Chapter 62 – GOY 62
#62
“I will handle Esper Joo Seung-hyuk’s Guiding.”
“Bullshit.”
Joo Seung-hyuk condensed Aaron’s words into a simple summary. Even for someone like Aaron, hearing such cold words from the person he liked seemed to shrink his confidence, as his shoulders flinched.
Then, Professor Oh, who was standing next to Aaron, spoke with his characteristic fake, benevolent smile.
“Haha. Seung-hyuk, why don’t you try a Guiding duel instead? We have two S-Class Guides gathered here. Why not take this opportunity to see whose skills are superior? The reporters agree, don’t they?”
“Ah, of course. Lee Yeon-soo and Aaron Han—the duel of the century.”
“This is getting exciting.”
Several reporters answered as if they had been waiting for this. Was this visit our siteanother play prepared by Professor Oh?
He thought that if we performed Guiding simultaneously, Joo Seung-hyuk would choose Aaron. He was certain that my skills would fall behind Aaron’s.
In truth, Aaron had almost no practical experience. His family had overprotected him, and he himself had refused to provide Guiding to others, dreaming of an imprinted guide.
Because of that, he said he had zero experience other than Guiding his hyung, David, a few times. Yet, Professor Oh judged that Aaron would be better than me. After all, he was from a royal family and a dominant omega.
Whenever other professors praised me, Professor Oh would always snort from the corner of the room. I knew he looked down on me, but I didn’t realize it was to this extent.
Being dismissed in my capacity as a Guide brought a wave of unpleasantness on a completely different level than before.
However, no matter how angry I was, I couldn’t match Joo Seung-hyuk’s rage.
“Are you saying you want to use my body for an experiment right now?”
“Seung-hyuk, it’s not an experiment, but…”
“Professor Oh, have you forgotten that I have a Guiding Rejection Reaction?”
Murderous intent dripped from stolen contentevery single word Joo Seung-hyuk spoke. Professor Oh stolen contentseemed terrified. However, glancing at Aaron, he continued.
“I know. But it might have healed already…”
“And if I Rampage?”
“Wouldn’t that be because the Guide was incompetent? Guide Aaron is on a different level from an F-Rank. If any problem occurs, I will cut off the mana immediately, so such a misfortune won’t happen.”
“I heard that the Guiding Rejection Reaction gradually disappears. Guide Lee Yeon-soo, don’t back out and give it a try.”
The reporter who had received a warning from Joo Seung-hyuk earlier provided supporting fire. They said they were close to Professor Oh, and it seemed they had even learned his habit of picking on the easy target—me—since they couldn’t say anything to Joo Seung-hyuk.
No matter what I said here, it would be used against me. If I agreed, I’d be putting Joo Seung-hyuk in danger; if I refused, they’d sneer that I was backing down because my skills were inferior to Aaron’s.
It was a checkmate.
Just then, Joo Seung-hyuk spoke in a chilling voice.
“Reporter Choi Young-hwan, if I receive Guiding from someone other than Guide Lee Yeon-soo and Rampage, can you take responsibility?”
“That’s…”
“Professor Oh Seok-gwang, if I trigger a Rampage, everyone here will die. Can you handle that?”
“…….”
“I suppose the other reporters don’t value their lives either?”
The reporters, who had been excited about the duel between S-Class Guides, fell silent simultaneously.
Mana laden with a murderous intent strong enough for even non-Awakeneds to feel spread through the surroundings. Everyone’s faces were turning pale.
Just as I was about to try and stop him, a familiar voice rang out.
“Wow, Joo Seung-hyuk’s temper is as foul as ever. Cut it out. The reporters are shaking.”
“It’s Do Hyuk-jin!”
“Esper Do Hyuk-jin!”
The reporters brightened up at Do Hyuk-jin’s appearance. Their expressions were like [Read on Read BL Novels]people who had been chased by a killer and finally met a police officer.
“Hello. I am Do Hyuk-jin, the Guild Master of the YL Guild, in charge of the Esper Academy’s practical training today.”
Although they prioritized safety by choosing gates with ranks lower than the students’ abilities and conducting weapon inspections, raiding an actual gate still carried risks. Therefore, during practical training, people from the Center or guilds would come to provide direct guidance and mine mana stones from the gate.
I thought it was strange that no one had come today, but it seems the YL Guild was in charge.
“I heard training starts at 3 o’clock, but there must have been some misunderstanding.”
The current time was 2:32. So, Hyuk-jin hyung wasn’t late.
It seemed Professor Oh had given the wrong time. After all, it would have been difficult to spout nonsense like ‘the selfish Guide who doesn’t participate in Gate Raids’ next to Hyuk-jin hyung.
“It seems the raid is already over. Regardless of the reason, I apologize for being late.”
Hyuk-jin hyung glanced at Joo Seung-hyuk, whose uniform was stained with blood in several places, and apologized to the reporters. Then, he walked toward us.
“Yeon-soo!”
He beamed when he saw me.
“Hyuk-jin hyung.”
“Our Yeon-soo…!”
Hyuk-jin hyung attempted a hug. But before he could, he was blocked by Joo Seung-hyuk.
“If a single finger touches him, I’ll cut it.”
Joo Seung-hyuk pointed his sword at Hyuk-jin hyung’s neck. Both the reporters and students were horrified, but Do Hyuk-jin, the party involved, remained nonchalant.
“Yeon-soo, how did you end up caught by a bastard like this? I told you repeatedly. You need to meet a kind person like hyung…”
The sound of a blade cutting through the air was heard. Joo Seung-hyuk had actually swung his sword. Do Hyuk-jin immediately recoiled, but a thin line of blood was drawn across his neck.
“Bastard.”
“Try dying at the hands of a bastard.”
Joo Seung-hyuk and Do Hyuk-jin were notorious enemies.
I didn’t know the exact reason, but the most likely theory was that their relationship soured when Do Hyuk-jin left Seong Han to start his own guild.
However, I thought that the two of them might actually get along well and only acted this way in front of others.
Of course, in the original work, those two were like cats and dogs. Even when Do Hyuk-jin died, Joo Seung-hyuk didn’t attend the funeral. But he visited the grave alone in the dead of night and shed tears. He had wailed, saying he was sorry.
It was the only scene in The Swamp of the Guide where Joo Seung-hyuk showed tears.
When I read it, I thought it was out of the blue.
But after realizing this world was a novel and chewing over the content again, that part bothered me.
Perhaps there was a story between the two that wasn’t revealed in the novel?
That’s why even when I heard that the two had become enemies as per the original work, I imagined other possibilities.
But seeing Joo Seung-hyuk swing his sword at Do Hyuk-jin without any hesitation now, it seems I thought too deeply.
They are just enemies.
“Joo Seung-hyuk, are you crazy! Yeon-soo, dump a piece of trash like him and come to me…!”
Joo Seung-hyuk’s dark mana flew toward Do Hyuk-jin. He dodged this time as well, but the mana hit a cardboard box behind him, setting it on fire.
The reporters screamed and ran away, and the Guides retreated. A water-type Esper nearby startled and put out the fire. Then, they looked at me with teary eyes.
“Esteemed Student Lee Yeon-soo…”
Why are you looking at me? The one who caused the accident is someone else…
But other Espers and reporters were also looking at me with desperate faces.
I sighed and carefully grabbed Joo Seung-hyuk’s arm. Honestly, I didn’t have the confidence to stop an Obsessive Madman who had already lost his leash, but I should at least pretend to stop him…
“…Seung-hyuk-ah, people are getting scared.”
“Are you scared too, hyung?”
“Yeah. A little. So stop it.”
“Alright. If that’s what hyung wants, I have no choice. I’ll hold back for now.”
Surprisingly, Joo Seung-hyuk withdrew his sword obediently.
But what did he mean by holding back ‘for now’? Does it mean he’ll hold back for a bit and then start a sword fight later? For a moment, fear surged, but I didn’t have the courage to ask.
“Hyuk-jin hyung, you stop it too.”
“What did I even do? I just hope our cute Yeon-soo meets a good person like hyung…”
“Hyung, is it fun to tease me?”
He always makes wordplays like that, but today he went too far.
When I spoke firmly, he bowed his head and apologized.
“Sorry.”
As the two stopped fighting, looks of respect and admiration poured in.
“Wow, amazing.”
“As expected of Lee Yeon-soo.”
It’s burdensome.
I just want to escape being the villainous sub-uke and live quietly. I didn’t want this kind of attention.
“By the way, why was it so noisy?”
When Hyuk-jin hyung asked about the situation, Professor Oh quickly explained.
“I proposed a Guiding duel between Guide Aaron and Lee Yeon-soo.”
“A Guiding duel?”
“Yes. What do you think? Don’t you think it would be good for Guild Master Do to see Guide Aaron’s skills on this occasion?”
They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Professor Oh reached out a helping hand to Do Hyuk-jin, who was an enemy of Joo Seung-hyuk. He seemed desperate to let Aaron provide Guiding to Joo Seung-hyuk somehow.
“Hmm… I see.”
Hyuk-jin hyung fell into thought for a moment. He looked displeased. If hyung refused here, Professor Oh wouldn’t be able to persist any further.
However, my expectations were quickly shattered.
“That sounds interesting. I was actually curious about Guide Aaron’s skills.”
“Haha. I knew Guild Master Do would say that.”
Professor Oh patted Hyuk-jin hyung’s shoulder. A triumphant smile also played on Aaron’s lips.
“Yes. Let’s do it quickly. Guide Lee Yeon-soo will guide Joo Seung-hyuk, and Guide Aaron will guide Esper Moon Seon-woo.”
“What? Are you telling me to guide an Esper other than Joo Seung-hyuk right now?”
Aaron’s face, which had been swelling with anticipation, distorted miserably.
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