It hurt a lot to reverse guide an esper. But Shuu still continued to reverse guide, causing the knocked-out esper to shiver.

Everyone noticed this quickly, and they ran toward Shuu to grab the collapsed esper.

A pale face and an unwavering pair of eyes greeted everyone, and as they tried to keep the esper away, he suddenly broke free and sprang toward Shuu to get more guiding.

"M-More-! Need more guiding-!"

The esper looked desperate, and despite being unconscious, he continued to try his best to reach for Shuu.

Shuu was ready to defend himself, but there was no need to do that. The others jumped in before he needed to move and handled the situation for him.

The kidnappers looked at the somewhat eager and scared audience in front of them and waved their hands around in a reassuring manner.

"Now you can see that our product is much more efficient than we told you about. In a minute, not only has he been guided by an S-class esper, but he has also been reduced to wanting more. Won’t you all want a taste of this as well?"

The espers gathered around were not stupid. They could tell the difference between guiding and reverse guiding.

No one wanted to risk their lives to get guided, but they had also spent a lot for an opportunity like this.

"Hey, if he’s as great of a guide as you say, then he can do radiant guiding as well, right? Why won’t you have him do that?"

"Dear customer, that is a little difficult at the moment for our guide."

The kidnapper looked stumped at this request.

Radiant guiding was a method of guiding where touching was not necessary. A guide’s presence could fill the area with guiding.

Even low-level guides could do this if they wished to.

It was not as effective as contact guiding, but with how powerful the kidnappers were hyping Shuu to be, it did not surprise that someone would ask for it. However, they were out of luck because Shuu did not know how, nor did he want to learn.

The kidnapper knew this and coughed to hide his nervousness.

"As you know, our contract only mentioned contact guiding because it’s easier and faster. Our guide is rather sensitive. If no one else wants to try, then I will consider this day over. Unfortunately, since the call for refusing service came from your side, we won’t be able to provide a refund to you."

Several faces darkened at those words, and the tension rose in the air.

As people with too much pride, S-class espers hated being ripped off by others. So the kidnappers knew that they were on thin ice with this one.

But they had no other choice but to tell the espers this because they had no money. They had already spent it all to pay back their debts.

"Sir, I know you all might not like this, but a deal is a deal, and this was in the contract form you signed. Please be careful about breaking the contract."

A contract made by the system had heavy consequences for breaking. For these S-class espers, it could range from losing their limbs to losing their abilities.

This made them hesitate to break the contract, and it made their mood worsen.

Shuu was thankful that no one was foolish enough to approach him and try something funny. He did not have to hurt more people, and that made him relax a little.

Just when he thought he was safe, a blond stepped forward and looked at Shuu with a disturbing shine in his eyes. Shuu did not feel safe in front of this unknown person.

He did not know why, but something about this man bothered him a lot more than he cared to admit.

"Let me see. He has a decent face, and his eyes are clear, just as I like... hey, settle down. I am not here to cause you harm."

Shuu tried to kick this esper away as well, but the esper jumped back before Shuu’s foot collided with him. The tension rose in the air as Shuu waited for the other person to do something.

For a whole minute, neither side moved and waited for the other to act. And finally, the esper leaned down to whisper something to Shuu.

"Calm down, kid. I am not here to make enemies with you. In fact, I am here to get you out of here. Just cooperate with me for a minute."

The esper looked fishy, but something about his presence told Shuu that he could trust this man.

He did not like putting his eggs in unknown baskets, but he decided to take a risk on this stranger.

His body relaxed, and everyone noticed it instantly. The unknown esper placed a hand on Shuu’s shoulder, but he did not press Shuu for more. He seemed content to just keep his hand placed on Shuu and nothing else.

It did not go unnoticed by the kidnappers, and they breathed a sigh of relief before they turned to everyone else.

"You see! Our guide is not dangerous. Now that he has calmed down, he can guide you all one by one, so do not worry-"

"I do not like that. Hmm, I would rather not see my guide with other people."

"Huh-! What do you mean by that, sir? Our guide is not-"

"I have taken a liking to this one, and I want him for my collection. So name your price. If you don’t want to sell him, then I will have no choice but to take him by force. The choice is yours in the end."

The unknown esper proposed, and the kidnappers looked flustered.

"Sir, this is not how it works. I am sorry, but you cannot just-"

A sword embedded itself into the wall beside the kidnapper, and it left them speechless. Their eyes turned back to look at the unnamed esper with terror, and they gulped, knowing that they needed to choose their next words carefully.