The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 482: A Quiet Spot

Chapter 482: A Quiet Spot
Lane was wrong about one thing. And that was, that his absence wouldn’t be noticed.
Damien’s sisters might not have noticed, as they simply thought that he had gone to hang out with someone else after washing his hands.
The rest of his team might not have noticed, as they came to a similar conclusion. It wasn’t like Lane ever spent that much time with them in the first place - he might have gotten along with pretty much anyone (with rare exceptions, such as Clara or Ethan), but he wasn’t close with any of them. So, even though they noticed that Lane wasn’t with them, they didn’t think much of it. The ballroom was large, and there were a lot of people there. Anyone could get lost in the crowd, even Lane with his pink hair.
But even if no one else noticed, Damien would. He might have been busy talking with delegations from other countries, but he was still on alert. And when Clara ed to him about their encounter with the Allens, he instantly started actively searching for his boyfriend.
It didn’t take long for him to realize that Lane had never returned to the ballroom.
Ping!
A new notification popped up on Lane’s phone. He was about to swipe it away and return to reading the files, but he paused the moment he noticed what it was.
A message from Damien.
[Where are you?]
Lane hesitated for a moment. Damien surely was busy with whatever the higher-ups were making him do. There was no reason to disturb him and take him away from his duties because of something so minor.
Then again, ignoring the message would most likely only make Damien even more worried and unable to focus on the tasks. With that in mind, Lane quickly typed back, [I was bored, so I stepped out for a while], before returning to his reading.
Which... wasn’t going too well. He wasn’t even halfway through, and he already had a lot of points marked. There were just too many opportunities for the Allens to take action, and Lane didn’t even know what approach they would take... Would they act themselves (or, more likely, use other family members, like Gracie or Gia, for example), or would they choose to keep the whole family as far away from the incident as possible? They could do it by using some of their most trusted Guild members to do the dirty work for them... Or even by manipulating ordinary Guild members to do it. The latter was a less likely option, as the ordinary members couldn’t possibly be in the know. And if they didn’t know that they were supposed to eliminate Lane, there was a higher chance they might end up acting differently than the Allens wanted them to...
Still, the possibility couldn’t be entirely discarded. Perhaps the Allens would be willing to take the gamble. Not to mention, if they were to put the members under hypnosis... As far as Lane was aware, there were no Espers with a hypnosis ability in the Allen Guild, but his information could be inaccurate. It was best to assume that the Allens had some hidden trump cards that he wasn’t aware of, so that-
Rrrring! Rrrring! Rrriing!
Lane’s phone vibrated with an incoming call, interrupting his ’work’.
It was, of course, Damien again.
Lane stared at the screen for a moment, before picking up the call.
"Yes?"
"Where are you?" Damien’s voice on the other end of the line asked.
"Still in the hotel. I just found myself a quiet spot to scroll on my phone. I’ll be back later..."
"This ’quiet spot’ of yours, where is it?"
"Eh? Why? Do you want to join me? Let me just warn you, it might be quiet, but it’s still fairly out in the open. Personally, I don’t mind, but if you want a quick number..."
Tap, tap, tap.
Lane paused, instinctively going quiet, as a familiar sound of footsteps reached his ears, echoing around the empty corridor.
He had no idea why he suddenly went silent. He had no reason to hide, not from Damien. The wound on his hand was fully healed and the blood wiped, so there was no issue at all... Not that Lane would have to hide if it were, it was just a matter of making Damien worried, that’s all.
"Lane? Are you still there?"
"Uh..." Lane bit his lip, hesitating. "Yeah, well..."
Should he let Damien know where he was, or should he just tell him to go back to his duties, and that he would ’be there soon’? Not that Lane was against seeing Damien right now or anything, but if he were to meet him, Damien would most likely drag Lane back to the ballroom, and Lane still had more reading to do. As out of character as it might have seemed, it was important for him to be prepared, so as to avoid his cover being blown...
In the end, though, the decision was made for him. The moment he answered, Damien heard his voice, not only in his phone’s speaker, but also coming from further down the corridor. His footsteps quickly approached, and in no time at all he found Lane, lounging on the windowsill.
"Ah, hey. You’ve got- Umph!"
Lane didn’t finish speaking, because as soon as he reached him, Damien pulled him into a tight embrace, practically squashing Lane’s face into his chest.
Lane blinked, completely taken aback, his lashes struggling to move from being firmly pressed against Damien’s body. "Umm... Whas goin on?" he asked, his words muted as he spoke into his boyfriend’s uniform.
"I’ve heard you’ve met... your parents."
"Ah."
So Damien’s sisters had already ed it to Damien. Well, Lane wasn’t exactly surprised that they had, he just didn’t expect it to happen so fast.
Did that incident really warrant an instant intervention? It’s not like they had made a big scene or anything. Lane had just accidentally smashed one glass, exchanged a few words, and Catherine used her ability on him unnecessarily. That’s all. It wasn’t a big deal or anything...
"Are you alright?"
...Ah.
Lane let out a sigh, wrapping his arms around Damien’s back, as he inhaled the man’s scent.
So what if it wasn’t a big deal? If Damien wanted to console him, there was no reason for Lane to reject his efforts. Although he was alright and all, as he was already used to it, Damien’s warmth and the concern in his voice felt... nice.
"Mmn..." he hummed, rubbing his face against his boyfriend’s chest. "I’m much better now..."