The attendant who had been present looked at the Esper he’d guided with an astonished face. He’d heard there was quite an oddball among the new recruits this time, and it seemed the man before him was that person.
Chris Northern Light.
The man bearing the surname given to Espers without connections had a truly chilling face. Other Espers acted as if they’d drool at any moment upon seeing a guide, but this man showed unusually no reaction. Even though Luca was a fairly decent guide despite being C-rank and treated him kindly, his face showed no emotion.
There was no Esper who wasn’t enchanted by guides. This was an immutable truth. But Chris always appeared composed. To the point where when an Esper and guide were in the same place, there was no need for an attendant to activate the sleep needle in the bracelet just in case.
So much so that when rumors spread that Chris’s ability to transform into a wolf during the drug distributor arrest operation was beast transformation, jokes emerged in the inner building attendant community that he wasn’t an Esper but a lycanthrope or werewolf.
“I’m likely to be dispatched externally soon, so today’s guiding with you will probably be the last.”
As soon as the guiding ended, Chris, who had withdrawn his hand, bowed his head in greeting.
“Please be careful on your trip.”
Guides were also dispatched to other continents. Naturally, there were Espers on all continents besides the June Continent where Northern Light was located, and they too couldn’t live in society without guides.
“You don’t look regretful. Well, thanks to that plain demeanor, I can speak to you this comfortably.”
Luca, who had risen from his seat, waved his hand.
“Goodbye.”
After the guide left, Chris also stood up following the attendant. When he operated his terminal to report to his instructor that guiding was now finished, a reply came telling him to come to the 10th floor of the outer building. It was where the ‘field team’ that handled criminal cases across all continents was located. And what arrived in succession was authorization to access the 10th-floor elevator.
***
“Welcome.”
Chris recognized the face of the team leader welcoming him with open arms. It was the man who had been the commander during the first and last operation he’d gone on. He couldn’t remember the name, but he was a physical enhancement ability user. Though he didn’t do beast transformation like Chris, he could temporarily amplify specific physical abilities.
“I’m Yont Günter, an A-rank enhancement type who will be your commander from now on.”
“I’m Chris Northern Light. B-rank enhancement type.”
I know well. Yont, who burst into a hearty laugh, immediately got to the main point.
“Do you remember the person you found in complete beast transformation state when deployed in actual combat?”
“Yes.”
Because the target was a drug addict, he could find him by that smell. The sense of smell of Chris transformed into a wolf discovered the man hiding in an empty container and handed him over to the department handling the case. Everyone praised Chris’s competence in unison for his decisive contribution to rooting out the remnants.
“During his interrogation, we obtained unexpected information.”
“Please tell me.”
“Chris Danil, the hunting dog of Yuri Sobolev who rules the November Continent, has gone missing.”
Watching the new Esper flinch at the name Chris, the team leader smiled.
“Of course, that Chris uses telekinesis, so he can’t possibly be the same person as you, a beast transformation ability user. He’s just someone who shares the same name.”
He had heard about Chris, who was called Yuri Sobolev’s hunting dog. An S-rank Esper, of which there were fewer than twenty across all continents, and a telekinesis ability user. Behind the hunting dog, who was called by his nickname rather than his name, followed all sorts of horrible rumors. The murder cases he committed were not just one or two, and because he used telekinesis, most were processed as accidental deaths, making it difficult to catch his trail.
Furthermore, the reason Northern Light’s resident Espers withdrew from the November Continent and only dispatched Espers remained was also because of this hunting dog.
“The higher-ups have judged that now, with Yuri Sobolev’s limbs severed, is the opportunity to normalize the November Continent, and decided to send a team composed of Espers and guides.”
“I heard that Northern Light’s branch in the November Continent only has administrative personnel and dispatched Espers remaining. Isn’t that place too dangerous to station guides? The airship could be hijacked…”
One of the team members raised a reasonable doubt. Guide kidnapping and human trafficking were still rampant problems. Especially in the winter continents that were no different from lawless territories, it was extremely rare for registered guides to set foot there.
“But we can’t leave it in that state forever. If no one takes the first step, the November Continent will be abandoned. Along with the ordinary people living there.”
At Yont’s stern words, the listener agreed and stepped back. Perhaps he had stepped forward unconsciously because of concern for the safety of the guide who would accompany them.
“Then I’ll prepare for dispatch.”
At Chris’s calm words, Yont looked at him with a surprised expression.
“You’ve cleverly realized that you’ve been assigned to the special team going to the November Continent.”
“I thought you weren’t the type to explain an operation to a new recruit like me without any reason.”
If there was something that concerned him, it was whether his just-awakened self would be helpful, but that wasn’t for Chris to decide anyway. He would just follow the higher-ups’ orders.
“It must be unexpected, yet you don’t resist. I like that attitude. Then I’ll send you the schedule soon.”
Yont said, pointing to the terminal. Northern Light used a special network built by mental-type Espers, and that network could only be accessed through terminals given exclusively to insiders.
“Ah, right. I didn’t tell you this.”
Yont threw something shiny to Chris.
“Welcome to Team Crow.”
Chris, who reflexively caught the object, looked down at the badge engraved with a black crow that had landed in his hand.
“You won’t need it in the November Continent since you’ll be acting like ordinary people, but keep it anyway. It’s a procedure for a sense of belonging.”
Yont turned around, humming a tune that went ‘New recruit. It’s a new recruit.’
‘Team Crow, huh…’
Chris quietly gripped the badge. Following his Esper registration card, it was the appearance of an object that would prove his ‘affiliation.’
## Chapter 2. Yuri
Chris boarded the airship exactly three days after being briefed about this mission. During those three days, Chris repeatedly looked at his terminal, checking all the details over and over. Inside were fake identities with everything from birth to name being false, and information about where he would stay in the November Continent was also included.
This airship, said to be modeled after airplanes from the old era, became capable of more stable operation than before due to the appearance of Espers who handled wind among elemental types. The downside was that since there weren’t many elemental wind Espers, the airship’s operation schedule was limited.
Since the continents were split into twelve, more transportation was needed than before, so demand overflowed but supply was insufficient. The value of airships exploded, and there was even a saying that if you awakened as a wind Esper, three generations could live without working.
Scientists clung to restoring airplanes. Some poured out announcements through the media that they had succeeded in test flights.
However, airplane operations were still not approved. Resources were scarcer than in the old era, and since it hadn’t been completely determined what caused the great upheaval, strict regulations were in place on using the energy sources that people of the past had used as they were.
Some said that so-called black gold was sleeping in the places called winter continents. Many forecast that if they could just drive out the mafia Yuri Sobolev occupying the November Continent, the world’s reconstruction would be much faster and they could regain the development and prosperous days of the old era.
But Yuri Sobolev’s fortress was solid, and no one could cross into the November Continent. In the meantime, companies that supported airplane research went bankrupt one after another, and scientists or engineers who had clung to developing new aircraft following their dreams disappeared while bearing debts.
These circumstances were one of the reasons why the Esper Union couldn’t lay hands on the winter continents. There was a limit to the manpower they could send in at once by airship. Not only that, but since the operation schedule itself was rare and their comings and goings were easily exposed, Espers’ infiltration was difficult, and even if they somehow secretly entered, it was common for them to go missing and be found as corpses.
[Welcome aboard our SH-2938. I’m Captain Goldilocks, who will safely take you passengers to your destination through the sky route. The port of call is the September Continent, and it will take about six hours to the November Continent. The required time may vary depending on weather conditions, and in preparation for turbulence—]
The airship captain wearing the Esper Union uniform appeared on the seat terminal to greet them. The woman with beautiful blonde hair and dark skin straightened her chest and explained the operation schedule.
The moment he thought the screen had turned off, the Esper Union logo passed by along with a beautiful turquoise aurora shimmering against a dark sky background.
As if it were the only hope of this chaotic era.
[Northern Light protecting a more valuable future]
After those words passed, the screen truly turned off.
It was an advertisement commonly seen anywhere that ran on Esper support. Broadcasting such public service advertisements targeting all continents was also one of the June Continent’s policies to improve Espers’ image.
