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

Yuri Blinkskey nodded at the doctor’s words before he turned his attention toward Kris. The A-class esper was looking back at Yuri with an unreadable expression on his face, and it made Yuri curious enough to rack his brain.

But as much as he wanted to shake the A-class esper and see what was going on in his mind, he decided to sit back this time and give the other esper time to talk on his terms... for now.

"Sir, w-welcome here. What can I help you with?"

Kris’s expression turned from suspicion to surprise as soon as he noticed who had come to meet him. His back straightened, and his expression shifted to awe as well.

Seeing such a rapid change in one’s expression was common for a high-class esper like Yuri. Most people folded as soon as they realized he was their opponent, and Kris was no different.

Yuri gave him a smile before he took a seat and began his subtle interrogation.

"It is nice to see that you are adjusting well. How are you feeling now? Any pain or discomfort?"

Kris shook his head immediately, and he even flexed his hand to show that nothing was wrong.

"I am feeling amazing now. The doctor made sure to fix me well. I will be able to return to work soon... assuming I got the job."

Kris was desperate for money and recognition. He was willing to take this job even after he had almost died.

Seeing this made Yuri smile, and his charm made Kris flush with embarrassment.

"Ah, don’t worry about the job. I saw how well you performed and decided that it would be too much of a loss to keep you in the scouting team. I would like you to officially become a part of my guild as a regular team member. What do you say?"

Kris’s eyes went wide at the offer. It was something he could have never dreamed of in his wildest dreams.

And yet, he was being offered such a thing so openly.

"I... are you sure you want someone like me on your team?"

Kris asked, and Yuri nodded.

"Of course. Talent is hard to come by. I was impressed by how you and Shuu handled this dungeon. That’s why I am offering you a position on my regular team and Shuu a position as my secretary."

Kris looked a little bummed out, but he did not say anything suspicious.

Instead, he nodded and agreed.

"It would be my honor to join you."

Since the atmosphere was so good, Yuri decided to push his luck further.

"I am rather curious about your abilities. The doctor examined you and told me that your energy was pure, almost as if you had been guided by someone before. Did Secretary Ann guide you when you came out? Or was it someone else?"

Yuri was paying close attention to Kris, and that was why he noticed Kris flinch at the question. But the kid handled it well.

"Y-Yeah! I was guided by Secretary Ann. Who else would be able to clean me up this much? Hahaha."

"Indeed, who else. Well, that was all I wanted to ask you. Secretary Ann will be here soon with your papers. Good luck with this."

The S-class esper finally left, and Kris took a deep breath as soon as he watched him leave. His body finally lost all its energy, and he collapsed against the bed.

"Should I have told Yuri Blinkskey about what happened?"

The logical part of Kris said that he should have. Shuu’s secret was too big for him to keep alone.

But his heart disagreed. It did not want him to share Shuu with anyone else. And in the end, that part won over his logical side.

"Tsk, this is bad. I should not be feeling this possessive over another person. It is not right...!"

And yet, there was no talking down Kris’s instincts. They wanted to protect Shuu, and they considered Shuu his.

__________

"Here, please sign these forms and we can get you started on the testing phase."

Secretary Ann handed Shuu more papers, but this time they were not only for him. Rin was made to sign papers as well, and the kid looked worried as he held them in his hands.

"W-Where...am I?"

Rin looked confused about what he had to do, but he was not able to express himself clearly. His hesitation made Secretary Ann sigh in frustration before he walked over to the kid and, with a gentler expression, put the paper down to explain everything.

"Listen, kid, I won’t tell you this again, so pay attention. This is where you need to sign your name, and this is where your identification number goes. Make sure you do not make a mistake here, because correcting this would be a pain in the ass."

Secretary Ann carefully guided Rin through the paper, and Shuu was grateful for it, mainly because he himself had no idea how to fill out the form.

So as the secretary helped Rin, Shuu followed their lead and filled out his own form as well.

They were finally done after an hour, and the secretary had the most miserable expression on his face. But he quickly pushed that aside and stood up.

"Now that we are done with this, it’s time for us to head out. First, we need to measure both of your power levels and assign you ranks. It is the most important thing for survival in this world. For your information, I am an A-class guide, and our boss, Yuri Blinkskey, is an S-class esper."

Secretary Ann looked incredibly proud when he said these words. His expression made him look like a puffed-up bird, and Shuu almost laughed before he managed to pull himself together at the last second.

Thankfully, the secretary did not notice and instead turned his attention to Rin.

"Hey, kid, you better give it your all. This will determine your future, alright?"