Please Don’t Sponsor the Guide - Chapter 24

Curious what happens next? Read more here

That meant Samuel Norah had been guiding Adrien for a whole week.

Adrien hadn’t called on Linton even once. She certainly knew why Linton had come all this way.

It was cold indifference as if telling him to go. Normally Linton would have quietly accepted it.

But this time, he couldn’t.

“Obviously. That sly face must be pretending innocence to charm Adrien.”

Linton clenched his teeth, involuntarily imagining Samuel guiding Adrien. It was horrible.

“She’ll lose interest soon. Always the same.”

“…Yeah, probably.”

Adrien hadn’t only received guiding from Linton. Occasionally, other guides came at nearly the same frequency.

But all of those were brief moments. Linton had quietly removed the impurities that threatened his place without Adrien knowing.

It wasn’t a bad thing. He only threw a few distractions to divert their attention from Adrien. It was the guides themselves who chose to bite.

“Adrien doesn’t care about such things anyway.”

It would probably be the same this time. Coldness was Adrien’s nature, and humans rarely change their fundamental character.

They should—but somehow Linton felt uneasy.

“…Hey, this kid’s family is receiving sponsorship?”

Suddenly Linton’s eyes landed on a corner of the report.

“Did you check who the sponsor is?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then write to the sponsorship association first.”

Commoners often receive sponsorship, but that meant incidents sometimes arose between sponsors and sponsored parties. Linton knew that all too well.

‘I have a good intuition.’

He tossed the report roughly onto the desk and let out a small smile. It was a very different smile from the bright one he usually flashes in front of others.

* * *

During the hour Samuel spent guiding Adrien each day, he learned a lot about the Light of Justice.

Contrary to rumors of coldness, Adrien was quite kind. Though her smiles were faint, they were frequent. She found the guiding measuring necklace annoying and only wore it when Samuel insisted, at the end of each guiding session.

And she liked kissing.

“Haa…”

Her lips falling, reluctant to part, and her red gaze following like a thread—Samuel grinned and pressed a firm kiss onto Adrien’s lips.

“I’ll clean it for you.”

Though the guiding was supposed to be limited to hand-holding, for some reason it always ended up with kisses. No one could tell who kissed first. When Samuel came to, he found himself deeply entwined on the sofa.

Samuel liked Adrien after the kiss.

Her flushed face and softened gaze gave him strength. The longing in her eyes, transparent as if revealing insecurities, sent thrills down Samuel’s spine every time it flickered over his lips.

Even after all the kissing, Samuel’s heart still pounded wildly each time. Being a sensitive esper, Adrien probably already knew this heartbeat—but Samuel kept pretending otherwise.

He knew how Adrien must see him—young, junior, and a sponsored kid. If Adrien hadn’t been in such urgent condition that day, this opportunity might never have come.

He didn’t want to seem immature or ignorant. Samuel clenched his entire body to suppress his tension and reached for his handkerchief.

“You flatter me too much, Ensign Samuel.”

“I’m not flattering.”

“But you’re innocent.”

Adrien chuckled and licked her glossy lips. Trying to tidy her mouth, she was completely unaware how her light gesture looked to the guide before her.

“That enough?”

Samuel couldn’t answer while swallowing hard. He just hoped his pounding heart wouldn’t betray him.

Adrien, who left a storm of trembling in Samuel, stood and handed him something.

“What’s this?”

“I got an interesting gift and thought it’d suit you.”

It was a necklace. At first glance it looked like a guiding measurement necklace, but the jewel seemed to be made of a slightly different material.

“It’s a guiding measurement necklace for guides. It measures your available guiding capacity. The color codes are the same as for espers.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Neither had I. It’s not for sale; just a tester. You should try it.”

“…”

“Our levels differ by more than one rank, and I’ve been curious about your guiding state. Every time I ask, you just say you’re fine, so now you’ll actually know.”

“Commander.”

Their eyes met. Adrien’s indifferent gaze widened in surprise.