Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 1.1
The male lead has no need for trauma
Crash! Crackle!
There was a shattering sound, like thin glass fracturing. It would have been chilling even in an ordinary situation, but right now, it felt especially eerie.
Well, it was only natural.
This was a kind of warning that I might soon die.
‘No, it’s not just a warning. At this rate, I’m definitely doomed to die.’
My death, as nothing more than an extra in the original story—a vague, utterly B-Class death—was, after all, nothing but an unfortunate incident meant to mark the beginning of the main plot.
It was supposed to be an episode that just passed by, and yet, I reached out my hand. At the same time, the control stone on my wrist, which sensed a Transcendent’s mana, shattered mercilessly.
“Acteon.”
After swallowing dryly, I yanked at the collar I’d barely managed to grab, and his now-clouded eyes looked down at me. His gaze was so sunken and gloomy that I couldn’t even guess what had driven him to this state.
As expected, this guy still hasn’t come to his senses.
If he were even a little bit sane, there might have been a sliver of hope. But it seemed all hope was lost. As angry as I was, I couldn’t understand myself for running headlong into danger like this.
If I’d just minded my own business and ignored him instead of meddling for nothing, I wouldn’t be dying a dog’s death like this. …Why did he have to do something that caught my eye?
Consumed by a rush of resentment, I whispered to him. Even if, in truth, he couldn’t even hear me right now.
“You… if you really end up killing me, I won’t let it slide. If I die, Hyacinth will be left alone. She’ll resent you, and you’ll end up even more broken, carrying that hatred.”
So at least realize that I’m standing here in front of you.
Gritting my teeth, I made contact with his mana. I’d barely touched it, yet from the very start I felt the flow, tangled and unstable. At the same time, his expression twisted violently. It was clear he was trying to shake me off.
But that didn’t mean I could back down. I tightened my grip on his collar and forcibly began guiding.
It’s a Guide’s role to stabilize a Transcendent’s mana. Yet never before had I so desperately wished for the Transcendent in front of me to come to his senses.
The terrifying mana, as if it could tear me apart at any moment, refused to subside. In fact, the more I guided, the more it seemed to take shape like a reflected light, growing ever more ominous.
It felt like I was holding a ticking time bomb to my chest. The moment I let go, this entire academy would be swallowed up.
And since gripping his collar wasn’t enough to stabilize the mana, I was left with only one choice.
Pulling the familiar face toward me with all my strength, I spoke—perhaps about to do something I’d deeply regret.
“If you try to blame me later for being your first kiss or whatever, I won’t let that slide either.”
At last, I lowered my head and our rough lips met.
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* * *
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Why did I have to remember now, of all times, that this place is inside a novel?
“…This is driving me crazy.”
The many control stones embedded here glittered blindingly, installed as a precaution against potential danger. Normally, I’d have thought it was just a beautiful and luxurious place where they’d dumped a pile of money, but right now, I simply couldn’t see it that way.
This was the Garden of Oaths, one of the three symbols of the academy.
It’s used as a venue to assess the ranks of Transcendents and Guides.
And it’s also the place where I’d die.
Standing in the very center, holding my classmate’s hand, I froze in place, and a few professors and officers outside looked at me strangely. But I had no time to care about those looks.
‘No, seriously, this is insane… Of all the extras, why Liliope?’
The reason I came here today was to help my classmate with their second manifestation.
Manifesters and Awakened.
Those who have undergone the first manifestation possess the qualities to become either a Transcendent or a Guide—they’re called ‘Manifesters’ and enter the academy.
And through the second manifestation, they are finally divided into two types: ‘Transcendents’ and ‘Guides’. Both together are referred to as the Awakened…
‘Transcendents, who transcend human limits and display wondrous abilities through mana. Guides, who control or stabilize their dangerous mana, since Transcendents are prone to rampage… That was the setup, right?’
Summing up the basic settings of this world in my mind, I let go of my classmate’s hand. At the same moment, a researcher’s voice, amplified by a sound system, announced the results.
“Didier Thiel, C-Class.”
It seemed the professor hadn’t expected my classmate’s rank to be that high. Even so, he couldn’t hide his disappointment at the expected result.
But right now, the results of my classmate, who had just awakened as a Transcendent, didn’t matter to me at all.
I just found out myself, but…
It seems I’ve transmigrated as a character inside a book.
I became a side character Guide who can’t withstand the power of the S-Class Transcendent male lead and ends up dying.
Liliope Ortis.
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