The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 263: Holiday Trip

There was absolutely no reaction from the Allens, so it seemed that they did not find out about that little ’kidnapping’ incident that happened to Nyla at ManaTech. Lane only had to pay for the damages, and everything was settled. The following days passed in peace (if you ignore the influx of emails with too many questions Lane had received from his subordinates)...

Until finally, it was time for Lane and Damien to depart on their ’holiday’ trip abroad.

For a change, Lane was actually packed on time. Not on his own accord, of course... It was all thanks to Damien, who urged him to pack the evening before, even going as far as doing at least half of the job for him. Despite Lane’s assurance that there was no need to worry so much, as if they were missing anything, they would just buy it in county E when they arrived, Damien made sure they had enough clothes packed, with first shirt, socks and underwear for every day, plus one extra, just in case. Everything neatly folded and arranged in the suitcases.

Lane was rather amused, but didn’t object.

And the next day, late in the morning, they arrived at the airport. The very same one from which they had both departed earlier that year, when going to the summit.

Lane parked his car, and they made their way to the terminals, their suitcases conveniently hidden in Lane’s spatial bag. Damien was a member of the Association, after all, so he was allowed to bring one! All they had to do was to switch up at the gates, and there wouldn’t be any problems.

It was kind of funny, to come here as ’Lane Allen’ together with Damien. The last time he had been here was when Damien still didn’t know - or at least wasn’t sure - about Lane’s true identity, and...

"Are you going to crawl behind the chairs again this time?"

"H-huh?" Lane almost flinched, looking at Damien with disbelief. Damien’s face seemed to be completely serious, with a slight frown as always, but his words... Was he teasing Lane?

"Ahem, well," Lane cleared his throat. "I haven’t dropped anything this time..."

"And there’s no one you have to hide from?"

"Huh?" Lane’s eyes widened. Damien really was teasing him, wasn’t he? Cause there was no way that he was seriously asking that. Still, since his face was serious, the answer Lane gave him also was. "So far, not."

"Hmm." Damien hummed. Then, his eyes fell on one of the signboards, and a flash of recognition passed through his eyes. He glanced back at Lane, before suggesting, "There’s still a lot of time left. Should we grab some coffee?"

"Hmm? Yeah, sure..." Not sensing any trap, Lane simply agreed. It was only when they stepped inside that the realization hit him.

The place... Looked familiar. Wasn’t it the same coffee shop in which he tried to hide from Damien back then, and failed?

Before he could say anything, Damien was already at the register, ordering the drinks. "What do you want?" he asked Lane. "Last time you said that their caramel frappuccino was too sweet, and you liked their flat white better, right?"

...He remembered it that well? Now that Damien mentioned it, Lane could also vaguely recall that there had been something like that... He seemed to have lied about the drinks to hide his preference for sweets, as he was worried that it would give Damien another hint about his true identity... But as to what drinks they had, he couldn’t remember for the life of him.

It was almost scary how well Damien remembered it all. Good thing Lane no longer had to hide his preferences or identity!

"Well? Flat white, then?" Damien asked again.

"...Are you still angry at me?"

Damien paused for a moment, hesitating, but eventually admitted, "A bit."

Well, that was to be expected. It was still a miracle that it was only ’a bit’, rather than Damien not willing to forgive Lane at all. Even if Lane had his reasons, the amount of lies he had told and the confusion he must have caused, when Damien didn’t know quite what to believe him, could have very well been enough to destroy plenty of relationships, especially one like theirs, that was still only in a bud, yet to truly develop.

Honestly, it was hard to tell whether Damien was smart or foolish. Perhaps both.

Seeing Lane so consternated, not quite knowing what to do, Damien let out a sigh. "Come on, at this rate, you won’t have time to finish your drink. What would you like? Caramel frappuccino?"

With the topic getting dropped - at least for now - Lane immediately relaxed. "Ah, that sounds good," he said, stepping forward. "Let’s just make it..." His eyes scanned the menu hanging on the wall, "With six extra pumps of caramel, four of chocolate, four of vanilla, then maybe double chocolate chips, and..."

The barista’s eyes were growing bigger with each word as he listened to the order. Was that guy in front of him trying to meet his monthly recommended intake of sugar in one drink or something? He glanced at the other man, who put through a completely normal order, but he didn’t seem to be surprised, not in the slightest. As if his partner didn’t just order liquid sugar in an extra-large cup, with a mountain made out of whipped cream rising from the top!

But, his job was to serve drinks, not to worry about the customers’ questionable dietary choices, so he made the coffee (if it could still even be called that) as per the request, even if he almost got diabetes just smelling it. He just hoped that the customer wouldn’t come to him to argue, demanding his money back, once he realized how disgusting the drink he had asked for actually was...

But the barista was up for an even bigger shock, when not only did the pink-haired man not come back, but he even finished the whole drink... And seemed to enjoy every sip of it?!

Well, different people had different preferences... And it wasn’t the barista’s problem if that customer later ended up suffering from a sugar crash. By then, the two men would probably be on the plane, and couldn’t blame him for that!

What the barista didn’t know, was that there was no way Lane would ever experience a sugar crash. His body was more than used to handling that!