“Yes?”

“There’s a summons from the Center Director. He said to come to his study when you return to the center.”

“…The Center Director?”

The staff member nodded.

It was strange.

The Center Director usually only dealt with S-rank or A-rank guides and espers, not C-ranks like me.

I felt an inexplicable chill.

I had a bad feeling as if something ominous was about to happen.

I thought I had done well to listen to Bless.

Bless had suggested we go to the forest just in case. It said I might be reprimanded if I didn’t participate in the mission.

If I hadn’t participated, I might have been reprimanded.

I went up to the very top floor of Chelsea Center without even changing my clothes.

That’s where the newly appointed Center Director’s study was located.

I had seen the Center Director only once at his inauguration ceremony a week ago.

It wasn’t a one-on-one meeting like now, I just saw him briefly from a distance.

The impression I got of him then was, well…

To sum it up in one word…

‘He was really handsome.’

Of course, in this novel, most of the espers at the center were generally good-looking.

But there were certainly some faces that stood out among them. For example, Lambert, Baron, Benjamin…

The Center Director had looks that wouldn’t lose even to the mad dogs of the Allen Knights.

I’ve digressed, but anyway, I was barely acquainted with the Center Director. I wasn’t particularly interested either.

But if I met him, I wanted to report the fact that my salary had been delayed.

The previous Center Director had been irresponsible about accounting matters, but wouldn’t this new one be different?

I wanted to believe he would be different.

“Guide Yerena has arrived.”

When the staff member guarding the study announced this, a voice close to a falsetto rang out from inside.

“Let her in.”

As soon as I stepped inside after the study door opened, I heard a loud thunderclap.

Rumble, crash.

And almost simultaneously, one wall of the study made of floor-to-ceiling glass lit up.

It seemed like the rain wouldn’t stop today.

As I was admiring the lightning reflected in the glass, the falsetto voice rang out again.

“It’s thundering.”

I turned my head toward the direction of the voice. Then I saw him.

The Center Director, sitting at a mahogany desk, stared at me intently.

Our eyes met. The Center Director had light golden irises.

Meanwhile, the thunder kept striking incessantly.

Its light cast beautiful shadows on the Center Director’s face.

The shadow cast by his high nose bridge, the shadow cast by his long eyelashes, the shadow cast by his beautiful lips.

His head tilted slightly to the right.

His golden hair that flowed down with the movement looked glossy.

He was beautiful. Much more so than when I had seen him from afar.

And for some reason, he looked familiar.

Should I say he looked similar to the man I had met recently, sitting elegantly in front of a desk?

I recalled the title of ‘that man’.

‘Honey…’

For some reason, the Center Director gave off a similar vibe to the Honey Guildmaster.

“They say love at first sight is similar to a thunderbolt striking.”

The Center Director’s first words were somehow strange.

I tilted my head.

“Pardon?”

“In other words, they have in common that they strike all at once.”

“…”

“Did you fall in love with me at first sight, Guide Yerena?”

“…”

“You’re staring too intently. It might make me misunderstand.”

Dazed by his beauty, I blurted out something strange.

“D-Did I fall in love at first sight?”

…What kind of answer is this?

I hurriedly tried to cover up my words.

“Ah, no! I meant you’re so shockingly handsome… that one could fall in love at first sight.”

The Center Director smiled gently and gestured towards the sofa.

“Thank you. Please, have a seat.”

I sat down on the sofa awkwardly.

“Um… may I ask why you called for me?”

The Center Director, sitting across from me with his long legs crossed, said expressionlessly.

“I called you to reprimand you.”

Damn! No way.

I don’t have anything to be reprimanded for, do I?

Could it be that Lambert tattled to the Center Director about being abandoned?

A bear-like man and tattling. It was a completely mismatched combination.

Besides, Lambert was rather taciturn.

I had never spoken with him for more than 5 minutes.

Perhaps we spent more time with our lips pressed together than in conversation. Ugh.

It was unlikely that a man of few words would go out of his way to find the Center Director and chatter away.

Moreover, it was Benjamin who had knocked Lambert unconscious.

I felt truly wronged.

“I, I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes!”

“Hmm… Today, how long did it take you to arrive at the mission site after receiving the call on your watch?”

It took about an hour from the cemetery to Pandora Forest by hired carriage.

Was I a bit late?

Cold sweat of unknown origin began to form on my forehead.

“About an hour? But I couldn’t help it.”

I explained a bit more.

“As you know, the great espers of the Allen Knights don’t personally escort me.”

“I know. The fact that Yerena is often abandoned is famous enough to have reached even my ears, despite my recent appointment.”

“That’s right!”

It’s good that he knows the truth.

No, wait, this doesn’t seem like something to be happy about…?

“And it’s not often, it’s every time. That needs correction.”

“Ah-ha.”

The Center Director nodded and continued.

“What else was it… Ah, I also know that it takes you several hours to travel between the forest and Chelsea Center.”

“That’s right!”

Yes, yes!

Please understand my plight!

And please assign me a dedicated transportation esper!

The Center Director, his expression unchanged, asked the next question in the same tone.

“So, do you want to quit being a guide?”

“That’s ri… What?”

“I asked if you want to leave the center.”

At that moment, lightning struck again.

With it, shadows fell across the Center Director’s face.

“Um… Can I leave without repaying the money my parents took from the center?”

The Center Director rubbed his well-defined chin.

“Hmm. If you leave like that, you might become a wanted person.”

It meant I couldn’t leave until I paid back all the money. Damn it.

But I wasn’t as depressed as before. Because I might soon know a way to earn money.

“If I pay it all back, there’s no problem with leaving, right?”

“Of course not.”

“…”

“You know that you became a guide for the Allen Knights because of your high compatibility rate with Benjamin, right?”

I nodded.

“Unlike with Benjamin, you have similar compatibility rates with Baron and Lambert.”

Another nod.

“You became the Allen Knights’ guide because of Benjamin, but since Benjamin doesn’t use your guidance, there shouldn’t be a problem if you resign.”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

The Center Director was correct.

If Benjamin didn’t want me, there was no reason for me to watch their backs.

“There are quite a few guides in the center with high compatibility rates with Baron and Lambert.”

“You’re right, Center Director. The new Center Director is so smart, clever, thoughtful…”

Unable to think of more words to praise him, I gave a thumbs up. The Center Director showed no particular reaction to my adulation.

“Duncan.”

“Pardon?”

“My name. It’s not ‘Center Director’, it’s ‘Duncan Scott’.”

“…Ah! Of course, I knew your name, Center Director!”

Actually, I didn’t know.

That’s because in the original story, the Center Director, no, Duncan, had almost no presence.

Duncan only appeared occasionally when conversing with the female lead. Just like the Honey Guildmaster.

Come to think of it, Honey Guildmaster and Duncan’s voices seem a bit similar…

Is it just my imagination?

“Anyway, the reason you want to earn money is to leave the center, right?”

Duncan asked quite gently. Perhaps that’s why I couldn’t lie.

Before I realized it, the truth was flowing out smoothly.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“I see.”

“…Yes.”

“You can go now.”

“Pardon?”

I tilted my head.

“I’m saying the reprimand is over.”

It was strange.

All we had talked about was ‘my circumstances for wanting to leave the center’.

“What conversation did we have?”

The corners of Duncan’s mouth rose slightly.

He gave a dazzling smile that could melt the hearts of many women and said,

“Just a conversation about Guide Yerena falling for me?”