The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 64: Does He Know?

Chapter 64: Does He Know?

Lane sipped on some water, observing Damien as he was fixing up his uniform and hair, putting himself back in order before leaving the private room. Not that he had that much to fix this time - just the four upper buttons and his tousled hair. Their session was relatively... tame, when compared to the last time.

Lane was a bit disappointed, but not surprised. This was how Damien had always been, whenever he made out with him as Evan. Gentle and prudent. Not allowing Lane to take things any further. Suppressing his desires, even though it was obvious he also wanted more.

It was most likely because his wavelengths were back to the norm. Aside from healing, Damien must have also gotten some good guiding, because he no longer felt like an overwhelming blizzard, but rather like a cool, refreshing breeze.

And with his state stabilized, there was no way he would lose control of himself and desperately cling to Lane again.

Lane let out a quiet sigh, putting the bottle away.

It was quite a shame. Kissing was nice, of course... But how could he possibly be satisfied with just getting a little taste?

"Did you have lunch yet?" Damien asked all of a sudden.

"Hmm?" Lane lifted his eyes from Damien’s now fully covered-up neck. "Nope, not yet."

"Then, if you don’t have any other sessions scheduled... Would you like to go to the cafeteria together?"

"Eh?"

Now that was surprising.

It wouldn’t be the first time they grabbed lunch at the Association’s cafeteria together, of course. In fact, it happened quite a lot when Lane was ’Evan’, almost every day when they were at the Headquarters.

But, it was always Lane asking Damien to join him. Never the other way around. Not even once.

So, for the man to make the first move this time...

Lane hesitated briefly, but eventually he agreed. "Alright. I am a bit hungry, so why not."

Maybe it was just a trick of an eye, but Damien’s perpetual frown seemed to have relaxed a bit after hearing the answer. Lane stared at him for a moment with slightly narrowed eyes, scrutinizing his expression, but in the end, he only shrugged his shoulders.

At this point, he had already half-given up on trying to understand what Damien was thinking.

The cafeteria around that time was rather busy, with many Espers and Guides taking their lunch breaks. After a bit of searching though, they were able to find a quiet spot, in the corner, right by the TV.

The TV was on, set on a news station. Lane glanced at it only in passing, as he was taking the seat, but he instantly did a double-take, the corners of his lips raising a bit as he spotted a familiar face.

There was some sort of interview going on, or a talk show, with the guests being researchers from ManaTech. Lane could tell right away, because among them was Ava. She was sitting quietly on the side of the sofa, mostly letting the guy next to her talk, and only interjecting from time to time, in order to correct him.

Well, most likely correcting. Lane didn’t know what exactly they were saying, because the sound was off.

His eyes drifted down to the bottom of the screen, where the headline was displayed, [New Restricted Zone - Will Lapis Lake remain uncleared?]

"Hmm? Did they get access to the lake already?" Lane muttered to himself, furrowing his brows.

"What?"

"Ah." Lane glanced back at Damien. "I was just talking about the program on TV."

Sitting opposite of Lane, Damien had the screen behind his back, and therefore didn’t know what was on. Now that Lane mentioned it though, he turned around, taking a look...

And his face instantly turned darker.

Lane pressed his lips.

He shouldn’t have said anything. Lapis Lake... was most likely a touchy subject.

Sure enough, Damien sat frozen, staring at the screen, the crease between his brows deeper than ever, his jaw clenched, and his whole body tense. It took a good while before he averted his eyes, once again turning his back to the TV.

"Why shouldn’t they?" he asked, trying to sound calm.

"...What?" Lane tilted his head. Now it was his turn to be confused.

"You meant ManaTech researchers getting access to the lake, right? Why shouldn’t they?"

"Ah..." Lane scratched his head.

Why indeed.

"It’s just that, I’ve heard from my friend not long ago that they still haven’t been given permission to enter the other Restricted Zone. So, I just found it surprising to see them being interviewed about the new one..."

"Oh? Does your friend work for ManaTech?" Damien lifted his brows.

"Yh..." Lane’s eyes twitched. Why did Damien have to be so inquisitive?

Of course, it wouldn’t be so weird to know someone working for ManaTech. ManaTech employed plenty of people, after all, both the Awakened and civilians. One didn’t have to be a researcher like Ava, or an inventor. There were also assistants, manual workers, secretaries, accountants, and so on... It was a big Guild, or company. Knowing one of the entry-level workers wouldn’t be anything special...

But did Aidan know anyone? And, most importantly, would Damien be able to verify it somehow?

Lane had no idea.

So, he came up with, "Nope, not really! But she knows someone who does, apparently. I think her cousin’s boyfriend is an assistant in the lab or something, I don’t remember exactly. She mentioned that he complained about the Association not wanting... Ah!" he covered up his mouth, stopping himself all of a sudden. "I probably shouldn’t be saying that..."

Damien observed Lane in silence.

Did he buy it? Didn’t seem so.

But, he let it go. "Well, it’s true that the Association is unwilling to let ManaTech into the other Restricted Zone. Lapis Lake is different, however."

"How so?"

"It’s because of the hypnosis ability the monsters have. Our researchers at the Association are not ranked high enough to withstand that."

"Hmm... Then who is? S-rankers?"

"Only S-rankers remain unaffected, yes. However, A-rankers can also resist it quite well. Only for a limited time, but at least long enough to conduct the research. As long as they have S-rankers protecting them, it is safe for them to enter."

"Is that so?" Lane said without much interest, picking up a piece of chicken from his plate and stuffing it in his mouth.

It took a moment before he realized.

Damien was staring straight at him, his expression quite dark, but otherwise unreadable.

’What is... Ah.’

A-rankers could resist the hypnosis for a while, Damien had just said.

And ’Noah’ was supposed to be an A-ranker.

Lane shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

Did he know? That Lane purposely entered the lake to ’die’?

Of course, there was no proof. Lane was certain he played his part well. Whether Damien checked the cameras, or saw him enter the water - which he must have, considering how quickly he fished him out - ’Noah’ looked like a person under hypnosis.

And no matter how suspicious the circumstances of his death might have seemed, there was no certainty. Rank might have been a major factor when it came to resisting other abilities such as hypnosis, but it wasn’t all there was to it. Some people were naturally more susceptible. And there was also their mental state, exhaustion, and so on that could influence the result.

Yes, it wasn’t completely impossible for ’Noah’ to fall under the spell as quickly as he did.

Besides, Lane couldn’t defend himself in front of Damien, even if he wanted to. He was supposed to be ’Aidan’ now, not ’Noah’. Whatever ’Noah’ did in the past, had nothing to do with him.

Playing dumb, he pointed at Damien’s plate. "Are you not going to eat? Your food is getting cold."

Damien stared at Lane for a bit longer. He seemed to have something he wanted to say...

In the end though, he only let out a sigh. "Yes, you’re right." He picked up his fork again, and started nibbling on his food. He didn’t seem too interested in eating, only forcing himself to swallow.

Lane glanced at Damien’s meal. Stew with rice, the cheapest lunch set on the menu. Watery and flavorless, no one would really be excited about having a meal like that.

Although that wasn’t the reason behind Damien’s lack of appetite, and Lane knew it deep down. Still, he pushed all the uncomfortable thoughts aside.