The One and Only Guide - Chapter 26
“Then promise me. If another Guide appears, you’ll let me go back.”
“I promise.”
Axion answered immediately. While the condition Jian set was concerning, as far as he knew, no Guide had ever appeared in the continent of Wisrode. The notion that where there’s an Esper, there must be a Guide was a principle from her world.
All the geniuses and greats in history never fully utilized their abilities and died young. They wouldn’t have died so vainly if they had Guides.
She might say she’ll look for a Guide now, but eventually, she will find out. She’ll learn that in this continent of Wisrode, she is the only Guide.
Knowing the truth would disappoint her greatly, but that was a concern for later. More than anything, Axion wanted to believe in her words that she couldn’t leave an Esper without a Guide. It was like a small hope for him.
Perhaps, if she couldn’t find another Guide, she might end up staying in the North. A faint hope swelled in Axion’s heart.
Then Jian asked him, “How did you know I was angry?”
“….I can feel your emotions.”
Jian shook her head. Being a Guide, she could generally understand the status of an Esper through energy signatures, but Axion was a physical enhancement Esper, not a psychic one. How could he feel emotions?
Noticing Jian’s puzzled expression, the Duke added an explanation.
“It seems emotions flow in along with Guiding. Actually, even with mere physical contact earlier, I could distinctly feel emotions.”
Axion’s words sent a chill down Jian’s spine. Was that why he suddenly changed his demeanor and apologized? Could he have realized she had decided not to intervene, whether he went into a rampage or not?
“Can you read my thoughts or something like that?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
“That’s a relief. From now on, unless it’s for Guiding, we should minimize physical contact.”
Axion was visibly disheartened by Jian’s words.
* * *
Despite gaining the freedom to leave the castle, Jian’s freedom was essentially limited.
The North was constantly threatened by harsh winters and monster invasions. Even without the monsters, the snow piling up to waist height made movement difficult. On days without snow, the biting cold was relentless. The fact that there were villages beyond the castle walls where people lived was astonishing to Jian.
Yet, despite the harsh environment, most people living in the castle had a bright demeanor. The gloomy weather, the cold, and the harsh snowstorms couldn’t dampen the spirits of the residents of Odergen.
The reason was simple: the monster invasions that had come in large waves were over. The monsters that had nearly destroyed the nearby villages were all cut down by Axion’s sword.
It was a fierce battle as usual, and there were many injured, but the casualties were fewer compared to previous years. Stopping the invasion of monsters with minor losses was indeed an encouraging outcome.
All this was possible because Axion had single-handedly performed the work of hundreds. The vassals were well aware of this.
Normally, even after repelling a monster invasion, they would have been concerned about Axion’s potential rampage due to overuse of his powers.
However, the woman who suddenly appeared alongside the Duke was the long-awaited Guide they had been waiting for. With her presence, the Duke could use his powers without fear of rampage, making remarkable contributions.
Before Jian appeared, Axion was living on borrowed time, strong enough to protect the North alone but always carrying the instability of an impending rampage.
But now, with a Guide, there was no longer any need for such worries. Considering the fate of the North rested on Axion’s power, Jian’s mere presence was akin to safeguarding the North.
Additionally, she used her potions to aid in treating the injured.
Hope has sprung up among the vassals that they may see a successor to the Odergrens in her, though it is premature. Stopping the rampage and solving the succession problem in one fell swoop.
The Duke already has his heart set on the Guide. All they had to do was win the Guide’s heart.
The vassals breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“It’s truly fortunate that a Guide has appeared.”
“I agree. The Duke’s refusal to marry all this time has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”
“If he had married, we wouldn’t have been able to welcome the Guide as his wife, and the situation would have been more complicated. We had been urging the Duke about the succession… but things have resolved themselves.”
“It’s all divine grace. I was quite down when the betrothal to the Erlangen Countess was broken… But it seems the gods haven’t abandoned the North yet.”
“I concur. However, we should keep quiet about the Erlangen matter. No need to bring up things that are better left in the past, especially if the Countess were to hear of it. It’s already a broken engagement, but no good will come of it being discussed.”
“I’ll be cautious.”
“We call her ‘Countess’ for lack of a better term, but strictly speaking, she is a messenger sent by the gods, soon to be the lady of the North. We should all be careful with our words.”
“Hmm. First, we need to ensure the servants are discreet.”
