Yoon Tae-ha, wearing an embarrassed expression, tried to cover her injured ankle with her other foot, but it was no use. *I don’t want you to be sick.* His simple words pricked her conscience.

“Wash up and come out.”

But surprisingly, there was no nagging. She scurried into her room like someone with a guilty conscience.

Cheon Geon-young let out a shallow sigh only after she had disappeared.

Yoon Tae-ha was a woman who had been used to wearing training clothes that revealed her body since she was young. She also felt the heat easily. Such attire was nothing strange for her. It just felt cruel to him.

Cheon Geon-young brought a clean, dry towel and then sat on the sofa. As he folded the towel while patting his thigh, Yoon Tae-ha came out with a fresh face.

“Guillermo made me an offer today.”

She sat on the sofa and picked up a towel.

“What kind of offer?”

“He wants to find Orca’s research lab between Cocytus and Phlegethon. It seems to be a place where they do experiments with monsters or something.”

“Does he want you to join that team?”

“He said it would be good if we went together.”

“Let’s do it. It overlaps with what we have to do anyway.”

It was a permission as light as a breeze. She nodded.

Cheon Geon-young, having finished folding the towels, told Yoon Tae-ha with a stern face to sit still. As she waited obediently, he brought a liniment good for bruises. Cheon Geon-young knelt down on one knee opposite her.

This much?

She fidgeted her foot like someone who didn’t know what to do with herself. Cheon Geon-young said, opening the cap of the liniment,

“Foot.”

This is something you’d say to a pet...

A subtle nuance bothered her, but she lifted her ankle into the air. He held the ankle bone of her injured foot and placed it on his thigh.

Really this much?

Just throwing her the liniment to apply herself would have been more than enough for him to do. In fact, he didn’t even have to do that. She recovered faster than other people.

A cool, mint-scented liniment was thinly applied over the injured area. When she twitched her ankle, he lightly grasped the inside of her ankle as if to reassure her. It felt like she was wearing a cold glass slipper on only that foot. Soon, after neatly applying the medicine, he asked in a calm voice,

“You got hurt during sparring, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you fight multiple people alone again?”

“Yeah.”

“So, did you win?”

“Yeah!”

Cheon Geon-young, seeing the sparkling eyes of the victor, gave a hollow laugh. Yoon Tae-ha wiggled the foot on the opposite side that wasn’t on his thigh. At the same time, she quietly scanned the face of the man who was focused on wrapping the bandage.

It probably wasn’t meant to be joyful. Seeing the smile he let slip as if off guard, the corners of her lips rose in response. A moment later, Cheon Geon-young stood up to put away the medicine.

“Want something to drink?”

“If you give it to me, I’d be grateful.”

“Don’t move, just wait here.”

Watching his retreating back as he headed to the kitchen, Yoon Tae-ha recalled what she had to do.

Rank measurement.

The time was approaching to measure the power Cheon Geon-young possessed as an esper. While practicing with fire, he had recently become able to burn objects that were far away. Without simulation capsules or mentors. He had come this far with just her advice and books. It was an incredible rate of growth.

One of the espers Yoon Tae-ha sparred with today was a fire-type esper. Yoon Tae-ha, under the guise of socializing, asked her various questions.

The first question was how long it usually took to ignite an object that was separated from her. The A-rank’s answer was at least a month.

A month. Burning an object in contact with the body and burning an object that is separated were completely different matters. Cheon Geon-young was shortening the average training period.

In fact, his first manifestation was unusual. As far as Yoon Tae-ha knew, the initial flames of a fire-attribute esper were about the size of lighting a candle on a birthday cake. They couldn’t harm other living beings. But Cheon Geon-young had produced flames powerful enough to inflict a critical hit on a variant monster.

He was far outside all standards. He was exceptional.

Maybe, just maybe, he too...

Lost in thought, Yoon Tae-ha let out a short breath as she heard sounds from the kitchen. Cheon Geon-young trusted her and revealed his fire immunity. He didn’t even try to hide the fact that he could wield fire. In that case, she also had to repay his trust.

How to make his ability completely his own. Right now, she was the only one who could tell him that.

*

The serviced vehicles were lined up in the parking lot.

Finally, the morning of the day they were to depart for Cocytus had dawned. Fortunately, the sky was clear. Although the reliability wasn’t high, the weather forecast also predicted suitable weather for travel.

The road to Cocytus, the second free city, was a journey that required at least thirty-six consecutive hours of driving. To prevent overloading the vehicles, they planned to keep moving except for brief stops in between.

Baek Sang-ho gathered the espers of Alpha Team.

“Gather around.”

The guides were a few steps away, receiving explanations from Kim Doo-eon about the weapons loaded in the vehicles and the equipment to be used in emergencies.

“The weather is good, and the supplies are perfect. I have a feeling we’ll arrive safely. Don’t you think?”

Choi Bo-mi, still half-asleep, hugged Yoon Tae-ha from behind and rested her chin on her shoulder. Ahn Jeong-seop was nervously fiddling with his watch. The rest of the espers didn’t seem particularly tense.

“We’ll pass through two alien residential areas in the middle. One is where the peace negotiations have ended, but the other is not yet.”

Ji Seong-chan, the one with the sharpest eyes in Alpha Team, raised his hand.

“Is immediate lethal force authorized in case of attack?”

“We’re not private mercenaries, of course not.”

“That’s a shame.”

Ji Seong-chan lowered his hand with a face that didn’t look disappointed at all.

“I’m dying of disappointment too. I’ll issue the order to engage. Don’t touch them before then. We’re not here to exterminate.”

Yoon Tae-ha held Choi Bo-mi’s hand tightly to prevent her from falling asleep and tipping over. Startled by the force, Choi Bo-mi woke up with a jolt and bumped her forehead into Yoon Tae-ha’s back. *This unnie, really.* The other espers were looking at Choi Bo-mi with curiosity.

“You guys will drive at the beginning. We’ll switch drivers at the third point. The expedition size isn’t small because we have to deliver a few unexpected items. You know that casualties occurred on this road just last week, right?”

“Yes!”

“Since none of you are inexperienced with the Green Sea, I believe we can go safely. Let’s go without any injuries.”

“Yes!”

With a sharp shout of spirit, the esper team dispersed. They were finished, but the guide team’s briefing didn’t seem to be over yet. Kim Doo-eon was gesturing in the air and explaining something.

Yoon Tae-ha put her hand on Choi Bo-mi’s shoulder as she rubbed her eyes. They strolled across the parking lot as if taking a walk.

Choi Bo-mi, who would be traveling in the center of the group, stopped in front of the huge caravan she was in charge of.

“If you get sleepy in the middle, come sleep in our car.”

“I don’t want to get in between a couple.”

Choi Bo-mi burst into laughter. Just then, Kim Doo-eon’s story ended, and the guide team dispersed. Choi Bo-mi’s guide, Shim Gyu-jong, approached the two of them. He exchanged a light glance with Yoon Tae-ha and then abruptly asked, pointing at his esper,

“Did this girl say something weird again?”

“No. She didn’t.”

Yoon Tae-ha smiled and shook her head, and Choi Bo-mi grumbled about what weird things she would say. Shim Gyu-jong turned his gaze to Yoon Tae-ha.

“You’re at the end again this time.”

“It’s more comfortable than being at the front. And the car is new. You don’t have to worry.”

“If you get tired, come rest in our car. Don’t go to the other caravans.”

A couple saying the same thing. Yoon Tae-ha exchanged glances with Choi Bo-mi. Shim Gyu-jong, not knowing what was going on, tilted his head as if asking why. As the car in front started its engine, they left to get into their own car.

Yoon Tae-ha also walked towards the pickup truck at the very end. As she got into the driver’s seat, Cheon Geon-young handed her a candy he had prepared in advance.

“Eat this.”

“......How did you get this?”

It was a cola-flavored lollipop she used to carry around in school. Cheon Geon-young feigned ignorance and didn’t answer.

When did he buy this, and when did he pack it? He didn’t show any hint of it. Did he save it to give her during the trip, no way.

She unwrapped the familiar wrapper and put the candy in her mouth. A sweet and cool taste spread. Yoon Tae-ha felt a sweet powerlessness and grabbed the steering wheel.

The sound of engines starting one after another from the front car filled the parking lot. The cars began to leave the parking lot in formation. Some of the employees working at the camp came out to see them off.

Their destination was Cocytus, the second free city.

* * *

Strong sunlight poured into the office. The office, with a huge window overlooking the blue ocean at a glance, was one of the minor privileges given to the head of ARC.

The Director-General’s office was located at the highest point of ARC’s buildings, most of which were low-rise. With no tall buildings nearby, it was a space where one could fully enjoy the open horizon and the colorful sun setting over it.

On one side of the office, a blue flag that had become a symbol of leading peace stood on a stand. Next to the flag, photos that were like symbols of human goodness and will decorated the room in neat frames.

An esper rescuing a child from a collapsed building. A guide saving a dying esper and weeping with joy. Even the faces of citizens welcoming ARC while waving crude flags.

The photos proved that the path ARC had chosen was never easy.

The office door, left silent and waiting for its owner, opened. Director-General Geum Gang-seop, having finished his schedule, ordered his aide not to follow him in.

“When Professor Na Young-gyo comes up, let him in.”

“Understood.”

He didn’t go to the desk overlooking the office. Instead, he sat comfortably on the long sofa opposite the desk and slowly began to rub his temple with his index finger.

How long had it been? Someone knocked on the door. Geum Gang-seop said he could come in.

Na Young-gyo closed the door himself after entering the office. Wearing a loose gray suit on his thin, stick-like body, he coughed habitually and sat on the diagonal sofa from the Director-General. As if he were afraid to meet Geum Gang-seop’s gaze directly.

Geum Gang-seop pressed a button under the sofa armrest with a languid expression. As the device activated, the surrounding noise faded into the distance. There was a thudding sound as something settled down. And a thorough silence dominated the office.

“It didn’t go as planned.”

Thick thorns were embedded in his lowered voice. Na Young-gyo’s Adam’s apple moved noticeably.