Don't Support the Guide - Chapter 18

Linton paused just as he was about to sit on the sofa, then gave an awkward smile.

“Am I not allowed?”

“…No, it’s not that.”

Adrian sat in the head seat, while Linton took a spot on the long sofa diagonally across from her. It was a different arrangement from when Samuel came.

“Samuel asked me to come. He said training was too exhausting, and he might not be able to guide you properly, so he asked me to step in.”

Would Samuel really have asked that?

She couldn’t explain why, but somehow, it didn’t seem likely.

“That’s too bad. I don’t need guiding today, Captain.”

“…Why not? Did you already receive it?”

“I took some pills. I figured Samuel wouldn’t be able to make it today.”

“Pills?”

Linton’s expression immediately hardened. Adrian averted her gaze.

Linton hated the idea of her taking guiding supplements. As expected, his voice rang through the room, sharp and reprimanding.

“I’ve told you so many times that those are bad for you! Even the doctor said you need to stop! How can you keep taking those when you have a Guide available?”

“They work fine for me. I’ve been taking them for years without side effects. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Adrian!”

His raised voice echoed through the room, making Adrian frown.

“Captain, how many times do I have to correct your tone?”

Her voice had turned cold. Linton lowered his head.

“This isn’t personal time. No matter how informal things may be when we’re alone, I expect you to maintain professionalism while on duty.”

“My apologies, Commander.”

“Make sure it doesn’t happen again. I don’t want to have to bring this up anymore.”

“I understand.”

“Then leave.”

Linton hesitated, unmoving. But Adrian simply stared at him coolly. Unable to withstand her gaze, he eventually stood up.

 

***

 

Even after searching for a long time, Adrian couldn’t find anything. There was no mention of animals turning into Beasts or any information about possible contagion.

Frustrated, she stood up. As she made her way down to the lobby, the sound of commotion reached her ears.

Crying.

She turned her head and saw a group of recruits entering the building, sobbing uncontrollably.

“What’s going on?”

Brenda, Ricola, Peter—they were all in tears. Peter, upon spotting Adrian, rushed forward and grabbed the hem of her coat in desperation.

“C-Commander! Please, please find him!”

She knew this recruit. He was the second lieutenant closest to Samuel. A cold shiver ran down her spine. Adrian’s head snapped up as she frantically searched the group.

Someone was missing.

“Samuel disappeared in the mountains! He’s nowhere to be found!”

“…What?”

“Please, please find my friend…!”

Peter collapsed, sobbing. Adrian’s mind went blank. But only for a moment. The battlefield had forged her instincts into steel, and her body reacted before her emotions could take over. She needed to find the person most informed about the situation.

Just then, Kate walked in.

“Commander.”

“Lieutenant Kate, where is Captain Linton?”

“He went back to search the mountain.”

“And Second Lieutenant Samuel?”

“…I’m sorry.”

For a brief second, Adrian nearly spat out a string of expletives unbefitting of her rank.

Grinding her teeth, she swallowed the rage that was clawing its way up her throat.

“What happened?”

“It seems Second Lieutenant Samuel lost his footing during the mountain training.”

“And what were you two doing while that happened?”

It didn’t make sense. None of it did.

Only fury remained. Unrestrained energy crackled and spilled into the air.

The recruits felt their lungs tighten as an overwhelming pressure bore down on them—an unmeasurable Esper’s deadly aura. Instinctively, they wanted to back away, but their bodies wouldn’t move.

Kate, taking the full force of that anger, had gone completely pale.

“If anything happens to Second Lieutenant Samuel, both of you better be ready to face the consequences.”

Adrian’s crimson eyes gleamed dangerously.

“C-Commander!”

“Deploy every available unit and follow me.”

Barking out the order to Bailey and Michelle, who had just arrived from the upper floors, Adrian bolted out of the building.

 

***

 

He was falling.

In the split second before impact, Samuel frantically scanned his surroundings.

Kicking off the jagged rocks protruding from the cliffside, he used the momentum to adjust his posture. He reached out, trying to grab hold of the uneven rock surface, but his fingers slipped. A sharp pain shot through his nails as they scraped against the stone. But he couldn’t stop.

“Hngh—”

For a moment, his shirt snagged on a tree branch jutting out from the cliffside. The fall halted—briefly. Then, with a sickening snap, the thin branch gave way under his weight.

Samuel glanced downward.

Water.

“Ah, shit.”

With that final curse, he plunged into the river below.

 

***

 

“I warned him. No matter how experienced he is from the Mountain Unit, I told him the terrain here was dangerous and that he needed to be careful.”

“…….”

“But Second Lieutenant Samuel deliberately stayed close to the cliff’s edge. I think he assumed that by doing so, the others wouldn’t approach him.”

“…….”

“Commander, are you listening to me?”

Linton’s words shattered meaninglessly against Adrian’s ears.

She was staring down the cliff. As if, by looking hard enough, she could somehow find him.

“Commander, if you lean any further, you’ll fall too.”

“This was the last place Samuel was seen, correct?”

“That’s right.”

If she focused, she could hear the sound of rushing water. That meant there had to be a river below.

Slowly, Adrian reconstructed the moment of Samuel’s fall in her mind, assuming—no, believing—that he was still alive.

“I’m going down.”

“Then let’s take this path—Adrian!”

Linton had been pointing toward the way down when he suddenly bolted toward the cliff’s edge. But it was too late.

Adrian had already jumped.

She maneuvered skillfully down the rugged terrain, landing on outcroppings with precise movements. Even for an Esper, it was reckless, but she made it look effortless.

Linton let out a stunned breath, half a scoff, half exasperation.

 

***

 

Adrian pulled her arm out of the water.

Her jacket was soaked up to the shoulder, but even after reaching in as far as she could, she hadn’t touched the bottom. The river was deep.

Deep enough to possibly break a fall.

She started moving swiftly in the direction of the current. But no matter how far she searched, there was no sign of anyone. Not even a scrap of fabric or a trace of a body.

Is he alive? Or has even his corpse been swept away?

A chill crept up her spine, seeping into her skin like the dampness on her shoulders.

…Stay calm.

Adrian ran a hand through her hair, breathing hard.

Her crimson eyes burned as she scanned the area, determined to catch even the smallest trace.

Then—she stopped.

She had stepped on something particularly damp.

Turning back, she examined the ground she had walked on. It was dry dirt, despite being close to the water.

But the spot she was standing on now was different. It was wet—as if something had soaked into it.

Quickly, she turned away from the river and looked in the opposite direction.

Something gleamed on the ground.

“…A necklace.”

It was a Guide’s guiding assessment necklace, its gemstone cracked.

She had given this to Samuel herself.

Adrian clenched it in her hand, not even registering the sharp edge pressing into her palm.

Her heart pounded violently.

He’s alive.

Without hesitation, she ran.

A shudder coursed through her veins, and her teeth clenched—not in fear, but in raw, unshakable determination.

He couldn’t have gone far.

He’s injured, no doubt. His body temperature is dropping, the darkness is setting in, and the weather is turning cold.

At times like this, the best thing to do was to find shelter—somewhere to block the wind and keep wild animals at bay.

If it was Samuel Norah, he would know this better than anyone.

Her sprint came to an abrupt stop.

She had reached an area thick with rocky cliffs.

“Samuel!”

She checked every crevice big enough for a person to fit inside, calling his name.

“Second Lieutenant Samuel Norah!”

At that moment, a faint voice caught Adrian’s ear.

She immediately turned her body, spotting a hole just big enough for a person to crawl through. Without hesitation, she slipped inside.

A moment later, she found him—his dazed face coming into view.

Adrian let out a breath, a wry smile forming on her lips.

“Was it just my imagination? No.”

She was relieved to be able to answer the voice she had heard.

“…Commander?”

Samuel stared up at her, his expression stunned.

“You… heard that small voice?”

A hallucination. That’s what Samuel had called it earlier. He had looked like he wished it were an illusion.

His shirt was torn and ragged, his entire body drenched, water dripping from his clothes. His face was covered in small scratches, and his fingertips were slick with blood.

Adrian’s heart plummeted at the sight. She couldn’t stop her expression from twisting in distress. And yet, beneath that concern, there was relief.

As long as he’s alive, Samuel Norah has done his duty. That’s what Adrian told herself.

She stepped toward him, unbuttoning her shirt.

Samuel’s already dazed face turned even more bewildered.

“Wait—what are you—?”

“Give me your hand.”

Adrian tossed aside her jacket and shrugged off her shirt. Her eyes held a quiet fury, but Samuel, too overwhelmed to protest, simply held out his hand.

The sharp sound of fabric tearing sliced through the silence.

Only then did Samuel realize what she was doing—wrapping his injured, clawed-up fingers with the strips of her shirt.

“Anywhere else?” Adrian asked, voice steady.

“…I think my ankle is broken.”

“And you’re not cold?”

“I am.”

Adrian’s gaze swept over him. He didn’t need to say it—his condition spoke for itself.

She exhaled heavily and stood up.

“I’m going to send a signal. Wait here.”

The cave Samuel had chosen was barely high enough to crawl through in a crouch.

Once outside, Adrian pulled a signal flare from her pocket.

Just then, a droplet of water splashed onto her palm.

She looked up.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The sky had turned ominously dark, thick clouds rolling overhead. The air carried the scent of impending rain.

Moving quickly, Adrian ignited the flare and placed it on the ground. But even before it could properly burn, the first heavy drops of rain struck the dirt.

Phew!

The flare shot toward the sky—just as the downpour began.

It fizzled out in an instant, leaving behind nothing but a wisp of smoke.

“…Ha.”

Just her luck.