Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

“What’s this, a blood clot? Who are you? How did you get in here?”

Iberis slightly furrowed his brow at the man who abruptly called him a blood clot. They should have received an official notice earlier, but this reaction explained why he had been constantly stopped at the main gate and security checkpoint. This man clearly didn’t know he was coming today.

As a result, Iberis had to go through identity verification and body checks three times before arriving here. Just moments ago, the security guards who stopped him tilted their heads in disbelief when Iberis showed his ID. It was understandable; a boy who looked young to anyone’s eyes introduced himself as a lieutenant in the Defense Force.

Although he was used to the trouble caused by his appearance, which made him look younger than his actual age, today it was particularly hard to contain his anger. While he understood the extreme caution towards unfamiliar outsiders, fitting for a special team whose main task was catching wanted villains and spies within the Defense Force, he honestly didn’t feel good about it.

After finally arriving, all he got was “Who are you?” It was impossible not to feel irritated in this situation.

Perhaps this was an initiation for new members. Iberis recalled a story he had heard once. Apparently, some units and teams occasionally held mischievous initiations for new members. Of course, even if that were the case, it didn’t improve his rock-bottom mood.

“I’m not a blood clot. I’m Lieutenant Iberis Hyun of the Defense Force. I’ve been ordered to report to the Special Investigation Team for Ability-related Crimes as of today.”

In the end, he couldn’t help but speak in a brusque tone. He realized his mistake immediately after speaking, but it was too late. Although he knew he should make a good impression on his first day, the hot-blooded teenage Iberis was still unskilled at hiding his expressions and controlling his emotions.

“Iberis Hyun? Wait, that name sounds familiar… Oh, I remember now. You’re that S-class Esper? The one who gets promoted every year! A promising talent among talents!”

The man finally recognized Iberis and exclaimed with a brightened face. It was understandable, as the boy before him was an S-class Esper who had been the talk of the town several times in recent years.

“It’s strangely difficult to distinguish Asians. Besides, you look much younger in person than in photos and videos. Oh, but weren’t you supposed to come next week? I’m sure my memory…”

Iberis stared blankly at the man who was scratching the back of his head with a confused face. Greasy hair, bloodshot eyes, stained clothes… At a glance, he looked disheveled like someone who hadn’t been home for days.

“A new official notice came down a few days ago saying my assignment was moved up by about a week. It seems you didn’t receive the message.”

“The date changed? …Was it omitted? Well, anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Captain Ryan Jackson. I’m currently the deputy leader of the operations team here. Somehow, I’ve also been handling personnel matters since last month, but…”

Ryan offered a handshake to Iberis with an embarrassed expression. Perhaps because he was forced to take over the job when the person originally in charge of personnel suddenly quit, mistakes like this kept happening. He frowned when Iberis just stared at his hand instead of shaking it.

“What, you don’t shake hands?”

“Oh, yes.”

Iberis hesitantly took Ryan’s hand at his urging. Immediately, what he had expected happened. Ryan pulled his hand back in surprise.

“Ah, it’s cold! What’s wrong with your hand?”

“My hands are always like this. Because of my ability…”

Iberis’s voice grew quieter as he shrank from Ryan’s intense reaction. Although he should be used to this by now, as everyone he met reacted the same way, he couldn’t help feeling intimidated.

“Ahem, sorry. Did I offend you?”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

“Ugh.”

Ryan groaned at the sight of Iberis trying to act nonchalant. Perhaps because of his appearance, which made him look even younger than Ryan’s nephew, he felt a twinge in his chest.

“Let’s see… You’re 19 now, right? Wow, really just a kid.”

Ryan exclaimed after finding Iberis’s personnel record among the mountain of documents on his desk.

“…I’ll be 20 in three months.”

“20 is still a kid. My nephew is 17 now. No, what was the Director thinking? What does he intend to do with such a young child…”

“If you’re talking about Major General Logan, he said my ability might be better suited for catching criminals than monsters…”

“Huh? What are you talking about? It’s much better to catch monsters. Here, you might have to kill people if you’re not careful.”

Ryan’s expression darkened rapidly. He knew that Director Livio was eager for talent, but he hadn’t expected him to bring a child who wasn’t even an adult yet into the special team.

“He also said it would be convenient for me to work here because the guide with the highest compatibility with me is here.”

“Guide? Oh, come to think of it…”

Reminded of something he had forgotten, Ryan rummaged through his desk again. After a while, he found an official document that had arrived a few weeks ago and hurriedly checked its contents. If his memory was correct…

“It seems I’m your guide?”

“Pardon?”

“That’s right. It says here. I’ve been appointed as your dedicated guide… Our compatibility is 47%… Huh? Is that all?”

“47%? That’s incredibly high.”

The two had polar opposite reactions to seeing the compatibility rate. Ryan looked at Iberis with an incredulous expression.

“How is 47% high? No, wait… This is the highest compatibility rate? Gosh!”

Objectively, 47% is not a high figure. It’s common knowledge even among ordinary people that low compatibility rates result in reduced guiding effectiveness. Normally, a guide with this level of compatibility would rarely perform guiding for an Esper.

However, Iberis was amazed at the 47%. This meant that he hadn’t received proper guiding until now. Ryan groaned at the sight of Iberis’s face, which was as pale as a sick person’s.

Having served in the Defense Force for 12 years, he could imagine how this boy had lived until now without even seeing it. He examined Iberis with complicated eyes. Perhaps because he was only a few years older than his nephew, he felt unnecessarily sympathetic.

“Ahem. It seems I’ve indeed become your guide. Well… Shall we shake hands again? This time as an Esper and a guide.”

“You were surprised when you held my hand earlier…”

“Ah, that was because I didn’t know. Now that I do, I’ll try to endure it.”

Ryan grabbed Iberis’s hand with a kind smile. Although a strong chill rose as soon as he took his hand, he shook it firmly. Not content with just that, he even ruffled Iberis’s hair with his other hand.

“I look forward to working with you!”

“…Yes.”

Iberis looked up at Ryan, perplexed by him not only shaking hands but also touching his head. It was strange to see him pretending to be fine when his hand was visibly shaking and his lips were quivering. The strangest thing was that Iberis himself felt oddly moved by Ryan’s actions.

“I look forward to working with you too.”

Iberis lowered his eyes, biting his lips as if unsure what expression to make. He had come here without any expectations, but a small excitement bloomed in his chest. This was the first day of Iberis becoming a member of the special team.

* * *

Rustle.

Long, firm fingers dug into the disheveled black hair. Delicate eyelids fluttered at the tickling touch stroking his head. Iberis shifted his body, trying to avoid the fingers twirling his hair. However, the arm tightly wrapped around his waist made it difficult.

“Stop it… Captain…”

Iberis mumbled, turning his head to avoid the hand that kept touching his hair. Only then did the movement tormenting his hair stop. But it was brief; this time, it started fiddling with his earlobe.

“Captain Jackson, please stop…”

Finally unable to bear it, Iberis called out the name. The fingers that were still playing with the round tip of his ear paused. Almost simultaneously, a low voice pierced his ear.

“Who are you looking for right now?”

“…Huh?”

Heavy eyelids slowly lifted at the sharp voice. Iberis, unwillingly awakened from sleep, repeatedly opened and closed his eyes with a dazed expression. As his vision gradually cleared, the face of the man holding him came into view.

“Cap…tain?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Lucas responded glumly as Iberis called him with a voice thick with sleep. His eyes were set more rigidly than usual.

“How long did I sleep?”

“Not long. About 40 minutes.”

“40 minutes?”

Iberis slightly raised his body and looked around the room with a drowsy face. He remembered entering the guiding room, but couldn’t recall what happened next. He lifted his head to ask Lucas, but flinched when he saw his expression. Somehow, Lucas seemed to be in a bad mood.

“Did something happen while I was asleep?”

“Well…”

“What is it? Why are you acting like this?”

“…It’s nothing. I’m just being petty, don’t worry about it.”

“You make me curious and then tell me not to worry? Explain it so I can understand. That’s an order.”

Lucas let out a small sigh at Iberis’s questioning. Then he answered grumpily.

“I worked hard on the guiding, but then you called out another guide’s name, and I felt a bit hurt for a moment.”

“What? I did that?”

“Yes. You called me ‘Captain Jackson’. Quite intimately.”

Lucas added the last part, emphasizing his voice.

“Captain Jackson? Ah…”

Iberis let out a small exclamation as he finally realized he had mistaken Lucas for Ryan in his sleep.

“No, it’s just, I had a dream about when I first met Major Jackson…”

“You dreamed about him?”

“Huh? Yeah…”

As Lucas’s gaze grew even sharper, Iberis felt somehow guilty and continued as if making an excuse.