There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Chapter 14. Observation

"Pick me up?" Zein tilted his head in confusion.

Bassena just nodded casually, but his piercing eyes were trained on the hands holding tight to Zein's arm. "We're having dinner in the guest lounge, so come with me," he said, and then added as he felt Zein would refuse. "You need to familiarize yourself with the team to ease our coordination."

His eyes kept staring at Zein's arm, so much so that the petite guide that had been holding into it flinched. The round green eyes glanced at Bassena, and met his sharp, disapproving gaze, which prompted the young man to let go of Zein's arm as if he just touched a hot pan.

The petite guide seemed to be quick-witted, since he immediately retreated behind a desk, grinning sheepishly beneath the mask. An understanding light flashed in his eyes as he looked back and forth between Bassena and Zein. From the look of it, there was a high probability that some kind of rumor would circulate within the Unit after this.

Good, Bassena smiled deeply. Spread it far.

Meanwhile, he could see further confusion inside the pretty blue eyes, the guide's mind churning. It was to be expected, since guides did not usually need to familiarize themselves with a strike team. The espers needed coordination, but the guides' job inside a field was simple; staying back as far as possible from the battlefield, staying alive, and guiding the espers when the time came.

So Zein never thought that there was a need for him to get close to a team that he would only accompany for two weeks, and then never encountered again. He'd met them during the briefing before the expedition anyway.

If it was other guides, like Yath for example, they would spring to their feet immediately. It was an invitation from the Serpent Lord himself after all. The man could just ask someone, even their Captain, to convey the invitation, but he came himself.

Yes, if it was other people, they would take it as an honor to merely be included in the Mortix Group and Trinity Guild dinner meeting, much more being invited directly by the one with the highest rank there. But now, Bassena wanted to laugh, because he could see the blatant reluctance inside the blue eyes.

Well, as expected of someone who rejected him without batting an eye. Rather than making him upset, it felt like a challenge instead.

'What kind of things I must do for my existence to be planted inside his mind?' was what Bassena thinking as he looked at the pondering guide.

"Do I have to? Can't I refuse?"

How many times did the man intend to reject him? Bassena narrowed his eyes in amusement. "No," he smiled. He wasn't upset, but that didn't mean Bassena would just let the guide keep shoving him off. Just the fact that he tolerated this much was actually a miracle. If Han Shin was here, he would give Bassena a strange look all afternoon.

"Why not?"

"Because you sign the contract," Bassena smiled. Patient. A feisty prey shouldn't be attacked before it lowered its guard.

Surprisingly, that reasoning seemed to work. Just like the Captain told him, Guide Zen was an introvert who kept to himself, but he was impeccably professional, even if his license was a fake one. He never refused to guide espers, even if he had a personal conflict with them. Conversely, if it had nothing to do with his job, he would give zero interest.

After Bassena mentioned the contract, he could hear the man sighing in resignation. It was quite rude, honestly, but Bassena was in a good mood since he found the glowing mirage he'd been seeking for years, so he let it slide.

"Can I finish my session first?" he asked, looking straight at Bassena. There were still two espers left, who had been standing awkwardly near the wall, while also staring at Bassena in amazement.

"Sure.

"I'll head to the lounge after this, so you can leave...first?" Zein raised his brow when Bassena, instead of leaving, was heading to the bed and sat there, facing the guiding chair. "What are you doing?"

"I'll just wait," Bassena shrugged, and then added with a smile. "I'll observe. It's part of my assessment duty as the team leader."

He did not lie. As a vice guildmaster, it was part of his duty to assess potential guild members, and he absolutely must bring the man to Trinity. He might be here for the expedition, but his second mission was scouting. And no, it wasn't just his selfish desire to hog the guide for himself—well, only about 80%. But if Zein's ability was still as miraculous as when he guided Bassena four years ago, their guildmaster had ordered immediate recruitment.

And Bassena was sure that Zein was still as good.

Since borderland was a place with high miasmic activity, it was easy for espers to accumulate corrosion, and the one scheduled for guiding was generally the one who reached orange-level already, including the last two espers. That was why the guide's rotation here was high to avoid guide's burn-out, since each guide had to exert themselves that much more.

But Zein, as usual, did the guiding calmly, almost with no effort. He just grabbed the esper's hand and had a fast, precise, effective guiding. Granted, they were just 2-star espers, but the speed was still astounding, even in Bassena's highly selective eyes. He couldn't help the curling of his lips as he observed the barely changed expression inside the blue eyes. He also noted that Zein's eye color would turn lighter in the process, glowing slightly.

It was exactly like how Bassena remembered; the glowing mirage inside the dim cave. He had spent a lot of money tracking the guide, and only managed to find the man after four years. Even then, he needed to see Zein with his own eyes to make sure, which, due to impatient, prompted him to immediately dash for the man's location.

He remembered everything; the smell of petrichor and sorrow, the sense of pure magic energy that weirdly emanated from the guide's neck...they helped his heightened sense to pinpoint Zein's location, and when Bassena found him...

He didn't even need to see the man's face.

Zein's height, figure, and smell were still the same. And when Bassena looked into the deep blue eyes, the slight rumbling inside his chest told him that there was no mistake; he had found 'his' guide.

Because Zein would be his guide. Bassena would make it happen.