Chapter 155
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A few days later, Lea inevitably came face to face with the lively Lucy. Of course, the eyes watching over the captive Guides followed her, but it was an unusual privilege for her to be walking around freely without restraints.
“Miss Lea!”
As soon as Lucy spotted Lea, she called out cheerfully and ran over.
“Hello! You’re about to guide the soldiers, right?”
Seeing Lucy’s cheerful demeanor, unchanged from the previous life, left a bitter taste in Lea’s mouth. Was that mocking look she saw on Lucy’s face right before dying just a hallucination? Maybe, because she so desperately wished for a miracle at the time, she ended up misunderstanding something absurd.
It was the same when they ran into each other in the back alley. Looking back, her suspicion that Lucy was an Esper had no real basis. Everything had just been her own assumption.
“Yes, will you help too, Miss Lucy?”
Lea had heard a little of Calix’s real plan. To carry out that plan, she had to approach the Guides first. Unlike Lucy, she also greeted the captive Guides lingering in the back, warmly.
“It’ll probably go faster if everyone helps together…”
“Oh, it’s fine. Miss Lea, you’re really kind. Don’t worry, just come this way.”
At Lea’s words, Lucy stepped up and brought the Guides over. Thanks to her energetic and amiable attitude, even the soldiers watching nearby visibly relaxed their guard.
“Alright, I’ll give you a brief explanation. When guiding an Esper, don’t just pour your energy into them blindly, please also check how much impure energy has accumulated inside. Record it separately, then hand it over to me.”
“Wow, Miss Lea, did you write all this yourself?”
Lucy reached out to the thick list in Lea’s hands, but couldn’t touch it. Lea had stepped back, avoiding her hand.
“…Ah, I’m sorry. That was rude of me, wasn’t it?”
Lucy’s rabbit ears drooped dejectedly for all to see. Watching her, so pitiful in that moment, made Lea’s stomach churn. Images from the past flickered before her eyes.
Whenever Lucy treated Lea this way, the eyes of the Espers around them would become vicious. Not only that, they would exchange gossip about Lea loudly, making sure she heard.
That memory choked Lea up. She tried her best to keep her expression calm, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
“I’m sorry. Are you angry?”
When Lucy lowered her head and apologized first, the expressions of the Guides standing behind her turned icy.
Seeing that too, Lea found herself even more unable to speak. She clenched her teeth as her face went pale, and Lucy reached out as if to approach her.
“Miss Lea, are you alright?”
Just then, someone appeared and coldly knocked Lucy’s hand away.
“Don’t touch her carelessly.”
Lea looked up at the back of Zion, who was now blocking her, and was finally able to open her mouth and let out the breath she’d been holding.
Zion had been watching from afar and rushed over when he noticed something was off with Lea. Seeing her looking so frightened, he couldn’t hold back. Even if the other person was a Guide, he felt a murderous urge.
“Don’t think you’re equal to Miss Lea just because you’re a Guide. The only reason you’re being treated this well, despite being the enemy, is because you’re Guides. Cross the line, and I’ll cut you down without hesitation.”
He knew his words might interfere with Calix’s plan, but he couldn’t stop himself. It was likely because of Lea, whose trembling breath he could hear behind him as she tried to hold it in.
Lea was even more flustered by her own reaction, bursting out uncontrollably despite herself. She knew the situation was different from the past, but her body had frozen up on its own.
“…I didn’t mean to frighten you, Miss Lea. I’m sorry.”
Lucy replied weakly to Zion in a small voice, clearly discouraged. Then the Guides standing awkwardly behind Lucy came to her side and bowed their heads as well.
But their eyes were anything but apologetic. Lea’s chest tightened at the thought that she’d just disrupted Calix’s plan.
She wanted to help, but instead of being any real help, she had just complicated things further.
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