There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 97 - 94. Unexpected Predicament

Chapter 97: Chapter 94. Unexpected Predicament

Zein had a new morning routine now; watching the underwater lakes and listening to the sound of the mini waterfall as the colorful fishes fleeting between trees and stone tunnels.

He’d leaned on the bedpost with his morning coffee, watching the scenery in a trance while sipping on his steaming mug. It was twenty minutes of tranquility that he could never imagine before.

That, and taking care of all the plants Bassena left for him there. Watching the water trickling down the sprays and watering can to the plants was funny before--he was so cautious, feeling uncomfortable as if he was wasting perfectly good water. It took time for him to get used to it, and now it became a part of his peaceful morning.

Thinking about watering the plants and feeding the fish got him motivated to clear the dungeon faster. Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to him, but to the espers. And there was no Bassena trailing him in this second raid, since the man had gone to another zone for a charity event or something.

And Zein ended up lashing the guides even more this time. Part of it because he was impatient, and part of it because the guides this time were worse than the first batch, which was the division’s best aside from Zein.

But the three poor guides had seen the footage of the previous raid, and had been warned by the first batch, so they weren’t really surprised by the scolding and berating. It was two B-class and one C-class this time, accompanying the [Isa] squad where Rina Solstice was the Captain. They were a defensive and resistant squad, so their whole strategy lay in being cautious.

Unlike in the previous raid, where Bassena was there to keep him company, Zein had no partner to talk to this time. He ended up being even more observant, noting even the smallest details and criticizing even the tiniest mistakes. The two B-class would be joining [Isa] squad’s raids from now on, so Zein really made sure to get them acclimatized with the whole squad.

During break time, he made sure the guides did the cleansing properly, as usual gave them pointers during the guiding just like what he did with the previous batch. Between that, and instantly guiding Rina after, he seemed to have no break time at all.

Even then, his stamina and mental capacity did not wane. After all, this kind of raid held no candle to being stranded for three days inside the Deathzone where they couldn’t even fall asleep in fear of the beast’s and the specter’s attack while keeping on the move to get back to the unit.

So the guides and espers’ respect for him soared, including Rina’s--who also watched Zein on the field for the first time, and couldn’t wait to brag to Ashur about it.

Those respect and admiration translated well in the way they looked at Zein after the raid ended, and the media ate this up. Especially seeing how cheery Rina Solstice was, and how she latched joyfully to the tall guide.

If the media only speculated before, now they were sure; Guide Luzein was in charge of all the 5-stars in Trinity.

Once again, the new guide became the topic of media highlight, and without the Serpent Lord to shield him, they could take as many pictures as they want before the guide disappeared inside the car, looking as stoic and cold as usual with the black mask that always stayed.

Some even began to question what kind of face was hidden behind the mask, wondering if he was also good-looking like most of the Trinity guild’s members, or whether he always wore the mask because his face actually lacking.

Whatever the case, Zein was the highlight of the media for that day and the next.

The man himself, however, had no idea about it, since he didn’t care enough to surf the news site. And the guild’s management knew better than shoving an interview request for Zein. It was stated within their contract already, that the guild could not impose any publication or commercial venture for the guide without his consent. The PR team already asked him once and he gave them a stare as if he would skewer them if they asked ever again. Any public relations business with the Strike Guide Division would be handled by Alice and the A-class Nadine.

And so, Zein had never bothered himself with news articles regarding him--or Trinity, for that matter--and that ignorance showed when he went out of the guild compound late at night alone.

It was Zein’s habit to go on a run every few days, when he got stuffy with things to ponder. But after more than a month, he was rather bored with the compound view, and decided to venture further, outside the confine of Trinity’s wall. He learned how to use the map through the commlink, and had a night run with his exercise clothes and trusty filtering mask.

Zein rarely got out of the guild compound. When he did, it was either going to Mortix or dungeon business. When he came out to ’play’, so to speak, he only followed the people he went with. He had never roamed the area around the guild compound, and it was an interesting experience on its own.

He found out that most of the buildings around Trinity were residential complexes--apartments and upper-class housing. There was also a commercial district that mainly dealt with esper’s goods and culinary streets.

This was something that was common in any zone; people would flock to the area where prominent guilds were. It was safer than other places, and should a gate appear there, the guild would immediately take care of it. Even in the red-zone, many business places were situated near mercenary groups’ bases or rogue guild houses.

It was different looking at the neighborhood through the leisure of one’s own feet, rather than through the car window. Even at night, people still wander about, with the sense of security and the neverending lights. Zein brought his feet through the streets and alleyways, looking at apartment buildings and housing clusters, and stopping at a small park for kids, sitting relaxedly at one of the swings, enjoying the night at the end of summer.

Looking at the life of civilians always made him at peace somehow. Especially looking at happy, contented, safe civilians. It got him thinking that one day, even the red-zone could see this kind of life, where they didn’t feel threatened every waking minute. It got him thinking that he had to work hard for this reclamation project to achieve that. And it filled him with the energy to give his all tomorrow.

With that kind of nice thought, Zein went to a convenience store near the park to buy some water. He had his hood up, so even while there were other people in the store, no one recognized him.

But when he paid for the bottled water, the cashier boy paused to look at him, and the moment he looked up, the boy saw his deep blue, sapphire-like eyes, and gasped.

He didn’t just gasp. He knocked over a lollipop and cigarette display that drew other people’s attention, before exclaiming loudly.

"T-Trinity’s new guide!"

Zein was taken aback, to say the least. He still hadn’t grasped the notion that random people would recognize him, or that they would see him as someone important. His eyes as he stared back at the cashier were as if asking ’well, yeah...I am, so what?’ and thinking when could he drink his water, since the boy hadn’t rung him.

But the boy seemed to be frozen, which prompted Zein to stand there awkwardly waiting for his water. And this moment gave time for other people to look keenly at the hooded and masked man--and a series of gasps and exclaims suddenly spread like fire.

As luck had it, the television above the cashier was having a night talk show talking about Trinity’s new division, and Zein’s picture and clips from around the dungeon gate were plastered on the screen. It was all for people to see and compared with the real one in front of them.

And since the figure, the mask, and the blue eyes were quite striking, it didn’t need long for them to get convinced.

Suddenly, without warning, Zein found himself being swamped by civilians flanking him, asking him if he really was the guide on that screen. Some even took a picture of him and recording the event. It became hectic that Zein went outside the store to flee, but the commotion made more people flock to the site.

Looking at the people surrounding him, Zein suddenly wished he had Bassena’s teleportation ability.

It had to be noted that, due to his lack of interest in public relations matters, Zein had never undergone image training in the guild, nor that they ever told him to. He had no idea how to get out of this encirclement of innocent civilians, and unfortunately for him, the shadow guard Radia assign to him only guarded him during the day, when he went outside.

Not for this unplanned late-night venture of his.

Zein didn’t look unfazed on the outside, but inside, he was quite flustered. While he could act harshly to espers, facing civilians was another matter. He couldn’t lash out at them, but he was so close to losing it when they started to try touching him.

He felt like he could reflexly hit them, and it got him inwardly panicking.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough folks, you’ll make the poor guide uncomfortable you know,"

Suddenly, a loud beaming voice came from somewhere, and when those people tried to see who was talking, Zein felt himself being pulled back, and a rather familiar voice greeted him. "Let’s run!"

Zein didn’t question it, following the man swiftly in fear of getting found out again. The man brought him through narrow and confusing alleyways, probably so no one could follow them. It took about five minutes before they stopped in a deserted street, and Zein could finally see the man pulling him out of the disastrous predicament.

An unfamiliar buzzcut and bulky physique, and the same friendly smile in Zein’s blurry memory. It had been almost two months since they met.

The Steel Blood; Askan Bellum.