Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 82
Claude is the strongest in this world, the final villain.
The only thing that could kill Claude is Claude himself. Unless he runs out of guiding and goes on rampage on his own, no matter how strong the mutants are, they can’t hurt Claude.
It was hard to believe that the person who was just entangled and sucking face with me was suddenly heading to the battlefield.
He’s usually a neat freak, so he would have taken a shower under normal circumstances, but the situation must be urgent if he’s about to leave right away.
He entered the room, changed clothes hastily, and headed back to the entrance in just over three minutes. All the while, I just fidgeted, following him around.
“Um…”
Hesitating, I grabbed the hem of Claude’s clothes as he was changing shoes.
“Even if it’s Code Black, you won’t get hurt, right?”
“…What?”
“Be careful.”
He might have intimidated me into choosing between imprinting or living together. He might tease me with his wicked words.
But still, ever since we started living together, he never once pestered me about guiding. He made sure I ate three meals a day, with snacks in between too. Every time he touched me, he treated me as if I were something precious.
Whatever Claude wants from me, I’ve grown quite fond of him too.
I still don’t have the confidence that being entangled with Claude like this is the right choice.
But still… I hope he doesn’t come back injured.
Claude didn’t say anything for a while after hearing my words. He just looked down at me silently with his unreadable eyes.
Should I say it or not…
I deliberated and finally opened my mouth hesitantly.
“If you return safely, I’ll guide you again…”
“…”
“Ah, of course, it’s not something I can just decide to do, but maybe with my willingness, it might work out better…”
Promises that can’t be kept shouldn’t be made carelessly…
It was while I was babbling on with additional explanations.
“Ah, Rose…”
Claude murmured like a sigh and went down on his knees.
Now at a lower eye level than me, he looked up quietly, as if to meet a child’s gaze.
“W, why?”
“If you do something like this…”
But he didn’t continue.
After a moment of silence, he pulled my hands towards him and held them. Then, gently caressing the back of my hand, he kissed it.
“…I’ll be back soon. Without getting hurt.”
Even in that brief moment, a trickle of guiding passed between our touched skin.
Oh, again…
As I looked at him surprised, Claude let out a hollow laugh.
“…I better go. Otherwise, I might never leave.”
Claude released my hand and stood up.
“Don’t get into trouble and be good.”
“…Yes.”
“Don’t skip meals.”
“Me?”
“…Right, that might have been an unnecessary worry.”
Shaking his head and chuckling lightly, he finally turned away.
And then, he left.
***
Bang.
The heavy sound of the front door closing left me alone in the house.
The feeling was so emptily anticlimactic that it was hard to believe that, just about ten minutes ago, we were entwined and gasping for each other.
The house, spacious as it was, never felt silent. But the moment he left and the door shut, an unfamiliar, heavy stillness descended. Probably because this was the first time I was left alone in this house.
The game setting never mentioned a Code Black situation.
Ah, no. It did.
It was when Claude went on a rampage.
But what kind of disaster could occur now when Claude is perfectly fine? Irene hasn’t even manifested as a Guide yet.
A fleeting anxiety crossed my mind. Maybe even my existence here wouldn’t be enough to alter the original flow of the story.
That even with me here, I couldn’t prevent Claude from facing a crisis.
That’s why I couldn’t calm down. Pacing the living room, I couldn’t bring myself to sit.
Then, it happened.
Ding dong.
The doorbell rang again.
“…Lord Claude?”
Logically, I should have realized that it wasn’t Claude who rang the bell. He would have just come in directly without ringing if it was him.
But just a few minutes after Claude left, my mind was filled with thoughts of him, leading me to believe it must be him.
So, I rushed back to the entrance and, without checking who it was, flung the door open.
“Lord Clau…!”
“Rose!”
“?”
…And I was met with a face I wasn’t expecting.
The one who had advised me to Guide while Claude was knocked out from the guiding medication, ultimately leading to my identity as a Guide being revealed and me living in this house.
It was Azir.