Honey-Coated S-Class Guide — Chapter 7
“Um… By the way, is Esper Czerny all right?”
“Hmm? Why bring up Czerny all of a sudden?”
“It looks as though only three people from each guild are allowed in. I wondered whether I’d taken the place Esper Czerny would normally have…”
Ahn Dante chuckled, remarking that he certainly found all sorts of things to worry about.
“Don’t worry about that. Without you, it would have been just Coda and me. Czerny isn’t allowed in here.”
“Pardon? Why not?”
“Because lunatics are banned.”
At that unexpected answer, Jin Hyoseop fell silent for a long moment before finally speaking.
“…I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“You probably would if you heard what Czerny did here.”
Clicking his tongue as though the memory alone was appalling, Ahn Dante recounted what had happened.
About a year and a half earlier, Ahn Dante had attended a guild gathering with Coda and Czerny. Normally, no one approached them at these events, but that day, an unfamiliar guide had come over.
Czerny had been the one to answer.
“Excuse me. Where is the outdoor garden?”
“It’s a little way from here, but the layout is complicated. It’s difficult to explain.”
“Oh… That’s all right, then. Thank you.”
“Did you need to go there for something important?”
“No, nothing like that. I just heard the little auditorium there was pretty. This is my first time attending one of these gatherings…”
“I thought so. I’ve never seen anyone this pretty here before.”
“P-pretty? Oh, um, thank you.”
“No need to thank me. My eyes are the grateful ones. Since it’s your first time, would you like me to show you around?”
“Really? I’d love that!”
Acting unusually gentlemanly, Czerny had left with the unfamiliar guide.
Not long afterward, a tremendous crash came from outside.
At the center of the commotion stood Czerny, covered in blood and snickering. Beside him, the guide was trembling, with red marks on their neck. There was no need to ask what had happened.
That day’s gathering had dissolved into chaos over a lovers’ quarrel.
The guide had a lover who was also their bondage partner. Unfortunately, he was A-class.
The enraged A-class esper and Czerny had reduced their surroundings to a wreck. He had only calmed down after an S-class esper arrived and forcibly restrained him.
“Czerny was banned after that. They also introduced a rule barring guild members likely to cause that sort of trouble—in other words, lunatics. Thanks to him, it was the only time one of these boring gatherings was actually enjoyable.”
Ahn Dante shrugged, treating the incident as utterly trivial.
Jin Hyoseop remained silent, at a loss for what to say.
“…Was Esper Czerny all right?”
To keep the silence from growing awkward, he chose the safest question he could think of. It must have been extremely difficult for a C-class esper to withstand an A-class esper’s fury.
“Of course he wasn’t. His face was battered, and he broke an arm and both legs.”
“Oh…”
Just as sympathy appeared on Jin Hyoseop’s face, Ahn Dante continued.
“But there’s no need to worry. Czerny’s never been all right. His mental state leaves a little to be desired.”
He twirled an index finger beside his head, then told Jin Hyoseop that he should be more worried about Czerny’s mind than his body.
“One look at their clothes should have told him which guild the guide belonged to and whether they had a lover. But he took them away and did that anyway. Then he stood there snickering right in front of the furious bastard.”
“…”
“Honestly, it’s a real problem. There isn’t a single normal person in our guild.”
Somehow, Jin Hyoseop could picture the scene despite never having witnessed it: the furious A-class esper, and Czerny snickering as he was beaten.
The Czerny he knew hadn’t seemed outright insane. Yet the image came to him so clearly that he must have subconsciously thought the man wasn’t entirely normal. After all, those golden eyes occasionally gave him a chill.
Jin Hyoseop hesitated, then asked the question that had been on his mind from the start.
“Didn’t you help him?”
“Help him? Why would I? The bastard did something worth getting beaten for.”
Ahn Dante continued matter-of-factly.
“It’s common courtesy not to touch another guild’s guide when they already have a lover and a bondage partner.”
“…Even so.”
Though hesitant, Jin Hyoseop expressed his opinion firmly.
“He must receive plenty of criticism from other people. At least his own guild members should care about him.”
There was something melancholy in his voice.
He wasn’t normally very expressive, so the difference was slight. But Ahn Dante and Coda, sensitive to such changes, noticed immediately.
Both stared at him.
Ahn Dante spoke with an unreadable expression.
“You really are kind, Mr. Jin Hyoseop.”
“…Not really.”
A strange atmosphere settled over the three of them.
Feeling that it was his fault, Jin Hyoseop fidgeted with his fingers. He was wondering how to change the subject when, thankfully, something else drew their attention.
A man stepped onto the stage, radiating a presence that could be felt even from a distance.
The room instantly fell silent.
It was as though the very air had changed. Merely sweeping his gaze over the gathering was enough for the man to command everyone’s attention.
“Thank you to all the guilds for assembling here. I am Shin Haechang, leader of the National Security Bureau and the organizer of this operation.”
The man who introduced himself as Shin Haechang bowed his head slightly. Yet despite the deferential gesture, there was nothing deferential about his piercing eyes.
The National Security Bureau was South Korea’s foremost guild and its only S-class guild. Renowned worldwide, it wielded such influence that even the current government had to defer to it.
Naturally, its leader was someone every esper admired and respected—and the most desirable possible partner for a guide.
“There is one reason we have summoned you on such short notice.”
A projection appeared on the white wall behind him. Eleven dots marked a map of the country.
“These mark the dungeon gates that opened four days ago. We have encountered many dungeons of this scale before, so their size is not the concern. The problem is that they all appeared simultaneously.”
Beginning with the largest dot, he pointed to them one by one.
“One S-class dungeon, two A-class, five B-class, and three C-class. Eleven in total. Concerned that guilds might concentrate their efforts on the same dungeons, the government issued this emergency summons.”
The reason was exactly as Ahn Dante had described.
“National priority does not apply to S-class dungeons, so that one has gone to an American S-class guild. As for the others, since the gates appeared on Korean soil, Korea has secured nearly all of them under national priority. Today, we will assign the guilds gathered here to their respective dungeons. Guild leaders, please follow the instructions and assemble in the inner room.”
As Shin Haechang surveyed the room, his gaze stopped on Jin Hyoseop’s group.
More precisely, on Ahn Dante.
“…Failure to attend the meeting will result in penalties.”
With that, Shin Haechang stepped down from the stage.
The quiet room filled with chatter once more. Those who appeared to be guild leaders began moving, while Ahn Dante heaved a deep sigh.
His reaction was markedly different from the eager expressions of the other leaders.
“Oh, how frightening. Espers really are such savages.”
He spoke as though he weren’t an esper himself.
“Well, since the guild will be penalized, I suppose I have no choice. Coda, look after Mr. Jin Hyoseop. And you…”
Ahn Dante firmly placed the dessert plate in Jin Hyoseop’s hands.
“Have something to eat while you wait. Coda may be boring, but he’ll be useful if anything happens, so try not to wander away from him.”
Then, with an easy smile, he disappeared toward the gathering guild leaders.
Coda and Jin Hyoseop were left alone.
With the dessert plate resting in his hands, Jin Hyoseop felt like a child.
“…Would you like some?”
He offered Coda a dessert, but the man shook his head.
Left with the plate to himself, Jin Hyoseop quietly ate.
There were countless guilds in Korea, and C-class guilds barely registered among them. The attention they had received at first had made him nervous, but now no one was looking at them.
The fact that absolutely nothing was happening filled him with enormous relief.
Feeling as comfortable as though he, too, were C-class, Jin Hyoseop enjoyed his desserts.
The wait dragged on more slowly than he had expected.
Eventually, he was full. He had eaten so many sweets that he couldn’t face another bite of whipped cream or sweet bread.
That left him with nothing to do but look around the magnificent building.
They certainly get treated differently from C-class guilds.
There was no comparison to their little fifty-square-meter office.
As he surveyed his surroundings, he heard a quiet, mocking voice.
“What a country bumpkin. Why does he keep gawking at everything?”
The remark was clearly directed at him.
Jin Hyoseop turned. Two men who were unmistakably espers met his eyes, but even then, they didn’t stop sneering.
