The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 129
Pheon’s questions were not yet finished. There was still the matter of understanding the current situation.
“Do you know what your ability is?”
“No, not yet.”
He was an Esper who had just awakened.
‘He’ll need guiding as well…’
Since he had just unleashed his power, the need for guiding would come sooner.
Probably in about 10 minutes.
“…Why does my body still hurt?”
Hedonia stood up, frowning.
Even though the awakening pain had ended, his body still ached.
Though he was familiar with pain, he needed to ensure nothing was amiss.
His awakening as a guide was completely non-existent now.
“Your body is probably still adjusting.”
Pheon answered Hedonia’s question diligently, his mind racing.
Hedonia Apharantes had not become a guide.
‘So, the only guide we have is…’
Only Karina.
Robert Apharantes was never an option.
Nor were the other guides.
Hedonia held his head again.
“…My head hurts”
“That’s because you need guiding.”
Pheon looked somewhat pityingly at Hedonia, who still did not know his future. He sighed and reminded him of the reality.
“An Esper cannot live without a guide.”
Becoming an Esper meant gaining a tremendous penalty proportional to the obtained powerful ability.
A flawed being that must depend on someone for life.
But to Hedonia, Pheon’s words sounded entirely different.
The statement that he couldn’t live without a guide was welcome news.
‘Karina.’
His only guide Karina came to mind (completely dismissing Robert).
‘I need you.’
He could not live without Karina for the rest of his life.
Free from the title of a stand-in, he had a justifiable reason to need her forever.
‘…I can keep you by my side.’
The realization that Karina was the final piece of his life’s puzzle filled him with joy.
He always wished to be someone Karina needed.
That wish had changed the future he had taken for granted.
‘…Robert’s face will be something to see.’
Hedonia imagined Robert’s face.
Not just Robert’s face.
Robert had prepared everything for the time Hedonia would become a guide.
Hedonia intended to become a guide, to shatter Robert’s hopes entirely, and introduce a new system.
The current system, monopolizing guides, ran solely by Robert.
But he couldn’t even get the first button right.
The revenge he had waited for all his life started off wrong.
But why?
The disappointment was brief, and the exhilaration continued.
There was no need to think deeply.
Hedonia clenched his fist tightly.
Despite the pain felt after awakening, his body felt light and full of energy.
‘Karina.’
Now, without relying on anyone else’s power, I can protect you myself.
His body moved as his heart directed.
Hedonia knew better than anyone that becoming an Esper was entirely due to his own desire.
“Now, the Duke Apharantes will need it.”
Pheon groaned and held his head.
Despite clashing with Robert all this time, he had kept him in place because Robert was the best guide.
The opportunity now arose because he never doubted that Hedonia would become a guide.
As an Esper, not a guide, he would always be at the mercy of guides.
“Hedonia.”
Pheon asked sincerely.
“If you do not meet a guide of your matching grade, you will live your whole life with the thirst and pain you are feeling now.”
“…….”
“Robert is the only guide who can reduce your thirst and pain. It’s a very rare case.”
Pheon discussed the essence of the problem.
“Can you strike Robert even now, as an Esper?”
Could he strike Robert, their crucial source of guiding, excluding Karina?
Unless Robert was dead, he would relentlessly seek to reclaim his position.
“Robert Apharantes is… though I hate to admit it, one of the best options available to us.”
He is a cunning figure who knows how to make full use of his position as a guide.
He might initially be enraged, but the plans he would set afterward were obvious.
Surely, he would try to use Hedonia’s power to his liking.
Given that Hedonia awakened as an Esper after such a long time, his abilities were undoubtedly remarkable.
Could Hedonia truly refuse Robert’s offer, baited with guiding?
“The importance of guiding is something you will increasingly realize.”
