Chapter 10: The Price of Guiding

In the Aitoolia Empire, unregistered Espers were fundamentally illegal. While Guides had the option of autonomous registration, the Aitoolia government emphasized the inherent dangers of unregistered Espers to justify their illegal status. Devices were considered inherently vulnerable and easily targeted for attack compared to Espers, necessitating their protection. Conversely, Espers who failed to receive proper guiding and drifted between private agencies posed a significant risk. They could rampage at any moment, and their abilities were highly likely to be weaponized for deeper criminal activities, thus requiring both care and surveillance.

Indeed, considering that most leaders of the Empire’s underground organizations were Espers, this reasoning was not unfounded.

“If Ethan Prescott is an Esper, then he must be receiving guiding. How many private guiding agencies are there in the city?”

Philip Wyman desperately sifted through his memories before answering.

“There are a couple, but I doubt Ethan Prescott could afford their rates.”

“Not places I’d frequent. I mean, places that operate illegally.”

Philip’s expression became subtle. Illegal guiding agencies. Though called ‘guiding agencies,’ they were no different from brothels. While legitimate and illicit establishments alike involved Guides using their bodies for sexual acts in exchange for guiding, the illegal ones often lacked actual Guides entirely.

“Are you suggesting…”

“That there are illegal private guiding agencies with real Guides.”

“Are you saying that Ethan Prescott’s Guide might be Lord Bliss’s matching Guide?”

“……It’s a possibility.”

Philip’s face contorted with distaste. A ‘matching Guide,’ as designated by the Center, referred to a Guide with a compatibility rate of over 30%, capable of alleviating an Esper’s pain by roughly half. This 30% threshold was the minimum matching rate required for a ‘matching Guide,’ enabling Espers—who constantly endured a piercing pain from their fingertips to their bodies and heads as a consequence of their immense power—to lead normal lives.

Typically, this level of compatibility meant one Esper was permanently linked to one Guide. The Center continuously conducted tests to find Espers compatible with specific Guides, making it possible to identify Guides and Espers in the 30% compatibility range.

Of course, there were also those who did not register legally, such as Guides affiliated with the military or noble families.

However, some individuals, even after manifesting as Guides, had reasons preventing their registration with the Center. These often included criminals or those with unclear backgrounds. It also encompassed those who desired to earn more money faster than what the Center offered.

Once a Guide manifested, finding their own Esper with over 30% compatibility without the Center’s assistance was a daunting task. While the matching systems used by private agencies were not as sophisticated as the Center’s, they prioritized whether guiding was possible with a partner, even if only at 10%. This was because compatible Espers could receive guiding at a rate of 10% to just under 15%.

For instance, a Guide might typically achieve 10% guiding for psychokinetic Espers, while another Guide could provide around 13% for Espers who wielded fire.

Since the matching rate increased during sexual intercourse, private agencies capitalized on this. The Guides in these establishments were essentially selling their bodies, yet they harbored the dream of someday discovering their own Esper with over 30% compatibility. Such Guides, more often than not, were driven by greed.

The thought of one of *those* Guides becoming Bliss’s matching Guide was unsettling.

“As his secretary, it’s not a conclusion I’d like to imagine.”

Bliss chuckled softly.

“Because you’re not as desperate as I am.”

Philip could say no more. No matter what anyone claimed, no one could be more desperate than Bliss himself right now.

While various circumstances contributed to the blankness on Bliss’s face, a significant cause was likely the pain that had afflicted him since his Esper manifestation. Noticing Philip’s suddenly apologetic gaze, Bliss quickly changed the subject.

“Since he’ll be working here for a month, it will be easy to keep an eye on him.”

“…I will investigate information regarding Ethan Prescott.”

****

The cleaning finally concluded after an entire half-day. Though thoroughly vexed to have also cleaned the library’s ancient dust, Ethan couldn’t argue that it wasn’t his job, given his prior actions.

The only consolation was that a cleaning robot had been sent along, dutifully vacuuming up the dust once the initial tidying was complete.

Mumbling around a sandwich he’d brought to eat in the library, Ethan spoke sternly.

“I’m going to check if it’s done properly. And for the time being, we’re on a strict budget.”

Ilwol’s ears drooped, having poured all their spiritual energy into their nose to discern the age of the papers by scent.

‘Can’t we go back to Uncle Hans’s house?’

‘At least there, I could eat as many cookies as I wanted.’

As Yuwol, who was roughly sorting the papers Ilwol had initially filtered by year and passing them to Iwol, chattered with transparent motives, Oweol cawed and flapped, searching for gilded beads that had fallen from the now-trashed chandelier.

To the crow, this place seemed like a house built of treasures. Staying here would surely lead to a big score… The crow, whose eyes met Ethan’s, quietly gathered the beads.

Ethan carefully separated the beads Oweol had collected, along with other tempting items for the crow, from the chandelier. This time, given their recent misdeeds, he had no intention of giving them away.

Still, why was Bliss Moore collecting information on the Aitoolia Empire’s modern war history? And in a place like this?

While curious, Bliss was a high-ranking noble, far beyond Ethan’s reach. Even if he had been assigned something confidential, it was highly probable that he wouldn’t uncover anything remotely similar until his part-time work was entirely finished.

‘Well, I’ll just look at the information I want to see and then leave.’

Ethan began meticulously organizing one of the bundles of documents that Yuwol, the child spirit, had last filtered and gathered by similar years.

****

As the evening twilight began to settle, Ethan glanced at the colossal, ornately decorated clock. His part-time work hours were nearly over. Bliss, seemingly determined to thoroughly utilize him as a servant, had drawn a clear line: once his designated work hours concluded, he was expected to assist with the mansion’s other duties.

After 10 PM, he was free to do as he pleased, but considering he had to wake at 5 AM, any attempt to pursue other activities would likely remain just that—an attempt. Ethan let out a long sigh, blaming the damned gwi, and exited the library.

He needed to go to the dining room for a meal, but after a full day of cleaning and organizing, he felt drenched in dust and sweat. So, he returned to his room, showered, and emerged.

The tablet, connected to its dock, chimed. It was Dale.

“Butler.”

[Mr. Ethan, you won’t be dining with the other servants today. You’ll be joining Lord Bliss in an hour.]

“…Excuse me?”

[Lord Enoch and Mr. Scott Kent have arrived, and they claim to be very close friends. Lord Enoch has something urgent to discuss with Lord Bliss, so perhaps you could take a walk in the garden with Mr. Scott Kent for about an hour?]

‘Scott?’

Ethan quickly dressed and went downstairs to the first floor. Guided by Dale, who was already waiting, he entered the reception room to find Scott, transformed into what seemed like a different person in just a few days.

“Ethan!”

“…Scott?”

Scott looked as if he had just stepped out of an electronic photoshoot. Not like a god, as Enoch Cloud did, but with the vibrant health of someone his age. His slightly plump, charming cuteness was fully accentuated, yet he didn’t appear childish. From head to toe, he looked impeccably groomed, leaving Ethan staring blankly, completely forgetting to greet him.

Scott, seeing Ethan’s stunned reaction, gave a slightly embarrassed laugh before sharply slapping his back.

*Smack!*

“Ow!”

“Do you realize we only have an hour?”

Snapping back to his senses, Ethan led Scott towards the garden.

“What happened to you?”

“Surprised? Well, I was the most surprised, still wondering if this is a dream, so you must be dumbfounded too. Anyway, to think I’d walk into the garden of this haunted mansion.”

This time, Ethan slapped Scott’s back.

*Smack!*

“Ow!”

Scott, who had been trying to act refined in his nice clothes, winced and crumpled in pain from the single blow to his back.

“Stop beating around the bush and spinning fairy tales; just answer my question. Why hasn’t the examination proceeded yet?”

“Ugh… you hit me harder than I hit you…”

“What on earth is Enoch Cloud thinking? He brings someone who isn’t even a Guide to do an Esper-Guide matching test, and why is he drawing so much attention? He said he came to this rural corner just for a quiet examination!”

Scott, still wincing with lingering pain, responded to Ethan, who was barraging him with questions without even a moment to appreciate the garden.

“I manifested.”

Ethan’s steps abruptly halted.

“…What?”

“I manifested as a Guide. And my compatibility matches Enoch’s.”

As Ethan still seemed disbelieving, Scott led him to a bench.

“I kept telling everyone I wasn’t a Guide. For me, the Guide examination was like a lottery ticket—I hoped for the best even if it was a bust. But then, suddenly, he said, ‘I think I’ve found my Guide.’ You have no idea how scared I was.”

“…And then?”

“All that talk about a public examination in the city? It was all a show. They announced it to the press, but the Center conducted the tests in advance. Enoch was confirmed as an electric-type Esper, and by coincidence, my examination was on the very day his results came out. I became even more terrified. But for a few days before that, I’d been feeling strange inside and running a fever, even after taking cold medicine.”

Only then did Ethan relax his body. A feverish cold. It was a manifestation symptom. While the severity varied among Guides, Ethan himself had suffered for three consecutive days before manifesting as a Guide.

But.

“If you’re spinning some ridiculous fate-driven narrative about your guiding coincidentally matching an electric-type Esper during a compatibility test, and then miraculously achieving over 30% matching rate with Enoch, who is an electric-type Esper, then just go eat and get inside.”

Scott’s cheeks flushed. Ethan, who had been watching with a ‘no way’ expression, saw his eyes widen.

“W-wait, seriously?!”

Scott’s eyes, as he nodded, were clearly in love.