Chapter 31

* * *

The week he had promised Ash had already passed. He came to find Nain every day, reminded him how many days were left, and then left.

'Three days left.'

'Two days. You haven't forgotten, have you?'

'Finally tomorrow, Nain. I'm looking forward to it.'

Coming every day to do that, he couldn't forget even if he wanted to. In the end, Nain constantly thought about Ash as he had wished. Last night, he had too many thoughts and tossed and turned all night without sleeping.

'But is there any point in worrying about this?'

Anyway, to go home, he needed that man's help, and to do that, he had to accept his proposal. On the surface, it seemed like there was a choice, but unless he found alternatives, the answer was already decided.

'But why?'

Surely Ash had made this proposal because there was some benefit for him too, but what benefit could Nain becoming a Guide possibly bring him?

During the week, Nain hadn't just agonized without doing anything. He asked Ched exactly what Guides did. He thought there would be differences between the lip service from the HR recruitment team and the stories of Espers who worked in the field, clashing with actual Guides.

And Nain's judgment was somewhat correct. Unlike the HR team that tried to entice him by mainly talking about salary differences, comfortable living, and various welfare benefits from the center, the Espers clearly explained what Guides actually did.

Guides played a role in assisting Espers in using their abilities. Here, what he was most curious about was how guiding was actually carried out.

There were two main methods of guiding: radiation guiding conducted in a non-contact state, and contact guiding through direct skin contact.

Radiation guiding had the advantage of being able to guide multiple Espers at once, while contact guiding had the advantage of being able to suppress rampage more quickly because it focused intensively on one person. Of course, the latter was more efficient.

And Nain could quickly realize that contact guiding didn't end with just holding hands. This was because the Esper bastards would gesture sexual acts with their hands and giggle when talking about it, and awakeners who got along well would smack their lips together kissing in public places regardless of who was watching.

Did they have no shame despite being born human? If they were even slightly conscious of others' gazes, they couldn't act like that. Nain thought the world was coming to an end watching them.

'Sigh. I should just go to work.'

Nain decided to set aside his endless worries for a while. He opened the door and stepped out a little earlier than his usual departure time and encountered a familiar face in the corridor.

"Good morning."

"...Ash?"

He was someone who shouldn't be here. The man who had come all the way to the general staff dormitory building for some reason greeted Nain happily upon seeing him. However, Nain was more shocked by the background behind him than by his presence.

Most of the doors in the direction Ash had been walking from were open. It was the first time he'd seen so many people come out. From early morning, unfriendly gazes were pouring onto the back of Ash's head. Not far away, a man who hadn't even finished washing the foam from his hair opened his door and shouted, "Who is it! The guy who rang the bell and ran!" Ash smiled gently as if nothing was wrong.

"I came to hear your answer."

"..."

"But there were too many rooms and I didn't know where you were..."

He laughed silently and ticklishly. Why, why is he talking like that? Someone muttered to themselves. Even those who witnessed Ash smiling with an expression they'd never seen before all made faces like they'd seen something they shouldn't have and went into their rooms, slamming their doors shut.

"..."

So he had pressed all the bells on the way here. Nain applauded internally. The shamelessness of doing such a thing without any guilt and completely ignoring others' gazes was admirable in many ways.

"Have you made your decision?"

Ash tilted his head slightly.

"What did you decide to do?"

"..."

"Nain, are you still not fully awake?"

His grinning face, as if he already knew the answer, was annoying.

"...I have to."

Nain muttered weakly in resignation. It wasn't "I will" but "I have to." Since there was no other alternative, he had no choice. Even though he didn't know exactly what this man wanted, for now he had to let himself be led around. At Nain's prompt response, Ash's lips stretched into a long grin.

"You thought well."

With a satisfied expression, he placed his hand on Nain's shoulder.

"...!"

At that moment, Nain experienced an out-of-body sensation. It felt like his body was being sucked somewhere. Along with the feeling that the space surrounding him was rippling, the scenery in his vision changed in an instant.

Nain, who had been standing in the dormitory corridor, instantly found himself standing in front of the medical ward where he worked. He wondered if it was a dream, but it wasn't. The sounds of birds chirping and the wind ruffling his hair were extremely realistic.

This was undoubtedly Ash's ability. He had seen him make other people disappear or disappear himself using that ability, but this was the first time Nain had experienced it directly.

'Ugh, motion sickness.'

Nain staggered and covered his mouth with his hand. His stomach churned. Nausea accompanied by queasiness rose up as if he had suffered for an hour in a carriage running on a bumpy road. Since he hadn't eaten anything, only clear saliva came out.

Ash grabbed the staggering Nain's wrist, entered the medical ward building, passed by where Nain worked, and began dragging him somewhere. The two climbed stairs instead of taking the elevator. When he came to his senses, he found himself in front of a place he had visited before.

It was the matching test room.

"Why are we here..."

Before Nain, who felt ominous, could finish his question, Ash opened the door and went in without even knocking.

"...!"

The woman who had been dozing at the counter seat jumped up in surprise. Only after unconsciously wiping the corner of her mouth did she check who was standing at the door.

"..."

"..."

She looked back and forth between Nain and Ash with a blank face as if she had seen a ghost. Then she asked in a bewildered tone.

"Wh-what brings you here?"

Is she still not fully awake? Why would Ash come here of his own accord? She just moved her mouth silently. Without even answering the woman's question, Ash, who had pushed his way in, treated Nain like an armrest, draped his arm over his shoulder, and hummed a tune. The woman pinched her cheek hard seeing Ash crawling into the examination room on his own feet.

"Ow..."

Since she felt pain enough to bring tears to her eyes, it wasn't a dream. Then... She ran into the examination room following the two with a tearful face.

"You can't!"

That dog-like Esper had come to destroy the building again. But this place, which had just finished repairs and remodeling a week ago, was not a suitable target for destruction.

'I hate the cold.'

Huuuung. She cried internally. She had been really happy that the broken heating system was fixed, but thinking she'd have to work shivering in the cold again almost brought tears to her eyes.

"Esper-nim!"

She squeezed out a week's worth of courage and blocked Ash's path. Looking down at the terrified woman's face with both arms spread wide, Ash asked in a puzzled tone.

"Why?"

"You can't do it here... There are more things to break elsewhere."

The woman had already desperately learned the importance of heating systems over the past few weeks, so she chose to stop the notorious Esper rather than work shivering in the cold.

"Break? What?"

Nain looked up at Ash and asked. Ash glanced at him once, then shifted his gaze to the woman. Ash smiled slightly as if regretful, conscious of Nain's gaze, and said.

"Don't make up stories."

"What? But Esper-nim previously—"

"When did I do what, hm? And do you know me? I think I'm seeing you for the first time today?"

"..."

Wh-why is he suddenly acting like that? Why is he smiling? The woman trembled with fear, somehow getting goosebumps from his gentle voice she was hearing for the first time.

Ash momentarily isolated Nain's ears by separating the space from other areas. Only then did Ash return to his usual cool tone and speak.

"This might be the last chance you get, so grab the opportunity when it's given."

He lowered his voice and warned her quietly. The temperature of his voice was clearly different from when dealing with Nain.

"...Opportunity?"

What opportunity was she supposed to grab...

"...!"

The woman stared at him blankly before remembering where she worked.

'Matching test room!'

Only then did she realize the real purpose of these two coming here and her eyes widened.

"You're going to take a matching test?!"

Good heavens. This was a sign that the world was ending!

When she covered her mouth in great surprise, Ash also flinched and expressed displeasure, saying "Ah, you scared me."

Of course, being surprised was one thing and work was another. The woman left a message to wait a moment and bustled about. Even if the world ended tomorrow, today's work had to be done today. Before that capricious man changed his mind!