Don't Support the Guide - Chapter 12

“Visualize it. Your guiding energy is moving.”

“…”

“Your guiding energy also comes from the heart. Start there. Slowly move it outward through your arm.”

Samuel focused all his attention on his outstretched hand. Following Linton’s instructions, he imagined the guiding energy within his body. He pictured it flowing from his heart, moving slowly down his arm, and then reaching Brenda’s heart.

“Huh?”

Brenda glanced down at her chest.

“It’s coming! Samuel, it’s coming!”

Samuel grinned. He felt like he finally understood what to do.

“Well done, Lieutenant Samuel.”

Their eyes met, and Linton smiled, completely at ease. There wasn’t a hint of displeasure—just genuine satisfaction.

Samuel was a little surprised.

It was an unexpected kindness. Previously, when they met at the cafeteria, Linton had definitely been prickly toward him. But today, it was as if none of that had ever happened. Linton helped him without any trace of resentment.

“You’re the only silver-level recruit, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I heard your score is quite high, even among silver levels.”

“That’s correct.”

“We have high hopes for you in many ways, Lieutenant. Keep up the good work.”

“Thank you, Captain Linton.”

It wasn’t a warning—it was just a simple word of encouragement.

Linton smiled and moved toward the next guide, who was sweating profusely. The next one was Peter. As if he’d just encountered a savior, Peter grabbed Linton and began pouring out a long-winded account of his struggles.

“I thought he might hold a grudge against you, but I guess not,” Brenda whispered, still unable to take her eyes off Linton, clearly entranced by his kindness. “Or maybe he really does keep work and personal matters strictly separate?”

Samuel said nothing. He simply watched Linton explain the control technique to Peter in detail.

***

“There’s been another call from the South. They’re requesting your return, Captain.”

“Tell them I’m not going.”

Linton tossed his military jacket carelessly onto the chair as he returned to his office. He rubbed his aching forehead.

Finely adjusting radiation guiding required intense focus, even for Linton. After completing the task, his head often throbbed from the mental strain.

Lieutenant Kate Orlen, who had faithfully served as Linton’s secretary for seven years, handed him a headache pill with practiced ease.

“This time, they’re guaranteeing you the position of battalion commander.”

Linton paused with the pill resting in his palm. His gaze flickered toward Kate, but only for a moment. He popped the pill into his mouth and took a sip of water.

“It’s an opportunity too good to pass up, Captain.”

“It is tempting.”

“You know how difficult it is for a guide to take command.”

Instead of responding, Linton gently tapped the water cup.

Team leadership almost always went to Espers, as they were the ones handling most of the actual combat and defense in the field.

Of course, guides weren’t just waiting helplessly in the field for an Esper to show up, but a single Esper could do the work of three guides. It was only natural for command authority to gravitate toward them.

Kate wasn’t wrong—the offer of a battalion commander position was a remarkable one. It also hinted at how desperate the South must be for guides.

“If you accept, Captain, you’ll become the youngest guide battalion commander in history.”

When no answer came, Kate grew anxious.

“Isn’t this the position you’ve always wanted? To become the highest-ranking guide?”

“Why do you think I wanted that?”

Unlike his usual bright tone, his voice was low and flat.

“It was because of Adrian.”

“……”

“Since Adrian wouldn’t take the initiative, I wanted to create the situation myself. The best guide for the best Esper, so he’d have no choice but to come to me.”

Linton’s gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, suddenly rose. His eyes surged with waves of possessiveness, completely unhidden.

“Where would I go, leaving Adrian behind?”

Linton had never felt this threatened before.

Adrian had always been equally indifferent to every guide, yet in the end, it was Linton whom he sought most often.

But now things were different.

“Did Adrian receive guiding from that guy again today?”

“Yes. Second Lieutenant Samuel Nora stayed in the battalion commander’s office for about an hour after lunch.”

“The background check I asked for?”

“Here it is.”

Linton accepted the report Kate handed him. It contained detailed information about Samuel.

“A poor commoner’s son. He graduated from the military academy with relatively good marks, and his evaluation during his assignment to the mountain unit wasn’t bad either.”

“Any sign of imprinting?”

“None. He doesn’t seem to have a significant romantic relationship either.”

“No weaknesses we can exploit?”

“Not at the moment. I’ll look into it further.”

“Ugh, this is giving me a headache.”

It had already been a week since Linton arrived at the Capital Defense Force. That meant Samuel Nora had been guiding Adrian for a full week now.

Not once had Adrian called for Linton. There was no way Adrian didn’t know why Linton was here. His cold indifference was practically saying, Go ahead and leave if you want.

Normally, Linton would have endured that kind of behavior quietly, even cherished it in his own way.

But not this time.

“Obviously, that fox-faced guy is acting all innocent to charm Adrian.”

Linton gritted his teeth. Before he knew it, he was imagining Samuel guiding Adrian. The mere thought was revolting.

“He’ll lose interest soon enough, like always,” Kate reassured him.

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

It wasn’t the first time Adrian had received guiding from someone other than Linton. Occasionally, there had been guides whom Adrian visited fairly often for a time.

But it never lasted. Every instance had been fleeting—thanks to Linton quietly removing anything that threatened his place by Adrian’s side.

He hadn’t done anything truly bad. He’d simply dangled a few distractions in front of those guides, and it was their own choice to take the bait.

Adrian doesn’t care about things like that anyway.

It would be the same this time, too. Adrian was, at his core, a cold and detached person. People rarely change their fundamental nature.

At least, that’s how it should have been.

But for some reason, Linton felt uneasy.

“…Wait. His family received sponsorship?”

Linton’s eyes suddenly caught a line in the report.

“Did you find out who the sponsor is?”

“Not yet. I wasn’t able to confirm that far.”

“Then send a letter to the sponsorship association.”

It wasn’t uncommon for commoners to receive sponsorship.

But Linton knew very well that such arrangements often came with hidden incidents between sponsors and their beneficiaries.

I’ve got a good feeling about this.

Tossing the report onto his desk, Linton let out a small chuckle—a smile entirely different from the bright one he usually showed in public.

***

During the hour Samuel guided Adrian each day, he learned many things about The Light of Justice.

Despite the rumors of her cold demeanor, Adrian was surprisingly gentle. Her smiles were faint but frequent. She found the guiding monitor necklace annoying, so Samuel had to plead with her to wear it just once at the end of each session.

And she loved to kiss.

“Haa…”

As their lips parted, Adrian’s red eyes lingered, like a thread refusing to break. Samuel chuckled softly and planted a quick kiss on her lips, like sealing a promise.

“I’ll wipe it for you.”

What was supposed to be a simple hand-holding session during guiding always seemed to end with a kiss. It was hard to tell who made the first move. By the time he realized it, he’d find himself tangled with Adrian on the sofa, wrapped in a deep embrace.

Samuel liked Adrian best after their kisses.

Her face would be slightly flushed, and the sharp focus in her eyes would soften. When her gaze, filled with lingering desire and a hint of need, lingered around his lips, a thrill shot down his spine.

Even though it had already been two weeks of shared kisses, his heart still pounded like it might burst out of his chest each time.

Adrian was an Esper—highly sensitive—so she must have noticed his racing pulse. But Samuel refused to let his calm façade break.

He knew how Adrian must see him. Young, far below her in rank, and a boy she’d once sponsored. If her condition hadn’t been urgent that day, he doubted he’d ever have gotten this close.

Samuel didn’t want to look like a child. He didn’t want to appear clueless or inexperienced.

He grabbed a handkerchief, forcing down the tension winding tightly inside him.

“You’re being a bit excessive, Lieutenant Samuel.”

“It’s not flattery, ma’am.”

“But there’s nothing to wipe.”

Adrian chuckled softly and ran her tongue over her glossy lips, completely unaware of how that simple gesture appeared to the guide standing before her.

“Better now?”

Samuel couldn’t answer. He swallowed hard, praying she wouldn’t notice how wildly his heart was racing.

Leaving Samuel trembling in the aftermath, Adrian rose from the sofa and handed him something.

“What’s this?”

“It’s something interesting. I thought it might suit you.”

It was a necklace. At first glance, it looked like a guiding monitor necklace, but the gem material seemed slightly different.

“It’s a guide-use guiding monitor necklace. It measures how much guiding you can provide. The color indicators are the same as those for Espers.”

“I’ve never heard of something like this before.”

“Me neither. It’s not sold publicly—it’s a tester model. Try it out.”

“…”

“Our levels are at least one grade apart, so I’ve been curious about your guiding capacity. Every time I ask, you just say you’re fine, but that doesn’t tell me much.”

“Commander…”

Their eyes met.

Adrian’s gaze, initially indifferent as it wandered, widened slightly as it locked onto Samuel’s.