The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 88: Remember the Deal

Chapter 88: Remember the Deal

"Well hello there, Mr. Allen." Lane smiled so widely that his cheek muscles started to hurt. He stared at the tall blonde man, meeting the pair of grey eyes so alike to his own straight on.

His greeting, as expected, went on completely ignored. "What are you doing here?" Miles asked instead, approaching them quickly.

"Just visiting a friend, or is that no longer allowed?" Lane scoffed, lifting his brows. "Well, Ava here has known me since primary school, in case you forgot, so it’s not like I can tell her anything she doesn’t already know..."

Miles scrutinized Lane for a moment, his gaze cold and unmoving, as if those grey pupils had been completely frozen all the way to the core. "This is the Headquarters of the Mana Research and Technologies, not some hang-out spot. Find somewhere else to meet if you have to."

"Why, are you worried that someone might recognize me?" A dry, unnatural chuckle escaped Lane’s throat, as he leaned forward, narrowing his eyes as he stared back at Miles. "Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen..."

"That’s true. Not with this ridiculous hair of yours."

Lane’s eyes twitched. He was more than used to having insults thrown his way by this man, but some still pissed him a lot. Such as this one. He was very proud of his hair, okay? It took some effort to maintain them, and it looked great, in his opinion. Very soft, with healthy shine, and the perfect shade of pastel pink...

He glanced to the side, at Nyla, who was watching the scene with her mouth tightly shut. The corners of his lips instantly lifted up in a smirk.

If the man wanted to provoke him, it was only fair he’d repay him in turn.

"By the way, I’ve been watching the news recently, and I’m really surprised, I must say..." He rubbed his chin, pondering. "There’s still haven’t been any news about Miss Heiress advancing to the S-rank... Did you forget to announce it or something?"

"Lane." The warning in Miles’s voice was clear enough to set off the alarms in anyone. But Lane still carried on,

"Otherwise, it wouldn’t make any sense... It’s been fifteen years already, and she’s been working so hard, so how could she not advance yet? Someone who awakened as an A-RANK couldn’t possibly-"

"LANE."

The temperature in the cool hallway suddenly shot up, becoming even hotter than the desert Lane had just gotten back from. It didn’t bother him so much, not in his real body... But he couldn’t let that show, so he tugged on the collar of his designer T-shirt, breathing heavily as if he was overheating.

"Chill out... I haven’t said anything, have I?" he gasped out, fanning his face. "I remember the deal. I get the money, so I won’t talk."

"Good. You know what will happen if you break the terms." Miles’s voice returned to his usual calmness. "Nyla, if you’re done, let’s go."

Having said that, he turned around, and without even a single glance at Lane, walked away. Nyla stared at Lane for a moment longer, her mouth opening and closing twice, as if she wanted to say something... But in the end, she only lowered her head, and followed after her father.

"Well, anyway, it was terrible to see you again, don’t enjoy the rest of your day!" Lane called out after the two receding backs, as they disappeared behind a turn, their steps quickly fading away until going completely silent.

The fans by the ceiling buzzed lightly, blowing in cold air through the crates, the temperature in the hallway slowly returning to the norm. Only two people still remained on the scene - the researcher that was with Nyla earlier had ducked back into his lab as soon as the situation started to escalate, making a clean escape.

"Lane." Ava approached her friend, placing a hand on his shoulder. He was breathing heavily, his whole body shaking from tensing his muscles too much, his narrowed eyes still staring in the direction Miles and Nyla walked in...

It took a few seconds before he finally blinked, returning to reality. "...Right. I was saying..."

"I’m sorry about that. I didn’t know they would be here today."

"Ah, don’t worry about that." Lane waved his hand dismissively, letting out a forced chuckle. "It was quite an unpleasant sight, but whatever. I have more important things to worry about."

Ava observed Lane for a bit longer, but in the end, she let it go. "So, you asked me to look for Mana in the ooze you produce? Well, then I can tell you even without checking that there will be some. It is all made from your Mana, after all. Of course, I’d still be more than glad to take a look, but..."

"Ah, well, it’s not just any Mana. What I mean..." Lane entered Ava’s private lab, closing the door behind him and automatically putting on a lab coat. "Is whether you can find any traces of something that can connect it to my past identities. You see, the thing is..."

He briefly described everything that happened with Damien, with his recognizing him by guiding twice now, and the incident in the dungeon with the man touching the ooze. As he did so, Ava had already collected the sample - both brought by Lane, taken when he possessed Xavier, as well as a fresh one taken straight from Lane’s hands - and started observing them under the microscope.

"Hmm... I get what you mean, but..." She paused, focusing as she switched the objective lenses. "I don’t think I will be able to give you any answers here. We don’t have any technology that allows us to compare and distinguish different types of Mana yet... You would be able to figure out more yourself."

"...What do you mean?"

"Mana Scan. You can see Mana traces, no? And distinguish them."

"Well, yeah... But it’s not that precise... I mean, I don’t think I would be able to recognize a person based on that..."

"But it’s not impossible, is it?" Ava added a few drops of some liquid to the samples, observing the reaction, her eyes focused on the experiment even as she conversed with Lane. "If you advance it in the future."

"That’s... true, I guess, but Damien doesn’t have Mana Scan."

"Are you sure about that? You don’t know what supporting abilities he has."

"That..." Lane couldn’t help but pause. Ava had a point. Still, he argued, "There’s nothing reported on his official profile, so he can’t possibly have any! All the information about high-rankers’ abilities has to be made public, that’s the law. There’s no way that he of all the people would break it..."

"Maybe it’s just not fully developed yet. Wouldn’t that explain everything that happened though?"

Lane pressed his lips tightly.

Yes, yes it would. If Damien had an ability similar to Mana Scan... Perhaps activated by touch... Then, it would make sense why he was able to recognize Lane without a shadow of a doubt, and also explain why he was sticking his hands in Toxic Ooze, even when it caused him injuries. Wavelengths were like papillary lines, no two people could have identical.

But, if Ava’s theory was right... Then honestly, Lane had no idea what to do now.