The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 23: Have You Lost Your Mind?

Lane stared at Damien in disbelief, struggling to comprehend the situation.

He was caught? Just like that? Because of his guiding?

It was ridiculous! No matter how unique his guiding felt, it was way too far-fetched to assume that he was the only person with guiding like that. It by no means could serve as proof of his identity.

He shuffled around nervously, adjusting his position, before taking a few breaths to calm down. Now was not the time to think about that.

"Team Leader, I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you mean," he said, meeting Damien’s gaze. "What do you mean by ’It’s good to have me back?’ Also, I think you got my name wrong? My name is Murray. Noah Murray."

Damien’s gaze was intense. He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Greene, do you take me for a fool? Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you?"

’Yes, of course?’ A thought ran through Lane’s mind. Out loud though, he just said, "Team Leader, I am really confused. If there was something wrong with my guiding, then I apologize. I am still inexperienced. If you can tell me what I did wrong, then I can try to correct it next time..." freewёbnoνel.com

"What you did wrong?" Damien repeated, his voice carrying a dangerous note. "What you did wrong is that you died."

Lane’s heartbeat quickened. Being pressed against the wall like that, with a handsome and muscular man towering over him, and acting so dominant... It was just so exciting! He had the urge to flip the situation around and make out...

But it was not the time for that. No matter how hot Damien Lennox was, Lane couldn’t afford to get swept away. He had to make sure to properly deny all of the man’s accusations first.

So, he tilted his head, acting confused. "Team Leader, what do you mean by that? I’m clearly still alive."

Damien’s eyes twitched, his frown deepening. "So you won’t admit it? That doesn’t matter. I already know it’s you, Greene."

Lane remained silent for a moment, just looking at Damien with a hesitant expression, as if weighing his words. Eventually, he reluctantly said, "Team Leader, with all due respect, but... Have you lost your mind?"

"D-don’t get me wrong! I don’t mean any offense, it’s just that I’ve heard that it can happen to Espers who don’t get proper guiding... And with the things Team Leader has been saying... Well..."

"Hah!" Damien scoffed, withdrawing a bit, as he brushed back his hair with his hand. Then, with his fingers still entangled in his hair, he glanced back at Lane. "Yeah, I guess I did. I must have lost my mind the moment I allowed you to get closer to me. Even though I knew you were trouble right from the start."

Lane’s head was spinning. Damien was looking way too hot right now. It was as if Lane had just discovered a completely new side of the man. Why was he never like that during that month when Lane had been pursuing him?

But also... How was he supposed to convince Damien that he truly was not ’Evan Greene’, when the man was so bent on believing otherwise? Sure, he was actually right... Still, Lane could never allow him to find out! There was only one person who knew about his possession ability, and it had to remain that way.

Luckily, no matter how convinced Damien was of his identity, he didn’t have any actual proof. As long as Lane dug his heels in and refused to concede, there was nothing he could do.

"Team Leader," Lane said calmly after a moment of silence, putting on a serious expression. "Perhaps we should find you a better Guide soon. It might be that our compatibility is low, or maybe it’s because of my lack of experience, but it seems that my guiding didn’t quite work."

Damien lifted his brows, looking at Lane with incredulity. "Compatibility is low, that’s true... But you seem very experienced to me." His eyes widened slightly, as he remembered something, and he scoffed again. "I guess that explains why your instructor praised your talent so much."

"Team Leader. Are you accusing me of cheating right now?"

"Not cheating." Damien shook his head. "Just lying about your lack of experience. You still used your own abilities to pass the test, so there was no cheating involved."

"Well, I’m glad that Team Leader at least believes me on that. But, there was no lying involved either," Lane let out a heavy sigh. "Either way... I think our Mana stones have been counted by now. Shouldn’t we return to the rest of the team?" He glanced to the side, toward the collection point.

Damien stared at Lane for a while longer, before finally stepping back. "Fine. We will continue this conversation later. I’m not done with you, Greene."

"...My name is Noah Murray, Sir."

There was no answer to that. Damien just walked over to get back their spatial bags, and without any further words - but not without constant glances at Lane, to ensure the man stuck by his side, as if he was afraid Lane might run away - he led the way back to the parking garage.

Lane could finally breathe out with relief. Of course, it was all just temporary - judging by Damien’s attitude, he wouldn’t give up any time soon. It was a complete mess, and not quite the type of mess that Lane would like to have.

One thing was for sure - his life was about to become difficult from now on. He would have to remain a bit more cautious, as not to give Damien anything that might reaffirm his belief. For the first time in a long while, Lane felt somewhat anxious, afraid to be caught - truly caught, with his ability exposed.

But he also couldn’t help but feel a tinge of excitement. The sense of danger gave him an adrenaline kick, which was something that Lane very much enjoyed. And thinking about how Damien was leaning over him, so close they almost touched...

Lane involuntarily licked his lips. The man was always so prudent in the past. Who would have thought he had such an intense side to him? Once again, Lane truly... couldn’t help but desire to make the man go down. Just imagining Damien underneath him, all flushed, breathless, overwhelmed with pleasure, was enough to make him aroused.

Trying to push all those thoughts away, Lane picked up his pickaxe, and stuck the wall with all of his strength. Boring as mining was, perhaps it could at least help him distract himself.