Reborn as an A-Rank Guide: Trapped By The Crazy Sentinels

Just as Brandon was about to kiss her, a tall shadow suddenly appeared at the entrance of the training pod.

”Brandon. What are you doing?”

The voice was quiet, but icy and oppressive enough to freeze the air.

Caught in the act, Brandon’s expression changed. He turned around and found Cyrus standing at the doorway like a ghost who had materialized out of nowhere.

Those dark eyes were calmly fixed on the arms Brandon had wrapped around Bunny.

Brandon quickly composed himself and came up with an excuse.

”Miss Guide performed mental soothing for me and got so tired that she fell asleep.”

He conveniently left out how Bunny had found him—or the fact that she’d willingly agreed to soothe him.

Everyone here was smart enough to understand what that omission meant.

Cyrus calmly withdrew his gaze, his tone completely neutral.

”The Guide is exhausted. The proper thing for you to do is carry her back to her room so she can rest. Not sit here holding onto her.”

Cyrus possessed absolute authority among them. Brandon didn’t dare disobey, so he obediently carried Bunny back to her bedroom.

The dog happily trotted behind them the entire way, its tail wagging enthusiastically.

Brandon couldn’t understand how Cyrus always managed to appear out of nowhere.

He’d deliberately chosen such a secluded place.

Didn’t the man ever sleep? Why was he wandering around the base in the middle of the night like he was out sightseeing?

Damn it.

He’d been this close to kissing her.

***

By her third day at the tower, Bunny had more or less memorized everyone’s names. She was also gradually learning their individual habits, personalities, and quirks.

Aside from the obnoxious San, the other sentinels were surprisingly well-behaved.

That allowed Bunny to lower her guard a little.

What she didn’t know was that this was merely the calm before the storm.

She had decided to set up an entirely new room specifically for mental soothing. The old one could be abandoned.

At breakfast, everyone quietly ate around the table.

Apart from Bunny’s meal, which Xander prepared especially for her, the other sentinels ate standardized meals prepared by the housekeeper robots.

”Bunny, I’m scheduled for patrol tomorrow. I’ll take you around the 616 defensive posts so you can get familiar with the area.”

Xander handed her a glass of warm milk. Bunny accepted it and obediently nodded.

”Okay.”

Ever since she’d arrived at the base, Xander had been responsible for all three of her daily meals, and the arrangement had naturally brought them closer.

His cooking was exactly to her taste.

And as far as Bunny was concerned, anyone who kept her supplied with milk deserved affection.

Male or female, she didn’t care.

Arden and Rain silently exchanged a look.

Well, well. How interesting...

Bunny stuffed a pan-fried dumpling into her mouth before asking, somewhat out of nowhere,

”How much longer does Liam have to stay in confinement?”

It wasn’t because she’d been missing him. She simply had something she needed to discuss with him.

Their bond had been formed under desperate circumstances. If Liam genuinely didn’t want to remain bonded to her, she’d find a way to break the connection.

The spoon tapped lightly against the edge of a bowl.

”You can tell us if you need anything.”

For a Guide to seek out a sentinel on her own, there were generally only two possibilities: she needed someone to warm her bed during a heat cycle, or she was in a bad mood and wanted someone to take her frustration out on.

Other than Liam, who was technically her bonded sentinel, Bunny wasn’t particularly familiar with the rest of them.

Clearly, they assumed she had some sort of personal need that she was too embarrassed to say out loud.

Illai rested his chin in one hand and grinned.

”Miss Bunny, you can come to me too.”

He was young, strong, and had plenty of theoretical experience, and he could supposedly do the work of two men. He’d make sure she was completely satisfied.

Arden immediately covered his nose in disgust.

”Illai, tone down that snake stink of yours.”

Cats and snakes seemed to be natural enemies. For whatever reason, Arden absolutely hated the pheromone scent of the twin brothers.

Bunny nearly choked.

”I... I just wanted to see him.”

What on earth were all of you thinking?!

The table fell silent. Everyone turned toward Cyrus. Whether Liam could be released—or even visited—ultimately depended on him.

Everyone knew Liam and Cyrus had never gotten along. Cyrus, however, was being remarkably ”generous.”

”It’s only confinement. I never said visitors weren’t allowed.”

He’d merely added another week to Liam’s sentence.

Bunny nodded. ”Okay.”

After breakfast, she hurried straight to the isolation chamber.

The door opened again.

Liam assumed Sunny had come to deliver his food, so he kept his back to the entrance and snapped irritably,

”I already told you, I’m not eating!”

Without seeing his Guide, he couldn’t swallow a single bite.

Sentinels who had only recently bonded with a Guide developed an intense dependence on them, practically craving constant physical proximity.

The emptiness and anxiety caused by forced separation only became more painful with time, subjecting the sentinel to both psychological and mental torment.

Cyrus knew this perfectly well. He also realized that Bunny didn’t. Which was precisely why he’d deliberately kept Liam confined.

”Liam. It’s me.”

Bunny’s voice came from behind him.

The man who had been raging just a moment ago immediately fell silent. He stood behind the bars and stared at her for a long moment.

Then the corners of his eyes suddenly reddened.

”Why did you take so long to come? You horrible woman. I hate you!”

She’d left him alone in this damn cage and hadn’t even checked on him. These past few days, he had thought about her every second. How could she simply forget about him and act as though he didn’t exist?

Bunny had never experienced a grown man behaving like this. She stood there awkwardly, completely unsure how to respond.

When Liam noticed that she wasn’t reacting and her expression remained calm, he suddenly remembered something Cyrus had told him earlier.

”Has she ever said she’d take responsibility for you?”

Guides were proud by nature. They also supposedly grew tired of people easily and constantly sought something new.

Had he behaved badly? Had he somehow upset her?

Liam’s aggressive attitude vanished in an instant.

He dragged the heavy chain around his neck toward her and leaned against the bars, looking utterly pitiful.

”Can I have a hug?”

The Tiger spirit inside his mental sea rolled its eyes.

Look at you. Absolutely pathetic.

Even a ferocious beast like itself was embarrassed to be associated with him.

Seriously, damn it.

With that intimidating face and those terrifying tattoos, did he really have to create such an outrageous contrast?

Bunny opened the cage and checked Liam’s mental sea.

It was already perfectly stable. So why was he still being kept in here?

The chain around his neck was stained with dried blood, and a shocking dark-purple mark circled his skin where it had been biting into him.

Bunny couldn’t bear to look at it. She unlocked the chain and removed it right away.

He wasn’t a dog. There was no reason to keep him chained up like one.

Throughout the entire process, Liam clung to her like an octopus, refusing to let go and staring intently at her.

”You probably don’t know my name yet. I’m Bunny. I came here because I wanted to talk to you about our bond. You know that if I hadn’t entered your mental landscape back then, you would’ve completely lost control.”

Bunny drew a deep breath and spoke seriously.

”If you don’t want to stay bonded to me...”

Liam immediately panicked. ”Are you abandoning me? You can’t! You’re the one who bonded with me first, so you’re responsible for me!”

”For the rest... of my life.”