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Chapter 7 — The Result of the Choice
No Guide in this world of the novel would be able to calm that energy.
I had been a veteran Guide, and I could sense the level of every Guide present here.
They couldn’t do it.
If anything, they would only hasten the rampage.
“Your Grace, is something the matter?”
At that moment, a mage who had gathered enough courage approached me and spoke.
Damn. It seemed I had failed to hide my expression so badly that even someone unfamiliar with me had noticed.
“No. Enjoy the banquet.”
Without even noticing the mage’s obvious disappointment as he awkwardly retreated, I turned my gaze again.
The Emperor was gone.
Where did he go?
Ah.
I caught sight of the hem of the Emperor’s formal attire disappearing through the exit to the right.
His knights were also subtly dispersing the atmosphere, pretending that nothing had happened while keeping watch in every direction.
It felt as though an invisible crossroads had appeared before me.
Do I ignore it and go back?
Or do I follow the Emperor and see how this is resolved?
My heart pounded violently.
That energy was terrifying.
But what if things didn’t follow the original story?
What if the Guide destined to calm that power never appeared?
He’ll rampage.
And everyone would die.
Horribly.
Do I have to go through that pain again?
My vision turned white.
Maybe I was panicking.
Status Window. Status Window, are you going to do your job or not?
I was this terrified, yet the Status Window remained maddeningly silent.
As though it had never forcibly seized control of my body every single day.
In the end, I had to choose.
Fortunately, everyone’s attention was focused on the Emperor, so no one was watching me.
If I’m going to act, it has to be now.
I stared fixedly at the exit where the Emperor had disappeared before cautiously making my way toward another exit.
If I went this way, I could still reach the direction the Emperor had gone.
Please.
Seriously…
Please don’t let this be the worst possible choice.
This was nothing more than the desperate struggle of an ordinary civil servant Guide who simply wanted to survive her second life in peace.
Kaisis knew he was no longer in his right mind.
What did they give me?
It was a damned mistake.
He had known that there were occasionally fools who fantasized about high-ranking Awakeners unable to find a suitable Guide.
Yet he had let his guard down for just a moment.
Hilaria.
Duke Ariel.
Because that woman had suddenly acted completely out of character.
The sight of Duke Ariel firmly holding that child’s hand was so absurd that it captured his attention.
The sharp exchange of words that followed was nothing unusual, yet his thoughts remained fixed on them.
Louias.
His younger brother was his greatest weakness.
Whenever he looked at the boy, he inevitably remembered their mother.
He hated her.
Yet she had still been his mother.
Even if she had avoided him and cherished only his younger brother…
Even if that brother happened to be a mage…
His little brother was still the last human connection he couldn’t abandon.
After losing their mother and his voice, the pitiful child had only him left.
Though he wasn’t affectionate, Kaisis had always tried to be a dependable older brother.
It had never been easy.
That was why the leader of the mages irritated him even more.
She had taken his brother as a hostage, yet she didn’t even treat him well.
But what had that been?
That woman, whose face looked anything but warm, gently holding his brother’s hand.
His little brother smiling with flushed cheeks.
When she bent down to meet his eyes…
Even the irritation and pain that always surged inside him had disappeared.
Hah?
That Duke… She’s finally gone insane.
He had thought exactly that.
“I’ve… lost my mind.”
The fact that he kept remembering that ridiculously flashy crimson hair meant his brain truly must have melted.
“Urgh!”
His heart clenched violently.
His vision twisted.
The horrifying power sweeping around him seized the opportunity to crush him from within.
How pathetic.
The reason he had spent his entire life desperately suppressing finally neared its breaking point.
If he let it loose…
If he released it completely…
It would be easier.
Ha…
He knew.
The pain that had followed him every moment of his life would finally end.
His vision turned red.
No—
It split into brilliant blue.
So this is how it ends.
“Ngh… no.”
At that moment, Kaisis clenched his teeth.
His younger brother was still inside the banquet hall.
He had to get away.
Away from him.
Away from this monster that was himself.
But this cursed power, as always, refused to obey him.
The destructive impulse slowly consuming him finally swallowed his mind whole.
And…
It felt as though something had touched him.
Though darkness engulfed his vision and he remembered nothing afterward…
It felt that way.
I’d never believed in gods.
But right now, I wanted to pray to anyone.
Please.
Someone save me.
Just as expected, Kaisis had collapsed at the end of the corridor.
The Awakeners and Guides guarding the banquet hall were probably fully aware of the situation.
Yet none of them dared approach the Emperor.
And I…
was standing right in front of him.
Mother of…
My teeth chattered as though I’d been thrown naked into the middle of winter.
What on earth was I thinking when I followed him here?
Feeling the vicious, dark blue energy surging around him, I trembled like a complete rookie.
That is seriously…
In ten years of working as a Guide…
I’d never seen anything this horrifying.
It was terrifying.
Horrific.
And strangely…
I also felt sorry for him.
Is he insane? How has he endured something like this all his life?
As a Guide, I couldn’t truly understand the pain Espers experienced.
Nor had I ever felt that instinct Guides supposedly had—the desire to calm suffering Espers as quickly as possible.
How could I?
The only Espers I’d ever dealt with were the ones who gagged and rolled their eyes the moment they merely touched my hand.
Some noble Guide instinct?
Yeah, right.
Guiding had always been nothing but endless rejection for me.
But now…
That so-called Guide instinct stirred for the first time.
I want to make him better.
I want to calm him.
Even though I wasn’t the sunshine heroine.
Even though if my power touched him…
He would probably recoil from me in disgust just like every other Esper.
It was a strange feeling.
The man couldn’t even open his eyes.
He looked like a stone statue, desperately restraining himself so that his overwhelming power wouldn’t overflow.
Somehow…
He looked pitiful.
I already knew.
He always wore that cold, infuriating expression.
But I’d known he had been enduring unbearable suffering all this time.
Still…
Seeing it from up close was completely different from merely sensing it before.
If I even touch him…
I feel like I’ll be dragged in.
An ordinary Guide would probably faint the moment they made contact.
Or have every last drop of energy drained until their heart stopped.
The power beginning to spill out in preparation for a full rampage was enough to make breathing difficult.
Can…
Can I really handle that?
The little confidence I’d had vanished instantly.
Even if I’d become an S-Class Guide…
This was beyond any standard.
My frozen legs screamed at me to run away.
But…
What if I left?
Whether I took his hand…
Or turned away…
I’d regret it either way.
There was no right answer.
As I hesitated, unable to decide—
“Wh… o…”
That was the moment.
The man, who had been swaying as he completely collapsed, slowly opened his eyes.
His hazy blue gaze landed directly on me.
Don’t tell me… he recognized me?
No.
That wasn’t it.
But he never looked away.
My thoughts froze as though my heart had been pierced by a spear.
The man didn’t call my name.
He didn’t even manage to form a sentence.
Yet the moment our eyes met…
I was already running toward him.
Damn it!
The instant I caught his collapsing body, a tidal wave of power crashed into me, squeezing my heart painfully.
It didn’t matter.
Those eyes…
They looked as though they were desperately pleading,
Save me.
I simply couldn’t ignore them.
So…
Don’t remember this, you stupid man.
Think of it as nothing more than a firefighter putting out an emergency.
That’s all this is.
You’d better understand just how completely out of character this is for me.
I whispered,
“Please…”
Closing my eyes tightly, I pulled the large man into my embrace.
“Don’t remember any of this.”
Using every ounce of strength I had, I pushed him through the open doorway.
Then, for the very first time in my life…
I accepted the violent power of a rampaging Esper in a way I had never attempted before.
So…
I shut my eyes.
Tilted my head.
A kiss.
Lips meeting.
A shared breath.
“Ah…”
It felt…
strange.
The softness and warmth of his lips.
The icy power violently burrowing into me through our skin until it almost hurt.
The brilliant blue eyes of the rampaging Esper, glowing intensely as though trying to identify who I was.
He’ll reject me too.
He’ll throw me away.
The moment I laughed bitterly to myself in resignation…
His hand grabbed my arm.
“…!”
He didn’t push me away.
Instead…
He pulled me closer with desperate obsession.
As though he wouldn’t let me escape.
Ah!
Between our lightly pressed lips, his ragged breath surged fiercely into me.
It was a kiss that felt as though he wanted to devour me.
At the same time, his power flooded into me like a raging storm.
He… didn’t reject me.
For the first time in my life…
An Esper was desperately drawing me in, craving my power.
The shock was indescribable.
Especially because…
It was this infuriating man.
He didn’t reject my power.
Perhaps I even felt relieved.
Without realizing it, I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders as he hungrily sought my lips.
Maybe I pulled him closer so I could accept his power more easily.
More.
I’ll take more.
I’ll calm all of it.
Because I’m a Guide…
And you’re an Esper.
That…
was the last thought I could remember clearly.
