There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 238 - 231. A New Personal Growth

Chapter 238: Chapter 231. A New Personal Growth

"Ah, I’m not sure they’d agree, though," Zein added.

"The reason?"

Rina leaned forward to look at Zein and Bassena better, and Lex knew she was probably expecting the reason to be something drama-worthy.

"As I said--because they are the current Landlord," the guide answered easily, much to Rina’s disappointment. She had expected something akin to ’preventing a love triangle’, most likely. "But I’ll still try to negotiate in person."

"Alright," Radia nodded then, and they continued the meeting to further detail the follow-up plan regarding the competition with Celestia, as well as their annual recruitment schedule.

But all Bassena could think about after the meeting ended was how Zein wanted to go to the red-zone, and it gave him anxiety.

"Why? Are you worried about me meeting Zach?" Zein asked once they were in Bassena’s office.

"That’s not it," the esper’s pursed his lips as Zein smirked teasingly. "I just...I want to go with you."

"Why?" Zein took a seat on the couch and beckoned the esper to sit with him.

Bassena, instead of the couch, preferred to sit down on the floor to lean against the guide’s legs. "I want to see the place where you grew up."

Zein tilted his head, thinking about the destroyed house, the suffocating air, and the dry ground. "What’s there to look? It’s not a nice place."

"But it’s a major part of your life," Bassena tilted his head back against the guide’s knee. "I want to know everything about it," he glanced at Zein; "About you."

"Hmm..." Zein didn’t reply much, but there was a subtle smile on his face, and he stroked the esper’s jaw gently. He knew there was something Bassena did not say; that he wanted to make sure Zein did not fall down into the void again from some triggering memories.

It was sweet, and adorable, and made Zein lean down to kiss the esper’s crown. Bassena blinked at this sudden tenderness, heart racing and tingling. But the sensation didn’t last long, thanks to Zein’s next remark.

"But you have to stay here, don’t you?"

Bassena groaned. Zein’s planned schedule of going to Araka, which was right after the guide’s recruitment, fell on the days when the esper’s recruitment process was at its peak. As the vice-guildmaster overseeing the Esper Department, Bassena’s presence was imperative.

Zein chuckled, scratching the frustrated esper’s jaw as he rested his chin on the top of Bassena’s head. "We can go together next time," he said in consolation. He was rather proud that Bassena did not throw a tantrum and chose to accompany him over the job he had to do. Zein wouldn’t like it if Bassena chose to neglect his professionalism just for him. So he felt like he had to at least coddle the younger man. "I still have to check the orphanage from time to time, don’t you think?"

"Mm..." Bassena pressed his lips; he felt happy, of course, but it didn’t make his worry gone.

"I have your earring too, don’t worry too much," Zein said with a chuckle, prompting Bassena to flinch. "I’m not going to go back to that state anymore. It might be painful, but I’m not going to blame myself for it, so you don’t have to worry."

The amber eyes looked up sheepishly, as if saying ’So you realized?’. So he just muttered awkwardly; "It’s...your earring..."

"Fine, it’s my earring," Zein tapped the esper’s cheek. "There’s the ring from Azure too--"

"Ugh!" Bassena groaned again.

As if purposefully teasing him, Azure Sky’s twin guildmasters, as per their guide’s request, adamantly sent Zein a gift in the end. Bassena had told them to send something that shouldn’t have to be attached to Zein’s body, but the two clearly did not listen.

No--they listened, and purposely picked something that had to be worn for it to be effective; a ring. Based on Rina’s testimony, the twins were the kind that got motivated by prohibition. And they cunningly attached a card saying that it was a gift from their guide, so there was no way Zein would turn it down.

Zein did not wear it right away, but it was a pretty and useful ring. It enhanced the effect of other equipment that he wore, including the Earring of Still Water and the Paladin’s Tear. Bassena couldn’t possibly bring himself to make Zein reject such a nice item.

"Yeah, you should wear it," Bassena muttered, leaning back against the couch between Zein’s legs, consoling himself with the guide’s touch on his face.

"Oh? Look at you all grown up," Zein patted the esper’s cheek again, curling his lips into a smirk before pressing them lightly on the esper’s temple. He ruffled the platinum strands and whispered above Bassena’s ear. "Good boy."

The amber eyes flickered at the praise, and Bassena swiftly turned back to climb onto the couch--and Zein--tackling the guide to the leather seat.

"In return, let’s go somewhere this weekend," Zein said after he was done laughing from the esper’s aggressive tickling.

"A date?" Bassena perked up above him, eyes wide and bright like an excited puppy.

"Inspection," Zein corrected. "I want to see how far they had done with the cabin."

Bassena arched his brow. "The lakeside?" he tilted his head. It hadn’t been long since they commissioned the renovation, so the most they would have done was demolishing the existing structure and cleaning out the obstruction for easier construction.

Ah...Bassena blinked and looked at the guide with a knowing smirk. "What?" Zein narrowed his eyes at the esper’s expression, but Bassena just giggled in the crook of Zein’s neck.

"You actually want to see how those people are doing, aren’t you?" he whispered.

For a moment, seeing Zein averting his gaze while slightly blushing made Bassena forget his disappointment of not accompanying Zein to Araka.

* * *

"What the hell?" Zein looked at the screen with doubt--doubt for his own vision.

The siblings who managed the front desk were staying during the weekend to work on the new schedule, as well as take care of the recruitment preparation, including sorting out the portfolios of the people who had registered.

And there were...a lot.

Way more than Zein had anticipated.

"Is it like...graduating time?" he asked the siblings.

"No, Sir. The graduating time would be around the time you arrived here," they replied with a smile.

So Zein looked at the screen anymore. "Are there a lot of unemployed guides?"

The siblings laughed and shook their heads. There were only so many guides in this world for the espers, so even the most incompetent ones would be able to find a place to work--as long as they weren’t picky. But that was why Zein’s confusion was understandable.

Because despite all of that, and the shortage of available guides, Zein was looking upon rows and rows of names registering to Trinity in the span of a few days. Twenty-seven so far, which was almost as many as the guides already in the guild.

When normally, guilds would have to scout the guides by waiting outside the Temple or the Central.

"So what is this?"

Abel, who had been listening on the side, cracked up with laughter. "That," he pointed to Zein, "are the people who heard about your speech in the guide conference."

It seemed that not only reading it through the media coverage, but some guides who were attending the conference also spread what Zein had said in the guides community--again, something that Zein wasn’t a part of due to his reserved nature. During the past week, it had been sparking a discussion within the community, including those inside the guide rights movement.

But Zein didn’t think what he said would have that kind of effect.

"What speech?" Zein scoffed. "All I did was make an angry remark."

"And that angry remark is something that a lot of guides wanted to say, but had no courage to," Abel shrugged. "Looking through their portfolios so far, most came from the yellow or orange zones."

In short, they were the people who found Zein’s words resonated strongly within them. At least, most of them. These people were still working somewhere else, mostly in the Guide Central, but used the opportunity to register themselves for Trinity’s tryout.

Even while knowing they might be sent to the frontline.

Unlike the one on the esper’s side, the guide’s registration form told the registrants to tick the box spelling their willingness to be included in the reclamation project. It was something that Zein had requested, because truthfully, Trinity did not need guides anymore to stay in the headquarter.

They needed people to be on the frontline.

He had thought there wouldn’t be anyone registering with that condition, but things kept betraying his expectation, it seemed.

"Seems like we’ll get busy, huh?" Abel chuckled--not the merry kind. Because how could he feel happy being busy taking on new recruits when he had to take care of his upcoming wedding?

Zein just patted the tired guide. The man hadn’t officially married yet, but he already had to attend the new year celebration on two sides of the family. "Alright, sent those once the registration is closed."

"Going somewhere?" Abel raised his brow. It was rare for Zein to go anywhere when there were a lot of things to do, even during the weekend. The man was one of the most homebodies in the entire guild.

And to that, Zein replied simply while waving his hand as he walked to the elevator. "A date."

Abel paused for a few seconds, before wiping his nonexistent tears from his eyes. "Oh, look at him all grown up," the guide said solemnly. "He can even admit he’s going on a date now."

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