The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 439: Mission Over

Ethan was reclining on his bed in a half-sitting position, staring blankly at the TV, his face dark. He was supposed to be resting, but although it was late, and he was tired from all the fighting and... other stuff, he couldn’t fall asleep at all.

How could he, when his arm was hurting so much?

Well, it didn’t actually hurt, not really. He knew that it was all in his head. Catherine had already healed him (at least as much as it was possible). And the part of his arm that hurt the most? It was the part that he no longer had.

But that didn’t change how he felt. It was still hard to bear...

And there was nothing he could do about it. Would painkillers be able to stop the phantom pain? He didn’t know, but so far, he had tried the Recovery Pills, and they didn’t work at all. Compared to the Pills and Catherine’s healing, the Association’s hospital’s medicine seemed hardly worth relying on...

He let out a heavy sigh, reaching to the bedside table to grab a bottle of water to moisturize his parched throat...

But his hand found nothing but emptiness.

Ethan glanced at his hand. Or, well, at the stump that once used to be his arm and hand. It was still wrapped in layers of bandages, not because it was necessary - since Catherine had used her ability on him, it was already ’healed’ - but simply because Ethan didn’t want to look at it. The skin that covered the stump was normal thanks to Catherine’s efforts, but that didn’t mean it didn’t look grotesque. The shape of it was simply disgusting, at least as far as Ethan was concerned...

He sighed again, this time with more annoyance.

Why was his bedside table on his left side, when he was missing his left arm?! And why did he only have bottled water there? How was he supposed to unscrew it, huh?! With his teeth? Or with his non-existent hand?!

There was an option, of course, to do it with his right hand while holding the bottle between his legs... But still. Ethan gritted his teeth, feeling helplessness and anger at the whole world rising within his chest...

That was the state that Damien and Lane found him in, when they entered the room to check up on him and Adrian.

"Um, hello, Wagner. How... are you feeling?" Damien asked reluctantly. To be honest, he didn’t quite know how to approach the Guide... While it wasn’t the first time he was visiting an injured subordinate in the hospital, this situation was rather... unique. Ethan was his subordinate, a member of his team, but at the same time, he wasn’t. He was a spy for the Allens, sent to observe Damien and Lane, and cause trouble for them (or, well, primarily for Lane). He had also expressed a desire to seduce Damien before... Which still made Damien extremely uncomfortable.

And if that wasn’t enough, the reason why Ethan was in the hospital, permanently maimed, was potentially Damien’s own boyfriend... It was just a suspicion at this point, as Damien hadn’t had a chance to ask Lane about it yet, but still.

He had to be polite and express his concern. But not too much concern, or Lane would be displeased, while Ethan could misunderstand. But too little concern would also be inappropriate...

In other words, it was a tough situation to handle, as Damien didn’t want to offend anyone...

There was no need for him to worry so much, though. Because Ethan was going to be offended no matter what!

"How do you think I’m feeling?" he scoffed, rolling his eyes. He didn’t even bother to play nice anymore. Or polite, completely disregarding Damien’s ’Team Leader’ title. Firstly, because he was not in the mood to act nice, and secondly...

Because there was no point in doing so. His mission was now over. Missing an arm, he could no longer work as a Field Agent, and therefore he would no longer be able to spy on Damien and Lane...

Of course, that didn’t mean that his career as an Awakened was over or anything. He was a Guide, after all - even if he were rendered completely immobile, blinded, deafened, and unable to speak, as long as he could use his guiding ability, he would have a job. Especially as an S-ranker, he would still be in high demand, earning a lot of money. He didn’t have to worry about his future. It was just that the agreement that he had with the Allens fell through, that’s all.

Damien cleared his throat, not knowing what to say. Indeed, asking Ethan how he was doing was perhaps insensitive... But what else could he ask or say?

"What do you plan to do after your recovery?" he finally asked after a long pause. "Are you going to work in the office, or..."

"I’m going back to the Allen Guild," Ethan cut him off impatiently.

"Are you leaving the Association?"

"Yes." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

There was no point in staying any longer, not really. Since his mission was over, the Allens would no longer pay him for this. Thus, it was better to get back to the Guild... He would need more money from now on, after all, if he wanted to get himself a good prosthetic... And the compensation from the Association would hardly be enough for that.

Damien only nodded his head in response, not saying anything. It was good news for him, in a way, but he knew he shouldn’t express it. Lane, on the other hand...

"Oh, that’s such a shame!" he exclaimed.

With a big smile on his face.

Which clearly showed that he didn’t think it was a shame at all.

Ethan stared at him darkly for a minute, before harrumphing, and turning his head ostentatiously. "Yes, I can see that you’re very saddened by it..." he muttered, his voice dripping with bitterness...

But that was all. He was angry, and annoyed, but he didn’t accuse Lane or anything. Not even a hint that he might be suspicious.

Did that mean that Lane’s mission succeeded? It would appear so!

His smile widened even more. He could see Damien’s frown from the corner of his eye, as the man was giving him a reproachful look, silently trying to warn him to behave...

But why would Lane do so? Faking sadness or concern would only make him appear more suspicious now. Everyone knew that he wanted Ethan out of the team, so celebrating it was only natural. It didn’t mean that it had anything to do with him, he was simply glad because of this totally unexpected good fortune!

If he were to pretend to feel bad for Ethan, now that would be odd! It could suggest that Lane had something to hide...

And Lane couldn’t have that, now could he?

It would be better to pop champagne, if he had one!