Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

“You’ve lost? Are you surrendering already?”

Iberis taunted Caleb, who had fallen on his backside and declared defeat, with a disappointed expression.

“I’ll challenge you again next time.”

“Good.”

As Caleb promised a future rematch, Iberis nodded and gestured for him to get up. He felt a bit sorry that he couldn’t help Caleb up himself.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you up. My hands are cold…”

“It’s alright.”

Caleb, knowing Iberis’s situation, replied that it was fine as he stood up. His whole body ached from being pummeled like a punching bag. However, he showed no sign of it and bowed his head stiffly.

“It was an interesting match. I knew you were strong, but… I almost had my bones broken.”

“I learned a lot. Thank you.”

As Caleb stood up and bowed politely to Iberis, the unit members who had been watching the sparring applauded in unison.

“You were so cool, Major!”

“That was great to watch! You were the best!”

“Hey, you’re all overreacting… Huh?”

Iberis, spotting Lucas among the cheering crowd, opened his eyes wide. Then he trotted over like a dog seeing its owner.

“Captain? When did you get here?”

“Just now. Lieutenant Cali told me you were here.”

Lucas felt a strange satisfaction at Iberis approaching him directly. For this moment, the sinking feeling and confusing emotions from earlier completely disappeared.

“Ah. What’s the matter?”

Iberis asked about Lucas’s business after a short exclamation. Since they had done guiding in the morning and it was still far from dinner time, there was no reason for Lucas to look for him.

“Wipe yourself.”

Instead of answering Iberis’s question, Lucas handed him a towel from the wall. While he liked seeing Iberis’s usually colorless skin flushed from sparring with Caleb, he was very bothered by the exposed collarbone and shoulder visible through the disheveled workout clothes.

“Ah, thanks.”

Iberis took the towel Lucas offered with a faint smile. Due to his constantly cold body, he rarely sweated usually, but he did sweat a bit after such intense exercise.

“Let’s change your clothes before your body cools down.”

While Iberis wiped his sweat, Lucas reached out to tidy up his clothing.

“Hmm, since you’re here, want to spar with me? We talked about doing it sometime before but never got the chance.”

At Iberis’s suggestion, everyone’s eyes turned to Lucas. The unit members knew from recent missions that Lucas’s combat skills were quite high-level. So they all sent expectant looks. However, Lucas had no intention of becoming a spectacle.

“I’m sorry, but it seems difficult today. My clothes aren’t suitable for sparring either.”

Lucas refused, pointing to his uniform. He could do it if he wanted, but he didn’t particularly want to.

“I guess so…”

Iberis clicked his tongue in disappointment after checking Lucas’s attire. Then he showed interest in Lucas’s unusually disheveled uniform top.

“You didn’t button your shirt all the way up today?”

“I unbuttoned it just now. The office was a bit hot.”

“Hmm…?”

Iberis tilted his head and asked again about Lucas’s reason for coming. He was certain Lucas wouldn’t have come to see him without a reason.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“…It’s not appropriate to talk here. Let’s go to either your office or mine.”

“Alright.”

Iberis nodded compliantly at Lucas’s suggestion and left the sparring room. He thought it would be good to change clothes as he was starting to feel chilly.

“Lieutenant Denver, I enjoyed today. Let’s spar again next time.”

“Yes, Major.”

“I’ll be going now, everyone keep exercising hard.”

After saying goodbye to Caleb, Iberis left a final word for the unit members and departed the training room with Lucas.

* * *

“So, why did you come looking for me?”

Iberis, seated on the sofa in the office, looked at Lucas sitting across from him.

“I have something to discuss about our guiding method.”

Lucas took a sip of the chamomile tea Brenda had brought and answered calmly. Perhaps because he had calmed his emotions and organized his thoughts on the way here, he was able to face Iberis as usual.

“Guiding? Why?”

Iberis blinked at the unexpected topic. After all, he was satisfied with his guiding sessions with Lucas.

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s not exactly a problem… But I’m concerned that our matching rate has been stagnant for a week.”

“Matching rate? Isn’t our current rate… 69%? Isn’t that okay?”

Iberis looked at Lucas with a puzzled expression. To him, a 69% matching rate seemed sufficiently high.

“No, it should be at least 75%.”

“Hmm, but it’s been steadily increasing until now. Weren’t we at 62% at first? A 7% increase in a month doesn’t seem bad…”

“It’s not bad, but it’s not good either. Moreover, there’s been no change at all for a week.”

“The matching rate can’t increase every day, can it? At this rate of change, wouldn’t we reach 75% in a few months?”

“We might reach 75% eventually. But I’m worried because we’ve increased guiding time over the past week.”

“Ah. So you mean… you’re concerned that there’s no change despite more guiding, and it might not increase further?”

Iberis looked at Lucas as if asking if he understood correctly.

“That’s right. According to my expectations, we should have surpassed 70% by now. If we hadn’t increased guiding time, it would be understandable, but no change despite the adjustment is not a good sign.”

Clink. Lucas put down his teacup and met Iberis’s gaze with a serious face.

“Your condition dropped significantly after tackling the A-class rift last time, right? And you were tired until the next day after the B+ class rift operation and the N-2 sector support request.”

“That’s true. But the mana pollution and circulation levels in my body didn’t worsen. Didn’t you tell me it was okay then?”

“Numbers aren’t everything. Your recovery is slower than I expected… I felt that this couldn’t continue.”

“So your solution was to increase guiding time to raise the matching rate? But it had no effect?”

“Yes. As you know, the higher the matching rate, the more effective the guiding. And to become your official exclusive guide, we need to reach 75%.”

“I know that, but…”

“Ugh,” Iberis groaned, finding it difficult to understand at once. He seemed to grasp what Lucas was worried about, but strangely felt that he was being too hasty.

“Although your field operations have decreased compared to before, there’s no guarantee it will stay that way. If an A-grade rift occurs like last time, you’ll have to use your ability… And there are ongoing rumors about a monster wave possibly occurring in the Death Lands.”

Lucas would have been more relaxed if there was a guarantee that situations requiring Iberis to overuse his ability wouldn’t occur. However, the N sector was a place where anything could happen at any time.

That’s why Lucas wanted to raise the matching rate to 75% as quickly as possible. He believed this would prevent Iberis’s condition from worsening and allow for more efficient treatment.

“Therefore, I think it’s best to raise the matching rate as soon as possible.”

“I understand what you’re saying. So what do you suggest? Increasing guiding time again?”

“No. I’d like us to spend a little more time together than we do now.”

“…What?”

Iberis’s expression became perplexed at the unexpected suggestion. They were already spending several hours a day together. How much more time could they possibly spend together? Was it even possible? It seemed impossible no matter how he thought about it.

“We do guiding every morning, have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together… What more can we do from here?”

Lucas remained silent in response to Iberis’s question. He seemed to be hesitating about something.

“Captain?”

Iberis tilted his head as Lucas didn’t answer when asked about his method. He picked up the teacup in front of him, feeling thirsty from the conversation. As he brought the cup to his lips, Lucas broke his silence and spoke.

“…To spend more time together, I propose that we live together, Major.”