The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 361: News From Outside

Chapter 361: News From Outside

The sun had risen and set twice more, and yet they still hadn’t received any news from the outside. They had defended against a few more waves of monsters, most of them very small and easy to defeat, and spent most of their time chatting, playing card games that someone (surprisingly, not Lane) had brought, and napping in turns. With the abundant source of monster meat, no one had to go hungry.

They didn’t have a hard time, not really. It was just... boring. And uncomfortable. Ever since the first wave of monsters, they had all been covered in blood. Most of them had a spare change of clothes, of course... But eventually, those clothes also got bloody.

Besides, even if they changed their clothes, it didn’t help much if they couldn’t wash up... The river was a bit too far for that, and with the monsters around, they had to be careful. They couldn’t travel in big groups, because then there wouldn’t be enough people left to defend the Gate, and sending people in small teams seemed too risky, especially when it was just for the sake of refreshing themselves...

Only Lane and Clara were allowed to make the trip, as they were already familiar with the terrain, and even that was only to bring more water for everyone to drink.

At first, team members were all expectantly glancing at the Gate every few minutes or so, hoping that someone would appear. Then it became once every hour or two... Until eventually, people stopped paying attention to it. What was the point of looking at the Gate, when all that awaited them was disappointment?

Of course, that situation was to be expected... After all, all the high-rankers from the Association’s Headquarters, save for three of the higher-ups, were inside the dungeon. With the S-ranking monsters in the Lapis Lake running rampant with their hypnotic ability, who could possibly come to their help? Only the Guilds. And the Association didn’t want to rely on the Guilds any more than necessary...

They all understood it. However, as the dark, quiet, long, and restless dungeon nights dragged on, bitterness started stewing in their hearts and doubt sprouting in their minds. Was all the hard work and effort they put into the Association... truly worth it?

With the not-so-great mood in the camp, and the fact that everyone’s attention was either on the cards on their hands, or on the horizon (or, to be precise, the darkness covering it), depending whether it was their turn to stand the guard or not, it was no wonder that no one noticed when a lone silhouette emerged from the Gate. Especially since the person was all dressed in black, so it merged with the night pretty well.

The newcomer wasn’t deterred by the lack of any sort of welcome, though. They just glanced around the camp, before approaching Damien.

"Team Leader Lennox," she spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

Lane’s eyes snapped often at the sound, looking up at the woman from where he lay (on Damien’s lap, of course). One pair of grey eyes met another...

But a moment later, Lane let out an ostentatious yawn, and rolled over to the side, ignoring the woman. He might have made up with Nyla... But with Ethan around, he couldn’t possibly let that show! It would be troublesome if their parents were to find out.

Naturally, Nyla was also aware of it, so she didn’t think much of Lane’s behavior. She just quickly scanned the man, and instantly relaxed, seeing that he seemed to be alright. Just very dirty, with his uniform covered in blood.

"Miss Nyla," Damien greeted the woman, gently pushing Lane off his lap so that he could stand up. It would be a bit rude to talk with Nyla while remaining seated, at least according to his standards. "How is the situation outside?"

"Lapis Lake has been cleared out. However, there’s still a risk of new monsters emerging from the Gate," Nyla reported, to which Damien answered with a nod. Lapis Lake was never safe, not since the initial dungeon break, but as long as most of the monsters had been taken care of, it would be fine for his team to leave. They were all high-rankers, they were capable of enduring the hypnosis for a while, as long as it wasn’t too intense.

"What about this dungeon?" he asked next. "Is the Obsidian Guild sending a team to clear it?"

The Obsidian Guild was the Guild that owned this dungeon. They were only a small-sized Guild, on the lower end of the medium at most. Lane didn’t even know much about them, which meant that they were insignificant. They might have been able to challenge a C-rank dungeon before, but now that it was located in such a risky area...

As expected, Nyla answered, "They won’t be. The Allen Guild had obtained this Gate, our team should arrive soon."

"That’s good to hear," Damien nodded his head, exhaling softly with relief. It was great news...

But while Damien was relieved, Lane couldn’t help but snort. His boyfriend might not have been able to pick up on that, but he understood what had happened! Nyla had said ’obtained’, not ’bought’. Which meant that the Obsidian Guild was probably bullied out of their rights, handing it over for free. Of course, they didn’t suffer much of a loss because of it, since they had already earned their income from this dungeon during the initial clear, and now, with the way things were, this Gate was nothing but a problem for them... They were still kind of pitiful. The Allen Guild was going to milk it well, with the monsters, resources, and facilitating scientific research, but they still had to be sneaky about it and snatch the rights for free!

He didn’t mention it out loud, though. First, because it wasn’t Nyla’s fault, so it would be unfair to her... And second, because Lane didn’t want to show off how well he could grasp the situation in front of Ethan, who could be listening. It was best if the Allens didn’t know how well he understood them and their practices, not yet.

Besides, Lane himself was far from a saint.