Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 5
So, I made up my mind. I would pretend not to be a Guide and, if I found a hot and good-natured Esper, I would go ahead and establish a bond!
No matter what the villain did to Irene, I planned to find a hot Esper who matched my style and live a sweet life!
“Rose! I told you to make sure there’s no water left on the floor after using the bathroom!”
“…”
“I’ve told you multiple times that it’s uncomfortable when my socks get wet while walking, so use a towel to dry the floor! Why do you keep saying you understand but never actually fix it?”
Irene shouted from the bathroom like a screaming banshee. It felt like blood was going to start trickling out of my ears.
…Let’s hang in there a little longer.
For the day when the villain kills Irene, and for my future with my dear Esper.
***
And then, grand goal of finding a hot Esper and living a hundred years together started to lose its appeal somewhere along the way. When exactly did it start…
It all began on a peaceful daybreak.
I was waiting outside the dorm as usual, while Irene was falling asleep.
If I entered before she slept, I would hear her nagging. If I went in when she was half-asleep, she’d wake up and nag again. So, I decided to enter during the late hours of the night when she was deeply asleep.
Usually, I would have prayed for the villain to show up soon and deal with Irene.
But on that day, I just didn’t feel like it.
Perhaps it was the refreshing, cool breeze that had something to do with it.
I was enjoying a moment of tranquility, basking in the cool, refreshing breeze…
When the peace of the silent dawn was disrupted by a sound.
At first, I thought I had misheard something.
Then, I assumed it might be the sound of squirrels or rabbits.
But the sound kept getting closer.
And it was undeniably the sound of a man groaning.
Where was that sound coming from?
I looked around, and in the distance, a vague figure could be seen in the darkness.
It was too dark to see clearly, but their movements seemed unsteady, as if they might collapse any moment.
At first, I didn’t think much of it.
I thought it might be the usual hungover students near the university campus.
The Center’s dormitories had a curfew, but some Espers or Guides still occasionally came in late during the early morning hours.
I tried to ignore it and immerse myself back into my sentimental moment.
“Gguh…”
The groaning sound came again.
I thought it might be due to a hangover… but this was a groan that felt like someone could die any second. It was more like an animal’s howl than a hangover groan.
It was not the typical uni student-slash-zombie hangover groan—it was something more akin to a real zombie from an apocalypse movie…
Except it was for real.
Only then did fear suddenly grip me.
“…Ex, excuse me?”
“…”
“Hey, hey…?”
I realized that I was actually extremely frightened, caught up in my feelings.
Meeting someone making strange sounds all alone in an empty field in the early hours of the morning was a scenario I had never expected.
Suddenly, I felt a shiver down my spine.
“What, what the… this isn’t fun at all…”
“AAAAAGH!”
“Eek!”
I was startled by the sudden, agonizing scream that pierced the quiet morning. A large figure collapsed onto the grass, groaning in pain, and then began tearing at the grass in distress.
It was evident that this wasn’t a hangover or zombie-like behavior.
This person was in excruciating pain and on the verge of collapsing.
Only then did I urgently approach the figure.
“Hey, hey! Are you okay?”
“Agh!”
“Pull yourself together!”
The man writhed in pain, clawing at the grass.
What? What’s wrong with you? I felt like crying.
It was impossible to see well in the darkness, but he was a large-built man, drenched in cold sweat, as if he had just come out of a lake somewhere.
It was only then that I noticed he was wearing an Esper uniform.
That’s when I realized what was happening to him.
He was experiencing the most severe side effect of insufficient guiding.
Esper Rampage.
It mostly occurred in high-level Espers. Those who experienced this Rampage could go insane, suffer permanent disabilities, or even lose their lives.
Furthermore, like in the game, when the villain, a top S-rank Esper, went into a Rampage, the other S-rank Esper candidates who were present also died.
It could even lead to significant explosions or disasters in the vicinity.
I had encountered situations like this while playing the game, where Espers went into a Rampage when the female lead refused to guide them.
[The Esper goes into a Rampage. Permanent damage to HP.]
[The Esper goes into a Rampage. The Esper dies.]
That’s how it was in the game.
