I'm Done Being the Heroine's Stand-in

I was thrown into the Eldora Empire a year ago.

Even now, I can remember that day vividly.

The day I finally passed the civil service exam after studying for four years. The day I was so joyous that I got thoroughly drunk with friends.

The day I was so intoxicated that I failed to notice the sign that indicated construction in progress. I fell into a large manhole and lost consciousness.

When I regained my senses, the life of a civil servant that I had eagerly awaited for a long period was completely gone.

I found myself in the body of a character from the novel I had read whenever I had free time while preparing for the civil service exam, .

Moreover, it was as Yerena, a Class C guide character who gets used by the male leads and dies before the female protagonist even shows up.

Damn, if I had known this could happen, I wouldn’t have read that novel. I wouldn’t have studied so hard.

Although I regretted it intensely, I didn’t have much time to deny this crappy reality.

The moment I possessed her was at the beginning of the novel, when Yerena emerges as a Class C guide and gets taken to the center.

Yerena met her death as the story transitioned from the early stages to the middle.

If I didn’t accept this reality and kept denying it, I felt like I would meet a terrible end.

Let me take a moment here, there was a particular reason why Yerena, despite being Class C, became a guide for the ‘Allen Knights’, the most prestigious knighthood of the Empire.

It’s because her compatibility rate with ‘Benjamin Vincente’, the top-ranked Esper in the Empire, exceeded 90 percent. Excluding the female protagonist whose matching percentage with Benjamin was 99 percent, I had the highest compatibility with him.

For your information, the higher the matching rate between the Esper and the guide, the better the guidance effect.

In other words, they could dampen the backlash suffered from using superpowers more effectively.

There was also a reason why I couldn’t help but become their guide despite knowing Yerena’s future.

‘Yerena Botman’.

She was the eldest daughter of an impoverished baron family. Her parents were hopelessly addicted to gambling and had amassed a tremendous amount of debt.

Yerena was practically sold off to the center.

In fact, her parents had given up full custody of her in exchange for a large sum of money from the Center.

This meant that no matter how I was treated by the center, I could not refuse to do their bidding, even if it meant taking on a job that could kill me.

It was impossible for me to leave the center completely without repaying the large sum of money my parents had given me.

Thus, I had no choice but to become the slave, or rather, the guide of the Allen Knights.

While working as their guide and earning money, I planned to leave this place before the time of Yerena’s death arrived…

***

Upon arriving at Pandora’s Forest, the first thing I noticed was the thick smell of blood.

I hated the smell of anything rotten, and it made me feel like I was going to vomit.

With my hand over my mouth, I trudged forward, looking for a familiar silhouette in the distance.

The forest was truly a scene of chaos.

Several knights with serious wounds were scattered around, and their guides stood watch nearby.

One of the members of the ‘Allen Knights’, a group I belong to, was also critically injured.

The injured man was an Esper named Baron, known as the ‘one who can freely manipulate everything’.

Baron was leaning on a tree with a large cut in his abdomen.

“Ba-Baron! Are you alright?”

I quickly ran over and placed my hand on Baron’s abdomen. His silver eyes coldly stared at me.

“Why are you so late? Did you crawl here? You’re not helping at all.”

…After all the effort I put in to get here, you jerk!

I glared at Baron just a bit, careful not to upset him.

Baron Mekenzie.

He was the heir to the Marquess of Mekenzie and an Esper specializing in telekinesis and teleportation.

With his mysterious silver hair and silver eyes, Baron looked much like a fairy based on his appearance.

However, in reality, he had the foulest temper among the Allen Knights.

It’s a ‘sharp temper’ if you put it mildly, but one could simply say he lacked any social decency.

“If you were a bit later, I might’ve been dead.”

I had no words. I was late indeed.

A guide without teleportation abilities had to rely on the help of an Esper with teleportation abilities to reach monster-infested areas.

Usually, teleporting knights in a knights’ group would come and fetch their guides.

But this Baron fellow never once escorted me.

The reason was, that there was no need for a C-rank guide who was not even A-rank.

Normally, I would set off with the help of teleportation Espers from other knight groups or within the center. If that wasn’t feasible, I would go by horse-drawn carriage or just walk.

Unfortunately, today, there were no Espers available to help me.

So, I ended up taking a carriage to the depths of this dangerous forest.

I suppose that I’m the only guide who still travels by carriage. Ha.

‘You damn jerk. If you had just brought me along, I wouldn’t have been late, would I?’

Holding back a retort, I apologized instead.

“…..Huff, huff. I’m sorry.”

With each word, I gasped for breath.

“Fine. Just hold onto me.”

Although I lacked healing abilities, I could soothe the disturbed minds of Espers.

Fortunately, Baron was an A-class Esper, capable of self-healing to a certain extent if his body’s wavelength stabilized. I grabbed Baron’s outstretched hand, which he had grudgingly extended in my direction.

As soon as I touched his hand, color began returning to Baron’s face, which was previously pale and drained.

He exerted some strength into our joined hands.

He, who despised guides, seemed to desperately need my guidance today. His injuries must have been quite severe.

Baron’s silently reticent face was beautiful, like an angel’s. The problem was his overbearing mouth, which spouted abuse.

Suddenly, a Red Dragon emerged from a gate about 30 meters away.

Its name was Radon, the culprit behind the injuries inflicted upon Baron and several knights.

―Roar!

Radon opened his mouth wide, emitting a piercing sound.

A-class monster Radon was a vicious brute that’s been appearing frequently in the Pandora forest these days.

As the terrifying creature appeared, a sturdy man leaped forward.

His jet-black hair swayed gently as he jumped.

The man, much smaller than the dragon, thrust a large sword into the dragon’s jaws.

―Grrrahh!

The screaming dragon’s body began to plummet downwards.

Radon, which had caused many casualties, was on the verge of extinction.

Like he wouldn’t miss the opening of the dragon, the man unhesitatingly drew another sword strapped to his waist.

Soon, the man’s sword crashed down on Radon’s neck.

Squish.

With the dreadful sound of slicing something heavy, the dragon’s screams completely disappeared.

Despite it obviously being dead, the man angrily cut off the dragon’s limbs.

I could not bear to watch the gruesome sight any longer.

“…I wanted to be the one to kill it.”

At some point, the blood stopped flowing from Baron’s wounds. He was gnawing at his lower lip.

He pushed my hand away and rose from his seat.

“Hey, Lambert. Let’s take it easy.”

The man who had completely dissected the dragon was now walking towards us.

His shadow cast a large shadow over me as I sat weakly.

The man’s face, as he looked at me, was eerily expressionless.

His expression was the same as when he was facing the dragon moments ago.

Surely, he wouldn’t want to dismember my body just because I was late…?

Considering this man’s merciless nature, it wasn’t entirely implausible.

Before becoming Yerena, I had worked as a convenience store clerk for four years. I had a strong sense of service.

Now was the perfect time to showcase my service skills.

“L-Lambert! Thank you for your hard work!”

“…….”

The man remained expressionless.

I decided to try buttering him up a bit more.

“The way you skewered Radon like that was really impressive!”

“…….”

Another expressionless face.

“How about barbecue for dinner? Barbecue skewers!”

“…….”

There was a slight twitch in the man’s brow.

…Damn. This isn’t working.

“Well then, for dinner…”

Finally, the man parted his heavy lips.

“I’m going back.”

There was no invitation to accompany him. The man and Baron were already walking far ahead.

It seems I’m inevitably destined to walk back to the center. Sigh.

The man, whose normal state is expressionlessness, is Lambert Heidegger.

He is…