There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 269 - 262. A Second Chance

Chapter 269: Chapter 262. A Second Chance

Under the third basement level of the guild building, there was a place that only executives knew and had access to. This was the detaining floor.

It wasn’t truly filled with cells like jail. It didn’t even have an eerie atmosphere. The lighting was nice and bright, and each room was furnished well. It was more like a hotel room where the occupant couldn’t get out. The one who guarded this place wasn’t the active espers in charge of raiding dungeons, but part of the intelligence department that was almost as mysterious as the shadow guards.

Before having his promised lunch with the other guides, Zein went down to this place. Two rooms were occupied, but he only visited one. When the guard opened the door to the room, Nora was reading a book on the desk. It took the other guide a while to digest the fact that Zein was there, and when he did, he stood up so fast that the stuff on the desk was clattering to the floor.

"Hey," Zein greeted him casually, looking around the room.

It looked quite nice, with a bed, a neat desk, and a sitting area. There was also a comfortable bathroom and a simple pantry. They also got regular meals from the restaurant up there. Well, it wasn’t as if they were treated as a criminal.

"Zein..." Nora was standing frozen in front of his desk, watching Zein take a seat on the couch. He looked at the blue eyes for a second, and in the next, he lowered his head. "I’m...I’m sorry."

"It’s fine, I heard it enough from your voice message already," Zein said simply, leaning back on the couch and continuing to observe the other guide.

"Still...I want to say it to you directly," Nora said quietly.

The man looked nervous, just the way his voice sounded in the message. He also looked like he couldn’t sleep well; the dark circles apparent beneath his eyes.

"Haa..." Zein didn’t hide his sigh. "You’re an idiot."

Nora blinked his eyes in surprise. He knew Zein enough to tell that Zein actually didn’t get mad at his action. Zein would act cold if he was angry or annoyed, instead of giving him this look. He knew this look; he had seen it before in Araka, when Zein heard about his younger brothers getting into trouble because of a brawl.

Nora couldn’t help the bitter smile on his face. "I know..."

"You should’ve told the guild right away,"

"...yeah," the nagging almost put Nora in tears, so he just lowered his head more. "I realized it too late."

"Just sit down," Zein said, and he kept his silence until Nora finally sat down a minute later. The man still had his head down, avoiding looking at Zein’s eyes. "The Guildmaster told me to do whatever I want."

"You should," Nora smiled wryly. "Even if you fire me without any recommendation, I can accept it."

Zein frowned and let out another sigh. "Aren’t you doing this to survive? Why are you being such a defeatist all of a sudden?"

This time, Nora chuckled softly. "It’s not that I gave up," he said, fingers fiddling atop his lap. But slowly, he lifted his head to look at Zein as he continued. "I just think...the way I go about survival had been wrong, and...it only lead me further away from survival,"

Zein stared at the other guide; while the dark circle was still there, and the nervousness was still prevalent, the voice didn’t sound as weak as before. "That’s good..." he muttered. He didn’t know how much he could trust this statement, but the realization was a start. "Can you promise me that?"

Nora blinked once, and then he looked down again. Not to well up in his guilt, but to ponder about Zein’s question. It took him a while, and Zein waited patiently. In the end, he lifted his face and shook his head. "I won’t," he said, to Zein’s surprise. "There’s no use for words between end-dwellers isn’t it? I’ll just show you."

Zein curled his lips behind the mask. "What do you plan to do?"

"I’ll just try applying to a Center somewhere, I think. In the lower zone, maybe, they won’t reject a C-class guide," Nora shrugged. It seemed like he had already thought about the worst outcome. Well, one could only plan the next step while they were confined for days in this place. "And if they do reject me...well, perhaps the borderland Isn’t that bad?"

Nora laughed wryly, but there was a firmness in his eyes that told Zein the man might really take that step if nothing else worked. Perhaps as some kind of atonement. Zein swallowed his sigh and straightened his back. "If you are prepared to go that far..."

Nora frowned slightly as he caught the glint in the blue eyes. It wasn’t the ’tame’ gaze Zein had these days as his life was starting to be filled with happiness. It was the eyes of the red-zone dwellers.

"Is there something you want me to do?" Nora asked immediately. "Say it, I’ll do it."

"It might put you in trouble," Zein said flatly, which prompted Nora to chuckle.

"You said that when I always put you in trouble?"

Zein let out a chuckle on his own. He took something from his pocket and put it in the middle of the table between them. "Here,"

"What is...this?" Nora took the small paper, where an address, a name, and a date were written. As he read the content of the paper, his eyes started to widen.

"You can go there, I’ve talked to the one in charge," Zein told the man.

Nora looked at Zein and opened his mouth, stuttering. "B-but...this is--"

"It’s just a branch, and you’ll be on probation. Whether or not they’ll decide to take you in depends on you. Although it would be good if you could go to the main headquarters," Zein said. "You’re smart in stuff like this, so you should already know what I want you to do."

"...Zein," Nora swallowed. It wasn’t because he thought it was too heavy of an order, but rather...it was too advantageous for him.

As if ignoring the other guide’s inner turmoil, Zein continued. "It’s not forever, and once you’ve done enough, I will put you somewhere better."

"No, you don’t need to do that," Nora replied swiftly. "I--I understand perfectly..."

"No, this is my promise," Zein said firmly. "I think you deserve a second chance, but I don’t think you’ll be able to have it peacefully here," he paused for a bit, staring deeply into the other guide to make sure Nora knew how serious he was. "Just...try to be the best version of yourself."

"...haha," Nora laughed softly to himself, almost mockingly. He peered at the blue eyes and said teasingly. "Maybe if I find a lover or something."

"You’re getting smart with me now?" Zein raised his brow.

Nora smirked cheekily, looking like how he used to be for a few seconds, before his face turned solemn again. "Thank you," he lowered his head again, putting all his sincere feelings into his voice. "Really, thank you..."

He didn’t lift his face again, and his head kept getting lowered until Zein couldn’t see his face anymore. His hands held into each other tightly, crushing the paper between his hands; hands that were intertwining as if trying to support his entire body and mind. There was no sound but the occasional drops of water hitting the floor.

Zein closed his eyes for a bit before exhaling heavily. "They’ll let you go this evening, so you can go home unnoticed."

"I understand,"

"Just use the time to rest and...make peace with yourself,"

"Thank you,"

"Someone from the guild will come to explain the contract termination and pay your due."

"...thank you," the voice was getting fainter now, and Zein could see the slight shaking on the other’s shoulder.

He stood up then, feeling like he had done enough. "I won’t see you off," he said, turning around without waiting for any reply. As he walked to the door, he could hear Nora mutter shakily.

"Thank you...thank you..."

* * *

Packing Zein things was truly simple.

The clothes in the closet, the toiletries in the bathroom. That was all.

While the moving agents packed up the fish tank and all the potted plants, all Bassena needed to do was put the clothes on the moving rack, and let the workers do the rest. The sealed box containing the guide’s inherited stuff and what he brought with him from the borderland was sitting in the corner, and that went inside Bassena’s storage ring.

And then that was it.

The place was empty. The only thing remaining was a big jar of candy that Bassena bought Zein back then.

It was a store jar as big as a gallon, and the content had been slowly dwindling all these months, leaving only a tenth of it. Bassena would find this unassuming cheap candy anywhere around Zein; in the guide’s pocket, in the guide’s office, in Bassena’s house...he even found some in his car. It was like a little trace of Zein, a precious trace, because...

There was none other.

As Bassena sat down on the neat, cold bed that hadn’t been used for a few days, he looked around the empty room, feeling his heart getting heavier and heavier. Fiddling with a piece of candy in his hand, he blankly realized that except for the fish tank, Zein had never bought anything for himself. If Reina didn’t give the man all of those clothes, Bassena was sure Zein would still use his old clothes because he didn’t think it was necessary.

He could make a clear image of it, simply from the way Zein talked about his past. When the guide told him about the general store, and about how he lived back then, he realized that Zein had never bought something to indulge himself. The only thing he ever bought for himself was thicker clothes and a mask that was necessary for his work. The only ’indulgence’ he granted himself was a knife to protect himself. Other than that...even if he had some money left to spare, he would spend it on the twins and the grandma next door and her family, who had been taking care of him since he was a baby.

Even now, when he had enough money to grant him almost everything, he bought nothing for himself while didn’t think much about buying for others. Unconsciously, Bassena rubbed the little snake on top of his chest. His most precious gift.

He popped the candy into his mouth, still feeling the heaviness in his heart as the sweet and sour taste spread in his mouth. Slamming his body back into the mattress, the amber eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

"I’ll give you everything," Bassena whispered his promise with a trembling heart, feeling the sugar melted on his tongue. "I’ll give you all the happiness in the world."