The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 27
Returning to my room, I realized that something was noisily tapping on the window. Approaching, I saw a hawk tapping the window with its beak
‘I wondered why I couldn’t sleep, and it was because of this.’
Somehow feeling who might have sent it, I opened the window, and the hawk fluttered in as if it had been waiting.
I discovered a note tied to the hawk’s leg.
I did as Karina said.
Let’s decide together when we’ll meet next.
It might be a good idea to conserve more energy for our next meeting. I didn’t expect you to lose consciousness so easily.
Be more careful in the future.
“Really… Is this what they mean by a fearless heroine?”
Holding my head, I muttered to myself.
If I keep getting dragged around by Shaylock, I might genuinely die from having my vitality drained away.
‘She’s excessively ruthless to her own people.’
I must make her like me soon.
It seemed arduous to maintain a reasonable distance from Shaelock.
But the closer I became to her, the higher my chances of survival would soar.
‘What does Shaelock like?’
I recalled Shaelock’s preferences from the book.
The only reason she became close to Hedonia.
‘…Tears of a fairy.’
In this world, fairies only communicate with magicians.
The tears they shed turn into gems more beautiful than diamonds and are traded in secret.
Shaelock really loved the fairy tears that shimmer in multiple colors like a prism.
Hedonia had also worked hard to collect fairy tears for her.
It only appeared once in a dungeon…
‘It’s the dungeon that will open soon.’
The vivid memory of the party to prove Hedonia’s abilities, with Pheon, Shaelock, and Esban all making a scene, came to mind.
‘A dungeon, huh.’
I sighed and crumpled the note.
But the hawk did not leave and remained perched nonchalantly by the window.
“Are you seriously waiting for a reply?”
The hawk seemed to understand my words and moved its beak.
‘…Surely it’s not going to report that I crumpled the note.’
Since it can’t speak human language, that would be impossible.
I hurriedly smoothed out a piece of paper and scribbled with a pen.
Understood. I will arrange my schedule and contact you as soon as possible. Thank you.
I tried to accommodate her as much as possible, but the letter was still non-committal.
It was inevitable. After all, it’s difficult for me to give everything to her.
If she dislikes it, she’ll probably send another letter on her own.
I tied my note to the hawk’s leg.
The hawk pecked at the back of my hand and then flew out of the open window.
After closing the window, I sighed deeply and flopped down on the bed.
Thoughts of everything I’ve experienced since coming to the Duchy of Apharantes crossed my mind.
‘Quite a spectacle.’
I was surprised that guiding could even threaten my life.
‘It’s not all bad, though.’
After all, following Esban, my meeting with Shaelock also ended safely, and I plan to properly learn guiding from Hedonia.
Moreover, learning non-contact guiding from the Duke of Aphantes would be killing two birds with one stone.
Becoming the best guide, living safely while concealing my power, was my goal.
Because being skilled as a guide doesn’t guarantee my own safety.
But it’s burdensome to wield the male protagonists, the Espers, for my safety.
‘I don’t want to be dragged into dungeons all the time.’
In the original work, dungeons are not as dangerous as one might think.
With just one or two Espers, it was easy to clear the dungeons and the gates connecting them, and it was rare for anyone to be sacrificed.
But just because the likelihood is slim doesn’t mean it’s nonexistent.
‘Come to think of it, my reincarnation into this villainess’s body also pierced through odds of extreme improbability.’
How many people get reborn into a book world?
Just as the way I gained this new life was extraordinary, I want to prepare for my future retirement as securely as possible.
Guaranteeing an island for the future, maintaining a reasonable distance from the Espers constantly delving into dungeons – it’s all for the same reason.
A long, thin life is the best.
With that renewed resolve, I drifted off to sleep.
* * *
But my resolve didn’t last long.
The next day, Hedonia’s words completely took me by surprise.
“Contact…what do I need to do for the guiding?”
Thinking I may have misheard, I asked Hedonia again.
“Kiss me.”
“Pardon?”
Has anyone ever heard the command to kiss delivered so nonchalantly?
I stared at Hedonia in disbelief.
Regardless of my reaction, Hedonia calmly sipped from a goblet of blood.
Blinking, I asked,
“Could you repeat what you just said, Master?”