There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 252 - 245. The Mortix Peak

Chapter 252: Chapter 245. The Mortix Peak

Personally, Zein was more surprised that his background had stayed hidden for this long, considering how much attention and interest the public had toward him.

But it was natural for people to not know. Zein’s license had no record prior to his measurement in Althrea, so they couldn’t use it to trace his past employment. If they dug a bit deeper, they would find out, through the recommendation letter he used, that he was once part of a Borderland Unit 04-2. But other than that, none.

The Borderland Unit was a place where they accepted just about everyone, which meant, they did not bother to have any record about someone’s past. Someone could be a criminal or a maniacal psychopath, they didn’t care so long as they got manpower. Crimes were the least of their worry after all.

It would be a different case if Zein lived somewhere else other than a red-zone, but there, people had no identity card, much less a record. Because who would bother making such a thing? Some people would carry birth certificates, but it was for their personal records, and no one bothered with it. The only written record of Zein’s existence there would be the ledger in Umbra’s base, which Zein had burned before he moved out to the Borderland. And even then, what was written there was ’ZEN’, not Zein’s real name.

So people wouldn’t know the guide Luzein used to live in the red-zone unless someone from the red-zone spelled it out. And someone from the red-zone wouldn’t be that in tune with the higher-zone business unless they were the Landlord, who would have some access to the outer world.

And Zein was pretty sure no one in Scarlet Moon would deliberately leak his information to others. Well, at least, he believed they wouldn’t want to incur Zach’s or--more importantly--his scary sister’s wrath.

[For now, the public is still debating the accuracy of these articles] Alice told him. From the look of it, she was in the PR department rather than the seventh floor. [But the fact that it came from big news channels makes people inclined to accept it]

"Hmm..."

Well, it was to be expected. The articles had been posted in the morning by three separate channels in one-hour intervals. All were credible, bonafide media--not merely gossip columns that liked to make up stories. And while they did not include all of the stories, they indeed did not make up lies, merely twisted some truths to look awful for Zein’s reputation.

"What about the guild?" Zein asked while looking out the window, into the column of dark leafless trees.

He did not care much about the public, but the guild...he had started to see it as his home, probably. It would be too bad if he had to distance himself again--

[Don’t worry, Boss] Alice replied with a bit of an air around her, looking at Zein with a proud face. [We believe in you]

Zein raised his brow, before chuckling as he recalled the many text messages barging his commlink the moment he landed in Area 14. Most of them were from the members of the strike division, cursing the article and telling him they believed him.

"Silly kids," he remarked. "What if the articles tell the truth?"

[So what? We know who you are, we’re the ones who spend our time with you every day, not those journalists] Alice scoffed. The girl had become more expressive ever since Zein showed he knew who she really was, and it had been more fun that way. [Anyway, you don’t have to worry, Boss. Just consider this as a vacation while we take care of this, okay?]

"Alright, alright," Zein laughed softly while turning the call off.

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Alice was the only one he could talk to at this point, because everyone seemed to be so busy putting out the fire. Even Bassena. The man who would be the most eager to call him had his commlink turned off, probably because people kept on calling him. Radia was definitely the busiest of them all, so Zein didn’t even want to bother.

Being told not to worry, however, just made him restless. Zein did not usually leave people taking care of his business, and this problem of his identity was definitely his business. But there was nothing he could do this time, except to hide himself well.

And there was no better fortress in Althrea than the Peak of Mortix Hill; the Mallarc Mansion.

"Isn’t this basically a castle?" Zein muttered as the peak started to be visible. Even from here, before they passed the gate, Zein could already see some of them.

The only phrase he could use to describe it was ’enormous’.

Radia’s own mansion was already big enough, but his family’s dwelling was easily five times bigger. Zein remembered reading fairy tails from the second-hand book being thrown to the red-zone in that occasional charity dump, and there were lots of stories with palaces and castles there. He thought those castles or palaces must have looked like this mansion.

"It used to be a fortress to rally the last of humanity in this region," Jock explained.

"By Althrea Mallarc?"

"Yes," the bodyguard nodded. "All of the Mallarc live there except for the Chairman and his parents, who are still roaming around the world,"

Zein tilted his head to look better at the mansion once they passed the large gate with the heavy security. It was indeed too large to be occupied by a few people. Based on Jock’s explanation, the Matriach lived in the main building, along with her second and third children--Radia’s aunts--with their children too. There were also different buildings that were used by the Matriarch’s younger siblings and their families, as well as annexes for guests.

It was to one of these annexes that Jock drove the car. "The Matriarch actually wants to meet you, but the Chairman said you’d be too tired," the bodyguard said. "So you can just rest for today, but you might have to go to the main building tomorrow."

"By myself?" Zein raised his brow, glancing in the direction of the main building, which was more or less half a kilometer away from where he was.

"The Chairman will be here tomorrow," the man said as the car parked in front of the annex--the annex that was bigger than the lakehouse cabin the Ishtera owned.

The moment they came out of the car, someone in a livery came out of the building, waiting for Zein and Jock. "Welcome, Sir Ishtera," the man in the livery bowed politely and opened the door for them.

Thanks to following Radia during New Year’s Eve, Zein had become used to being called by that name. He nodded slightly at the man and entered the annex that fortunately felt rather cozy even with all the luxury. It was nice to finally find himself in a place that felt like home, even if it was in a strange place.

Inside, someone had already prepared refreshments--warm tea and exquisite snacks that Radia usually consumed. Smiling a little bit, this little hospitality put him more at ease, because he finally felt something familiar.

He felt even better when, in the middle of quenching his thirst with a warm drink, his commlink vibrated again. The displayed icon came from Han Shin, but when Zein opened it, he was greeted by a pair of amber eyes and a messy platinum hair.

[Zein--]

It took Zein a few seconds to react, because he didn’t expect this and his heart made a stop while something was somersaulting in his stomach. "Hey,"

[I’m sorry, my commlink is...it’s unusable. Someone hacked into my system, and while we managed to block every access before they could do more, I couldn’t use it until the tech kid repaired it] Bassena frantically explained with flailing hands, and Zein just stared at the face that was still as adorable as he remembered, even in a frantic state--even more in this frantic state.

"I see," a smile bloomed on his lips before Zein even realized it. It was wild that a simple thing of hearing his esper’s voice and looking at those amber eyes could calm his restless soul. "Can’t you come here?"

He knew he couldn’t be seen right now, but couldn’t Bassena pop here for a bit? He thought the esper would like that, but Bassena froze, looking at him with a tense jaw and gritted teeth.

[I want to] he said, slowly, agonizingly, burying his face in his hands. [Gods--I want to...]

"The reporters are following him, and we believe there’s an esper using a tracer ability on him," Jock told him then.

Zein frowned and turned to face the bodyguard. "They think he’ll come to me?"

"Yes," Jock answered without hesitation, which mean he had already received updates on the situation.

"They’ll know where he is even if I use the Black Pearl?"

"Yes, most likely,"

With a tracer skill, even if it was a summon, they would know where Bassena was, and sensing Bassena in Mallarc Mansion would spill where Zein really was.

If he knew it would be like this, he should have just gone to Bassena’s apartment. Surely they wouldn’t suspect the esper for going back to his own place? Although, well, there might be paparazzi skulking around the apartment already. Zein bit the inside of his cheek--he hadn’t been feeling this frustrated in a long time. When was it...

Was it when Bassena said he was going away to keep some distance and calm his mind for a bit? Yeah...yeah, that seemed to be it. This frustration of wanting to meet the esper seemed to only get amplified because the circumstances felt ridiculous and unfair.

"So you can’t meet me until this situation is clear?" Zein took a breath and exhaled heavily, although he managed to sound calm.

[...yeah]

Zein watched the deep, frustrated frown on the esper’s face. Knowing that Bassena felt as much frustrated as him made Zein feel a bit better at least. "Alright,"

Bassena bit his lips and groaned, probably because Zein’s tone was quite dry, as if the guide was upset. Well, Zein couldn’t lie about it--he was upset. He wasn’t upset at Bassena though, just the situation.

"It’s fine, let’s just get this over with," Zein leaned back and closed his eyes for a bit.

Through the screen, the amber eyes stared at the guide who suddenly looked tired, even though he usually didn’t get fazed by publication or his reputation. Bassena really wanted to jump off the screen and get there, kissing his beloved guide. But he knew it would bring more harm to Zein if he acted selfishly.

[...I miss you] he said quietly.

"Mm," Zein opened his eyes. "Me too."

Bassena blinked, amber eyes widened in surprise. Even Jock looked at Zein in surprise. [...huh?]

"I miss you too, so let’s take care of this fast, okay?" Zein massaged his temple, but there was a smile--albeit a little one--on his face.

[Yeah] Bassena replied dazedly, but there was a fire blazed in his eyes. [Yeah]

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