Honey-Coated S-Class Guide — Chapter 17
“Are you all right?”
“…Yes. Thank you, Esper Coda.”
Coda shook his head as if to dismiss the thanks, then sat beside Hyoseop, leaving a comfortable distance between them. He seemed to be trying to put him at ease after the fright.
Hyoseop’s racing heart gradually settled, but the atmosphere remained cold. Honestly, he could hardly believe they belonged to the same guild. To turn their weapons on one another over something so small… He couldn’t say they were bad people, but their personalities clearly clashed.
Thinking about it, every member of Noapi had an overpowering personality. It felt as though someone had gathered only people guaranteed to butt heads. With things like this, surely there had already been several serious incidents. Yet they still belonged to the same guild. How did that work?
Unable to speak in the hostile atmosphere, Hyoseop quietly stared at his toes. Then a question about their earlier conversation came to mind. Glancing cautiously around, he addressed Coda.
“Um… Esper Coda, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
Coda gave a calm nod, inviting him to continue. Even with permission, Hyoseop hesitated for a long time. There were so many things he wanted to ask that he couldn’t decide where to start, although ultimately there was only one answer he wanted.
“Did the guild leader really tell you… to let him know if anyone threatened me?”
Czerny’s talk of a bondage partner, and Ahn Dante’s name coming up in connection with it—what did it mean? Hyoseop deliberately concealed the question he most wanted answered and approached it indirectly.
Coda nodded calmly, as though the answer were obvious.
“Yes.”
“He really did?”
Coda nodded again. Then that meant…
Tensing without realizing it, Hyoseop asked why.
“…For what reason?”
“Because the guild leader is your bondage partner, Guide Jin Hyoseop.”
Ah. So that was it.
Hyoseop had thought something was odd ever since Czerny asked whether the boss treated him well. They had spoken as though he had a bondage partner, and they apparently believed that partner was Ahn Dante.
He had thought that couldn’t possibly be the case, but hearing it confirmed so clearly felt different. Why had Dante told them such a lie? Hyoseop was certain he had said he didn’t need one.
…To protect me?
No matter how he considered it, that was the only explanation. Given the instructions Dante had left with Coda and the twins while claiming to be his bondage partner, it was difficult to imagine another reason.
Hyoseop fidgeted with his hands. He felt strange. Only recently, Ahn Dante had refused his guiding. That had led Hyoseop to believe Dante disliked him. Most people said an esper would only refuse guiding if they found the guide deeply objectionable.
But now he was beginning to think that might not be true. No one would go this far to look after someone they disliked.
“Does… the guild leader usually treat his guild members this well?”
“No. It’s because you’re his bondage partner.”
But I’m not really his bondage partner.
Hyoseop rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. A complicated emotion crept into his expression. Watching him quietly, Coda tilted his head, then let out a small exclamation as though something had dawned on him.
“Oh. Could it be…”
But he said no more. His mouth had clearly opened to continue, yet after rubbing his throat a few times, he closed it again. Perhaps his throat hurt because he wasn’t used to speaking so much.
Curious about what Coda had been about to say, Hyoseop grew frustrated by his continued silence. While he was wondering how to ask him to finish, Ahn Dante and Flat returned with dinner, accompanied by Czerny.
“We’re back.”
Dante was empty-handed, while Flat carried no fewer than five heavy-looking boxes. Dante entered smiling, but after a quick glance around the room, his expression shifted subtly. His narrowed eyes swept over Czerny, the twins, Coda, and finally Hyoseop.
“What’s this? Did you guys fight?”
His powers of observation were astonishing. No—calling it mere observation hardly seemed to cover it. As Hyoseop marveled, Dante clicked his tongue softly. Meanwhile, Flat strode into the kitchen, put down all five boxes, and spoke in a bored tone.
“You had to come all the way here to fight? The air’s practically dripping with bloodlust.”
“Hmph. I don’t want to hear that from the guild’s biggest troublemaker.”
Czerny raised his middle finger at the back of Flat’s head. They seemed utterly unbothered, as though arguments like this were an everyday occurrence. Even with Czerny and the twins in the same room after their recent confrontation, the atmosphere didn’t turn cold again. It was as if nothing had happened.
“Why are you all fighting and scaring our Mr. Jin Hyoseop?”
Dante took Hyoseop’s hand and led him to the dining table.
“We brought back lots of good food. Come take a look.”
Suggesting they settle his nerves with something to eat, Dante showed him everything one by one, from meat to seafood. Hyoseop was more surprised that most of the boxes were filled with alcohol than by the food itself, but he nodded silently and looked through the spread.
The table filled with food, accompanied by bottles of strong liquor. Dante’s return alone had instantly transformed the chilly atmosphere.
Now Hyoseop understood. The reason these strong-willed espers could remain in one guild was that Ahn Dante held them together. He had a firm grip on all of them. No matter how much they snarled at one another, they listened when Dante spoke.
Whether they obeyed out of submission or respect, however, was another question.
That night, everyone drank themselves into a stupor. Hyoseop waited until the guild members began snoring before quietly slipping out. Without stopping to look around, he headed straight downstairs to the floor with the hot springs Czerny had mentioned.
“Is this it?”
He cautiously peered inside. The scent of sulfur drifted out. This seemed to be the right place. His face brightened, and he stepped inside without hesitation.
Steam wafted from the bathing area beyond the changing room. Just thinking about soaking in a hot spring lifted his spirits. There were no public bathhouses or hot springs in the city center, so places like this were a rare treat. Hyoseop promptly stripped off his clothes and headed into the baths.
It was two in the morning. Naturally, no one was there. After a quick shower, he cautiously dipped a foot into the largest pool, which held beautifully tinted water. The temperature was perfect—neither too hot nor lukewarm. As the warmth enveloped his body, a shiver of pleasure seemed to run over his skin. A languid sigh escaped him.
“Haa…”
He splashed some water on his face and pushed his wet hair back. It felt as though every tense muscle in his body was loosening.
The truth was, he liked water. Especially warm water, so it went without saying that he loved baths. Even when searching for a tiny studio apartment, he had made sure to find one with a bathtub. Of course, worrying about the water bill kept him from soaking very often.
“This is nice.”
He was glad he had stayed sober and waited up. If he’d come all the way to a hot spring without getting into the water, he would have regretted it for a long time.
Hyoseop gazed at the ceiling, savoring the way his body relaxed. Black stone surrounded the baths, and tall trees rose in rows nearby. Their fresh, woody scent enveloped him, making him feel as though he were in a forest.
He let the time drift by in a pleasant daze. Someone might notice if he stayed away too long, so he knew he ought to leave soon. But the water felt wonderful. Perhaps because it was so late, he was growing drowsy too.
He kept telling himself, Just a little longer. A little more.
Then he heard someone outside.
His sleepiness vanished at once.
Two people were chatting in the changing room.
Czerny had said the baths were reserved for guests on the royal floor. Hyoseop had checked with Dante as well, so that much was certain. As far as he’d heard, only one other group was currently staying on that floor besides Noapi. None of his drunken guild members would be visiting the baths, so it was probably someone from that other group.
Of all times…
Of all times for that one other group to come to the baths, it had to be two in the morning. They said that when your luck was bad enough, you could fall backward and still break your nose. That was exactly how this felt.
Hyoseop looked around for somewhere to get out of sight. But there was nowhere to hide in the wide-open bathing area. Meanwhile, the two men came inside. Hoping to avoid an encounter, he turned away and sank deeper into the water.
“Ahaha, you lunatic. I told you to be careful.”
“As if I can control that.”
“Hm? Someone’s here.”
One of them had spotted Hyoseop. They, too, seemed surprised to find anyone there at two in the morning.
“So what? We said we’d just have a quick soak and leave.”
Paying Hyoseop no further attention, they climbed into the water. To make matters worse, they had chosen the same pool.
“Ohhh, that feels good.”
“What are you, an old man?”
“Well, I am getting older. These days, the day after a dungeon run, I’m tired no matter how much guiding I get. I need a good hot soak like this.”
“Dude, that’s because you’re having too much sex with your guide.”
“Oh, is that it?”
The man laughed heartily, and Hyoseop tensed even further. Their conversation had just revealed that they were espers.
Being in a place like this with espers from another guild was not good.
