The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 39: Unexpected Meeting

Lane didn’t have to wait long for his curiosity to be satisfied. He had barely managed to finish guiding Arlo, when a large group of people crossed through the Gate, appearing in the middle of the empty hall.

And right in front was the Guild Leader of the Allen Guild, an S-rank Esper in his mid fifties, famous for his powerful fire ability - Miles Allen.

He was a picture of elegance, dressed in an expensive designer suit. His black oxford shoes were polished to perfection, giving a mirror-like sheen. All the accessories were custom-made to match his clothes. He didn’t look his age at all - it was hard to find any traces of wrinkles on his handsome, clean-shaven face. Only faint streaks of grey on his neatly-combed blonde hair marked his age.

Everything about him, from his appearance, to the way his cold grey eyes calmly scanned the surroundings, seemed out of place. It was as if he was headed to some sort of fancy business banquet rather than a dungeon filled with monsters.

His wife, Catherine Allen, wasn’t much better. Although she didn’t wear a dress and opted for a well-fitting suit instead, she still wore a pair of high heels. Not to mention the makeup - which, although classy, didn’t miss a single step, from foundation, contouring, and eye shadows, to the dark red lipstick. Of course, as an A-rank healer, she wouldn’t have to take part in the fight - not with all of those high-ranking Espers Guild Leader brought with him - but it still seemed to be a bit... unusual attire to wear to a dungeon.

No one but Lane had any mind to scrutinize their appearance, though. Well, maybe except for Damien, but he wouldn’t let his thoughts show. Everyone was simply grateful that the reinforcements finally arrived. And much better than they thought, at that!

"Guild Leader Allen." Damien was the first to speak, approaching Miles. "Thank you for coming. We’re truly grateful for your help."

"Mn." Miles lightly nodded his head. "What’s the current situation?"

"There are many civilians waiting to be evacuated in Blue Pine Inn, Verdant restaurant, and Sylvaris Tavern. Blue Pine Inn is currently surrounded by monsters, but they are still holding on. The situation at the other two points is currently unknown," Damien briefly explained. "We have been slowly working on evacuating the civilians, but we were forced to temporarily pause, due to the appearance of flying monsters with camouflage ability..."

"Ah, yes, the crows. I cleared this dungeon in the past, so there’s no need to explain. And from what I can see, the hyedeers are also outside, isn’t that right?"

"The... hyedeers?"

"The monsters with antlers that resemble hyenas."

"Ah... Yes, there are here."

"Alright." Miles nodded his head, and without any further ado, stepped forward. "Please step back now. From now on, this dungeon is under my control, and all the monsters and materials here belong to the Allen Guild."

He raised his hand, about to melt the ice wall, but Damien blocked his way, his brows deeply furrowed. "Guild Leader Allen. With all due respect, but there are still civilians left in the dungeon. As a public officer, I cannot leave until everyone is evacuated."

Miles’s cold eyes seemed to become even colder, as he met Damien’s serious gaze. "Is that so?"

If it was someone else, then things could easily turn ugly. Although Miles maintained a calm front, he was not the kind of person who would tolerate being talked back to. Damien, however, was a high-ranker, and one that Miles wanted to poach at that. So, in the end, he only said,

"I understand. In such case, you are welcome to stay here and watch over the evacuation efforts. I apologize for not inviting you to join me, but with our conflicting abilities, it would only slow us down. I can assure you, however, that evacuating the civilians is the main purpose of today’s raid, and we will do our best to prioritize everyone’s safety."

"Thank you for your consideration, I am glad to hear that," Damien bowed his head, his expression easing lightly. Although he wasn’t entirely convinced, and he would have still preferred to take an active part in the evacuation, arguing any further would only waste the precious time that could be spent saving people. As long as Miles kept his promise and proceeded with the evacuation swiftly, it was better for Damien not to intervene.

"Of course." Miles lifted the corners of his mouth in a polite smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes though. "While you wait, you are welcome to receive guiding from Zoe Parker. I’ve heard that you two have great compatibility."

"Now, if there’s nothing else..." Not waiting for Damien’s response, Miles looked back at the entrance.

A surge of blue flames emerged seemingly out of nowhere, melting Damien’s ice wall in an instant. The fire spread forward, undeterred by the puddles of water and mud, burning all the hyedeers unlucky enough to be in its way, in the accompany of terrifying screeches.

"Move on! Defense, prepare to block the aerial attack! Team A, we’re moving toward Verdant first! Team B, go to the Sylvaris, Team C to Blue Pine! Report as soon as you arrive!"

Following Miles’s commands, most of the people stormed out of the reception hall, leaving behind only a small team to guard the place. After a brief scuffle, the three teams cleared out the parking lot, before moving on in their designed directions.

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the hyedeers and the crows that caused so much trouble to Lane and his team, were all defeated.

That was the difference between a large, high-ranking team with high-quality equipment from the best Guild in the country, and a team from the Association. They simply couldn’t be compared.

And the Espers from the Trailblazer Guild? They weren’t even worth mentioning at all!

"Hahah," the dagger-wielding Esper who teamed up with Lane earlier laughed helplessly, staring at the entrance in disbelief, before dropping down on the sofa with a heavy sigh. "Damn... I’ve never felt so useless in my entire life."

"You stayed back and fought, that’s what matters. Now, you can use this experience as the motivation to better yourself," Damien said, trying to reassure the man. It didn’t seem to work all that well - judging by the Esper’s expression, he had no intention to ever put himself in a similar situation again...

That wasn’t Damien’s problem, though. The Esper wasn’t part of his team, so it wasn’t his place to lecture him. Instead, he turned his sight to Lane...

And he couldn’t help but pause.

There was something weird about Lane. Their dire situation had just been resolved, and they were all safe. Yet Lane, who had been rather calm all this time, was now somewhat tense. He was fiddling with his hands, his breathing short and shallow, and his narrowed eyes glued to the floor, scrutinizing the dirty marble tiles as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Murray?"

No response.

"Murray," Damien tried again, stepping closer.

Still nothing.

Only when he placed his hand on Lane’s shoulder, the man flinched, raising his head.

"Ah, yes? What is it, Team Leader?"

"...Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Yes, of course, why wouldn’t I be?" Lane laughed. It sounded a bit more fake than usual, and he was aware of that, but still continued to act as if there was nothing wrong.

"You..."

"Ah, right!" Before Damien was able to say anything more, Lane jumped onto his feet, and approached the remaining members of the Allen Guild, or the person in charge of them, to be precise. "Ma’am, you’re Mrs. Allen, right?"

Catherine Allen paused the conversation she was in the middle of, giving Lane a cold glance. Her eyes looked him up and down, paying particular attention to his uniform badge. Only once she took notice of Lane’s rank, she replied, "Yes, that is correct."

"Ah, I thought so! It’s such an honor to meet you!" Lane smiled widely, his eyes turning into crescents. "Then, if it isn’t too much of a trouble, may I ask you to heal my teammate? He was wounded in the fight earlier."

Catherine thought for a moment, looking between Lane, Arlo, and Damien, before nodding her head. "Alright."

"Ah," Arlo stood up, reluctantly approaching the group. He was only one rank below Catherine, yet he still couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the woman. There was just something about Catherine Allen’s presence that made everyone around feel so small and insignificant. "Th-then..."

Before he even had a chance to utter a word, Catherine tapped his injured arm. She held her hand to the wound, warm, yellow-orange light surrounding both her and Arlo as she activated her ability. It only took maybe two or three minutes, and the arm that was close to falling off, was once again as good as new.

"Is there something else?" Catherine turned back to Lane, who was still sticking right by her side, observing her.

"Ah, I was just looking... But, well, can I get your autograph?"

"Yes, that’s fine." It wasn’t an unusual request. Without thinking anything of it, Catherine scribbled her name on a small scrap of paper.

A wide smile brightened Lane’s face, as he stared at the paper in his hand. "Thank you so much, Ma’am! Now, if you don’t mind, I will return to my duties..."

He turned around and walked away, back to the sofas, to guide Hallie. Once he no longer could feel Catherine’s gaze on his back, he stuffed the paper into his pocket, crumpling it into a ball.

And a brief second later, the paper disappeared, turning into nothing but ashes, vanishing without a trace just like the smile on Lane’s face.

’I would have never expected I would meet THEM here...’

But it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t affect his plans at all. Even if he made some mistakes, they would never be able to realize his identity, after all.