Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 306

The nausea that had been turning my stomach over no longer bothered me. Except for feeling slightly weak, my body felt as though it had rested well for several days.

But why was there no one by my side now? Not the nurse, the doctor, nor Livener.

And not even Claude, who should have succeeded in extinguishing the emergency by now.

Blinking my eyes, I decided to get up.

As I pulled back the blanket, a musty moldy smell wafted up. The doctor’s house, though old, had felt cozy and warm.

And when I placed my feet on the floor beneath the bed…

“What…”

Unconsciously looking down, I let out a bewildered sound.

“What is this…”

The heavy, cold metal feeling around my ankle was none other than a shackle.

It wasn’t tight enough to hurt, but it was enough to keep me from moving far from the bed.

As I stood there, bewildered, I suddenly heard footsteps near the door.

“How many days has it been? One Guide is lying like a lord, while we have to serve her?”

There were two sets of footsteps.

Instinctively, I felt I shouldn’t let them know I was awake. So I quickly lay back down and pretended to sleep.

Soon, I heard the heavy iron door open, and the owners of the footsteps entered the room.

“Her fever’s gone. How many days has it been since she collapsed? Why hasn’t she woken up yet? Maybe she’s pretending to be asleep?”

A man grumbled in a mocking tone.

“Should I pinch her? Maybe she’ll wake up from the pain.”

When the man said that, I couldn’t help but tense up.

Fortunately, a woman with a soft voice interrupted him.

“…Stop it. She’s labeled ‘VIP’. If you mess with her, it’ll be trouble.”

“Mess with her… I just want to check if she’s pretending to sleep.”

“Enough.”

“You’re no fun at all…”

The man kept grumbling, but the woman didn’t respond, and their conversation soon ended.

The two approached my bedside. Thankfully, they didn’t do anything to me—they seemed to be here to change the IV hanging by my bed.

My heart was racing wildly. Though I kept my eyes tightly shut, pretending to sleep, my mind was in a state of panic.

I was shackled in a room that was clearly neglected, without windows, and they called me ‘VIP’. And they mentioned ‘other Guides.’

From their conversation, it seemed they were Guides, but their voices were unfamiliar. Except for rare cases of expeditions, Guides outside the Center were unheard of, and this place didn’t seem like the Center at all.

There was only one possible explanation. These were probably the ‘Guides Outside the Line.’

After the Center was established, most Guides came under its protection, but not everyone was so fortunate. Many Guides reported missing or kidnapped never returned. They were referred to as the ‘Guides Outside the Line.’

Whether they were dead or confined somewhere was unknown, as there were oddly few clues. It was vaguely suspected that the minority of Espers not affiliated with the Center, the Espers Outside the Line, were involved.

If that’s the case, ‘VIP’ might refer to an Esper.

While I was lost in thought, the two finished changing the IV and lightly checked my condition before leaving without hesitation. Soon, I heard the iron door close with a clang.

First, I needed to understand the situation. If my guess was correct, the situation was much worse than if I had been kidnapped for ransom.

I opened my eyes to look around…

“I told you so. She’s awake but pretending not to be.”

I ended up making eye contact with the man, who looked triumphant with a knowing smile.