There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Chapter 13. Arrangement

Bassena narrowed his eyes in irritation. What, someone else knew 'his' guide? He shot a murderous look at the sharpshooter girl, but Han Shin slapped a palm to cover his eyes.

"I'm going to tell Radia if you act like this!" the healer whispered threateningly in Bassena's ear. It was one thing reprimanding Mortix's business representative. But antagonizing a guild member just because she knew Bassena's 'prey' would be crossing a line.

Bassena flicked Shin's hand from his face, and focused his gaze on Zein instead, who tilted his head with blank eyes. Realizing that Zein didn't seem to recognize the girl put Bassena in a better mood. Fine, so the man was indeed bad at remembering others' faces. His wounded pride about not being recognized earlier was recovering a little bit.

"You know me?" the soothing, low voice from the guide was so weird within the borderland's environment. It was enough to make the other espers raise their brow.

At that, Sierra smiled awkwardly. "O-oh, I guess you don't remember. Right, we only met briefly after all," she laughed, ears slightly reddened from embarrassment. "I still remember you though, it's hard forgetting about that event—you know, the red-zone outbreak in Area 14..." her voice trailed at the sudden change on the guide's face. A deep frown and loathful eyes, where the blue seemed to dim, darker.

She immediately remembered that Zein was a local of that area, and his family members had perished there. With a flustered gasp, she clasped her hands over her mouth and bowed her head to apologize profusely, eliciting questioning looks from the others.

"Oh, oh God, I'm sorry for—I'm sorry!" she scolded herself inwardly. She was so excited to see Zein unexpectedly, the guide whose guiding she could never forget. It wasn't just because of the quality of the guiding, but also because the timing was so crucial for her survival at that time. That excitement made her speak first without thinking, and now she regretted it greatly.

If she was to be hated by her savior, and the guide that would handle her for the next two weeks...

Within Sierra's heartbreak, however, were Bassena's curious gaze and Zein's indifference. The guide was immediately turning his head toward the Captain, ignoring the flustered sharpshooter.

"You call for me?" he asked curtly, like usual.

Agni was secretly disappointed that the drama was over, but he also understood that it seemed to be a sensitive topic for Zein. "A commission for you and Ron," the Captain waved his hand toward the espers gathered there. "A research expedition with a team from Mortix. I supposed you know where to."

"The Blackfield," Zein nodded. People on the borderland prefer to call the Deathzone 'Blackfield' because calling it 'Death'-zone was just depressing for the people who had to see it every day.

"You'll be tagging alone as their guide."

Zein looked around the room, before looking at the Captain again. "Two 5-stars, four 4-stars, one 3-star. Is that all?"

"No, the Miss here won't go, so only three 4-stars. You'll be alone."

"How long?"

"Maximum of two weeks. Daily pay. Gear provided."

"Departure?"

"Dawn at the 16th."

"Okay."

"Good. Do you want to read the contract?"

It was a concise, swift process between veteran esper and guide, with no bullshit or glib. The team from Mortix and Trinity could only blink their eyes as the guide read the contract paper that Naomi gave with a dazed mind. After he put his signature, the blue eyes scrutinized the team once, before asking.

"Will there be pre-cleansing before we go in?" he looked at Ron first, who, like any other borderland dwellers, needed frequent guiding.

Pre-cleansing was the term for a thorough guiding before a strike team moved for a campaign, to make sure the espers were in maximum condition with minimal corrosion level. The best condition would be to put every esper on the green level. At the very least yellow.

"I certainly need one," Ron nodded. He was at an orange already, but guiding in the borderland was an affair of queueing between the scarce guides, so he'd been patiently waiting for Zein's sentry duty to be over today.

"Oh, we already received guiding before making the journey here, so we're mostly good," Han Shin smiled, before adding while glancing at Bassena. "Mostly."

The Serpent Lord, as expected, was smiling in affirmation. "I'll take that pre-cleansing. When will it be?"

"Tomorrow," Zein's answer was short as usual. "I have a shift tonight."

"Wait!" Naomi, who finally snapped out of her daze, looked at Zein with a frown. "You'll still guiding people tonight?"

"Yes, we're quite busy here,"

"But...with tonight...and tomorrow...will you be able to function on the 16th if you guide Mr. Vaski before then?" Naomi turned her head to face the Captain.

She might have no choice but to concede on the guide, but making the guide work consecutively before the mission was taking it too far. "Captain Agni!" she scowled at the Captain. How could she trust the guide's capacity after two days of cleansing? Would this guide even have the ability to walk after pre-cleansing a 4-star and a Saint-class in such a short amount of time?

"Yes, I'll be fine," Zein answered her while walking towards the door. "I digest quickly."

And with that, he was gone, before Naomi could even make any dubious retort. "Wha—" she could only look at the Captain, who was grinning with a shrug.

"We recommend him because you're looking for the best, Miss, and he's the best." the Captain looked at the closed door with a smile. "Tomorrow you can see why, in case you still have a doubt."

* * *

Zein almost wanted to laugh when the esper in business attire asked about his ability to function after pre-cleansing. It wasn't to mock the woman though, since it was a perfectly sound concern.

It was just that rather than worrying about his capacity would be full, Zein was more worried he wouldn't have enough energy to be saved for the expedition. He wanted to be in full power before they stepped into the Deathzone, so he would want to keep guiding until he could at least have the power to punch someone like Bassena Vaski once.

Not that he really wanted to—it was just that the man looked at him with a greedy gaze that reminded him of those espers who had tried to violate him in the past.

Too much work? Zein would chase any contaminated espers and 'eat' their corrosion to fill his energy tank. There was no telling of what could happen in the Deathzone, and Zein was always in a principle of never leaving one's protection in another's hand. When a battle occurred in a treacherous land like the Deathzone, there was no guarantee that the espers would have enough attention span to protect him.

After all, he was just a guide of the borderland, and they were a group of elites from the Capital. Surely their priority would be among themselves when it came to safety.

Also, these espers that lined up on the guiding stand would whine endlessly if he didn't show up tonight. The Chief Guide had warned him this morning. It was always crowded around the time when the miasma accumulated, and keeping watch on the area that spanned a few kilometers was hard work that consume a lot of skills that aggravated corrosion. Also, these people mostly waited for Zein's shift to get his guiding, like a patient waiting for their favorite doctor.

Still, when he arrived at the guiding room, there were more people than he thought, even espers that he already guided a few days ago, and still on a safe level. He did want a lot of magic energy, but doing dozens of people in one shift would still sap his stamina and mental energy.

"Zenzeeen! Is it true? Is it true?" whilst Zen was still confused with the situation, he was being tackled by a petite young man in his early twenties that looked more like a boy, with only round, bright green eyes could be seen.

"What is?" Zein frowned, peeling himself from the man that didn't look like he belonged to the borderland, and scoured the list of espers that actually registered for treatment tonight.