Chapter 11: Suspicious Pairings and a Looming Shadow

Chapter 11

Suspicious circumstances became evident in the persistent attempts to keep Yoon Geon-woo and me tethered together. That fact alone revealed that the teachers hadn’t merely come to conduct a shooting practice.

If that were the case, then someone must have deliberately sent them here…

‘The Vice Principal isn’t in a position to issue orders to those standing before us.’

Had the class schedule merely changed, and the teachers been replaced by ordinary instructors, one might have attributed it to the Vice Principal’s influence. However, the situation dramatically shifted if the reassigned teachers were high-ranking Espers and Guides affiliated with the Central.

Strictly speaking, since the SAA itself was under the Central’s jurisdiction, it would be difficult for the Vice Principal’s authority alone to manipulate Central-affiliated pairs.

‘Who could it be? Who wants to pull Yoon Geon-woo’s strings?’

I considered other possibilities, but couldn’t discern whose doing it might be. While I pondered, my gaze briefly met the Guide teacher’s.

“Ahem, ahem. I’ve been informed there’s a student in this class who’s formed a temporary pair. Would they please raise their hand?”

The Guide teacher, seemingly not adept at maintaining a poker face, hastily pretended to examine their tablet. Though they spoke again as if nothing had happened, it was already too late. Hadn’t they just been glancing between Yoon Geon-woo and me?

‘They’re… utterly incapable of lying, aren’t they…’

Well, it hardly mattered. Regardless of the teachers’ purpose in being here, the opportunity to become entangled with Yoon Geon-woo, even in this manner, was a welcome development.

I hoped that as these small points of contact accumulated, his attitude toward me might soften, even just a little.

“Any paired students? Is there really no one?”

As the Guide teacher reiterated their question, I slowly raised my hand. I was the only one in Esper Class 1 and Guide Class 3 to do so.

Of course, it couldn’t be any other way. It was the first day of the semester, the very first class.

While I had been summoned by the Vice Principal during vacation and received confirmation of my temporary pairing, Yoon Geon-woo and the other students likely hadn’t even received their matching assignments yet.

‘That guy… why is he so angry?’

Glancing toward Yoon Geon-woo, I saw his expression was several times colder than before. His frigid gaze, as if utterly fed up, made me feel a little wronged.

“Pairs will form one team during cross-class. Please move to your assigned spots.”

Despite the Guide teacher’s instruction, Yoon Geon-woo seemed unable to accept that I was his pair. He neither raised his hand nor made any move to change his spot.

‘It looks like I’ll have to go to Yoon Geon-woo, won’t I?’

Since he was unlikely to approach, I had no other choice.

“You’ve already formed a temporary pair? With whom?”

As I started to move toward Yoon Geon-woo, the Martial Arts Esper standing in front of me asked, sounding surprised. His booming voice, as if he’d swallowed a train whistle, drew the attention of the surrounding students.

“Ah… with Yoon Geon-woo.”

“What? You’re paired with Yoon Geon-woo?”

Damn it… Could you please be a little quieter? Yoon Geon-woo is glaring at us as if he could kill.

Just as I found myself in a predicament due to the noisy Esper, he uttered something baffling, saying it was a shame.

“Too late, then. I was going to ask if I could be your pair, provided our matching rate was decent.”

“Apply… for a pair?”

“Yeah, there are a lot of Espers in our class who want to be your pair.”

A lot of Espers wanting to pair with me? Unless they were A-ranks, why would they want to pair with an ordinary B-rank Guide like me?

“Is it because of the shooting practice?”

“No way it’s just that. Well, it’s a mix of things. It’s complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“You just stand out, you know? First off… your face is… ah, never mind. That might be rude.”

As I tilted my head, utterly bewildered by what those ‘complicated’ reasons could be, the Martial Arts Esper stopped mid-sentence with an awkward expression and scratched his head.

He then let out a hearty laugh, asking for a chance himself should I ever happen to un-pair with Yoon Geon-woo.

[Matching Rate: 82%]

[Contamination Level: 11%]

Since the guy in front of me had introduced himself as an A-rank Esper, I checked our matching rate just in case. Objectively, it wasn’t a bad score, but perhaps because I’d already seen the matching rates with Yoon Geon-woo and Jin Ian, I felt no particular excitement.

“Park Hyeon-seo, follow me.”

“Me… me too?”

“I told you. You’ll have to stick close to me during today’s class. You there, you’re on Park Hyeon-seo’s team, right? You come along too.”

I pulled Park Hyeon-seo, whom I’d kept by my side, and the Esper chosen for Park Hyeon-seo’s team, and moved our spots.

Even as we headed toward Yoon Geon-woo, gazes kept converging on us. Everyone wore expressions that suggested they had much to say, likely because I was ‘that’ Yoon Geon-woo’s temporary paired Guide.

Having approached right up to Yoon Geon-woo, I instinctively scrutinized his complexion.

“…We meet again.”

“……”

Indeed, I wouldn’t dare hope for a response.

As a temporary pair, I cautiously greeted him, but a cold aura already emanated from the stern-faced Yoon Geon-woo.

When I was farther away, he’d glare intently, but now that I stood beside him, he actually avoided my gaze. Was he protesting that he didn’t even want to see my face?

“Please take care of me. Even if I don’t look it, my shooting skills aren’t bad, so I won’t hold you back during class.”

Undaunted by his disregard, I clung to his side and deliberately chattered on. Naturally, an expression of discomfort was clearly etched on Yoon Geon-woo’s face.

‘Still… this much is a relief, I suppose…’

Perhaps because there was no direct physical contact, he didn’t use his abilities to push me away or grab me by the collar and throw me, as he had before. Things would surely improve as we continued the class together. There would be opportunities to provide guiding or even exchange a few more words.

“Alright, everyone, listen up.”

Just as most of the class seemed to have formed their teams, the Esper teacher stepped forward, gathering the students’ attention.

“The firearm we’ll be using in today’s shooting class is this one. If you have any questions, I’ll take them all at once after the explanation, so hold them until then.”

After finishing his explanation, the Esper teacher walked to the front of the platform, holding a beast-type taser gun.

‘As expected, it’s a new model again.’

This new model taser gun, said to be distributed only to Central-affiliated ability users. Its appearance, different from what they were accustomed to, caused the students to begin murmuring.

The new model, with its added auxiliary functions compared to the old version, was difficult for beginners to handle. Moreover, this very taser gun was the one Park Hyeon-seo had caused an incident with in the past, before the regression.

“The most crucial aspect of cross-class is the cooperation between Espers and Guides. Through practical training in an environment similar to a real field, you’ll not only improve your individual shooting skills but also learn crucial response protocols for emergencies and build trust with your comrades.”

From the Esper teacher’s subsequent explanations, I could somewhat infer the class methodology.

‘Are they planning to have us follow the Central’s team-based operations exactly?’

The teachers here often held active duty positions concurrently, making them well-versed in crisis situations that unfolded within gates. Perhaps because they were individuals who had acutely felt the difficulty of preserving one’s life, let alone completing a mission, by merely relying on theory, the atmosphere during practical training always grew serious.

‘Not bad.’

Upon graduation, we would be immediately deployed to actual combat, so there was no harm in gaining experience beforehand. In a few months, the responsibilities thrust upon each individual would be exponentially greater than before.

“First, come forward and take one each. The ones being distributed to you have their output values adjusted for practice, so their power is about a quarter of the real thing. However, they are live-firing firearms, so be mindful.”

Clang—

No sooner had the Esper teacher finished speaking than the metal door of the training ground slowly began to close.

‘Is it starting now?’

The colossal dome-shaped training ground we had entered was nothing short of a massive bunker. Whether for external safety or not, it was constructed from special materials impervious to even a barrage of beast-type taser gun shots, which said it all.

‘Just in case, should I warn them now… about accident prevention measures?’

In all training grounds, including those for shooting, the entry and exit of weapons were prohibited to prevent unfortunate accidents. Furthermore, students could not enter or leave the training ground alone without the instructor in charge of the class.

In a way, it was akin to being isolated in a sealed room throughout the entire class. This was also the primary reason why tardiness was not permitted during practical training sessions, and why the aftermath of the firearm accident before the regression was delayed.

The previous incident alone was proof.

Because the accident occurred in a training room that was not easily accessible from the outside, the damage only grew, and it was barely managed after the fact. Even the teacher who was supposed to execute the accident response protocol was injured, further escalating the situation.

“Yoon Geon-woo! Where are you going?”

“……”

Just as I was momentarily lost in thought, Yoon Geon-woo, who had been standing beside me, unexpectedly walked forward. I called out to him belatedly, but received no reply. Seeing him head straight for the platform with swift strides, he seemed intent on receiving the distributed taser gun.

As he rushed ahead, I gave Park Hyeon-seo, who was standing behind me, a look to follow.

“Yoon Geon-woo, wait a minute!”

Before, when I’d been huddled up in his room, I hadn’t realized. I hadn’t realized that when he stood up like this, I had to crane my neck to meet his gaze.

‘Why are his steps so fast?’

Not only was he already tall, but his leg length was also extraordinary, making it difficult for me to keep up with his pace.

But what could I do about my worry? Today was the day an accident had occurred in the past. It would be a huge problem if a defective product were mixed in with the distributed taser guns.

As for me, I had sufficient knowledge of the new model firearms from the regression, so I wanted to inspect both Park Hyeon-seo’s and Yoon Geon-woo’s guns before handing them over.

“Wait, hold on.”

Quickly picking up my pace, I diligently followed and grabbed the hem of Yoon Geon-woo’s uniform. It wasn’t intentional; he hadn’t responded to any of my attempts to speak, so in my haste, I merely tugged lightly at the edge of his casual clothes.

However, Yoon Geon-woo seemed to find even that unacceptable, roughly shaking off my hand.

“Take your hands off me, you pervert.”

But… ‘you pervert’? Was he talking to me?

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