The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 78
With a whoosh, flames erupted from Pheon’s hand as he set me down. The small spark quickly grew, swirling and expanding as if it were about to devour everything in its path.
The massive column of fire wrapped around the flower’s stem, spiraling like a tornado and tightening like a rope.
The previously unbreakable stem began to show scorched marks, gradually burning away.
It reminded me of the tale of someone fighting a giant with nothing but a stone.
The power of the fire, though small compared to the massive stem, was incredible.
“Unbelievable…”
Of course, the flower didn’t go down easily.
A fierce gale blew, lifting the surrounding flowers into the sky. It was a desperate attempt by the flower to cover the burning areas and extinguish the flames.
But it was in vain.
The flames, which seemed to wane, grew even more intense with Pheon’s smirk.
Soon, the fire turned from red to blue, incinerating everything.
Whoosh—the sound of the wind echoed, leaving only ashes in the clearing.
Only then could we approach the fallen person.
“Ugh…”
The man with striking orange curls groaned.
Pheon, grimacing at the slime covering the man, conjured a small flame to burn it away.
“Is he the esper who was supposed to come with us?”
“…Yes, we should help him out first.”
He looked around.
“Let’s collect the rewards from this dungeon first. We don’t need to give any to him.”
“Ah, the rewards.”
“The flowers around here are likely the rewards. I can gather some for you if you want.”
“I don’t need such large flowers.”
“That’s a shame.”
When I firmly refused, Pheon shrugged.
“Taking these flowers out and improving their breeds could be quite profitable. They’d be popular with the fairies and elves too…”
His words made me reconsider.
…Could that be true?
But these flowers from the dungeon… If something went wrong while cultivating them, it could be disastrous.
“The boss is dead, so now they’re just flowers.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’ve been to a similar dungeon before.”
…Hearing that it was from experience made his words much more trustworthy.
“…Alright, gather a few then.”
We finally returned to where we had started and collected flowers of a reasonable size and the scattered seeds around them.
* * *
By the time we returned to the Magic Tower with Jerry, quite some time had passed.
In the room were Pheon, myself, and the mage.
Checking the clock, I saw it was already 6 PM.
‘I should head back soon.’
I had arrived around 9 AM and didn’t expect to stay this long.
I was about to mention my departure when a groggy voice interrupted.
“Ugh…”
The mage finally regained consciousness.
Pheon, with a cold gaze, watched the mage clutch his head and rise. He folded his arms and muttered softly.
“Jerry.”
The mage, still disoriented, slowly looked around and flinched upon seeing Pheon.
“What were you doing in there? With your abilities, you could have easily taken care of the boss.”
Jerry, trembling with fear, twisted his lips at Pheon’s words.
“Why would I kill it?”
Pheon didn’t seem pleased with the tone but Jerry continued, frowning.
“I wasn’t there to kill it. I wanted to get the monsters inside out. Too bad it was a plant.”
This was unexpected.
“…You tried to release the monsters? An esper like you?”
Pheon’s calm demeanor shattered, his pupils widening. He asked again in disbelief.
“Did I just hear you right?”
He sounded like a father scolding his child.
Jerry knew he had done wrong.
He kept avoiding Pheon’s gaze.
“Y-Yes, I was willing to risk my life for you, Lord Pheon.”
Though he spoke bravely, his trembling voice betrayed his fear.
“If you were doing it for me, shouldn’t you have been more careful about your actions as an esper?”
Jerry shouted with a frustrated expression.
“Didn’t you see the hatred brewing against espers, Lord Pheon?”
Indeed, the previous incident with Charlotte and the recent disappearance of espers had made them targets of blame.
People focused more on their losses than on the fact that espers had disappeared.
They needed someone to blame for their anger at the current situation, and espers were the perfect targets.
As a result, espers were continuously thrown into dangerous situations without any proper means to alleviate their own fears.
Jerry spoke through gritted teeth about the current state of affairs.
“Commoners and nobles are all the same. I don’t understand why the Marquisate if Shepherd disrespects you, Lord Pheon!”
Watching Jerry’s impassioned rant, Pheon sighed.
“Who told you to think like this?”
I observed the situation intently, knowing it wasn’t my place to intervene.
Jerry hesitated at Pheon’s words, then shrugged.
“Thoughts are freedom. I’ll continue to think this way. To make everyone realize how important espers are.”