The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 345: No Way You Did That!

Chapter 345: No Way You Did That!

One by one, the hypnotized members of the team slowly started waking up. Lane waited for a while longer, before blinking a few times, his eyes gradually becoming more focused. Most of his teammates were still in a daze, but...

Lane couldn’t really bear it any longer. While it was great to rest on Damien’s lap, lying motionlessly on the ground and staring blankly at the sky while pretending to be hypnotized was just too boring! How could Lane possibly stay still for so long? He couldn’t even distract himself by watching passing clouds, as the whole sky was clouded and grey, with no shapes to be distinguished. If he could at least snuggle up to Damien, or close his eyes, or roll to the side, that would be bearable, but lying like a wooden log for so long was simply too much...

He groaned, scrunching his face, and rubbed his forehead.

"What... What happened?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound as dazed and confused as he could.

Damien stroked his head, gently brushing his pastel pink hair. He was about to say something...

But Ethan was faster. "You have fallen under the monster hypnosis. You don’t remember?"

How was Lane supposed to remember that? With most hypnosis abilities, especially high-ranking ones, people wouldn’t remember what happened when they were hypnotized, usually also forgetting the moments before succumbing to the hypnosis. For example, with Lane’s hypnosis ability, even if his targets resisted for a while, if the hypnosis succeeded in the end, they wouldn’t remember that he had even attempted to hypnotize them. They might notice that something was off if they suddenly appeared in a different place, not remembering how they got there, but no matter how hard they tried, they wouldn’t be able to recall anything. The hypnosis would leave a blank space in their memory timeline.

And this hypnosis was likely the same. Although Lane had never experienced it personally, judging by the confusion everyone else displayed...

Lane furrowed his brows, rubbing his forehead even harder. "I remember that we were by the lake... Catching people walking toward the lake... Ah." He paused, as if a realization had suddenly hit him. "Did I fall under hypnosis?"

"You really don’t remember?" Ethan pressed.

"Mn, I don’t," Lane confirmed. Then, he lifted his head a bit to take a look around, and asked, just to change the topic, "Are we inside the Gate now?"

It was such an obvious question, but Lane had ’just’ woken up from the hypnosis. It was understandable that he might not be able to think clearly. And he had never been inside this dungeon (at least as far as Ethan was aware), so the situation should have been even more confusing for him, suddenly waking up in an unfamiliar environment with a hole in his brain...

"Yes, we are. This is the C-rank Gate we were supposed to inspect," Ethan nodded his head. But he wouldn’t let Lane change the topic so easily. Before Lane - or anyone - could say anything else, he said, "I must say, you really surprised me today... You were able to resist the hypnosis so well for so long, even when everyone else had already fallen under the spell... Almost as if you weren’t just an A-ranker..."

He spoke slowly and calmly, his voice low, almost a whisper. Most of their teammates had just woken up, some were still under the hypnosis, so no one really paid attention to his quiet words. Only Clara looked over, her eyes turning sharp as she stared at Lane. She had been hypnotized earlier, so she had no idea what had happened, but...

Lane swore inwardly. As expected, Ethan wouldn’t let it slide...

The only good thing was that at least he was smart enough to keep his voice quiet. Even if he was going to report the incident to the Allens, at least the suspicions regarding his true rank wouldn’t spread just yet. The less people knew, the better.

And he already had an excuse prepared. He had thought hard about it while lying on Damien’s lap and looking blankly at the sky (when he hadn’t been distracted by Ethan’s attempts to flirt with Damien, that is).

He slowly lifted himself up from Damien’s lap, albeit unwillingly, and let out a sigh. "Yes, I’m surprised as well, to be honest... I didn’t expect I would be able to last that long. Perhaps I have developed more resistance after enduring my grandfather’s ability in the past... Or maybe it’s because I’m in pain? Perhaps the pain helped me remain clearheaded for a while longer..." he mused, as if he was thinking out loud, trying to figure out the cause of his unusual resistance to hypnosis.

"...Your grandfather’s ability?" Clara repeated dumbly. She had been listening secretly to the conversation, but this mention left her deeply confused. She already knew Lane’s identity as Nyla Allen’s twin brother, so when talking about Lane’s grandfather, wouldn’t that mean...

She didn’t get any answer though, merely a short glance from Lane, who had no intention to explain it, not now, not to her. It was only said for the sake of giving some excuses to Ethan, to try to lower his suspicions at least a bit.

Besides, he wouldn’t have time to bother explaining things to Clara even if he wanted to, because Ethan asked, feigning worry, "In pain? Why are you in pain? Are you injured? Let me take a look!"

As he said it, he already pulled out a first aid kit from his spatial bag. He even added, as if trying to reassure Lane, "Don’t worry, I’ve received proper training. No matter what your injury is, I might be able to provide you with at least some help!"

Of course, his offer to tend to Lane’s injuries didn’t come out of genuine care, but rather out of a desire to dismantle Lane’s excuses!

But Lane was prepared even for that. He let out a quiet, embarrassed chuckle. "I’m not exactly injured, but..." He dragged his voice, rubbing his lower waist. "Ah, you shouldn’t have lain me down on my back," he complained to Damien, adjusting his position. "Now I’m even more sore!"

The hint of the smirk that had been playing on Ethan’s lips vanished without a trace, replaced by utter shock and disbelief. Although Lane didn’t say where his ’not injuries’ came from, based on how he acted, and what he had said... When he was rubbing his waist... Surely, he didn’t mean...?

While Ethan’s expression faltered, the corners of Lane’s mouth lifted slightly in a proud smirk. He could barely stop himself from bursting out laughing when Ethan exclaimed,

"No way you did that!"

He had to press his lips tightly in order to maintain his aching expression.

True, he hadn’t yet... But it was just a matter of time! He had already decided to do it, so why did it matter if he had pretended that he handed his ass to Damien a bit earlier? It’s not like Damien would rat him out!

He glanced at his boyfriend, who was sitting in silence, too dumbfounded to even think about getting embarrassed, and secretly winked at him. For now, he needed the cover, but one day, he would make it up to Damien!

Then, he shamelessly plopped down, back on Damien’s lap. "Ah, my head still feels dizzy... And my waist hurts so much... I need to rest some more..."

Damien stared at him blankly for a moment, before letting out a heavy sigh, and returning to stroking his head. He had already said earlier that he would allow Lane to rest on his lap even if he were conscious... So, although the man shouldn’t have heard that - since he was supposed to be under hypnosis - he wasn’t about to go back on his word. The rest of the team members still needed more time to properly recover before they could continue with the inspection, so at least until then...

Surprisingly, no one else tried to stop Lane either. Clara had withdrawn from the conversation the moment Lane had put out a show about his sore waist - no matter how much she liked meddling in her siblings’ love lives, she really didn’t want to hear about what her brother did with his brother in bed, even if it was only implied, without any explicit information! So, she had tuned out, and scooted away in disgust, not wanting to watch the spectacle any longer. As for Ethan...

Ethan’s reaction was even weirder. While he was neither shy nor disgusted, when Lane didn’t deny bottoming, he went completely silent, falling into deep thought, his expression complicated. No one could quite tell what was going on in his head. He only occasionally tossed disbelieving glances at Damien and Lane, as if his world view had been completely shattered, and darker ones at Lane’s ass, as if he wanted to tear his pants down and check his back hole for himself...