Chapter 39: Unexpected Interventions

“…Ah.”

Ethan let out a soft gasp. He had imagined temporary tent barracks, perhaps set up on the village outskirts when supplies arrived or security tightened, much like the ones Captain Mark’s unit, stationed in Han village, occasionally used while maintaining a friendly rapport with the locals. But this was different.

The Guide personnel had fully taken over an entire building adjacent to the infirmary, leading Ethan to assume they were simply utilizing existing structures. Yet, the Esper army’s barracks were prefabricated modular buildings, and remarkably sturdy ones at that.

“Their assembly is straightforward, making them easy to transport via cargo planes,” the young administrative soldier explained, assigned by Captain Chase. “Their standardized dimensions also facilitate the installation of power lines and water tanks. We even have Esper shields and laser cannons for air raid defense…”

He proudly detailed the base’s facilities as he escorted Ethan toward Bliss Moore’s barracks. As Ethan stepped inside, he observed that the sturdy prefabricated walls encircling the entire base, much like a fortress, shared the same material as the barracks themselves.

“Haha, it’s quite spacious, isn’t it?” the soldier continued. “The Colonel’s barracks even come with an attached shower. We don’t have a wider bed available, so we’re planning to provide an additional one. Would that be acceptable?”

“W-why a wide one…” Ethan began, then abruptly cut himself off. Aside from a select few close confidantes, no one knew he was an ordinary person.

‘No, perhaps it’s more accurate to say that a select few *misunderstood* now.’

Ethan scratched his cheek, his fingers tracing the barracks wall. He deftly steered the conversation away from his turbulent thoughts by posing a question that had genuinely piqued his curiosity.

“Are the thick walls encircling the base and the barracks constructed from the same material?” Ethan inquired.

“Ah, you’ve noticed!” the soldier replied, a hint of admiration in his voice. “These are prefabricated structures crafted from a special material called Ekanetium, typically used in Esper air-raid shelters. While they offer a degree of protection against aerial attacks, their soundproofing capabilities are also remarkably effective.”

Soundproofing.

Ethan’s face instantly burned crimson. Unaware of the sudden shift in atmosphere, the administrative soldier cheerfully offered to check on the bed installation, asked if Ethan needed anything else, and then, just before exiting, turned back to him with a look of profound sincerity.

“For the Colonel to finally have a Guide,” he declared, “it makes me want to believe in miracles.”

With a crisp salute to Ethan, he then dashed out of the room.

Yuwol, observing Ethan’s dazed expression, questioned him with a suspicious tone.

[Ethan, you’re not going to haphazardly Guide Bliss again, are you?]

“N-no, well…” Ethan mumbled, scratching his still-flushed face before asking, “But Yuwol, do you think Bliss likes me?”

[Do *you* like Bliss?]

Ethan pondered the question deeply, then, as if making a momentous decision, responded with a solemn air.

“……Yeah. I think I do.”

[You’ve fallen for it, you’ve really fallen for it. I knew it from the moment you were so restless about coming here, but still… Tsk tsk… Do you honestly think there’s an Esper in the world who could possibly reject you? What’s there to worry about?]

“…Not like that. Not just because we’re Guide and Esper…”

Yuwol, seemingly unable to tolerate it any longer, burst out.

[Hey! You two are already giving me enough goosebumps! How can that Bliss guy be so utterly oblivious, not knowing what’s what, and just cling to you like that!]

Ethan couldn’t suppress the curve of his lips. However, he couldn’t let the comparison to “crap and bean paste” pass without comment.

“…Really? But Yuwol, you’re dead, so you don’t get goosebumps.”

[Hey!!!]

****

A loud, buzzing emergency siren blared, piercing the quiet. Ethan, who had been tossing and turning, unable to properly sleep in the newly provided bed, shot upright. His gaze fell upon the opposite bed, where the duvet and pillow lay neatly folded, just as they had been when he arrived, now appearing unusually cold and stark.

“Is it an air raid!”

[Ethan, it seems a few of the Espers who were out on the operation have returned.]

“Not all of them?”

[The number is far too small for it to be everyone. The base is so incredibly vast, I can’t quite tell for sure.]

“I need to go see Doctor Sera. She mentioned she’d be in the hospital building, didn’t she?”

Ethan flung the door open, only to find Liam Stare, who was meant to be guarding him in shifts with Kyle Evans, looking utterly distressed while being accosted by Doctor Sera. Sera, clutching the entire sack of pouches Ethan had brought with him, seemed quite insistent.

“…Doctor Sera, I truly apologize, but even I cannot simply teleport into a combat zone more than 40 kilometers away,” Liam pleaded, his voice strained. “Furthermore, it’s the innermost part, furthest from the city entrance, making the total travel distance over 50 kilometers…”

“But Mr. Liam,” Doctor Sera countered, her tone urgent, “the fastest way to reach that location without incurring attacks is through teleportation, isn’t it? You are currently the only S-grade Esper capable of teleporting. The other S-grade Esper who arrived on the transport is completely depleted right now…”

“What’s going on?” Ethan asked, his voice cutting through their tense exchange.

“Ah… Mr. Ethan.” Liam spun around, startled. As an Esper, he possessed heightened senses, yet he had detected no presence until Ethan was standing directly behind him. A sudden shiver traced its way down his spine.

‘Could it be that he’s an unknown Esper?’

The moment that thought took root, suspicion began to blossom uncontrollably within him.

“Mr. Ethan, have you perhaps undergone train—”

“Ethan! You’ve arrived just in time!” Doctor Sera interrupted, her voice a desperate plea. “Do you happen to have any more pouches? We need as many as we can get!”

Liam’s indirect question about Ethan’s potential training was abruptly halted by Doctor Sera’s urgent outburst. From that moment on, Liam found himself utterly unable to regain his composure.

“The pouches, why do you need them?” Ethan pressed.

“Bliss, Lord Bliss’s bio-pattern is exhibiting unusual activity!” Doctor Sera exclaimed, her urgency palpable.

“Bio-pattern?!” Ethan’s voice rose in alarm.

“We’ve meticulously cataloged Lord Bliss’s bio-responses, establishing a pattern that emerges whenever he exhibits seizure symptoms,” she explained rapidly. “This system allows us to predict the onset of a seizure even before a full seizure transfer occurs. But the reactions we’re seeing now are completely, utterly different!”

“Sera! The aircraft is ready!” Philip Wyman called out, panting as he rushed toward them.

Doctor Sera bit her lip, her gaze fixed on Liam.

“Liam, I understand that your primary mission is to protect Mr. Ethan,” Doctor Sera stated, her voice softening slightly. “But I’m going to ask you again. I’ll do my best to ensure you don’t have to teleport multiple times, but please, just take these and toss them onto Lord Bliss’s head, then return!”

Liam quietly closed his eyes, then opened them. No one could guarantee that these mere pouches would calm Bliss’s condition, especially since it presented a pattern entirely different from his previous seizures. A misstep, a moment’s hesitation, could cost Liam his own life. Yet, he, too, yearned to save Bliss.

“I’ll entrust Mr. Ethan’s guard to Kyle for now,” Liam decided. “As for the aircraft—”

“Take me with you.”

“E-Ethan?!” Doctor Sera gasped, while Liam began, “Mr. Ethan, the current situation is…”

Ethan, his voice laced with a sudden, sharp anger, unleashed a torrent of words.

“Is this truly the time for such hesitation? You’ve all been deceiving me! Let’s discuss this as we walk. Where is the airfield? Ah, there. Let’s go. What are you waiting for?”

“Ah, no, right now…” Liam stammered, caught off guard.

“The flight clearance means the staff here and even higher authorities have given their approval, doesn’t it?” Ethan pressed on. “And I’m sure that’s Mr. Philip’s excellent work. You can simply state that I, as Bliss’s Guide, impulsively boarded the aircraft. Mr. Liam, your duty is to protect me, so you just continue to do that. And for now, take me and fly the forty kilometers, and we can talk then! Isn’t that ample justification?”

“…!!”

Doctor Sera, her face alight with emotion, clasped Ethan’s hand tightly. However, Liam, still harboring the suspicion that Ethan might be an infiltrator Esper, swiftly summoned Kyle as a precaution.

One of Bliss’s Guide staff members, already present at the airfield, attempted to dissuade Ethan.

“Mr. Ethan,” he began, “even as Lord Bliss’s Guide, if your matching rate isn’t exceptionally high, you risk being overwhelmed. For your safety, it might be better not to go…”

Ethan merely ascended the aircraft’s boarding ramp, a sardonic smile playing on one corner of his lips.

“I’m not a soldier,” he declared, “so I wouldn’t be privy to such regulations.”

The staff member who had attempted to deter him instantly fell silent, his face flushing with surprise. Ethan’s retort was a cleverly veiled jab, subtly referencing the military’s unspoken rule: in units facing Esper casualties, the lives of Guides, fewer in number, were invariably prioritized.

Liam and Kyle, trailing behind Ethan, exchanged startled glances, then nodded meaningfully at each other. It was a moment that only served to intensify their burgeoning suspicions.

As the aircraft ascended vertically into the sky, Doctor Sera appeared somewhat calmer. Liam and Kyle, however, tightened their expressions, evidently preparing to subtly probe Ethan.

“Mr. Ethan. Has your memory perhaps returned, or—” Liam began, but Ethan swiftly cut him off once more.

“Doctor Sera. Please, hand that sack of pouches over to me.”

Ethan took the sack that Doctor Sera had been clutching as if it contained her very lifeblood.

“Ethan,” she said, her voice a mix of exasperation and hope, “if you have any more pouches, please fill them up as much as you can. My goodness. I am a researcher who dedicates her life to medicine and science. To think I’d be reduced to clinging to mere pouches.”

Ethan scratched his cheek, a faintly apologetic expression on his face. He then extracted one of the pouches and extended it toward Liam.

“…Mr. Ethan? Why would you…” Liam questioned, hesitant to take it.

When Liam made no move to accept it, Ethan simply unsealed the pouch directly in front of him.

“No!” Sera shrieked.

Liam, unable to conceal his astonishment, felt the faint, persistent aches that had been plaguing him vanish instantly, dispelled by the single pouch.

“T-this is…!”

Kyle, reacting swiftly, snatched the sack from Ethan and demanded fiercely, “Mr. Ethan! Wasn’t this intended for Colonel Bliss? We already have our own Guides!”

“No.”

Ethan shook his head with a resolute expression.

“What on earth are you talking about—” Kyle began, his voice edged with disbelief.

“Gasp…!”

The shield of Oweol dissipated, and the two Espers held their breath, their eyes wide with shock.

“Liam, Kyle! What on earth are you two doing?!” Only Doctor Sera, an ordinary person, couldn’t comprehend the situation, letting out a near-scream. Yet, the Espers remained frozen, every nerve focused intently on Ethan, unable to even blink.

“H-how…” Kyle stammered quietly, his voice barely a whisper.

Ethan picked up a pouch that had tumbled from the dropped sack and casually tossed it in the air, catching it again.

“Well, I had to do *something*. My lying Esper is crying, after all.”

“…!!”

Doctor Sera, sensing the ominous shift in atmosphere, held her breath. Ethan, meanwhile, curved his blue eyes into a gentle smile.

“So, Mr. Liam. Have you ever experienced teleporting while directly receiving as much Guiding as you desire?”

“…!!!”