“That those people there are patients.”
There was a heavy resonance in those words. Chris bowed his head.
“Thank you for sharing such personal information.”
One thing became certain.
There was a mastermind behind the darkness of the November Continent. But it wasn’t Yuri Sobolev but a third party.
Chris became curious about who that mastermind was.
“Is Guiding drug treatment just gradually reducing the medicine?”
“Of course not. Treating people addicted to Guiding drugs requires Guiding. You reduce the drug dosage and fill that empty space with Guiding. Fortunately, Guiding Delight and Gentle Poison circulating in the back alleys are not even as good as a C-rank Guide’s Guiding. If it weren’t for the addictiveness characteristic of drugs, you could shake it off and get up quickly, but Guiding drugs act like narcotics even on Espers.”
Drugs that work on Espers.
Perhaps because he heard it from a doctor who’d researched this for a long time rather than Yuri, that absurd existence gradually hit home.
Guiding drugs existed and could be used to brainwash Espers, each of whom was no different from a weapon.
What was the mastermind trying to achieve by releasing this on the November Continent? Strike White Night and take the position Yuri currently held?
Jessica’s words suddenly interjected into Chris’s thoughts.
“Especially in cases of brainwashing, full Guiding is essential.”
At the words “full Guiding,” Yuri came to mind. He had confined him and pushed Guiding to the point of seeming harsh. Even after the energy imbalance was completely resolved, he endlessly filled and filled him again like an empty well.
Did Yuri think he’d been brainwashed?
Well, from Yuri’s perspective, he was Chris Danil who had disappeared and appeared as a Northern Light agent. It wasn’t strange to think he was broken or brainwashed somewhere.
“There’s a separate Guiding team dedicated to addicts. Want to meet them?”
Guiding team.
Chris’s eyes widened at the implication of those words.
Were the Guides who’d been kidnapped and disappeared on the winter continent, and were said to have been sold into the back alleys, here?
“I’d like to meet them.”
Chris actively spoke up.
“Good.”
Chris, who had been blankly watching Jessica tap the communicator, suddenly brought up a question.
“By any chance, what happened to the patient Mr. Sobolev mentioned in the video?”
At those words, Jessica raised her head.
“…That year the rehabilitation center was first established. When I returned from the Medical Academy, the first class of graduates had been produced, and he was one of them. Even now he occasionally sends things like bread or cookies. That family’s eldest is already all grown up and helping his dad with work.”
It worked out really well, didn’t it? she laughed softly. Chris’s gaze looked down at the floor.
At his feet, a handful of sunlight that had entered through the window was sparkling.
***
Guided by Jessica, Chris was led to the Guiding team at the end of the corridor.
“This is Gwen Dalton, the team leader of the Guiding team.”
The man who stood up from his seat greeted him.
“I’m Gwen Dalton, the team leader of the Guiding team. I’m in charge of addicted Espers.”
Gentle speech and a calm demeanor. In addition, slightly drooping eyes created a docile and round impression. Looking at the washed-out gray hair and yellow eyes, Chris paused.
He vaguely remembered that the electrokinetic Esper he’d encountered when escaping from Section 4 last time also had yellow eyes, and the color was the same.
Shaking hands with the man who extended his hand while wearing gloves like Yuri, Chris felt a bit dazed.
Beep, a sound came from Jessica’s side. She tapped her earpiece and opened her mouth.
“I wanted to guide you around more, but I got a call. This job keeps you so busy you can’t even breathe. Well then Gwen, please take good care of Mr. Danil. The current security level is level 2, so keep that in mind when talking.”
Having poured out everything she had to say, she left the Guiding room almost like the wind. Chris tried not to show his surprise. Though Jessica was also an Esper, he hadn’t thought she would leave Chris, a complete stranger Esper, here alone.
For Chris, who had always met Guides accompanied by supervisors, and even when receiving Guiding from Luca after coming to the November Continent was surrounded by surveillance cameras, this situation was awkward.
“First, let’s sit.”
Gwen offered a seat. Chris squeezed his body into the small chair.
“Shall I make you coffee or tea?”
“Water is sufficient.”
Beverages with strong taste or aroma make it difficult to quickly notice if other drugs are mixed in. Chris was still wary of Yuri and members of White Night.
Gwen handed him a bottle of water that had been available. Though the cap was sealed, Chris didn’t open it right away but just bowed his head to express thanks.
“I heard you wanted to meet the Guiding team.”
“Yes. I’ve never seen a team composed of Guides at Northern Light. I was curious about what kind of work they do, so I asked.”
Like Team Crow, which was composed only of Espers, there was a separate Guiding team. Moreover, this was a corridor with a ward full of addicts, yet there was a room separately prepared where Guides waited in real-time.
For Chris, who had memorized about a hundred precautions about Guides at Northern Light, this environment felt extremely dangerous.
“As you know, victims of Guiding drugs are gathered here. The further you go into the inner patient rooms, the more severe patients there are. The medical staff adjusts the drug dosage and observes the patient’s response accordingly before prescribing, then we go in to do Guiding.”
“The number of addicts seems large—can the Guiding team alone cover it?”
“For security reasons, I can’t tell you the number or rank of Guides belonging to the team, but currently we don’t need reinforcement. Unless it’s an emergency, we don’t get calls after work hours. You can also choose your work hours according to personal preference. The work schedule is arranged so that at least one person is always stationed on this floor.”
Listening to Gwen Dalton’s explanation, it seemed like this wasn’t White Night, a mafia organization, but some kind of sanatorium.
“Since the patients are in an addicted state, their emotional ups and downs must be erratic and sometimes they might show violent tendencies—is the work environment safe?”
“Guards accompany us for unexpected situations. This is the same when medical staff make rounds. Above all… those people don’t want to tear their own lifeline.”
“They’re Espers, so they won’t just use physical force.”
Ordinary humans would throw punches, but what they were dealing with were Espers. In a pinch, they could use their abilities to subdue the other person.
“Every single one of them suffers from energy imbalance. The energy imbalance caused by Guiding drugs is a bit different from the normal kind. They can’t use their abilities until they take the drug again or receive full Guiding after treatment.”
Brainwashing followed by neutralization of abilities.
Chris muttered in a disgruntled tone.
“That drug seems to be for subduing Espers rather than for Guiding.”
Then an alarm went off on Gwen’s device.
“It’s lunchtime. I have medicine I need to take with every meal… If it’s okay with you, shall we talk over a meal?”
At Gwen’s words, Chris asked with a disgruntled tone. Setting aside whether it was okay to follow, Gwen’s safety still bothered him.
“Don’t you need to call a guard to go outside?”
When Chris hesitated without immediately standing up, Gwen answered.
“I’m not at an age where I still need a chaperone.”
It was a word he’d read when browsing through the Nostalgia Archives. In the old days, a virtuous noblewoman who accompanied a noble young lady who had just had her debutante ball was called a chaperone. It was a concept of a kind of guardian.
Watching Gwen mention the culture of old times that hardly anyone reads about in this era, Yuri naturally came to mind.
The end of the yellow brick road, Magnolia Antiquarian Bookshop.
But just as the Emerald City Dorothy visited was fiction, Chris’s wizard was also fake. No, Yuri wasn’t a wizard but a mafioso to begin with.
Using a Glock instead of a magic wand.
‘Glock?’
Chris frowned slightly. Just now, something felt like it was about to come to mind.
The dull sensation of a muzzle felt around his lips…
“Understood.”
Shaking off the memory of the bookshop, Chris stood up from his seat and followed Gwen.
The team leader of the Guiding team, Gwen Dalton, seemed accustomed to moving around White Night’s interior. Chris arrived at the cafeteria he guided him to and scanned the surroundings.
Quite a few people were eating.
“It doesn’t seem like a cafeteria used only by Guides.”
The head count was far too large for that.
“The cafeteria is a common space. Espers, Guides, and non-ability users all move around. Of course, they’re all members belonging to White Night.”
“Isn’t it dangerous for Guides to move around in such a place?”
Chris asked in a voice mixed with concern.
