The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 300: The Fight Has Only Just Begun

Meanwhile, somewhere in another dungeon...

Damien released the button, staring at the screen of the measuring device.

0.000023%. Far below the upper acceptable limit of 0.005%. Which meant that everything was in the norm. There was no Mana fluctuation inside the dungeon, and the Gate wasn’t at the risk of reactivating anytime soon.

He lifted his head, throwing a quick glance at the rest of his team. Everyone was calm and somewhat bored, just pressing the buttons and noting down the results. They must have gotten acceptable measurements as well.

All of a sudden, he paused, as his eyes met Ethan’s. The Guide was standing just a few feet away from Damien with a measuring device in his hands. He curved his lips in a smile when their gazes came across each other...

Damien gave him a light, polite nod. "How is everything going? Do you have any problems?"

"No, not at all," Ethan shook his head. "Thank you for your concern, Team Leader!"

"...Mn." Damien nodded at him once again, and turned away.

It was hard to say whether Lane’s suspicions regarding Ethan’s intentions were unwarranted or not. So far, the man had been quietly helping out with the inspections, measuring Mana fluctuation without asking any unnecessary questions, or causing any disruptions. In fact, he was perfectly well-behaved. Quite unlike Lane, who liked to cause mayhem and trouble at any opportunity he could possibly find!

But at the same time, he stuck close to Damien at all times. Not to mention, looked at him and smiled frequently. It actually made Damien a bit uncomfortable... However, since Ethan hadn’t done anything wrong - it’s not like looking at his Team Leader was against the regulations! - Damien couldn’t exactly scold him for that. Not when the man was diligently fulfilling his duties.

The only thing he could do was to sigh quietly, and let it go. It was best not to let himself be provoked, and carry on as normal. Luckily, Damien didn’t lack the patience to endure any discomforts, so he just focused on the job, and treated Ethan as he would any other new member of the team.

The inspections were going smoothly, and soon enough, they were done measuring Mana fluctuations in that dungeon, having checked all the points marked on the map. With this, they should be over halfway done with their schedule for the day...

"Let’s take a break," Damien announced, as they stepped out of the Gate, and he glanced at the time. It was almost 5 PM, a good time for dinner. "We’ll meet here in forty minutes."

They were ahead of schedule, so they could afford to take a nice break. On top of that, the Gate they had just left was right next to a shopping mall, so the members of his team could go to the food court to grab something warm to eat, if they chose to.

As for Damien, he naturally wasn’t going to waste his money like that. He had a lunch box he had brought from home, with a healthy, nutritious, yet cheap meal he had prepared for himself the evening before. The weather was great, with only thin wisps of white clouds slowly passing through the blue sky, perfect for staying outside. Thus, he headed to the small green space nearby, taking a seat by one of the picnic tables...

Instead of taking out his lunch box, though, the first thing he did was to check his phone. He had messaged Lane after every dungeon his team had inspected...

But there was still no answer. The messages weren’t even marked as read. In fact, it seemed they haven’t even been delivered!

Damien furrowed his brows, staring at the screen. Did Lane perhaps turn off his phone because he was sulking? It wasn’t entirely impossible, but...

He pressed the ’call’ button, dialing his number.

However, just after one signal, the automatic voice answered, "The number you are trying to call is currently not available. Please try again later."

...Could it be that something happened? There wasn’t any dungeon break around, if there was, Damien would have already received an alert on his phone... The Allens, then? Since Ethan is on his team now, they probably know his schedule, and most likely they also have heard that Lane still hasn’t passed his license exams...

"Team Leader, you’re not eating?"

All of a sudden, a voice came from his side. Damien lifted his head, to see Ethan standing right next to him, smiling.

"I will in a moment," Damien answered, holding back a sigh, and slid the phone back in his pocket. Whatever was going on, it’s not like he could rush to look for Lane, he was at work, with the spy from the Allen Guild right by his side. He could only reassure himself that even if Lane was in trouble, he was unlikely to be in any real danger. For now, Damien should carry on, wrap up his work as soon as he could, and then go back home.

So, he took out his lunch box from his spatial bag, and started eating.

"Team Leader, do you mind if I join you?" Ethan asked.

Even though he had already taken a seat.

Damien barely spared him a glance, before nodding his head. "Go on."

It’s not like he had any reason to refuse. Lane probably wouldn’t like it, but Damien believed it was best to be cautiously polite toward the Guide. It would be far easier to pacify his unreasonable boyfriend, than to deal with whatever the Allens might do if he showed them any sign of weakness.

Ethan also took his food, a store-bought lunch. He glanced at his meal, then at Damien’s, and sighed, "Team Leader’s lunch box looks so nice... I wish I could have one like that as well..."

"...I can give you the recipe, if you want," Damien answered calmly.

"Ah, but that wouldn’t be the same. I’d much rather receive one made by Team Leader himself!"

Damien paused, with his fork stabbed into a piece of carrot. He looked up, meeting Ethan’s gaze... The man was looking straight at him, leaning over the table, with a wide, suggestive smile plastered all over his face.

Naturally, Damien wasn’t so dense that he wouldn’t understand what Ethan was doing. It seemed that Lane was right, after all...

...It was going to be such a headache.

"I’m sorry, but I’m afraid it’s not possible. I don’t have a habit of preparing meals for my subordinates," he said firmly.

"Can’t you make an exception?" Ethan winked. "I promise I won’t tell anyone!"

"It’s not whether you tell someone or not."

Ethan stared at Damien for a while. It seemed that he still had more things to say...

In the end, though, he only let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "What a pity... I would really want to try Team Leader’s cooking..."

Damien ignored this pitiful act, only advising, "You should eat your food now, or you won’t have enough time to finish it."

There was still more than enough time before the end of the break, and they both knew it, but Ethan didn’t point that out. It was only the second day, it wouldn’t do him any good to push Damien too far... He needed to take things carefully, so that the man couldn’t shoot him down!

The fight had only just begun.