We checked into the hotel.

Since it only accepted reservations from A-rank ability users and above, I thought it would be quiet—but to my surprise, even the lobby was crowded. The restaurant was probably the same.

After riding a yacht, a train, and a passenger ferry since early morning, then walking all over downtown Aquilus, I was feeling pretty worn out. My stamina was clearly too pathetic to fully enjoy this rare taste of freedom.

So instead of heading to the restaurant, we ordered room service.

“There are so many people. Is it because it’s vacation season?”

“It’s probably because of the Aquilus Auction.”

“Oh, right. That would definitely fill up the hotel.”

The Aquilus Auction was the world’s largest Esper-related auction.

All kinds of rare treasures were put up for bidding. It usually happened once a year, but if there weren’t any items worthy of its reputation, the event could be canceled entirely.

“And this year, the Nemershield Necklace is being auctioned.”

“The Nemershield Necklace...?”

The Nemershield Necklace was a legendary treasure said to increase the owner’s matching rate by over 30%.

If the owner was a Guide, it raised compatibility with all Espers. If the owner was an Esper, it increased compatibility with Guides.

But despite its fame, there was no concrete proof it actually existed.

Around 80 years ago, there was an Esper named Jameson Foster, once hailed as the strongest in the world. When a journalist asked him the secret to his strength, he had replied that it was thanks to a treasure that boosted matching rates—the Nemershield Necklace.

But after his death, the necklace vanished without a trace.

Some said it was stolen. Others claimed a relative had smuggled it away. Still others believed Jameson Foster had hidden it before he died. None of the theories were ever confirmed.

There was even a theory that Jameson had just been joking, tired of reporters pestering him with the same question every day—that the Nemershield Necklace didn’t exist at all.

But if it did exist, it was the kind of treasure any ability user would kill to have.

Especially S-rank Espers, who often struggled their entire lives to find a Guide they matched with—it was only natural they’d covet something like this.

“You look surprised. Were you interested in the Nemershield Necklace too?”

“No, it’s not that...”

Honestly, I was surprised. But not because the necklace—whose very existence was uncertain—was up for auction.

I was surprised that it was coming up already.

In the original novel, it didn’t appear at the Aquilus Auction until next year.

In The Guide’s Swamp, Joo Seunghyuk ultimately gives up on his political engagement with the only daughter of the Lexington Pharmaceutical Company because of Kim Jun.

A month later, he hears news that the Nemershield Necklace will be auctioned at Aquilus. He locks Kim Jun up in his own home and boards a plane alone.

So why was it appearing now?

Sure, everything had been moving faster than in the novel. But that was mostly limited to the people directly tied to me and Seunghyuk.

Why would the Nemershield Necklace, which had nothing to do with us, show up early?

“How does something that disappeared 80 years ago end up in an auction?”

Seunghyuk might know something about it.

When I asked, he popped a strawberry into my mouth and answered.

“Originally, the Lexington chairman tried to buy it.”

“The chairman of Lexington Pharmaceuticals?”

“Yeah. It seems Lexington located the current owner of the necklace and tried to negotiate directly. But the price was too high. So the chairman planned to marry me off to his daughter and borrow money from Sungan to complete the purchase. Can you believe it? As if I’d marry anyone when I already have you.”

“...Haha.”

I’d barely escaped being held captive, and now marriage threats were coming back. I gave a strained laugh and fed him a strawberry in return.

So the broken engagement with Lexington and the Aquilus Auction were connected after all.

When the arranged marriage with Seunghyuk fell through, Lexington couldn’t afford the necklace. So the current owner decided to auction it off instead.

That’s why the timing was earlier than in the original.

But right now, the details of how the necklace came to be up for auction weren’t the issue.

I urgently pulled out my phone to call Do Hyeokjin. But since this was a newly issued temporary number, he didn’t pick up.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?”

“Seunghyuk, can you contact Hyeokjin-hyung?”

In the original, Do Hyeokjin dies during this storyline.

He wins the Nemershield Necklace at the Aquilus Auction. But before he can enjoy his victory, his corpse is found that same night—cold and lifeless. Someone murdered him.

I had let my guard down, thinking that episode was still a year away. I had no idea something like this would come up so soon.

If Hyeokjin-hyung had come to Aquilus, I had to stop him.

In the novel, Seunghyuk visits Hyeokjin’s grave and cries. Publicly they were rivals, but their real relationship couldn’t have been that bad. Maybe Seunghyuk could reach out to him too. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“Why do you care about that bastard Do Hyeokjin?”

Seunghyuk’s expression suddenly turned cold.

“There’s something I have to tell him.”

“Don’t tell me... he’s your type?”

Just like that, his obsession radar went off again. It had been quiet for a few hours, but of course it couldn’t last.

“...He’s not some old geezer. He’s twenty-nine.”

“He’s eight years older than me. Hyung, I’m a thousand times better than that bastard. Why would you ever—?!”

His mana stirred violently. At this rate, he might end up killing Hyeokjin first.

I spoke quickly.

“I-It’s not like that. I saw a vision!”

“You saw him in a vision?!”

“......”

What was I supposed to do with this lunatic?

“No, I mean—when you mentioned the Nemershield Necklace, I felt something from the ring, and I saw a scene. It felt like the future.”

“The future?”

“Yeah. Hyeokjin-hyung wins the necklace at the auction. And that same night, he’s murdered.”

“Do Hyeokjin’s an accomplished Esper. He wouldn’t go down so easily. You must’ve seen it wrong. Or maybe someone slipped something into the food.”

Seunghyuk now suspected our room service might’ve been drugged. He thought I was hallucinating due to narcotics.

I couldn’t blame him—claiming I saw the future out of nowhere wasn’t exactly credible.

As he reached for the food to inspect it, I grabbed his hand.

“You cried a lot at his grave. You didn’t even attend the funeral. You just went to the cemetery alone that evening and wept.”

“......”

At that, Seunghyuk’s gaze shifted.

They were known as archrivals. If it had just been some drug-induced hallucination, there’s no way I would’ve seen something like that.

“...I cried?”

“Yeah. You were so heartbroken, it hurt to watch.”

“Hyung... do you hate seeing me sad?”

“Of course I hate it. Why would you even ask that?”

He looked at me for a long moment.

“Hyung... do you know how kind you are?”

“Me?”

“You’re the worst. Why are you so kind.”

“...How is that a bad thing?”

I never thought of myself as particularly kind, but even if I was, that wasn’t a bad thing... was it?

“You’re not just like this to me. That’s what pisses me off.”

“R-Right...”

I didn’t really agree, but I quietly nodded to avoid provoking him.

“Don’t be like this to other people. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t let any of those bastards seduce you.”

“Okay.”

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should tell him he looked like a paranoid squid guardian. But before I could say anything, he pulled me into a hug.

“How can I not worry, when everything about you is beautiful? Even just standing still, you seduce people without doing anything.”

“......”

What the hell was I supposed to say to that?

“...Haha. Thanks. You’re probably the only one who sees me that way...”

I gently stroked his back.

“And once Hyeokjin-hyung dies, everyone assumes you killed him. That’s why we have to contact him now—so we can stop that from happening.”

I wasn’t making this up.

When Hyeokjin is killed, people immediately point fingers at Seunghyuk, his longtime rival.

He was in Aquilus at the time of the incident. He also wanted the same necklace. And he didn’t even have an alibi for the estimated time of death.

There was no direct evidence, but public opinion was enough to make ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) him a murderer.

Seunghyuk never cared what others thought of him—but being accused of murdering Hyeokjin had broken him.

“...Alright. I’ll contact Do Hyeokjin. And I’ll handle this. So don’t worry too much, hyung.”

His face turned serious. Thankfully, it seemed like he believed me.