Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 303
Naturally, Wilhelm did not open his mouth easily. However, Claude was equally unwavering.
A round of interrogation, far from humane, ensued.
During this time, Wilhelm’s attitude changed constantly.
At first, he begged for mercy, claiming to have committed a grave sin, then sought sympathy by insisting all his actions were driven by loyalty…
Later, he seemed to give up entirely and burst into laughter.
“Lord Claude, no matter how much you torture me, you won’t get the answer you seek. The dead cannot return, after all. You’ll never find that Guide again, and thus, that insignificant Guide will no longer be your weakness!”
Daniel flinched involuntarily, trembling. It was the first time he heard someone definitively declare Rose’s death since she went missing.
“Your Guide is dead. She died in agony, desperately crying out for you, unable to even close her eyes. Her body was completely devoured by the mutant I had controlled. I heard the pitiful sound of her fragile bones breaking with my own two ears…”
“If you were truly certain of Rose’s death…”
A chilling voice cut Wilhelm’s words off.
“You wouldn’t have tried to destroy the crucial evidence of her whereabouts. Even after Rose went missing, you had no idea of her exact location. Your role was merely to use the mutant to separate the ailing Rose from me. That was the extent of it.”
Wilhelm’s face turned pale, caught off guard by Claude’s cutting remark. Only then did Daniel exhale the breath he had been holding.
Claude, maintaining his relentless expression, approached Wilhelm without hesitation.
“Wilhelm, you should never have spoken of Rose’s death to me. It’s only making me want to kill you before extracting the information I need.”
“…”
“So, speak. Who conspired with you in Rose’s disappearance?”
Before my patience runs out.
Claude raised the hand that Wilhelm had always found both awe-inspiring and terrifying.
Wilhelm’s face turned ashen at the sight of the hand casting a shadow like death over his head.
***
After the government of Arteon was replaced by the current regime, the Center was established. The president, recognized for the contributions the Center brought to Arteon, has been serving a fourteen-year term after winning reelection.
However, not everyone supported the existence of the Center.
Ultra-right-wing Espers, who believed that the power of Espers was a divine authority and that there was no issue with the powerful ruling the world, strongly opposed the current regime.
They refused to join the Center and scattered across Arteon, becoming ostensibly invisible to the world.
Control over these 〈Espers Outside the Line〉 had never been seriously attempted. The government considered them to be a small minority, and the time and cost required to track them down were deemed too great.
Furthermore, it was widely believed that, as Espers, they would eventually converge at the Center due to the depletion of guiding resources.
Contrary to expectations, they never returned to the Center. This much was common knowledge.
The interrogation of Wilhelm revealed details about their internal operations.
It turned out that most of the missing and death cases occurring sporadically across Arteon, including the capital, were not Wilhelm’s doing.
His role was limited to confusing the units dispatched to investigate these incidents.
The rest of the acts were carried out by the Espers Outside the Line, whom Wilhelm referred to as ‘comrades’.
It was a significant discovery, revealing that these Espers had formed their own faction outside the Center and even colluded with Espers within the Center.
However, Claude was unable to obtain the most crucial information he sought: Rose’s location.
