The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 270: Something’s Wrong

When Damien woke up again, they were already near the border, parked in the same place as before. His blindfold was already long taken off, and there was only Lane, leaning over him, his grey eyes focused on observing his condition, as he waited for Damien to fully come back to his senses.

And once Damien’s green eyes became fully clear again, he pulled back, saying, "Should we grab something to eat? I’m starving!"

"...Alright." Damien nodded his head in agreement, but his eyes were focused fully on Lane’s face. He was observing him carefully as they walked toward one of the restaurants, then as they put their order through, and he was still observing when the food was served and they started eating. And Lane undoubtedly felt Damien’s gaze on him, even though he acted as if he didn’t.

There was still something very much off about how Lane behaved. He was clearly burdened by a lot of things, but there was a bit more to it. Damien felt as if he had just seen a completely different, unknown version of Lane. It wasn’t as obvious now, but back in the dungeon, if it wasn’t for the fact that Damien could sense that Lane’s wavelengths were exactly the same, he might have suspected that his boyfriend had been switched!

That’s not to say that this version of Lane was necessarily bad. He was just a bit more... timid, obedient, and withdrawn, cautious about his words and actions... Things that Damien would have never thought could be used to describe Lane on any other day. Perhaps that’s why he felt that something was wrong? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something about this whole situation rubbed him the wrong way.

It wasn’t something he could speak carelessly about, though. Not when he knew how important Diana was to Lane, and how big of a role she played in his life. Helping him get to where he was now, at least in terms of getting away from the Allens.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to touch on the subject at all. He waited until they were back at the hotel, all washed up, and he even allowed Lane to do him twice so that the man could let out some steam and relax (at least that was the reason for the first round. The second... Damien just went along with it without any thought or excuse, other than his own desire)...

And once they were laying in bed after the second shower, Lane snuggling up to him with his head on Damien’s chest, Damien finally spoke up again. "So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?"

"Hmm?" Lane immediately tensed up. "What do you mean ’what’s wrong’, nothing’s wrong!"

Who was he trying to fool?

"I can tell that you’re not alright. Are you... feeling guilty? About lying?" Damien tried guessing. Although he was fairly certain that wasn’t it - or at least, not ALL of it - he needed somewhere to start. A more concrete question, that could push Lane a bit so that he would open up.

"This... Well, I guess," Lane just admitted with a light shrug.

Seeing how casual it was, Damien was now sure that it wasn’t the main problem, but he went along with it for now. "Then why didn’t you tell her the truth?"

"It’s just..." Lane pressed his lips, hesitating. "I will tell her. Eventually. Once I deliver the Allens’ heads to her."

"...Their heads?"

"Well, not literally. Probably. I don’t know."

"Is that really all?" Damien pressed.

Lane lay silent for a while longer, before finally, he let out a sigh. He let go of Damien and rolled onto his back, resting his head on his arms. "Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never... really thought all that deep about it. Maybe it’s because I want to surprise her... Or maybe I like that she has no expectations of me. And I’m afraid that if she found out that I’m actually powerful, she would start to expect more of me. And our relationship would become more profit-oriented..."

Damien observed Lane, just listening in silence.

Did Diana truly have no expectations toward Lane? Damien didn’t know much about how things were between them, aside from the time when Lane was fifteen. That was all that he had, that one story, and then their short interaction in the dungeon earlier, where Damien couldn’t do anything but listen, he couldn’t even see Diana’s face. And said interaction seemed earnest, with Diana putting a lot of trust in Lane, and not questioning him about anything he didn’t want to say... Then, expressing her congratulations, which sounded genuine.

In other words, nothing to worry about.

Still, for some reason, Damien couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

However, since he himself had no idea where said feeling came from, it was hard to explain that to Lane, so he just asked instead, "And what did the two of you talk about after I left?"

"Oh, well..." Lane visibly tensed up again, his brows furrowing. "Nothing much... She just gave me some advice. About my ability, future opportunities... Oh, and the Allens! We talked about the Allens, yeah. Since we had that issue with the deal, and we are going to end the deal completely now, we had a few things to discuss."

"Hmm, is that so?" Damien’s eyes scanned Lane’s face carefully, but it didn’t seem he was completely dishonest... Only that he was clearly hiding something. A lot of things. "And did you manage to figure out how to handle that?"

"Well, more or less. She promised to send them a message that should shut them up."

That was another thing that bothered Damien. What did Diana have on the Allens that forced them to listen to her demands? It seemed unlikely that it was just ’I’m a powerful SS-ranker that could destroy your mansion’, because such a threat seemed hardly threatening to a family as powerful as the Allens... At least basing on Damien’s understanding of them.

Then again, perhaps Lane was just omitting things again. And that was understandable, those were the Allen family’s secrets, there was no need for Damien to know it all. Or maybe Lane didn’t even know it himself.

But there was one final thing. Something that he couldn’t help but notice, but he was the most reluctant to touch, as it was likely the reason behind his blindfold...

Damien tossed and turned in his mind, trying to decide whether to bring it up or not, not knowing how Lane might react... In the end, though, he already knew. It was done. So, he slowly asked,

"And how... is your grandmother’s health?"