The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 51
Christopher had seen a pumpkin on the road.
The tiny gems he had handed me were in my pocket.
‘First, let’s stay sharp.’
I looked around.
From above, the forest that resembled a jungle seemed quite vast.
My body was chillingly cold due to the birds flying at tremendous speed, and it felt as though I was being harshly beaten by the wind.
‘The real question is whether anything I drop here will be visible…’
I decided to trust in the power of the Espers.
From the dizzying heights,
I gradually scattered the pumpkin seeds from my pocket.
Just like Hansel and Gretel.
* * *
Underestimating was the problem. No, it would be more accurate to say he wanted to play.
The remaining Espers did nothing but watch Christopher’s battle from behind.
[Leave this battle to me!]
It was all because Christopher had loudly declared.
Pheon lightly rolled his eyes and said,
“It ran away.”
“I got too excited. It’s been a while since I’ve used my power like this…”
Christopher muttered with a gloomy face.
It was true.
It had been a long time since Christopher had been summoned for as long as he was today, or had been able to exert his strength without any control.
The summoner, Shaelock, could summon heroes from the past that she had spent a very long time researching and studying.
However, she couldn’t use their powers perfectly.
Their powers were not directly connected to Shaelock’s abilities but were also linked to her mental strength.
Shaelock always used her abilities with restraint.
To protect herself.
Her usual dull appearance could also be seen as a form of self-defense to conserve her mental strength as much as possible.
It was a penalty commensurate with the cheat-like ability to summon heroes.
“Firstly, it seems I must now return. It was nice to be able to use my power after such a long time… but Shaelock is calling me back. And at an incredible speed.”
Shaelock was able to send her signal to the summons.
And now, Christopher was receiving signals in real-time to return to Shaelock.
Eventually, the Espers stopped chasing the Blackbird and returned to the cave.
There, they found Hedonia sitting with a forlorn face and Shaelock with a serious expression.
“…What about Miss Karina?”
“She was taken away.”
“Taken away?”
“Yes, taken away by a monster that you guys failed to deal with properly. And you call yourselves S-class Espers? It seems we need to reassess your ratings.”
Hedonia snapped, his eyes wide with anger.
“This is serious. We need to find her immediately.”
“Are you brainless? Don’t you think? If you left us here, you should have finished the job properly. And you still call yourselves Espers?”
Despite Pheon’s calm response, Hedonia’s anger showed no signs of subsiding.
Both Pheon and Esban knew they had been complacent in this incident.
But who could have predicted the Blackbird would come here?
Above all, it was irritating that Hedonia, who was not even directly involved, was lashing out like this.
Was this the time to question his qualifications?
“Please calm your anger, Lady Hedonia. The reason we left the stand-in here was also because we didn’t know what would happen to your condition. After all, we were under the impression that we were here to serve you.”
Esban, too, seemed irritated by Hedonia’s continuous sneering and calmly explained.
Even if they didn’t know the exact details of how Hedonia and Karina were connected, they knew through the Duke that Karina’s health was linked to Hedonia’s.
It was mentioned in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.
It was essential to know that Hedonia needed Karina, so they could bring her if Hedonia’s situation became critical.
“That is right. It is not like we don’t think at all. The real burden here is you, Hedonia. Just sit quietly and think for once.”
Shaelock stood up, glaring at Hedonia, and muttered.
“We’re the ones who want to find the guide more than anyone.”
Becoming guided with Karina was a miscalculation on her part.
She couldn’t give all her strength to herself like before, but her control ability definitely improved, and the power she did give had much more effect.
For some reason, she didn’t forcibly take Hedonia’s power despite his words catching her attention.
Instead of refusing the guidance offered to Shaelock, he tried to do better… and that effort, surprisingly cute, even made her feel guilty where she hadn’t before.
‘But who does he think he is?’
What had Hedonia done since he arrived?
Apart from provoking their nerves by mentioning Karina’s rights, what else?
“You are not even an Esper here.”
It was the first time they had clashed this much with Hedonia, with whom they had interacted before.
Just a while ago, he was annoyed by them trying to say something to him, closing his eyes and immersing himself in thought.
Hedonia bit his lip at Shaelock’s curt words.
His face, wounded in pride, flushed with heat.
However, Hedonia couldn’t dare to retort.
Because he knew all too well that their words weren’t entirely wrong.
‘…I am nothing.’
