Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

***

I don’t want to eat.

Iberis looked down at the food tray placed in front of him and let out a groan. Steaming mushroom soup, soft morning bread that looked freshly baked, cubed steak salad and tomato caprese, and banana and apple slices cut into bite-sized pieces… Although it looked appetizing at a glance, it was just burdensome to him.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

A voice urged him as soon as he just stared at his portion of the meal. Iberis moved only his eyes to look at Lucas sitting across from him. He had already finished half of his tray.

“…No, it just seems like a lot.”

“You can’t leave any leftovers.”

Lucas looked directly at Iberis with a strict expression. He looked just like a teacher supervising students’ school lunches.

“It seems like the portions are getting bigger. Is that my imagination?”

“It’s not your imagination. I told you before, didn’t I? That we’d gradually increase the amount.”

“If I get an upset stomach from eating like this…”

“I’ve planned the breakfast menu with easily digestible foods to prevent that from happening. Please, eat up.”

After finishing his words, Lucas moved his spoon to continue eating his own meal. Then, as if something wasn’t to his liking, he picked up the pepper shaker next to him and liberally sprinkled it over his soup.

“…Isn’t that too spicy? Doesn’t your tongue burn or your stomach hurt?”

Iberis made a disgusted sound, as if he was put off just by looking at the pepper-covered mushroom soup. Over the past week of eating together, he had come to realize that Lucas’s sense of taste was a bit, no, significantly duller than others.

“The soup was too bland. Now I can finally taste it. And don’t worry, my endoscopy last year came back normal.”

Lucas calmly explained, feeling the astonished gaze on him. He was used to this reaction, having seen it often when he was at the Central Headquarters.

“If you can’t taste it after sprinkling that much pepper, that’s even stranger.”

“I told you before, didn’t I? That my senses are rather dull.”

“That included taste as well?”

“Yes. It’s been like this since I became less sensitive to pain.”

“That sounds like you weren’t always like this from the beginning.”

Iberis easily picked up on the odd part of Lucas’s statement.

“That’s correct. It’s a change that occurred after my awakening.”

“Ah…”

Lucas didn’t particularly deny it. It was well-known that Espers undergo physical changes when they awaken, including changes in appearance or senses. It was also known that these changes weren’t always positive.

“When I awakened, my eye color changed too. And my sensitivity to cold became worse.”

“What color were your eyes originally?”

Lucas showed interest in Iberis’s words. He recalled the story of how Iberis was almost kidnapped by a villain organization and was rescued by Lucas’s parents. Even in the photo taken right after the rescue, Iberis’s eyes were silver-gray.

“They were black before awakening.”

“Ah, that’s right, you’re of Asian descent, aren’t you?”

“That’s right. My mother is from Korea. Though I’m a stateless person born in a defense zone.”

“Korea… It’s a good country.”

Lucas drawled, offering his opinion on Korea. Hearing the word ‘Korea’ made Iberis feel a strange tingling sensation near his shoulder blades.

“Is it a good country? I’ve never been there, so I wouldn’t know.”

“It’s among the top five countries in the world. It’s known as a small but strong country due to its high level of Espers and Guides.”

“Didn’t they have a major human rights issue there not too long ago?”

“That’s right. About 10 years ago, I think? I remember there was a big incident. The military was conducting human experiments on young Espers…”

“Experiments?”

“Yes. While researching Names and Imprints, one of the Espers undergoing experimentation went berserk and destroyed the facility, which is how the incident came to light.”

“That’s terrible. To think such things still happen.”

“Well… honestly, I think every country does it, they just don’t get caught. Even our Defense Force conducts Esper-related research, just within the bounds of not violating human rights.”

Lucas showed a cynical attitude. Although 80 years had passed since rifts started appearing around the world and coexistence with monsters began, there was still much unknown about Esper abilities. Even trying to conduct research faced immediate hurdles, starting with finding Espers willing to volunteer for experiments.

Of course, there were lower-ranked Espers and Guides who participated in experiments for money, but what researchers really wanted were high-ranked Espers.

However, high-ranked Espers and Guides who lacked nothing were unlikely to participate in research that offered them no benefit. As a result, much about Esper abilities remained in the realm of the unknown.

“The reason Korea was able to show notable results in Esper research is because every citizen who awakens must serve in the military without exception. Depending on their rank, they serve for a minimum of 1 year to a maximum of 2 years.”

“Unconditionally? You mean mandatory service?”

“Yes. It seems some people change their nationality to avoid it… but since it’s hard to find a country safer and better to live in than Korea at this point, most accept the reality and choose to serve their time in the military.”

“Hmm, Korea is safe, you say? Wasn’t North Korea turned into a demon realm?”

“As I mentioned earlier, it’s because they have many powerful Espers. The ratio of Espers and Guides to the general population is also very high. When someone awakens, they receive basic training through government support and serve in the military, so even the lower-ranked Espers’ abilities are superior compared to other countries. It’s not for nothing that they say a C-rank Esper from Korea is equivalent to a B-rank Esper from other countries.”

“You know a lot about this.”

Iberis genuinely marveled at Lucas’s explanation. Perhaps because it was his first time hearing about these things, he found it quite interesting.

“Before coming here, I was part of the intelligence department. Also, about two years ago, Lieutenant General Bismarck actively considered recruiting lower-ranked Espers from Korea to solve the Defense Force’s personnel shortage.”

“I see.”

Lucas shrugged towards the curious Iberis as if it was no big deal. In fact, there was one more reason why he had researched about Korea, but it wasn’t something he needed to mention.

“Seeing that we’re still struggling with staff shortages, I guess the recruitment failed.”

“Well, yes. People who don’t even want to serve in their own country’s military wouldn’t come to the Defense Force.”

“That’s true.”

“Anyway, because of the mandatory service system, the government and military in Korea are very strong. The national character of uniting in times of crisis also plays a part. You could say it’s the secret to their survival and becoming a powerful nation during the Great Upheaval.”

“Hmm. Even so, human experimentation is…”

“I’ve heard things changed a lot after that incident. Guilds joined forces to create an association under the pretext of rejecting state control, and Esper human rights organizations popped up one after another…”

“That’s fortunate.”

Iberis nodded while chewing on the tomato caprese. As he listened to Lucas talk about Korea, he realized he knew nothing about his mother’s homeland.

But he hadn’t had the leisure to learn about it until now. After all, when he was rescued by the Defense Force in the aftermath of his awakening, he couldn’t even remember his own name.

“What are you thinking about? Your hand has stopped moving.”

“Huh? Oh, I just thought of my mother for a moment.”

“Your mother?”

“Hearing you talk about Korea suddenly made me think of her. It was so long ago that I don’t remember much now.”

Iberis gave a bitter smile and stirred the cubed steak salad with his fork for no reason. Perhaps because he had thought of his mother, he suddenly lost his appetite.

“Sometimes I regret that my childhood memories are so hazy. I only remember the lullabies my mother sang in her native language and falling asleep in her arms.”

“Did your awakening cause memory problems?”

“Maybe? You know how I awakened, right? You said you researched about me before coming here. So you must have seen the records.”

“…The records I saw stated that a villain organization tried to kidnap young Major Hyun, and the Defense Force, having gathered intelligence, rescued you.”

“You know well. I don’t remember the exact situation at the time, but… oh, want to hear an interesting fact?”

Iberis leaned slightly towards Lucas sitting across from him. A faint mischievous glint appeared in his silver-gray eyes. He lowered his voice to a whisper so only Lucas could hear.

“Actually, the record and reality are a bit different.”

“…What?”

Lucas’s eyes hardened at the unexpected words. He looked at Iberis as if to ask what he meant. He couldn’t help it because it was Lucas’s parents who had saved young Iberis. What Iberis was saying now was tantamount to saying that the two of them had falsified military records.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well…”

Iberis trailed off, looking as if he was debating whether to answer Lucas’s question.

“Major.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll tell you, so stop glaring at me like that. Why are you suddenly so serious?”

Iberis raised his hand towards Lucas as if to say not to rush him. Then he leaned in close again and whispered.

“The truth is, before the Defense Force rescued me, I had already demolished the organization members.”