Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 36
…But I couldn’t just carelessly shift the responsibility onto her.
“She’s tall, but the hairstyle seems a bit different.”
Claude narrowed his eyes at my evasive response.
That’s when it happened.
“Shouldn’t you be asking the person in question, not a witness? If you want to confirm if I’m your Guide, you should be asking me, not her.”
Shana’s cat-like eyes defiantly met Claude’s.
Wow…
I was internally impressed. To lecture Claude so boldly.
Claude scoffed as if amused and then retorted.
“Alright, I’ll ask the person concerned. Did you guide me?”
“Do I have any obligation to answer that?” she countered.
“…”
“To get the answer you want, even you, Claude, will have to make an effort.”
Claude gazed intently at Shana.
Shana, having spoken her piece, didn’t look away but boldly met his gaze.
Watching the two of them silently face each other, I felt odd.
If Claude ever liked a woman, wouldn’t it be someone like her? Someone who isn’t afraid to stand up to him…
Claude, who couldn’t kiss Oscar but did kiss me…
…Is he now considering kissing Shana for confirmation?
***
I, Rose Valentine, a 7th-grade office worker at the Center, just passed my 9-month mark, approaching the 10th month.
For the million and twenty-third time, I thought:
Ah, should I just quit?
Why do humans have to work to live? Because they have to make money.
Why earn money? We need money to make a living.
But working makes living less desirable. What an irony.
Why am I feeling so disillusioned? There’s a reason.
For days, I’ve been trailing after Claude and Shana on their dates.
Claude on a date.
I thought he was the type to kidnap women and snap necks, but apparently, he can do dates too.
And today, at Shana’s suggestion, we’re at a ‘dessert café’!
The pretext is this: Since Claude is not yet sure if Shana is his Guide, both Claude and I are supposed to observe Shana closely for confirmation.
That’s all well and good, but why do I have to be a third wheel at their dates?
Even worse, Shana finds my presence burdensome, so they’re sitting cozily together while I’m seated far enough away just to keep them in sight.
No matter how much I protested, Claude wouldn’t listen.
Typical of his ruthless, scheming nature.
Sitting there, I wondered why I had bothered studying so hard to pass the civil servant exam.
The two seemed to be having a pleasant conversation.
Well, it was mostly Shana talking and laughing to herself, but I knew better.
For a final villain like Claude, just sitting and listening to her was a big deal.
He only ever growled ‘Shut up’ at me. Hmph.
“Oscar made you clench your teeth, but what’s so different between Shana and Oscar? They’re both A-Class Guides.”
“…”
“Guide or not, Shana is a pretty woman. That’s it. Men are all the same.”
Muttering to myself, I suddenly felt an intense gaze upon me.
I wasn’t the only one trailing Claude and Shana; there were also three Espers accompanying Claude.
They’re his attendants who follow him whenever he goes out, doing things on his behalf due to his severe mysophobia.
They were the ones who dragged the patrol officer to the dungeon and picked me up after we escaped the cave.
At first, I was frightened by these Espers, almost as big as Claude, but…
…Now, I just feel nothing.
They hardly ever speak or change their expression in response to what I say.
I found it easier to think of them as big logs.
“Do you Espers have partners already?”
“…”
“If not, don’t just go for pretty Guides. Look for ones good at guiding, with high compatibility, you know? There must be hidden gems out there.”
Like me, perhaps?
“If you keep being picky while searching for pretty women, you’ll be at a loss. Look at Claude. With those stats, he still doesn’t have a Guide.”
“Cough…”
“?”
That sound came from Log 1, who was sitting opposite me.
Log 2 hurriedly elbowed Log 1 in the ribs. Log 1 coughed, trying to regain composure.
But I could see Log 1’s lips quivering, barely holding back a smile.
…What? They can laugh? I didn’t even say anything funny, did I?
