The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 222: Easier Said Than Done

"...Huh?" Lane blinked, staring at Damien’s handsome face hovering over him. The man’s dark brown hair was down and slightly messy, his face still unshaven, and a bit paler than usual, with hints of exhaustion that accumulated through the past month, but he was still undoubtedly his prim and proper Damien.

And that Damien was telling him to just break the deal? Really?

Then again... Why not?

It’s been, what, over fourteen years? It was about time to abolish the new rules. Lane was no longer a stupid, inexperienced, powerless (or, well, allegedly powerless) teen. He was thirty already. Wasn’t it time to finally break free from the Allens’ control, completely, for good?

Except that...

"It’s easier said than done," he let out a heavy sigh.

"What if I were to vouch for you?" Damien suggested. "Or help you change the rules of the deal?"

It sounded nice, sure, and might have seemed doable, considering how persistently the Allens had pursued him... But Lane shook his head in response.

"It won’t work. No offense, but... You’re not important enough for them."

Damien might have been used as a reason to keep Lane under a lock, but he wouldn’t be enough to set him free. He was just an S-ranker, after all - rare and valuable... but not completely irreplaceable. The Allens wanted to scout him, but they would do just fine without him. He most certainly wasn’t worth as much as any of their family secrets (such as Lane’s existence).

Even if Damien offered himself to join and marry Nyla, that wouldn’t be enough. Lane knew the Allens all too well. And if he had any doubts, then his parents’ reaction when he suggested offering to be Damien’s partner in an arranged marriage told him everything he needed to know. Well, perhaps it would be different if they knew that Lane had already won him over, but...

It was best to try to look for a different option first. One that wouldn’t bind them to the Allen Guild.

To analyze it properly: What did the Allens have over Lane?

Money? Nope, not really. Although Lane was still receiving hefty transfers every month, he was long past the point where he needed them. He hasn’t been sitting idly all those years. He was the Boss of a secret organization, indirectly owned multiple small and even mid-size Guilds, and secretly made a lot of successful investments. It was all bringing him sufficient income to easily maintain his current quality of life without putting in any extra work.

Cyrus’ Domination ability then? The Allens still believed they would be able to bring him under control with that. Or with that B-rank Esper’s, secretly employed by the Guild, persuasion ability. But if Lane were to reveal himself as an A-ranker, he would no longer have to pretend to be manipulated by it...

He could get by on his own, but... The Allens were still powerful and influential. Lane couldn’t quite contend with them, not without revealing all of his cards.

And he couldn’t reveal everything. Not even for Damien. Not until he was ready to take the Allens down...

Because it wasn’t just his goal. If he were to throw it all away now... Wouldn’t Diana be disappointed in him? ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Right, Diana. Maybe with her support, they would be able to negotiate new terms? If Lane were to be an ’A-ranker’ from now on, then he would like to talk to her first, share the good news with her before he let the rest of the world know.

"Well, I have an idea," he finally said.

"Your grandmother?"

"Mn."

"Are you in contact with her?"

"...Not regularly, but yeah."

Pretty rarely, but that was... That was just because of her condition. And how careful they needed to be, so that she wouldn’t be discovered. But Lane couldn’t explain that to Damien, at least not for now.

"Well, either way, I’ll see what can be done," Lane ended the topic.

The silence fell between them, not as uncomfortable as before, but still rather awkward. Lane shifted around, unable to lay still, until finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

"And?" he asked. "What’s the third?"

"The third?"

"Condition."

Although Lane wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, reminding Damien about the conditions... But even if the man forgot about it for now, it would inevitably come up in the future, so it was better to just get through it in one go.

"Ah, right. The third condition is..." Damien furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment. "...Actually, I don’t have anything more."

"...No?" Lane lifted his brows in disbelief.

Really? That was all? Just, no more possessions, and stick by my side? It felt hardly adequate compared to everything Lane had done. He pretty much got out of it scot-free...

Not that he complained.

But just as he was starting to relax, Damien gasped. "Oh, actually!"

...So there was more, after all.

Lane tensed up nervously. "Yes?"

"It’s about Oscar Morales. His condition is... not the best. Does it have anything to do with your ability?"

"Ah... Yes." Lane turned onto his side to hide his face from Damien, at least a bit, feeling guilty all over again. "But if you want to ask me if there’s anything I can do about it... Then I don’t know. I have already severed our connection, but... I don’t know whether it will help. So far... No one survived more than a few months."

Not that there were many cases in the first place. After he found out that leaving his former possessions with just amnesia wasn’t exactly... possible, Lane stopped trying to leave his targets alive. For several reasons. Or maybe excuses would be a better term? Either way, it wasn’t something he wanted to dwell on anymore, as he had already buried all those thoughts and feelings deep in a dark corner of his brain...

"If you can get some samples from him, though, then he can send them to Ava," he suggested. "She hasn’t been able to figure anything out before... But who knows, maybe now she can find a way to solve the problem?"