The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 39

To say it again, we usually awaken around the age of ten.

After awakening, we grow up under a lifestyle that’s controlled, yet not quite controlled by headquarters—so much so that we don’t even find it strange anymore.

Environment really is important.

Even as I say this now, I lived my life accepting that kind of control as unavoidable.

Anyway, the reason I used to sleep so much was stress.

But now? I’m eating well, resting well. Nothing to get angry about, nothing tiring me out. And since there’s nothing to do while I’m awake, of course I feel awkward and empty.

Honestly, the strange part is that I was fine for a whole week before only now starting to feel bored.

I blinked slowly, then stood up.

For nearly a week, I’d stayed around the huge apple tree that had stood tall even before the gate’s landscape changed.

It felt like the perfect midpoint—both the lake and the hot spring were close by.

But since I was bored anyway, I figured I might as well go a little farther.

At my movement, the giant rabbit that had been lying down sleeping opened one eye and flicked its ears.

“Ah, sorry. You can keep sleeping. I’m just going for a walk. Is there anywhere dangerous around here? Somewhere I shouldn’t go?”

At my question, the rabbit blinked, let out a small cry, and looked off in a certain direction.

The black eyes were fixed on the mountain.

What used to be a volcano—now covered in majestic greenery after the gate’s transformation.

“That mountain? I shouldn’t go there?”

The rabbit answered by flicking its drooping ears again.

Then it covered its face with its front paws and went back to sleep.

I gave an awkward smile and stared at the mountain.

Well… mountains are dangerous if you wander around carelessly. And there could be aggressive animals living there too.

I’ll avoid that place.

I slipped on the shoes I’d neatly taken off, retied the loosened laces, slung my bag over my shoulder, and quietly walked past the rabbit, heading downward.

“The weather is really nice…”

This gate had mornings and nights, and every day felt like the warmest, most perfect spring day imaginable.

Just the right amount of sunlight, a cool breeze—everything always lifted my mood.

I was slowly walking along, brushing aside my fluttering hair with one hand, when—

Without any warning. Absolutely none.

A gate appeared right in front of me.

“…W-What is this?”

The exit gate had closed a week ago. So why?

Did it pretend to close and then reopen?!

Clutching the strap of my bag, I cautiously stepped back.

The rift was tiny. Barely the size of my palm.

But I could tell exactly what lay beyond it.

Headquarters’ A Zone.

How did I know? Because written clearly in Korean were the words:

[A Zone]

Even without that, it was a place I’d gone back and forth to for eight years. There was no way I wouldn’t recognize it.

“……”

I stood there, staring straight at the rift.

The probability was infinitesimally small—no, downright impossible—but maybe a gate into this place had opened.

The reasoning was simple.

If this were the exit reopening, the place beyond should be the mountain—not A Zone.

Since headquarters artificially generates waves, it was far more likely this was a coincidental connection.

Which meant—

My freedom was about to end.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Was I a traitor in my past life or something? Did I sell off my country and something else? How does this happen after just one week?!

I collapsed to the ground and clawed at my hair.

Tears blurred my vision—but if this was really connected, I didn’t have time to sit here like this.

If the gate was closed, a lot of time might’ve passed in the outside world.

Since this had become a separate world, there was no way to even guess how much time had gone by.

What if guide rights have gone completely insane by now…?

Wow. Just imagining it was bleak and horrifying.

Should I just hide until the gate is cleared?

But in a wide-open place like this, I’d definitely be found.

The only real option would be to hole up in that mountain…

But the rabbit told me not to go there.

Things you’re told not to do always have a reason.

And come to think of it—I’m worried about the rabbit too.

No matter how I looked at it, that majestic presence was unmistakably that of a named monster.

If espers come in to clear this place, the first thing they’ll do is hunt our Rabbit King!

Considering the environment, this gate couldn’t possibly be ranked higher than C-tier—even being generous.

The rabbit would be killed in no time.

“……”

I must’ve gotten attached already. Otherwise I wouldn’t feel this uneasy.

But no matter what, the most important thing right now was me.

I need to think about my own future.

No matter how much time had passed, I needed an excuse—and thankfully, I had one.

I can say I was swallowed by a snake and lost consciousness. I escaped somehow, but by the time I came to, the exit gate was gone.

Surely they wouldn’t chew me out over that… probably.

My lack of trust didn’t help. No good ideas came to mind.

Instead, my heart started pounding.

If I meet the espers again, that means going back to that horrible life…

I hadn’t felt this kind of anxiety in a while, so my breathing was rougher than usual.

I took a plastic bottle from my bag and drank some water, then slapped my cheeks lightly while taking deep breaths.

And then—

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over my head.

Why am I… scared?

I hated that garbage reality so much that I’d been ready to die.

If I’d stayed in any other gate, I’d already be dead.

I picked this place as where I’d die—and now I’m afraid of some espers? That’s pathetic.

Learned aversion really is terrifying.

I ground my teeth while staring hard at the tiny rift, and my head slowly cooled.

Only after my racing heartbeat settled did I start thinking clearly again.

First of all, if espers showed up, I’d be dragged out without being able to put up any real resistance—regardless of the era.

Being an S-rank guide was one issue, and the fact that no survivor had ever been found inside a gate made me a valuable specimen.

And depending on what the outside world was like, my response would change.

If decades have passed, I can just tell the truth. An accident happened, I got stuck here, I lived here for about a week, waiting for the gate to reopen.

Unless the world had gone through something apocalyptic, my information would still exist in records. The Association was meticulous like that.

And if so much time has passed that they can’t even find my records, then drug development has probably advanced enough that guides aren’t even needed anymore.

Honestly… I hope that’s the case.

I want to try living like a normal person too.

…Wait. If decades have passed, wouldn’t I already be legally declared dead? Then… my money…?

I didn’t earn much working as a guide, but the inheritance my parents left me was enough to make my bank account shine.

Honestly, the reason I could so confidently hand in resignation letters without caring was because I had that to fall back on.

Since I have no family, would it have been returned to society? Or seized by headquarters?

The director was technically my guardian, but that meant nothing once I became an adult—and we weren’t related by blood anyway.

Not knowing much about this stuff made my head ache.

I should be able to request it back. They’d return it… right?

The ESP Association had money. Even if it wasn’t a public institution, it dealt with national security, received government budgets, and plenty of donations.

So I trusted they wouldn’t do something as petty as stealing someone’s inheritance.

Lastly—this was the scenario I really didn’t want—

The possibility that the time period hadn’t changed much at all.