There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 125 - 121. Trace of Absence

Chapter 125: Chapter 121. Trace of Absence

Zein had never thought how much Bassena took up his daily time until now.

With guiding, playing, strolling around, or even just conversing. Now that the esper wasn’t here, he found himself having a lot of free time. There was one less esper to guide, one less texting and conversing partner, and one less invitation to go on a drive or visit a candy shop.

It was almost boring.

Or at least it was at first. Until the management pulled up the real plan to publish the textbook Zein gave to the other guide in strike division. So now his free time was filled with editing the content with a team from management and Alice.

He also used his time to peruse the proposal from the old man’s daughter, Aida, and sent it back for some revision. The rest he used to train his physique and locked himself in the advanced simulation chamber.

And watching TV.

Or rather, he just let the TV run in the background and only looked at it when Bassena’s commercials were airing. He was quite disgusted at the charming and cool persona at first, but get used to it after a while.

At the end of the third week after he got back from the Capital--the third week after Bassena entered the tower--he was scheduled to go with the [Hagalaz] squad, the one spearheaded by Ashur Iddina. It would be the second last trial run for the division--the last being the [Anzus] belonged to Bassena.

This time, Zein brought the other A-class guide beside Nadine--a quiet man a year younger than him called Dean--and Brisk, the chubby B-class that lived in the dorm too. It would be the two’s first experience, but since they had been receiving training that much longer, Zein didn’t really worry about them.

"Am I late?" when Zein opened the conference room, he could see the room already filled with all the squad members, the surveyor, and the two guides. He glanced at the clock to make sure, but it was still five minutes before the scheduled time.

Ashur, who was standing at the head of the table, and was nearest the door that Zein used, paused for a bit. The esper blinked repeatedly for a few seconds while Zein was staying at the entrance waiting for a reply, before coughing.

"N-no, we haven’t started yet," the esper said finally, stuttering for a bit.

Only then that Zein stepped inside the room, swiping his gaze briefly to the rest of the people there. Some nodded at him, and some grinned at their Captain. The only empty seat left was the one nearest to the head table, so Zein just seated himself there.

"You’re very prompt," he commented since the room seemed to fall into silence. Zein usually came together with the other guides, but he was still stuck arranging the book that was about to be published until the meeting time.

"Well, precision and time discipline is integral for our squad," Ashur explained with a calmer voice, although Zein could easily hear the pride in his tone.

Indeed, for [Hagalaz] which specialized in dungeons with extreme environments, while the members needed to be flexible about all kinds of change, they also needed to be vigilant and united. Following the leader’s command in precision was important for the squad’s survival.

This was why Ashur disliked taking guides inside his raid, since they usually disrupt the flow and couldn’t follow his command.

At least, he disliked taking them before.

Zein nodded at Ashur’s words since that was his principle too, and what he always imparted to the guides. "Yes, that’s good."

It was a simple word of agreement, barely a praise, but even without an esper’s heightened sense, people could see the blush on Ashur’s face. That, and the way the esper cleared his throat in fluster, made them look at the Captain pitifully.

Ah...if only his opponent wasn’t Bassena Vaski...

Thankfully, the esper managed to get rid of his nervousness and proceed to brief them on the upcoming raid smoothly, although they could see him stealing a glance toward the tall guide from time to time.

Zein, on his part, had his usual expressionless face on--or rather, expressionless gaze. He looked so unfazed at Ashur’s not-so-subtle interest that the rest of the squad members felt even more pity toward their Captain.

It wasn’t that Zein did not realize it though. Rather, he put on a stoic face because he realized it. This kind of crush from Espers wasn’t the first time for Zein; he experienced it too much, even. But he also knew where those feelings coming from.

It was from his guiding. The pleasure that they felt from his guiding remained in their memory, and would replay every time they saw Zein. Thus, they would react just like when they were guided--pleasurable sensation, comfort, elevated heartbeat--and mistake it for a crush. Especially the sensitive type like Ashur.

It was kind of like a suspension bridge effect, if anything. Arousal-inducing bridge.

So Zein always treated that kind of thing by not reacting to it at all. The only one who ended up receiving a different treatment was Bassena.

But at first, Zein actually treated Bassena the same as any other; coldly, nonchalantly. He even rejected the esper outright. It was only after he realized that Bassena’s affection was more than a mere reaction or attachment issue that Zein started to respond differently.

In that case, Bassena was also different from the start. He didn’t make the same gesture as the other who simply had a crush on him; those nervous, blushing reactions due to the body remembering the pleasure from the guiding.

Bassena approached him with clear intentions, calmly but persistently. The man knew his own heart and his objective, which wasn’t merely a product of receiving mindblowing guiding. And the more Zein spent his time with the esper, the more he realized this.

And the more his wall weakened.

Ah...damn--Zein didn’t think he would, but he did miss Bassena.

* * *

With the advancement of technology, it was now possible to determine the density of mana and miasma inside a dungeon from the outside. They could then decide if the dungeon was on the lower level or upper level of that class.

The dungeon Trinity was about to raid today had an orange gate. Through the measurement, however, the miasma density was higher than the upper cap for an orange-class dungeon. This wasn’t considered an anomaly, however.

Having a miasma density higher than the dungeon class meant the dungeon had a more extreme environment compared to the others of the same class. This heavy miasma could result in creating anything from a cold blizzard to an eternal night environment.

For this, the [Hagalaz] squad was formed.

The squad consisted of resilient espers and battle-hardened veterans that could withstand any kind of environment. Out of all trail runs, the one with Hagalaz would be the biggest hurdle the new division should tackle. For this, normally, the Guide Captain should choose guides with more experience to maximize success, but he came with two people who hadn’t gone inside a raid before. Still, Zein didn’t seem to worry at all about this decision.

While it was Dean and Brisk’s first time following a dungeon raid after joining the strike division, it wasn’t because they were lacking before. It was because Zein had been saving them exactly for this squad raid. The two, surprisingly, were the ones who attained the highest level in the simulation chamber after Zein.

Despite having to be roped into the division at first, Dean was very much a mini version of Zein--the discipline, textbook type that followed duty and order given to him. Although it also means he couldn’t function well without those. The reason he didn’t sign the first time was because joining the new division wasn’t mandatory, but when Zein asked him to come, he agreed immediately. He followed every instruction well, so he was perfect for Hagalaz.

Brisk, on the other hand, was calm and a swift thinker. He spent a lot of his free time in the archive, and had the highest grade in Zein’s periodic examination. By this point, the B-class guide had memorized Zein’s textbook word by word.

It all came down to whether they could function in the real thing or not.

At least, for now, as they stood in front of the gate, both guides still looked fine; Brisk with his cheeky smile and Dean with his quiet gaze. They followed Zein’s mandatory check with a steady and firm voice. There was a hint of eagerness hidden there too, probably because they were the last two to join a dungeon raid.

"After this run, everyone would already prove themselves, so let’s do well," Zein tapped on the two guide’s shoulders, who immediately straightened their back and answered him firmly.

Adorable.

Zein smiled subtly while watching them going into the esper formation. He looked down at his commlink after, checking for any messages and the news outlet briefly. There would be no communication with the world once they stepped inside the dungeon, so this was the last time he could check on his commlink.

Checked on any news on Bassena.

But since there was none, Zein exhaled in relief. It meant the esper hadn’t failed yet, so that was okay. While closing the app and looking at the autumn sky, he remembered Bassena’s boasting about speedrunning his trial in a month. If the man succeed, it meant he would be back sometime next week.

Unconsciously, his lips stretched into a smile.

Walking toward the squad, this time Zein didn’t stay in the back with the surveyor, but took a place between his guide, startling the other squad members and their Captain.

In a light-hearted tone, the tall guide spoke with a smile still on his hidden lips. "I’ll be joining the raid today, Captain Iddina."