Chapter 48

"Do you know about imprinting?"

"Imprinting?"

What was that again? Unable to remember for a moment, Daniel rolled his eyes and traced back his memory. Imprinting. Imprinting... It was vague, but after muttering the word in his mouth several times, he remembered.

[An Esper who has imprinted on a specific Guide will show rejection reactions to any guiding other than that Guide's.]

It was definitely written like that. Daniel recalled a section briefly mentioned in his undergraduate textbook and felt that his memory was still intact.

However, imprinting was a subject with divided opinions even in academic circles.

'It's a psychological problem.'

'No, it's a characteristic of the Esper race.'

'That's not it either, it's just a peculiar phenomenon that doesn't actually exist.'

Since there weren't enough samples to show progress in research, it wasn't included in specialist exams and was only briefly mentioned at the beginning of textbooks. That's why they had defined such peculiar cases with the word 'imprinting' and moved on.

All the imprinting cases that had existed so far were from awakeners who had naturally become imprinted after maintaining pair relationships for several years or more. That's why there were theories that imprinting was a psychological problem.

"Why are you suddenly bringing that up?"

Daniel asked carefully, thinking there must be a reason for suddenly bringing up such a topic.

"...Do you think you've imprinted on someone?"

"Well."

The ambiguous answer seemed to confirm it.

Until a few years ago, Ash had been an unstable time bomb whose next move was unpredictable, incomparably more so than now. Since his body was sick, his mind wasn't healthy either, and he was always sensitive. To think such a kid had been having these thoughts. Daniel sighed.

"Not just anyone can be imprinted, Ash."

"I know."

"Whether the phenomenon called imprinting actually exists is still unknown."

"I know that too."

"..."

Daniel muttered while looking straight at Ash.

"...And you were young then."

Even if not now, Ash back then was really young.

"You didn't have enough people or time to imprint on. Even academic circles can't make conclusions carelessly, so there's no way your case would be that."

Actually, when Daniel first met Ash, Ash was just a little kid with downy fuzz on his cheeks. And from the beginning, he had a constitution that couldn't accept others' guiding, and... he had shown consistent rejection reactions to all Guides before Nain.

Though it was only 8%, Nain was the first Guide to show any meaningful matching rate with Ash.

"Even so, 8% is a bit... Can you even use it properly?"

"I like him."

Suddenly unnecessary information popped out when he hadn't even asked. Daniel's eyes widened as if they would pop out.

"Nain told me."

"What?"

"Thinking about it, I think he was right. I had thought he was mine from the beginning. I just hadn't realized it—it was love from the start. Even when he was right next to me, I wanted to have him, and when I couldn't see him, I felt anxious. That's love, isn't it?"

"..."

"What."

This was the first time Ash felt annoying. When he himself said he felt that way, it was useless to argue 'I don't think so? I don't think so?' That aside, Daniel moved on to another matter.

"So, does the dimension wanderer like you too?"

"No."

In a way, it was natural. How long had they known each other to be talking about love? Nain's reaction was right within common sense.

But... why did he agree to a pair contract with someone who claimed to like him? When he didn't even like Ash.

"Don't tell me you threatened... did something like that."

"It doesn't matter."

"..."

You did. Of course.

"That's a crime."

"Why is it a crime? Did I kill someone, or break some innocent person's leg? Nain signed the contract himself. I just gave him some very minor advice in making that decision."

"...Then it's not consensual. You should have at least taken some time to watch and see if the dimension wanderer developed feelings for you before trying to entice him."

"Whether Nain likes me or not is completely unimportant."

"...?"

"Honestly, it's fine as long as his body is next to me."

Of course, if Nain's heart also turned toward him, then no matter what happened, he would never leave on his own feet first. That would be nice, but it didn't particularly matter if that didn't happen, Ash muttered as if pleased. Daniel suddenly got goosebumps.

"It's fortunate that Nain is a Guide. I can have him legally."

Hearing this, Daniel thought that even if Nain hadn't been a Guide, he might not have escaped his current fate. In the end, Ash would have tried to have Nain by any means necessary. Daniel unconsciously muttered.

"Isn't this crazy bastard..."

Poor dimension wanderer. He had lost his peaceful daily life by getting involved with the wrong person.

"..."

From a third party's perspective, it would seem that way, but Daniel actually felt a bit sorry for Ash too. How painful and difficult must it have been for him to have gone crazy like this? He probably wasn't such a crazy person from the beginning.

Even so, making such hasty decisions driven by emotion was wrong. What Esper would snatch up an F-grade Guide so urgently like this... This wasn't right. It would have been better to take some time at least. Daniel chuckled.

The grade difference was too great. There was no way one F-grade Guide could handle an A-grade Esper entirely. Moreover, with an 8% matching rate. This would only be poison to both of them.

It was understandable that Ash came running demanding guiding pills. Ah, of course, this didn't mean such behavior was right, but at least it wasn't completely incomprehensible.

"Ash, don't tell me... you have no intention of sending that dimension wanderer back?"

Daniel couldn't abandon his suspicious gaze. Ash had always stepped forward enthusiastically when it came to matters involving dimension wanderers, even when he didn't need to. Despite having not an ounce of sense of justice, when corridor-type gates opened, even without being informed, he would quickly notice and rush there to jump inside, saving countless lives from danger. He was excessively desperate. He acted like someone who had something he needed to find inside corridor-type gates.

One day, a reporter asked him why he unnecessarily stepped forward to do such dangerous actions. Ash stared at the reporter, bluntly said it was none of his business, and turned away. The reporter attributed all sorts of meanings to that one remark and wrote an article describing Ash, the rescue agent of corridor-type gates, as an 'apostle of justice who silently does his work in unseen places.'

The article that reporter wrote happened to receive tremendous attention. The characteristics of corridor-type gates and Ash, the only Esper who entered them. An explosive reaction arose saying that Ash, who hadn't received good evaluations at the time, should be reevaluated, but unfortunately the next day that bastard ran off to a resort with his passport, so public opinion quickly returned to normal.

Moreover, Nain was a bit different from the previous dimension wanderers. He was the very first Guide that Ash had chosen. Considering Ash's obsession with dimension wanderers, Daniel wondered if he wouldn't do anything to prevent Nain from returning to his world.

"Don't play around with this kind of thing. You're going to send him home."

"...Then would you be okay?"

Though it might sound a bit selfish, Daniel was only more worried about Ash after sending the dimension wanderer back than about Nain.

"If you like him so much you can't live without him, shouldn't you not send him back..."

Daniel muttered in an uncertain tone. Sure enough, Ash scoffed at Daniel's words.

"If I did that, Nain would hate me for life."

"But you said it didn't matter?"

"I don't want to be hated."

"It's fine if you don't get caught."

"Nain isn't stupid enough that I could deceive him forever. And that's not the only way we can be together."

"..."

To think he liked him enough to say such things. If that happened, would the dimension wanderer become Ash's first love? Daniel had to barely hold back laughter that was about to burst out at a word that didn't suit Ash at all.

Nain was Ash's first Guide that he had actually chosen himself—the same Ash who had avoided every single Guide. Even if the guiding intensity was significantly low because he was F-grade, it was somewhat reassuring to hear there were parts that matched even a little.

Though he seemed to live as if there was no tomorrow, Ash was quite calculating and clever. He knew his health condition better than any other Esper in the center, and above all, he was someone who knew his place.

But principles were principles. He couldn't prescribe the medicine.

Daniel carefully opened his mouth.

"In principle, I'm not allowed to prescribe guiding pills to paired Espers."

However, Daniel's words didn't end there. He lowered his voice and quietly added the main point.

"But I can't prevent items in the medicine warehouse from being stolen, can I?"

"..."

Ash's lips slowly curved up as he quickly understood. He exchanged a wordless look with Daniel. It was the face of villains conspiring together.