"WHAT?! WHAT IS IT? WHY ME?!" A twenty-six-year-old man with striking pink hair, fiery red eyes with eccentric clothes, various accessories such as earrings and rings hanging from every part of his body. His long legs kept pace with the man in front of him who was walking hurriedly to avoid him.
The people in the room stared at them while shaking their heads slowly. This wasn't the first time this had happened, Kai Wood following their boss was a common sight.
Kai Wood usually spent the whole day following their boss around while rambling about which Esper he should guiding, rambling about why there was no Esper compatible with him until today.
"You must do as you're told, the letter of assignment has already been issued." The man in front of him said so while brandishing the file he was holding at the man with pink hair.
"No, no, why me?! Why me?! I just graduated two years ago! It's a mistake! It can't be!" He screeched loudly, babbling beside the black-haired man. The man stopped his steps suddenly, making the young redhead who was now in front of him stop his steps as well and turn his head.
"Mr. Wood, please do not wear accessories when you are working."
"Oh, come on, Knox, we're not talking about that, are we?"
The man who looked older than him was named Knox, looking at him with a tired gaze. He sighed as he opened the file he had been holding.
"Your compatible rate is ninety-two percent."
"No way! I don't know him!"
Knox lifted the file into the air and hit Kai, who was much taller than him, on the head. Kai winced in pain as Knox slightly used his strength to silence the boy's mouth.
"How can you not know a Noah Miles? Everyone in this country knows him!" Knox sighed as he walked slowly.
Kai trailed behind him again while rubbing the top of his head.
"But I don't know him personally, why is my compatible rate with him so high?!"
Knox massaged his head, Kai who was known to be energetic was not good at studies. Two years ago he had just awakened to become a Guide, after training he was even classified as an S+ Guide which was so rare. Unfortunately, his compatibility with other Esper was less than twenty percent. He had been in the Guild for so long and there was not a single Esper who could take him.
Knox entered the room, behind him the big mouth Kai was still babbling and protesting why he should be the Guide for Noah Miles. A few months ago, Oak Guild was contacted directly by the director of Fern Guild.
They personally requested Oak's S and S+ Guide data. Of course, Knox asked which Esper would be using the Guide this time, because as far as Knox knew Fern hadn't done any recruitment for the past year.
When they said Guide for Noah Miles, Knox immediately took the test. And their compatible results left Knox dumbfounded. 92 percent was no small number.
Knox sat up in his chair, Kai staring at him while hitting the man's desk.
"If you want to protest, you can tell Fern Guild's Director."
Kai's eyebrows visibly throbbed.
"Director Ryan Ainsworth personally asked our Guild for Guide level S as well as S+."
"Asking in personally?" The boy looked interested this time.
Knox sighed. Kai was twenty-six years old, his stature was not too big but it was all muscle, he was so tall, if he's not mistaken his height was around 6'2" but his behavior was just like an eight-year-old boy. He is easily cranky, his curiosity is so high that sometimes it can't be stopped, he is easily persuaded as well as easily shy. He is actually shy, but when he meets people he knows, he becomes talkative.
"You will be living together with Noah Miles starting next week as his Guide."
Kai ruffled his pink hair, he flopped himself onto the chair in front of Knox.
"After no one is compatible with me and now my first assignment is with the most respected person in the entire country? This is crazy, Knox."
"Are you nervous?"
Those red-colored eyes glanced at Knox, he leaned forward on the table.
"Don't joke around. I hate Noah Miles."
Knox blinked his eyes. In his entire life, this was the first time he had heard someone hate Noah Miles who was known as a savior of the country. The man who, since he became an Esper, had been applauded by the people and officials alike.
Knox had just found out that someone could hate Noah Miles. Even though he knew that Noah Miles had a bit of a bad personality.
"Didn't you say you never met him in person?" Knox lifted the mug of still-hot coffee and took a sip.
Kai nodded, agreeing to Knox's question.
"Then how can you hate him if you don't know him?"
Now, it was Kai who blinked his eyes in confusion at Knox's question. The man leaned his back against the chair and crossed his arms over his chest, his lips pursed. He was really acting like a child.
"I just don't like him! There's no reason!"
Oh my God, so childish. Even Knox can't say anything now.
Knox explained to Kai about what the Fern Guild had requested regarding the conditions and also the rules that had to be met, looking back it seemed that the Fern Guild needed the Guide in a hurry. After two years of never hearing from Noah Miles, the man had reappeared in the last few months.
The way he fought and cleared dungeons hadn't changed, it was just that his condition made other guilds talk about him. Noah Miles always returned in a state of near-burn, the only one who always picked him up was Luka. A healer who worked at the Fern Guild's laboratory, using a protective suit, the man would take Noah into a car and simply disappear with a teleport.
This made many Guilds curious about what happened to Noah Miles.
Some guilds even thought that Noah Miles had died in one of the dungeons and Fern Guild had hidden his death, hence his reappearance caused quite an uproar. Moreover, after he disappeared, the appearance of the Dungeon became uncontrollable.
"Did you hear me?" Kai waved his hand in front of Knox's face who sighed again.
"Go and get ready, I'll send you all the rules via email."
Kai didn't argue anymore and just grinned, his lips pushed forward so that the mole under his right lip was pulled forward as well. Knox wanted to smile at that but he held back and watched the man walk away from his office.
Knox has known Kai since the boy was so young and he was still in high school. Mr. Wood, Kai's father was his father's superior. But both of them died in the line of duty, since then Knox has been living with Kai because Kai has no one beside his dad.
The boy was like his own little brother.
Actually, when Kai first awakened and became a Guide, Knox was worried. However, his mother was grateful that Kai was also a Guide just like Knox. He didn't want Kai to go through this, he was too childish to have this much responsibility.
He opened the file he had been holding.
A not-so-great guide meeting the most great and powerful Esper in the entire country. He didn't know why their compatibility was so high, but Kai's strength was not arbitrary in guarding someone. He was an S+ Guide.
"I'm probably worrying too much." Knox muttered, he flipped one page to another.
The written rule was not to tell anything that happened inside Noah Miles' residence to outsiders other than FERN GUILD. His brow furrowed.
FERN GUILD RULES FOR GUIDING NOAH MILES :
Keep quiet and do not share anything that happened inside the Noah Miles residence to anyone other than the person in charge of Noah Miles in FERN GUILD. Do not use perfume that has alcohol. If Noah Miles does anything that could hurt Guide, please report it to FERN GUILD and do not spread it to anyone.Physical contact with Noah Miles is limited to holding hands.Wear protective suit if necessary.
This rule seemed so odd and strange. Knox read it over and over again and now he was really curious about what had happened to Noah Miles after two years of silence and his sudden return. He searched the internet to see what had happened in the past few days after the man returned from the Dungeon. Everything was the same, the news on television and the internet showed his slightly burnt clothes and also his face paled with a reddish tinge.
There was something about Noah Miles after his two-year absence. Knox tapped his finger on the table.
"Hm, this is interesting now." He muttered.