Please Don’t Sponsor the Guide - Chapter 105

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Just as Peter had said, Samuel was smiling. His expression was bright, almost as if he couldn’t contain his excitement.

“Huh? He really is.”

“Wow, that’s the happiest I’ve ever seen Ensign Samuel look!”

“…It’s a good opportunity.”

Samuel truly believed that. It was the perfect chance to return to Adrien Brillante’s side. Now, no one would be able to say that Samuel Norah didn’t belong next to Adrien Brillante.

Samuel himself thought so too. He now possessed something far more precious and decisive than status or wealth.

No guide in existence could single-handedly fully sustain the guiding needs of an unmeasurable esper. Not even a Gold-level guide.

But Samuel Norah could.

He had never tried it before, but he knew and he felt that he could. And if it still wasn’t enough, he was ready to grind down even his soul to fill the gap.

He’d lived that way even as a Silver-level guide. There was no reason he couldn’t do it now.

“Will the commander attend my promotion ceremony as well?”

“Attend? She’s the one who’ll be pinning your new insignia on you.”

“…That’s nice.”

The thought of seeing Adrien again. Adrien, who had fled the moment he saw Samuel’s face a week ago, was enough to draw a deeply satisfied smile from him.

* * *

She hadn’t been this nervous even before her first battle.

Adrien stood before the doors of Phoenix Hall, steadying her breath again and again. Her heart, however, showed no sign of calming down.

Once she stepped inside, she would have to face Samuel.

She wasn’t confident she could remain composed in front of him.

On the day Samuel had awakened, the massive surge of guiding energy had nearly robbed her of her senses. The only thing preserving Adrien’s sanity then had been the fact that she hadn’t pulled him into her arms.

Even when he’d been Silver-level, Samuel’s guiding had been overwhelming. Now that it carried power she could barely endure, could she truly keep her composure?

Still, as the commander, she had a duty today: to pin the insignia on the officer receiving a special promotion. She had to do it as his superior, professionally, dispassionately.

She refused to become the kind of disgraceful person who accepted someone merely because they were the only unmeasurable guide in existence.

“Stop stalling and go in already. Planning to stay out here until tomorrow?”

Alex, who’d been listening to her unsteady heartbeat the entire time, teased her with a grin. Adrien shot him a brief glare, then finally opened the door.

The murmuring inside fell silent. The battalion snapped into formation.

At the same time, Adrien felt guiding energy crash over her like a sudden wave.

Samuel’s.

“Even feeling it again, it’s unbelievable.”

Alex muttered, clicking his tongue. It felt as though someone had deliberately flooded the entire hall with radiation guiding.

Despite not even touching him, a faint, tickling pleasure bloomed across Adrien’s skin. She swallowed dryly and forced herself to walk forward as if nothing were wrong, searching the ranks for Samuel.

He stood among the soldiers, staring straight ahead, expression calm. Maybe it was her imagination, but Samuel alone seemed brighter than everyone else.

Adrien knew it wasn’t intentional. Samuel was leaking guiding energy like a complete novice, like someone who hadn’t learned containment at all.

Her gaze swept over the red-eyed espers. They were feeling it too. They wouldn’t experience the same intoxicating pleasure she did, but still, it unsettled her.

Adrien stepped onto the platform. Avoiding the green eyes fixed intently on her, she spoke.

“There is an officer to receive a special promotion.”

She could feel the stare boring into her relentlessly. A pointless thirst rose in her throat. She swallowed again.

“Ensign Samuel Norah of the Capital Security Guard, step forward.”

Samuel broke formation and advanced with crisp, disciplined steps.

Behind him, the traces of radiation guiding unfurled like a long ribbon of white light. Adrien let out a quiet, incredulous laugh.

It looked as though Samuel were walking down a dazzling wedding aisle, as if he were about to stand before everyone and vow eternal love as her bride.

The thought was sickeningly sweet. And just as dangerous.

When his gaze briefly slipped from hers, Adrien studied him.

His jawline looked sharper than two weeks ago. Had his hair grown a little longer? Maybe it was because he’d been off outdoor training, but his skin seemed paler too.