The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 27: Strawberry Protein Bar

When Lane came back to his senses, he was lying on the ground, wrapped in a thermal blanket, with Damien supporting his upper body. By the looks of it, he hasn’t been out for long, a few minutes at most.

"Murray, you’re awake? Don’t move too much. Let’s take you to a doctor..."

Lane scrunched his face. Damien’s voice sounded odd, in a way that made him slightly uncomfortable. He didn’t like people fussing over him, not that way, and especially not regarding something so minor. He had just been hit and fainted for a moment, no big deal. If he had guessed correctly, he didn’t even crash onto the ground, as Damien broke his fall with his ability. freewebnøvel.coɱ

It was embarrassing, honestly, for him to make such a stupid mistake. He was way too distracted with everything that had been going on, and on top of that, he severely underestimated the feebleness of Noah Murray’s body. To get hurt during mere training, no matter how difficult it was, it was so unlike him at all.

He lifted his hand to rub his pounding head, and adjusted his position, so that he was sitting on his own, without Damien’s support. "No need for that, I’m okay," he said, dismissing the other’s concerns. "I wasn’t hit hard, I fainted mostly due to overexerting myself. I should be just fine with a recovery drink or something."

The frown on Damien’s face deepened. He was about to protest, but Lane had already scrambled back onto his feet, walking toward the benches. His steps were a bit unsteady, but he still could walk on his own.

Damien stared at him for a while in silence. "Alright, the rest of you, continue. There’s still some time left before the break," he commanded the rest of the team eventually.

Lane already settled on the benches and was watching his teammates run around, when all of a sudden, he felt a warm blanket being wrapped around his body. He lifted his eyes, meeting Damien’s gaze.

"Cover yourself up. You’re sweaty, and you were caught in the ice, you must be cold." Damien’s voice was back to his usual calm and serious tone.

"Hahah, Team Leader, there’s no need to. I might be just a Guide, but I’m still an A-ranker, I can handle this much," Lane laughed lightly. He still accepted the blanket though. He might have been acting tough, but he was in a civilian’s body. He was indeed feeling cold, and if he stayed like that, he could very well end up getting sick. It could be easily solved with his abilities, such as the healing one, but he couldn’t risk using it now, in case Damien ended up dragging him to a doctor.

He just shifted his gaze back to the obstacle track, when Damien handed him something again. "Eat this. It will help you recover."

"What’s that?" Lane glanced at the chocolate bar in Damien’s hand.

"A protein bar with recovery medicine. It’s not very potent, but it should at least ease your fatigue a bit."

"Hmm." Lane hesitated for a moment, but in the end, accepted the treat. It’s not like Damien would poison him, and most of the truth serums and similar drugs didn’t work on high-rankers anyway. "Thank you, Team Leader." He absentmindedly bit into the bar, not expecting much... And his eyes instantly widened.

It was delicious! Very sweet, strawberry and cream flavor, covered in a thick layer of milk chocolate, with a buttery biscuit for some crunch. The consistency was also nice, not too dry, melting in his mouth...

"You like it?"

Lane flinched at the question, immediately controlling his expression. "Ahem, it’s... not bad. Although I don’t really like-" He was about to say ’sweets’, but he stopped himself just in time, changing his words to "strawberry flavor all that much. Salted caramel would be better... But, it’s still quite alright."

Of course, it was a lie. While he did like salted caramel, strawberry was his favorite. However, Damien knew how much ’Evan Greene’ liked strawberry flavor, especially strawberry ice cream. This protein bar might have been a trap, considering how well it matched Lane’s taste. Well, not that liking strawberries could serve as proof of his identity... Different people could have similar tastes, after all. But it was better for Lane to avoid such suspicious ’coincidences’ as much as he could.

At least he didn’t make too big of a blunder. If he denied liking sweets, he would be instantly caught in a lie - after all, he had sweets every day! Just how many times had Damien seen ’Noah Murray’ eating a lollipop or a chocolate bar? It was far too late for Lane to try to hide that fact.

He could feel Damien’s vigilant eyes observing him closely, so he continued eating the protein bar with the most neutral expression he could. "It works pretty well, I feel better already," he casually remarked. "Where did Team Leader get them from?"

"They’re homemade."

"Hmm?" Lane tilted his head, looking at the man in surprise. "Homemade? Did Team Leader’s mother make them? Or maybe girlfriend? Wife?"

Damien’s brows twitched. "I don’t have a girlfriend or wife. Or a boyfriend."

"A husband then?"

Damien stared at Lane in silence, his face dark.

’Was it too much?’ A thought passed through Lane’s head. He didn’t intend to torment the man. Well, at least not too bad. He was about to say something, change the topic perhaps, when Damien finally spoke again,

"I don’t have a husband either. I made them myself."

"Oh? I didn’t know Team Leader cooks." Lane couldn’t help but look Damien up and down, a smile playing in the corner of his mouth. An image of his tall, muscular, uptight Team Leader in a pink, frilly apron suddenly popped up in his mind, and he had to hold himself back not to laugh. He kind of wanted to see it...

Soon though his smile faltered, as his thoughts took a dangerous turn, removing all the clothes beside the apron, and Lane quickly averted his eyes.

Was Damien doing it on purpose? No, that couldn’t be. Even if he was trying to bait Lane into exposing himself, he couldn’t control his dirty thoughts. It was simply his handsomeness and sexy body that were to blame for that.

"Anyway," Lane cleared his throat. "The bar is pretty good. If Team Leader ever gets tired of working as an Esper, you could totally try to start a business selling protein bars."

"I’m glad you liked it, but I’m not interested in running a business," Damien shook his head. "I only want to make food for people I like."

Lane’s eyes twitched. He was so taken aback, that he had no idea how to react.

’People he likes?’

Was Damien being serious, or was that just another way to bait Lane to reveal himself?

Either way, Lane wasn’t going to be swayed. Even if Damien meant it - or, rather, thought he meant it - who he liked was ’Evan Greene’. A fake persona Lane created. He didn’t know the real Lane. If he did, he would have never felt like that. From their personalities to their beliefs, Damien and Lane were so different they couldn’t possibly get along.

"Well, I am honored that I got a chance to try it then! Being on your team really comes with some unexpected benefits, Team Leader!" Lane smiled, letting out a cheerful laugh. Treating Damien’s remark as something without any deeper meaning was the best he could do right now. "For you to care so much about your subordinates, it is truly amazing! I doubt we would get such treatment from any other leader!"

Damien wanted to say something - perhaps correct Lane that this kind of benefit only applied to him - but before he could, an alarm on his phone rang, signalizing it was time for the break. He hesitated for a brief moment, staring at Lane. In the end though, he let a quiet sigh, and stood up, returning to the rest of the team.

Left alone, Lane exhaled with relief. He was literally saved by the bell. Finishing the last bites of the protein bar, he observed Damien, who was giving his teammates the review of their performance, with narrowed eyes. He used to think he had a good grasp on the type of person the man was...

But now he started having more and more doubts.