The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 187: Expired Offerings

Dragging his feet, Lane made his way back to his old bedroom, and threw himself on the bed, falling flat on his face, completely drained. The conversation lasted... Well, Lane didn’t know exactly how long, but it felt endless, dragging on forever. And yet... He achieved nothing. He had already expected it, that this issue wouldn’t be solved in one day, but he still couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Not in his parents - he had long stopped hoping for anything good to come from them - but rather with his lack of freedom and helplessness.

He was still stuck in the mansion, unable to do anything, and when it would change was a big unknown.

He lay there, in the dark, empty room, face down, sleepless, for who knows how long. It was only deep into the night when he finally decided to drag himself out, unable to endure the gnawing in his stomach any longer.

The house was eerily quiet, only Lane’s steps echoing in the massive open space as he descended the staircase. Everyone was asleep, including most of the staff. Of course, some of them were still on call - all Lane had to do was ring a bell, and a maid would show up at his bedroom door, ready to fulfill his orders. There was no need for him to walk through those unfamiliar-familiar unpleasant hallways. But, he didn’t feel like talking to anyone, at least not anyone from the Allens’ mansion, so he’d rather just take care of it himself.

He flicked the switch, entering a sterile clean, spacious modern kitchen. It was most likely the place in the house with the fewest materials of dungeon origins, the furniture and equipment all being top-quality, but still civilian-like. Probably because it was rarely used by the members of the family, and was tailored more according to the preferences of their private chef.

Rushed by the loud growling coming from his stomach, Lane rummaged through the fridge, freezer, cupboards... Only to find nothing. Well, nothing he could eat right away. The shelves were all filled with food, but those were INGREDIENTS, not READY MEALS. The chef always cooked everything from scratch, and the leftovers were not kept - the Allens didn’t eat leftovers, because why would they, so they were either taken by the staff, or thrown away.

Naturally, with all those ingredients, any normal person would just grab a few things, and whip up something quick, but Lane... Lane had never even made himself a sandwich, and he didn’t feel like changing his ways now. He just took out a jar of jam, resigning himself to stuffing his stomach with whatever was available, when all of a sudden, he heard footsteps approaching.

And a moment later, Nyla showed up at the door.

"Um... Hi," she muttered, playing with the spatial bags in her hands. "Are you... hungry?"

Lane stood there, on the spot, just staring at his sister, the cold coming from the fridge cooling his skin. Nyla’s appearance, and her talking to him, were certainly not what he had expected. In the end though, he shrugged his shoulders. "Kind of, I guess."

"Uh, then... I just thought, maybe you would prefer this instead?"

Having said that, Nyla opened her spatial bag, and took out a few items, placing them on the counter. Strawberry ice cream, strawberry sundae, strawberry cheesecake, vanilla rice pudding, cream puffs... All store-bought, so unlike what the Allens would have, but it suited Lane just fine.

The only problem was the dates. Everything was a few years expired.

Lane quirked his brow. "Are you trying to kill me by food poisoning?"

"W-what? No! I, I know how this looks, but they were all kept in a spatial bag, so they’re as good as fresh..." Nyla started quickly defending herself. "Just, just check them, you will know..."

"Pfft!" Lane couldn’t help but let out a short, muted chuckle. "Relax, I’m just joking."

Nyla exhaled with relief, only to tense at Lane’s next words,

"I know that the Allens wouldn’t go for such a cheap scheme, not when they have so many dungeons they could throw me into!"

"...Oh." Nyla lowered her head, her hair - now visibly shorter than before. She must have gotten a haircut because of the damage that red corrosive liquid did to her hair at the summit - falling forward to cover her face. "Anyway... That’s all for you, so eat it if you want..."

And then, she turned around, and walked away.

Lane stared at the empty spot where she stood just a moment ago, conflicting emotions battling in his head. Although Nyla was the one to obediently start distancing herself first when their parents tried to separate them all those years ago... Lane also remembered her odd behavior, and all she had said to ’Xavier’ back at the summit. She was so frustrating and incomprehensible, but...

"Care to join me?" Lane stepped out of the kitchen, before Nyla could disappear and the end of the hallway.

"Uh... Can I...?" Nyla glanced back, her grey eyes wide, as if she couldn’t believe it.

"Well, there’s a lot of food. I can’t possibly finish it all." Lane shrugged his shoulders.

And besides, Nyla also hardly ate anything for dinner, so she must have been hungry herself. But Lane didn’t say that out loud.

"Well then, if you don’t mind..."

They returned to the kitchen together, and Lane took out two dessert spoons from the drawers, handing one to his sister. Then, they both just sat down on the floor - there was no table nor chairs in the kitchen, as there were two separate dining rooms to eat the meals in! - and dug into the assortment of desserts, Nyla eating slowly, in small bites, maintaining proper table manners despite the lack of a table, while Lane devouring everything as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks (which he hadn’t).

They ate in silence, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. It was an awkward, tense, and somewhat uncomfortable type of silence... But still much warmer than the dinner they had earlier had.

And it’s been the most they had done together as siblings in years.