There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 122 - 118. Homecoming

Chapter 122: Chapter 118. Homecoming

"Welcome home, hotshot,"

The barista on the morning shift gave her a greeting to Zein when he was ordering his morning coffee--black with one cube of sugar this time, since Radia told him to cut on his sugar consumption.

Also, because he overslept.

When he came out of the tower, the sun was already about to set, even though he felt like he only talked with the deity for a bit.

While he was still trying to adjust to the disparity of time, countless camera flashes started to flood him. It was only thanks to Jock and Lex’s immediate rescue, as well as the administrator’s stern warning to let the Lord’s guest go through, that Zein could reach the car without the hassle of an interview.

When his back touched the leather seat of the helicopter, and he knew he was flying home, Zein finally felt the adrenaline wane and his energy left him. Just like all those times, communicating with the fragment made him feel like experiencing burnout. It sapped his physical as well as mental energy worse than out-of-control Bassena.

He didn’t even remember to ask about how Bassena was faring in the trial.

It was late at night when the helicopter landed on the compound, and Zein walked to the dorm feeling like a zombie. He couldn’t even recall entering his bedroom, and the next moment he came to, he was on his bed, still with the clothes he wore yesterday, and the sky was already bright.

So now, forgoing breakfast, he stood in front of the coffee shop’s counter, waiting for caffeine intake.

"Why are you acting like I was gone for a month or something?" Zein stared at the barista unamused. "It’s just the weekend."

"Yeah, but you’re usually here even on the weekend, so it feels like you’re going away for long," the barista replied.

They were acquaintances already after Zein asked her how to teach him how to operate the coffee machine in his dorm room. She could even tell what Zein would like to order based on the sharpness level of the blue eyes alone.

Suddenly, she smirked and spoke in a lower voice. "Having a nice time, I hear?"

Zein raised his brow slightly. "Hear from who?"

She pressed on her commlink and shoved the screen in front of the guide’s face. "From the net, duh!"

There, Zein could see the images of him and Bassena in the yacht, the esper’s arm around his waist, laughing at something Zein said. He remembered then, how Bassena told him about the many paparazzi around the lake.

It was a good thing that Bassena was more sensible than him, or those people would have the images of them kissing, as well as Zein’s bare face.

"Weekend date, huh? Must be nice," the barista grinned from behind the screen. When Zein just rolled his eyes in response, she laughed heartily. "Everyone has been talking about you since yesterday,"

"Why?"

"Geez, why don’t you open the news every once in a while?" she sighed exasperatedly. "Because of the thing in the tower, of course!"

"...ah," Zein responded belatedly.

So that was why people were staring at him harder than usual, even old man Dan at the dorm. He thought it was just because he was running late...

"Ah," the barista repeated Zein’s response with a mocking tone, while placing the guide’s order on the counter. "You, Sir, are lacking too much self-awareness."

Taking the coffee cup, Zein just smirked as he replied nonchalantly. "Good morning to you too."

He bit into an energy bar while waiting for the coffee to get warm, wondering if he should order some sandwiches to be sent to his office, or just grab some snacks from the guide lounge. He basically skipped a whole day of meals because of yesterday’s affair.

...probably should skip the coffee too.

"Well, well, well," the familiar voice of the Chief Guide welcomed him in the seventh-floor lobby. "Behold--the talk of the federation,"

Nah--he definitely needed the coffee.

Raising his brow, Zein responded simply. "Jealous?"

"Not in a million years," Abel smirked, holding up his palms in disgust. It was funny how the two executives of the Guide Division in Trinity, which was known for their many involvements in showbiz, were a pair of media-allergic people.

Zein scoffed before chugging on his coffee while eyeing the candies inside the jar atop the front desk’s counter. Just a little bit of sugar...should be okay, right? He’d just drink mineral water with his meals later.

Abel tilted his head to observe Zein, who was reaching out for the candy jar. "You looked tired."

"Haven’t eaten since yesterday..." Zein was about to put his fingers inside the jar when his commlink beeped in a special tone he set only for two people--but since one of them should be unavailable now, it meant only one person might trigger that tone.

Zein almost cursed because of it. "How does he know?" he grumbled, retreating his hand from the jar while looking at his commlink. "Hmm..."

Abel raised his brow, first at the uncharacteristic grumbling, and second at the sudden serious expression. "What?" he asked curiously.

"I’m being summoned--is Alice here?"

"Of course she’s here, Captain," the girl replied immediately, suddenly appearing behind the tall guide.

Abel almost jumped in fright because of it, and Zein would flinch if he had the leeway. But not today. "I have to go to Mortix now, so tell Nadine to take over for today’s session," he tapped on his commlink and muttered in contemplation. "That new regime I gave you last week--"

"It shall be done," the girl replied readily, like always.

"Any schedule for today?" Zein asked, before emptying his coffee cup and walking toward the bin.

"Sir Han for today," the assistant answered swiftly. "Should I tell him you can’t?"

Zein shook his head, placing his mask again while heading back to the elevator he just used a few minutes ago. "No, just tell him the situation, and let him decide if he wants to wait or go to Mortix."

"Understood,"

"Whew...not even five minutes," Abel chuckled, pitying the tall guide that already got busy the moment he came back.

* * *

"It’ll take an hour, so you might as well catch some sleep, Sir."

Jock kindly told Zein when he saw the guide yawn for the third time since entering the car. While Zein looked like he was alright after coming out of the tower yesterday, he could see how tired the man looked inside the ride back. He had no idea what Zein was subjected to inside, but it must have been sapping his energy.

So much for having a weekend vacation to build energy. It was all gone after a few hours inside the tower.

"Sleep..." Zein muttered in a sound that was almost like a grumble. "Do you have something I could eat?"

"We can go to a drive-thru if you want,"

Oh...Zein blinked, suddenly felt a little bit energized. "I forget that exists,"

And so, fifteen minutes later, the back seat was filled with meals. Zein was ordering double portions for every meal he missed since yesterday, to Jock’s astonishment, and two liters of water.

"Did you get a burnout, Sir?" Jock asked as Zein started to devour the food with gusto.

"No," Zein shook his head while swallowing. "Hmm...actually, I don’t know,"

"What do you mean?"

Zein stared at the ceiling and started to count with his fingers. "I only experienced burnout like...three? Four times? I think it’s three," he munched on the food again before continuing. "The last time was when I cleansed Bassena, and the other times happened more than a decade ago, so I’m not really familiar with the sensation..."

Zein made a mental note to ask Radia or Selena about this later.

Jock couldn’t decide which one was more interesting; the fact that Zein had only had burnout a few times during his seventeen years of career, or how chatty the guide became when he was content and feeling good after finally having his meal.

And the fact that Zein was fine while taking care of five 5-stars in Trinity alone...

"You’re like a Saint, Sir," Jock commented with a smile, and the hand that reached out for another food paused for a bit.

Nibbling on fries, Zein mulling about that quietly. "Saint...have you seen one?"

"I did--only from afar, however," Jock nodded in reply.

Although they stayed in the temple most of the time, the Saints and Saintess would make public appearances once every few years usually, depending on their respective temple’s policy. Whether it was to take part in the annual conference, or give motivational speeches to the guides in the Center, they would come out of the temple and the general public could have a chance to see them.

Jock glanced at the guide through the rearview mirror with a smile. "I’m going to say this now since Sir Vasli isn’t here to give me a stink eye," he tapped on the steering wheel as Zein raised his brow. "I think you’re prettier than the Saintess I saw in the past, Sir."

Zein scoffed immediately at that, prompting the guard to chuckle. "What nonsense," the guide said. "Didn’t you say you only saw her from afar?"

"Well, that’s true..." Jock laughed quietly. There was, of course, a clear picture of said Saintess accessible on the net--but he didn’t mention it since Zein seemed to dislike it if people commented about his looks.

"Hmm...the Saintess aside, I wonder if I can go to the temple..." Zein muttered. How funny--as a guide, he had gone to the peak of a tower, but never stepped foot inside a temple.

"At all, Sir?" the esper’s brows raised. "Not even the Temple of Mago here?"

Zein shook his head while finishing the food in his mouth. There was only one Temple in the whole Eastern Federation, and five in the whole continent. He wondered if it was possible to see one, since he was already seen a Tower.

Should he ask Radia, or should he wait until Bassena came back? Now that he thought about it, Bassena mentioned something about a lake on a Temple and that he wanted to bring Zein there, hmm...