Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 90
“…?”
“Hmm, there’s… no wavelength at all.”
The examiner sounded puzzled.
The monitor next to the examination sphere, showing the real-time guiding wavelength, had been eerily quiet.
…Ah, right.
I can’t Guide through simple contact.
I’d been so used to Claude receiving guiding whenever he wanted that I hadn’t even considered the possibility of not being able to Guide.
“This… this shouldn’t be happening.”
My panicked gaze involuntarily sought Claude.
He was smirking, not finding anything amusing about the situation. Casually crossing his legs, he looked as if he had anticipated this moment all along.
Suddenly, I remembered the conditions he had set for the bet.
“In any other case, I win.”
I realized it. Ah, the ‘any other case’ he mentioned must have included this situation.
Claude already knows the conditions for my guiding.
Whatever they are, he was sure that I wouldn’t succeed in guiding under these circumstances!
If guiding doesn’t work, then a compatibility test is impossible, so there’s no way to find an Esper with a higher match rate than him!
In the end, the bet I made with him was rigged from the start to ensure his victory, regardless of our compatibility rates!
At first, I felt a surge of heat in my chest.
Rose, you idiot.
I let my guard down again.
No matter how much he pretends to be considerate, Claude never fails to get what he wants.
Azir warned me. ‘He’s all strategy down to his bones. There’s always a hidden intent behind his actions.’
But being angry is one thing.
“If I win, I will imprint on you.”
His terrifying warning echoed repeatedly in my mind.
…It was truly chilling.
If the examination ends so anticlimactically, then what?
I would become the center of attention, not even a guide, just seeking attention, and Claude would fulfill his promise to consume and imprint on me as he pleases.
In other words, I had already drawn the sword, and I had to stab something with it.
“Come here for a moment!”
My last desperate attempt was to pull over any Esper sitting nearby.
The man I dragged over, who had been laughing with his friend while pointing at me, was naturally shocked.
“What, what’s this!”
“Let’s hold hands, just for a moment!”
I grabbed his hand with one of mine and placed my other hand over the sphere.
“Let go of me! If you were really a Guide, the results should have come out long ago…!”
“If I’m a Guide, I’ll give you five free guiding sessions!”
But despite my bold words, the wavelength line on the monitor remained still.
Anxiously, my eyes automatically sought out Claude. Sure enough, I met his gaze, his face twisted in a deadly scowl.
“Uh, uhh…”
I shuddered and turned my head away.
What should I do? How should I handle this?
I tried to recall what Claude did when he would receive guiding from me, as if completing a mission whenever he had the chance.
In my anxious state, I decided to mimic what I remembered.
First, I adjusted my grip on the Esper’s hand, which I had been holding casually as if holding a wallet. I interlaced my fingers between his, knuckles locked.
Then, I gently rubbed the back of the Esper’s hand with my thumb, as if tickling it.
There wasn’t any particular intention towards the Esper. I was just desperately trying to emulate the habit Claude often had when he held my hand.
Even though it seemed like a thoughtless action when he didn’t intend to receive guiding, it often resulted in guiding at such moments. Then, he would laugh incredulously but still pull my hand towards him and press his lips against the back of it.
As I tickled the fingertips, I could feel the Esper’s calloused hand twitch and jerk in surprise.
But there was no guiding.
What else did Claude do?
Remember, Rose Valentine. Think of something.
I started by pulling the hand towards me…
So engrossed in retracing my memories step by step, I was completely unaware of the long shadow that had fallen over me.
