"Ohh, they add this brand too?"
After tidying up in the restroom, I went to a nearby vending machine to grab a drink. Looking at the new stock that came in today made my eyes sparkle. It's the canned coffee I liked the most.
I entered my money and clicked the button for canned coffee with a cute rabbit mascot on it. It was a brand that I could only get in the nearby convenience store. Now that it's been stocked here, I didn't need to go through the hassle of going in and out of the building for a coffee break.
"You like that one Ethan?" an employee came up to me, peeking his head out from behind.
"Yeah, it's great, why don't you have a taste, Harold?" I popped open the can and offered it to him.
"Really? Ah, but I'm trying to quit smoking, beer, and coffee these days, my wife is pregnant you see, and she keeps nagging me to stop my bad habits so my kids won't take after me." He said with an annoyed tone but all I could see on his face was the genuine love for his wife.
Harold James was the chief gate inspector whose job was to analyze the wavelength of gates and give them a rank. All newly formed gates had to be rated by his team before being distributed to espers. So technically, all missions came from him and his team.
"By the way, you guys did a great job today. How was it? Did your team members cause a mess?"
I sipped the coffee in my hand, "Not really, on the contrary, they listened to my orders well."
Seeing my lukewarm response, Harold slapped my back.
"Haha! They don't proclaim you the best esper of your generation for nothing you know! Why do you think they listen to your orders? Those two only listen to those stronger than them, that's why you got selected as their captain."
'Really?'
That's the first time I heard that.
So, the HQ didn't select me because of my leadership skills, but because I could control the other two?
I guess it made sense from the government's perspective.
If the two of them went against humanity or something along those lines, I'd be the last line of defense for the government to deploy.
Hm? Wait a minute, did I just become their guard dog?
After I paid gazillions of taxes, they're treating me like this... Where did all my money go, huh? I was also one of your citizens! Where were my rights to receive protection from the country?!
I sighed as I mumbled, "Living as an upright person is hard."
"Let go!"
A distressed shout was heard from the end of the corridor. It was a familiar voice.
"Ilyas."
"Huh? What was that- Woah! Careful Ethan!"
Gust of wind slapped Herold's face when I dashed along the corridor. With a skid, I arrived in front of the guiding room we used.
"What happened?!" I asked in panic.
When I scanned the area, I spotted Cedric pulling Ilyas' hand in a tight grip. Cedric's expression was one of anger, while Ilyas was cowering in fear in front of him. This situation didn't indicate anything pleasant was happening here.
"Cedric." I walked slowly, leaking my bloodlust.
"Would you mind..." Grabbing his hands and separating him from Ilyas, I glared, "Explaining what you were doing to our guide?"
Silence fell over the hall. Both Cedric and I didn't back down staring at each other.
"E-Ethan."
I felt a tug on my sleeve. Ilyas looked at me with tear-filled eyes, gesturing me to stop. The bluish bruise that had formed on his wrist was clear to my eyes.
Sighing, I closed my eyes and reopened them again – this time with a calmer gaze – and directed them toward Cedric.
"So?"
It was Ilyas who answered me instead, "It's nothing much, we had a fight because of some misunderstanding."
"I understand, but I want to hear the explanation directly from Cedric." Once again I reminded the blonde in front of me, "And don't you dare lie to me."
Cedric scratched his head in annoyance, "Tsk, what's it to you anyway? You aren't related to this matter."
"No, I'm very much related. As your captain, if my members are having a fight, I'm the one who's responsible to mediate."
I kept my words short and concise with a demanding tone in my voice. I didn't care if they were lovey-dovey in the guiding room, but violence and dubious consent would always be a no in a relationship.
In the end, Cedric relented under my persistent gaze, "I told him to form a bond with me, I don't want to share him with the likes of you."
He smirked, "You understand my feelings don't you Ethan? You are in a worse state than mine. There's no one who could relieve our pain other than Ilyas. You act all great and mighty but behind his back, you must have wanted to monopolize him for yourself, so my possessiveness isn't wrong, no?"
I raised an eyebrow at him.
What kind of twisted mindset is that?
No matter what, Ilyas was a human with free will. Treating him as a tool to monopolize was clearly wrong.
I bonked Cedric in the head with a karate chop, resulting in a bump forming on top of his head.
"Ouch! What's that for?!"
"That's what you deserve for having such a mindset."
Before I searched for a new romance candidate for Ilyas, I needed to reform these two first. I couldn't let people with this kind of mindset roam around Ilyas. Who knows what kind of thing they'd do to him once I wasn't around.
"By the way, where's Xain?"
Cedric and Ilyas were the only two here when I arrived.
But, as if right on cue, I heard a shout. Xain was thrashing around in the hallway, causing a ruckus in front of employees.
"You guys really underestimate me huh?!"
'What are you? A thug? Why are you picking a fight with the employees?'
Both Xain and Cedric seriously had the mental capability of a newborn puppy. No, even comparing them to a puppy was an insult to the pups.
I wiped my face in frustration as a heavy sigh escaped my lips. A new resolve formed inside my heart.
'To hell with the plot, I'm going to reform these guys into obedient little pups, no matter what!'