The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 294: Bring Your Boyfriend to Work Day

The door closed behind Section Leader White, leaving Lane, Damien, and Ethan all alone, cramped together in the office. Well, perhaps not exactly ’cramped’ - Damien’s office wasn’t THAT small - but it felt that way. The room that had felt rather pleasant and intimate just a few minutes ago, when Lane was trying to execute his plan of a perfect office romance, was now suddenly suffocating and claustrophobic.

Damien was the first one to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Ethan Wagner, right?" he turned to the unwanted guest. "Welcome to the team. When are you going to start working with us?"

"Starting today. I’ve heard that there’s team training at 9?"

"Yes, that’s correct. Are you going to join us?"

"Yes, of course," Ethan smiled.

But Damien’s face remained serious, with slightly furrowed brows. Not that he was hostile toward the Guide like Lane, it was just that he generally didn’t smile much, so that was his default expression.

"Did you complete any combat training?" he continued his questioning.

Ethan shook his head in response. "Not at the Association, no... But I have received plenty of training back at the Allen Guild, and I have a lot of field experience, having participated in close to 500 raids."

Lane couldn’t help but scoff, rolling his eyes. The number might have sounded impressive... If you didn’t know the raiding method the Allen Guild used! That is, going on plenty of short raids, repeating the same dungeon over and over again. It wasn’t like the smaller Guilds or the Association, which aimed to clear unfamiliar dungeons in one go... Of course, the Allen Guild did it because it was more financially beneficial to them, not because they couldn’t do it any other way...

But that was not the point. The point was that this number was highly inflated, and could translate to maybe a third of proper raids at most!

Damien clearly didn’t know that though, because his frown deepened, as he wasn’t sure whether he had heard it right. "500 raids?"

"The Allen Guild does their raids differently," Lane rushed to explain, before Ethan could try to use his so-called experience to impress Damien. "They’re often just one-day trips, conducted in large teams. Nothing like the raids that you’re familiar with."

Finally, Damien turned his gaze back to Lane, his confusion dissipating. "Ah, alright. So that’s the case."

Ethan’s face instantly turned into a scowl. Did Lane really have to ruin his introduction that way?

Not that it was completely ruined. Even if those were short raids, going on close to 500 of them still showed that he had considerable experience. More than many other members of Damien’s team, including Damien himself.

So, to pacify the newcomer a bit, Damien nodded at him, saying, "It’s still impressive."

Lane was dissatisfied with his words, and Damien knew that, but he would just make it up to him later. For now, Damien had to deal with Ethan... And, assuming that he was a spy sent by the Allen Guild, it was better to maintain a good relationship with him, at least on the surface.

And Ethan seemed to be pleased with his response, bowing his head with a smile. "Thank you."

"Mn. I’m looking forward to working with you."

"Me too!" Ethan approached the desk, reaching his hand to Damien...

There was nothing Damien could do but to stand up to shake it, as it would be impolite to ignore it. He could only hope that Ethan wouldn’t notice his crotch, which was still very much awake...

But he did. The moment Damien stood up from his seat, Ethan’s eyes shot down, as he was waiting for that moment to confirm it. Of course, it was merely a quick glance, before he looked back up at Damien with a polite smile, pretending he didn’t see anything...

Now, if he were a nice, reasonable person, he would have left the office after exchanging greetings, so that Lane and Damien could finish what they had been doing.

Except that he wasn’t so nice. Instead of excusing himself like a considerable person would, he asked, "Team Leader, there’s just over an hour left until the training. Would it be alright for me to wait here?"

Damien exchanged glances with Lane. That really didn’t seem like a good idea...

"Wouldn’t you prefer to wait in the cafeteria?" he suggested. "I’m afraid I don’t have time for you now, as I have a lot of paperwork to complete..."

"Hmm... But I’m not familiar with the Association Headquarters’ layout yet..." Ethan put on a troubled expression. "Unless Lane comes with me? He could show my around... And we could catch up! We haven’t seen each other in so long... Perhaps we should have a little guiding session?"

Damien’s frown deepened, his emerald eyes turning dark. "Lane has to study," he immediately shot the idea down, his voice coming out more forceful than intended."

"Study? For what?" Ethan glanced back at Lane, confused...

Then it suddenly clicked. Lane wasn’t wearing the Association’s uniform!

"Ah. Could it be that he still hasn’t passed his Esper license exams?" he asked, barely holding back a smile.

No one answered him, but there was no need for that. The silence was quite telling.

"What is he doing here, then? Isn’t that against the law?" Ethan lifted his brows. Then, as if he realized that it came out wrong, he rushed to explain himself, "Ah, Team Leader, don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that you would do anything illegal or anything... It’s just I’m a bit confused, that’s all."

Right. As expected of the puppet sound by his parents. Ethan must have received quite a comprehensive training at the Allen Guild... And it wasn’t just combat that they had taught him!

"It’s not illegal," Lane scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Don’t you worry about that. I’m not working, just accompanying Damien."

"Accompanying. What for?"

"It’s the Bring Your Boyfriend to Work Day, didn’t you know?" Lane stretched his lips in a provocative smile, causing Ethan’s brows to shoot even higher.

"Bring Your Boyfriend to Work Day? As in, you’re the supposed boyfriend?" Ethan’s voice was filled with incredulity. "But you said you didn’t date?"

...And Lane’s smile instantly faltered.