Chapter 29: The Method of the Guide

Emil politely declined his mother’s suggestion to stay a little longer, then exited Lauren’s house.

Once he had acknowledged that strange sensation, it became difficult to shake off the awkward feeling.

After a quick farewell, he hurried towards Yanis’s house. He had no idea what was happening.

Could this be the ‘negative influence’ Yanis had mentioned? He was brimming with questions. All they had done was sit and share a meal.

He found it hard to believe that such issues could continuously arise from just that.

“Does this mean all Espers experience this every time?”

Did this mean the sensation of his body rejecting others, of feeling alien, would persist?

If simply having an Esper and another Esper in the same space caused problems, then how could an entire army composed solely of Espers even exist?

Emil quickly made his way to Yanis’s house.

Yanis was not home. Judging by the time, he seemed to have gone to church.

Emil recalled Yanis always visiting around this time when he was in his room. He paced nervously, waiting for Yanis to return.

His mother’s somber face, as she claimed there had been no problems until now, flashed in his mind.

Emil’s eyes darted anxiously before he rummaged through his belongings and pulled out a book.

He had barely looked at the book since first acquiring it. Though it was a very basic theoretical guide, it was all Emil had to rely on now.

Emil checked the table of contents, then frantically flipped through the pages. His hand eventually stopped on a particular page.

[…The abilities of Espers and Guides typically appear across generations. Considering that most Espers and Guides who have undergone imprinting form families through marriage, their children have a high probability of becoming either an Esper or a Guide. In cases where abilities are passed down, the descendants possess stronger powers than first-generation Espers or Guides and can control them skillfully.]

This was where he had stopped reading last time. His mother was an Esper, and he was an Esper too.

Emil slowly read the next section.

[Typically, second-generation Espers possess the same type of abilities as their parent generation. For instance, if a mother has abnormally keen hearing, her child is highly likely to possess the same ability.]

This did not apply to Emil. In fact, his mother’s abilities and his own were diametrically opposed.

Hadn’t Emil extinguished the embers that had flared up because of his mother just today?

[However, not all children of ability users manifest as Guides or Espers. They merely show a higher probability than those without such lineage. Whether the characteristics of Espers and Guides are innate or acquired has not yet been determined. Abilities typically manifest around age 15, but there are documented cases of six-year-old Espers. What is certain is that the first Esper was born to ordinary parents and raised by them, showing no signs of supernatural abilities until they manifested. For this reason, some scholars even argue that all humans possess the potential to become an Esper or a Guide….]

Emil finished reading and frowned. The book spoke only from a highly generalized perspective.

There seemed to be nothing relevant to Emil. While it somewhat aligned that he became an Esper as an Esper’s child, the difference in abilities made it feel incorrect.

‘Is it because it’s a theoretical book?’

Emil leafed through the book, then set it down. His head throbbed.

It seemed he would have to ask Yanis once he arrived. He placed the book on the floor, took a pillow, and lay down.

Having moved so diligently since early morning, fatigue washed over him.

“Yanis…”

He needed to ask him about what had happened today, once he arrived.

****

When his consciousness returned, he heard a rustling sound.

A soft blanket was draped over his body. Only a single, small light illuminated the room.

Yanis moved carefully through the room, relying on the faint glow of a small candle. Emil stared blankly at him, his eyes open.

Yanis, it seemed, was still unaware that Emil had woken up.

“….Yanis?”

At Emil’s voice, Yanis flinched, then cautiously approached him.

“You’re awake. Please, lie down.”

As Emil tried to sit up, Yanis gently pushed his shoulder, easing him back down.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Not at all. …Why?”

He mumbled his reply, still half-asleep, when suddenly his mind cleared.

Despite the man’s insistence that he lie down, Emil abruptly sat up and looked around. Sure enough, everything around them was covered in a layer of white ice.

“Oh, since when….”

“It was already frozen when I came home. Judging by your reaction, it doesn’t seem like you intentionally tested your abilities…. It’s alright. Don’t worry too much.”

The candlelight flickered precariously. The air was so cold that Yanis’s breath plumed with every word, yet Emil, in contrast, felt no chill whatsoever.

“This is perfectly normal during the early stages of awakening. Now, Emil.”

Seeing Emil’s darkened expression, the man calmly reassured him. Emil had glimpsed hope through their connection, only to make such a mistake again.

The thought that he was only causing trouble instead of being helpful filled him with guilt.

Yanis intertwined his fingers with Emil’s, gently clasping his hand. It was the same gesture as last night.

“It’s alright. I’ll help you.”

The man whispered in a very low voice.

“Close your eyes. Don’t focus on what you see. All of this is within your control.”

Emil had never once been able to control his abilities. Yet, Yanis spoke with utter conviction.

He rotated their interlocked fingers, slowly stroking Emil’s palm with his thumb.

“Trust me.”

Only then did Emil turn his gaze to the man. Yanis’s eyes, still gentle yet brimming with certainty, softly met his.

At this moment, the man before him was the only one Emil could trust. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes.

“Slowly, recall the memory of last night. I will call to you.”

“Follow me.”

The man’s voice whispered softly. Emil remembered the powerful force that had anchored him so firmly when he had felt himself floating.

That astonishing sensation, though a day had passed, remained unforgettable. Yet, recapturing that feeling was proving difficult.

He felt like a child who remembered the shape of their home but not the way back to it. As time stretched on, his heart grew anxious.

‘What if the man’s house stays like this tomorrow morning, or the day after… a week from now, or even forever? What if I can’t get rid of this ice?’

“Emil.”

“Haaah!”

A wave of anxiety washed over him, making it impossible for his mind to settle. Yanis keenly perceived Emil’s state.

As Yanis called his name and squeezed his hand firmly, Emil gasped for air. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

Emil’s chest heaved as he exhaled a series of short, quick breaths. His face was ambiguously contorted. It was a look that was neither crying nor smiling.

“Is it not working?”

“…I don’t really remember how I did it.”

“Oh dear.”

As Emil confessed with difficulty, the man murmured regretfully. He glanced back and forth between Emil and his frozen home.

“There is a way, but…”

“Wh-what should I do?”

“…It’s a commonly used method between Guides and Espers, but I didn’t want to use it on you.”

“But I’m the one who did this to your house. Any method is fine, I don’t care.”

Emil replied urgently before the man could even finish speaking. He was that desperate.

He didn’t want to trouble the man. If problems arose with Yanis after the Priest, then truly… he’d want to bite off his own tongue.

Emil grew even more anxious at Yanis’s hesitant attitude, despite his own earnest plea.

“Yanis, please.”

“In that case, please…”

‘May your God forgive me.’

Immediately after, something moist touched Emil’s lips.

“……!”

Instinctively, he tried to pull back, but his hand was held fast, preventing him. It was a long moment before Emil realized that the moist sensation was Yanis’s lips.

“Huu…”

Unconsciously, he let out a small sob at the unfamiliar sensation he had never experienced before.

In the fleeting moment he parted his lips to breathe, something soft and yielding entered Emil’s mouth.

That yielding thing relentlessly pursued Emil’s tongue whenever it tried to retreat, entwining around it. It leisurely touched the underside of his tongue and gently swept across the roof of his mouth.

For Emil, who had left the world solely to worship God and had long disciplined his body and mind in purity, it was a shockingly intense stimulus.

“Ah, euhng….”

Emil’s mind reeled from the cunning movements of the tongue. Whenever he tried to move even slightly, Yanis tightened his grip on his hand, preventing his escape.

“Emil. Again, slowly— try it.”

Yanis murmured softly, their lips still pressed together. Emil was so disoriented he didn’t even register what the man was saying.

Only belatedly did he recall that he had frozen the house in his sleep, and then he pictured the house as it usually was.

But it wasn’t easy. The man’s tongue kept teasing every corner of his mouth.

“Ugh, h-huh, uh!”

Yanis grasped Emil’s nape and pushed his tongue deeper. It felt as though fire ignited in his solar plexus.

Amidst the dizzying array of strange sensations he had never experienced before, Emil closed his eyes and focused all his energy on melting the walls.

Even with his eyes closed, it felt as if he could see the entire interior of the house. After staring at the solidly frozen walls for a long moment, he reached out to a specific spot.

At that precise moment, something unstable and trembling within him suddenly ceased its vibration.

The area of the dark shadow cast over Emil receded. Emil opened his eyes and looked up at the man’s face.

The room was dim, making it difficult to discern his features. Yanis reached out and brushed his fingers across Emil’s eyelids.

The dense fringe of his eyelashes was damp. He had shed tears for a fleeting moment.

“You did well.”

Only then did Emil slowly open his eyes and survey his surroundings. The frozen walls had all melted, returning to their original state as if nothing had ever happened.