Chapter 35: It Suited Him Too Well

“…”

Without answering, Colonel Shan turned and walked away.

Lee Juju watched the tips of Shan’s ears redden as he retreated and chuckled to himself.

Somehow, he felt like he was beginning to understand the colonel’s personality a little better.

****

The Gate suppression operation was less a mission handled entirely by Ghost Company and more like an external support assignment, dispatched at the Center’s request by selecting fifteen members.

They would be carrying out the Gate suppression order alongside the Center’s espers, including Ghost Company.

He had thought that as long as one wrote their name on the list they could automatically participate, something like volunteering, but the atmosphere was surprisingly strict, clearly enforcing orders handed down from above.

On the day the Gate suppression roster closed, members had reportedly crowded in and even fought just to write down their names.

Of course, it was obvious that rumors of Lee Juju accompanying the mission had influenced things to some degree.

Lee Juju simply laughed off Michael’s grumbling remarks.

Rather than worrying about who said what behind his back, it was better to focus on preparing for the imminent Gate operation.

Still, aside from the official document delivered to the infirmary stating the departure date, Lee Juju had essentially been left unattended.

He didn’t like that, but he tried to think of it as better than the old days, when guides were constantly summoned and ordered around until they were sick of it.

Even as he firmly resolved that he had to perform well, since they were people who didn’t even know how to properly utilize a guide, he couldn’t suppress the unease creeping into his thoughts.

Especially since they would be conducting a joint operation with the Center’s espers, he wondered whether it would even be possible to perform Guiding without them noticing.

‘Come to think of it, the inspector matter was settled properly, right?’

The uniform included everything, military cap, cloak, gloves, and combat boots.

However, with Lee Juju joining this mission, the company members had excluded gloves from the uniform entirely.

If his Guiding was needed in an emergency, gloves would only get in the way.

The problem was that there might be truly urgent moments when he wouldn’t be able to freely use broadcast Guiding.

It suddenly made him wonder how Gate suppression operations had ever been carried out without a guide in the past.

Pulling the issued uniform snugly into place, Lee Juju examined himself in the mirror.

When inside the base, guides generally never wore uniforms, not just him alone being unusually loose about it, so putting one on now felt somewhat different.

Wearing it properly, he almost looked like an esper himself.

The cap sat on the chair as he bent to tighten the laces of his combat boots.

The design reminded him of boots he had worn long ago.

The pitch-black boots fit his feet perfectly without any gap.

As he bent low to cinch the laces tightly, footsteps echoed steadily beyond the door.

Soon, there was a knock.

Lowering the gaze he had briefly lifted, Lee Juju replied,

“Come in-”

Before he could properly finish responding, the door swung open.

“Juju, are you up?”

“…”

“Oh?”

After tying the laces firmly and lifting his head, he saw Colonel Shan and Lieutenant Colonel Miles staring at him with strange expressions.

It was the first time they had seen Lee Juju dressed in a perfectly fitted uniform.

For Gate operations, wearing a uniform was better, it was more economical and allowed freer movement.

‘The cap’s useless, though.’

Still, it blocked sunlight, so it wasn’t entirely pointless.

Lee Juju picked up the black military cap from the chair.

Though one might imagine a clunky old design capable of stopping bullets, this cap was surprisingly stylish for something called military gear.

Its deep black color, the elegant curve of the brim, and the unidentified insignia embedded at the center gave it a sharp, refined look.

Whenever he wore a uniform like this, his thoughts inevitably grew rigid, almost esper-like.

With a blank expression, Lee Juju inclined his head in greeting.

It was a face Shan and Miles had never seen before.

The pure-looking guide who usually smiled sweetly with curved eyes could look like this?

They had assumed he would look awkward in a proper uniform, as though wearing someone else’s clothes, but astonishingly, it suited him perfectly.

Lieutenant Colonel Miles ran his tongue over his lower lip.

Approaching them dressed like that, Lee Juju looked like a soldier who had served in the military for ten years, without a single flaw.

For some reason, the sight stirred their hearts.

“There was no need for you to wear the uniform.”

“It’s better if I look like an esper.”

Lee Juju frowned slightly as he looked up at the colonel.

His face appeared paler than usual, likely because the Gate operation required waking at dawn.

The small mole beneath his left eye stood out more than ever.

‘So that’s why they only announced the date.’

What had they planned to do by bringing a civilian in plain clothes to the Gate?

Had they intended to bring him there and then make him wait outside?

“Well, you’ve been outplayed, Colonel Shan.”

Lieutenant Colonel Miles chuckled.

Colonel Shan wore his usual unreadable expression, but standing side by side with Lee Juju, they strangely looked like a well-matched pair.

“You weren’t planning to break your promise, were you?”

“…No.”

After answering, Shan regretted it.

Now he would inevitably have to enter the Gate with Lee Juju.

If he refused after speaking so clearly, Lee Juju would certainly protest…

At this point, he no longer knew.

Shan stopped thinking.

He truly hadn’t expected Lee Juju to prepare this thoroughly in full uniform.

Though Lee Juju stared suspiciously into Shan’s eyes for a moment, he soon nodded and jerked his chin forward.

It was a gesture telling them to lead the way.

Thinking there was probably no soldier in existence who would so casually order around the highest-ranking officers like that, Lieutenant Colonel Miles obediently turned first.

Colonel Shan lingered for a moment, studying Lee Juju, who, unlike usual, neither clung warmly nor struck up conversation, before following Miles.

Lee Juju fell in behind them, the steady thud of his boots echoing brightly through the long corridor.

This was precisely the position he needed to hold.

It was the ideal spot for an esper to block incoming beasts from the front while protecting the guide.

The moment he put on the uniform, Lee Juju naturally took his place as a guide, as easily as breathing.

Starting conversation would only burden the esper who had to focus on confronting beasts.

“Juju?”

“Yes?”

Lieutenant Colonel Miles hesitated, turning to look at him with an expression difficult to read.

Lee Juju was slightly surprised, he had never seen this man hesitate over words before.

Miles was usually the type to speak first and apologize later if he misspoke.

Yet now he hesitated before even opening his mouth.

“Are you angry?”

“No.”

“Ah, I see.”

Miles nodded.

Colonel Shan remained silent, but Lee Juju noticed the quick exchange of glances between the two officers.

He didn’t know what misunderstanding they were entertaining, but it wasn’t pleasant to watch.

Lee Juju stared at them incredulously.

Just as he was about to call them out for whispering in front of him, officers and soldiers waiting ahead snapped their heels together and saluted.

Among them was Military Doctor Michael, carrying two large backpacks.

“Hurry up and take it, you brat.”

Grumbling, Michael shoved one of the backpacks toward Lee Juju.

Though the military doctor had comforted him by saying he was exempt from Gate operations, Michael himself could volunteer at any time.

He had probably planned to soothe Lee Juju outwardly and then sneak off later.

But leaving the sole military doctor behind made no sense, what kind of operation would that be?

Lee Juju clicked his tongue.

‘If you’re going to deceive someone, at least pick the right target.’

When Michael heard that Lee Juju had volunteered for the Gate operation, he had leapt up in shock and gone straight to the colonel’s office to confirm it.

After verifying the official document, he sighed and offered to prepare the backpack himself.

Since Lee Juju owned nothing besides his uniform anyway, he readily agreed.

Watching him easily sling on a backpack nearly the size of his own body, Shan and Miles wore those same peculiar expressions again, unsure what to say.

“Aren’t we going?”

As Colonel Shan’s hand twitched, Lee Juju suddenly felt the backpack on his back grow lighter.

Frowning, he turned around.

Lieutenant Colonel Miles had just lifted the backpack off him.

“Ah, pardon me. It looked heavy.”

“Give it back.”

“Won’t you let me carry it? Juju. I truly mean it, I’m worried about you.”

Lee Juju shot him a sharp look, then relaxed slightly after seeing the expression on Miles’ face.

Earlier, the man had hesitated oddly over his words, and now the usual sly grin was nowhere to be found.

Instead, he looked strangely flustered.