The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me – Chapter 90

Author: Asternkm

The moment we stepped inside the gate, Shinra quickly shared his vision.

[ You have entered ‘Forest of the Lying Fairies.’ ]

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Maximum Capacity — 4 (+2)
Number of Connections — 4
Fastest Clear Time — 06:12:22
Total Deaths — 2
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At this point, it was almost automatic.

But—

“Someone actually died here….”

Compared to other gates, the number was very small. Still, there were deaths.

Was there something dangerous we needed to watch out for?

Seeing my confusion, Eunhwi explained again.

“Ah, when this gate first appeared, it happened to open in a real forest. Some civilians nearby unknowingly crossed the crack. They got lost and wandered until they died. This is the fourth connection including today. Previous investigations confirmed there are no dangerous elements—no strange viruses, no toxins.”

“Oh… I see.”

“So you don’t have to worry.”

I relaxed immediately.

At the same time, I felt slightly intimidated.

I was the one who asked, but how did he remember all that so clearly?

His brain must be built completely differently from mine.

I kind of wanted him to take an IQ test or a memory test someday.

Then I finally looked around.

The name Forest of the Lying Fairies fit perfectly.

It felt mystical.

The colors were brighter and more vivid than a normal forest.

And mushrooms and flowers were walking around.

“Aren’t those monsters?”

“No. Think of them like animals. Oh—but absolutely don’t guide them. Fairies are classified as monsters.”

“Ah, okay. So we just go in and find the exit, right?”

“Right. But Hyeya, once we enter the forest, our positions will change often. The fairies use magic to mess with your sense of direction. Previous teams either stayed together or split up and escaped through different routes. What should we do?”

Eunhwi asked calmly.

I started thinking automatically, then froze when I noticed three pairs of eyes staring at me.

…Come to think of it, lately whenever we enter a gate, they always ask for my opinion.

They explain the method and characteristics first, then adjust everything according to what I want.

And I only realized it now.

I hid my awkwardness and answered casually.

“I prefer moving alone, but the fastest clear time is about six hours. We might take longer. It’s probably better to stay together. We don’t have a way to contact each other inside anyway.”

Teleportation likely wouldn’t work well inside the forest.

And if we split up, someone might do something reckless out of worry for me.

Better to stay together, even if it’s slower.

But all three of them looked at me strangely.

“…Why are you staring? Did I say something weird?”

“Um, Hyeya. Did you bring your phone?”

“Yeah. But it won’t work in here anyway.”

“Well…”

“Yoon Hyeya, your phone works. It’s specially made.”

“…Specially what?”

Why was “specially made” connected to my phone?

That sounded suspicious no matter how I thought about it.

My expression must have turned odd.

Eunhwi shot Dogyeong a look and quickly explained with an awkward smile.

“Dogyeong, don’t say it like that. Hyeya might misunderstand. It’s nothing strange. The phones issued to guides have communication device parts inside them, so they can get signal even here. Basically, they connect to the communicator I’m carrying.”

“…That was possible before?”

“No. It was introduced after you went missing. But it’s not suspicious. It’s not for tracking—well, technically GPS can check your location, but only with the Director’s permission. And—”

I must have looked very serious.

Eunhwi looked unusually flustered.

I clicked my tongue.

“I get it. Stop explaining. The more you panic, the more suspicious it sounds.”

“…Sorry. I thought you might feel uncomfortable.”

“Why would I? I don’t care. I never leave headquarters anyway. Even if someone checks my location, it’s just home, cafeteria, operations room, or gates.”

So that was the meaning.

They made guide-issued phones usable inside gates.

Only guides.

I understood immediately.

“So basically, my phone works. Which means we can split up, right?”

I said it casually, like it didn’t matter.

Only then did Eunhwi relax and nod.

Shinra and Dogyeong, who had been watching carefully, also eased up.

Then Dogyeong made a suggestion.

“We have communicators and phones. Want to split into pairs? The team that escapes the forest first wins. The losing team has to grant one wish.”

“That’s incredibly childish, Dogyeong…”

“Captain, please be quiet. No objections? Then let’s divide teams.”

“How?”

“Rock-paper-scissors. Same hands form a team.”

For a brief moment, childhood memories flashed through my mind.

Memories I once hated and didn’t even want to recall.

Somehow, they had become blurry.

“…We used to do this.”

The words slipped out without thinking.

All three of them looked at me at once.

“…I think. Stop staring and let’s just do it.”

I quickly shouted the count and threw out my hand.

After three rounds, the teams were decided.

Eunhwi and Shinra.

Dogyeong and me.

“…Hyeya noona.”

Shinra looked at me desperately.

Dogyeong blocked his view. “Bye, maknae!”

Then he lightly—very lightly—grabbed the edge of my sleeve and tugged.

“Yoon Hyeya. Let’s go this way.”

“Okay.”

I followed him, looking around.

The forest really was mysterious.

Not long after, we heard crying somewhere.

We tilted our heads and followed the sound.

There was a large hole in the ground.

At the bottom, a walking mushroom had fallen in and was sobbing.

“…What is this?”

“Probably one of the fairies’ traps Eunhwi mentioned. We can save it or ignore it. It’s confusing. Some give you shortcuts if you help them. Some lie and send you the wrong way. But Yoon Hyeya, I just remembered something very important.”

“You too? Me too. This… isn’t this gate really favorable for Cha Eunhwi? He knows a lot about gates.”

“Yeah. Extremely favorable. Our captain is freakishly smart. He probably memorized most of the fairies’ lie patterns and traps. Or maybe even memorized the entire forest layout from previous reports.”

That sounded very likely.

But I doubted Eunhwi would show off that way.

If he planned to clear it easily, he wouldn’t have suggested we all come for fun in the first place.

He probably wanted to relax too.

Dogyeong stared at my face, then suddenly said something ridiculous.

“…Should we grill the mushroom?”

“What? Grill it?!”

“I was curious what it tastes like. It’s not poisonous.”

“You want to eat a mushroom with legs?”

“Legged mushrooms, peaches with faces—it’s all the same. You ate orc meat just fine. And peaches with faces drawn on them.”

“…I don’t remember.”

“Doesn’t erase the fact that you ate them.”