Chapter 1: The S-Rank Guide’s Unconventional Encounter

It took the form of a black dog.

As soon as the faint restraints binding its body snapped, it darted into the shadows, only to burst out elsewhere, repeating the maneuver.

“Force it to the left! Don’t let it get near the building!”

“You can’t even hold it for a few seconds? What are you doing?”

Five Espers were struggling against a single creature.

Whether due to being a hastily assembled team or their unwillingness to cooperate, their coordination was utterly disjointed.

Even the highest-ranked Esper among the five, who issued frustrated commands, seemed just as inept as the other four to Jungwon’s discerning eyes.

Beside Jungwon stood a civilian who had unfortunately been passing by the very spot where the monstrous creature appeared.

Until the incident was fully resolved, the area had to be controlled, effectively stranding the civilian.

Since all five dispatched Espers were preoccupied battling the Jindo-sized beast, it fell to Jungwon to protect the civilian.

Ordinarily, one might call it bad luck, but the civilian appeared remarkably thrilled.

“Wow~ seeing Espers in action directly is incredibly powerful. It’s truly a novel experience. I’m an Esper enthusiast, so I’ve watched countless videos, but this is my first time being caught in a live situation. Oh, do you happen to know who I am? I’m ‘Espresso,’ who runs an Esper analysis YouTube channel. My subscribers recently surpassed 600,000!”

His incessant chatter was almost astonishing.

Jungwon, observing the struggling Espers, offered a perfunctory reply to Espresso’s words.

“Yes. That must be nice.”

It was evident that Jungwon had let the words go in one ear and out the other.

“Hmm.”

Espresso let out a disappointed sigh.

Given his remarkable earnestness in boasting about his YouTube subscribers amidst such a situation, Jungwon magnanimously added another remark.

“Congratulations.”

“Haha, thank you! Since there aren’t many YouTubers specializing in Esper analysis, I get a lot of offers for ads, sponsorships, and even casting proposals from all over the place.”

His bustling reaction made Jungwon wonder if the compliment had been a mistake.

Jungwon feigned adjusting their hair, subtly covering one ear.

“This creature is about the size of a Jindo dog. Typically, a monster of that size is known to require one or two C-rank Espers to eliminate.”

Perhaps it was his YouTuber nature, but his ability to monologue even without a response was remarkable.

“But five Espers have been dispatched to this scene! Is the national agency being overly cautious, as is typical of them?”

‘Could he have hidden a secret camera somewhere?’

Unable to tolerate Espresso’s incessant babbling, like a talk show host, Jungwon finally cut him off.

“Are you filming right now?”

“Huh? No, no! Of course not. The national agency prohibits filming at incident sites, you know. That’s why there are no existing videos. This is actually my first time seeing national agency Espers resolve an incident. I got excited, and my professional habit just kicked in.”

Espresso waved his hands dismissively.

There was no fault in his rapid-fire explanation, and Jungwon detected no sign of a camera.

Withdrawing their gaze from him, Jungwon spoke in a businesslike tone.

“I believe I understand what you’re trying to say.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re curious why five Espers are struggling against a mere minnow that, as you mentioned, a single C-rank Esper could handle, aren’t you?”

Though he spoke as if offering a simple analysis, an Esper-specialized YouTuber would undoubtedly be aware of the industry’s realities.

His feigned questioning of the number of Espers present had an obvious motive: to imply that national agency Espers were less capable than those from private companies.

“Oh dear, no, not at all. I wouldn’t presume to think such a thing. For someone like me, who just happened to get caught up in this, being rescued is more than enough. Even a monster that doesn’t seem particularly large can be quite threatening to an ordinary person like me.”

Espresso, of course, denied it.

Though he wore an amiable smile, it struck Jungwon as rather displeasing.

Jungwon cast a dry glance at him before turning their attention back to the front.

“Of the Espers currently on site, four are F-rank and one is D-rank. They couldn’t help but struggle.”

“Ah, I see. Higher-ranked Espers must be quite busy, after all.”

He immediately agreed, yet his tone was cagey.

Instead of stating that the problem wasn’t high-ranked Espers being busy, but rather their scarcity to begin with, Jungwon calmly replied.

“There’s no need to sugarcoat it. Don’t you have something you wish to say?”

“Hmm, it seems I’ve already failed to win you over. Well, it’s widely known that national agencies have very few high-rank Espers, so I just thought… are you truly suffering from a manpower shortage? That’s what I assumed.”

Espresso scratched his head as he responded.

Jungwon, who had been patiently waiting, immediately opened their mouth to kindly answer when a statement aligning with their own recent thoughts was uttered.

“It’s not just ‘known to be so’; it actually is.”

The lack of high-rank Espers and Guides in national agencies was widely known, no longer even classified information.

Even so, Espresso seemed slightly flustered, perhaps not expecting Jungwon to confirm it so openly.

“Well, if I were an Esper or a Guide, I’d probably choose a private company over a national agency too. The salary figures alone are on a different scale.”

Perhaps due to his broadcasting experience as a YouTuber, he quickly composed himself.

Having swiftly recovered, he affably tried to elicit a response.

The reason for his sudden emphasis on the salaries of specialized Esper/Guide private companies was obvious.

Jungwon did not fall for it.

“Espresso.”

“Oh, calling me that makes me a bit embarrassed. What is it?”

Espresso had bantered in response to the calm address, but his face quickly stiffened at Jungwon’s next words.

“I heard you recently joined E&X. Congratulations. With 600,000 subscribers, you certainly have the qualifications as a casting director.”

“……”

E&X was one of the top three Esper/Guide specialized training companies in the country.

Espresso had pretended to be an ordinary civilian YouTuber, but in reality, he was a scout for a private company, recruiting Espers and Guides.

His face remained rigid, as if he hadn’t expected Jungwon to know from the start.

“Haha, well, you knew all along.”

He soon replied with an embarrassed laugh, making no attempt to deny it.

Jungwon calmly confirmed a crucial detail.

“Were you truly just passing by the scene coincidentally?”

If E&X had intentionally sent him, a different course of action would be necessary.

Fortunately, Espresso shook his head.

“Ah, that much is absolutely true. I was on my way to work and never imagined I’d meet you, Jungwon-nim. But seeing you in person, I just thought, ‘Ah, if only I could bring this person to our company, how much would my salary jump?’ Those thoughts just completely overwhelmed my mind. My apologies for the rudeness.”

In response to the smooth and audacious apology, Jungwon immediately replied in a calm voice.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I have no intention of changing affiliations.”

It was a resolute statement, as if Jungwon had no desire to hear more.

Espresso clicked his tongue, a sound of disappointment.

“They said you’d refuse any offer, and it’s true. It might be presumptuous of me to say, but it’s a shame. If I were an S-rank Guide like you, Jungwon-nim, I would immediately join a place offering tens or hundreds of billions in salary and sit on a pile of money.”

“I have no interest in money.”

At Jungwon’s detached tone, he gazed at them with a look of wonder.

As if the matter was concluded regardless, Jungwon, who had been observing the scene, soon spoke again.

“It seems things are wrapping up now. The agents will escort you home shortly.”

As if being pushed, Espresso moved towards the agents, repeatedly looking back with a sense of regret.

“Jungwon-nim! I hope to see you again. Perhaps next time, I can hear a positive answer.”

‘That would never happen.’

However, instead of voicing this thought, Jungwon merely gave a slight nod.

****

The five Espers, having finally managed to control the situation, were utterly exhausted.

Had Espresso not been led away, he likely would have rambled an analysis like, ‘It seems they’ve completely depleted their energy. To fully recover, it would take…’

Jungwon wasted no time.

They immediately approached the Espers, assessed their conditions, and then stood before the one who appeared most drained, opening their mouth to speak.

“You’ve worked hard. Then, for the Guiding—”

“Wait, just a moment.”

A young Esper, looking utterly spent, stopped Jungwon.

Once Jungwon paused their hand, the Esper hesitantly began to speak.

“Um, receiving Guiding in front of others is a bit…”

While some Espers demanded Guiding regardless of who was watching, others, like this one, felt embarrassed.

Jungwon calmly responded.

“There will be no physical contact that would be awkward for others to see.”

“Even so. The act of receiving Guiding itself…”

He seemed to be conscious of his surroundings yet remained firm in his stance.

To Jungwon, it was incomprehensible, but there was no need to force the issue with such an individual.

Espers often had needlessly delicate sensibilities, and attempting to forcibly Guide them in front of others could potentially lead to adverse effects.

Jungwon nodded and said.

“Understood. We’ll proceed with one person at a time in the vehicle, then.”

‘It would take a little longer, though.’

Among the other four, one person clicked their tongue in apparent displeasure.

However, since they didn’t voice their objection openly, going to the car itself seemed acceptable.

Jungwon led the young Esper and got into the car.

“Roll up your sleeve.”

There was no reason to hesitate.

As Jungwon immediately got to the point, he reluctantly extended his hand and pulled up his sleeve.

The moment Jungwon clasped his exposed wrist, his expression swiftly transformed.

“Uh, uh…”

“It’s done. Do you feel any discomfort or anything unusual?”

The Guiding was as swift and quick as giving an injection to a frightened child.

“Ah, no. I’m fine.”

The Esper, clasping and unclasping his hand as if in wonder, replied.

“You’re faster than I expected…”

He added the remark, glancing furtively.

‘Was that a compliment?’

It wasn’t arrogance, but since it was a comment Jungwon frequently heard, they felt little emotion.

Jungwon gave a slight nod, then sent the young Esper out.

As soon as he exited the car, a commotion erupted outside the door.

Immediately after a rough voice yelled, ‘Move!’, the next Esper opened the car door and entered.

A quick glance revealed it was the only D-rank Esper among the five.

Judging by his deeply furrowed expression, he was likely the owner of the preceding voice.

While D-rank was hardly considered high, given the spectrum from F-rank to S-rank, in a national agency plagued by manpower shortages, it was a position worthy of strutting about.

This was especially true when he was surrounded by F-rank Espers, as was the case now.

“Honestly, those useless punks just keep being weak.”

He seemed to be referring to the person who had just received Guiding.

Jungwon, once again letting his words go in one ear and out the other, assessed his condition.

His energy depletion didn’t appear significantly greater than the previous Esper’s.

This time, too, a light touch would suffice.

However, the man slumped into the seat in front of Jungwon, then opened his mouth with a greasy smile.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to take it off?”

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