The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 103: Sticky Pest

Chapter 103: Sticky Pest

"Clara?" Damien grabbed Lane’s shoulders, pulling him away, his cheeks all flushed as he looked at the two young women who came. "Elly? What are you two doing here?"

"We’ve heard you’ve been injured... So we came to check up on you, and Elly to guide you." Clara’s eyes scanned over the scene, pausing on the three bandaged spot, before finally stopping on Lane, her pale blue eyes frosty, even though her ability had nothing to do with ice.

’What a terrible timing,’ Lane licked his reddened lips, savoring the aftertaste of the kiss, and returned the glare. He was still drapped over Damien, as if he couldn’t feel the man nudging him lightly, trying to remind him to move away, embarrassed by improper position, but at the same time, reluctant to push Lane away forcefully.

Lane wasn’t exactly surprised by the intruders. Sure, he didn’t expect them to arrive at that exact moment, but their presence wasn’t out of place. After he discovered that Samantha was Damien’s younger sister, he figured out those two must be as well, even though they didn’t share much of family resemblance. Must have taken after a different parent.

"You must be Xavier," Clara slowly said, twisting his mouth as if she just ate something disgusting.

"Huh? Have we met?" Lane lifted his brows. He was almost sure they haven’t. They did a long time ago, before Lane even met Damien, before Damien even came to the Capital... But, not as Xavier. And Lane specifically looked for information on any of the Moore sisters in Xavier’s file, since hanging out with Damien so much, there was always a chance encounter such as today could eventually happen. Unless their meeting wasn’t significant enough for Xavier to include it in his report...

However, Clara quickly cleared up his doubts. "We haven’t. I’ve heard about you from Samantha." She looked Lane up and down once again. "I assume it’s your fault my brother ended up injured? Did you suck up to him so that you could use him as your personal shield or bodyguard?"

"Clara!" Damien raised his voice. It was so unusual that Lane couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the man, but soon turned back to the woman.

"Hah! I have no need for that. Thank you very much, but I can protect myself well," he sneered, his eyes full of arrogance. He might have currently been ranked lower than Clara and Damien, due to the body he was in, but even now, he had confidence in his abilities! And even when he played a Guide, he never stooped so low as to use others as bodyguards. He fought his own battles himself!

Clara wasn’t convinced though, not in the slightest. "Then what, maybe you’ll try to tell me that he got those injuries himself? As if! He’s a Team Leader and an S-ranker, he can deal with far stronger monsters than that! It just has to have something to do with you!" She crossed her arms, staring at Lane with disdain. "You probably distracted him or something!"

"Well I’m sorry that my mere presence is so distracting, that he can’t take his eyes off me!" Despite his words, Lane didn’t look sorry at all. Quite the opposite, the smile tugging on the corners of his lips was visible to all.

"Ugh, who the hell is this man..."

Damien let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Don’t argue. Clara, it’s really not his fault. He was fighting well, and was nothing but helpful. I was just... out of it today," he calmly explained. "And, Xavier? Would you mind moving out of the bed for a bit?"

"Tsk. Well, if you insist..." Although still unwilling, now that Damien had asked him directly, Lane finally scrambled off the man, taking a seat on the chair next to the bed.

Clara watched him with the kind of disgust one might feel when watching a documentary on a hideous, slimy parasite being removed from a human. Then, her pale, freckled face transformed completely into an expression of worry and care, as her eyes turned to Damien. "When is the healer coming?"

"...They’ll come when they’ll have time." Furrowing his brows, Damien glanced at his sister, and then at Lane, concern clearly palpable in his emerald eyes. He was torn, not wanting to reprimand Clara while they were in the public space, only separated by a curtain from the rest of the field hospital, but at the same time, not wanting Lane to feel unwelcome...

His concern for Lane only pissed Clara off more though. While she didn’t address it, she slammed her hand on the edge of the bed. "Huh, just like last time? When you went untreated for days?"

"Don’t worry," Lane cut in, curving his lips in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, "I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave this place until he’s fully healed."

Unwillingly, Clara spared him another look, meeting his gaze head-on. They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment that seemed to last forever, as if they were having some sort of staring contest. In the end, the woman was the one to turn her gaze away first, leaving Lane victorious.

Lane wasn’t the slightest bit ashamed by the situation he was caught in, or offended by how he was treated. If anything, he was curious. As far as he knew, there were no rumors about Xavier circulating around - except for some suspicions about his relationship with Damien that started spreading in the past few days - and his interactions with Samantha had been nothing but positive, so there shouldn’t be any reason for Clara to be so hostile toward him...

Unless it was just because he was seeing her brother? Did she have a brother complex or something?

Either way, he doubted it would affect his fling with Damien, so he wasn’t concerned.

"Keep your word then. It’s the least you could do," Clara muttered begrudgingly. She had her own duties to attend to, so she had no choice but to entrust Damien to this sticky pest, no matter how averse she was to the idea. A shiver shook her shoulders at the mere thought of leaving her brother alone with this leech again... Knowing there was nothing she could do though, she only sighed with defeat.

"Then at least get some guiding from Elly now," she turned back to Damien.

"This..."

"Don’t even start," she cut Damien off before he could raise any protests. "Elly, come on."

Eloise, who had been staying in the back, only observing the situation quietly, stepped forward. "Clara is right, you should at least let me guide you. Mr. Owens here is an Esper, isn’t he? So it’s not like you receive guiding from anyone else."

"...Alright then," Damien conceded. It was best to just go along with it, so that this awkward moment would end soon. He stretched out his hand, holding Eloise’s, and their guiding session began.

Standing with her arms crossed, Clara shot Lane a smug glance, but she was bound to be disappointed.

Lane simply didn’t care. Why would he be jealous? With Damien’s Guide being his sister, he had nothing to worry about, no stupid Guides trying to steal his target with their superior matching rates! It was the best arrangement ever!

And so, Clara was left bitter, with her eyes twitching relentlessly.