Don't Support the Guide - Chapter 24

“Do you like it?”

“Would I have come running like this if I didn’t?”

Alex grinned, stretching his large mouth wide. Just looking at his face, one would think he had found his soulmate.

But Adrian couldn’t laugh. Her heart was in turmoil, unable to articulate what she felt. She couldn’t tell if this fluttering was excitement or discomfort.

One thing was clear: the face that came to mind at this moment was Samuel’s.

“You’re going to be the protagonist of a grand romance, Commander.”

“Don’t beat around the bush, just tell me. Who is it?”

“Second Lieutenant Samuel Nora of the Capital Defense Forces.”

Adrian stopped dead in her tracks. The name she had just heard felt like a lie.

“The compatibility rate is a whopping 98 percent! Can you believe it?”

“……”

“There hasn’t been a number this high in any of the research results! The guide you’re lusting after is your perfect destined partner…! Ugh!”

“Lusting? Are you going to use such filthy words?”

Adrian couldn’t hold back and threw a small porcelain figurine that was on the desk.

Alex narrowly caught the figurine that almost broke his nose. Even so, he asked, eyes sparkling.

“Whose honor are you saying is being sullied by the word ‘filthy’? Yours, Commander? Or the lovely guide’s?”

“Captain Alexander McGees. Is your goal to be disciplined for insubordination?”

“I’ll correct myself!”

“Just give me the results.”

Alex, who had been formally apologizing, grinned again and took out a paper from his bag. A gem that had turned black was also with it.

“You can check the results by looking at the numbers, and another piece of evidence that’s pleasing to the eye is this. It’s a Gogeumgang Stone.”

“A Gogeumgang Stone? The one that can contain both guiding energy and esper energy?”

“Yes, I mixed the two of your energies in here. The darker the color, the better the compatibility and look.”

Alex held up the Gogeumgang Stone and held it up to the light.

“There’s almost no light transmission. That means the two people’s energies are tightly bound together. It means the compatibility is the best!”

“……”

“You’re going to bring him in as your exclusive guide right away, aren’t you? I’ll prepare the paperwork?”

“Wait a moment.”

Alex, who looked like he was about to run out any second, stopped abruptly. He furrowed his brow and put his hands on his hips.

“Commander, please don’t do this. Isn’t this why you’ve poured so much research funding into me?”

“……”

“Are you going to live like this forever? Relying on drugs?”

“I know, I know, but……”

“And the Commander-in-Chief has found out about my research.”

“What?”

“She’s known for longer than I thought. It seems like she’s been pretending not to know all this time.”

Adrian’s face hardened. Alex’s expression as he looked at her was also filled with pity.

Jacqueline Brillante, Duchess Brillante, the Commander-in-Chief of the Lesadian Empire’s Esper Special Forces, was Adrian’s mother.

Jacqueline was more eager than anyone for Adrian to have an exclusive guide. No, she was a cold-blooded person who wouldn’t care about a guide’s sacrifice if it was for her daughter.

“If it’s the Commander-in-Chief, she might order compatibility tests for all the guides in the country. She might even try to create a law that designates exclusive guides according to compatibility scores.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t deny that.”

“If you have even one exclusive guide, Commander-in-Chief won’t go that far.”

Alex was right. If the results of the guiding compatibility test reached Jacqueline’s ears, what would happen next was obvious.

Adrian had no choice but to nod.

“I guess it’s best to do as the doctor says.”

“You’ve made a good decision.”

She still didn’t feel comfortable, but there was no other way. Now that Samuel’s name was on the test results, it was better to resolve everything on Adrian’s end.

As she pondered what would be best for Samuel, a green letterhead suddenly caught her eye.

On the letterhead, a single line of carefully and affectionately written greeting was written.

Hello, Sammy. How have you been?

Adrian looked up.

“Doctor, have you ever sponsored anyone?”

“Sponsor, all of a sudden?”

Alex nodded awkwardly.

“I am. He’s still a child.”

“Is that child perhaps a guide?”

“Perhaps? Of course, isn’t it obvious? Only guides are on the list of sponsored individuals for high-level espers.”

“…Is that true?”

“Why do you sound like you don’t know anything…? You’ve been sponsoring that way too, Commander. Haven’t you?”

“Ha……”

“Commander?”

Adrian, who was holding onto the desk, staggered for a moment.

Only then did she realize what the strange feeling she had felt at the social gathering was. She couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

‘That sly Melonie. She tricked me.’

The sponsorship list that her cousin Melonie had handed over, pretending they were ordinary children, had only guides on it from the start.

She felt like someone had stolen the time she had spent sponsoring the child.

For the past few years of sponsorship, she had believed that she was helping a child with a pure heart, but all of that had turned out to be a complete lie.

Now, she didn’t even know if her sponsorship had really helped the child, or if it had become a shackle that bound them.

It was only fortunate that she had never received a single letter from Sammy.

Adrian looked at the letter she had written again.

Hello, Sammy. How have you been?

What if she hadn’t asked Alex about the sponsorship today and had sent this letter?

To Sammy, this letter would have clearly looked like a demand, asking why he hadn’t come to see her even though he was an adult, rather than a simple greeting.

‘Like those despicable espers who are determined to receive something in return for their sponsorship.’

It felt like the fate she had been desperately trying to avoid was clinging to her like a ghost.

Without hesitation, Adrian crumpled the green letterhead. The sound of the high-quality letterhead crumpling made Alex’s eyes widen.

“Did I make a mistake or something?”

“No, so get out. I’ll take care of the guide issue myself, so don’t touch it. And be careful not to let the story get to the Commander-in-Chief for the time being.”

“Understood. You must! Apply for an exclusive guide tomorrow!”

While Alex was leaving the room, Adrian threw the crumpled letterhead into the trash can.

It left a bitter taste in her mouth, but this was the best she could do. She couldn’t put such an unreasonable burden on that young child. If they came looking for her, she was now planning to turn them away without even seeing their face.

Adrian threw open the window. The cool night air felt like a stream of water brushing against her face.

‘All I can allow is an exclusive guide.’

If Adrian continued to leave the exclusive guide position vacant, her mother would surely reach out to Sammy as well.

She couldn’t become another protagonist in a boring tragedy where she would be used and discarded after having her guilt as a sponsored guide held hostage.

Just because she was born from her mother’s womb and shared her blood didn’t mean she had to follow the same path.

Adrian had to show that fact herself.

To herself and to her mother.

***

All the unit members gathered in Phoenix Hall.

As it was always used for multiple purposes, it was not easy to guess the reason for today’s gathering. The new unit members, who had become quite close, were diligently speculating about the reason for today’s gathering.

“I heard that a few lieutenants were caught slacking off during duty yesterday, is it because of that?”

“I don’t think they’d have a full assembly for something like that.”

“Maybe they called us because of the zoo incident back then.”

Everyone’s attention was focused on Ricola’s words.

“You mean the lion incident where it turned into a beast?”

“A beast alert hasn’t even been issued. Nothing has been revealed about that incident. It’s about time something was announced.”

“That’s true. They haven’t been able to figure out what happened with that incident….”

Brenda nodded. Peter, who was craning his neck and looking towards the door, chuckled.

“Looks like Ricola’s wrong?”

“What? Why?”

“Because it looks like they’re going to introduce us to a new unit member today.”

Behind Captain Bailey Rosam, a tall man she had never seen before was entering. Judging by his epaulettes, he was a captain. The man with pink hair and bright red eyes had a cheerful and handsome impression.

“But what is that?”

Behind the captain, several unit members were following, pulling carts. Sparkling jewels were piled high on the carts.

Everyone’s eyes widened at the unknown sight. The only one whose expression didn’t change was Samuel.

“Everyone, attention! Salute!”

At Captain Bailey’s shout, the unit members saluted in unison. Alex, who was standing on the platform, looked around at them with a proud expression and raised and lowered his hand in response.

“Nice to meet you all. I am Captain Alexander McGees, a medical officer from the Capital Defense Forces, and I will be joining you. Feel free to call me Dr. Alex.”

Alex smiled and lightly gestured towards the jewels on the cart.

“You’re probably more curious about the purpose of these jewels than about me, right? As some of you may already know, these jewels are called Gogeumgang Stones, which can contain the energy of espers and guides. It’s a type of diamond.”

“Diamond… then how much is all that worth?”

Peter, who was diligently calculating in his head, opened his mouth wide.

“Everyone here will put their energy into the Gogeumgang Stones. And that energy will be used for compatibility testing.”

“Compatibility testing?”

“Some of you may have felt that a certain guide’s guiding feels particularly good, or particularly bad.”

As if answering Peter’s muttering, Alex continued.

“The better the compatibility, the more pleasure you feel from guiding, and the more efficient the calming is. That’s why we want to conduct a test by receiving your energy.”

Alex winked at Bailey. Bailey hurriedly waved his hand at the unit members who were pushing the carts.

“Just put your energy into the jewels you’re given. It’s simple.”

Soon, jewels began to be distributed to the entire unit. The newcomers, including Peter, received pure white Gogeumgang Stones. Peter, who was touching a diamond for the first time, was half-terrified.

“If I break this… I won’t be able to pay it back, will I?”

“Peter Rudd, diamonds are famous for being hard minerals. It won’t break even if you throw it with all your might, so don’t worry about unnecessary things.”

“Really…?”

A jewel was also given to Samuel, who was listening to the newcomers’ conversation. Samuel held up the Gogeumgang Stone, which he was seeing for the second time, to the light. At that moment, someone snatched the jewel away. It was Alex.