“Ah, and about the private tutor you asked me to look into.”

 

“Yeah. Did you find someone decent?”

 

Simon kept pursing and unpursing his lips, unable to continue speaking for a while.

 

It was a little surprising to see someone usually so thoughtful and rational hesitating like this.

 

Ivan didn’t rush him. He simply waited quietly until Simon had gathered his thoughts.

 

Finally, having steeled himself, Simon reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a sheet of paper that had been folded several times.

 

Even this felt unlike the usual Simon. 

 

It was as if he had debated over and over whether he should show it or not before reluctantly placing it on the table.

 

“Charlotte Baker. She was my university classmate. She’s quite brilliant, but… her personality has some issues, so she hasn’t been able to stay at any one job for very long.”

 

“Issues? If there are issues with her personality, is it really okay to have her teach a child?”

 

“For starters, she really, really likes kids, so that part should be fine. When I say her personality has issues… well… she’s a bit eccentric, I suppose? Quirky, you could say. But she’ll be a good teacher for Jin. For one thing, she’s a B-class Guide herself. Ah—of course, she gave up working as a Guide on her own.”

 

Simon fidgeted with his fingers, suddenly feeling a cold sweat.

 

“Gave up? Why?”

 

Ivan unfolded the creased paper and looked over Charlotte Baker’s brief resume along with her photo. She had thick, curly red hair that verged on scarlet, and freckles that stood out strikingly. 

 

An unusual yet captivating beauty.

 

“She… said it didn’t suit her aptitude.”

 

Didn’t suit her aptitude.

 

That phrase struck Ivan as oddly fresh.

 

Whether Esper or Guide, once someone awakened as a Resonator, their life path was essentially set in stone.

 

Espers might end up living as non-combat types depending on their abilities, but for the most part, they entered Gates and fought monsters.

 

Guides, needless to say, existed for one purpose,To provide guiding to Espers.

 

That was it. Nothing more.

 

Surprisingly, humans accept the life path handed to them by others with little resistance and considerable comfort.

 

99% of those who awakened as Resonators truly lived that way.

 

Only a tiny minority ever managed—somehow—to break free from that predetermined life and carve out a new way of living.

 

Thinking about it like that made Ivan even more curious about what kind of person Charlotte must be to have chosen that difficult 1% path.

 

“Even if she gave up living as a Guide, there must still be people targeting her, right?”

 

“She actually only lived as an active Guide for less than six months. She awakened after starting university. After mandatory education, she was with the SAA. But even there, they say her guiding was so terrible that hardly any Espers ever sought her out.”

 

So when she said she wanted to quit, no one tried to stop her.

 

At that level, her guiding skills must have really been abysmal. Ivan almost let an incredulous expression slip onto his face and had to consciously school his features.

 

Simon still remembered those days clearly.

 

Even though their majors were different, they often ran into each other in the most run-down, barely used annex building, where hardly anyone ever looked for them. 

 

That was how they started having all sorts of conversations back then.

 

Even at that time, Charlotte had already described living as a Guide as feeling like “a dog tied up with its whole body restrained, just waiting for the day it dies.”

 

After not seeing each other for a while and wondering how she was doing, Simon met Charlotte again nearly a year later—only to find she had already completely quit being a Guide.

 

She looked so refreshed, so unburdened, that just seeing her face made Simon feel—as though he hadn’t even realized he had it—like some chronic indigestion had finally been cured.

 

“She’s not… your lover, is she?”

 

“N-no! Absolutely not! She’s a friend—just a friend.”

 

Simon waved his hands wildly, as if outraged that anyone could even suggest something so absurd.

 

Of course, it was true that they sometimes had dinner together and shared drinks.

 

And strangely, those occasions often ended up with them going to a hotel—but he had never planned or intended it.

 

He and Charlotte weren’t the type to carefully pick their words around each other, nor did they particularly try to impress one another. 

 

They were comfortable enough to spend hours in the same space without saying anything at all. 

 

And when it came to sex… they actually matched quite well…

 

Anyway, that was pretty much the extent of their relationship.

 

Still, having known Charlotte for a long time, Simon was well aware of her true character and was certain she was someone trustworthy.

 

That was exactly why, the moment Ivan had asked him to look into a private tutor, Charlotte was the first person who came to mind.

 

The only thing that had made him hesitate was how Ivan—someone who ran the largest Guiding House—might view the objective facts of her frequent job changes and her voluntary decision to abandon being a Guide.

 

That was the sole reason for his hesitation.

 

Nothing more.

 

Ivan watched Simon’s flustered reaction with interest, finding himself oddly tempted to tease him further.

 

“As long as Jin likes her, that’s what matters most. Outside of the standard curriculum, will she be able to teach Jin anything she wants to learn? Or would it be better to have multiple teachers?”

 

Only after the words left his mouth did Ivan pause.

 

Simon immediately understood the shift in Ivan’s tone.

 

The private tutor discussion had come up before Jin’s Resonator examination results were even known.

 

Even now that they knew she was an SS-class Guide, there was no guarantee Jin would choose to stay here.

 

In a world where even low-grade Guides were in high demand and had countless offers, the number of places willing to present Jin with a blank-check contract—promising to accept any condition she named—would be far from few.

 

So where Jin’s heart would ultimately turn was still impossible to predict.

 

“For now, I think starting with just one person would be easier for Jin to adjust to. The choice is ultimately hers, but if it’s Charlotte, there shouldn’t be any problem. She’s incredibly knowledgeable in a wide range of subjects. She even plays musical instruments well.”

 

“That’s fortunate.”

 

“If Jin really does want to keep staying at Morivel, how about we hire Charlotte on a three-month probationary basis first? If they get along well, we can renew with a one-year contract each time.”

 

“Let’s do that. And… make sure to explain the situation to your friend in advance. It’d be a shame if she got her hopes up only to be disappointed.”

 

“Understood, sir.”

 

Simon quickly regained his usual calm composure.

 

Even if the private tutor arrangement fell through, Charlotte was the type to simply shrug it off with a casual, 

 

“Ah well, too bad!” and move on—so in that sense, it was a relief.

 

🦋

 

Ivan and Jin’s dinner took place in a very quiet atmosphere.

 

The only sounds were the occasional small clinks of cutlery and dishes touching.

 

The meal was held in the small dining room attached to Ivan’s office.

 

Normally, it was a space where Ivan ate alone, or when he was busy, he’d sometimes eat sandwiches with Simon while working.

 

With just a large oval table and a few chairs, the rather stark room suddenly bothered Ivan today.

 

Should I have put a vase with abundant flowers in here? Or at least hung a picture frame on the wall? 

 

A wave of regret washed over him.

 

“…”

 

Ivan kept his eyes on Jin throughout the entire meal.

 

It was noticeable that she had been properly taught proper dining etiquette.

 

Even though she had lived on such inadequate meals that she’d been diagnosed with malnutrition, her manners were impeccable.

 

The movements of her small hand holding the fork gradually slowed down.

 

How much could she possibly have eaten for her to already feel full?

 

Looking at Jin’s plate, which appeared almost untouched, Ivan let out a small sigh.

 

The doctor had said she must eat well no matter what, but it seemed her small stomach still couldn’t handle large amounts of food.

 

Should I tell her to try eating a bit more?

 

But forcing her felt like it would do more harm than good. He was someone who had to work, so even when he had no appetite, he forced food down—but applying the same standard to Jin didn’t sit right with him.

 

Ivan refrained from adding any unnecessary comments so that Jin could finish her meal comfortably.

 

Even after she was done, he quietly had her set down her fork and knife and called for dessert to be brought out.

 

But Jin only took a few small bites of fruit and didn’t touch the pudding, cake, or cookies at all.

 

“Shall I prepare some other dessert?”

 

“No, it’s okay. I’ve never really liked sweet things.”

 

“…Is that so?”

 

“Don’t kids around that age usually like sweet snacks? I think I was the same when I was little.”

 

Noticing that Ivan seemed quietly puzzled, Jin hesitated before speaking.

 

“Um… in District 4, there’s always… this really strong sweet smell. Even when you’re just staying at home, the smell creeps inside and fills the entire house. So after a while…”

 

Only then did something flash through Ivan’s mind.

 

On the day of the accident, Ivan too had that same cloying sweet scent clinging to the tip of his nose the whole time.

 

The man who had guided him there had carried that exact same smell.

 

It was the distinctive odor of crudely synthesized drugs.

 

District 4 was overrun with every kind of drug imaginable. 

 

People ate them, drank them, and sometimes even sprayed them around clubs like air fresheners—so it made sense that anyone who wasn’t already an addict would grow to hate that intense, artificial sweetness that drifted across the entire district.

 

Smells often come with memories attached.

 

Ivan himself had experienced many times how the scent of blood would drag along ten years’ worth of clotted, therapy-soaked memories.

 

The days when he vomited blood and screamed for someone to please just kill him.

 

He couldn’t remember who he met, what treatments he received, or what words were said to him—but the memory of how unbearably painful it was, how desperately he had wanted to die, remained painfully clear.

 

Ivan deliberately pushed those memories aside and looked gently at Jin, who was cautiously watching his reaction.

 

“Yeah. You don’t have to force yourself to eat it.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. Increasing the amount of actual food you eat is more important than dessert. Of course, you don’t have to overdo that either.”

 

“But… you went out of your way to prepare it for me.”

 

“Jin.”

 

Ivan gave her a moment to lift her head and meet his eyes properly.

 

Her jet-black pupils stared straight into his mismatched, odd eyes with an unreadable expression.