Facilities built for espers were different in performance than for civilians, including the gym.
Even a simple treadmill at the slowest setting was 3 times faster than their normal ones.
Seeing a field full of blackmailing– ahem, I mean, bonding material – of course, I wouldn't miss this opportunity and made another bet.
"Raghh! I'm going to beat you and wipe that smugness off of your face!" Xain was sweating bullets as he ran on the treadmill, but he didn't show any signs of backing down.
"Haa… How could you! To a mage like me!" On the other hand, Cedric was gasping for breath like a dying rat.
I smirked in smugness at both of them. As speed was my forte, this level of running was a breeze for me.
"I'll buy you lunch if you guys can defeat me in speed."
"To hell…! With lunch! Just let me…! Rest already!"
"But then you won't get a week off to play games."
"Aghh! Curse you, Ethan!" he shouted frustratedly.
Cedric had the weakest physical fitness out of the three of us because he mostly relied on his skills with no physical combat. So I didn't blame him for his poor performance on his first day of training.
In the end – out of our one-hour running session – I came out the victor.
Cedric was already lying on his stomach on the floor, wasted. While Xain – even if he's still standing – was swaying as if he could fall down any moment.
He glared at me, "No fair! You made a bet because you know you could win don't you?! Challenge me to a weight lift then! I could easily beat you!"
And weight lifting we did. In terms of strength, I had to admit that Xain was indeed the best out of us. Just as he said, with a total weight of 3000 kilograms – which he managed to lift – he easily beat us.
He wasn't dubbed the God of Pure Strength for nothing.
As promised, I admitted defeat and asked them to select their favourite restaurant for lunch.
Then I brought them to a meditation center.
"Meditation… center?"
"Yes, I want you guys to purify your thoughts."
Cedric scrunched his nose, "What are you even thinking? Do you want us to become ascetics?"
'He must think I'm crazy.'
But meditation was something I considered a lot before deciding. Other than calming the mind, it also taught us restriction and self-control. There's no way I'd let them miss this opportunity.
I tapped his shoulder, "Cedric." Then emphasized every word that came out of my mouth next. "One. Week. Off."
He looked at me up and down then clicked his tongue.
I smiled at his gesture. We reached another non-verbal agreement. And so, we meditated for 30 minutes until our feet got cramps.
.
.
10:09 A.M.
We arrived in front of Ability User Bureau guide building. Because today was our day off, we would be focusing on guiding. After all, maintaining espers' wavelength was also part of the daily job.
We settled down inside one of the guiding room and waited for Ilyas. But before that, I need to address something.
"I need you guys to stop forcing Ilyas to do things he doesn't want."
My eyes landed on each of their eyes, letting my words settle in their minds.
"I didn't even do anything weird to him." Cedric said without a hint of guilt.
"Yeah, I just asked him to guide exclusively for me." Xain followed.
I sighed, "Look, I don't really know what principles of life you guys live by, but at least follow this advice if you want Ilyas to like you. I don't want to see any of you fight because of another 'misunderstanding'."
"Becoming an exclusive guide to someone means dedicating their life to one person. It's not as simple as 'I want you, so you have to be mine' where you treat your guide like an object. Do you know the weight of another human being?" I rubbed my temple as I ranted my heart out.
"So, Cedric, Xain, try questioning this to yourself. Do you want Ilyas to be your exclusive guide purely out of your obsession of his guiding ability or because you need him as a partner?"
"..."
Neither of them said anything, so I let it slide for the time being. Maybe they would slowly realize what's good and what's bad. If worse came to worst, I'd beat some sense into them using my fist.
"Excuse me."
Ilyas entered the room in confident steps. Now that all members had gathered and our guide was here, there's no need to wait.
Xain was the first in line, so I took Cedric with me to leave the room. 40-minute guiding session was scheduled for each of us, and before that, we were free to do whatever we wanted.
Cedric had already settled down on the bench nearby, playing his games. While I sat down a bit further and opened up social media.
When scrolling mindlessly, a headline caught my eye.
[First in history : The first S-Rank Guide in the world, Ilyas Anderson, has matching rate as high as 96%!]
'So the bureau finally released the info to the public, huh.'
Luckily, they only published his name, leaving his private information secret. Or else Ilyas' house would be swarming with reporters right now.
"Ethan, your turn." Ilyas invited me in.
Cedric and Xain had already finished their guiding.
"Your hand please."
Looking at his face, the memory of yesterday replayed in my mind. Ilyas was so bold in making his moves, it made me embarrassed.
"Ethan?" Ilyas tilted his head.
And now he acted like he didn't know what he had done.
I swallowed down a sigh.
'I'm going crazy for no reason.'
Under his demanding gaze, I obediently held out my hand. Ilyas rummaged through his pocket, then put a red pouch on my palm.
"Take it, it's a protective charm. It was something my grandma used to carry before she handed it to me. Saying I should give it to someone I trust."
'He gives something that important to me?'
I didn't know what kind of trust I'd gained from him, but I would treasure it. I slipped the pouch into my suit's inner pocket and tapped it twice for good luck.
"Alright, let's start guiding."
Ilyas grabbed my hand with a mischievous smile on his face. With no hesitation, he yanked me onto the sofa. I tumbled for a bit before regaining my balance.
Somehow, I had ended up on top of him.
"That was dangerous, Ilyas."
My free hand and knee managed to support me from completely falling on top of his body. I gazed at Ilyas below me. He sat while grinning widely – still holding my hand.
He closed up the distance between us, whispering in my ear.
"I know, I did it knowing exactly what would happen."
He what?
'This kid, do you know how heavy the body of a grown man is? What if you got injured?'
Ilyas chuckled, "Ah, that's your worried expression. I know I could trust you."
He released my hand, tapping on his lap instead, "Lay your head here."