Zephyr stayed rooted in place, silent and lost in thought. Meanwhile, Lucien scoffed at Jake before slowly sinking back into his seat, his gaze shadowed with confusion.
'B-rank...? But the machine should have shown Zephyr as an S-rank. So why?'
He activated his Gaya Ability once more, but the result was the same—Zephyr was SSS-rank; only his intelligence was low.
'Strange...'
Suddenly, as if struck by realization, his confused blue eyes widened slightly.
'Is Gaya hiding his true rank?'
The very thought made Lucien freeze.
Gaya—hiding someone's rank? That cold, emotionless system that had never once lifted a finger to help even the protagonist throughout the entire novel. Could it be that Zephyr held a special place in Gaya's eyes?
'Wow... I figured he would be useful even blind, but turns out he's a damn jackpot!'
His gaze on Zephyr's back changed.
Now filled with something deeper.
'Ah, my jackpot... I need to make sure he stays with me until I achieve my goals!'
Lucien grew visibly excited.
At last, he saw a path back home!
And Zephyr will create that path!
He snapped out of his thoughts when the young man who conducted the test said he would now test Zephyr's compatibility level with the B-rank Guides in the association.
Lucien actually stood up to stop him.
"Wait! Check his compatibility with me first!"
Zephyr's eyes lit up. Even as he entertained the possibility that his rank might be above S-rank, a sense of disappointment lingered at the fact that Lucien couldn't be his Guide—because his tested rank was lower than Lucien's.
However, upon hearing the eagerness in Lucien's voice, he couldn't help but smile.
'I will show him that I am worth it. But for that, I need to fully absorb the knowledge Gaya gave me as soon as possible.'
Jake glanced at Lucien, surprised.
Still, he had no objections.
In fact, he had a hunch that Erick was planning to recruit Zephyr to their team.
He just wasn't certain how Erick would convince the association—who insisted that only the best be placed on his team.
Lucien O'Connell securing a spot on his team by using his father's influence had already been a bitter setback for them.
To the association, Erick was the hope of the organization—the S-rank who remained loyal, continuing to serve despite countless offers of wealth and prestigious positions from other guilds and influential families.
"Sure, you can take the test."
However, the test conductor frowned, displeased by Lucien's sudden request.
"Sir, you're an A-rank Guide, and you and Nana are the only Guides on Esper Erick's team. He's an S-rank, which means both of you must remain on standby at all times in case of a sudden emergency. It would be more appropriate for Sir Zephyr to test his compatibility with the other B-rank Guides."
Lucien's eyebrow twitched. Like hell that bitch Nana would ever let him get close to the protagonist. Jake just chuckled at the examiner's words—he knew full well that Nana never allowed Lucien near Erick.
She handled his guiding alone.
Naturally, the association didn't know.
Also, Lucien always shamelessly found ways to get close to Erick and guide him.
Amidst the standoff, no one noticed how Zephyr's eyes darkened and flickered with displeasure as they wandered toward the sound of the examiner's voice. How dare this man interfere when Lucien wanted to take the compatibility test with him?
His thoughts began to drift...
To a much darker place.
Should he beat him up?
That would teach the man how to keep his mouth shut and stop spouting nonsense.
A faint wisp of darkness instinctively slipped from Zephyr's fingers—shadowy and poised to drift toward the examiner... but fortunately, or perhaps not, before it could reach him, Lucien spoke up.
"I said I want to be his Guide. Who dares stop me? Don't you know who my dad is?"
His words left Zephyr momentarily dazed, nearly purring with joy. Lucien wanted to be his Guide! His heart pounded—he had never felt this happy, this giddy. Instantly, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
'I hope no one but Cien is compatible with me. He's the only Guide I need!'
Jake, who knew Lucien was bluffing—his father having already severed ties with him—burst into laughter. Unable to see Lucien's mortified look any longer, he rushed out of the room to laugh to his heart's content.
Unlike him, the examiner was intimidated when he heard Lucien mention his father, one of the heads of the association.
The man actually began to sweat, fearing he might lose his job. After all, Lucien was notorious for being cold and ruthless.
"No, I wouldn't dare. Please, sit with Sir Zephyr. I'll conduct the test right away!"
Lucien, though still flushed red from Jake's earlier wild laughter, stared haughtily at the examiner. He was being shameless, using his father's name—even though that man had already abandoned the real Lucien.
But so what?
If it meant securing a powerful SSS-rank Esper, he would sink as low as necessary!
He sat down next to Zephyr. The examiner quickly strapped a wristband onto his wrist and began the test, syncing Lucien's guiding wavelength with Zephyr's Esper wavelength.
But the results shocked not only the examiner but even Lucien himself.
A perfect 100% match rate.
It flashed across the machine's screen, surpassing even the compatibility of the protagonist and the female lead, who had previously held the association's record at 91%—the highest in the Eastern Continent.