TSCEIAB Ch. 31

 

“Haley? Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?”

 

Hugo jumped to his feet and fidgeted. A deep sense of bewilderment rose over his pale face.

 

“If you don’t like it, it’s okay if we don’t become friends. I’m sorry.”

 

“No, it’s not because of that, I mean, it’s not your fault. Calm down.”

 

Even more embarrassed, I sniffled softly and held up the hot dog I was holding.

 

“I just bit the inside of my mouth while eating.”

 

Was the sudden mood swing also due to the damn hormones?

I couldn’t bring myself to say that it was because I was reminded of the old days. Biting in my mouth was the best excuse I could have.

 

“…….”

 

Hugo stopped and stared me in the eyes in silence. As if he was just trying to confirm if the excuse was true.

Afraid of being caught, I turned my gaze away.

 

“…… Did it hurt a lot?”

 

After a moment of silence, Hugo came down to the stairs where I was sitting. He folded his legs and sat down; his eye level dropped sharply.

Hugo, now looking up at me with inscrutable eyes, blurted out a question.

 

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

 

“No, it’s fine. I was surprised for a moment. I’m okay now.”

 

“Good. I’m glad you’re okay.”

 

A bitter smile formed on his lips.

Why did it seem like we were talking about completely different things, am I mistaken?

The atmosphere quickly became awkward. I rolled my eyes as I sipped the half-finished cola.

 

“It’s getting late.”

 

Could he see that I was awkward? Hugo asked me as he stood up.

 

“How did you get here?”

 

“Oh, I came with a friend, she’ll take me home.”

 

At the word “friend,” Hugo furrowed his brows. But he soon returned to his nonchalant expression.

 

“A friend? Who?”

 

“It’s Melissa Caleb……. Do you know her?”

 

“Hmm, I’ve heard of her.”

 

Hugo shrugged. He then glanced at the cup in my hand and the half-finished hot dog.

 

“Are you done eating?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Then give it to me.”

 

Hugo took the hot dog from my hand and shoved the remaining bite into his mouth.

I widened my eyes, and he raised an eyebrow.

 

“That’s what I was eating…….”

 

“Yeah. You said you’re done eating.”

 

No, I mean, why did you eat what I was eating…….

I looked at him incredulously, and he smirked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

 

“I was a little hungry, too. What’s the big deal? It would be a waste to throw it away.”

 

A kid, who makes a lot of money, doesn’t want to waste a half piece of hot dog?

Hugo hurried to change the subject before I could add anything else.

 

“Let’s go. It’s dark, so watch your step coming down.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Hugo, who had taken me to where Melissa could see me, turned without hesitation and left.

He had his hat pulled down low and moved out of sight, so no one recognized him.

It seemed that I was the only one who knew that Hugo had been at the party that day.

After the party, Hugo didn’t come to school for a while.

I only heard that he and his team had been urgently dispatched to a gate.

 

‘ I need to return the handkerchief…….’

 

Even though I knew he wouldn’t be coming to school for a while, I always carried his washed handkerchief with me.

So that I can return it if I ever ran into him.

 

It felt unsettling to hold onto Hugo’s belongings, of all people. It was as if the childhood memories I had kept behind the bars were clamoring for me to take them out.

 

“I want to return it as soon as possible and live a quiet life like before.”

 

Whether it’s because of the handkerchief or for some other reason I don’t know.

I unknowingly listened to news about Hugo. It was force majeure.

 

“Hey, Melissa!”

 

Then one day, a few days later.

It was lunchtime as usual.

As Melissa and I sat in the cafeteria, I heard a boy’s voice in the distance.

 

“What? Huh? Olive?”

 

Melissa and I turned our heads to see a blonde hair glistening brilliantly in the sunlight.

Olive Harper, Melissa’s childhood friend and an A-class esper, was running towards us, waving happily.

 

‘Wait, if he’s here…….’

 

Suddenly, Hugo’s face flashed through my mind.

I remembered Olive saying he was on the same team as Hugo.

 

“Olive! It’s been a while!”

 

“Yeah! I decided to come out because the weather is nice today, and here we are.”

 

With his long legs, Olive strode over and jumped in front of Melissa, who had gotten up from her seat.

I could almost imagine a tail spinning like a propeller behind him.

Accustomed to his behavior, Melissa greeted him warmly and examined his appearance.

 

“Are you done clearing the gate? Are you okay?”

 

“Of course. What do you think of me? We cleared the gate neatly. How’s that? Pretty cool, huh?”

 

“Yuck.”

 

Melissa pretended to vomit and chuckled. Olive, pressed down her head like a child, pouted playfully.

I fiddled with my pocket as I stared at the two of them.

Inside was Hugo’s handkerchief.

 

‘Did Hugo come to school? I have to see him to give back the handkerchief…….’

 

Perhaps I looked strange just sitting in silence, Melissa, who was playing with Olive, called me with a curious face.

 

“Haley? What’s on your mind?”

 

“Uh, Hugo……. ah!”

 

My thoughts flew out of my mouth at the surprise question while I was spacing out.

I hurriedly shut my mouth, but it was too late.

The two were looking at me with sparkling eyes, intrigued.

 

“Oh my! Have you finally become interested in our school star?”

 

“You’re curious about Hugo, aren’t you? Huh?”

 

Why are you so happy?

 

“No, I just, uh, I remember you said you were on the same team as Hugo.”

 

“So, you are curious about Hugo, right?”

 

Olive’s light green eyes sparkled burdensomely. His voice was a tone higher than usual.

 

“As expected of Hugo. Even today, he’s gaining a new fan.”

 

“Please don’t tease me …….”

 

“Yes, yes. Let’s address your curiosity first.”

 

Olive sat down on the chair next to Melissa.

It was a regular-sized chair, but when he sat on it, it looked small like a child’s chair.

 

‘Isn’t that uncomfortable?’

 

As soon as Olive crouched down, he began to talk about the gate raid.

 

“The gate we entered this time was originally a C-grade medium-sized gate. But 30 minutes after the first team entered, the grade changed. It became a large B-grade gate.”

 

A gate with shifting grade.

I flinched as I listened.

One of the elements that put the protagonists in danger in the original story was the “anomalous gates“.

By the way, the original story takes place at least one year from now, when the main characters are college students.

 

‘But I didn’t expect an anomalous gate to appear already ……..’

 

Olive continued, unconcerned whether I was listening.

Hugo’s activities inside the gate became the main focus of the conversation.

The information I wanted in the first place was whether Hugo came to school today.

I wasn’t very curious about what kind of monster came out of the gate, and what skill Hugo used to attack the monster.

Hearing about the espers, guides, gates, etc., was still too much for me.

I felt sorry for Olive, who was eager to explain, but I let his words go in one ear.

 

“…… Olive, so where is Hugo? Did he come to school today or not?”

 

As I nodded absentmindedly, Melissa, who had been silent, nudged Olive’s side.

She asked exactly what I was curious about, and I snapped out of my daze and focused on Olive’s answers.

 

“Uh, well, that’s …….”

 

However, Olive didn’t speak right away. Earlier, he talked about Hugo’s activities, which we didn’t ask.

He rolled his light green eyes in embarrassment, and finally sighed and told us where Hugo was.

 

“Hugo is currently admitted to the center’s emergency guiding room.”

 

“…… What?”

 

“Sigh……. Please don’t tell anyone.”

 

Olive, pleading with us, glanced around to see if anyone was listening.

Even though no one was around to overhear our conversation, Olive lowered his voice to a whisper.

 

“While dealing with the boss monster, he overexerted himself and showed signs of going berserk due to guiding depletion. Luckily, the boss monster was dealt with by me and the sub-dealer, but Hugo ……..”

 

According to Hugo, the center was prepared for the worst as soon as Hugo entered the gate.

He was an esper who lacked guiding.

Thanks to this, the Espers waiting at the entrance were able to subdue Hugo before he went berserk.

 

“And Hugo? Is he okay now? If he’s in the emergency guiding room, it’s not serious enough for the bunker, right?”

 

Melissa asked the questions on my behalf, who was at a loss for words.

I was a little surprised that Melissa was familiar with Esper’s rampage, but then it made sense.

 

‘Melissa said she was childhood friends with Olive.’

 

But I was even more worried about Hugo, who had been admitted. I remembered the pale face I had seen at the party.

 

‘He must have already been struggling with limited guiding…….’

 

Did something happen while he was dealing with the boss monster?

He could have been seriously injured, or even worse, his life could be in danger.

 

“Hugo’s fine. There’s no need to put him into the bunker, and the officials who were waiting on-site brought new drugs, so the rampage symptoms were quickly quelled.”

 

“New drugs?”

 

“Yes, a guiding pill created a while ago works well for Hugo .”

 

Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt, including Hugo.

I was relieved by this, but I tilted my head at Olive’s words.

 

‘A new drug that works well for Hugo……?’