Chapter 41: Too Many Dead for a Rare Gate

He didn’t even have time to properly put on his combat boots.

Juju hurried out barefoot, scrambling after the colonel. Colonel Shan was already heading straight into the forest without hesitation.

At that moment, a shadow blocked Juju’s path.

When he looked up with a frown, a tall esper with bright red hair bent down toward him.

“No matter how urgent it is, you should at least put your shoes on properly before running out.”

“Lieutenant Colonel, wait a moment.”

Colonel Shan’s back was already shrinking in the distance. Juju waved his hand and tried to chase after him again, but suddenly his body lifted off the ground.

Juju struggled with a suffocating expression until Lieutenant Colonel Miles finally set him down.

But he had barely taken a few steps before he found himself back inside the tent again.

‘What is this supposed to be?’

Juju glared fiercely at Miles, but the lieutenant colonel still wore a relaxed expression.

“Juju, let the colonel do what he’s about to do.”

“That’s not what I meant. I never told him to kill him…”

“I know.”

Lips as red as his hair curled slightly upward.

Miles was smiling.

As if smiling weren’t enough, he ruffled Juju’s small head with his large hand, messing up his hair.

Meanwhile, Colonel Shan disappeared from sight completely.

This wasn’t the time for this.

He had to clear up the misunderstanding before Mac died.

“You’re softer than you let on. Whatever the reason, you probably wanted to guide that esper, didn’t you?”

“No! It’s not like that…”

“Sierra grew up in the back alleys and has no official identity. That’s why we were able to put her in the company. But Second Lieutenant Maximilian is different. He has a clear identity. He’s a Center-affiliated officer. An officer, you see. You can’t just transfer the affiliation of a Center officer so easily. And right now we don’t have Lieutenant Frank here, the one who can alter memories and brainwash people. That means we don’t even have our minimal safety measures.”

“…”

‘No, I just wanted to extract some information.’

“So let the colonel handle it.”

Juju frowned and pushed Miles’ hand away.

“I swear, I never intended to guide him. Guide him? I shouldn’t be increasing the number of espers here.”

He assumed his hair must be a mess now, but finding Colonel Shan before he “took care of” Lieutenant Mac was far more important.

He had absolutely no intention of guiding him.

Instinctively, Juju checked his own body.

Trying to guide an esper who had never been guided before, especially while connected to a Gate, was extremely dangerous.

Juju usually worked with a strong sense of duty, but inside a Gate he acted as a Guide with espers of his own to protect.

At Juju’s words, the smile disappeared from Miles’ lips.

“You shouldn’t increase the number of espers…?”

“Lieutenant Colonel, don’t you find it strange that so many members of the advance team died?”

While Miles was still mulling over Juju’s words, Juju asked provocatively.

Miles straightened his bent back and narrowed his eyes as he looked down at Juju.

“Gates are unpredictable places. It’s customary to push members who are already on the brink of death into Gate operations. So even if espers die, it isn’t that strange.”

“Six of them are corpses, and three are missing. Do that many casualties usually happen?”

“Well…”

“This is a Rare-grade Gate, Lieutenant Colonel. Having nine people go missing in a Rare-grade Gate makes no sense. Or do you use a different ranking system from the one I know?”

“Seems like the place where you used to serve also divided Gates from Normal to Epic grade.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re confident this Gate is Rare?”

“Not completely confident… but if it were Unique-grade, we wouldn’t have time to sit around resting like this.”

Miles was silent for a moment, then nodded calmly.

“You’re right, Juju. Nine is excessive.”

Juju stared at him for a moment before bending down to find and put on his boots.

‘My thinking wasn’t wrong after all.’

He had been worried Miles might say sacrificing ten espers per Gate was normal.

“I think Mac is hiding information.”

Juju tightened the laces of his boots and continued.

“It makes no sense that so many espers died. Even if there was no Guide. And Mac is a telekinetic. That means the other espers probably had comparable abilities. If this Gate were Unique instead of Rare, I wouldn’t question it this much. But it’s only Rare. Even if it’s a double Gate, six deaths in a Rare-grade Gate…”

“Wait.”

Miles’ eyes slowly shifted.

“Juju. Do you know a lot about double Gates?”

“Yes, I do.”

Juju sighed lightly.

“If you don’t properly study double Gates, you can’t even become an A-class Guide, let alone an S-class. I told you before, didn’t I? I’m a very capable Guide.”

“Oh?”

An unreadable expression crossed Miles’ face.

“I’m sure Mac has information. Did you see his expression? Six of his comrades died, but he didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. He’s extremely cautious too. He knows. He already knows that six people died… maybe he even knows what happened to the rest. Something big definitely happened. There might even be a very dangerous monster here.”

“Then why would Lieutenant Mac stay silent? If he says nothing, he’ll face that danger again.”

“Exactly.”

Juju said clearly.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

****

“Second Lieutenant Mac will come with me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Excluding the two medics, there were fourteen members in the company.

Colonel Shan divided them into two squads of seven.

One squad would be led by Shan, the other by Lieutenant Colonel Miles.

They had already scouted the nearby forest, so it was time to extend the search.

The most important mission was to locate and destroy the Gate’s core.

And Shan intended to finish things quickly.

Maximilian saluted with an innocent expression and blended into the soldiers.

He was an esper from the Center who wouldn’t have needed to die if Juju hadn’t shown interest in him.

Even if Mac died, the Center wouldn’t suspect anything.

None of the ten advance-team members had returned in the first place.

Six corpses becoming seven would make little difference.

Even aside from this case, using an esper’s life to close a Gate was common practice.

Someone always had to push their power to the limit.

Espers were treated like expendable tools for shutting Gates.

Every so often, a Gate appeared, and claimed more esper lives.

Juju was the only Guide capable of ending that terrible tradition.

So Colonel Shan could never allow anyone to discover Juju’s existence.

It was an extremely simple equation.

Shan tried to focus only on that one truth.

Otherwise he felt like he might lose Juju.

His breathing grew tight, and bitter fluid rose in his stomach.

Again.

This cursed body of his was craving guidance again.

If he could just touch Juju’s skin, the symptoms would disappear as if nothing had happened.

Just then…

Crunch.

The sound of grass being stepped on echoed.

Shan instantly sensed the presence and turned his head.

It was Lieutenant Colonel Miles and Juju, who should have been by the lakeside.

Why was Juju here?

Shan didn’t have time to think further.

Juju spoke cheerfully.

“Colonel, you should at least take one medic with you.”

Miles stepped back as if his job were done.

Meanwhile Juju stepped closer to Shan and said clearly enough for everyone to hear:

“You never know what might happen.”

“So it seems.”

Miles shrugged.

Shan ground his teeth.

“Miles. Where are your men?”

“Guarding the lakeside.”

“You left your squad behind?”

“Don’t be like that. As you know, the lake is the safest place inside this Gate. Even without me, they’ll be perfectly safe. So it’s better if I accompany you and contribute to the fighting strength.”

That wasn’t true.

Miles’ role was to respond to unexpected situations if any missing advance-team members returned alive to the lakeside.

In other words, he was supposed to guard the medic, Juju.

If not a survivor but a monster appeared, he had to protect Juju from it.

And protecting Juju at the lake, where safety was relatively guaranteed, was far more advantageous than doing so in the unpredictable forest.

Moreover, Shan had intended to “deal with” the dangerous element, Second Lieutenant Maximilian.

So why were they trying to follow him?

Did Miles want to personally confirm Maximilian’s death?

Shan had thought otherwise when Miles looked surprised earlier.

Glaring at Miles, Shan issued a cold command.

“When something happens, the person who must be protected first is the medic. Go back.”