The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 41: Girl Friend

It was already past noon when Lane finally got back to his apartment. He was tired, extremely tired. Not necessarily sleepy - he took another nap in the car - but rather physically exhausted, completely drained, to the point that if he were to trip and fall, he wouldn’t have any energy left to get up.

Still, after taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, he didn’t go to bed. Instead, he went to the soundproofed room, opening the massive safe.

Damien gave them four days off, after all. It was a perfect opportunity for Lane to switch to his real body for a bit.

Everything was already prepared. Lane took a small box with pills from the upper shelf, turned on the flashlight, and sat down cross-legged in the big compartment, closing the doors behind him. He had to use his abilities to do so, worsening his state even further, but it didn’t matter. ’Noah Murray’ was about to be put to sleep, anyway.

The pills in the box were already counted, the dose prepared with Noah’s body in mind. Of course, it wasn’t all that precise - it was just based on some simplified calculations following the instructions Lane had got from his friend. There was always the risk of all sorts of complications. Such heavy drugs should only be used by a qualified medical professional, which Lane obviously was not...

But, so what? In the worst-case scenario, Noah Murray would die. That’s all.

Without any hesitation, Lane swallowed the pills, taking a sip of water. Then, before the medicine could take effect, he poured the rest into the container with a straw mounted in the corner, and tied up his legs. Finally, with the help of his abilities, he put on a straitjacket.

He struggled for a bit to ensure he couldn’t free himself with just Noah’s strength, took one last glance around to ensure that everything was in place...

And everything went black for a second. He switched.

***

Lane lifted himself up from the bed, stretching his back with a satisfied smile. Although he liked possessing other people, his real body was still the best, beyond compare.

All of his exhaustion was gone. Waking up from the comatose state, his body was fully rested and brimming with energy. The only problem was his rumbling stomach, but that was the norm - although Lane’s body didn’t require any food or water intake while he was possessing someone else, he was always incredibly hungry and thirsty upon his return.

As he reached for his phone, about to put an order through, there was a message waiting for him. Well, plenty of messages, to be exact, but most of them were from Lane’s random acquaintances, and could be ignored for now. Only one of them was worth caring about.

Lane’s Guide was finally back from a dungeon. Or, at least she had been two weeks ago, when she texted him back.

Lane quickly replied. [I’m back now. Beer at my place later?]

He didn’t have to wait long. Before his food delivery even arrived, he already got a response. [I’m out at 5. Pick me up.]

The corners of Lane’s mouth lifted up. He tapped a short [kk], and tossed his phone somewhere to the side. He would go through the rest of the messages later... Maybe.

A few hours later, he arrived in front of a massive, modern building complex, made out of glass and steel. Or at least it appeared to be. In truth, it was entirely made out of using materials from dungeons, refined with secret methods developed by ManaTech.

ManaTech - that is Mana Research and Technologies - was the name of the Guild this building complex belonged to. It was somewhat similar to the Trailblazer Guild, at least in one aspect - despite their Guild status, they didn’t conduct any dungeon raids. Instead, they focused on scientific research on anything dungeon and Awakened related, and developing new technologies based on their discoveries.

And Lane’s best friend, the A-rank Guide Ava Hill, was one of the top researchers working for this Guild.

Lane parked his car right in front of the main entrance, glancing at the time. It was already quarter past 5. Ava should be out soon.

As he expected, around five minutes later, the automatic glass door opened, and a short woman in her late twenties walked out.

She was almost a perfect embodiment of a scientist. Dressed in long, white coat, her auburn hair tied in a tight ponytail, and glasses with thick round frames resting on her nose. Only her cute face didn’t quite fit the image.

Said cute face, however, was now all clouded over with a frown. The cause of which was most likely the young man, following right after her, as he tried to chat her up.

"...If you prefer Italian, then there’s this restaurant I know, just a few blocks away..."

"I’ve told you I have plans."

"I know, I know, I don’t necessarily mean today. We can also go tomorrow... Or the day after..."

Lane rolled his eyes. Not bothering to open the door, he jumped out of his car - the weather was nice, so he had the roof down - and in just a few steps, approached the pair, embracing Ava from behind.

"Babe! There you are!" He smiled sweetly, squeezing Ava’s shoulders. "What took you so long?"

Ava’s frown instantly relaxed. "Sorry, sorry. I was just talking to someone. Did you wait long?"

"Hmm... I don’t know... Every second without you seems to drag on forever..."

The young man stared at the two of them, struck dumb by Lane’s sudden appearance. "...Is that... Um... Is he... your boyfriend?" he finally muttered.

"What if I am?" Lane rested his chin on the top of Ava’s head, staring at the young man with a smirk.

Of course, there was no such relationship between them. There never had been, and never would.

But Ava was Lane’s girl friend. And the fact that it was all strictly platonic was none of the man’s business. He’d never have a chance with Ava anyway.

"Ah... Well..." The young man looked at Lane, scanning him up and down.

Lane’s clothes were very simple - just plain white polo, slim-fit pale jeans, and white sneakers. All of them were from expensive brands though. Not to mention how good it looked on Lane, with his gorgeous face and great figure... The pink hair was unusual, but it seemed to suit him unbelievably well.

The young man gulped loudly. He was not quite bad himself, but compared to Lane...

And when his eyes moved to the side, to the car Lane jumped out of...

His face immediately went pale, before flushing bright red.

Yup, if Lane was Ava’s boyfriend, then he stood no chance.

"Excuse me! I will be going now!" He bowed his head, quickly making his exit from the scene.

"Pfft!" An amused chuckle escaped Lane’s mouth, and, once the man could no longer see them even if he were to turn back, he released Ava from his arms.

Ava smiled at Lane, getting in the car. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem. New recruit?"

"A client. If he was our employee, then I would have already put him in his place a long time ago."

Lane glanced around, pulling out of his parking spot. "Well, you certainly looked like you were going to do so anyway."

"Yeah, I mean, really, how dumb do you have to be not to get a clue, when I made it clear I am not interested?" Ava let out an exasperated sigh, leaning back in her seat. "I tried to spell it out for him in any way I could without coming across as rude, but it still didn’t work! I don’t have enough patience to deal with idiots! Except for you, of course."

"Well, thanks a lot!" Lane scoffed. "Is he someone important, then? I don’t think I recognize him..."

"He’s a new Esper from the Vermilion Guild. A-rank, but on the upper edge, so they are hoping he will be able to rank up in the near future. His ability is also good, so they’re investing in him quite a lot. They even promised to negotiate with the Association on our behalf, so that we would finally get access to the Restricted Zone."

"They’re not letting you in?"

"Nope. They’re trying to solve it themselves, so that the Awakened Research Institute can finally gain some renown."

"...Idiots."

"Well, what can we do? They are the government, they’re in charge." Ava shrugged her shoulders. "By the way, speaking of ranking up..."

"Yes?" Lane raised his brows, shooting Ava a quick glance.

"...No, never mind. We can just talk about it later, over drinks. Do you have everything at home already?"

"Uh... I’m not sure. I haven’t checked. I just came back today."

"Let’s grab it on the way then."

"’Kay." Lane made a turn, heading to a supermarket. He was still curious about what Ava was trying to say...

...But he forgot all about it in a minute anyway.