← The Guide Who Hides Their Power is an Otter
It was almost a wonder he didn’t rampage, being worked this hard.
“What’s mine, I have to protect myself.”
Rustle, rustle. Heisha took out today’s black plastic bag.
‘About this spot.’
As long as his eyes and nose showed, that was enough, so for now he cut three holes roundly with scissors. He’d bought a slightly large bag so it wouldn’t slip off when he turned it over his head, but it seemed bigger than he’d thought and might drag.
“Hmm…”
Still, this should be perfect. Heisha took off his uniform, folded it neatly, and laid it neatly beside him. It was a measure so he could bolt out immediately in an emergency. He hoped there’d be no need to go out, but for now, he was ready.
—Esper Park Gang-u.
No answer.
—Esper Park Gang-u!
There was no reaction even to Captain Park Gap-cheol’s voice.
—Standby team, enter.
Heisha stared at the gate in the distance with anxiously trembling eyes.
‘Should I go?’
Just as he was hesitating, a mumbling voice came through the in-ear.
—You’re in the way.
—Esper Park Gang-u, fall back.
—I told you to get out because you’re in the way.
—Esper Park Gang-u!
Rough breathing rang through the in-ear into his ears. Heisha recalled Park Gang-u’s breathing when he’d leaned on him in the car before. He’d looked in danger.
‘I have to go.’
Heisha did a somersault, turned into a sea otter, and pulled the plastic bag he’d prepared over his head. His eyes could see properly, but his nose was a bit pinched. Anyway, he could breathe, so he decided to be satisfied with that.
“GO!”
Shouting ready, go to himself alone, Heisha dashed off at full speed. At the intrusion of an unidentified lifeform wearing not a black mask but a black plastic bag, the area outside the gate fell into an uproar.
“What’s that?”
“Captain! Over there!”
He might not be as swift and fast as a stray cat, but he was confident in running.
‘I do look a bit like a thief.’
The plastic bag disguised as a thief sea otter ran toward the gate at high speed. Its length was awkward and his feet peeked out, but the length was roughly just right, which was a relief. For now, let’s save Park Gang-u first, people!
‘Move aside a bit!’
—Esper Park Gang-u. If you have a headache, come out. Listen to me!
—Captain. Esper Park Gang-u has collapsed in the three o’clock direction inside the gate.
—What? Collapsed?
So he had collapsed after all. Through the radio pushing in past the in-ear dangling from his blunt ear, he pinpointed where Park Gang-u was. He had no choice. It was do or die. He sped past his unit members at full force, and the people scattered left and right in confusion.
“Isn’t that a creature? Standby team, what are you doing!”
“Creatures attack, they don’t run away.”
“Then what is that?”
“Plastic.”
“Who asked because they didn’t know that? Does plastic have feet, how is it running like that! Chase it, quickly!”
Like the protagonist of the fairy tale about the Pied Piper, people stuck behind Heisha and began to race after him.
‘I’m busy enough to die!’
Moreover, espers’ physical abilities were far superior to ordinary people’s. Most of them took the lead in attacking, and many ability users didn’t neglect exercise either. That meant they had good speed and stamina, too. It would be big trouble if he got caught, but there was absolutely no way he would be caught.
‘These people are seeing me as just a guide!’
If he couldn’t do it physically, he just had to use the ability he had. Heisha squeezed his eyes shut toward the esper who had stuck close beside him. To make an excuse for him, it wasn’t a wink.
“Uwaagh!”
It was a method of momentarily letting radiation guiding flow out to make him lose strength for a moment. Heisha was as skilled in quick thinking as he was matched with his ability. He deliberately didn’t go in a straight line, but went back and forth in a fluster, brushing past piles of rubble.
As ability users who tripped on rocks and fell began to appear here and there, now, as if they were about to stage an aerial battle, everyone was leaping about almost as if flying.
‘These people are serious.’
With no other choice, Heisha put full strength into his running legs, loaded guiding onto his body, and released it all at once. Three or four espers who had stuck close lost strength in their legs and, while racing along, suddenly stopped, so they went tumbling head over heels.
‘Sorry!’
Having safely entered the gate, Heisha looked around. As expected, the background was dim and dark. Every time he entered a gate, it had an eerie, dark, and damp atmosphere. He shivered, then ran again in the direction where Park Gang-u was, as he’d heard through the in-ear.
Creatures had formed ranks around the area. Three or four espers were barely protecting Park Gang-u, and Park Gang-u, who had regained consciousness, was panting, leaning against a large rock.
‘Found him!’
It was a relief he was nearby. If he’d been deeper in, it would have been dangerous. Without even looking back, Heisha ran that way and approached him, weaving between the rocks.
“Did you see the plastic?”
“What nonsense is that? Augh, shit! Help with this instead! They just keep coming, endlessly.”
Before the pursuers could find Heisha, they got tangled up with the creatures. Heisha hid in a gap between the rocks for a moment, panting as he caught his breath.
Running for the first time in ages had his head spinning.
It was enough to make him think he really ought to exercise, something he never did. Park Gang-u coughed hard, his chest swelling, then his head lolled forward. Dark red blood surged out below.
Coughing up blood was never a good sign. Still wearing the plastic bag, Heisha picked his way carefully between the rocks. The creatures kept multiplying. Fear gripped him, without Park Gang-u’s power, they might all be wiped out here. But in this body, he didn’t have enough hands to guide every esper fighting at once.
And then he suddenly remembered the secrecy clause.
‘This is bad!’
Park Gang-u clutched his chest and collapsed face-down. Deploying again in this state, was he insane? Heisha hurried through the rocks and stood with his back against the big rock Park Gang-u was behind.
Rustle, rustle.
At the suspicious sound, Park Gang-u looked that way despite being out of his mind. His eyes met the strange creature wearing a plastic bag, and he laughed faintly.
‘You’re laughing? You can laugh right now?’
Smiling, Park Gang-u wiped the blood running down the back of his hand, leaned against the rock, and slid down into a sitting position.
“I told you not to come.”
Did he know?
“It’s dangerous….”
With those words, he leaned his head back and looked up at the sky. The sky inside a gate was no different from watching creatures fall. He coughed dryly, like a man standing at the edge of the end.
Heisha stretched his arm out beside the rock. Thinking he could almost reach, he stretched with all his might and tapped the pinky finger of the hand Park Gang-u had braced on the ground.
“…Hei.”
It had the nuance of calling him, not the sea otter, which was a little strange. Even if he got caught guiding here, he’d just become the bewitching sea otter doing the guiding, it would have nothing to do with Heisha, the one under contract.
‘That’s the conclusion, but it still feels a bit off….’
Feeling the touch on his pinky, Heisha closed his eyes. He might not be a hero who could save the world, but at least he could save this person.
One strong ability user carrying a whole country on his shoulders.
“……!”
Park Gang-u’s eyes slowly widened at the guiding energy flowing into him. His gaze dropped to where the energy was entering through his fingertip. A cute little hand was touching him, and between the fingers, sure enough, there was webbing.
He had no strength in his body, but at least enough guiding was flowing in that he wouldn’t rampage. Park Gang-u smiled bitterly.
“Just holding my hand gives me strength.”
Even knowing it was guiding, Park Gang-u sighed as he watched the squad members fighting for their lives in front of him.
“Stay there.”
Park Gang-u wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and lifted the rubble around him all at once with telekinesis.
“I’ll take you home.”
He grinned and wiped the blood from his lips again.
***
***
***
The sound of the air purifier running was unusually loud. Rain had started, and everywhere inside the building was damp and humid, but the Center Director’s office was comfortable.
“The air’s nice. You changed the sofa, and the desk too. Is this what you spend the money you get on?”
“Heisha.”
Heisha sat on the single-person sofa, habitually rubbing the leather as he glared at the Director.
‘What is it?’
“What?”
“You. What’s the reason you keep deploying to the field?”
The Director sat in his black leather chair behind the long, wide office desk, smiling with his eyes. Heisha shot back with a bright smile.
“My place feels stuffy.”
“Strange. There’s been a rumor going around lately, and it seems to line up exactly with when you started coming to the field.”
“Really?”
It pricked him inside, but Heisha answered as naturally as he could and grinned.
“What kind of rumor?”
“Something about a plastic bag running around.”
Pfft, ha. Ah, what to do. His face twisted strangely as he held back a laugh.
“How fascinating. How does a plastic bag run?”
“A black plastic bag.”
The Director raised the corners of his mouth to the sky.
“Isn’t that you?”
“As if.”
It was such an accurate jab that his heart pounded. Heisha answered immediately with a smile. The Director sighed, looking unconvinced, leaned back against his chair, and tapped the desk with a finger, tok, tok.
“Heisha. You haven’t forgotten the terms you agreed to when you came here, have you?”
“Which ones?”
“No guiding except in an emergency. And there’s the clause that your identity must not be revealed.”
“I know.”
As if still unconvinced, the Director tapped the desk restlessly, kok, kok, kok, kok with his finger.
“I’ll find you an esper worth pairing with, anyone but Esper Park Gang-u.”
“Why is Esper Park Gang-u the only one who won’t do?”
“That’s….”
The Director’s hand, which had been trailing off, stopped. A phone call had come in. At the ringing, the Director looked at Heisha steadily and pressed the speaker button without picking up the receiver.
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