TSCEIAB Ch. 8

 

 

I met the third candidate, the male protagonist Hugo, four days later.

 

“Let’s go with mom today, Yi-seo.”

It was a rare day off for my mom. Dad, for the first time in a while, was free from parenting duties and decided to enjoy some alone time.

“Do we go to the parlor?”

“Yes. The parlor is on the third floor.”

“Okay.”

I held my mom’s hand and got on the elevator. When I pressed the button, she patted my head.

 

“Over there, Mom. But only me and the escort espers should go in.”

“Yes, I heard. I’ll wait in the lounge, so come there when you’re done, alright?”

Mom smoothed down my clothes and made eye contact with the escort espers. It seemed like she was asking them to take care of me.

I waved back to Mom a couple of times, then turned to look at the reception room door. One of the escort espers knocked lightly and opened the door.

Click.

 

The door opened so slowly, almost in slow motion. Through the gap, I saw a black leather sofa and a round head sitting on it.

‘That kid…’

That kid is the male protagonist.

The parlor was desolate.

Even the adult Philip and Daniel brought personal assistants or attendants, but seven-year-old Hugo was alone, without a guardian.

“Hello.”

I stepped inside and spoke first. From the moment the door opened, Hugo’s gaze slightly averted my eyes.

“…Hello.”

His pale lips moved. It was a small whisper, but the parlor was so quiet that I could hear his greeting.

Tap, tap.

With soft footsteps, I walked towards the sofa and sat down. Hugo’s gaze never left me.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Sophia Kang.”

Since Hugo didn’t seem like he was going to open his mouth, I introduced myself first.

It was a completely different attitude compared to Philip, who was desperate to say something but couldn’t, and Daniel, who constantly chattered away.

“…I’m Hugo. Hugo Alexis.”

“Okay. Hugo.”

“…”

Silence again.

Hugo sat quietly, staring somewhere at my face.

At first glance, it might seem rude, but I had a vague sense of Hugo’s condition at that moment.

‘He really can’t see properly, can he?’

His gaze was strangely off, and the way his eyes shifted nervously toward the direction of the escort’s footsteps—all of it was strange.

It is said that Hugo had never received proper guidance since his awakening.

Drug-based guidance was becoming less effective as tolerance developed, and mechanical guidance was not as good as regular guidance due to the current technology.

As a result, Hugo was suffering from various symptoms due to a lack of guidance, one of which was a loss of vision.

‘If his guidance levels were just a bit higher, he’d be fine…’

It seemed like he hadn’t even received proper mechanical guidance since coming to Ohio. Or maybe he had secretly used his abilities.

I paused for a moment and then spoke.

“By the way, can I just call you Hugo?”

Nod.

He moved his head up and down once. His blue eyes were watching the corners of my lips.

“Well, Hugo. What’s your guidance level?”

“…?”

“Your complexion doesn’t look good. I heard you’re suffering from a lack of guidance because you can’t find the right guide.

“I’m asking because I’m worried, so if you feel pressured, it’s okay not to tell me .”

After I added that, Hugo hesitated for a moment before holding out his wrist to show me the watch strapped around it.

‘Which part do I press to see the numbers? Is it this?’

I fumbled with the controls and, after some trial and error, I was finally able to check his guiding percentage.

“…28%?”

It was only 28%.

The two escort espers standing behind me flinched at my voice. They stretched their necks to peek over my shoulder and check Hugo’s watch.

“Th-this, at this level, he needs emergency guiding right away…”

One of the escorts muttered. He was right.

At this level, Hugo would need to be hooked up to a guidance medication intravenously and rushed to the emergency guidance room for intensive guidance.

‘Phew…’

I can’t help but sigh. It was more serious seeing it with my own eyes.

“Hugo, how about we postpone today’s meeting and go to the emergency guidance room? They’ll have a guidance machine there.”

Hugo shook his head at my suggestion as if there was no need to even consider it.

But I don’t have the heart to let that pale, exhausted kid sit there for another hour.

“If you don’t want that, how about radial guiding?”

“…?”

Hugo’s eyes wavered. I continued while caressing the artifact ring on my finger.

“I haven’t learned how to handle guiding energy yet. Until I get used to it, I can’t provide direct guidance.”

That was something the guide from the Guidance Center’s Team 1 had told me.

<If an esper suddenly receives more guidance than they can handle, it could lead to a guiding shock.>

Guiding shock. It could cause anything from fainting or seizures to a full-blown rampage.

<Guide Sophia, we don’t know exactly how much energy you have. It’s the first time an S-class guide appeared, so there’s no data. Since you’re an S-class, it’s predicted that there’s a high chance of causing a guiding shock.>

That’s why I was advised to avoid direct guidance until I got used to controlling my energy.

Of course, since Hugo is also an S-rank, he likely had a high total guiding capacity, so a shock probably wouldn’t happen. But…

‘Just in case.’

Instead, radial guiding is possible. My guide trainer had also given me permission for it.

“Hugo, your complexion doesn’t look good. You either get radial guidance from me or go to the emergency guidance room and get mechanical guidance.”

At my firm words, Hugo twitched his fingers. I waited silently for him to say something.

There was a short pause, and a weak voice emerged from between his lips.

“…Still, is that okay?”

With his face completely stiff, isn’t it cheating to ask cutely like that?

I thought he was like a kitten abandoned by its mother. Then I realized it was rude and shook the thought away.

“Of course. It’s fine.”

Even knowing that Hugo couldn’t see me, I smiled brightly. I just couldn’t help but smile oddly.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

One of the escorts went to the director’s office and requested an open guidance room for radial guiding.

The open guidance room had one wall made of glass and was typically used for more personal forms of guidance, such as holding hands or hugging.

“Since it’s radial guidance, it’s probably better to have Esper Hugo next with Guide Sophia .”

Richard, who was pretending to be there for me, led us to the guiding room.

I considered holding Hugo’s hand to help him walk, given that he couldn’t see, but I retracted my hand back because he was walking better than expected.

“Here we are. You two can wait for a moment while we set things up.”

When we arrived, there were only two chairs placed inside.

Richard ordered a staff member to remove the chairs and bring in two hospital beds, placing them slightly apart.

“It’s all set. We’ll be watching from the next room, so don’t worry and go in.”

When things were finally cleared up, Richard gently nudged us inside.

It seemed like he was welcoming my radial guiding. I’m not sure why he was so eager.

“Let’s go in, Hugo.”

Feeling burdened by Richard’s expectant gaze, I entered the room first.

I quickly kicked off my shoes and climbed onto one of the beds. Hugo naturally moved to the other bed and lay down.

His eyes were cloudy as he stared at the ceiling. It was a pity that there was a lack of reaction to the fluorescent light.

“Shall we begin?”

“…Yeah.”

I slowly removed the ring that I had been fiddling with. The strange sensation I had felt during my practice sessions began to swirl in my heart, travel down my spine, and spread through my entire body.

For a moment, Hugo’s body jerked. He half-raised his upper body and looked at me.

His gaze was so direct that I had to ask.

“What is it? Are you uncomfortable?”

Hugo’s lips twitched. But that was all.

I shrugged and gently urged him to lie down again.

“You must be tired. Lie down comfortably.”

After saying that, I also lay down, and Hugo hesitated for a moment before finally lying flat on his back.

‘He’s more compliant than I thought.’

The original story started about a decade from now.

At that time, Hugo had already been through a lot, so he was much more sensitive and prickly than he is now.

Was it because he was still young? Or was it because he hadn’t gone through as much hardship yet?

“Hugo, close your eyes.”

I wasn’t sure if he would follow suit, but surprisingly, he closed his eyes.

His delicate eyelids fluttered.

I looked at him, who was lying quietly, then spoke.

“I heard about you from the center director. They said you hadn’t received proper guidance until now. You couldn’t find a guide whose wavelength matched yours… I hope my wavelength matches yours. I’m not an esper, so I don’t know how hard it is when you lack guidance. But you’re so young. I hope that you can feel a little more at ease.”

Every time I spoke, Hugo flinched slightly.

It was cute and amusing, so I talked to myself a few more times, before finally running out of things to say and falling silent.

*Yawn*

As I did that, I felt drowsy.

The bed creaked every time I moved, which was uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the quiet space, or the faint sound of Hugo’s breathing that calmed my mind.

“Hugo, I’m going to sleep for a bit. If you’re tired, you should sleep too…”

I mumbled those words as my consciousness faded.

Whether Hugo responded or not.

I don’t remember well.

Shortly thereafter, I lost the last thread of consciousness I was barely holding and fell into a deep sleep.