The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 247: Boyfriend or Burglar?

It was already past midnight when Lane had finally returned from his little dungeon trip. He parked his car in the garage, and went to the 122nd floor first - his own apartment, that is. Although he had taken off the muddy and bloody clothes back in the park already, not wanting to dirty his car, the scent still clung to him. You’d think that such heavy rain would wash it off right away, but no. Somehow it sank right into his skin, so much so that even the cashier at the convenience shop eyed him suspiciously as he rang Lane’s things.

Thus, a shower was very much needed before snuggling up to Damien.

Of course, Lane could shower at Damien’s place - it’s not like his dungeon escapade was a secret - but since it was so late, Damien was likely already asleep. So, in order not to make too much noise, it was better for Lane to clean up in his own apartment, then leave the milk and cereal he bought for breakfast in Damien’s kitchen (milk and cereal, because Lane was so culinary incapable that he didn’t even know how to shop for ingredients to prepare anything else), and then just quietly sneak into Damien’s bed.

Seemed like a perfect plan.

He stepped out onto his balcony around half an hour later, with the milk and the cereal box in his hand, wearing only a pair of boxer briefs, his pastel pink hair still a bit damp... And he jumped.

From the 122nd floor...

To the 121st.

It was just his personal, invisible staircase, connecting the two apartments into one place! Much better than using the elevator. It didn’t matter if Damien’s balcony door was locked, since it wasn’t anything Lane couldn’t solve with a little twist of his hand!

As expected, the lights were already off. Damien had to get up to work in the morning, after all, there was no reason for him to wait for Lane when they hadn’t made any plans. Quietly, as not to disturb Damien’s sleep - they haven’t spent the night together enough times yet for Lane to know whether Damien was a light sleeper or not - Lane opened the glass door and stepped inside...

And just a second later, he found himself dodging an unexpected attack.

"Just what the hell..."

"Hmm?" Clara furrowed her brows. "Oh, that’s you. I thought it was a burglar."

"A burglar? We’re on the 121st floor!" Lane pointed out in a hushed whisper.

"...Exactly. So how come you’re coming from the balcony? You most certainly weren’t there before!"

"Well, I live a floor above."

"So?"

"I jumped down," Lane explained calmly.

"We’re on the 121st floor!"

"Exactly."

For a moment, Clara just stared at him blankly. She felt as if they were speaking in different languages, that sounded oddly similar, but meant something completely different, which was why they couldn’t quite communicate well. Or as if they were from different worlds, so their perception of reality also differed!

But she knew that neither of these theories made any sense, thus she took a more plausible guess, "Are you an Esper?"

"Well... Yeah," Lane shrugged his shoulders. He was already registered as an Esper, so she could tell her that much.

That wouldn’t satisfy Clara though, and so she pressed, "What’s your ability?"

"Minding my own business."

"...What?"

"Just what you’ve heard," Lane rolled his eyes, and bypassed the woman to get to the kitchen. He needed to put the milk in the fridge, and then he wanted to climb into Damien’s bed and slide under the blanket, as he was a bit chilly, walking around half-naked.

"What I was asking you about was... Ugh." All of a sudden, Clara paused, looking Lane up and down with displeasure. She was too disturbed by the manner in which the man entered to pay attention to it, but his state of undress finally registered in her mind now. "Why are you walking around like that?" she asked with disgust.

"Why shouldn’t I?"

"It’s not your place. You gave this apartment to Damien, remember? Or... are you going to say it’s not really his?" Clara smirked, as if she had just caught Lane on lying to her brother.

But no.

"Yes, it’s not mine any longer... But it’s my boyfriend’s," Lane grinned. "We’re VERY INTIMATE with each other, you know. We’ve seen each other NAKED plenty of times, so that much is nothing..."

Something boiled within Clara. It was her brother they were talking about! She really didn’t want to hear about things like that... She wasn’t going to back out so easily, though, and give Lane the satisfaction!

"So what?" she scoffed, crossing her arms on her chest. "It doesn’t change the fact that it’s not your place, so you should be mindful! What if Damien wants to have some guests?"

"Why would he be having guests now, at night, when he’s already asleep?"

"You are coming here, so isn’t that a stupid question?"

"But I’m not a guest, I’m his boyfriend."

"And I’m his sister!" Clara was breathing hard, barely holding it in. "So what if I want to stay the night? Besides, this apartment is so large, maybe I should just move in!"

"...Are you sure you want to do that?" Lane lifted his brows with a smirk. "The walls are not soundproofed..."

"What? So... Ugh." Once again, Clara’s face twisted with disgust. Still, she persisted, "Then what are all those rooms for, if no one can move in?"

...And she came to regret asking that question a moment later, when Lane answered, "They’re just spares, so we won’t have to go far in case the bed breaks!"

It was just... terrible. That guy was terrible! Lookwise, he was good enough for her brother, and his willingness to spend money on Damien was also okay, but on every other front, he was completely unacceptable! Well, Clara didn’t actually know him long enough to assess him in every aspect, but what he had seen so far was more than enough to cross him out in her book!

"Go break your own beds if you want to, but this is my brother’s place now, show some restraint!"

"Hah, and what makes you think your brother doesn’t like it?"

"Damien would never-!"

All of a sudden, the door opened and the lights turned on, enlightening this ridiculous scene.

"Both of you, enough of that," Damien sighed.