Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 329

Urgent shouts, hurried footsteps.

A group of Espers hurried past beneath the ventilation duct opening, yelling frantically.

“Which way? Where is she?”

“The VIP has authorized us to kill her if there’s any risk of the Guides being discovered! Kill her if you have to, but make sure she doesn’t get seen by them!”

“And the VIP?”

“He’s on his way!”

Listening intently, a sudden realization hit me.

It wasn’t just that they’d discovered I stole the key. The unexpected arrival of the outsiders, and the desperate need to hide me from them, all made sense now.

The puzzle pieces fell into place instantly.

He’s here.

They were afraid—terrified that Claude might find me. They feared that once Claude realized what they’d done to me, he would turn against them as their greatest enemy.

Knowing they couldn’t stand a chance against Claude if he recovered his Guide, they were desperate to kill me before that could happen.

My heart pounded wildly, but not out of the fear of death.

He’s close. Even without any way to contact him, Claude had managed to find me here.

All I had to do was reach him. If he found me, I knew Claude would take care of everything.

But the problem was, how could I find Claude?

Every room was separated by thick walls and iron doors. Even if he searched each room one by one, finding me hiding inside a ventilation duct wouldn’t be easy.

So, I made a decision. Now that Claude was here, I had to find him.

It wouldn’t be easy to avoid the Espers tracking me, but it wasn’t entirely impossible. After all, I was the only one small enough to move freely through the ventilation ducts in this place. Plus, with the eyes of the outside visitors on them, it would be difficult for the Espers to tear down the entire ceiling to find me.

Still, locating Claude while avoiding the Espers wouldn’t be simple.

I was deep in thought as I continued crawling forward. Suddenly, I noticed a particularly bright light shining through a hole up ahead.

…Why is the light so strong there?

Curious, I moved closer, and then it hit me.

Most of the rooms in this building had no windows. But, as I’d seen before, some rooms had entire walls replaced with large windows.

The VIP Room.

In my aimless escape, I had finally reached the VIP Room at the end of the long corridor.

I hadn’t been in every room, but as far as I knew, this was the only place with a view outside. The window was so large that it would offer a clear view of the situation outside the building.

But even knowing this, entering that room would require a great deal of courage. Those Espers were already intent on killing me. Walking into the VIP Room would be like sticking my head into the lion’s mouth.

But I had no other options. Claude had come all this way to find me. If I miss him now, all I could do is wait for death.

So, I cautiously approached the entrance.

From what I overheard, the VIP was still on his way. Hermann could arrive at any moment, but for now, the room was empty.

Besides, long curtains were draped across the large window near the ventilation entrance. It looked possible to climb down and back up again unnoticed.

Perhaps knowing he was close made me feel more exhilarated than afraid. I found myself doing something bold that I would never have attempted before.

Thud. Thud-thud.

I tapped my fist several times against the entrance below. I figured if anyone was there, they would make a noise in response. Thankfully, the room seemed empty, which boosted my confidence.

“Huu… You can do this, Rose Valentine. You’re the fearless woman everyone at the Center knows and respects. This is nothing.”

I reassured myself.

They used to call me the honey badger because I acted like there was no tomorrow. And with death on the line, what wouldn’t I do to survive?