The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 42

“Kyuruk, kyururuk.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just a second. I’ll give it to you soon.”

After the baby snake was born, my days became a little busier.

Busy, meaning all I really did was make sure it got fed—so compared to before, it was nothing.

And over the past few days, the rifts kept appearing.

The last one I saw… it really didn’t feel good.

It wasn’t ominous or frightening.

I simply saw it clearly.

Espers entering another gate.

I couldn’t see their faces, but they were all wearing similar clothes.

Combat boots, black from head to toe—some kind of techwear outfit.

I couldn’t tell if the person at the back was a guide, because everyone was dressed the same.

That was what bothered me.

Espers usually didn’t care much about what they wore, considering they were always getting injured while fighting monsters.

Dress codes differed by country.

Some treated espers like soldiers and made them wear uniforms.

Some developed their own bulletproof suits and used them as uniforms.

And some places—like our country—let them wear whatever they wanted.

Yeon Dogyeong always complained it was pointless since everything turned into rags once you got hit anyway.

That was how most espers felt.

Lee Shinra said he didn’t need it because he had barrier abilities.

That was also how most espers felt.

As for Cha Eunhwi… I never really heard him say anything, but since he always cleared gates so cleanly, I guess he didn’t see the need either.

And guides—me included—felt the same.

Since we stayed in safe zones and only did guiding, there was no need to be heavily armed.

Though I did take basic precautions for my own body.

My closet was full of black clothes—easy to move in, durable, and not noticeable when dirty.

Rules that had been set didn’t change overnight.

Especially not rules involving awakened people.

But they were all wearing the exact same thing…

If the big [A ZONE] sign hadn’t been there, I would’ve thought it was another country.

Anyway, whether this gate was being ignored because of its low rank or for some other reason, seeing espers at all made me sigh over and over.

If an actual raid team comes… will he die?

I stared at the baby snake I adored while chewing on cherries.

I’d already grown attached to the rabbit too—this was driving me insane.

“Kyur?”

The snake spat out the cherry pit and tilted its head, flicking its tongue.

Looking at that innocent face, I sighed again and forced a smile as I fed it grapes this time.

“Eat a lot…”

Because this might be your last meal.

After feeding it fruit until its belly was round and full, my hands were sticky.

I should go wash up.

When I stood up, the snake naturally wrapped around my leg and climbed up.

Unlike the other animals, it was incredibly active.

It followed me everywhere like glue, and if I left it behind even briefly, its eyes filled with tears.

Watching that always reminded me of espers—unfortunately.

Does it think I’m its mom?

I was the first thing it saw after hatching, but reptiles weren’t supposed to imprint like that.

…Wait. Why do I even know that?

I flinched at the natural flow of my thoughts and frowned.

A memory surfaced—Yeon Dogyeong saying nonsense to an esper instructor during imprinting class.

Back then, we were still trainees and hadn’t cleared a single gate yet.

After seeing a dragon in an encyclopedia, Yeon Dogyeong had asked,
“If you steal its egg, hatch it, and imprint on it, can you raise it?”

The instructor had stared at him like what kind of lunatic is this and replied,
“Reptiles don’t have that kind of learning pattern.”

Of course, monsters might be different—but that wasn’t what bothered me.

No matter what I do, I keep thinking about them.

Maybe it was natural.

I’d spent more time with them than with my parents.

But realizing how often they’d crossed my mind over the past month made me feel uneasy.

As I stood there frozen, the baby snake—now draped over my shoulder—gently tapped my cheek with its head.

“Kyuruk?”

“…No. Just bad memories. Come on, let’s go.”

Cute cries answered me near my ear, as if it understood.

When we reached the lake, the snake slid down and immediately dove in, swimming around.

It had entered the hot spring just fine too—thinking of it as a monster instead of a cold-blooded animal made things easier.

I crouched by the shore and quietly watched it play.

When I dropped flower petals into the water, it chased them and brought them back.

It was surprisingly adorable.

After playing to its heart’s content, the snake climbed out and cried to be picked up.

When I held out my hand, it latched onto my arm, and by the time I walked a little, its scales were already dry and soft.

I laughed quietly as it wrapped around my neck and nodded off.

“Sleepy?”

Kyuruk.

The familiar cry sounded by my ear.

Its belly was full, it had played a lot, and it was still a baby—of course it slept a lot.

I looked around, found a hill covered in white flowers, and lay down.

Come to think of it, there aren’t any insects here. No butterflies. No bees.

With so many flowers, how did pollination even work?

As that random thought crossed my mind, the snake fell asleep.

No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t feel like a monster at all. More like a pet.

I smiled silently.

Squirrels and rabbits gathered around and settled down nearby as well.

Stretching my arms and legs, I lay back and stared at the sky.

Listening to the breathing around me and watching clouds drift by made me sleepy too.

At some point, I must’ve drifted into a light sleep.

Sometimes, I’m aware that I’m dreaming.

This time was one of those moments.

It wasn’t a meaningful dream.

Maybe because of my uneasy thoughts—it was just a scene of me greeting Yeon Dogyeong, Lee Shinra, and Cha Eunhwi back at headquarters.

In the dream, I didn’t greet them.

I turned and ran.

They chased after me, shouting,
“Where are you going, Hyeya!”

As I screamed while being chased, something tapped my cheek, and I woke up.

The baby snake was right in front of me.

Already hungry again?

Like any baby, its life was eat, sleep, play—repeat.

I hadn’t slept long, but the dream left me more tired.

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and yawned.

Then I smiled at the snake—

“…Hyeya, noona.”

“Hyeya…”

“You—you were alive… huh?”

…That was strange.

I heard voices I definitely wasn’t supposed to hear.

Was I still dreaming?

I flinched and turned toward the sound.

And what I saw were my espers—looking far more haggard than they had a month ago.

My eyes must be broken…

They even looked a little unhinged.

My mind went completely blank.

I’d expected this day to come, but why was it so soon?

And of all people, why did it have to be them?!

One wrong move here, and everything would be ruined—I felt it instinctively.

Swallowing hard, I spoke carefully.

“W-Who are you?”

Thus began Operation: I Remember Nothing.

Amnesia caused by an accident.

That was the plan I’d come up with while looking at the baby snake.

It felt childish—like something out of a cheap drama—but I had no choice.

If I went back as I was, nothing would change.

It would just be the same painful days all over again.

And besides—

I’d had plenty of chances to leave.

I stayed anyway.

If they found that out, it would be—quite literally—go straight to hell.