Chapter 40
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Samuel blinked groggily, trying to gather his senses. His throat felt rough, and he swallowed, grimacing at the dryness.
“You’re busy, aren’t you?”
“Drink some water first.”
Adrien poured a glass and handed it over. Samuel looked at it, then let out a small laugh.
“Could you feed me?”
“…Lying down?”
“Yes.”
Adrien had never imagined something like that before—someone asking to be fed water while lying down—but she didn’t refuse. After a brief pause, she gently supported the back of Samuel’s head and tilted the cup to his lips. Samuel drank without spilling a drop.
“Does anything still hurt? You’re still running a fever.”
“I think so.”
“Is it too hot?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Samuel replied, his eyes drifting shut as he smiled faintly. He still looked as if he was caught in a dream—almost happy.
“Commander, you like my guiding, don’t you?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Then… will you let me be your personal Guide?”
“….”
Adrien bit her lip, her hand tightening around the glass until it threatened to crack. Even if Samuel didn’t know the medical term, he had to realize he’d dangerously overexerted himself—that’s why he’d passed out.
And yet, here he was, asking to be her personal Guide with that innocent look on his face.
“You’re like a moth drawn to a flame, you know that?”
“A moth?”
Samuel laughed, incredulous.
“Can’t I be a butterfly instead?”
“What?”
“A butterfly’s prettier,” he said with a crooked smile.
Adrien was left speechless for a moment.
Samuel just kept smiling, eyes closed, as if the world were still soft around him. With a small sigh, Adrien rubbed her face.
“You passed out from guiding depletion, Ensign. You know how dangerous that is.”
A Guide who completely burns out their energy can die. Normally, guiding doesn’t make you sick, but if you overdo it, the body can’t handle the strain. That’s why personal Guides are usually chosen from the same level as their Esper.
Of course, someone like Adrien could theoretically have even a Bronze-level Guide as their exclusive, if they had several, but she had no desire for that.
“I don’t want to live by taking someone else’s life just to prolong my own.”
“…..”
“How disgusting that would be…especially that person.”
Samuel didn’t answer, his breath having evened out without him realizing. He’d fallen asleep again. He still wasn’t well.
Adrien gazed at him for a long moment. Even in sleep, he frowned at the thin sliver of light creeping in through the window.
Quietly, Adrien went over and closed the curtain tightly, leaving no gaps. Samuel’s expression finally relaxed.
He really did have a clear, beautiful face—so much so, she never wanted to see him hurt or crying.
‘…That’s why it can’t happen.’
Adrien Brillante made a silent vow. She would never make Samuel Norah her dedicated Guide
One tragedy was enough for a lifetime.
* * *
“Why’d you even come all the way out here?”
Adrien asked, frowning at the man in front of her.
The man, draped in a white medical cloak that marked him as a military physician, just smiled.
“Captain Linton Vionne called me so pitifully, how could I refuse?”
“You know how dramatic he gets.”
“And I know there’s no one in the Empire more oblivious to their own health than you, Commander.”
“Captain Alexander Macgis.”
“I prefer Dr. Alex, you know that. I even went and got a university degree so people would call me that, then signed up.”
Alex was a Gold-level healer Esper who had served with Adrien in the 2nd Battalion of the Empire’s Special Forces. His exceptional healing ability meant he was almost always running low on guiding energy, and he’d ended up treating Adrien’s many injuries as well.
But Adrien never looked forward to his visits. Someone as talented as Alex was better suited for a monster-hunting unit or locked away in a lab, not here.
“I heard you nearly had an episode again. Didn’t I tell you if you keep living like this, you’ll end your days as a walking time bomb?”
“Didn’t happen, though.”
“How many of those pills have you been taking lately?”
Alex had demanded his own room in the Security Guard building, and had quickly filled it with medical equipment—his makeshift office and lab. Adrien was his very first patient, and every time they met, Alex would check her condition, knowing she was usually running on empty.
“Three?”
Adrien answered.
“Three a day? That’s a lot less than before.”
“No, three a week.”
“…What?”
Alex, who had been arranging his medical tools, turned to stare at Adrien in shock.
“How did someone who used to take twelve a day cut down that much?”
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