Chapter 19

* * *

A sharp smell brushed past his nose.

Beep, beep, beep.

Steady machine sounds and a pure white ceiling. What came into his vision as soon as he opened his eyes was the half-remaining IV drip and the makeshift curtain separating the space where Ash was from other areas.

"..."

Ash frowned. As soon as he sat up, he irritably pulled off the wires attached to his body and swept away the curtain in one motion.

The medical staff who had been nearby and confirmed Ash's return to consciousness were startled and fled. Not long after, Ash's attending physician Daniel, who had been called, walked over leisurely and greeted him.

"Sleep well? You woke up quickly."

Without even pretending to hear those words, Ash muttered while closing his eyes and suppressing his dizziness.

"How long has it been?"

"About a week?"

At those words, Ash frowned.

"No wonder I feel weak."

"Don't worry, even though you lost some muscle, it's not enough to require rehabilitation."

"Muscle loss..."

"Seeing you talk nonsense, you must really be fine. You should be grateful it ended with just this much."

The doctor chuckled and scolded him. It was understandable since he had been sleeping like a corpse without waking up for a whole week. But considering how serious his condition had been, Ash's mind was remarkably clear now. Normally he would have felt nauseous and had splitting headaches even after waking up.

"..."

When Ash's gaze slanted upward toward the IV drip, Daniel hurriedly said.

"It's just glucose!"

"Getting worked up over nothing."

"Think about your usual behavior."

Daniel muttered with a disgusted expression. He clicked out his pen tip and asked Ash several questions while looking at his checklist.

"Name."

"Ash Blank."

"How old are you now? What's the last date you remember?"

"Twenty-four. The date... I don't know. It was year-end when I went in, so when I came out it was probably early January."

"Moving on, what was your last mission?"

"Corridor-type gate rescue operation."

"You're fine. Nothing got mixed up."

After checking 'no problems' for the last question, Daniel nodded. Ash's gaze moved to the bedside table next to Daniel. He saw white flowers so densely packed that a single vase couldn't handle them all. It was a sight he had never seen before. Unable to understand why such a thing was placed in his hospital room, Ash stared at the scene for a moment.

"What's that?"

There was at least no one in this center who would send him flowers in their right mind. At Ash's question, Daniel, who had raised his head following his gaze, explained about the flowers with a small exclamation.

"The dimension wanderer sent that."

Flowers? At Ash's puzzled expression, Daniel chuckled.

"It is a bit much. There's a card next to it too, so read it."

Instead of speaking, Ash immediately reached out and picked up the pink card.

[Wishing you a speedy recovery.]

Unlike his expectations, there wasn't much content. On the back of the card, only the words 'Rusty Flower Shop' and the flower shop's SNS ID were engraved. There was no other information like a name. Ash, who had been staring at the writing in round handwriting for a while, looked up.

"How does he know me to send something like this?"

"Huh?"

"Does he remember?"

Ash's pupils wavered faintly. Those eyes were filled with an indescribable emotion. It was an unfamiliar expression Daniel had never seen before.

"What are you talking about? The dimension wanderer was unconscious from the beginning when you came out of the gate, wasn't he? I told you there aren't many people who can stay sane inside corridor-type gates."

"..."

"It's not that the dimension wanderer remembers you, but he probably heard somewhere that you rescued him from the gate and thinks of you as his life's benefactor or something. So he was grateful."

"Ah."

So that's why... Ash muttered quietly and let out a short sigh. Daniel found Ash's unfamiliar attitude strange but didn't particularly point it out. Instead, he ruffled through the chart he was holding and spoke.

"That aside. This gate seemed a bit less intense?"

Ash answered calmly with an emotionless face.

"I'm used to it so I wouldn't know. Why don't you try going in with me next time."

"..."

"Why. Should I take you?"

"...Ah. You scared me! Joking, that was a joke, right? Haha!"

"Having a doctor would be good. Then I'd rarely collapse like this after coming out, and if push comes to shove, I could throw you as bait and just run..."

"B-bait?"

"Why don't you apply? I don't know if it'll be approved, but if it is, I'll take you in with me."

"..."

Daniel was flustered and shut his mouth with a face that had instantly lost all traces of laughter. That wasn't a joke. It was a one hundred percent serious face. Moreover, the gates where Ash would be deployed weren't usually ordinary dangerous gates.

'No way. A civilian like me would die if I entered a gate. I'd definitely die!'

He desperately ignored Ash's creepy suggestion and changed the subject.

"Ah, no. I just said that because the results were good... haha."

Daniel laughed exaggeratedly out loud for no reason. He soon cleared his throat, trying to change the subject, and read aloud the results printed on the chart.

Normal, normal, normal, average, normal...

"Internal guiding levels are at 17 percent... This is a bit low, but it's similar to usual so let's move on. What I'm talking about is this part."

Daniel held up the chart in front of Ash to show him. A graph was printed on the white paper. At the bottom of the graph was written 'Ability Wavelength.'

"It used to be all over the place, remember? But this time the graph came out in such a stable shape."

He tapped the graph with his finger, showing excessive excitement.

"Look at this. The shape is regular and the amplitude isn't too large either. I thought the results got mixed up with another Esper's at first, you know? Ash. Don't tell me you grabbed someone and received guiding..."

Daniel, who had been rattling on excitedly, stiffened his lips at Ash's look of disdain as he looked up at him.

"Of course not, right? I know it's not that too. Ha, hahaha..."

Seriously, this guy doesn't know how to take a joke. Daniel, who had become unnecessarily embarrassed, fumbled his words while adjusting his glasses.

Whatever anyone said, Daniel was in quite a good mood. This was because his patient, whose default state was always being sickly, was in surprisingly good condition considering he had been carried in coughing up blood again. He didn't know what had happened, but while one arm was broken, it was a clean break that was easy to treat. This would heal quickly in just a month. As long as that bastard didn't abuse his body during that period...

Anyway, Ash, who had been treated as a potential bomb due to not only his low guiding levels but also his erratic ability wavelengths, was energetic even right after coming out of a gate. It was rare—no, it had never happened even once until now.

A sudden gleam appeared in Ash's eyes as he sat lost in thought. He opened his mouth.

"Where's the kid I picked up?"

"Why the dimension wanderer?"

"I want to see his face."

"You're going to see him yourself? What's gotten into you?"

Daniel asked as if surprised.

"Did something happen?"

"He suddenly grabbed my hand,"

"So what."

"It felt a bit..."

"A bit?"

"...strange."

"...?"

As Ash continued speaking while staring down at his own hand as if bewitched by something, Daniel lost his words and only moved his lips.

What do you mean it felt strange? He was probably just disgusted that someone grabbed his hand. Although he hadn't directly seen the situation at that time, it was obvious even without seeing. Ash would have pulled his hand away before the dimension wanderer's hand even touched his skin.

'But why is he suddenly saying things he never said before... Is it the gate's influence?'

Daniel unconsciously pinched his opposite forearm hard with his right hand. Ah, shit...! Seeing that it hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes, it wasn't a hallucination or dream.

"I want to check."

At Ash's muttering, Daniel looked at him with a bewildered expression. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to check, but somehow he felt a bit uneasy. It felt like he shouldn't let Ash go like this.

"The dimension wanderer was very worried about you too."

"..."

"Hey, don't get up, just sit there. ...If they find out you woke up anyway, they'll come looking for you first, so why are you going down there? Don't waste your energy and rest more while waiting for contact."

At those words, Ash's eyebrows twitched upward. He looked at Daniel with a puzzled expression and asked.

"What are you talking about? How would he come find me here?"

"Ah, right. You wouldn't know... This dimension wanderer works at the first-floor reception desk here. So he calls the internal number every morning."

"...Every day? What does he say?"

"Just asking when you'll wake up? Even when I tell him there's no need, he consistently calls every morning to ask about your well-being. He must be that concerned. He's rarely seen to be so polite these days..."

Daniel, who had been talking, looked up after sensing an inexplicable unease from Ash. Ash was covering his mouth with his large hand while frowning. If that was all, he might have thought he was trying to yawn secretly, but the moment he confirmed that the bastard's ears had turned red, goosebumps rose on Daniel's forearms.