violence.

The dimension wanderer adaptation program included job placement, but since Nain was the first dimension wanderer to remain at the center, there weren't many jobs to give him. Therefore, the center decided to squeeze Nain into a menial position.

Nain's role was to assist the staff who assisted the staff handling reception work in the first-floor lobby of the medical ward. Simply put, it meant he was the lowest of the low and an odd-job worker.

It was unfamiliar work but not particularly difficult. After all, people didn't entrust important tasks to Nain, and at most he just had to chat with people entering the medical ward, water plants, or neatly organize stacks of documents.