Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 129
“Oh, it’s fine.”
I quickly waved my hands in dismissal.
Not being punished was a win in itself. I didn’t particularly want a forced apology anyway.
But what exactly happened here?
Was my speech that convincing? Was my acting that impressive?
I was bewildered by the committee members’ attitude, which seemed to completely paint me as the victim and Shana as the perpetrator.
“To be entangled in such a troublesome matter right from the first day of Guide training… You’ve had it rough.”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing…”
“We’ll ensure such unpleasant incidents don’t happen again…”
“Yes, yes, I’ll be careful too…”
“Let’s try to keep this incident from reaching Lord Claude’s ears, you know?”
Eh.
“…Pardon?”
When I didn’t seem to understand, the committee member I was speaking with looked a bit embarrassed.
After exchanging some meaningful glances with the other members, he cautiously broached the subject again.
“That is, do you really need to mention this incident to Lord Claude? After all, if an Esper gets involved in a fight between Guides, it could blow things out of proportion…”
“…”
“Resolving issues within the Guide community internally is most reasonable, wouldn’t you agree?”
Now it was starting to make sense.
So, they were worried I might tattle to Claude about being bullied by other Guides on my first day of training. They probably thought he would turn the Guide community upside down in his rage.
I never intended to run to him over such a petty issue anyway.
But seeing these senior committee members all anxious and fidgety trying to gauge my reaction was a strange feeling.
Is this the taste of power…?
For someone who had always been at the bottom of the Center’s hierarchy, this felt like a whole new world.
Leaving the committee room, my next destination was the auditorium in the training building.
A civil servant was assigned to lead me there.
It was a familiar face, a colleague from my training days.
“Uh, um, Miss Rose…”
“Please, just be casual with me.”
“Ah, hehe. Better to speak comfortably, right?”
Demona, my colleague, visibly relaxed.
It had been awkward for her to suddenly start treating me with formality after we had been on friendly terms as colleagues.
“This way. You’ve worked in the same Guide building but in a different department, so it’s your first time at the training building, right? The layout here can be a bit complicated.”
“Thanks.”
“But you really surprised me. I thought you were timid, but you gave Shana’s clique such a hard time. Shana really acted like the queen bee of the Guide community, so irritating. I always wished someone would put her in her place, and you did just that. Isn’t it deliciously satisfying?”
Demona chatted away, apparently finding comfort in my company.
“Was the test easy for you, Rose?”
“Yeah. Who would even fail that?”
“Don’t be surprised. There are plenty.”
“Really…?”
“We had to study to pass exams to work as Center staff, but Guides can live comfortably without studying. So, education doesn’t really stick with them. They offer a high attendance fee to at least get them to show up, but the more money they give, the more arrogant the Guides become, leading them to study even less.”
“It’s a vicious cycle.”
“Then there’s this thing about questioning the need for a Guide Training Department if they can’t properly train Guides, suggesting it should be abolished. Do you know what solution the higher-ups came up with?”
“What?”
“They made the test ridiculously easy. So easy that you could pass it while writing with your feet. That’s why the test was so simple. Still, Guides manage to fail it. It’s like a never-ending battle between the shield and the spear.”
“…You guys really have it tough, too.”
As we chatted, we soon arrived at the auditorium.
There, Guides were gathered in small groups. The auditorium, which should have held about three hundred people, was less than half full, indicating many hadn’t attended.
After completing her task of leading me to the auditorium, Demona scurried off towards another staff member. Just when I thought she was leaving for good, she scurried back to me with a piece of paper in hand.
It turned out to be the results of this exam.
After eagerly searching for my name, Demona finally found ‘Rose Valentine’ next to the number one hundred and beamed.
“Good job, Rose! A perfect score, you’re in first place! Congratulations!”
I was nonchalant.
“Congratulations for what. Just having eyes was enough to score a hundred…”
“Hey, no. Being first gets you a prize—a thousand Berks!”
