The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 204: Assessment

The assessment was scheduled four days later, both his and Nyla’s. It was the first time Lane had seen his sister since the incident with Diana, since his - their - awakening, as he was almost religiously skipping all the family meals, and settling on feeding on his stash of sweets and asking the maids for snacks instead. The girl looked and acted the same as always, except that now there was an immense power in her...

A power that Lane lacked.

For the first time in his life, he was genuinely envious of Nyla. Before, all the things she had received that Lane hadn’t, he didn’t mind. Their parents’ attention was conditional anyway, with not a shred of care beyond for what their children could achieve, how they could benefit the Allen family. As for all those parties, and that Nyla was named the heir? Lane didn’t want that anyway! Wearing a suit and tie, and studying hard, so that he could run their businesses in the future, wasn’t his thing. He was more than fine handing it all over to Nyla... He was only a bit concerned whether Nyla ACTUALLY wanted it or not, but that was her problem at the end of the day. She never talked to him these days, so Lane had no way to intervene.

But now it was different. That power could have been a way for Lane to free himself...

Crying over it wouldn’t change anything, though, so Lane just plopped down on the chair with a resigned sigh, while Nyla went in first.

Although the door was closed, Lane could still hear everything well. Perks of awakening, even if with no useless ability. His senses had all sharpened, and his physical condition - which had already been great, as Lane was an athlete - improved significantly. Beyond what was physically possible.

Inside the room, the government officer responsible for assessing the Awakened engaged in a short chat with Miles and Nyla, confirming all the information written in her initial file. Then, he asked Nyla to activate her ability... And everything went quiet for a moment. Lane couldn’t see anything, but he assumed Nyla must have been using her telekinesis.

"Alright, thank you," the officer said after a while. "Can you try lifting something else? For example, this desk?"

There was a sound of dragging something heavy on the floor, after which the officer said, "How about this chair?"

"...Alright. Thank you, you can stop now." He scribbled something down. "Based on your daughter’s ability, I believe a C or B rank would be the most appropriate..."

"C or B?" Miles cut in, not letting the officer finish. "With such a useful and versatile ability?"

"Yes, well... Telekinesis does look impressive, but Miss Nyla here had only managed to lift a book for a few minutes..."

"It is only because she lacks training. It would be inappropriate to assign her a lower rank just because she isn’t used to her ability yet."

"Sir, I’m sorry, but that’s not how this... What is this?"

Something slid over the table. "Please give my daughter a JUST assessment."

There was some rustling, after which, the officer let out a quiet sigh. "I apologize. Now that I think about it again, Miss Nyla most definitely deserves to receive rank A... Is that correct?"

"Yes, that will do."

The officer hid something in his bag, and stood up. "Now, I believe your son is assumed to be a supporter, right? Would it be alright to test him with your daughter?"

"Yes, that’s fine," Miles agreed, and the door opened, the officer calling Lane in.

"Lane, right? Please take a seat next to your sister, and take her hand," he instructed.

Lane did as he was told, and plopped down next to Nyla, who was avoiding his gaze, but still reached out her hand. It was pale, slender and soft, with only a prominent writer’s callous from all the note-taking she did. And a bit cool to the touch.

But that was about all that Lane felt from it. So when the officer instructed him, "Now try to apply your ability, sending your power into her," Lane was nothing but confused.

"Send my power... how?"

"Just direct the flow of your power toward your hand, and then try to pass it to Miss Nyla."

And so Lane did. But while he could feel the power flowing through him, nothing happened.

"Miss Nyla, do you feel anything?"

"Uh... No..." Nyla hesitantly shook her head.

"Ah? Well, then..." The officer glanced back at the files. "Young Master Lane, did you notice any changes in your body since your awakening? For example, your strength?"

"I did get much stronger, yes. And faster." He had noticed it during his evening jog, when he ran through his usual route a few times faster than usual, without even trying. As for his strength... All the dumbbells he had been using were suddenly way too light for him!

"Hmm." The officer tapped his fingers, pondering over it for a moment. "It would seem you’re not a supporter, then. Your ability must be ’physical enhancement’. As for the rank... I can only give you an F-rank, I’m afraid... O-or maybe E!" he added quickly, glancing at Miles.

Miles’ eyes twitched. F or E... Even D would be useless! He could bribe the officer to get Lane a higher rank, but what for? Just because he had a ton of money to spare, it didn’t mean he wanted to throw them away on pointless things!

So, he just said coldly, "An F-rank seems suitable."

And with this, the topic was dismissed. The officer wasn’t going to argue for Lane’s benefit, and neither was Lane, who was once again hit with the hard truth about his awakening.

It was useless, all useless. He had no power, and probably would never have... Unless there was something like a second awakening? There was no such case so far though, so Lane didn’t want to entertain such a stupid hope. He’d only get up more disappointed in the end.

He had to accept that he was meant to remain powerless...

And that he could no longer even become a professional athlete.