Male Lead, Don’t Follow Me! - Chapter 27

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“Weren’t you supposed to go to the Kaibern region?”

With a puzzled expression, Ephelia asked me. It was understandable that she didn’t comprehend, having been dragged here suddenly.

“No. Not there.”

“But the documents clearly said Kaibern…”

She tilted her head, trying to recall her memory. Ephelia’s memory was correct. However, we were now in Sorendel, the exact opposite of that place.

It wasn’t that we had blindly come to a place opposite to where Bishwaltz was. I had my own reasons.

Sorendel, located to the west of the capital, didn’t really need support. Not many people lived there, and it was barren land.

And I came here thinking of a possible sub-male lead in the periphery of the novel. That’s right.

I was wondering if there might be a proper match for Ephelia.

If things continued as they were, she might end up with Bishwaltz as in the original story.

‘No, in the worst case, I might get involved and end up dying at his hands.’

The thought alone gave me chills.

“Think about it. We volunteered to come here to provide support, right?”

It’s almost forced now, though.

It was true that I had volunteered to go to the provinces from the start, so let’s not explain this part to Ephelia.

I held Ephelia’s hand and gave her an intense look.

“Don’t you think our help might be needed in such a place where there’s nothing?”

“Hmm… but there really is nothing here.”

As Ephelia said, looking around, not even a village was in sight. That point appealed to me even more. It raised hopes that we might be able to hide quietly, just the two of us.

‘Maybe we can just hold out until his interest fades away?’

But I wasn’t a fool, and I vaguely knew. He would surely find us.

So we had to resolve something before that.

“Above all, if it’s a place where no one is around, it might be good for me to train.”

“Ah! That’s true.”

“We’ve already notified them, so how about we think of it as just looking around somewhere else for a while?”

She nodded at my words which flowed out smoothly without hesitation. Thanks to the magic scroll teleportation, it was difficult to go anywhere else right away.

“Well then, shall we take a look around?”

“Okay. I still think there must be at least one village.”

Ephelia and I walked slowly forward. It seemed like we could see a village in the distance, and somehow it felt like we’d find something if we just kept going.

“There’s nothing here.”

I looked around with a dumbfounded expression.

Where’s the Grand Duke who settled in the borderlands? No handsome male lead?

This can’t be. How could it be just a wasteland with nothing? There were only traces of something that had been there, but no sign of people or villages.

“Ugh, this feels bad.”

“You’re right, it’s a bit strange. No matter what, it doesn’t make sense that there’s absolutely nothing.”

Ephelia was right.

Even though it was a desolate place, it wasn’t completely devoid of people. If it had been, I wouldn’t have set the coordinates for this place in the first place.

“Kiara, look at this.”

Ephelia furrowed her brow as she picked up some ash from the ground.

“Hmm, traces of burning?”

“I don’t think so. I can feel a power from this.”

“Power?”

Since I only possessed a minuscule amount of power, I couldn’t sense what Ephelia was talking about at all.

Judging by her expression, it was clear that something wasn’t right.

‘Did I get into an even bigger mess?’

It was a moment when I couldn’t help but hate my past self.

Ephelia summoned the power of spirits. The spirits that immediately appeared at her words emitted light and moved around the area.

“What could have happened?”

“It’s strange. I’ve never seen this kind of power before.”

“You’re right… it’s weird.”

Come to think of it, there was no such content in the original story.

The Grand Duke was something I had hoped for based on the many novels I’d read, but the sight of Sorendel, empty like a dead city, was enough to give me chills.

The small, round spirits each revealed their forms. It was the first time I’d seen them materialize. I had thought they were small and cute, but…

“Oh my goodness.”

I rubbed my eyes. Indeed, two beautiful young men were surrounding Ephelia with serious expressions.

Oh my God. I have no regrets.

I only looked at male protagonists and didn’t care about others, but to think the spirits would be beautiful young men instead of cute animals or fairies.

Moreover, their appearance, wrapped in cloth, was like gods descending from the celestial realm.

If you were to make a frame with your hands, it would look just like a scene from Greek or Roman mythology…

I discreetly wiped away the drool that unconsciously flowed out while staring at the three of them.

“Ephelia…”

She finally turned her head at my words. She seemed to have momentarily forgotten about me while having a serious conversation.

I didn’t mind if she kept forgetting about me, but somehow it felt like I was peeping, which pricked my conscience.

“What? Is she a spirit mage too?”

The large man looked down with a seemingly sarcastic tone. Why are all the men here so unpleasant?

Tch. I take back my admiration.

“Yes, yes, though I may look insignificant. I’m also a spirit mage.”

I readily agreed, shrugging my shoulders. Well, he’s handsome, so I won’t bother to argue. It’s not wrong, after all.

“You’re the one who brought her here, right?”

“…Well, I suppose so.”

“You look clueless, so I doubt you came here sensing anything.”

The spirit groaned while stroking his chin. The ones with blue hair were clearly water spirits.

“I think it’s best we leave this place quickly.”

“I don’t feel like just leaving like this.”

Ephelia firmly shook her head.

Is it that serious?

I felt guilty for bringing her here unnecessarily.

“What happened here?”

No matter how I thought about it, there was no such content in the novel. Feeling confused and frustrated, I asked the spirit.

The one with long blue hair, who had been silently observing the surroundings, approached me.

Seeing him smile with his beautiful face, I thought this guy’s personality might be quite…

“Hey.”

I take that back. This is why they say you shouldn’t judge a person by their face.

This guy glaring at me as if he wants to kill me clearly has a nastier personality. I’d bet my neck on it.

“It’s not ‘hey’, it’s Kiara Lowell.”

Slightly intimidated by the spirit’s glare, I added in a small voice.

“…sir.”

“Right, you with the pink hair and dumb look.”

“…Says the blue-head.”

I muttered, not daring to talk back loudly.

I may not have a common hair color either, but it’s better than blue, isn’t it?

What could be more attention-grabbing than that?

“Don’t treat my friend like that.”

Ephelia intervened, standing between me and the spirit.

I grabbed her clothes and glanced at the spirit.

“Kiara, say hello. These are the spirits contracted to me. This is Kelpi, and the spirit glaring at you is Kelpita.”

“Okay, so the one with short hair is Kelpi, and the long-haired one is Kelpita, right?”

Long blue-head, short blue-head.

Bleh.

From behind her, I stuck out my tongue and smirked.

“But what’s going on?”

“Well, we sensed black magic.”

“Black magic? Isn’t that forbidden magic? There shouldn’t be anyone who knows how to use it.”

Black magic didn’t exist in the novel.

It was just a depressing story, with Ephelia going through hardships.

‘Is something changing differently?’

Feeling uneasy, I stuck close to Ephelia and warily observed the surroundings. Something seems to be going wrong.

“I think we need to report this.”

“I agree. We should just go back.”

I awkwardly smiled while avoiding the glares of the two spirits. This was truly an inconvenience.

“Don’t you have purification power?”

“Um… I’m not sure if it would work properly…”

“Pink hair, what can you actually do?”