The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 124: Lane Allen

Chapter 124: Lane Allen

Damien stared at the receding back of the pink-haired man. He couldn’t quite explain it, but when their eyes met... There was just something about this man... that reminded him of ’Jonathan.’

It was ridiculous. He thought so himself. They had only exchanged a glance and then a few words, so where did this feeling come from? Xavier was still alive and well, they saw each other just the other day, and when Damien texted him the day before, ’Jonathan’ texted him back...

So, there was no way he could have possessed someone else, right? There was no dungeon break, and Xavier was in perfect health. Not to mention, he promised Damien he would let him know if it happened again...

The most logical conclusion was that Damien was just imagining things. He’s been so busy recently, it wouldn’t be too odd for him to get oversensitive.

However. Just in case, to erase his suspicions, he dialed Xavier’s number.

No answer.

He tried Aidan’s phone - he hadn’t texted it for a while, but he knew for sure that ’Jonathan’ was using it after ’Aidan’s’ death.

But, once again, there was no answer.

Of course, that didn’t mean anything. Perhaps the man was just busy, or had his phone on silent.

Perhaps.

The familiarity Damien sensed from the pink-haired man was too strong for him to let it go though. Since he couldn’t dispel his doubts...

He glanced at the time. It was still early, and he was done with most of his work, so he could spare some time to... investigate. Although a bit hesitant, he turned around, and followed after the man to the Guiding Center.

The man was nowhere in sight, but that was to be expected. Damien wasn’t trying to catch him anyway, not now. Instead, he approached the receptionist.

"Hi, can I see the list of today’s appointments?"

Technically, he wasn’t authorized to do so. He felt uncomfortable about his own request, and as long as the receptionist said anything, he would instantly back down, as he should...

But she didn’t. When she lifted her eyes and noticed Damien, she instantly smiled, and said, "Yes, of course!" and turned the monitor toward Damien.

Damien hesitated once again. The list was right in front of him, it would be foolish to turn back now... But at the same time, he didn’t like what he was doing. It was bad enough that he didn’t report ’Jonathan’ for his ability. And now he was breaking the rules again... Of course, he could say it was because he wanted to investigate the man, but he didn’t want to justify it or downplay his behavior in any way. If he did, then it would soon lead to him breaking the law again... It was such a slippery slope.

All of a sudden, he paused. His eyes, which had been mindlessly scanning the list on the screen, came across the surname ’Allen.’

He knew he got his ’suspect’. He spotted the resemblance between the pink-haired man and the Allens. Before he realized what he was doing and could reflect on himself, he had already clicked on the name.

’Lane Allen’s’ profile in the Awakened Association’s database popped up on the screen. Now that it was already open...

No, he shouldn’t justify himself. Damien read it, but it was wrong, and he should suffer consequences for his behavior one day.

But he still read it.

Lane Allen, F-rank Esper, ability: physical enhancement. Awakened on May 17th, XXXX year, aged 15. Current age: 29.

29? Damien furrowed his brows. He would have never guessed. The pink-haired man looked much younger, early twenties if Damien were to take a guess. But it could be just a family trait - none of the Allens he knew looked their age.

Damien’s eyes moved down, scanning line after line.

Father: Miles Allen; Mother: Catherine Allen, born Larson...

Once again, Damien couldn’t help but pause.

Initially, when he saw Lane, he assumed he was from a branch family or something. Never in his life would he have guessed that Lane was a Young Master of the Allen family...

How could he? Nyla Allen was known as the only child and a sole heir...

"Team Leader Lennox? Is everything okay?" The concerned voice of the receptionist snapped Damien out of his thoughts.

"Ah, yes," he said, rubbing his face. Focused on the file, he hadn’t realized what kind of expression he had been making. "Thank you, that will be all."

He quickly closed Lane’s profile, turned the monitor back to the woman, and walked away. He didn’t leave the Guiding Center just yet, but walked over to the vending machines, and got himself a bottle of water.

His mind was a mess. The things he just read... What could it possibly mean?

If ’Jonathan’ was actually ’Lane Allen’, then his hostility toward the Allen Guild could be easily explained. While Damien had no idea what actually happened, the fact that Nyla Allen was presented as an only child, while Lane Allen was a legitimate son - her older brother? Or maybe even a twin? Damien didn’t remember exactly how old Nyla was - would be enough for the man to feel resentful...

But such conclusion could be too far fetched. Lane Allen was only an F-ranker with a physical enhancement ability...

Then again, the records could be wrong. He awakened fourteen years ago, and in the early days, people were often assigned wrong ranks, until the Mana measuring machines were invented. ’Physical enhancement’ was also a ’non-ability’ type of ability - it was something every Esper had. So, if it was the case of wrong assignment, and if Lane somehow managed to avoid being re-tested after the new system was introduced... Damien was still just a teen back then, and a civilian, so he didn’t know exactly how it was, only bits and pieces he had heard on the news at the time. Perhaps it was possible.

Still, Lane Allen that he saw was very much alive. How could he possibly be living as two people at the same time?

Damien rubbed his aching head. Was he reading too much into it?

He sighed heavily and took his phone out of his pocket, trying to dial Xavier again.

But, he still got no answer.