TSCEIAB Ch. 5 Pair Candidates (2)
by stellarina
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A room with no lights on.
A boy was lying motionless on the bed, like a corpse.
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Only the faint rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was still alive.
The labored breathing sounded fragile, as though it could stop at any moment. In the silence, the boy’s tightly shut eyelids slowly began to open.
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He rolled his eyes toward the door. At that moment, the door swung open, and a man strode inside.
Click.
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As the light was turned on, the room was instantly illuminated. The bright light made the boy shut his eyes again.
His eyelashes fluttered. A pale, tired face and parched lips.
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The man’s gaze swept over the boy’s face.
“Hugo.”
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The man’s mouth opened, and the boy’s name popped out. The voice was very kind.
But despite the tender call, the boy didn’t respond. He instead replied with a slight frown.
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It wasn’t the first time this had happened; the man didn’t reprimand the boy for his attitude.
Scrape-
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He pulled a nearby stool and sat down by the bedside. The man crossed his legs and spoke in a tone higher than usual.
“They say an S-class guide has awakened. Do you know about it?”
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At those words, Hugo’s eyelids slid up. His blue eyes turned to the man.
The man’s face was filled with a mix of anticipation or something else, emotions Hugo couldn’t quite place. Hugo blinked slowly, the man’s voice drifting into his ears.
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“It came from Ohio, and the guide is about your age. Six years old, a girl and her name is—”
“I’m not interested.”
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Hugo’s mouth opened for the first time. The man stopped speaking, a frown crossing his face.
“Why not? Maybe she’ll become your guide.”
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Your guide.
Hugo had once been excited by those words. But that was only for a brief time.
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Every time a new guide appeared, he would hear those words, feel hopeful, and receive a piece of paper with a 10% match rate. After repeating that cycle for years, anyone would end up like him.
Hugo spoke up in an unchildish voice.
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“Don’t get your hopes up, Gary.”
Don’t get your hopes up. The words seemed too devoid of any dream, any hope, for a seven-year-old to say.
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Gary Donovan, the director of the Texas Awakening Management Center, glanced at the patches on Hugo’s bare torso.
“Hugo. Machine guiding is not enough. How long are you going to live like this?”
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“If you’re worried, you could reduce my workload.”
“That’s…”
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Gary groaned.
He didn’t want to push a seven-year-old like Hugo too hard, but how can the world go the way he wanted?
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Hugo is one of the few S-class Espers in America. The fact that he is seven years old doesn’t guarantee his safety.
“…Right now, I’m keeping your schedule to a minimum.”
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Gary’s words came out like an excuse, almost like a sigh. Hugo closed his eyes again as if he didn’t expect it.
Ignoring the beeping noise coming from the machine connected to the patches, Gary continued.
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“The Ohio Center director is selecting a pair for the S-rank guide. It seems to me like a ploy to gather Espers from other states.”
“…”
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“Hugo. I’m thinking of sending your information for a match rate test.”
“…”
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The match rate test Gary was referring was a simplified simulation test.
It seemed like the director of the Ohio Center wanted to gather Espers based on the highest match rate from these tests.
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“The waiting list is pretty long, but with you, I’m sure you can get results in just a day. If the match rate turns out better than expected…”
Gary’s eyes flashed with sorrow, then faded. His voice became more determined than before.
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“…Then you’ll move to Ohio.”
“…?”
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Hugo opened his eyes again and looked at Gary. Gary’s face now was not of a guardian but of the director of a state center.
Hugo understood. With that face, there was no room for disobedience.
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“…Are you sending me there for good?”
It was a fragile question, like a whisper. Gary paused at Hugo’s question.
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It sounded like Hugo was asking if he was being abandoned.
“…No. That’s not it.”
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Gary’s expression softened, and a smile returned to his face. With a face full of small wrinkles, he spoke again.
“She’s an S-rank guide, you know?”
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“…”
“I’ll make arrangements, and you’ll go and lure the young guide back with you. It doesn’t matter how long it takes.”
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In truth, Gary wasn’t expecting Hugo to bring the S-class guide back.
The director of Ohio isn’t an idiot.
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He wouldn’t let the first-ever S-rank guide be snatched away right under his nose.
Yet, even knowing that, Gary said those words, seeing Hugo’s face that looked like an abandoned kitten.
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‘He wouldn’t understand if I explained that I’m sending him away to save him.’
Hugo had been raised in a foster home since he was three due to parental abuse.
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After awakening at four, he was used by his foster parents before being rescued.
It’s okay now. Since I saved him, there should be no more harm to the child.
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Despite this resolution, Hugo was unable to lead an easy life.
Aside from his S-class rating, Hugo’s guiding efficiency was unusually poor.
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According to the researchers, Hugo’s energy wavelength is slightly different from that of other Espers.
Gary knew the cause but had no solution for it at the moment.
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He had tried to find a guide with matching wavelengths everywhere, but the match rate never exceeded 13%.
So far, they had been managing with a mix of mechanical guiding and drug-assisted guiding to keep Hugo from rampaging…
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‘It’s reaching its limit.’
Gary remembered the five-year-old Hugo. He hadn’t eaten properly and was far shorter and thinner than other children. His face was shadowed, his mouth tightly shut and unresponsive.
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It was he who had taken that child in, bathed him, clothed him, and fed him.
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‘If I can’t stop Hugo’s rampage…’
Kill.
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Typically, when an Esper goes into a rampage, they are restrained and then guided by a team of guides. It was to alleviate the Esper’s rampage state.
The problem was Hugo’s terrible guiding efficiency.
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Even if they gathered all the A-rank guides, it was clear that it would be difficult to guide enough to quell his rampage.
So, if Hugo were to go on a rampage, the only option would be to shoot him.
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‘It would be a huge loss to let Hugo go.’
How could I possibly kill the child I raised with my own hands?
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Gary chose the child he had raised over the reputation of the center.
“Hugo, I have a good feeling about this time.”
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“….”
“That child is the first-ever S-class guide. You two will be a good match. So, start preparing now.”
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“…Preparing for what?”
“Prepare to seduce your guide.”
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Gary grinned mischievously and lightly tapped the corner of Hugo’s stiff mouth.
He wanted to see Hugo smile, even just once, before sending him away .
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“If you keep making that old-man face, won’t the young guide get scared?”
“…I don’t care.”
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“Heh… Your fans were upset that you use such a handsome face like that.”
“Shut down the community, Gary.”
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That’s an addiction.
Hugo’s lips pouted as he spoke. Gary, knowing that Hugo was embarrassed, burst out laughing.
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* * *
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About a week later, I was called to the Center Director’s office.
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“Welcome, Guide Sophia. The Director is inside.”
During this time, my face had been broadcast all over the country. Thanks to that, there was no one in the center who didn’t recognize me.
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I waved and greeted the secretaries and staff who pretended to know me and entered through the open door.
“Welcome, Guide Sophia.”
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“Hello, Director.”
“Haha, yes. Come and sit here. Would you like some tea… uhm orange juice?”
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“Yes, anything is fine.”
I responded as I ran toward the sofa in front of me and sat down. After gathering some documents, Richard sat across from me and initiated a small talk.
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“Did you come alone today?”
“I came with Mr. Esper, you assigned as my escort. Mom is busy with work, and Dad went out to buy snacks for me. Oh, I left a note, so don’t worry.”
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“Hmm. You’re as capable, as ever today.”
“I’m just kind of like that.”
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I shrugged my shoulders as I said this, and Richard chuckled softly. I soon sipped the orange juice as we chatted about the weather, daily life, and so on.
“You watched all the educational videos?”
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“Yeah. The videos were short and…”
It was so childish that I had set the playback speed to double, finishing them even faster than I expected.
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I swallowed the words and rolled my eyes awkwardly. Richard let out a knowing sigh.
“It seems the videos weren’t quite up to Guide Sophia’s standards.”
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“…Well, they were just okay. The rabbit was cute.”
Slurp.
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As I drank my juice, Richard also sipped his coffee. The espresso cup in his large hand looked unusually small.
“Ahem, let’s get down to business.”
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Flap~
He pushed the documents he had grabbed earlier toward me. As I reached out to take them, I noticed photos, information, and unknown numbers of individuals who seemed to be Espers.
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“What is this?”
“These are the candidate Espers for your pair.”
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“Weren’t we only supposed to meet with three?”
The file contained five pages. Each page had the details of two or three Espers listed.
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I furrowed my brow, and Richard waved his hands as if not to misunderstand.
“Oh, when I mentioned that we were considering your pair, there were so many applicants that I had to narrow it down. These are the ones with the highest matching scores based on a simplified matching test.”
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“Hmm.”
“You can take a look at them and choose the one you find suitable. If you’re having a hard time, I can make a recommendation.”
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Flip, flip.
I slowly turned the pages. Whether it was arranged alphabetically or not, the names and ranks were jumbled.
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A-class, A-class, A-class, B-class…
Agatha, Victor, Damon, Grace…
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As I flipped through quickly, a familiar name caught my eye. My shoulders stiffened.
‘Hugo C. Alexis…’
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It was the name of the male protagonist from the original story.