99 Percent Love

“It’s your first day, Yuwon, so I hope it’s a gate with a manageable difficulty.”

“As if it’s something we can control.”

The Espers and Guides, who had been summoned and rushed here upon hearing the news of a gate, were chatting in front of a gate that had not yet opened.

“Seriously, what’s all this commotion so early in the morning?”

“Since when do Gates appear at convenient times? Ugh, but when is this thing going to open? Can I just grab some ramen?”

The atmosphere was still a bit chaotic as the gate had yet to open.

Breaking through the noise, Rion led Yuwon to the gate. With a serious expression on his face, Rion began to explain the gate to Yuwon.

“You probably learned this at school, but this is a gate before it opens. Once it opens, we’ll first check the gate and then go inside. Any gate that opens has to be dealt with within a week, no matter what. Most of them can be dealt with in that time, but…”

While some gates were resolved within three days, there were many gates that took several days or more and were still difficult to deal with.

Remembering situations he didn’t want to think about, Rion frowned.

“If we fail to handle this, innocent people living in this area could end up getting hurt. Keep that in mind.”

Rion looked around as he spoke. There was an elementary school nearby, and several apartment complexes in the area.

“Even if we can defeat the monsters coming out of the gate, they could still harm people. Anyway, I hope it’s a gate we can deal with quickly.

It was Yuwon’s first day working with him, and even apart from that, Rion always hoped that the gates that appeared before him would be of low rank.

In any case, he prayed that it would be a gate he could handle within a week. Even in his fourth year on the job, it was a wish he made every single time.

“Oh, it’s opening.”

With a chilling screech, the Gate began to emit palpable waves of energy.

The Gate’s pre-measurement rank was B. Although pre-measurements were sometimes off, this didn’t seem to be the case.

“You threw up in fear the first time you went in, didn’t you?”

“And you ran away, only to be dragged back by the seniors!”

“Hey, hey. Stop fighting. Yuwon, since it’s your first day and you’re probably seeing monsters for the first time, don’t overdo it. If it feels like too much, speak up right away.”

Rion calmed the snarling juniors and turned to Yuwon.

Even though this was an age where videos of gate monsters could be found online or on TV, seeing them on a screen and meeting them in person were two completely different experiences.

Having seen more than a few rookies boast confidently only to freeze and collapse in fear moments later, Rion patted Yuwon lightly on the shoulder.

“If it gets too scary, I’ll take care of everything, so just run straight to me.”

He couldn’t quite imagine the stiff rookie panicking and running towards him, but Rion deliberately exaggerated and laughed to calm Yuwon’s nerves.

“Yes.”

As expected, the answer was predictably boring.

Well, if he got scared, it was cute in its own way, and if he handled things smoothly, he was a capable talent – either way, it was a good result. Deciding to think positively, Rion gave a small nod.

“Let’s go in now.”

“Alright.”

With that, the party of seven espers and five guides stepped into the gate.

The minimum number of personnel required to operate a gate was five espers and three guides, but with a newcomer today, the team was slightly larger than usual.

“Ugh, I hope we don’t run into anything as disgusting as last time.”

“Right? It’s hard enough to change clothes inside the gate, and walking around covered in sticky stuff for a whole week was such a pain.”

“Let’s prioritise finding a place to wash up this time.”

The experienced members, accustomed to the unpredictable situations inside the gates, began moving around to scout the area. While outside the gate it was dawn with the faint light of morning, inside it was the bright, blistering heat of midday.

“Just listening to their chatter should tell you that unexpected situations can happen inside the gate. So the first priority when entering is to assess the terrain.

After a brief explanation of the situation, Rion used telekinesis to lift himself into the sky. He surveyed the area from above, then spoke.

“Three kilometers south of your position, there’s a large lake. As for the boss… it seems to be over there. If you follow the lake, there’s a cave. I can feel an unusual energy coming from inside.

“As expected from Rion, you’re the best.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Using Rion as a compass, the espers started walking. Soon they reached the lakeshore, where they set up camp and got to work.

“On the ground, they come from five and eleven o’clock. I’ll take care of the ones in the sky, so don’t worry about them.”

“Understood.”

The espers evacuated the guides to a safe place and released the monster bait they had brought. The scent quickly attracted monsters from all directions.

“Kiieeek!”

“I’ll take care of this side, you just concentrate on that side!”

While Rion and the other espers dealt with the monsters, back at the camp, Seoha, the esper assigned to guard the guides, struck up a conversation with Yuwon to calm his nerves.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Han Seoha.”

“I’m Lee Yuwon.”

“I never thought I’d see Rion with a guide. Life really is full of surprises.”

Seoha looked at Yuwon with curiosity, her face filled with fascination.

She was deeply interested in this young Guide who had become the sole saviour of an Esper with record-breaking abilities – an S-rank Esper, no less.

It wasn’t just her; every Esper and Guide in the Centre felt the same way.

“Has Rion ever guided with you before?”

“Yes.”

“No wonder. Your complexion looks so much better today. I thought you might even be wearing make-up?” 

Seoha said with a laugh.

“I always felt a bit sorry for him, watching him work while barely taking care of himself, nodding off here and there. But I guess we won’t be seeing that so much anymore. It’s really a relief that you showed up, Yuwon.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah. I guess you didn’t know.”

Seoha covered her mouth belatedly.

But only for a moment. Now that the issue of the guide had been resolved, and since Yuwon was his matching guide, she thought it wouldn’t hurt to explain the situation.

“You know that there hasn’t been a guide matching Rion’s wavelength until now, right? What hasn’t been made public is that the situation was actually worse than it seemed.”

“How bad was it?”

“It was a chronic lack of leadership. And we’re talking about an S-rank who’s famous for overworking himself without a second thought for his own health. Nosebleeds were normal for him, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to collapse immediately after leaving a gate.

I was such a rookie then. I remember how shocked I was – ugh.

Seoha shuddered, as if remembering something terrible.

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“Of course not. If it had gotten out, there would’ve been chaos – questions about Esper rights, fears about his condition, you name it. The centre worked hard to keep it from leaking out.”

Yuwon’s face darkened at her words.

Ah, maybe it’s hard for a newcomer to understand such adult matters? Seoha paused for a moment to gauge Yuwon’s reaction before continuing.

“More than anything, Rion didn’t want it to be known. Probably even more than the director. He didn’t want others to worry unnecessarily.”

“…”

But these words seemed not to be enough to smooth Yuwon’s furrowed brow. Worried that she might have shown the rookie the dark side of the organisation too soon, Seoha quickly added more.

“Rion is kind of… no, obviously a workaholic. Just recently, he collapsed from exhaustion right after leaving a gate, and the director told him to take at least a week off to rest and not think about anything. But he flatly refused and ended up arguing with the director about it. Who turns down a week’s paid holiday?”

As she spoke, Seoha shook her head, as if she really couldn’t understand Rion’s attitude.

“Anyway, the centre doesn’t force people to work against their will. It’s just that Rion, without a guide on his wavelength, was overworking himself, especially with his abilities. But now that you’re here, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Seoha ended with a compliment, trying to encourage Yuwon. But no matter how much she explained the situation, Yuwon still couldn’t fully understand Rion.

“Did you say that the highest match rate so far didn’t exceed 40 percent?”

“Oh, right. Even among the A-rank guides, the highest was only 34 percent. It was like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

Yuwon remembered the first time he had guided Rion, who had clung to his hand. The image of Rion’s blushing, grinning face was still vivid in his mind.

“Yuwon, you really are the saviour not only of our centre but of the whole country. So please don’t get hurt and work with us for a long, long time.

And if possible, I hope we will be assigned to the same gates often… Seoha hinted at her true feelings.

With S-rank Esper Rion and S-rank Guide Yuwon, any gate assignment would undoubtedly be safer and more efficient compared to working with others.

“This time, Rion will finally get all the guidance he needs.”

Maybe they’d even break the record for the fastest gate clearance. Seoha nodded to herself, her thoughts optimistic.

While Seoha nodded, Yuwon raised his head and looked at Rion, who was dealing with the incoming monsters. Although he couldn’t see clearly, he could tell that the monsters heading towards Rion were falling to the ground one by one.

“I hope he comes back without getting hurt.”

Narrowing his eyes, Yuwon strained to make out Rion’s figure in the distant chaos.