The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 168: Return

The rest of the summit seemed to drag on endlessly. Perhaps it was because Lane was stuck with the Allen Guild and separated from Damien, or maybe because most of the planned events were canceled, but everything felt so dreary. Even the hotel sweets didn’t taste quite right.

Luckily, five days later, it was finally time to go back! Earlier than originally planned, but with nothing to do - even the entrance to the S-rank dungeon had been closed off to the foreigners once the situation inside stabilized - the Guild didn’t want them to sit around pointlessly, when there were dungeons to clear waiting at home!

Lane got up early, and left the hotel under the pretext of wanting to buy himself a souvenir from country K. Why did he wait with it until the last day? No one knew, but no one cared! They had another more ’important’ thing on their minds: Nyla being invited to meet by Damien Lennox!

Of course, that was planned by Lane. He purposely dragged it until the last day, so that he could distract them with something as he picked up his body, and brought it onto the plane. The meeting was strictly so that Damien could return Nyla’s sword he supposedly found in ’Xavier’s’ spatial bag...

Lane knew it all well, but for some reason, it still bothered him. Yes, he was the one who arranged it this way. And Damien was already taken (by him). Not to mention, he was quite certain that neither Damien nor Nyla had any interest in the opposite sex.

But so what! There was still that marriage offer extended to Damien by the Allens. What if they tried to manipulate his boyfriend somehow... Not that Damien was so foolish he’d fall for their scams, but...

Lane made a firm decision never to come up with another such stupid plan ever again. Or at least try not to.

Either way, thanks to that, he was able to safely transport his body onto the plane in a suitcase, hide it in a safe place, and leave it unzipped so his body wouldn’t suffocate. By the time the rest of the Guild arrived, he was already sitting comfortably in one of the seats, sipping champagne.

What made him feel even better, that while Nyla seemed at peace, Gracie was clearly in a sour mood, which meant that the meeting with Damien didn’t go quite as she hoped it would! Damien most likely only handed over the sword and exchanged a few polite words, nothing else.

Everything was well.

The journey went smoothly. Quite a contrast with his trip to country B, when he had to switch the body multiple times... But, Lane surprisingly found out that he couldn’t feel glad about this newfound ’convenience’.

Was it... because of Damien? And all the thoughts prickling his conscience?

However, Lane dismissed all those thoughts and feelings as much as he could. Some things were simply not worth thinking about so much, because they were not possible anyway! There was a reason why he had been living this way for so many years, and that reason wasn’t lack of a boyfriend/girlfriend... Rather, the main reason why never even tried dating anyone before was because he had this double life to maintain. Precisely why he had been avoiding attachments like the plague.

Not like he regretted getting closer to Damien... But they were destined to fail. They were just living in a bubble, that one day would burst, and once it did, then...

But that was in the future.

Lane let out a sigh, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes.

For now, they were still fine... So why worry so much about what awaited them ahead?

He spent the rest of the way sleeping, or at least trying to do so. The next days were bound to be busy, as he tried to figure out his way out of the Allen Guild, which wasn’t all that easy, despite what he told Damien. Oscar had just started working as an Esper not that long ago... And he didn’t come from a well-off background, so he didn’t have much savings. Especially since he wanted to lead a comfortable life, so he wasn’t too frugal with his spendings! Not like Lane had any right to scold anyone on that... But Lane could afford to spend lavishly, since his funds were practically endless, okay?!

The point was, Oscar himself didn’t have the funds to cover the contract severance fee, and while Lane could use his own money for that, it was bound to raise eyebrows... Especially since he was going to end up joining the Association, which very obviously wouldn’t have funds to help him out!

He wouldn’t even receive the full amount he was owed - a lot of his pay was categorized as ’bonuses’ and would be only paid at the end of the contractual period. If he didn’t breach the contract, of course.

Such were the hardship of living as an Esper in their current society. Civilians didn’t have such troubles, it was far easier for them to quit their jobs. Maybe there were some exceptions, but Lane doubted there were any LEGAL contracts nowhere as bad as what the Espers had. The Guides also had lighter contract terms, thanks to the Guide Union, and if they wanted out, they would receive professional help - from the Guide Union!

But, as there was no ’Esper Union’, all the Espers unsatisfied with their jobs would be left to struggle alone. They couldn’t even ask the government for help, because the Association also had unfair contract terms!

So, before he’d be able to quit the Guild, Lane would have to figure out an excuse as to where his funds came from... He was already getting a headache.

The best option right now was to sell a few things he didn’t need, and complete two or free more raids. It would still be a bit of a stretch... But Lane didn’t want to wait too long. The more time he spent with the Guild, the more time he was away from Damien!

...Honestly, he was tempted to just screw it off.