The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 408: Waiting on the Porch

Lane plopped down on the steps leading up the wooden porch with a heavy sigh.

He had won. The room assignment list had been shown to everyone, and Lane had been able to learn which villa Damien was going to be staying in.

He knew which villa he was going to sleep in...

But he didn’t have the key.

The list might have been made public, but the arrangements remained unchanged. Aside from him, no one was really opposed to it, so Lane couldn’t do anything about it. It’s not like he could demand a key card just because Damien was his boyfriend. Well... He SHOULD have been able to, as far as he was concerned, but he wasn’t so detached from reality to think that it was appropriate. Especially since it was an official mission, not his honeymoon. Personal relationships didn’t matter here.

On the plus side, at least Damien had been assigned a villa all to himself. The number of men on the team was uneven, so someone had to stay alone, and since Damien was their Team Leader and an S-rank Esper, it was only natural that he would be the one to do so.

And thanks to that, Lane could still get what he wanted.

All he had to do was to wait at the door, until his boyfriend finally came ’home’. He slouched forward, rested his chin on his hand, and stared blankly into the distance, sucking on a strawberry lollipop.

The night had long fallen, and the world had been covered in velvety darkness. Although the Gate was located in the middle of the city, it was another world after all, so there was no light pollution here. Only a few of the villas had their lights on - that’s where the A-rank team members, as well as the Allen Guild members, were staying - which made for a perfect condition to observe the night sky, with its unique constellations, impossible to see from the Earth... A stargazing fan would probably have a field day here.

Lane couldn’t be bothered to lift his eyes up, though. He just mindlessly observed other flickering dots of light - the firefly-like insects, shining with their yellowish-green glow, as they rose from the plants growing by the lake... The little blinkers were quite lucky, in a way that they had no Mana in them. Thanks to that, even as the Allen Guild had cleared the dungeon, those pretty but insignificant insects had been spared...

All of a sudden, Lane’s ears perked up, as he heard footsteps approaching. They weren’t Damien’s steady, even, disciplined footsteps (yes, the man was so proper and disciplined that it even reflected in the way he walked), though, and instead they were...

"...Oh. It’s you," Lane said with a scowl, as the figure came into his field of view. Clearly heading his way.

"What are you doing here?"

"None of your business," Lane rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the nuisance, hoping that if he paid him no attention, the nuisance would go away.

But it couldn’t be so easy, could it? The nuisance was a nuisance for a reason.

"It IS my business. You are my roommate, remember?" Ethan reminded Lane, stopping right in front of him.

Lane only rolled his eyes in response. "Shouldn’t you be glad that I’m gone, then? This way, you have the whole villa to yourself."

"No, that won’t do," Ethan shook his head. "We were assigned together for a reason. I’m a Guide, while you are an A-rank Esper. If the dungeon reactivates, I will need your help... Otherwise, I might not be able to defend myself well!"

"And wouldn’t that be a shame," Lane rolled his eyes yet again.

Although he didn’t say it out loud, from his attitude, it was clear what he meant: ’You can go and die for all that I care.’ Or perhaps even: ’Go die then, please. It’ll be all for the better.’

Ethan’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything. He just sat down on the steps next to Lane...

"So, how are you and Nyla doing these days?" he asked. It was seemingly a casual question...

But it made Lane momentarily freeze.

Why would Ethan suddenly bring Nyla? He had never asked Lane about her before, not even once.

He must have heard Clara earlier, it seemed.

Lane only tensed up for a brief moment, though. And the expression on his face hadn’t changed at all. He didn’t get so far by panicking at every little hiccup, after all.

"Hah? What kind of question is that?" he scoffed, raising his brows.

"I’m just curious... You’re twins, don’t you keep in touch at all?"

"No. Why would we?" Lane shrugged his shoulders. "We haven’t been close since we were like, five."

That was an exaggeration, of course. It wasn’t until a few years later that their parents started separating them. Ethan didn’t know that, though, and even if he did, that kind of exaggeration was very much Lane’s style, so there was nothing out of place in what Lane had said.

Ethan observed Lane intently for a while, before straight-out asking, "Why did Clara ask if Nyla often comes to your place?"

Oh, so he was not hiding the fact that he overheard. Well, not like it mattered. Lane still maintained his act. "Ah, she just seems to have a crush on Nyla or something," he said with the look of utter disgust. "I think she was hoping I could set her up? I don’t know, I don’t really care."

"That still doesn’t explain everything," Ethan pointed out. "The way she worded it..."

Yes, Ethan was right. The way that Clara had worded her question suggested that Nyla might have stopped by Lane’s place at least sometimes. Which she had done - once so far. But this visit had been kept a secret from their parents, so Lane couldn’t admit to that...

If it were anyone else, Lane perhaps might try negotiating (if hypnosis were impossible, as it was in this case, of course). Offer something to Ethan so that the man would keep his mouth shut. However...

What did the Guide even want? Money? This Lane could provide, but he doubted it would be enough. The Allens also had money, so why would Ethan switch to his side? From his point of view, the Allens were surely a better bet, so the chances of the negotiations succeeding were close to zero... In this case, it was better not to start at all. Because trying to negotiate would be kind of like admitting that Lane had something to hide...

So, he stubbornly stayed in his role. "Yeah, the way she worded it was kind of weird," he agreed, rolling his eyes. "But how do you expect me to know what’s going on in her head? She’s always been weird and annoying, jumping to ridiculous conclusions."

Considering the time, Ethan shouldn’t have an opportunity to ask Clara about it yet. So, as long as Lane came up with a good enough explanation for the woman to give, as to why she had asked such an odd question, there was a chance they might still smooth out the situation. Of course, Ethan was still likely to report it to the Allens, and they might want Nyla to approach Clara next... But at least it would be better than them knowing that Lane and Nyla had made up, right? Considering everything...

Ethan was not done yet, though. He stared at Lane in silence for a moment, before suddenly smiling.

"Come on, I know you’re lying. Your parents will know it as well," he said. "So let’s not do this. I’m a reasonable person, we can negotiate, yeah?"