The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 330: A Scratch

Chapter 330: A Scratch

With the nuisance gone, Lane held Damien’s hand again, resuming the guiding.

"...What are you doing?" Damien couldn’t help but ask.

"Holding your hand," Lane answered, interlocking their fingers. "We’re dating, so that’s normal, no? It’s just hand holding, surely you can’t be so prudent to think that even something so innocent is inappropriate, right?"

Damien let out a quiet sigh. Compared to all the other things Lane had done in public, holding his hand indeed wasn’t much... But that wasn’t what he was asking about. "You know what I mean."

"No, I don’t." Lane still insisted on playing dumb.

Even though he knew what Damien was asking about.

It was about the guiding. Damien couldn’t say it out loud, since Lane was an Esper, not a Guide, and they couldn’t reveal his other abilities... But that was even more so a reason for Lane not to use his guiding recklessly, and no one knew it better than Lane himself. He had never used any guiding on Damien when possessing Espers, and even now, when Damien already knew the truth, he had only used his guiding on the man only two or three times, even in the privacy of their own home. And it most certainly wasn’t because unregistered guiding sessions were illegal...

It was understandable for Damien to be surprised by this sudden change. In fact, Lane wasn’t really planning to give him any guiding, aside from sometimes when they had sex... At first, he had just given him some because Damien looked unwell. After thinking about it, though, he decided he might as well continue...

After all, the more guiding Damien received now, the less he would need later. Which meant that the time Ethan would spend holding Damien’s hand would be shorter... And with their terrible matching rate, this little amount of guiding Lane was giving him wouldn’t raise any suspicions. Damien was known not to use his ice ability a lot, and it’s not like usage could be calculated, even if someone went around and took note of every trace of ice they could find, some of which had already melted in the summer heat. Not to mention, it was Team Leader Damien Lennox, who was practically a walking rulebook, always following the protocols. If he didn’t need too much guiding, then that would just be it, no one would bother investigating it.

Damien furrowed his brows, staring at their joined hands. He shouldn’t accept it, it was against the law. And if they were caught, Lane would never be able to explain himself. However...

He needed it. Not necessarily the guiding, as his wavelengths were still stable enough, but Lane’s touch. Those familiar wavelengths. They were harsh and chaotic, somewhat irritating, and very domineering... But ironically, they calmed him down and consoled him. Took his mind away from all that had happened earlier at the dungeon break site, where he froze people, actual human beings, down to the bones... No, down to their bone marrows, so that no intact cell remained. Monster parasite infected human beings, but still.

So, he let out a sigh, and let Lane’s wavelengths sweep through him... Just for a moment. He needed to maintain his composure. After all, once they were examined, and left the inspection center, he would have a lot to deal with... There was no room for his personal feelings.

***

The queue moved slowly. There were not many people who could check for the presence of the monster parasite in people’s bodies, after all. Only people with ability similar to Lane’s Mana Scan, or high-ranking healers. And high-rankers were already rare enough, let alone those meeting these requirements...

Especially the healers. When it came to healers ranking A or above, there were only two in the Capital at the moment. An S-ranker who worked as a researcher at ManaTech, while also providing his services part-time to whomever could afford them... And an A-rank healer working for the Allen Guild.

That A-ranker was, of course, Catherine Allen, Lane’s mother.

And as fate had it, Lane ended up being examined by her.

He was, naturally, unwilling. He had already faced one member of the Allen family earlier, it was more than enough for the day. He really didn’t want to have to face Catherine...

But she was the only one on shift. If he refused to get inspected by her, then he would have to wait at the inspection center until the S-ranker from the ManaTech came to replace her. And who knew how long it would take? Damien had already went through the examination right before him, so he had left the center... Naturally, he would wait for Lane, but he was a busy man. How long could he afford to wait?

In the end, Lane had no choice but to grit his teeth, and enter the room, plopping down on the chair opposite the woman.

At least they weren’t alone. There was an S-ranking guard with them, for the sake of Catherine’s safety. He was a member of the Allen Guild, but not related to the Allen family, so Lane found his presence tolerable. After all, not every member of the Guild was the Allens’ minion. Some just wanted a high-paying job with a lot of opportunities, nothing more.

Catherine looked him up and down, but didn’t say anything. She just extended her hand. For her to examine Lane’s condition and check for the presence of a monster parasite, physical contact was necessary.

Lane glared at the slender, pale hand as if it were a slimy, cold eel. His face was contorted with a look of an utter disgust as he slowly extended his hand, placing it on top of Catherine’s...

Catherine’s eyes twitched with irritation. But she wasn’t Gracie, she wouldn’t be so easily provoked. She just grabbed Lane’s hand, and activated her ability, examining Lane’s condition.

It lasted long. Much longer than it should. Catherine’s scanned Lane at least thrice. And not just his head, where the parasite normally would reside, but his whole body. It was as if she couldn’t believe that Lane was alright, and wanted to find that non-existing parasite no matter what...

Eventually, though, she had to accept that Lane wasn’t infected, nor was he a carrier. She let go of his hand with a hint of disappointment...

"All clear. You can go," she said, marking him on the list, without sparing him even a single glance as he got up and left.

There was a scratch on Lane’s arm from when he fought the panther monsters earlier. It wasn’t all that deep, and had long stopped bleeding, but it would take at least two or three days to heal, even with his supreme SS-ranker’s recovery.

It could also have taken less than three minutes to heal if Catherine had used her ability. However, even though she had examined his whole body a few times, and there was no way she hadn’t noticed it, she still had ignored it...

Not that Lane was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to do anything. He only let out a mirthless chuckle, as he stepped out of the building...

After all, when had this beloved mother of his ever shown him even a slightest hint of concern?