The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me – Chapter 92

Author: Asternkm

A few minutes later, Dogyeong finally replied.

“If you know the trick, you can jump up like I did earlier. Or I could carry you.”

I answered immediately, without hesitation.

“What’s the trick?”

Unless I couldn’t use my legs or was unconscious, I had no intention of accepting close physical contact.

As if he had expected that, Dogyeong pointed to several spots on the wall of the pit.

“Jump and step there, then bounce off and step there. After that, step there and there while going up. Easy, right?”

“……”

“Then I’ll go up first. Follow me. Want me to carry your bag?”

“No. If I can’t do it, just lower a vine or something.”

On the way here, I’d seen plenty of vines hanging from trees.

Dogyeong nodded, bent his body slightly, and jumped. Using the wall as footholds, he climbed out of the pit easily.

Honestly, I’m not confident…

Even if my physical abilities had improved, they had trained since childhood.

I hadn’t.

Doing something you’ve practiced before and trying it for the first time are completely different.

If I fall halfway up, it’ll hurt and be annoying.

Still, I’d rather deal with pain and annoyance than be carried on his back or in his arms.

I tightened the strap of my backpack once, then jumped with all my strength.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Stepping against the wall, I shot upward and climbed out almost instantly.

“…Huh?”

That worked? Why?

“Easy, right?”

Dogyeong spoke casually while I stood there confused.

Yes.

It was easy.

Very easy.

Apparently my physical abilities had improved far more than I realized.

Even though the situation felt ridiculous, it wasn’t a bad thing, so I quickly composed myself.

Dogyeong glanced around and muttered,

“Those fairies earlier probably went to bother Cha Eunhwi and Lee Shinra. Let’s hurry before they come back.”

“Okay. But where do we go? We followed the mushroom’s directions and still fell into a trap.”

“We’ll just go with our instincts. Something will show up eventually.”

That made sense.

The forest was supposed to be like a maze anyway. Escaping in an hour or two would’ve been unlikely.

Even after hearing things that should have upset him, Dogyeong walked forward as if nothing had happened.

Whether he was pretending to be fine or actually fine, I didn’t think about it much and followed him.

But it seemed we had underestimated the forest—and the fairies.

“Kya-ha-ha! Idiots! Idiots! You fell again!”

Not long after, the ground collapsed.

We fell into another hole.

We climbed out the same way as before and tried to walk more carefully.

But—

“You got caught! Totally stupid! How could you fall for that?!”

My foot caught on something, and the next moment a huge net trapped us and lifted us into the air.

As soon as my arm touched Dogyeong’s, I tore the net apart with my hands and jumped down.

But the pranks didn’t stop there.

“That’s a dead end! Idiots! Idiots!”

We walked into something invisible and spent a long time figuring out it was a hidden wall.

“Ugh! The smell! Uweeegh!”

Fruit fell from above and burst on us, smelling like crushed ginkgo.

“Here! Over here! No wait, there! Over there!”

Fairies mimicked our voices from every direction, trying to lure us down the wrong paths.

It was a ridiculous kind of provocation.

Childish, even.

Some people might laugh it off.

But both Dogyeong and I were the type to get annoyed even by childish things.

“I think the most efficient way for us to get out of this forest is to deal with those things first. What about you, Yoon Hyeya?”

“I was thinking the same. But if we go after them, they’ll run. So let’s catch them by any means necessary.”

I had already lost count of how many pits we’d fallen into.

This time, the bottom was filled with mud, leaving us covered in dirt.

I glared up at the fairies laughing above us, grabbed Dogyeong’s arm, and started guiding him.

Dogyeong flinched and called my name, but I pulled out my baton with my other hand.

“They’re coming.”

The fairies instantly stopped laughing when I guided him.

Then they hissed like angry cats and dove into the hole.

They were about the size of five-year-old children.

Their skin sparkled and they had wings, but otherwise they looked human.

However, the moment they attacked us, their faces changed completely.

Their ears sharpened.

Their eyes turned pitch black.

Fangs protruded from their mouths.

The hesitation from their cute appearance vanished instantly.

“Kiiiiiik!”

Dogyeong and I handled them easily.

I used my baton.

Dogyeong grabbed the first fairy and used it as a weapon.

Holding it by the legs like a handle, he swung it around expressionlessly, smashing other fairies with it.

Honestly, he looked like a complete lunatic.

Still, this was a low-rank C-class gate.

The fairies weren’t a real threat.

After climbing out of the pit again, Dogyeong spoke immediately.

“Why did you do that, Yoon Hyeya?”

His face was expressionless, just like during the fight.

His voice was stiff too.

The sudden question made me frown.

“What are you picking a fight for? What did I do?”

“I’m not picking a fight… Why did you guide me all of a sudden? You know guides are targeted. I told you it’s dangerous. But you—!”

Hearing the urgency in his voice, I finally understood why he was reacting like that.

I had suddenly grabbed his arm and guided him.

Of course he’d been startled.

But I hadn’t acted without thinking.

The situation was already over, and technically I didn’t owe him an explanation.

Still, cooperating like this would be difficult if things stayed tense.

I sighed and answered.

“I was sure it wouldn’t be dangerous here. Just because monsters feel hostility toward guides doesn’t mean they get stronger. This is a low-rank C-class gate. The fairies only set traps and appear and disappear. They don’t have other abilities. So I knew it wouldn’t be dangerous. Happy?”

“…Even so, that was reckless.”

“No. I told you—I was sure. If this place had been even a little dangerous or B-class or higher, I wouldn’t have guided at all. I can protect myself now. Even if you weren’t here, I could’ve handled it alone. That’s why I used my ability to lure the fairies. Why is that reckless? It didn’t harm you. And more importantly—why do you care if I use my own ability?”

Seriously.

What a ridiculous thing to make a fuss about.

Dogyeong didn’t respond.

But unlike earlier, his presence felt weaker.

Maybe I had been too sensitive.

The thought crossed my mind briefly.

But I hated being interfered with like that.

Especially by Dogyeong.

I turned my head sharply and started walking.

I could hear his footsteps following behind me.

Maybe because we had killed the fairies, no more traps triggered.

Instead, what bothered me was behind me.