TSCEIAB Ch. 3 The First S-Class Guide! (3)

 

The noisy dawn passed, and the morning sun rose.

Having redirected all the inquiries to his secretaries, the center director called for Liam.

“Was the guiding energy really that great?”

“Yes. It was only a brief touch, but… it felt like facing a gigantic tsunami with my bare body.”

Liam recalled what happened in the recovery room.

When the child’s tiny hand brushed against the back of his neck. The guiding energy that surged in an instant nearly caused a shock.

If he had delayed even for a few more seconds, he might have collapsed on the spot.

It seemed that a B-class Esper couldn’t hold an S-class guiding energy.

“It was fortunate to have pulled her hand away in time.”

Liam thought bitterly to himself. His stomach still churned, and he could still taste blood in his mouth.

“What’s the current guiding level?”

“73%.”

“Ho…”

From what he heard, the contact time had been very brief. The guide didn’t seem to realize it, so the guiding energy must not have been pushed intentionally.

Still, the results were surprisingly remarkable.

“It takes some time, but this could be quite useful.”

The director’s face showed a satisfied expression.

“I’ll have to drop a hint that we’re considering candidates for the S-class guide’s pair.”

Pair.

This referred to the pairing of a center-affiliated Esper with a guide under the center’s guidance.

Unlike an imprint, which cannot be broken once made, a pair is a contractual arrangement that is relatively easy to form or break.

“A pair… Since she’s an S-class guide, there must be many Esper who want her. Wouldn’t it be better to recommend free guiding instead?”

“Sophia’s only just six years old. How long would it take to train her for free guiding? And what if another S-class guide emerges in the meantime? If her value decreases, she wouldn’t be useful as bait anymore.”

Guiding Espers who do not have dedicated guides is called free guiding.

This was legally allowed only for those aged 14 and older.

Even then, until the guide reached 17, they were only allowed to hold hands in a public guiding room, with one wall made of glass.

For someone like Kang Yi-seo, an S-class guide, they would have to wait for eight years to do free guiding.

“On the other hand, pair guiding is a different story.”

The age restrictions in the Minor Guide Protection Law were based on the youngest guide, Emily.

But since Emily had only done free guiding until now, there was no legal age limit for pair guiding.

“Now, Ohio needs to expand its pool of Espers.”

Liam understood the center director’s true intentions behind the words.

He was planning to use the young guide to lure Espers from other states.

‘The first-ever S-class guide. They plan to pick a pair for that guide.’

Once the word got out, most of the top Espers would rush to Ohio.

“Choosing a pair will require great care. Perhaps in about five years?”

Five years of mulling over candidates.

Liam swallowed a groan. The face of the little girl who had looked up at him came to mind and weighed heavily on his heart.

 

 

***

After hearing my classification in the hallway of the examination room, I returned to the recovery room in Liam’s arms and slept.

There was a sense of escapism, but I was also suddenly overwhelmed by fatigue, perhaps because my body hadn’t fully recovered.

A few hours later.

“Guide Sophia. Nice to meet you. I’m Richard Garrett, the director of the Ohio Awakening Center.”

I woke up and found myself facing the director along with my mom and dad.

‘That “Guide Sophia” is so cringey…’

As I was thinking this, Mom whispered quietly beside me.

“Yi-seo, you should say hello.”

“…Hello, Director. I’m Yi-seo Kang. My English name is Sophia. I’m still only six, so feel free to speak casually.”

“…Oh, um. Guide Sophia is much more… mature.”

Richard seemed a little flustered. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat off his forehead, then asked,

“Guide Sophia, I have a few questions. Can you answer them?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. First of all, do you know where this place is?”

“This is the Ohio Awakening Management Center, I heard it from Mr. Liam.”

With my clear response, all eyes turned toward Liam. He scratched the back of his neck with an awkward face.

“Alright. Do you know what an Awakening Management Center does?”

“The Awakener Management Center is…,”

I glanced at my parents. They were worried when I said things that didn’t seem appropriate for my age, even more so because of my manifestation fever and being the first S-Class guide.

‘I shouldn’t make them worry more.’

Though it took me a moment, I quickly thought of a response that a six-year-old might give.

“It’s a place where the Espers who catch bad monsters, Guides who help the Espers, and civil servants are.”

“…Right. A place where Espers and Guides, as well as the civil servants who manage and support them are.”

Ah, maybe a six-year-old doesn’t know about civil servants?

As I broke out in cold sweat, Richard looked toward my dad for help. Dad cleared his throat and then said to me,

“Uh, Yi-seo… no, Sophia.”

“Yes?”

“Well, Sophia has… um, gained some really amazing abilities. But those abilities are so powerful that she needs to learn how to use them.”

He’s trying to formally teach me how to guide.

Dad seemed worried about how much a six-year-old could understand from what he was saying.

But, Dad, I know all about those things.

“I heard earlier. The first S-Class guide, that’s me, right?”

“…You heard? When?”

“I was with Mr. Liam in the examination room. There were too many people, so I couldn’t go in.”

Once again, everyone’s gaze turned to Liam. He pretended not to notice.

“I know about Guides, Dad. I saw it in a movie before.”

Guides and Espers often came up in animated films.

Heroes fighting monsters, and their helpers.

It was especially popular with kids.

“Yeah, we watched it together, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then do you remember what Mickey did in that movie?”

Mickey was the name of the helper, the Guide, in the animated film.

“Yeah. Mickey held hands with Eddie and kissed him.”

“…Kissed… right.”

Dad’s face darkened.

It seemed like Dad was imagining me kissing another boy, and he wasn’t happy about it.

To divert his attention, I quickly asked another question.

“So, I’m a Guide now, right? Like Mickey?”

“Yeah, that’s right. And from now on, Sophia will help the Espers.”

“Okay.”

“But to do that, you’ll need to study and train how to use your abilities. Is that all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine with it.”

The truth was, I didn’t want to do it.

Monsters were scary, Gates and Dungeons were scary, and Espers with their powers were scary, too.

My goal in life was to live happily and peacefully with my loving parents, not to get involved with Espers and get attention.

‘I just want to be normal.’

But now that I am an S-Class Guide, I can’t avoid my responsibility.

‘Even if I don’t want to, the director will find some way to make use of me.’

The thought of my parents, who are ordinary citizens, being pressured by the director made me feel uneasy.

“Right, Guide Sophia. You are very patriotic. It’s good to see.”

Richard, who had been silent until now, laughed heartily. It was a satisfied smile.

“Now, Guide Sophia.”

“Yes.”

“I have two requests for you…”

Richard gestured to an assistant who was standing behind him. The assistant brought forward a velvet box and handed it to Richard.

“First request.”

Richard took the box and handed it to me. Since my arms were too short, Dad took the box and handed it to me instead.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

Richard nodded with a gentle smile.

When I applied pressure, the velvet box opened silently.

Click—

‘…A ring?’

Inside was a ring. A silver ring with engraved vine-like patterns.

“That’s an artifact. It has the ability to suppress energy.”

“Energy suppression…”

“You might not realize it yet, but right now, guiding energy is leaking out of your body. Since you’re S-Class, there’s quite a lot of it. Are you feeling tired, having headaches, or dizzy right now?”

Ah, that’s why. It hadn’t been long since I woke up from fainting.

‘Honestly, I’m still a little tired.’

I rolled my eyes to look at Mom and Dad. Both of them were looking at me with worried eyes.

“…I’m a little sleepy. But I’m not in pain or dizzy.”

“That’s a common thing the newly awakened experiences. Both Espers and Guides. For about a month after awakening, they usually can’t control their own power.”

When guiding energy leaks out of a Guide’s body, it’s called Radial Guiding.

If this radial guiding continues, it could put a strain on the Guide’s body, Richard explained.

“Even now, the guiding levels for both Liam and I are rising in real-time.”

At Richard’s gesture, Liam stepped forward and held out his arm.

The watch on his left wrist showed a gauge bar with numbers rising very slowly.

 

 

[77%…… 78%]

 

 

“The guiding is quite fast and smooth for radial guiding. But that’s exactly why it puts more strain on the Guide.”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, I’m not saying you should wear the ring all the time. In fact, if Guides store up their guiding energy without using it, they can get sick. It’s usually better for them to release some energy occasionally depending on their condition, but for Sophia Guide, it might be difficult to control it on her own.”

I glanced down at the ring in my hand.

It might feel a bit unsettling, but in the end, it was a good artifact for me.

“Alright. I’ll wear it.”

I slid the silver ring onto my left index finger. The ring resized to fit my finger.

“It suits you well.”

Richard nodded in satisfaction and then extended his hand toward the assistant. This time, the assistant handed him a bundle of paper.

“This is the second request.”

Flap—

He presented the bundle of paper to me. It was filled with dense writing, and when I looked, it turned out to be a list.