He wondered if it was because of that influence that she had become unable to tolerate even the slightest pressure or constriction on her body.

 

But even though she had come to live in District 1, a lifelong dream for many people, Jin was still in a position where she couldn’t go out freely as she pleased.

 

She thought she had finally found freedom, yet this place was just another prison.

 

And all because she happened to be an SS-class Guide.

 

There were far too many unscrupulous Espers who targeted Guides, and since everyone knew how rare and precious they were, quite a number of people attempted kidnappings in hopes of making a huge profit.

 

Unlike Espers, Guides had exactly the same physical abilities as ordinary people, which was precisely why such incidents kept happening.

 

Even though Jin had learned several self-defense techniques and was fairly athletic, it was all meaningless the moment an Esper was among the kidnappers.

 

That was why Guides belonging to the Guiding House always had to be accompanied by an Esper bodyguard whenever they went outside. 

 

Wearing a location-tracking device was mandatory.

 

On top of that, Guides affiliated with Moribelle underwent a procedure in which a tiny location tracker was surgically implanted beneath the skin at the back of their neck.

 

This was a fact known only to Moribelle-affiliated Guides, a very small number of doctors, Ivan, and Simon.

 

If this information were to spread widely, there was a real danger that someone might try to mutilate the Guides’ bodies just to remove the trackers first.

 

Ivan, who had momentarily lost focus while lost in thought, once again clearly fixed his gaze on Jin, who was sitting on the sofa reading a book.

 

Today, too, Jin was wearing a loose, thick hoodie and cotton pants, completely absorbed in her book.

So absorbed that she seemed to have forgotten even her usual routine.

 

“Ahem. Hm-hm.”

 

Ivan deliberately let out a small, fake cough to break Jin’s terrifying level of concentration.

 

Hoping it would remind her of what she was supposed to be doing. Then, as if nothing had happened, he turned his eyes back to the tablet.

 

He didn’t forget to sneak a glance at how much the indoor temperature had risen.

 

Jin shouldn’t get too cold.

 

A moment later, there came a small rustling sound, followed by light footsteps gradually drawing closer.

 

Almost reflexively, Ivan pushed his chair back on its wheels, putting a little distance between himself and the desk.

 

Right on cue, a light body settled onto his thighs.

 

Using Ivan like a chair, Jin squirmed slightly to find a comfortable position before leaning her head against his broad chest and resuming her reading.

 

Once Jin had settled comfortably, Ivan let the faintest smile tug at the corner of his mouth before turning his attention back to the tablet.

 

Legally twenty years old, and in reality already twenty-one, an adult, yet her frame remained small and light.

 

Dressed in these loose, comfortable clothes, it was honestly hard to believe she was an adult at all.

 

Of course, that was only by Ivan’s standards.

 

To everyone else’s eyes, she had long since grown into a Guide who was slender and beautiful beyond compare, someone so strikingly pretty that people instinctively faltered just looking at her.

 

“Did you make up?”

 

Even at Ivan’s sudden question, Jin didn’t seem particularly surprised.

 

“We never fought.”

 

“You always looked kind of precarious whenever I saw you two together.”

 

“…Did we?”

 

“Should I keep him from coming?”

 

“That’s… It’s just that things are a bit complicated for me. Ruern is always the same as ever. If there’s a problem, it might actually be with me.”

 

“I think differently. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

 

The gradual change in the emotions contained in Ruern’s eyes was plain for anyone to see.

 

Ivan had noticed early on that Jin was struggling with how she should respond to those feelings.

 

But this was one matter Ivan couldn’t interfere in.

 

Ruern wasn’t the only Esper who held feelings for Jin, and as far as Ivan knew, Jin hadn’t opened her heart more to anyone or treated anyone with special closeness.

 

Ruern had been the first Esper she ever met, her first Guiding partner, and her first friend.

 

If there was any Esper whom Jin treated with any special regard, it would probably be only Ruern.

 

Jin hadn’t yet realized that friendship could also turn into other kinds of feelings, and even after coming to understand it, nothing really changed much for her.

 

Beyond growing closer and deepening mutual trust, even though she intellectually understood that it could develop into love, emotionally it still didn’t quite click.

 

And of course, Ivan believed he should respect and leave Jin’s feelings just as they were.

 

If Jin’s emotions had run along similar lines to Ruern’s, there wouldn’t have been any problem at all. He might even have watched with pride and fondness as Jin experienced that fresh, fluttering excitement for the first time.

 

Unfortunately, Jin was still confused and felt burdened. 

 

Every time she met Ruern, she would pointedly show that their relationship was exactly the same as before, forcing herself to act bright and cheerful.

 

It was uncomfortable even for Ivan just watching her.

 

Although Ivan himself was an Esper, he had no real understanding of the irrational possessiveness and affection that Espers could feel toward Guides.

 

He only knew it theoretically, recalling how his older brother Sergei treated Gloria, and from the countless pieces of data he had accumulated while running the Guiding House.

 

There had always been plenty of Espers obsessed with Guides, and since dealing with those cases was part of his job, he had simply tried his best to handle them.

 

Even if he were just like any other ordinary Esper and could deeply sympathize with what Ruern was feeling, Ivan knew that his role was to support and stand by whatever choice Jin made.

 

“Jin.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You haven’t finalized tomorrow’s guiding schedule yet, right?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Then keep tomorrow free.”

 

“Okay, I will.”

 

Her eyes still chased the lines of text on the page, but Jin answered steadily.

 

“You’re not going to ask why? Not even curious?”

 

“There’s probably a good reason for it. I’ll find out tomorrow anyway.”

 

“Still, ask me. I might be about to make you do something you hate.”

 

Only then did Jin lift her gaze from the book and slightly raise her head.

 

Even with the sudden movement, Ivan steadily wrapped his arm around her waist, calmly lowering his head to meet her eyes.

 

“If you always just say ‘don’t do it if you don’t want to,’ then why would you ever make me do something I hate? That doesn’t even make sense.”

 

Faced with Jin’s complete and unconditional trust in him, Ivan felt a little embarrassed for some reason.

 

She wasn’t wrong, either.

 

Just as Jin said, Ivan had always done his absolute best to make sure she lacked for nothing.

 

No matter how necessary or helpful something might be in the future, he had always excluded anything Jin would have to force herself to do. 

 

In exchange for her limited freedom to go out or travel, he let her do whatever she wanted in every other aspect of life.

 

The fact that those times had turned into such solid trust toward him made him feel… quietly proud.

 

“We’re going out.”

 

Jin had been about to just nod again when she gave a faint smile and spoke.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“That’s a secret.”

 

“Tsk.”

 

She had asked because he told her to ask, but his answer left her feeling pretty deflated.

 

Still, the thought of going out with Ivan made her mood gradually lift with excitement.

 

“I wanted to give you a present to celebrate becoming an adult. Simon and Charlotte are coming too.”

 

“But that was already last year…”

 

“Legally, this is the year you become an adult, so whatever.”

 

Only Ivan, Simon, and Charlotte knew Jin’s real age.

 

She was grateful that he hadn’t forgotten. Jin comfortably buried her head against Ivan’s broad, solid chest once more.

 

Now that she was legally an adult too, she really ought to stop being held like this.

 

Jin thought “just until today” to herself, quietly hiding the pang of reluctance that came with the thought.

 

☄️

 

The outing took place very early in the morning.

 

They deliberately chose a time when there were hardly any people around, so that, if something dangerous were to happen, the damage could be minimized.

 

Even so, several security vehicles from the escort guild followed closely behind the car carrying Ivan, Jin, Simon, and Charlotte.

 

Some of them had probably already arrived at the destination ahead of time.

 

“You really haven’t asked even once where we’re going?”

 

Charlotte, sitting in the front passenger seat, turned around with a mischievous grin.

 

“It’s obviously somewhere nice.”

 

“Oh my god. You just blindly trust us like that? What if we had bad intentions and were taking you somewhere dangerous?”

 

“Then there’s nothing I can do about it, is there?”

 

At Jin’s cynical reply, both Simon, who was driving, and Charlotte, who had asked the question, burst into helpless laughter.

 

Ivan simply wore a faint smile.

 

“Boss. This isn’t my fault, okay? I’ve drilled it into her endlessly how dangerous the world is. I’ve told her hundreds of times there’s not a single person in this world worth trusting.”

 

Afraid Ivan might somehow blame himself for Jin’s apparent lack of safety awareness, Charlotte hurriedly made excuses.

 

Of course, Charlotte knew full well that this kind of absolute trust from Jin was limited only to Ivan, Simon, and herself. Ivan and Simon were well aware of that too.

 

So this was just Charlotte’s way of joking to break the quiet atmosphere inside the car.

 

Jin gazed out the window, habitually holding Ivan’s pinky finger beside her.

 

The sensation of his gloved finger was already so familiar that it felt like nothing at all.

 

“Wow…”

 

Just then, the sun slowly began to rise, brightening the surroundings.

 

The scenery visible through the car window was so breathtakingly beautiful that Jin let out an involuntary gasp of admiration.

 

The morning sunlight settling on the leaves of the roadside trees felt like it was bringing warmth straight to her heart.

 

Even the light reflecting off the dense high-rise buildings looked beautiful.

 

As they drove along the empty roads, Jin quietly took in the sight of the early risers starting their day and the peaceful morning streets.