Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 60
He was somewhat smug hearing how Guides were more revered these days, wondering if Claude would be jealous seeing him as a Guide.
But when Oscar actually met Claude at the Center, he was shocked.
Claude had always been aloof but never detested or rejected people outright.
After a long time, Claude had become completely isolated, setting up barriers to keep anyone from approaching him.
Oscar couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason for this change. All he knew was Claude utterly rejected any guidance from a guide, becoming increasingly sensitive and irritable.
The reason remained elusive. Claude, being an S-class Esper, had the priority in Guide assignment, and there were plenty of Guides admiring him, willing to be imprinted with him without hesitation.
But Claude refused them all, becoming more sensitive and violent over time.
When Claude seemed particularly troubled, Oscar would tentatively ask if he wanted to receive guiding from him. Although Oscar’s principle was to Guide only female Espers, there was a longstanding familiarity between them.
He wasn’t so heartless as to refuse a hand to someone in such distress.
Yet, whenever Oscar broached the subject, Claude would bristle with fury.
‘If you say that nonsense one more time, I’ll tear you apart,’ his glare seemed to warn.
Of course, Oscar, valuing his own well-being, didn’t want to be torn apart by Claude, so he stopped interfering after a few attempts.
He figured Claude would eventually find a guide he liked…
Though, whether a guide bold enough to penetrate his formidable barriers existed, Oscar doubted.
But he never imagined Claude would develop feelings for him!
“In fact, Claude’s type is not a sparrow but a pigeon.”
“Does Oscar’s elegant and graceful appearance resemble a pigeon?” Rose once teased.
When Claude almost kissed him and Rose taunted so, Oscar thought they had both gone mad.
But after pondering the situation back in his room, it all clicked into place.
Since childhood, Claude had been secretly in love with him!
With someone he was in love with, Claude wouldn’t have wanted to engage in meaningless physical contact with other Guides.
Even as a child, Oscar, who couldn’t resist following pretty older girls around, probably never confessed his feelings for fear of rejection!
What a dilemma. To have charmed even the unreachable!
Oscar anticipated Claude would soon call him again. Having ruined his friend’s long-standing crush in a moment of recklessness, Oscar thought that Claude would likely try to explain himself.
His prediction was accurate, and one evening, he was summoned by Claude.
Oscar steeled himself.
He couldn’t reciprocate but empathized with his friend’s unrequited love and planned to let him down as gently as possible.
He organized his thoughts to convey to Claude but upon entering his room…
“Ahhhhhh! It was Rose! The culprit was Rose!”
…Oscar found a man hung upside down in the air, wailing.
***
“So, Claude, you’re saying…”
“…”
“You’ve been searching for the Guide who helped you during your rampage… You don’t remember anything because you were hallucinating, but you suspect a certain someone, a non-ability person. That tiny pink-haired office worker at the Center.”
At the mention of ‘tiny’, Claude glared fiercely.
Oscar quickly backtracked.
“Right, what’s her name… Azalea? Chocolate? Something like that?”
“…”
“Anyway, you think she might be able to control her guiding energy… and she’s hiding the fact that she’s your Guide, right? You think she might have come into your room to guide you while you were sedated from the guiding medication?”
“That’s right.”
“And the witness is…”
“Aaaaah! It’s true! That day, only Rose and I opened and entered the locked room! No one else entered the room!”
Claude shook the hanging man a few times, who then wailed even louder.
With such testimony, could there be any credibility? Oscar couldn’t help but feel incredulous.
