The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 103

The Director I knew had always worn impeccable suits and carried an air of strict authority.

So even when he had shown concern and worry for me, I had been quite surprised.

But right now, I felt even more bewildered than before.

The Director himself calmly set down the knife and greeted everyone.

“Good morning, everyone. Hyeya, did you sleep well?”

At his greeting, everyone responded with their own versions of “good morning.”

I nodded belatedly and walked over to him.

Wearing an apron and all, the Director smiled awkwardly when he saw the expression on my face that clearly said I had a lot to ask.

“I suppose it’s very strange seeing me like this.”

“No matter how you look at it, yes. Very strange.”

“Everyone shares the work here. Since my leg isn’t in good condition and there are many things I can’t do, I mostly help with cooking.”

“…After breakfast, could we continue the conversation we were having yesterday?”

“Of course.”

Thanks to getting proper rest and washing up, my head felt much clearer now.

All that remained was figuring out the current situation in more detail and deciding what I should do going forward.

After our brief conversation ended, I greeted the others as well.

Perhaps because most of their wariness had disappeared, people were willing to tell me more during the meal.

To start with, there were eighteen people living here, including the Director.

First, there were the four children I had already heard about.

Child Number One, Baek Juwon.

“I came here with my dad. My dad’s name is Baek Hoon. He’s on rooftop watch duty this week, so he eats separately.”

Child Number Two, Im Dain.

“I don’t have a mom or dad. But everyone takes good care of me, so I’m okay!”

Child Number Three, Seong Chae-i.

“Suyeong Auntie, when do we get the chocolate?”

“You’ll get it after you finish eating. Chae-i is Mr. Taeyoung’s niece.”

Child Number Four, Lee Jiyul.

“……”

“…Jiyul is very shy around strangers.”

Those were the four children.

Among the remaining fourteen people, three were women.

First was Gong Suyeong Unni, who managed supplies and took care of the infirmary. Twenty-eight years old. Apparently she had originally been a nurse.

Next was Min Dahye Unni, whom I’d met earlier. Thirty years old. I heard that her husband had been attacked by a monster that came out of a Gate. She had been a daycare teacher and mostly looked after Jiyul and the other children.

The last was Moon Ye-eun Unni. Twenty-six years old. She was in the dining hall today as well and apparently spent most of her time there because she enjoyed cooking.

The remaining eleven people were men.

First, the Director.

Then there were two members of the rooftop watch team, four members of the standby team, and four members of the scouting team.

The standby team included the three people I’d seen yesterday with Lee Seung-gwon.

They were still recovering in the infirmary, but I was told they were doing well.

I had already greeted the scouting team members, and the youngest among them was the same age as Suyeong Unni, so there was no reason to feel awkward about age differences.

The conversation during breakfast eventually turned into a lively discussion about the crocodile monster I had killed.

Apparently they had drained the blood overnight and planned to butcher it in the afternoon.

When someone said, “Let’s have our fill of meat for dinner for the first time in ages,” the children became excited.

Even though they were largely self-sufficient, it seemed food still wasn’t exactly plentiful.

After the noisy meal finally came to an end,

I once again headed to Room 202 with the Director—the apartment that had once belonged to Cha Eunhwi.

Supporting himself skillfully with his crutch, the Director moved with practiced ease and, just like yesterday, prepared tea for us.

Sitting on the sofa, I slowly sipped the tea before speaking in a much calmer voice.

“I talked a little with Seung-gwon and Suyeong Unni yesterday. They’re both really kind people. So are the others I met in the dining hall.”

I wasn’t saying that based on first impressions alone.

Just like with the Espers, I could feel that unique energy from all of them.

And the emotions carried within those energies weren’t suspicion or hostility toward me.

There was only welcome, gratitude, and curiosity.

At my words, the Director smiled.

“Yes. They’re all good people. Kind and upright.”

“…Mister. I heard that you told everyone I was an exceptional Esper. You did that on purpose, didn’t you? And what happened to the Espers who used to be here? Also, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but when I first met Seung-gwon and the others yesterday, I thought they were Espers I didn’t recognize. I can feel Esper energy from everyone here. Every single one of them.”

I hadn’t met the rooftop watch team yet.

But even excluding those two, I had sensed Esper energy from fifteen people.

As he listened to my rapid-fire questions, the Director’s smile gradually faded.

“Hyeya. Did you tell Suyeong or Seung-gwon about that?”

“No. I had no idea what was going on, so I just listened and kept quiet.”

“I see. Then I’ll explain things one by one. As for introducing you as an Esper… yes, that was intentional. The fact that you’re a Guide must remain secret. You must never tell anyone.”

“Why? I’m not arguing. I just want to know the reason clearly.”

Had all the Guides been targeted and killed by monsters, causing the Espers to lose their minds?

In a world like this, there was no way medicine was readily available.

It was easy to imagine Espers becoming obsessed with Guides because they wanted Guiding.

As I swallowed nervously, assuming that was the most likely explanation, the Director gave an answer I hadn’t expected.

“When people learned that monsters specifically targeted Guides, they said this to the Espers and Guides who had come to save them: ‘Let’s use those people as bait and run away.’”

“…Bait? You mean the kind of bait I’m thinking of?”

“If you’re thinking of the dictionary definition—something used as a means to lure something out—then yes, exactly that. The information was leaked through a Headquarters employee, and civilians began using Guides as bait to save themselves. But Hyea, as you know, Guides…”

“Except in special cases, our physical abilities are the same as ordinary people’s.”

“Exactly. Fortunately, most Guides were moving together with Espers at the time, so it didn’t immediately become a major problem. But the Espers were deeply shaken by what happened. And then the incident occurred.”

So something really had happened.

I swallowed and waited for him to continue.

After a brief pause, the Director spoke again.

“Headquarters was already struggling just to manage the damage caused by the Gate generators. If we left things alone, the outside world would descend into even greater chaos. That’s why we made the internal situation public. But… many people said things like, ‘Those selfish bastards. They’re definitely hoarding huge amounts of food and supplies for themselves.’ Eventually, some people even broke into Headquarters.”

“What kind of insane—? Didn’t security stop them at the entrance?”

“Because of the power shortage, many of the CCTV systems weren’t functioning properly. We were also short on personnel, so security was thin. They took advantage of that and broke in. Of course, there weren’t any massive stockpiles of food or supplies hidden away. In fact, we had been distributing most of our emergency reserves to civilians for free.”

“Then did they steal whatever was left?”

“If they had only stolen things, that would’ve been preferable. They somehow managed to search all over the facility until they found the research labs. And the researchers who resisted…”

They killed them.

The Director finished those words in a calm voice.

At the same moment, I inhaled sharply.

Faces of people I knew flashed through my mind one after another.

But apparently the intruders’ crimes hadn’t ended there.

“The researchers at Headquarters were working day and night to repair the Gate generators that the monsters had damaged. If they could restore even a few of them, they could at least prevent new Gates from appearing outside. But those people destroyed the repaired generators again. They entered sealed Gate zones and deliberately provoked the monsters. They even created openings in the outer walls so the monsters would have paths to escape.”

“So those lunatics escaped through the chaos?”

“…According to the pursuing Espers, every one of them was caught and killed by monsters before they could get away.”

Served them right.

They had murdered people and caused disaster wherever they went.

I felt neither pity nor sympathy.

I finished the rest of my tea in one swallow and looked back at the Director.