The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 268: A Word, in Private

Just as they finished their conversation and were about to leave, Diana called out to Lane.

"Lane, a word, please. In private."

Lane gulped loudly, all the nervousness that had been growing in him ever since they had crossed the border finally reaching its peak. Still, it wasn’t something he could dodge, so he tapped Damien’s shoulder, whispering, "Wait for me for a bit."

Then, he turned to the maid at the door, "Please take him to the room we were in earlier."

"Yes, of course." The maid bowed, and holding the blindfolded Damien by the arm, she led him out of the garden.

Diana waited until the door had closed, and the steps grew distant, before she spoke, "The Association, hmm? Why are you joining them?"

But of course she would ask that.

"Uh... I thought I might be able to spy on them?" Lane suggested, but Diana only quirked her brows.

"Don’t you already have spies in the Association?"

So Lane did.

"Rather than wasting your time on something like that..." Diana paused for a moment, and let out a long sigh, shaking her head. "I don’t mean to put any pressure on you, but don’t you think it’s a pointless endeavor? You’re an A-ranker now, you can do much better."

Of course she would think that.

Not that Lane’s opinion was any different. He wouldn’t have even considered that, if it wasn’t for Damien.

"Perhaps it’s because you’re not used to your ability yet, so you don’t fully realize how great it is. But you should really think it through," Diana tried to advise him next. "Don’t lock yourself in such a miserable position just because of some outside influences, or fleeting emotions..."

"I don’t mean to discourage you. It’s just that, based on what you have always said, you don’t seem to agree with the Association’s policies... The ban on any unauthorized use of abilities, monitoring all the guiding, to name a few. Not to mention... we are still far from taking down the Allens, aren’t we?"

Indeed they were. Although they were making progress, they still had a long way to go. There was now a new variable - Nyla, who might be able to help weaken the Allens - but Lane just pushed it to the side for now. He wasn’t hoping for anything besides her stepping out and not taking part in the fight that was upcoming... someday, for sure.

"That organization operating from Forbidden Zone No. 74 seemed to have made a lot of progress on the Manaforming goal, hasn’t it?" Diana brought up the secret organization next. "I’ve heard there are four Restricted Zones in the Capital now. That must be because of their efforts with the Fertilizer, right?"

...It was mostly Lane’s effort. Well, apart from two of those Restricted Zones, which were created due to two high-ranking Gates going undiscovered for way too long. Still, Lane was the one who ran around, going on boring inspections just to plant the Fertilizer...

However, even though he was the one who should receive the most credit for it, he suddenly found that he didn’t mind letting his work go unnoticed. For some reason, he wasn’t proud of what he had done, not at all. Even though he still agreed with their end goals...

As Lane was battling with his own conflicting thoughts, Diana continued, "So you should consider joining them. You have only been financing them until now, because of your low rank, but as you are now an A-ranker, everything is different. You can move to the Forbidden Zone, and join their ranks. Perhaps even become their leader, with your ability and all your contributions so far, I believe you would be able to achieve that. Then, you could lead them to take the next steps toward our goals..."

...Right.

"I’ll... give it a thought," Lane nodded his head, holding back a sigh.

"Of course. Remember, it’s all ultimately up to you. Think about what you want to do. For yourself." Diana smiled, brushing her wild grey hair from her face with her hand.

Her very fake hand.

Diana sighed, turning to the side, staring into the distance, her eyes full of reminiscence. "Ah, to be able to fly so freely in the sky..."

She sighed again, recalling her former glory. The aerial acrobatics Lane had presented a moment ago were nice, but they still couldn’t compare to what she could do, a decade ago, riding on her wind...

A lonely petal drifted softly on the wind, slowly falling down and settling on the terrace not far away from Diana’s rocking chair, and catching her attention. She lifted her hand, and with a small wave of her fingers, she conjured a gentle breeze, picking it up...

"Uh!" A spasm of pain passed through her whole body, causing her to abruptly drop the petal, as her whole face contorted terribly.

"Ah, be careful!" Lane jumped to her side. Lost in his thought, he hadn’t even realized what Diana was doing, not until it was too late and the damage had been done.

But Diana lifted her hand, stopping him, even though her face was deathly pale, and her whole body trembling. "It’s fine, I’m fine, I was just trying something for a bit... Alas, it seems that I am still hopeless..."

"That’s..."

"If only I could get some proper experts to take a look at my condition..."

Lane paused, pressing his lips together, his hands freezing just a few inches away from the woman. He wanted to say something, to reassure Diana, or to promise her he would help...

But he couldn’t. Any words of consolation would be empty, as he himself wouldn’t believe in them, knowing all well how he would feel if he had lost his abilities - or if his body wasn’t able to handle them any longer, as was in Diana’s case. As for any promises...

They would be just as empty. Lane couldn’t bring any experts, not as long as the Allens remained a powerhouse. It was just too risky. They would have to kidnap them and then kill them or keep them under a lock, and it wouldn’t be easy with top experts, not even for Lane. There was just too much attention on them. As for anyone lesser known, they would be hardly any help - they had already tried that, and all they achieved was to get Diana better prosthetics, and the devices that managed her Mana flow so that she wouldn’t go on a rampage, destroying everything - and herself - until she ran out of life force.

The only way to help Diana... was to destroy the Allens first.