I've Found You

This world, aside from ordinary humans, also exists a small group of people who have been bestowed with the so-called titles of "Sentinels" and "Guides": Sentinels are born with sharper senses and more terrifying physical abilities; while the even scarcer Guides shoulder the mission of pacifying the Sentinels' irritable moods.

The powerful physiques and the relationship that accompanies each other have destined them to occupy humanity's most conspicuous domain—at least in your first ten years of life, this domain has no connection to you; you have only seen a corner of their frenzied world on television and in the internet. The Sentinels who should have been born as warriors have turned into strange weapons in the peaceful era; global athletic competitions have all been monopolized by Sentinels, and Sentinel Guides have become the most valuable resources of various countries.

After awakening in childhood, Sentinels and Guides are uniformly sent to specialized schools for registration, teaching, and management; that is to say, as ordinary people, it is not easy to encounter Sentinels or Guides in reality.

You are no exception.

But your originally calm life collapsed in an instant after you went to help your cousin Kinki Aoki.

* — With the aim of selecting the national first striker, the facility Blue Prison instilled three hundred Sentinels with the concept of "extreme self-interest" and applied them to the extreme in the extremely cruel selection process.

When you first heard of this plan, you felt it quite absurd. But upon thinking that it was targeted at Sentinels, you suddenly found it reasonable... After all, their world seemed to be like this, utterly crazy.

As a high school student during vacation with nothing to do, your cousin Kinki Aoki invited you to assist at the Football Association. She was an employee there and showed an incredible enthusiasm for this plan; luckily, these days a press conference was to be held, so you temporarily took on some work of sorting player archives to lighten her burden. You knew nothing about football and were uninterested in it, and the information of the three hundred players was something you saw and forgot. But a familiar name caught your attention.

Senji Koma...

It seemed he was your neighbor when you were young; the whole family had moved away during elementary school.

So Senji Koma had become a Sentinel... and he had actually participated in such a harsh football cultivation plan.

However, you were merely there briefly to handle some clerical work, and you would not meet these Sentinels. After pausing for a moment on his photo, you continued to focus on the work.

On the day of the press conference, you carried the documents and passed through the corridor, hearing your cousin Kinki Aoki's somewhat dashing declaration inside the venue. Although it sounded somewhat extreme, the instant she shouted "Blue Prison" it also made your blood surge.

Suddenly, someone blocked your path.

What filled your vision was a white shirt with the collar casually unbuttoned, underneath a gray base layer. Even in casual attire, you could perceive the faint contours of muscles hidden beneath the fabric.

Are you asking for directions?

You looked up with puzzlement.

The youth had small red bean-colored hair, a slender build, a handsome face devoid of expression. His beautiful eyes stared fixedly at you, his lashes overly long framing emerald pupils, the gaze burning too intensely making him appear eerily out of place.

That gaze full of ambition and terrifying power... it was undoubtedly a Sentinel. You had seen him in the television before.

"You are a Guide." His tone was firm.

— It couldn't be wrong. As his gaze swept over you, his heart began to beat violently, his eyes could no longer be moved. It seemed a scent coming from you made him dizzy. The absolutely keen senses at this moment seemed to have degenerated, unable to perceive any other information; the entire spiritual world centered solely on your existence.

His heart thirsted for the spiritual guidance that could invade his vision of you. The Sentinel's possessiveness ignited at this moment, the green that had been smeared in his pupils gradually condensing into a circle of light. Shocked by his fervent gaze, you took a step back, and even the hand holding the documents became unsteady.

"I am not a Guide."

You quickly responded, intending to hurry around the person and leave. But he would not relent, extending his arm to easily trap you in the narrow space between the wall and his chest. If not for the documents in your arms blocking the distance, you had no doubt he would have pressed even more aggressively.

"Xiao Leng..."

A bespectacled man beside the youth acted hesitantly, as if considering whether to intervene. A work badge hung from his chest, appearing to be this youth's supervisor.

But the youth paid no heed, instead raising his hand to more boldly seize your wrist. The documents in hand dropped with a clatter, simultaneously, indignant shouts from the reporters echoed in the venue.

Upon skin contact, you felt his slightly elevated body temperature, and the hand trembling faintly from excitement.

He leaned in close to your ear, his words incredibly clear amid the uproar.

"You are my Guide."

*

It turns out that Sentinels are also categorized by talent levels. Like the youth before your eyes, named Itogiri Saki, he is the registered S-rank Sentinel. The number of Guides adapted to top Sentinels is nearly zero; thus, after Itogiri Saki displayed his inexplicable enthusiasm for you, you were immediately taken for a compatibility test.

There is a natural affinity and induction between compatible Sentinels and Guides; the more powerful the Sentinel and Guide, the stronger the reaction. And the higher-ups will not let slip any opportunity to find a Guide that can match a top Sentinel.

In the academy that specially manages Guides, many students cast you strange looks. In their perception, you are a wild Guide, completely different from them who have received orthodox Guide education since childhood—not to mention, perhaps you aren't a Guide at all, merely an illusion born because this top Sentinel is too desirous of a high-compatibility Guide.

After all, how could a Guide reach the age of high school without being discovered?

The arriving Kinki Aoki was blocked at the door, and you and Itogiri Saki waited alone in the advanced reception room of the academy for the outcome.

Merely from Itogiri Saki's one sentence, you were taken to an unfamiliar place to draw blood for testing. He seemed indifferent to these matters, only showing great interest in you personally.

But the opponent's assurance left you somewhat puzzled.

Compatible Guides and Sentinels have natural affinity and attraction, yet you feel nothing for him, and even some irritation.

The test results came out quickly; the compatibility rate was 86%. You didn't know what level this was, but seeing the staff's joyful and ecstatic expressions, you knew you couldn't escape.

"But I have no feelings whatsoever..." Your weak voice was drowned in the crowd.

"No problem, feelings can be cultivated!" Itogiri Saki's supervisor held your hand, repeatedly thanking you, appearing as if entrusting his own kin to you, "It is truly very grateful, in the future the spiritual guidance for Itogiri Saki is entrusted to you!"

With a high-compatibility Guide, Itogiri Saki could exert even greater power, no longer needing to endure the pain caused by inability to guide the spirit.

"I never thought your cousin is actually Itogiri Saki's Guide!"

Kinki Aoki outside the door was also praised by her superior, "If you have time, do more ideological work, let her stay here."

The implication was to let Itogiri Saki stay here as well—his fame's heat and gains are immeasurable.

"..."

Kinki Aoki said nothing, only looking worriedly toward the crowd where you were forced to stand beside Itogiri Saki, blankly and bewildered.

*

The management agency for Guides dispatched personnel to explain the situation to you and your parents, and generously provided a sum of money.

A considerable amount of funds was added to your account, and from now on, you would need to begin learning entirely new content at the Guide school. Because you entered as "Itogiri Saki's Guide", the school was very courteous and even specially assigned a separate teacher for you to quickly build foundations.

On the other side, Itogiri Saki temporarily canceled his plan to return to Spain.

The event of Itogiri Saki, an S-rank Sentinel, finding a matching Guide spread rapidly throughout the Sentinel-Guide circles, especially those two figures—86. Such a high compatibility rate is extremely rare even for ordinary Sentinels and Guides, let alone a miracle born on an S-rank Sentinel.

"Luck really is good... Itogiri Saki."

Michele Caesar, who was also a member of the new generation's Eleven Jewels along with Itogiri Saki, looked at the news with raised eyebrows; the beautiful blue rose tattoo on the side of his neck flowed with what seemed like shattered gold, dazzling and impossible to ignore.

— Such a pretty and adorable Guide, to follow Itogiri Saki in the future would be too pitiful. I wonder how the Guide would tame a person like Itogiri Saki...

Caesar thought viciously.