Chapter 3: The Unknown S-Rank

A sharp, cutting tone. Jungwon had been prepared to accept any task the Director proposed, but this situation was different. They would do anything else, but never venture abroad. This stipulation had been explicitly included in their contract when they joined the national agency.

With the contract still clearly in effect, Jungwon couldn’t fathom why the agency, fully aware of their circumstances, would make such a request.

Since the agency had breached the conditions first, this wasn’t an assignment Jungwon was obligated to accept. There was no reason to even be curious about it. Thus, Jungwon attempted to leave before the Director could utter another word.

However, the Director urgently grabbed Jungwon’s arm.

“Wait, wait! You have to hear me out. Jungwon, why would I not assign this to Ranhee if I could?”

Kim Ranhee was the only other S-rank Guide affiliated with the national agency besides Jungwon. The Director’s words were undoubtedly a bluff.

While Kim Ranhee possessed high potential as an S-rank Guide, their guiding was notably unstable. It was so precarious that even private companies, typically eager to recruit high-level Guides, expressed reluctance.

Yet, it seemed the Director possessed some leverage to persuade Jungwon. Though not particularly expectant, Jungwon silently waited for the Director to speak.

“Have you heard about the series of anomalous phenomena occurring in Europe recently?”

“I recall hearing about it in passing.”

“Considering the frequency and scale of their occurrence, it’s highly probable someone is intentionally causing these incidents.”

“If it’s Esper terrorism, there’s no reason for our side to get involved.”

In stark contrast to the Director’s serious tone, Jungwon’s expression remained utterly unperturbed. Espers who intentionally caused anomalous phenomena were not uncommon.

Powerful Espers often acted alone, and it was also frequent for several antisocial Espers to gather and form groups. The term ‘Esper terrorism’ had even been coined specifically to describe their actions.

Furthermore, this was a matter concerning another country. That nation’s state-affiliated agency, or perhaps private companies, would undoubtedly rush to resolve the incident.

‘Isn’t this not something we should react to so seriously?’

The Director nodded, seemingly understanding Jungwon’s reaction.

“As it happens, a certain organization has already dispatched personnel to the site. Taft.”

Taft was an Esper/Guide company that had solidified its position early on, ranking among the top three domestic enterprises alongside E&X, to which the YouTuber Espresso belonged. Given its considerable international standing, it was not unusual for them to have sent personnel to the incident.

“But after a short while, they withdrew all their personnel. Claiming it was a naturally occurring phenomenon, not terrorism.”

Jungwon’s expression gradually shifted. In such cases, it was common industry practice for no other company to get involved once a primary one had stepped in.

Moreover, the opposing party was a major corporation like Taft. If they had intervened and then withdrawn, there would likely be no other entity capable of stepping in.

As if noticing Jungwon’s subtly altered expression, the Director lowered their voice, becoming even more serious.

“This is just a rumor, but word has it someone saw ‘that person’ at the site.”

“…!”

Jungwon’s expression instantly froze solid. A stiff voice involuntarily escaped their lips.

“‘That person,’ you mean?”

“Taft’s CEO.”

Those words were enough to thoroughly ignite Jungwon, who typically showed little emotional fluctuation. Indeed, the existence of that person was, arguably, the very reason Jungwon endured all manner of hardships to remain with the national agency.

It had been over a decade since Taft’s CEO suddenly vanished without a trace. Throughout that time, reports of their sightings were common.

Jungwon had once scoured every location where there were claims of seeing them. Of course, few of those tips had proven meaningful.

However, the Director’s unwavering confidence implied that this lead was worth pursuing. Coupled with Taft’s suspicious withdrawal, there was ample reason for hope.

Jungwon could no longer refuse to go. The Director leaned back comfortably on the sofa, as if assured of Jungwon’s answer.

Even so, Jungwon did not immediately lose composure. After calming their mind, they asked calmly,

“Are we truly permitted to intervene? Wouldn’t it risk provoking Taft unnecessarily?”

“Coincidentally, there’s a village where Koreans reside in the area where the incident occurred. They’ve requested assistance from the embassy, so it wouldn’t be unusual for us to send personnel. And to avoid conflict, we intend to deploy only a minimal number of individuals.”

Indeed, if a national agency intervened under the pretext of protecting its citizens, they could likely avoid escalating tensions. Moreover, if it were only a small number of people, there would be even less cause for concern.

Jungwon nodded, then asked, “I see… Who will be dispatched?”

Jungwon recalled the faces of the few high-ranking Espers affiliated with the national agency. Individually, they might not be particularly useful, but dispatched together, they would certainly be helpful.

The Director, observing Jungwon’s reaction, replied, “Well, we plan to send two people. Including you.”

“Two people, including me?”

Jungwon’s expression hardened as they replied. Of course, it wasn’t theoretically impossible. S-rank Espers were often called natural disasters, such was their formidable presence.

They were on a completely different level from lower-rank Espers, who, even in groups, struggled to properly contend with a single dog-sized monster.

However, this was a national agency. The National Esper/Guide Management Center, established by the state to oversee Espers and Guides, was by no means a good workplace for them.

In the past, when Espers were treated as mutants and monitored, many were compelled to serve the state. But public perception shifted after it became known that only Espers could resolve the monsters and inexplicable anomalous phenomena that began appearing.

It was then that the public began to enthusiastically embrace Espers and the Guides who were uniquely capable of controlling them.

Espers and Guides had largely become part of a star-studded industry. One only needed to look at Espresso, the YouTuber who amassed 600,000 subscribers by analyzing Espers, to understand.

CEOs who had launched Esper training programs early on were already sitting on piles of money. Private companies expanded their operations by hiring high-ranking Espers and Guides with exorbitant annual salaries.

In such a climate, it was peculiar to remain affiliated with a national agency that still treated its Espers and Guides worse than entry-level civil servants. It was an act impossible without an extraordinary sense of patriotism.

Unless one was a unique case like Jungwon.

Even today, recalling Espresso from E&S who had sent them a love call, Jungwon deliberately continued, attempting to maintain a calm demeanor.

“With just one Esper… I don’t think it’ll be enough.”

There were only three A-rank Espers affiliated with the national agency. Not a single S-rank remained. The one S-rank Esper they had was disabled several years prior, caught in the backlash of their own ability, leaving the three A-ranks as the highest tier.

Of course, even an A-rank could handle most anomalous phenomena independently. If they possessed excellent control abilities and were highly receptive to guiding, Jungwon could certainly embark on a long-term mission with just one of them.

The problem, however, was that the A-rank Espers affiliated with the national agency were somewhat, shall we say, flawed even among A-ranks. Jungwon sighed deeply, recalling the faces of all three in succession.

One had stable abilities and was highly receptive to guiding, but their unique power involved accelerating plant growth, rendering them unsuitable for confronting monsters or anomalous phenomena.

Another possessed strong potential, but after using their ability once, they would be bedridden for at least a week, hovering near death, even after receiving guiding.

The last one had reasonably stable abilities but was not very receptive to guiding and was quite capricious, making them ill-suited for long missions with a single Guide.

But for a large-scale overseas dispatch mission, potentially involving Taft, to send only one Esper? Which of them could they possibly be sending? To Jungwon’s valid question, the Director calmly replied,

“You don’t need to worry about that. Seokjoo will be going.”

“What?”

The unfamiliar name was uttered as if it were the most natural thing. Seeing Jungwon frown, the Director let out an exclamation, as if just realizing something.

“Ah, Jungwon, you haven’t had occasion to meet Seokjoo, have you? Have you not even heard the name?”

“No… I’m hearing it for the first time.”

“I thought you would know, given how widespread the rumors are. Kang Seokjoo. They’re one of our Espers. You can trust their skill, so there’s no need to worry.”

Jungwon, having few close acquaintances, was naturally out of the loop regarding rumors. However, it was strange that an Esper unknown to Jungwon, who knew the entire roster of national Espers, existed.

If the rumors were widespread, it implied they weren’t a new recruit.

“I’ve never seen that name on the Esper roster before.”

“Well, their name isn’t officially registered, you see. You know how S-rank Espers find it bothersome when their names are known. So, it seems they prefer to remain unpublicized.”

Jungwon’s hand paused. They had no intention of asking who this rumored Kang Seokjoo was, or why the explanation was so vague. With Taft’s CEO possibly involved, they were in no position to be picky.

“An S-rank Esper?”

However, if their colleague was an S-rank Esper…

“So, I have to go to the site alone with an S-rank Esper?”

“Oh, that’s right. You’ve worked with an S-rank Esper before, haven’t you? When a private company requested support.”

Jungwon had indeed worked with a private company’s S-rank Esper before. That had been a short-term mission, so there hadn’t been an issue. Jungwon sighed, pressing a hand to their forehead.

Accompanying an S-rank Esper whose existence they didn’t even know. Rationally, it should have been a welcome situation. An S-rank’s abilities would undoubtedly be formidable, thus aiding the mission.

Noticing Jungwon’s unenthusiastic reaction, the Director spoke cautiously.

“Are you worried about your physical condition?”

Guiding an S-rank Esper could sometimes require more energy than dealing with dozens of lower-rank Espers. If a Guide was of a lower rank than an S-rank, there was also a possibility of irreversible physical damage from a single guiding session.

However, that wasn’t Jungwon’s concern. It was a more instinctive aversion.

After a long moment, Jungwon finally managed to utter a single sentence.

“No. For now… I understand.”

“Hmm, alright. While an S-rank might be overwhelming, it shouldn’t be too much for you. Because you’re Jungwon.”

“It’s fine. I might even get to see ‘him’… So, who my colleague is, doesn’t matter.”

Each word that left Jungwon’s lips felt heavy. They tried to maintain their composure, but it was not easily settled.

It felt as though bad memories were about to resurface.

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