The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 289: I Don’t Like Your Sh*tty Guild

"Contract? What contract?" Lane blinked, playing dumb. Since the Allens could do it, he could as well! And he did it much better than his parents, so much so that Miles genuinely thought that Lane was confused.

Well, he had never held Lane’s intelligence in high regard, so it was probably only natural for him.

"Contract with the Allen Guild. I know that you have yet to pass your Esper license exams, but that’s not a problem. We can sign now, so that you can start getting accustomed to how our Guild operates. Then, once you get your license, you can-"

"Well, I’m sorry not sorry, but I believe I have already told you that I had signed a contract with the Awakened Association," Lane interrupted.

Miles’ eyes twitched - whether that was because he was interrupted, or because Lane had signed with the Association before he had told his so-called family about his new rank, Lane wasn’t sure, but probably both - but he still continued calmly, "That’s not a problem. Contracts can be broken."

"But what if I don’t want to break it?" Lane smiled.

Miles paused for a moment, his eyes shifting to Damien. "If it’s because you don’t want to be separated from your boyfriend, then there’s nothing for you to worry about. We can offer contracts to both of you. I assure you that the contract terms will be much more lucrative for you than what the Association could possibly offer..."

"But I don’t want to," Lane interrupted once again, causing Miles’ eyes to twitch harder.

"May I ask why?" he asked, his tone getting colder with every word, barely holding above the freezing point.

"Because I don’t. That’s all," Lane shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, while putting some food on Damien’s plate, clearly caring more about what his boyfriend ate than what his father had to say. "I don’t like you, or your shitty Guild."

Miles was barely holding it in. No matter how composed he normally was, there were limits to how much disrespect he could tolerate. If it wasn’t for the fact that Lane was his son, so generally speaking, people would expect him to be more understanding toward him, and there was an outsider, Damien Lennox, to witness it all, he wouldn’t be willing to take it so quietly.

But the situation was what it was, so Miles picked what seemed to be the most appropriate way of action, trying to reason with Lane.

"Lane, I understand that you may not have the warmest feelings toward our family or our Guild, and you have every right to do so. It’s normal that you feel hurt or discarded, even though it has never been our intention," Miles said. His words would be almost believable, if they weren’t contradicted by his cold expression and the tone of his voice. "But you need to think about it rationally. If you go to the Association, we will no longer be able to support you financially. Are you sure you will be able to maintain a decent way of life with the Association’s meager pay?"

Lane only let out a chuckle in response. "I don’t need your shitty money."

"Are you sure about that?" Miles asked. "If you regret it later, it might be too late..."

"What, is your offer only a one-time thing?" Lane quirked his brow, smirking. "You won’t take your son back, just because he went to work for someone else? Really? How petty is that!"

"That’s not what I meant," Miles quickly corrected himself. "I just wanted to tell you that the Association has higher death rate among their field agents... They don’t have the money to provide their members with decent equipment, and the pay is not good enough for you to invest in yourself either..."

"What, are you wishing me death?"

"Of course not! We’re just worried about you!" Catherine joined in.

But her words, once again, convinced no one. Lane only scoffed, not bothering to argue anymore with such an obvious lie, while the rest of the dinner participants remained silent.

"...Let’s just eat first," Miles said after a while, realizing that the situation had gotten out of control. "The food is getting cold. We can continue the discussion afterwards..."

Damien and Nyla had both let out quiet sighs with relief. They both remained silent through this whole argument, not knowing where or how to interject without escalating things even further... Now, although the tension hanging heavily in the air did not subside, at least it seemed a bit more peaceful with no one talking (or, well, arguing).

But any peace at the dinner table couldn’t last long, especially when Lane was ’home’. And even more so when he had a backup in the form of his caring boyfriend, whose presence made him feel more confident and at ease even in this wretched place. The moment he spotted an opportunity to cause trouble, how could he possibly resist?

Said opportunity came in the form of his mother grabbing her knife to cut the piece of meat on her plate.

"Let me help you with that, mother dearest!" Lane exclaimed, activating one of his abilities, and sending a Wind Blade across the table. It swept through the table, damaging several plates and splattering the food around, leaving a deep scratch on the table’s polished surface, then completely obliterating Catherine’s meat, together with the plate, and finally stopping right at the edge, just inches away from the woman.

"Ooops!" Lane covered his mouth with his hand. "I’m so sorry, mother dearest! It seems I still can’t control my ability well... But you surely understand, and will forgive me for this innocent mistake, right? I’m your only son, and you love me so much, after all..."

Everything went completely silent.

Then, Catherine stood up. She glanced at her dirty dress, but then twisted her mouth in a fake smile, before moving to a different seat. One that didn’t have pieces of food and a plate scattered in front of it.

"Of course," she responded, still trying to play her part. "I’m glad you’re so strong now."