The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 189: Endless Separation

It was bad.

It was really, really bad.

So bad that Lane couldn’t focus on anything at all.

Well, how could he? It’s been three weeks already! Three weeks, stuck in the Allen family’s mansion, pretty much separated from the outside world! Well, at least physically. He still had his phone and laptop with internet access, but so what? He couldn’t just message Damien. Well, technically he could, but! It was scary enough to talk about it in person, let alone through messages, where he wouldn’t even be able to hear Damien’s voice! Because talking on the phone wasn’t an option, not with the mansion being bugged all over. How was he going to figure out how the man really reacted to the news then?

The only way was to get out first, and then meet up with the man. But... getting out was the main problem!

He was seriously tempted to just force his way out. The only thing that held him back from doing so, was that it would reveal his true power to the Allens, or at least a part of it. Which was a problem, because that would make taking them down much harder in the future, as they would be ready for him! Still, if it was just him, perhaps he could just screw it all...

But it didn’t just concern Lane. Eliminating the Allens was also Diana’s wish, a goal she could no longer work toward herself, not in the state she was in. Therefore, Lane wanted to complete this goal, if not for himself, then for his grandmother, to repay her for all the help he received from her!

Right, Diana. Even now, she was Lane’s biggest hope for escaping. He hasn’t received any response yet, even though he informed Ariana about his confinement almost immediately, but it was understandable. It’s not like she could just come in and rescue him, she couldn’t even connect on a video call, being stuck in the dungeon and all. But, if she could just record a video message, and then send it to the Allens, perhaps from some distant place, so that they wouldn’t be able to track her location... Then the Allens should be reminded WHY they had to strike a deal with Lane in the first place.

For now, though, he was stuck in this wretched place.

...He had never felt quite so alone. Despite all the staff loitering around the mansion, Lane felt as if he was the only living person left in the world.

***

The IV stand creaked, pushed through the hospital hallway, as Oscar slowly walked forward, using it as a cane. Each of his steps was hesitant. While there were no injuries left on him, the problem was...

"Ah!"

All of a sudden, Oscar’s leg refused to cooperate, and the man fell forward. He would have crashed on the ground, if not for the strong arm that wrapped around him, catching him just in time.

"Are you alright?" Damien asked, helping Oscar to the nearest chair.

"Ah, Team Leader Lennox?" Oscar looked up at the man. "Yes, thank you so much..." freёweɓnovel.com

Damien carefully sat him down, before taking a seat next to him.

Although Oscar said ’yes’, it was all too obvious that he was not alright. Despite the doctor’s efforts, his condition didn’t seem to improve much. At times, he could move more or less fine, only to suddenly lose control of his body (or mind) for no reason at all.

And he was still ’Oscar’. With no trace of ’Jonathan’, or, well, Lane.

"Um, Team Leader Lennox?" Oscar glanced at Damien furtively. "Uh, I don’t want to be a bother, but... Do you know if my phone has been found?"

"Oh, right." Damien pulled something out from his pocket. It was Oscar’s phone... Except that it was crushed beyond repair. "I believe this one is yours..."

"Oh." Oscar’s face fell, as he noticed the state of the device. There was no chance it could ever be turned back on.

"I’m so sorry about it..."

"Ah, no, no! There’s no need for you to apologize! It’s not your fault, Sir..."

To this, Damien remained silent. It WAS his fault, actually. He was the one to destroy the phone, to hide all the traces of Lane’s activity...

"Um, and how about my spatial bag?" Oscar tried next.

"It... hasn’t been found yet."

It was actually hidden in the safe in Damien’s office... But Damien was reluctant to hand it over to Oscar, since he didn’t know which items inside belonged to Oscar, and which to Lane.

"Oh." Oscar only sighed in disappointment.

Which made Damien feel even more guilty.

He knew the likely cause of Oscar’s state, and the perpetrator behind it, and yet he remained silent. No, not only silent, but he even made some efforts to cover it up! Even though he had no idea what Lane’s motives were, if there was any reason for his actions, other than wanting to have fun.

Even though Lane still hasn’t showed up, or contacted Damien in any way. And as the days passed by, Damien slowly started losing hope that he would.

Of course, he could just seek out the man himself. While he had no idea where Lane currently was, there were other ways. For example, he could strike a deal with the Allens, that he would join their Guild in exchange for Lane. It was most likely doable.

However.

If he did that, could he still say he had genuine feelings for Lane? That he cared about him?

...Probably not. While he didn’t know what exactly was going on between Lane and the Allens, it was clearly a... complicated situation. If Damien were to get the Allen family involved, Lane could end up getting hurt... And if there was any emotional connection between them, it would then be gone.

Damien let out a heavy sigh, dismissing his thoughts. "Let me help you back to your room," he turned to Oscar.

Perhaps it was time to accept that his feelings were one-sided. He knew it from the start that Lane wasn’t looking for anything deeper, and while he had been trying to drag things out, taking it as slow as he could, so that there would be a chance Lane would grow attached to him with time... Maybe it was the time to accept his failure.