The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 288: Congratulations

The Allens suffered yet another shock. They probably hadn’t experienced so many (unpleasant) surprises in many years, at least not in such a short span of time. They all went silent for a minute again...

But still recovered quickly.

"So you’re an E-ranker now. Or D-ranker, is it? With such a rank, you still won’t have any good career prospects as an Esper," Miles said in a composed, almost dismissive voice, off-handedly offending all low-rankers working hard in the Awakened field.

"Haha, I see you have a lot of faith in my potential, as always," Lane let out a mirthless chuckle, leaning back in his seat, while swirling a fork in his hand. "Well, I’ll have to surprise you there. I have been retested not long ago, and I’m a solid A-rank now."

Miles, Catherine, and Cyrus all furrowed their brows, as if they were in sync, their eyes focused on Lane as they tried to figure out whether the man was just lying to mess around, or if he was actually being serious. Meanwhile, Nyla stared at her brother with her eyes wide, also in shock, but a more hopeful one. As her whole attention was on Lane, she didn’t even notice when her fork slipped out of her hand...

But it never hit the floor, stopping in mid-air. Not because of her telekinesis... But rather because of Lane’s. He managed to catch it before it disappeared from his view. And now, before anyone could react, he had shot from his seat, and jumped over the table, making flips in the air, and landed softly next to Nyla, slowing his descent with Sky Step. He then grabbed the fork, still hanging in the air, and handed it back to his sister.

"Here, you dropped it," he said with a smile, winking at the woman.

"You... Have telekinesis?" Miles asked, trying to maintain his composure, even when his cold voice was practically dripping with disbelief.

"Not telekinesis. Air manipulation," Lane explained, as he returned to his seat. By walking in the air above the table. "It’s different. I can hold some objects in the air for a while... But my ability works more in a way that I can solidify air. Such as creating temporary invisible shields, sending air blades to attack, or creating a path in the air to walk on, as you have just seen."

"...I see," Miles said, his grey eyes shifting around, restless, as he quickly reevaluated everything in his head. The tone of his voice sounded completely different that before when he finally spoke again, "Congratulations. Well done. As expected of my son."

To which Lane only rolled his eyes. Wasn’t ’as expected’ supposed to suggest that the person had already predicted something a while ago, and wasn’t surprised by the outcome?

Naturally, Miles was also aware of the incongruity of his words, but that didn’t stop him from continuing, "I’m really happy for you. It must have been hard for you all those years, being a part of a family of high-rankers while being powerless yourself. Now you can finally join our Guild and be introduced to the public! When would you like to make your debut?"

Lane couldn’t help but scoff in response. "Funny that you want to introduce me now, after hiding me for years!"

Miles’ face grew somber. Well, at least as somber as it could get, considering his limited expression range. "Lane, you’re all grown-up now. Surely you must understand. All that we did was for your sake... To protect you." He glanced at Catherine, signaling her to play the part of a worried mother next.

And Catherine, being Miles’ wife and his business and raid partner for over three decades now, naturally picked up on his clue with ease. He twisted her face to display emotions appropriate for the situation, and joined in, "It’s just as your father says. With your F-rank, you were practically powerless, you wouldn’t be able to defend yourself! If people knew about you, someone might try to use you against us. What would we do if something happened to you?"

Lane rolled his eyes again. Really, whom was this show supposed to be for? Because he wasn’t buying it, Damien wasn’t buying it, neither did Nyla, and even the servants who stepped back in to clean the plates with the appetizers - which were still mostly full, but no one was touching them anyway, and it was already time to serve the main course - weren’t buying it!

Miles and Catherine weren’t the best actors, they could only hide their emotions (if they even had any in the first place), but not display them. Not to mention the fact that their words completely contradicted their earlier attitude! They might have tried to treat Lane better than usual because of Damien’s presence, but anyone could tell that they didn’t care about him in the slightest. Well, at least not in any positive way. More like a broken, rotting piece of furniture that they couldn’t wait to have removed.

"Right," Lane chuckled coldly. "Wouldn’t that be a shame. What if some sort of monster got to me when I got thrown into an active dungeon with no equipment, save for two daggers of questionable quality?"

It sounded oddly specific. So specific that it made Miles’ and Catherine’s eyes twitch, as they could tell exactly what he was referring to. But they chose to play dumb, as Miles nodded his head and said, "It’s good that you understand."

The servants cluttered around, bringing in the plates filled with a variety of freshly cooked dishes, all prepared by the professional chef working exclusively for the Allen family. It had to be said that they did an amazing job, especially considering the short notice, forcing them to change the normal (for the Allens’ standards) dinner into a feast for their unexpected guest.

...Too bad most of those dishes would suffer similar fate to the unfortunate appetizers, as no one at the table displayed much of a desire to eat. But the servants would probably treat themselves, so perhaps it wouldn’t all just go to waste. Not like Lane cared much, but Damien did, clearly uncomfortable as he stared at this excess of food.

The servants soon left again, not wanting to stay in that tense atmosphere any longer than they had to. Miles waited until the door closed behind them, before speaking again.

"Shall we discuss the contract details, then?"