SOFTIE 20

Ma Seongtae brushed away his impure thoughts.

“Yeonwoo-ya, no fighting.”

“I don’t get into fights that are disadvantageous to me. I’m an adult now. It’s different from when I was a child.”

Does that mean you intend to get into fights that are advantageous? He swallowed a sigh.

“I’ll do my best to block them as well.”

Yeonwoo moved to another spot while holding Softy. Softy continued to look up at Yeonwoo.

˖°𓇼🌊⋆🐚🫧

“Minister, what do you plan to do? If it’s an S-rank Guide, you’ll be able to make use of Esper Seo Yeonwoo for the rest of his life.”

Han Sunghoon spoke while driving the large car. In the backseat, Shin Witaek was glaring at the Association with his arms crossed, swallowing his fury.

“That was the plan before my son awakened as an S-rank Esper. Yoosung is an S-rank; why do I need that fellow? I need to put Yoosung in the hero’s seat instead of him…”

“It won’t be easy. To be honest, even I don’t know the full extent of Esper Seo Yeonwoo’s power. Moreover, now that he has a Guide, it’s as if he’s grown wings.”

“…What is the public’s current reaction?”

“Everyone is welcoming Esper Seo Yeonwoo’s return and is curious about who the pair Guide he mentioned is.”

Shin Witaek massaged his throbbing brow. They were both S-ranks, so why were they so different? He recalled Yeonwoo’s appearance as a child.

He was different back then. He was mild and gentle, and he used to be afraid of fighting magic beasts. However, after experiencing actual combat a few times, one can win.

That was why he had deployed him to Gate raids so many times and spared no advice, telling him that since his abilities were strong, he didn’t need to fear magic beasts.

Indeed, after gaining some experience, he rose to the position of a hero.

Who was it that raised him to that position? Yet, he didn’t show a speck of gratitude toward me.

“When he was young, he used to volunteer for Gate raids. Now that he’s famous, he’s become lazy.”

“As an S-rank Esper, it should be natural to clear twice as many Gates as others. Isn’t it a devotion to the country?”

“That’s exactly what I want to say. Espers are the national power possessed by the country. They ought to carry out orders for the sake of the nation.”

Shin Witaek clicked his tongue repeatedly.

“Is a slime a weak magic beast?”

“They are magic beasts that usually appear in C-rank Gates.”

“A weakling, then.”

If it had been a threatening magic beast, it would have been easier to cast it out. But it didn’t look dangerous. It seems it can only change its appearance to be threatening.

“How about we watch the situation? Esper Seo Yeonwoo is a useful existence.”

“He might be useful to the country, but not to me. Didn’t you see him? The fellow was sending murderous intent toward me. Since he found a Guide, the limits on his abilities will be released, and he won’t have anything to be bound by.”

He recalled the most recent clash with Yeonwoo. He thought of Yeonwoo getting angry, asking when they were ever going to find him a Guide and if they were even looking. In the process, he even reached a point where he refused to go clear the Gates assigned to him. How much trouble did that cause him?

He had already stated he would send him, with contracts even going back and forth. He had rejected it saying his condition was bad. It was fine since he cleared an S-rank after that, but still.

“Sigh, it’s troublesome if he thinks this country will need him forever.”

“Do you plan to kill him?”

Shin Witaek opened his mouth after thinking for a long time.

“We’ll see. If we can win over the Guide, it’s good because it means we hold Yeonwoo’s leash. But if he can’t be won over, that fellow will have to disappear. For the sake of my goals.”

“But killing him will be difficult.”

“So we have to use a trick. It’s an unchangeable fact that the fellow rampaged. If the Guide dies, he’ll self-destruct on his own. Is it true that the more closely an Esper is connected to their Guide, the faster their contamination level rises when the Guide dies?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then it’s settled. Recruit one Esper. At least a B-rank. They can kill that magic beast, or just make it run wild. It’s troublesome if he hallucinates that he’s a real hero just because he’s called one.”

An S-rank Esper who awakened at a young age. What allowed him to be made into a hero was the effort of countless people and the power of the media.

“I’ll have to teach him the cold-heartedness of society. That there are many kinds of power.”

“It will be a good experience for Esper Seo Yeonwoo.”

The vehicle carrying Shin Witaek quickly left the Association. They didn’t know that the conversation they had inside the car had leaked out and flowed into someone’s ears.

“I’m here!”

The front door burst open. It was the team members who had stormed into Yeonwoo’s house. Only a vacant living room unfolded before their eyes; Yeonwoo was nowhere to be seen.

Since he had sensitive ears, he usually came out to the living room to greet them when he heard footsteps, so it was puzzling. Just then, a door creaked open, and Softy popped out of the bedroom.

“Kkyu?”

As if asking if they were guests, Choi Minjae stepped forward.

“Where is Yeonwoo?”

Softy went back into the bedroom. Once inside, Softy hopped onto the stomach of Yeonwoo, who was sleeping on the bed. After he bounced several times, Yeonwoo opened his eyes.

“Softy…?”

With a voice thick with sleep, Yeonwoo sat up in bed.

“Are you hungry…? Want food?”

“…Hey, your complexion looks good?”

“Ah, you guys are here.”

Realizing the situation, Yeonwoo got out of bed while stretching his neck. He had fallen asleep without even knowing they were coming. It was all thanks to Softy’s Guiding.

Yeonwoo stroked Softy’s head as he went outside. Seeing the team members who had entered like it was their own backyard, he vowed to change the passcode.

When his nerves became sensitive as a side effect, there were times he wouldn’t pick up calls and ignored them, so the team members all knew the passcode. Yeonwoo stared at the team members while putting water on the coffee pot.

“What’s going on?”

“We came because we were worried about how you were doing.”

“As you can see, I’m resting well.”

“This is a get-well gift.”

Choi Minjae held out a basket filled with luscious fruit, and Kang Hana burst into a fit of anger upon seeing Yeonwoo’s face, which looked more than just fine—it looked vibrant.

“We’re out here running circles around Gates, and as the Team Leader, if you’re feeling better, you should be thinking about returning to duty soon! Don’t you feel sorry for us at all!”

Yeonwoo had been resting because there might be aftereffects of the rampage, but the others were not. Rather, they were working hard clearing Gates to fill Yeonwoo’s vacancy.

“Yeonwoo-ya, understand her. Hana had a very hard time today. This A-rank Gate was underwater, so Hana’s abilities barely worked at all.”

“…She probably rested since her abilities didn’t work.”

“That’s what I’m saying. You were coasting, so why the temper?”

“Do you know how draining a water terrain is for a fire user! And I don’t want to hear it from you! Since you’ve rested a few times!”

“Ah, I said I’m sorry for that. That won’t happen anymore.”

“What does that matter! I already suffered because of you!”

Yeonwoo shook his head as he watched the two bickering. When would those two ever get along? More importantly, a water terrain. The reason for deploying my team members to such a place is clear.

“When are you returning!”

“I’ll be returning soon.”

As Yeonwoo sat on the sofa with his coffee, Softy naturally claimed a spot on his lap. Yeonwoo drank his coffee while stroking Softy. Yeonwoo had heard the entire conversation Shin Witaek and Han Sunghoon shared in the car.

It wasn’t just the conversation between the two of them. After Yeonwoo returned home, the things the Association staff chattered about and the conversations of the executives moving for their own gain were all audible to his ears.

If they had paid even a little attention to Yeonwoo’s side effects, they would have realized, but the timing was missed. Yeonwoo had never told anyone about this ability.

According to records, Yeonwoo’s abilities are psychokinesis and electricity. Electricity is clearly visible, but psychokinesis is different. Moreover, the range of the psychokinesis was wide. Even within the same psychokinesis, what one could do varied.

Yeonwoo could perform defense, move objects, and also suppress magic beasts. Seeing that, people thought Yeonwoo was creating shape out of wavelength energy and manipulating it freely. They judged it to be a type of psychokinesis, so they labeled it as such, but it was not.

When he was a child, Yeonwoo simply thought that was the case too. Because he was a kid who didn’t know anything. But that wasn’t it. There was also the fact that it wasn’t discovered because Yeonwoo didn’t use psychokinesis that often.