There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 268 - 261. Olive Branch

Chapter 268: Chapter 261. Olive Branch

"Are you really going to pack my things?" Zein asked the esper as the elevator went down to the seventh floor.

"It’s just your clothes, isn’t it? It’s not like you know how to pack them, anyway," Bassena shrugged, grinning as he saw the guide roll his eyes.

Well, it was true; Zein wouldn’t know the right way of packing his three-season worth of clothes Reina had been providing him as the price of being her ’muse’. She had even promised to send him her spring collection and another set of tailored suits for the beautiful scenery Zein provided on his birthday. Funnily enough, Zein only accepted the gift when Raina promised to throw in some combat uniform.

"I told my apartment manager to arrange a moving team, so they’ll be here in a bit. I should at least watch them, shouldn’t I?" Bassena continued, smiling joyfully. It seemed like he was truly excited to have Zein finally moving in for real. "Ah, about your box--"

Bassena swallowed his words when Zein pulled his lapel and kissed him, briefly, just before the elevator made a sound and opened to the seventh-floor lobby.

"The corner drawer in the closet," Zein told the esper with a smile, putting his physical key on the younger’s palm. He patted the stunned cheek and gave a blinding, pretty smile before putting his mask back on. "Thank you."

Zein walked out of the elevator and pressed the button, waving to his lover as the door closed. Right before he was about to turn around though, he already got pounced from behind, and a familiar high-pitched voice assaulted his ears. "Captain!!"

"Ugh--"

If it wasn’t for his physique, Zein would have stumbled forward because of the force the girl exerted for the back hug. But it wasn’t just Dheera--soon enough, he had most of the younger guides clinging to him.

"Captain, why are you never replying to my message?" Dheera whined, pulling on Zein’s arm like a sulking kid.

That was because Zein and Bassena decided they would ignore every communication yesterday so they could spend time just by themselves. But before Zein could say anything, he was already getting bombarded with many questions.

"Captain, are all the articles true?"

"Captain, are you really building an orphanage in the red-zone?"

"Captain, are you really a part of an Old House?"

"Captain--"

"Not in the hallway," Zein raised his hands and used his commanding voice to get the unruly kids off his back.

They stepped back and saluted like the good kids that they were, and followed him to the office, where Alice greeted him with a rare smile.

"None of you are on duty, right?" Zein threw a strict look at the younger guides, who immediately shook their head. He could only imagine how rowdy it would be once the new guides--some of whom were younger and fresh graduates--joined them.

Thankfully, Nadine was also there to calm the fray. "Captain, are you alright?"

Zein raised his brow and tilted his head. "Do I look unwell?"

"You look tired,"

"That’s because of these kids," Zein pointed to the Dheera and the others, who were circling the table to steal their Captain’s snacks.

"Hehe," Dheera grinned while munching on a cookie. "It’s because we missed you so much, Captain."

"It’s not like I was gone for a long time, why are you people being so dramatic?"

This time, it was Brisk who replied with a fake timid sound. "But...we’re worried you might be stressed out because of all the bad things people said..."

Seeing his cheeky kids who said they were worried but busy stealing his food every time they played in his office made Zein scoff. But seeing that they looked alright despite all the chaos happening yesterday also made him chuckle.

"See, I told you," Dean scoffed at the others. "There’s no way Captain would get troubled from this kind of thing."

The guides then shrugged and grinned, which put a subtle smile on Zein’s face. "I’m fine, but what about you?"

"What about us?" Nadine asked, putting a steaming cup of coffee in front of Zein.

"You might get dragged from having a Captain like me," he said dryly while looking at his deputy.

Nadine raised her brows. "You mean having a Captain who survived harsh conditions and climbed up to the green-zone by himself?"

"Or a Captain who never forgets where he’s from and immediately gives back to the community?" Dheera chimed in from the table.

"And a Captain who stood up for the right thing even against the authority?"

"Ugh--you’re embarrassing me," Zein sighed and waved his hand to shut them up.

"At least act embarrassed if you want to say things like that," Abel, who was leaning against the door frame, rolled his eyes and sneered at the taller guide’s nonchalant gaze, whose face didn’t even have any tint of red.

Zein smirked and tapped on his table twice. "Alright, I need to talk to the Chief now, shoo,"

The young guides whined even while they were standing up. "You’re not going to go immediately, right? We’ll at least have lunch together, right?"

"Fine, we’ll have lunch together,"

"Yaay!" Dheera raised her arms and showed Zein her commlink. "I record it so you can’t go back on your word even if Sir Vaski comes, okay?"

Zein chuckled at her persistence. It seemed like seeing Bassena constantly act like a clingy baby during the conference made her less afraid of him. "Don’t worry, he’ll be busy for a while."

It should take a while to move a whole ass aquascape and a truckload of plants, shouldn’t it?

With that guarantee, the guides waddled out to let their bosses have some serious talk, waving to Zein and bringing out snacks in their hands--as if the guide lounge didn’t have a whole shelf of free snacks for them.

"I thought being a groom is complicated enough, but you have the kind of life that begs for attention, huh?" Abel closed the office door and chuckled as he walked to the desk.

Zein smirked at that, but as Abel took a seat in front of his desk, his eyes turned serious. "I need to ask you about those two."

"Ah, yeah," Abel tapped on the armchair and let out a sigh.

"Did the others know?"

"Not for sure, but when those two ’disappear’ after your story came out, people would have been able to make some connection,"

"Hmm..." Zein nodded. Well, people weren’t stupid. They knew Nora had a history with Zein, so although the guild never said they detained him, they would suspect he had something to do with the article. "I heard the A-class..."

Zein made a confused face as if he couldn’t remember the name. Which he really couldn’t--and Abel couldn’t help but laugh about it. "Arden?"

"Mm, he would be let go?"

"He had too much accumulated offense. I’m too annoyed to defend him at this point," the Chief Guide shook his head.

He was the one who had to be personally involved and took the A-class into custody, and he had to be there when the management interrogated the guide. It was honestly exhausting--not something he ever thought he would need to do when he took up the position of the Chief.

"What about Nora?"

"I thought the Guildmaster let you decide?" Abel tilted his head. "You know him better than any of us."

Zein leaned back and let out a sigh. He retracted his mask and decided to calm his mind with the coffee Nadine made for him. It was sweet and warm, and made him relaxed more. "Do you happen to know...what the others think about him?"

"Ah, well..." Abel leaned forward and fiddled with the candy bowl on Zein’s desk, looking for a certain flavor. "No one really knows who started what, so, they just think he’s a traitor all the same."

"He gave the right story, though,"

"But he still gives your story without your permission. People...especially those who are very protective of you--like those kids of yours--wouldn’t see it kindly,"

Haa...Zein sighed again, closing his eyes to mull over Nora’s fate while Abel finally found an apple flavor candy and unwrapped it. For a while, the room was only filled with the crackling sound of the wrapper and the ticking of the clock.

Curiously, Abel observed the other guide’s face. It was interesting that Zein looked more stressed about deciding Nora’s fate than his own predicament with the Temple. "Are you not even offended by that?"

"Not really," Zein opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. "He wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t for the threat. He’s just...stupid, I guessed,"

Abel, who didn’t expect Zein to be so soft to someone who had caused him harm--albeit not intentionally--looked at the guide weirdly. "If you say it like that..."

"It kind of...unsettling that they give me this much trust and chance, but not him,"

Ah...Abel rolled the candy inside his mouth and nodded. He understood now; Zein thought what he did in the past warranted scorn, although he also didn’t mind if he truly got one. He was actually more surprised that many people were willing to defend him and took his side even before the truth came out.

And he saw Nora as someone who also had to suffer in the red-zone, just like him. Which was why he had a soft spot for the man, and it made it difficult for Zein to make a decision.

"I talked to him once after he was put into custody," Abel said. "I think he already accepted the fact that he wouldn’t be able to work here anymore."

Zein blinked into the lamp and shifted his gaze toward the window. It was snowing, coincidentally, as if the weather wanted to match their bleak conversation. "Do you think..." he paused, frowning a little bit as he tried to articulate his thoughts. "Do you think the others will accept him if he comes back?"

"No," Abel shook his head. There wasn’t even hesitation in his answer. "No, I don’t think so. I mean, they won’t reject him outright if it’s your decision, but he’ll get ostracized for sure."

Zein leaned into his hand and massaged his temple slightly. But he nodded in agreement. "Yeah...that’s what I thought too..."

People already set their minds, and while Zein might forgive Nora, he couldn’t say the same with the others. It would be easy for them to think Nora would ’betray’ them next. It was cruel, but Zein couldn’t just change people’s perceptions.

If he wanted to, Zein could put Nora back on the team. But would that be the best course of action? Would the man be happy working in a place that antagonized him? Especially someone as sensitive and scaredy cat as Nora.

Wouldn’t it be crueler to put him back in a place with people that might scorn him daily?

Again, Zein let out a sigh. "I just want to give him a chance,"

Abel looked at the troubled blue eyes and smiled wryly. "Then give him one outside of Trinity."

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