The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 157
Hedonia, waiting for my answer, looked like a puppy waiting for its owner. He must know how handsome he is.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to use his looks so effectively.
“Sigh…”
“Sigh!”
“Sigh.”
The Espers observing Hedonia’s actions snickered. Starting with Shaelock, then Pheon and Esban, they all had faces that seemed like they had seen something unpleasant.
Although their relationships were strained last time I saw them, it wasn’t this bad…
‘I never thought the relationship between the Espers and Hedonia would deteriorate this much.’
Well, things change if they have to.
The moment Hedonia awakened as an Esper, the story deviated significantly from the original. It wasn’t strange that the relationship between Hedonia and the Espers worsened.
In fact, the pressure to respond to Hedonia’s question was more pressing.
He kept staring at me, waiting for an answer.
Just observing Hedonia’s expression made me feel a surge of guilt.
But I wondered why he was so dejected.
It’s surprising that Hedonia became an Esper… but is it something I should be disappointed about?
Hedonia isn’t someone who would act this way without reason.
‘What did I say?’
I sighed as I recalled the memory.
‘It makes sense from Hedonia’s perspective.’
As a reader of the original story, I knew Hedonia would awaken as an S-class guide.
Naturally, to encourage Hedonia, who wasn’t sure about the future yet, I kept telling him he would be a great guide…
That ended up being counterproductive.
Because he became an Esper, not a guide.
“Do you really?”
He asked again in a hesitant voice. I could even sense fear in it.
‘To think my actions meant to support Hedonia would come back like this.’
I need to be more careful relying on the original story from now on.
‘Or maybe it’s better to erase the original story from my mind entirely.’
Since we’re now in a situation where nothing would be strange.
“No. No.”
Fearing Hedonia might be hurt again, I quickly answered. Then I shared my honest feelings.
“I was certainly surprised… but I wasn’t disappointed.”
Just because he awakened as an Esper doesn’t mean the Hedonia I know has disappeared.
“You’re still Lord Hedonia.”
I slightly understood why he hadn’t easily come to see me after his awakening.
‘He was afraid of my response.’
There was also a surprising aspect.
It was hard to believe that Hedonia, who seemed to have nothing to fear, had waited half a year, afraid of my response.
“Is it really true?”
Hedonia’s face, after hearing my answer, was warm like the sunshine of early spring just after winter.
“Thank goodness. I’m so relieved.”
Seeing him breathe a sigh of relief made me feel better too.
I felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
“You can’t end the conversation there, Duke.”
Pheon, stepping in from behind, frowned. Hedonia’s expression became stoic upon facing Pheon. It was hard to believe this was the same person who had just smiled at me.
‘I could believe he has multiple personalities.’
“I know, I will talk about that too. Pheon, you seem impatient.”
“Thanks to someone, I couldn’t see Karina and had to keep going around the dungeon and magic tower.”
It was strange to hear Pheon casually drop the honorific and just call me Karina.
Pheon, who had been talking to Hedonia, glanced at me and winked.
“It’s not fair to think I’m the only one at fault. The princess played a big part too.”
…It seems that during the half-year I couldn’t meet them, there were things I didn’t know about.
‘Could it be they didn’t come to see me because the stand-in role was over?’
If I don’t hear the story from the beginning, I won’t properly understand anything.
Groooowl.
Just then, a sound came from my stomach, signaling it was time for dinner.
Pheon and Hedonia, who had been busy arguing, fell silent as if a mouse had died.
“Rina, shall we eat something delicious? I brought a lot of food.”
This time, Shaelock took the initiative. She now shortened my name slightly and linked arms with me as she approached.
Honestly, I flinched when she linked arms with me. I momentarily wondered if she was absorbing my guiding again.
“You were surprised. It’s okay.”
Shaelock, who immediately noticed my reaction, patted my shoulder.
“I’ve trained for quite a while. Now, no matter how much I crave guiding, I can hold back.”
A faint smile appeared on her face, which had been full of irritation when dealing with Hedonia.
“Even if it’s you.”
