Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 185

However, Daniel hastily waved his hand.

“It wasn’t something Lord Claude forced upon us. We, well, we volunteered.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Being S-Class Espers, we were often fortunate enough to be deployed on the same missions as Lord Claude. No one in Arteon is unaware of his achievements… but witnessing his brilliance firsthand in extreme conditions is incomparable.”

“…”

“He is overwhelming. Even as fellow S-Class Espers, he felt like a god to us. We wanted to serve him as closely as possible. But since he rarely allowed anyone close… we were willing to become his subordinates if that’s what it took.”

I recalled hearing this somewhere.

Espers are said to have two main instincts. First is the instinct to possess a Guide, and second is the instinct to crave greater power.

Now, I finally understood.

To admire someone so much that you give up your own glory and serve at their feet.

Suddenly, I felt uneasy.

From the moment I chose to become Claude’s Guide, I resolved not to cling to the original story.

But…

Claude had somehow overcome his guiding allergy. But then, it turned out that the three male lead candidates were Claude’s subordinates, and one of them, Daniel, had developed a guiding allergy himself?

Maybe I had been thinking too simplistically. The game’s setting was far more intricately tangled than I had imagined.

Is it really okay to disregard such complex interwoven backstories?

Can I be sure that Daniel’s guiding allergy isn’t a butterfly effect caused by the original story getting all twisted up after I met Claude?

Perhaps it’s impossible to completely deviate from the original character backstories. Just as there are people whose guiding allergies get better, there are those who suddenly develop it?

Claude no longer has any reason to go on rampage and a massive killing spree.

Then conversely, what about Daniel, who developed a guiding allergy…?

“…Rose?”

“Ah…”

I snapped out of my thoughts.

Worried blue eyes were looking down at me.

“You don’t look well.”

“I-I’m fine.”

My palms were damp with sweat, and I felt a cool sensation.

…I shouldn’t overthink things. I always worry and get anxious more than necessary about things that might never happen.

I rubbed my clammy hands on my clothes and tried to change the mood.

“So, if you admire Lord Claude so much, why didn’t you go with him on this mission? Is it because of the guiding allergy? Did you stay at the Center to monitor your condition?”

“Uh…”

I tried to pose my question in a light-hearted tone, but Daniel’s expression turned awkward.

“That’s part of it. It’s more complicated than that…”

“…Why is your expression like that?”

If he had given any answer, I would have just accepted it. But his difficulty in answering made it suspicious.

When I looked at him with suspicion, Daniel awkwardly avoided my gaze.

“…Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you since that dessert cafe incident. I’ve occasionally seen Logs 2 and 3 during Lord Claude’s training demonstrations.”

“…”

“No way… did you get fired that day?”

Daniel bit his lip.

The panic in his eyes told me everything I needed to know, even without his answer.

* * *

I might have known the answer already, but I still wanted to hear it from him directly.

After pressing him for a response, the truth he revealed was shocking.

That day, when Daniel stood up for me at the dessert cafe, he was fired for ‘insubordination’. Claude, merciless as ever, dismissed Daniel despite his loyalty as an S-Class Esper who had willingly served as his subordinate.

But that wasn’t the end of the story.

Wilhelm and Livener, who were as devoted as fans to Claude, couldn’t forgive Daniel for defying Claude’s orders just to protect an ordinary person like me.

Ultimately, led by those two, Daniel became a target of ostracism among the Espers…

“That’s insane!”

Upon hearing the full story, I shouted in outrage.

“What did you do wrong? If anyone is at fault, it’s Lord Claude! That ungrateful jerk who made you follow him around on his dates without even feeding you! What’s so great about him…!”

“L-Lord Claude did nothing wrong. He’s the supreme commander leading the unit. It’s only natural that he wouldn’t tolerate insubordination. On the battlefield, acting independently can lead to the entire team’s demise.”

“But that was a dessert cafe, not a battlefield!”

“…”