Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 99
Honestly, I was shocked. To go from crying to charging at him, then crying again. I certainly thought he’d scold me, but instead, he apologized.
Claude wasn’t one to talk about himself. This was the first time he had opened up to this extent.
As he continued to speak hesitantly, he appeared uncharacteristically awkward and vulnerable.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I sniffled. Even as he struggled to apologize, I couldn’t be cold-hearted enough to argue with him.
Then, how much more silence passed?
“And about, about the constant feeding…”
“…Huh?”
“The reason I kept feeding you… wasn’t to fatten you up to increase the guiding surface area, but…”
Claude suddenly stopped speaking.
He pressed his forehead, lips moving but no words coming out.
After a while, he seemed to make up his mind and continued.
“Your mouth, face, and body are all so small, yet you take in so much food… It fascinated me so much…”
“?”
“And every time you eat, your cheeks puff up so much they seem about to burst, which is… kinda funny…”
“…What?”
“Before, you were so fragile I thought you might break at a single touch, but now there’s a satisfying plumpness wherever I touch…”
“…Are you picking a fight with me, what is this?”
As I growled, Claude sighed and said,
“The point is, seeing you enjoy your food and become healthier was pleasing.”
“…That doesn’t sound right. It seems like you mean something else.”
“It was nice. Just thinking about you happily eating made me want to feed you even more.”
“….”
“Even if I didn’t explain, how could you misunderstand it like that…”
Claude seemed to have a moment of realization and wiped his face with his hand.
What? So, there really was no ulterior motive? He’s not trying to make me ugly by gaining weight or to increase the guiding surface area?
Was it really because he enjoyed seeing me eat well and become healthy?
Like fathers of this era who bring home a chicken for their kids after working late?
Like grandmothers who fill their refrigerators to the brim thinking of feeding their grandchildren during festivals?
…Then, isn’t that, like…
Genuine love?
In my confusion, Claude spoke again.
“Whether you gain weight or not, it’s not because Espers wouldn’t covet you, thinking you’re unattractive.”
“…Then why?”
“In the Center, there isn’t an Esper who doesn’t know I’m always with you. Unless they’ve completely lost their sense of fear, no one would dare covet you.”
“…….”
“…But I may have been wrong in thinking that.”
Claude gritted his teeth.
Ah, he’s referring to the situation earlier when Espers confronted us, suggesting sharing me.
Caught up in the anger of Claude at that moment, I hadn’t really thought about it.
But now that I think about it, I was displeased too. As much as the desire Espers felt for a Guide might be natural—for them to suggest ‘sharing’?
Treated like a communal battery to be used whenever needed, that’s how it felt…
…Wait a minute. Battery?
“Then that! About cutting off my limbs to use as spare batteries! And, oh, about throwing me to the mutants!”
“Ah…”
“Ah?”
“Of course, I didn’t mean it…”
He struggled to respond to this question.
I narrowed my eyes at him. For the first time, Claude avoided my gaze.
Suspicious, very suspicious.
“If you didn’t mean it, then why did you keep threatening me like that?”
“…….”
“…Not going to answer?”
Eventually, Claude hesitantly confessed.
“When you incessantly babble and then suddenly go silent with wide eyes when threatened…”
“?”
“It’s cute, your reaction…”
“…….”
…His reason was enough to infuriate me utterly.
“You threatened someone for such a despicable reason!”
As I was raging, he quickly wrapped his hands around mine.
It was more like covering than holding, but anyway.
“I’ll never let you get hurt. I promise.”
“…….”
“…Now, you’ve become too precious to me. Just the thought of you getting hurt makes me feel like I’m going to lose my mind.”
