The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 362: Reinforcements

Chapter 362: Reinforcements

Just like Nyla had said, the raid team from the Allen Guild arrived soon. Or, two teams, to be precise - one to raid the dungeon, and another to defend the Gate, to make sure that not a single monster got out. After all, with the Manaforming of the Restricted Zone, there was a risk the monsters might venture outside at any moment, if given a chance.

The teams were... nothing special, to be honest. There weren’t any members of the Allen family, or other high-profile members of the Allen Guild among them. Only the leaders of the teams were veterans, and even they were only B-rankers. As for the rest of the team, they were primarily newbies with no or close to no experience...

It was just a C-rank Gate, after all. The Allen Guild snatched it, and would take full advantage of it, but that didn’t mean they took it too seriously.

Either way, the reinforcements were here, and the Association’s team could finally go home. After enduring it for so long, sleeping under the open sky on the cold grasslands, eating not-so-tasty roasted monster meat, and defending the Gate against the monsters, which, although not powerful, were like annoying pests, difficult to deal with in the dark, they were suddenly free.

It kind of felt... so anticlimactic.

They just got out of the Gate, welcomed by yet another night outside (although not as dark as the ones in the dungeon), trudged through the swampy forest, this time without the accompaniment of the hypnotic waves trying to take over their minds, but instead getting sticky with sweat from the summer heat, which felt even more intense after spending so much time in the cool grassland, and boarded the mini buses. Damien and Hannah Jones drove them back to the Headquarters, where they all parted ways. Because of the unexpected incident, they got the next day off, as the schedule had to be adjusted.

Only one day off, though. After that, they all had to get back to work. There were still many dungeons left to inspect, after all, and with this Gate reactivation, it was even more important to conduct proper inspections as soon as possible...

Needless to say, no one was too happy about it. But no one dared to protest, either. They understood the stakes... As well as their employment contracts. The Guides could argue against it, as their contract terms were more flexible, but as for the Espers, who made up for the majority of the team... The civilian workplace law didn’t apply to them. The number of days off the Association was contractually obligated to give them was only three per month. The rest were only ’optional’, when the schedule was free enough to allow for more.

Lane wasn’t too happy about it either. While he was far less exhausted than anyone else on the team, thanks to his superior rank, and was also more used to wild camping in dungeons, he also needed more time off... Not to rest, but rather to try to solve the mystery of the dungeon reactivation. From discussing the issue with Ava, to digging through the reports and interrogating his underlings to find out who else might have been planting the Fertilizer and where, there was a lot for him to do...

Once again, he regretted treating his position as the Boss so lightly. If he had paid more attention to everything that had been going on and read all the reports carefully, rather than just skimming through them, then he probably wouldn’t be so confused now. He had mulled over it a lot when they had been stuck in the dungeon, but the more he thought, the less he knew how to deal with it... .

He let out a heavy sigh, stretching his back, as he followed Damien out of the Headquarters, after they handed over the mini buses’ keys back to the office. Although they could finally go home, it was already so late, and Damien still had to come to the Association the next day - as the Team Leader, he was too busy to get a day off! - so they probably wouldn’t even be able to ’relax’ in bed...

And it wasn’t just the work that got in the way.

"Wait!"

Just as they stepped out of the building, heading home, a voice called after them.

Clara.

"Tsk," Lane clicked his tongue, not even trying to hide his annoyance. "What do you want now?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Well, save it for later. It’s too late now, I’m tired." Lane didn’t even bother listening to the woman, and grabbed Damien under the arm, dragging him home. What could possibly be so important that Clara had to discuss it NOW? He didn’t know, but he didn’t care!

But Clara didn’t give up. She just trotted after them. "You don’t look tired."

"Who are you to judge? Besides, Damien has work tomorrow."

"That’s Damien. You’re off."

"Then you can..." Lane was about to suggest they talk tomorrow, but then he remembered that while he was off, he also had work to do. His investigation into the dungeon’s reactivation as the Boss of the secret organization, that is.

But he couldn’t tell that to Clara, so he just stopped and turned around, crossing his arms on his chest. "Alright, go on. You have two minutes."

Clara didn’t talk, though. She just furrowed her brows. "Talk in private, I mean."

Lane sucked a sharp breath, lifting his eyes up to the sky.

Then, he turned around, and started walking towards his and Damien’s apartment building again without a word. Clara stood confused on the spot for a moment...

But eventually, she followed after him. And Lane didn’t stop her.

Not until they reached the door to Damien’s apartment, at least.

"There. Should be private enough," he said, blocking the doorway, and not allowing Clara to step in.

"We’re still outside..."

"There’s only one apartment on this floor, so it should be private enough!"

Clara stared at Lane for a long while, her brows furrowed. Behind his back, Damien also glanced at the two of them, unsure whether he should step in...

In the end, though, Clara let it go. She was also tired after the time they had spent in the dungeon, and wanted to get it over with, so that she could go home soon. She took a deep breath, and asked... "When we returned from the scouting mission... Why did you ask me to make the report?"