There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 633: Side Story 1. The Twilight Zone - 15

Chapter 633: Side Story 1. The Twilight Zone - 15

"Brother Zein!"

"Zein!"

Two petite figures, both had tied long hairs in different colors, stopped at the lake house porch and narrowed their eyes at each other, scrutinizing. Both were asking the same question wordlessly: who are you?

"Stop being silly and come in," Zein rolled his eyes and beckoned them with his fingers.

"Brother Zein!"

"Zein!"

The same cheery greetings could be heard again, this time along with skipping footsteps as they ran toward the guide again, hugging him like kids seeing their parents after a long summer camp.

"He’s a guide magnet, isn’t he?" Mizar laughed as they stepped inside the lake house and watched his guide locked in a staring contest again with the same younger girl.

"Haa...what can you do?" Bassena shrugged and shook the older twin’s hand. "I thought you’d only be here for the wedding?"

"That’s the plan, but..." Mizar gazed at his laughing guide. "What can I do when my guide wants to see the groom separately."

The espers, both knowingly weak for their guide’s whim, shared a wry smile and shrugged.

"Hey!" Alcor jumped in between them and put his arms around their shoulder. "Little bird told me you got twin boys?"

This little bird was probably Ren, right? Bassena chuckled and nodded, prompting Alcor to punch the air in excitement. "Awesome!"

While Bassena and the twin Guildmasters talked in the mini bar, Ren and Elena were busy staring at Zein’s stomach.

"Hmm...it’s not showing very much..."

"They’re small," Zein shrugged. "Want to touch it?"

"Can we?"

Zein looked at two pairs of sparkling eyes, laughing inwardly. "Go ahead."

Elena placed her hand on top of Zein’s stomach without hesitation, prompting the priest and the templar who accompanied her to sigh and bow at Zein apologetically.

"Oh, I can feel them!" Elena giggled, and the usually timid Ren shoved her to the side slightly.

"It’s my turn," the older guide said while pursing his lips, and Zein couldn’t help but smirk. Three years ago, this boy still looked a bit timid. Now, he even attended a wedding.

Elena made a face behind the guide she didn’t even know the name of and jumped to sit beside Zein. "I worked so hard in my study so I can come here, you know," she started to whine. "Grandma said I can’t attend your wedding if I even got one question wrong. She even put in a trick question--can you believe it?!"

"But you got them right," Zein hummed. "Good job."

"Hehe..."

Although a bit late, Zein finally had a chance to go visit the Temple of Frejya to return the Saint’s staff. Thankfully, since the mark where the staff was hidden was made by the Goddess, it didn’t vanish even after Zein lost his mana.

Since he was there anyway, he told them about his pregnancy and the wedding in the summer, which made Elena throw a tantrum about attending the wedding. The next Saintess going to another federation before coming of age was unprecedented and dangerous, but knowing that the wedding would be attended by some of the strongest espers in the continent made it negotiable.

In the end, with Zein providing lodging in his own lake house and a condition of her study, Elena’s adventure in the Eastern Federation was met with approval.

"Zein..." another one nuzzled on his other side, hugging his arm while whispering. "Is it true...umm...about your imprinting?"

Zein glanced at the petite guide, who had looked far less timid in a public setting than before. The kid looked rather...jealous. A guide who couldn’t get imprinted because he had two precious espers. Hmm...

"Even if it didn’t happen..." Zein leaned back against the couch and looked at Bassena, who was in the middle of serving some drinks to Mizar and Alcor. "Even if it didn’t happen, I still believed we would be the only one for each other."

"I...I see..."

"I will belong to everyone, so I don’t care about imprinting," Elena patted her chest.

Zein snorted. "That makes you sound like a player."

"Really? But I can’t get married too," Elena shrugged, grinning at the dumbfounded Ren. "I’m fine, though. I don’t think it’s that important as long as I’m happy."

Zein chuckled and patted the girl’s head while her chaperones shook their head in exasperation. But Ren bit his lips and mumbled ’It’s not important’ repeatedly, before raising his face and smiling cheerfully like before.

Good--Zein patted the guide’s head. A party would be better if everyone attending was happy.

Initially, Zein and Bassena did not wish to invite a lot of people; just family and friends, so to speak. It was just...Zein forgot that their ’family and friends’ were quite a lot.

Disregarding the Iron Shield who acted as the wedding committee, they still had a number of espers to be invited. The whole Anzus squad would be there, and Abel and Nadine would come as a representative of the guide, plus whoever was winning the lottery from the strike guide division. Ludya and Radia’s family would, of course, be there, along with Han Shin and Reina, as well as Bassena’s nanny and the artisan from the Seven Ether.

Zein also invited Old Man Dan and his daughter, who had become the head of his and Bassena’s charity foundation, as well as Alma, as a representative of the Scarlet Moon. Several Old House heads, such as Zhou Caishen and Calix’s old friend from House Apsoro, had hinted several times about Zein’s wedding, so he couldn’t not invite them. He invited Ren because the guide looked so sparkly eyes hearing about it, and of course, there was no way the twins wouldn’t come along.

Before knowing it, the list of guests became longer and longer. Zein was sighing outwardly, but sometimes, he stared at the list and thought--ah, my world had grown this much.

Most of them stayed in the city near the lake house, where Zein and Bassena had rented an entire resort as accommodation--except the future Saintess and her entourage, as well as one of the most important guests; the old man who would walk Zein to Bassena.

"Why me?"

Again, both of them were sitting beside the lake--not fishing though, since there was no fish there. From where they were, they could see the commotion on the dock and the yard where the ceremony and the reception would be held the next day.

"Well...I told them I could just walk alone since we’re not following strict procedure or whatever, but even Bas told me I shouldn’t walk down the dock alone while pregnant," Zein crossed his arms and tilted his head, sighing as he recalled the way everyone was glaring at him as if he was suggesting bungee jumping or something. "But the Elder of our household could barely walk on his own, and if I chose someone else, there would be chaos from jealousy."

Tian Yu raised his brow, and Zein added with a smirk.

"But who can protest if it’s the Iron Mountain?"

The old man blinked for a few seconds, before laughing until the water in front of them rippled from the vibration. "Well, I feel honored to take your father’s place regardless."

Zein smiled in agreement. If no one from his household could do it, then it should be his father’s teacher, right? He leaned back and closed his eyes, continued with his sunbathing while the others were busy preparing his wedding--until Reina came and scolded him for ruining his skin right before the big day, and proceeded to sulk because Zein’s face was perfectly fine and glowing from his guide traits.

"Fuck you and your perfect skin!" she slammed the wardrobe close and told Bassena to never open it because Zein’s clothes were there, before rushing out again.

"It’s like seeing a female Han Shin," Zein smirked while waving his hand toward the retreating helicopter.

"That’s why they can be together for a long time. Talking about rowdy..." Bassena shrugged, casting his gaze toward the gate. "The rowdiest one is here."

"Hey! We made it before the actual wedding day!"

Zein looked out to see a convertible sport utility truck coming into the driveway, and a berserker with blazing hair waving at them while laughing. The funny thing was...there was another berserker in the back seat. "Zeeeeen!" Alma waved even harder than Agni, laughing happily.

The combination was enough to make the driving scout shake his head in exasperation. Bassena couldn’t even hide his laughter when the two berserkers jumped down the car in unison.

"I’d believe it if they say they are siblings," Bassena chuckled and waved back at the approaching berserkers before they could reach Zein. "Be mindful of your strength."

"Ah, geez--you speak as if I never touched a pregnant person in my life," Alma shoved Bassena aside and took Zein in a tight embrace regardless. Of course, she was careful not to put pressure on the guide’s abdomen. She took a deep breath and stroked Zein’s back. "Are you happy?"

Zein held the back of the older sister who had been taking care of him since his teenage years. "Yeah," he said with a smile, sincerely. "I’ve never been happier."

"Good," she pulled back and cupped the guide’s face. It was so small before, almost as if she could fit it in her hand. So delicate and vulnerable, except for those fierce blue eyes.

Those blue eyes were not as fierce as before, but the fire had been replaced with maturity, serenity, and, above all else, contentment. Those eyes were sparkling with calm happiness, not the dull and harsh gaze born from numbness.

She nodded and repeated. "That’s good."

Zein looked at the berserker--who caressed his hair gently, although she had always thrown him around harshly during training in the past--and laughed in amusement. "You look like you’re going to cry tomorrow."

"Nah, the wedding is something I kind of predicted," Alma let the guide go and waved her hand before shifting her gaze down. "I’ll cry when you give birth instead."

Again, Zein’s laughter reverberated throughout the front yard.

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