The One and Only Guide - Chapter 20
“No way. Is it really true… there are no Guides here?”
“Yes.”
Unbelievable! So that’s why he’s fixated on me!
No, wait. This is not a problem I can accept like this. No Guides?
Even with Espers existing in this world, does it make sense for there to be no Guides?
It’s true that Espers are strong enough to hunt monsters and handle Gates with various abilities, but without Guides, that strength is useless. What can you do with power alone? It won’t be long before she dies.
Absolutely not. Jian, swallowing her anxiety, asked again.
“…Could it be that I’m your first Guide?”
As Axion nodded, Jian was at a loss for words.
Now, the first meeting with him finally made sense. Where did he belong that he couldn’t get any Guiding, and he was even on a rampage? Despite that, he received Guiding during such a situation. It’s natural for him to be stubborn. Being the first Guide for an Esper is quite special.
Statistics of Espers who received their first Guiding and married their Guides prove this. It’s a widely known and universal story even among non-Awakened individuals. Romance movies depicting the love story between an Esper and the first Guide after Awakening are screened every year. Jian had heard Espers gather to claim that.
For Espers, the first Guide is like the first love.
Therefore, Espers who have not had their first Guide wander greatly for a while. It’s not uncommon for their skills as an Espers to deteriorate, and there are even a few Espers who end up in psychiatric facilities because their emotions have gotten out of control. Most eventually receive a Guide with a matching rate and find stability, but it takes a long time.
Because of this, the Awakened Association strongly advises and admonishes Espers not to get too emotionally entangled with their first Guiding. They emphasize that it’s not falling in love with the Guide but being captivated by the Guiding. They urge them to recognize this fact rationally.
However, it seemed that emotions weren’t easily controlled by education. Despite the Association’s policies, Espers often found themselves falling for their first Guides.It’s such an endemic problem that the organization has, to some extent, gotten out of the way.However, the organization’s guidelines remain the same: keep love and Guiding separate. That’s just the way it is.
Moreover, there were some things that Jian found hard to understand, even considering her status as the first Guide.
“You said there are no Guides, so how did you know I’m a Guide?”
Yes, that was what bothered her. Moreover, he acted as if he knew what Guiding was. Jian glared at Axion with narrowed eyes.
“Explain.”
“I’ll explain later… I’ll explain everything later.”
“No, do it now. I’ve been waiting for more than ten days. I was trapped in this castle without knowing anything, stupidly waiting without even understanding the situation. I’ve used up any patience I had. Explain it now.”
Axion hesitated. The existence of Guides was a secret passed down only to the direct descendants of the Odergen Duke. The truth had been buried in darkness for centuries because revealing it to the world could cause unknown repercussions.
Although Jian’s gaze was sharp, Axion couldn’t bring himself to speak. If she knew that all the Guides appearing in the North met tragic ends… she would undoubtedly try to escape from the castle somehow. She would be horrified by the gruesome truth, she would flee.
Imagining Jian turning away from the truth immediately, he found himself unable to say anything.
Breaking the standoff between the firmly silent Axion and Jian was Harold.
“Um… I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but wouldn’t it be better to wash up and change before resuming the discussion? And it’s quite late. It’s time to call it a night.”
With Harold’s added comment that it was getting late, Jian reluctantly nodded. Although she intended to continue the conversation forcefully… Axion’s pale face, stained with reversed blood, put a brake on her stubbornness. The faint smell of blood in the air made it worse.
Besides, he had just returned after dealing with monsters. He might be injured. What if I’ve been holding onto an injured person? A slight sense of guilt made Jian nod her head more willingly.
“Fine. Let’s continue this discussion tomorrow.”
Seeing Jian’s attitude soften, Axion visibly sighed in relief. He even seemed grateful to Harold, who had intervened with a timely suggestion.
However, the next day, Jian couldn’t find a trace of Axion, not even his shadow anywhere.
