The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 262: Be Careful

"Oh, and."

Just as they had finished exchanging their numbers and Nyla was about to leave, Lane spoke again, causing her to stop at the door.

"Yes?"

"That deal you made with our parents earlier..." Lane tapped his fingers on the edge of the desk. "Have you already completed it? Whatever they’ve asked you to do in return."

"...No, not yet."

"Then... Perhaps it’d be best for you to either get over it as soon as possible, in the next week or two, or try to drag it on as much as possible, depending on how bad it is. Because there... will be some changes soon."

"What changes?" Nyla asked with concern, but Lane only shook his head.

"I can’t tell you that."

"Oh... Okay."

"Just try to be careful," Lane sighed, giving her the last piece of advice.

There wasn’t much he could do for her now, aside from giving her a warning, since he had no idea what her deal with the Allens was. He couldn’t tell her that he was going to end his deal either, even mentioning that there would be ’changes’ was already a bit much...

After all, he still couldn’t exactly trust her. If she mentioned anything to their parents, they might pay more attention to all of Lane’s movements, including his upcoming trip abroad... Which could potentially lead to Diana’s location being discovered. Not immediately, the location was still very much hidden, and Lane would be taking a lot of precautions for that upcoming visit, but it would still be better not to give the Allens any clues at all...

But it didn’t feel right to let Nyla go without mentioning anything at all. One of the reasons why Lane was trying to meet her so urgently was to find out what agreement she had made with the Allens when he was still trapped in the mansion, so that she wouldn’t suffer for helping him. After all, if she had asked their parents to let him leave, and then a month later Lane broke their over a decade long deal... Well, things could get unpleasant for her.

Now that their ’chat’ was over, Nyla gave Lane one last glance, before she opened the door and left. She still had her equipment to pick up, and the whole thing had already took longer than expected... And while the Allens weren’t observing her every move, and no one would really notice if she stayed at ManaTech a bit longer than she should, it was still better to remain cautious. Especially if they ever wanted to have such a secret meet-up again.

Lane was left alone in the room, still sitting on the desk. Preoccupied with his thoughts, he just took a strawberry lollipop out of his spatial bag and popped it in his mouth, leaning against the wall, his feet resting on top of the desk...

Until ten or so minutes later, the door opened again. Ava stepped in, looking first at the hole in the wall, then at the broken chair next to it, then at the damaged desk, and finally at Lane. She inhaled slowly, and then heaved a heavy, loud sigh, covering her eyes with her hand.

"I will pay for the damages," Lane said nonchalantly, rolling the lollipop with his tongue.

"Of course you will." Ava was not amused. But, at least it was just a normal meeting room and not a lab, so it wasn’t all that bad. Not that she wasn’t annoyed - it was still her workplace, and she was the one to set it all up for Lane, so technically she was responsible for it - but she was already mentally prepared for trouble the moment she had agreed to it.

"Just tell me how it went," she sighed again.

"Well... Alright I guess." Lane shrugged his shoulders. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"Does that mean you made up?"

"Hmm."

’Made up’ was probably saying too much. All those years, the silence, the misunderstandings, the distance that grew... At this point, the time they’ve been apart was much longer that the time when they had been close. The chasm between them was too great to be crossed with one short conversation, even if they were to be completely honest with each other, let alone when they both had still kept so many secrets...

But it was the first step made toward potential reconciliation, you could say. Whether there would be a next one... That remained to be seen.

"Are we going to get in trouble for kidnapping the heiress, then?" Not getting any answer, Ava asked next, but Lane only chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, we’ll be good... I think."

"Well, okay then."

"...That’s it?" Lane lifted his brows.

"What else do you want me to say? Congratulations on getting away with it?"

"No, it’s just... I thought you would be more concerned?"

"Why would I be?" Ava quirked her brows, giving Lane a quizzical gaze. "I thought you said we would be fine?"

"Yes, but... Don’t you find her suspicious at all?"

Ava just shrugged her shoulders. "Not really. I’ve always thought she wouldn’t do anything that could harm you in any way."

"And why’s that?"

"...Just my intuition, you could say." Ava picked up the sad pieces of broken pens - and those were not any ordinary pens, but ManaTech pens, made with some materials of dungeon origin, much sturdier. What a waste, tsk - and tossed them in the trash. Then she took another glance at the wall and the chair, but decided she couldn’t be bothered with it, and would leave it for whoever came to deal with this little sibling heart-to-heart’s aftermath.

But Lane’s eyes were still following her expectantly, so she eventually admitted, although a bit reluctantly, "She used to ask you every now and then when we bumped into each other and she was alone, you know?"

"She asked about me? What did she ask?"

"Nothing much... Just how are you doing, and so on..."

Lane paused.

Well, that... didn’t really mean anything. She might have done it when they were alone, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t done on the Allens’ orders... Still,

"Why didn’t you ever tell me about that?"

"What for? You’re already thinking about how that must have been what your parents told her to do, aren’t you?" Ava just rolled her eyes, correctly guessing Lane’s thoughts.

But it really could have been. What the actual intentions behind Nyla’s questions were, that was something only she would know...