There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Chapter 59. Mudfield Muse

"My muse!"

The young woman shouted energetically, pausing the movement of all the people there and prompting them to look toward the entrance. Zein could practically see stars in her grey eyes as she stared at him excitedly.

"Oh, you look even better in person!" she almost squealed as she gripped Zein’s hands tightly, jumping up and down to look at him better, eyes traveling from head to toe. "Mmh~such perfect proportion..."

"Uhh..."

Zein didn’t easily get flustered, but he felt flustered now. Or rather, he was at a loss. Who was this woman? Why did she act as if she knew him?

At least she let go of his hand soon and stepped back to observe Zein more. "Ah—you even wear my clothes!" she exclaimed joyfully, clapping her hands, and suddenly Zein realized who this mystery woman was.

"Are you...Han Shin’s fiancée?" Zein asked, remembering how Shin took a lot of his pictures before, even telling him to make poses.

Han Shin had told him that the one who made the combat outfit he wore now was his fiancée.

She gasped and closed her mouth with her hand, giggling slightly. "Oh, forgive me, I should introduce myself first," she stepped back and curtsied elegantly, as if her excited state earlier was a lie. "This one is called Reina Ashbe, Creative Director of SavAsh."

But then, without even giving Zein comprehension time, the elegant gesture disappeared again, and her fervent glittering eyes were back. She held her hands together as if praying, staring at Zein keenly. "Aah~to finally see Mister Zein in the flesh...it gives me tons of inspiration already..." she muttered with a sigh.

Hmm, yeah...Zein could definitely see her as Han Shin’s partner. Their energy seemed to mesh well.

And then she suddenly let out a questionable chuckle, fingers wriggling suspiciously. "Fu fu fu...now I’ll finally get your exact measurement...heheh—augh!"

"Stop acting like a pervert,"

Reina grasped her forehead with pursed lips, glaring at the owner of the finger that flicked her just now. Even without looking, Zein knew it was Bassena who appeared suddenly. Reina glared at the man and whined in protest.

"How can you hit a lady?!"

"You’re not a lady, you’re a pervert," Bassena smirked, putting his arm around Zein’s shoulder. "Stop drooling and do your job."

"Tsk—if you’re not our brand ambassador..." she clicked her tongue at Bassena, and Zein felt almost as if it was Han Shin that was there instead of his fiancée. Did they bond over bickering with Bassena or something? Right after pursing her lips at the esper, she shifted her gaze to Zein and smiled sweetly. "Please wait a little bit, Mister Zein—ah, can you take your outer off while we’re getting ready?"

She waved a little and moved back to her team, which had been watching them in amusement.

"Is she your childhood friend too?" Zein asked, shrugging the arm on his shoulder.

"We’re in the academy together, but she decided not to be an active esper," Bassena walked to the only couch in the small conference hall that had been turned into a dressing room. "Well, she has to inherit the company, anyway."

People might awaken their power as espers and guides, but chose not to use their power nor get a license. They chose to live as civilians, or get a special license to use their power in a matter unrelated to sentinel business. After all, not every awakened had a calling to be the world’s guardian, and had other responsibilities to carry, like managing the world’s economy or keeping the government running.

Although there were also some exceptions.

"The Guildmaster—"

"Radia is just born different," Bassena shrugged, and then shifted his gaze to the other guide who had been watching their interaction with a smile. "Hey, Hertz."

"I was planning to stay, but I don’t think my presence is needed anymore," the guide curled his eyes, looking at Zein who was unzipping his jacket, and Bassena who reached out his hand to take said jacket readily, as if it was the most natural thing to do.

Such an interesting scenery. Top-tier gossip material.

"Why? You can stay and play hooky for a bit," Bassena grinned, taking the black jacket and flung it onto his shoulder.

"I need to get Zein’s badge and bank book from HR,"

"Heh—you act like his assistant," Bassena chuckled. "Can’t you just get it after this? It’s not like the owner has any use for them before this is over. Why don’t you get measured too while at it?"

Abel tilted his head. "Me?" and then he frowned, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "As I thought, it’ll be different, huh? The new division’s uniform..."

Bassena just smiled deeply without saying anything, and Abel sighed at that. "I’m getting terrified at the training regime every second," he muttered as he sat down beside the chuckling esper.

"It’s not like we expect someone like Zein, but you should get the feel after spending time with him," Bassena cocked his head at the tall guide that was being gawked upon by SavAsh’s designers now. "How hard the blackfield is."

Abel did not give any reply, a sign that he understood what Bassena meant. At any rate, if they were already scared of Zein’s vibe, they wouldn’t survive the Deathzone. They sat in silence while watching Zein being measured and interviewed by the energetic designer. _{freeweɓnøvel.com}

"What kind of clothes do you like?"

"The one that covers my skin."

"Mm, mm, preferred colors?"

"Something inconspicuous."

"Of course! Do you like something fit or oversize?"

"Doesn’t matter."

"Fabrics?"

"The comfortable ones."

"Something that easy to move in, right? I know it..."

That kind of q&a session was being held while the staff took Zein’s measurement diligently and the boss nodded energetically while jotting down every answer.

"Does this have anything to do with the uniform making?" Zein asked finally, getting more and more suspicious of the question.

"Nope!" Reina just answered easily with a wide smile. "But it will allow me to create better design now that I have my muse’s information," she added cheerfully, clutching her notebook with zeal.

That word again...Zein tilted his head. "What’s a muse?"

"Hmm? Aah...it just means you’re my source of inspiration," she answered with a wide grin.

"...for?"

"For my design of course!" she smacked her chest proudly. "I’ve been churning out a lot of ideas ever since Shin sent me your pictures. Mmm...it’s almost three months ago, right?" she rubbed her chin while counting the time, and then clapped her hands. "Ah, right! I forgot to tell you, but I’m going to send you the clothes I made. Mm...it’s quite a lot, so just let the courier bring it to your floor, okay?"

Zein blinked at the barrage of words, and then at an unexpected gift dump. "...why?"

"Huh? What do you mean why?" she tilted her head, as if Zein was just making a nonsensical, confusing remark. "I made those while thinking of you, so, of course, I want you to wear them!"

"Huh..." Zein was actually asking about why would this woman use him as a source of inspiration when they hadn’t even met before. But he was too confused to even had a leeway of making a coherent remark.

"Ah, hmm...but as I thought...you’re more suited to fall/winter collection, don’t you think so?" Reina continued, again with her sharp, observing eyes that looked at Zein up and down. She turned her head at her staff, who nodded their head affirmatively. "Ugh...my fingers are tingling~"

She made those wriggling moves again, which made Zein take a half step back. "I’ll send you those too, so you better wear them, okay~"

"That’s..."

"Ah, that’s good," Abel, who was having fun watching Zein got flustered, suddenly clapped his hands. "People wouldn’t get too scared of him if he dressed more casually,"