The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]

Lane unconsciously paused in his steps as he spotted the familiar figure.

It's been a month since he last saw the man, and although he didn't come to the Association for him… Well, Damien Lennox was incredibly handsome. How could Lane resist taking another look?

But what attracted his attention perhaps even more than Damien's good looks, was the state the man was in. His hair was slightly messy, with a good few strands falling out of place. His collar was uneven, and the belt on his coat was a bit loose. One of the buttons on his cuff was undone.

Of course, those were just some minor things. If it was someone else, it wouldn't be worth noting. But it was Damien Lennox. The man was always perfectly put together, down to the tiniest detail, as if his life depended on it. Lane observed him closely in the past when trying to seduce him, so he could attest to that.

If it was right after a fight in a dungeon, then alright, that would be understandable. But Damien was leaving the office, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry - probably just going back home after handling some casual affairs or something. In such circumstances, his… 'disorderly' attire was highly unusual.

Not to mention that his face was kind of pale, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

Was he injured or something? Or overworked?

"Noah?"

Lane shook his head, pushing the thoughts away. "Coming, coming!" he called out, and followed after Theo, passing Damien by.

Whatever happened to Damien, it was no concern of his.

…But, despite thinking so, he couldn't get the man out of his head.

It was simply too curious.

After all, Damien was an S-ranker. Some minor injuries or a heavy workload shouldn't affect him much. S-ranking Espers could spend days fighting in dungeons with little to no rest - as long as they received enough guiding, of course. Even A-rankers were able to handle this much. So, no matter how much work the Association wanted to dump on his shoulders, Damien should be just fine.

Was the guiding the problem then? But that shouldn't be the case either. Even if the Association lost a lot of their Guides, they could always request help from the freelancers. As long as it took place in a safe environment, the Guides had no reason to refuse. And an S-rank Esper such as Damien would be the first priority for the guiding, as the consequences if he were to go on a rampage would be grave.

Then did something happen to his family, perhaps? Lane didn't know much about Damien's private life - he was only interested in a sexual affair, thus he always avoided any personal topics so as to not form any deeper emotional connection - but he saw a family photo in Damien's office before. Since it was placed on his desk, it was likely that Damien cared for his family. If something were to happen to any of them, it could explain the man being distressed…

The thought that Damien's state could have anything to do with him hasn't even crossed Lane's mind. After all, they didn't know each other all that long, and they weren't in a relationship or anything. They merely shared a few kisses during guiding sessions.

Lane wasn't even Damien's main Guide. Although their ranks were close enough, their compatibility was way too low - a meager 21%. Under any normal circumstances, they would never be paired up for guiding. It was only because Lane coaxed Damien into it, under the pretext of 'training purposes', that they started having guiding sessions together.

As for Lane dying in Damien's arms on the battlefield… In this line of work, it wasn't anything unusual. If one couldn't deal with losing their comrades, then there was no future for them in the field. As a Team Leader and an S-ranker, Damien should have already had similar experiences under his belt. So, even if he was sad about all the deaths, he shouldn't be THIS affected by it after a month had already passed…

"…You can take your hand away now."

Ah.

Damien's weary face was still on Lane's mind as he followed Theo, filling out the initial questionnaire, and even when he entered the rank assessment room. It hardly required any of his attention - he completed all the tasks mindlessly, out of habit.

Up to the point of measuring his energy levels.

…Which resulted in Lane releasing all the guiding ability he plundered through his past possessions.

And, as expected, a moment later he heard a loud gasp.

"Congratulations! You're an A-rank! Just one step away from an S-rank! With a bit of experience, you might be able to advance!"

Shit.

Lane couldn't help but swear inwardly. He initially wanted to pose as a B-ranker this time - it was high enough to receive good work opportunities, but at the same time not high enough to attract much attention. Exactly what Lane needed, especially after acting as an A-ranker last time.

Still, at least it was lucky enough that it was just guiding. His abilities as an Esper were incomparably higher, so a mistake like that during testing would be far more troublesome. 

A-rankers were relatively rare, but not enough to make the news. S-rankers, on the other hand, were announced publicly, with all the media outlets trying to interview them once they appeared. For Lane, that would be quite an inconvenience.

Regardless, what was done was done. There was no point cursing his carelessness now, so instead, Lane put on an expression of total disbelief. 

"An… A-rank? Me?" He shook his head, as if trying to process it. "Is that… Is that true? There… Could there be any mistake?"

The woman from the Association conducting the testing smiled at him brightly, her face practically beaming with excitement. "No, Sir, it's the newest testing machine with almost perfect accuracy! You're an A-ranker without a doubt!"

"Congratulations, that's so awesome!" Theo joined in. "With such a result, you can do practically whatever you want!"

"Th-thank you." Lane lowered his head bashfully. He would have liked to blush on top of that, but unfortunately, natural responses like that were hard to fake.

Still, his act was convincing enough, and no one noticed anything odd.

"Now, let's move on. I'm sure you might need some time to fully process it, but there are a few more things we need to take care of," the woman continued. "I will submit your data now, and your registration should be completed within two working days. You will receive an email with your login information soon, so that you can check the progress of your application online."

"Before you can start working as a Guide, however, you will need to complete our compulsory Basic Guide Training. It lasts a week if you're doing it full-time, or three weeks for an evening course. The next available training is…" she paused, typing something on her computer, "starting next Monday for the full-time option. Would you like to sign up for that?"

"Yes, please."

The sooner, the better. It's not like Lane had anything better to do, now that he was possessing Noah.

"Alright. And have you given any thought to your future career yet? Our Association offers-"

"I think it might be a bit too early to discuss that?" Theo cut in, trying to save Lane from the Association's clutches. "He had only just awakened…"

Lane, however, ignored the young man's efforts, and smiled at the woman. "I've been wanting to join the Association, actually…"

"Huh?" Theo's eyes widened, as he glanced at Lane in shock. Had he not heard what he told him back in the car?

But, seeing the shy, yet determined look on the newbie Guide's face, he had no choice but to let out a heavy sigh and shut up.

The Guide Union was there to protect the Guides' rights and give them a free choice in the path they wanted to take. But if a Guide wanted to seek their own death… Then what right did they have to stop them?

The Union was meant to save the Guides from others, not from themselves.

Thus, Theo had no choice but to watch helplessly as their newest member sold his life away.