Chapter 32

"For now... go in and sit down."

After locking the two people in one room and closing the door, she took a deep breath. Then she pulled out her phone from her gown pocket and quickly typed a message.

[Team leader please come quickly something urgent needs to be seen.!!,!]

* * *

"Why don't you want to?"

"..."

Nain couldn't hide his sullen expression. Being dragged around by Ash unreasonably and even taking a matching test was one thing. He had also promised to register as a Guide, so that was fine too. But...

"You didn't mention the pair contract beforehand."

"If I had told you beforehand, you would have run away."

"Well..."

"Right?"

"..."

He couldn't deny it. He didn't know about running away, but if he had been told beforehand, he would have rejected the proposal within a day. Guide registration alone had been such an overwhelming concern that he needed a week to think about it, and if the topic of a pair contract with him had come up, it would have been over.

Ash held Nain's hand tightly and gently coaxed him.

"You're going to do the same work everywhere anyway once you become a Guide, so what's the problem? Rather than dealing with unspecified masses, having an exclusive contract and only dealing with me would be much more comfortable for Nain too."

"Unspecified masses..."

Nain's body trembled. Images of himself mixing bodies with unknown Espers flashed through his mind. He suddenly felt dizzy.

"And you didn't know that pair Guides get a certain percentage bonus from Esper earnings, did you? Do you know what my annual income is?"

Hearing that story, he felt somewhat tempted.

'Right, that person is rich.'

Nain swallowed his saliva. It was true that his financial background was appealing. He was always in need of money.

"Nain. You need money urgently, don't you?"

"..."

Did I show it that much outwardly? How does that person know? Frowning, Nain, after brief consideration, soon steeled his resolve and shook his head firmly.

"I need money, but I won't sell my body."

As if ignoring Nain's serious concerns, Ash burst into hollow laughter. He said with an incredulous laugh.

"Good heavens, Nain. This isn't about selling your body..."

"I can be friends with you, but I have no intention of sleeping with you."

Ash, whose words were blocked by the clear statement, was silent for a moment before chuckling.

Why is he laughing? Did my words sound that ridiculous? Just before Nain felt confusion, Ash asked.

"You've already thought that far ahead?"

"...Don't you?"

Nain somehow became a little embarrassed. Perhaps he was misunderstanding something. Nain, harboring a glimmer of hope, looked up at him. Ash paused for a moment before shyly lowering his gaze and answering.

"I do have thoughts of going along if you pounce on me..."

"You're crazy."

Who would pounce on whom? Nain had absolutely no intention of pouncing on a man who was more than a span taller than him and quite built. For whose benefit... Nain grimaced and immediately hardened his expression. Ash followed Nain as he moved away from him and lamented.

"Nain, it was a joke."

I don't have such intentions yet. Really. Nain ignored those words and headed toward his workplace. When Nain, who arrived at work a bit later than usual, came with Ash trailing behind him, no one greeted him first. Since it was a familiar occurrence, Nain didn't find it strange either.

All day long, Ash was unreasonable, asking Nain to give him ten reasons why he didn't want to contract with him. It wasn't quite ten, but there were clear reasons.

A pair contract was an act of binding Espers and Guides to each other. Simply put, it was similar to an exclusive contract. Guides who formed pair contracts were exempted from some of their duties as Guides, and Espers also didn't have to respond to mandatory matching tests or calls from public guiding rooms.

'And the core of pair contracts is...'

Mandatory guiding.

This was the most fundamental problem. Since they bound each other to each other, they were supposed to control the Esper from daily life through consistent guiding and management to prevent rampage. It was called guiding, but to Nain, it felt like obscene acts.

'How can I do such things in my right mind?'

Honestly speaking, from Nain's position, he couldn't help but be horrified.

Since their living environments were different, what Nain and the people here felt in such aspects was clearly different. Nain felt considerable culture shock at the casual physical contact between not only same-sex individuals but also between people meeting for the first time. Now, thinking that this might become his job made him feel repulsed.

"I don't even know how to do guiding."

"You can learn."

"There are many other Guides."

"I don't like them. I like Nain, so why should I look for alternatives?"

Seeing him respond to each point one by one, Nain could only sigh.

"I don't want to do this kind of thing."

Nain declared. At the word "don't want," Ash's silver eyes wavered faintly. Ash moved his lips as if speechless, then changed direction.

"Um... Even if I pay you a lot of money?"

"I can earn money slowly. I'm not in a hurry."

"What will you do with the money you earn? Buy a building or something?"

A building was... He didn't need to earn that much. Once he found the necessary materials, that would be the end. The problem was that he had no idea what those materials were or how much money he'd need to spend to find them.

It would be nice if there was a magic herb shop.

'Why hasn't the magic potion business developed at all here... Even the hospital pharmacy seems to have only finished products rather than raw materials.'

"Nain."

Ash, who had been complaining, called Nain in a secretive voice. What now? Nain glanced at him sideways and answered.

"What, again?"

"I don't know how far or how specifically you've imagined, but there's one misunderstanding you have."

"Misunderstanding?"

"Not all pair Guides go to the very last stage of guiding."

The very last stage. Nain immediately understood what that meant.

"In other words. You don't have to sleep with me. I absolutely won't force you."

Ash knew exactly what problem Nain was hesitating about. Nain fidgeted with his hands and rolled his eyes.

'Is that so? It seems doable if we exclude sexual relations...'

What Nain was reluctant about was sexual contact. Whether with strangers or acquaintances. Contact not based on affection but with other purposes would inevitably feel awkward.

"..."

He seriously thought about it once more, but his thoughts didn't completely change. His proposal still felt burdensome.

'Let's not get too close.'

He would return home someday. So Nain didn't want to become a very significant presence in anyone's life, including Ash's. If he was going to disappear anyway, he didn't want to leave traces.

"...I won't do it."

"Why not?"

Honestly, because I don't want to get unnecessarily close to you. But how many people could say such things to someone's face?

So Nain decided to clearly convey his refusal rather than state the real reason.

"I just don't want to. Do I need a grand reason for not wanting something? ...Still... If I must find a reason, I don't want to do an exclusive contract because it feels like I'm being one-sidedly taken advantage of. I don't know too much about that aspect."

"That was the problem? It's nothing much. I'll tell you in detail."

Ah, this won't do. Nain panicked and shook his head.

"...It seems you can't understand when I speak indirectly, so I'll just be honest. I'm clearly rejecting you right now. Actually, I have no intention of doing it at all."

"None at all?"

"So please don't waste your energy uselessly and just accept it."

Ash looked like he couldn't understand at all. He tilted his head and asked.

"But Nain would need me, wouldn't you?"

"Yes. I'll look for someone else."

The corners of Ash's mouth curved up. He muttered cynically.

"There won't be anyone."

"That... I'll have to look to find out."

"Wow. Were you the type to charge headfirst into uncertain things? I didn't see you that way, but you're more challenging in personality than I thought."

"Don't be sarcastic."

Nain said with a slight frown.

"You'll be able to meet better Guides than someone like me."

Ash didn't even pretend to hear those words and chuckled.

"Do you perhaps need more time to think? Then you should have said so."

And he seemed unable to accept the fact that he had been rejected to the end. He stared at Nain with his eyes drooping. The look in his eyes almost made his heart weaken. It was quite a pitiful expression, but if he didn't cut it off here, it seemed like it would never end.

In the end, Nain chose to reject him clearly rather than soothe him with kind words.

"I spoke clearly. I said it. So don't come looking for me here anymore either. It's a waste of time."

"Nain?"

"Thank you for everything so far."

It was a concluding statement. Ash, who had been smiling brightly or grumbling playfully like a joke no matter what Nain said, for some reason turned pale and grabbed Nain's wrist.