The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 301: More and More Troublesome

It was already past 11 PM when they finally returned to the Association Headquarters. Which wasn’t that late, all things considered - after all, with the number of dungeons they had to inspect, it might have taken a few more hours had there been any delays - but it FELT late, at least to Damien.

Because Lane still hasn’t answered any of the messages.

He stared at the screen for a moment, his brows deeply furrowed, before eventually turning off the screen, and stuffing his phone back in his pocket. Then, he turned to his team.

"That’s all for today, thank you for your hard work," he said with a light nod. "See you tomorrow at 11 AM."

There were only four low-ranking Gates scheduled for the next day, all in the same area, so they could afford to start later. Or, at least his subordinates could - Damien naturally would be back at the Headquarters early in the morning to do some paperwork that he had piled up! Unless there was something wrong with Lane, of course - none of the paperwork was that urgent, fortunately, so he could afford to deal with his personal issues first, if necessary...

Well, he should find out what was going on soon. He took the car keys from Hallie, and quickly headed to the office to return them. Just this, and he would finally be able to go home...

"Team Leader, wait for me!" Ethan called after him, rushing to catch up.

Damien gave him a quick glance. He really didn’t want to deal with the man now...

But, he was a Team Leader, and Ethan was one of his subordinates. Thus, with his expression serious and stern as always, he asked politely, "Wagner. Is there anything you need?"

"Ah, Team Leader. I just wanted to ask if you have seen tomorrow’s schedule?"

...Tomorrow’s schedule?

"We have four low-ranking dungeons," he informed. "One belonging to the Association, while three to the Groundbreaker Guild..."

"Ah, no, no, that’s not what I’m talking about," Ethan shook his head with a smile. "The morning schedule!"

"...The morning schedule?"

"So Team Leader hasn’t seen it yet," Ethan nodded his head. "Then that’s a good thing that I have followed you. We have a matching rate test in the morning!"

"...What?" Damien paused in his steps. He quickly reached for his phone, unlocking it to check his schedule...

Indeed, there was a new update. He had a compatibility test scheduled with Ethan at 9:30 in the morning.

...Now that was getting more and more troublesome.

"There’s no need for that. I already have a Main Guide," he said, clicking on the entry to cancel it. Unfortunately, his ’canceling’ it was only a REQUEST - it had to be processed by the testing department before it was truly canceled.

And something told Damien that it wouldn’t go so smoothly...

Not to mention, there was no legitimate reason for him to avoid the matching rate tests. His current Main Guide was Eloise, who was an A-rank Guide with an 81% matching rate with Damien. Which was a great compatibility, of course...

However, just because it was great, it didn’t mean there couldn’t be better. Since there was an S-rank Guide currently available, and on his team, at that, it was only natural they would be tested together. And even if the matching rate was lower, considering their ranks, there was about a 50% chance Ethan might become his new Main Guide, at least for as long as he was at the Association...

Lane wasn’t going to like it, when he heard about it.

Of course, that also meant that there was a 50% chance that their compatibility would be too low and they wouldn’t be paired up, so perhaps there was no need to worry so much in advance...

For now, Damien just nodded at Ethan. "Thank you for letting me know. You should go back home and rest now."

"My pleasure. See you tomorrow, Team Leader!" Ethan smiled, and finally walked away, waving goodbye. freewebnσvel.cøm

Left alone, Damien quickly returned the key, and rushed back home.

The apartment was dark and empty when he arrived. He checked every room and bathroom, but there was no trace of Lane anywhere. All that he found were Lane’s laptop and notes abandoned at the coffee table in the living room, and a broken controller on the sofa...

There were no signs of struggle, or of anyone else’s presence though. Nothing that might suggest that Lane left in a rush. The lunch and snacks that Damien had left for Damien were gone, so Lane either had them at home, or took them with him wherever he went...

Could it be that he was upstairs? Technically Lane still lived in the apartment above Damien, even though he was rarely there, at least when Damien was at home. All of the toiletries he used occupied space in Damien’s bathroom, and even some of his clothes were kept in Damien’s closet - only SOME of them, though, as Lane liked stealing Damien’s clothes when they were at home. Thus, he rarely even went upstairs to grab anything...

But once again, that was when Damien was at home. He didn’t know what the man was up to when left alone.

Either way, it wouldn’t hurt to check. He left his apartment, got back in the elevator, and went to the upper floor. It looked exactly like the one his apartment was on, with only the elevator, the door to the staircase, and one apartment door, of the apartment number 210. Feeling a bit nervous for some reason, as if he was stepping onto an unfamiliar territory, Damien approached the door, and rang the bell...

But there was no answer. He tried once, twice, thrice...

Nothing.

His eyes fell on the PIN pad on the door. He slowly reached his hand...

Then, just as his fingers almost reached the clean, black, glossy surface, he shook his head, and took a step back. He didn’t know Lane’s PIN, and he shouldn’t even attempt to guess. Since Lane had never told him, that meant Damien shouldn’t just enter on his own.

Even if Lane always came to his apartment whenever he wanted, without ever asking first. Not that Damien ever asked him to stop - he liked having Lane around, after all.

He let out a sigh, and pulled out his phone, trying to dial Lane’s number, but he only reached the automatic secretary again...

Should he try contacting the Allens? No, perhaps that wasn’t a good idea... If they had nothing to do with Lane’s disappearance, that would only backfire. And Damien didn’t have Nyla or Ava’s numbers...

...Perhaps he should check other spots in their apartment building, then? And if that didn’t work... Then he’d have no choice but to wait...