The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 329: Almost Infected

Chapter 329: Almost Infected

Lane’s whole body immediately turned stiff, his hands curling up into fists.

Nyla almost got infected? By that monster parasite?

It wasn’t entirely impossible. Although the parasite monsters had been assessed to be A-rank, and thus should be ineffective against high-rankers... It was only the initial assessment based on the observation. It could be that they were somewhere between high A-rank and low S-rank. Perhaps they could possess A-rankers, but it was just more difficult, and they needed a good opportunity...

Besides, when it came to monsters, any rank assessment was just a general estimation. They weren’t inside a game or a simulation. The monsters in the dungeons were more like animals from another world. Powerful, Mana-enhanced animals with various ’supernatural’ abilities, but they were still living creatures. They didn’t all have equal stats. Just as the animals on Earth had different speeds and strengths even when they were of the same species, the same applied to the monsters. Some were a bit slower, some were weaker, some were young, old, crippled... Thus, when it came to the parasites, even if most of them were just A-rank monsters, some of them might have grown stronger, and become S-ranks.

But that wasn’t important right now. Lane pressed his lips tightly, trying to remain calm...

While Gracie continued her rambling. "Which is why it’s so surprising that you’re alright, even though you’re barely an A-rank. You must have stayed in the back, letting others do all the fighting..."

It was a baseless accusation. Lane was drenched in blood, his uniform torn in a few places. It was clear at a glance that not only did he not stay in the back, but he had thrown himself right at the monsters, fighting with all of his might. And he was also not ’barely an A-rank’. Even putting aside his real rank, when he had tested the last time, he had made it look as if he was a solid A-rank...

He didn’t bother correcting Gracie, though. He was used to being insulted and looked down upon. Even when Gracie said, "Maybe you didn’t get infected because you’re a parasite yourself? Those parasitic worms recognized you as one of them," he didn’t even flinch.

His mind was all on Nyla. Was she alright? Gracie had said that she ’almost got infected’, so she should be fine... But he still couldn’t help but feel concerned. He wanted to ask, but... If he showed that he cared about his sister even in the slightest, she would then become his weakness that the Allens could (and most certainly would) exploit. Until now, they were convinced that the bridge between the twins had been irreversibly burned, as they hadn’t been in contact for years (at least as far as the Allens were aware. Their last meeting in the ManaTech had been kept a secret, and no one found out)... It wouldn’t be good for either of them if Lane showed any interest in Nyla’s condition. Unless...

He closed his eyes for a second, and took a deep breath to calm down and bring his emotions under control. When he turned back to Gracie a moment later, his expression had transformed completely into a mocking smirk. Only deep in his grey eyes there was still a bit of concern left, but naturally, someone like Gracie could never pick up on that.

"Oh? So Miss Heiress couldn’t even deal with a little parasite?" he sneered. "The Allen Guild has such a bright future ahead of them!"

Gracie’s face darkened. Although she didn’t care about Nyla, and she herself frequently berated her behind the scenes... It was different when Lane did it. No matter what, Nyla was still the heiress of the Allen Guild, as well as the whole Allen family, with their old businesses that were still running, even though the focus shifted away from them. Her reputation and image didn’t concern just her. What Lane had said was undermining the honor of the whole family.

"Of course she could deal with it!" Gracie snapped, defending Nyla for the first time since... who knows how long. "What I’ve said only meant that one of the parasites tried to invade her. As the Heiress of the Allen family, Nyla is naturally more than capable of dealing with it. She reacted in time, defending herself, and eliminating the threat."

Lane secretly exhaled softly with relief. Gracie’s words immediately lifted his mood, so much so that he could barely hold back a chuckle. The woman was so easily baited into telling him what he wanted to know!

Next to him, Damien finally snapped back to his senses. Although his face was still ashen, and his eyes distraught, Lane’s guiding had calmed him down a bit. He turned to Gracie, asking, "Is Miss Nyla alright now?"

His sudden question was like a bucket of cold water poured over Gracie’s head, instantly cooling her temper. She looked at Damien as if she had forgotten he was sitting there...

Her face twisted with displeasure. She still remembered the conversation she had with Damien back at the summit, when they had argued about Lane’s existence and lineage in public. That was enough for her to develop a dislike for the man... And now that Damien was Lane’s boyfriend, this dislike only further intensified.

However, he was still an important member of the Association. If she caused any disagreements, and Miles was displeased with it, she would be the one to suffer the consequences. So, she just said, "She’s alright. She had left the site an hour or so ago."

Then, she turned around, and walked away, finally leaving Lane alone. She was no longer in the mood to keep arguing with Lane... And it wouldn’t do her any good to stick around any longer. They were in PUBLIC, after all. Because she had raised her voice earlier, their conversation started attracting attention... She could feel that eyes were on her now. Lane was already at odds with the Allens, while it seemed that Damien Lennox was willing to support him no matter what, so if she dragged it on, she would be the only one to suffer...

No matter how short her temper was, she wasn’t so stupid that she wouldn’t even understand that much.