[BL]The Hero and his Party Won't Let Me Go

"S-Save me... T-The gate... it’s not... alright..."

The half-dead esper tried to reach out for anyone’s help. But no one was around to help him.

Despite using the safety stone in time, the monster that was currently draining his life seemed to have no problem continuing. Moreover, it was looking for its next prey.

But the half-dead esper who had brought his danger into the human world did not know that. All he knew was that he was losing his sanity, and soon his existence would be no more.

’W-Why me and not that weakling...? What did I do to deserve this fate—?’

The man questioned one last time and tried to curse Shuu. But his consciousness faded before he was successful, and he became a host for the monster from beyond the gate.

__________

"Everyone, we have to be careful here. I know that it’s not everyone’s first time in here, but a dungeon is ever-evolving. It will try to eat you alive if you let it."

The leader of the small team quickly gave everyone a talk regarding their dungeon exploration.

Shuu decided to listen carefully because he did not want to become a victim of this place as well.

The reason their temporary leader was giving them this lecture was because of the tragedy that had struck them before.

One of their scouts who had entered this place with them was suddenly attacked by a monster and had to use his safety stone to head back outside. Moreover, it was a low-grade esper who had been to this dungeon a few times.

This dungeon was not supposed to be that dangerous, but if it had made a low-grade esper retreat, then it could no longer be classified as normal.

That was what prompted their temporary leader to warn them all about the dangers of this place.

"Ugh, how many times are you going to repeat these words, old man? We are here on a mission and we need to hurry up and get going. I would like to make some profit before we are forced to head back by the timer."

The speaker this time was a hot-tempered young scout. The way he carried himself was confident, and Shuu could tell that this boy was an esper without even trying.

’I wonder why an esper is out here in such a team. Don’t they get a lot of other opportunities as well? Is there any reason for him to be here?’

Shuu felt curious, but not enough to ask a stranger this question. And that stranger also looked uninterested in answering him.

That was enough for the elder head of this operation to cough into his hand to get everyone’s attention back.

"You can never be too cautious in a dungeon. Even the best espers struggle in unfamiliar environments. We are all ordinary people who have no choice but to do this job. So make sure to keep yourselves safe."

That was what the elder man said, and everyone (including Shuu) agreed.

They started to move once more, and Shuu kept an eye out for things in the dungeon. He found a few items to put in his bag before he started to hear pain-filled moans coming from beside him.

He looked to the side to see that overconfident and cranky esper taking a deep breath. His face was white as paper, and he seemed to be having trouble walking.

At this rate, he was going to collapse, and Shuu did not have the muscle mass needed to carry him around. So he decided to attract everyone else’s attention quickly.

"Excuse me, but I don’t think this person is doing well. We might need to wait and let him rest."

Shuu pointed it out, and the younger esper got angry at him. Shuu’s collar was immediately grabbed, and he was pulled up by the younger but taller esper.

The sudden action made Shuu tiptoe to try and keep up with the sudden change in height.

"Y-You stupid... how dare you..."

The esper suddenly let go of Shuu as another pang of pain hit him. He almost collapsed, but Shuu caught him at the last second.

"Hey, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Shuu asked the younger one, and he watched as a pair of eyes blinked up at him. It looked adorable but also unnerving as that unwavering gaze kept staring at him.

When the younger one opened his mouth, he looked a little dazed. The esper also reached out to touch Shuu’s face.

"You... feel weird and nice. It feels calming to touch you. Hey, are you a guide?"

The esper whispered these words as he kept tightening his hold on Shuu.

Those words made Shuu’s heart skip a beat, and his first reaction was to reject that claim. There was no way he could agree to being a guide.

So Shuu shook his head, and he watched the esper let out a scoff.

"Of course you are not a guide. What was I thinking? Why would a precious guide do this lowly work when they can just hold an esper’s hand and earn big..."

The kid’s words had a biting tone, and Shuu could tell that there was a story behind his actions.

But as interested as he felt about it, Shuu had no intention of listening to this kid’s story. He was too busy trying to keep up with what was happening around him.

"Oh my! Are you alright, kid? Can you keep walking? What about your safety stone? You should take it out and use it."

The others had noticed what was happening by now and decided to walk over as well. Their looks of concern made the esper in Shuu’s arms tense, and he immediately looked aside to show that he was not affected by others’ concern.

"I am fine. I will be able to move myself in a short while. I also don’t know where my safety stone is right now. I am sorry, but I will be a burden to you for a bit longer."

The esper apologized, and everyone looked taken aback by his words.