The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 481: Are You Alright?

It wasn’t that Lane was hurt or anything. He had known this day had to come eventually, especially now that Lane was no longer living in hiding, but working as the Association’s Field Agent under Damien Lennox instead. He was a liability, and liabilities had to be eliminated. To ensure that they wouldn’t damage the Allens’ reputation, jeopardize their status or business, or whatever.

There was no reason for him to be scared either. The Allens would most likely stage an accident, just like Lane had attempted to do with Ethan. Such an option was easier to cover up, and it was in line with Miles and Catherine’s behavior a moment ago - they were pretending to be caring parents in public, so that their ’grief’ after Lane’s death would be believable. It was surely going to be a well-planned incident, designed carefully so that Lane wouldn’t be able to get away...

But it was going to be tailored for Lane the A-rank Esper with air manipulation ability. Not the REAL Lane, an SS-ranker with a whole range of plundered abilities he could use as he pleased. Thus, whatever the Allens had planned was doomed to fail.

That didn’t mean that there was no problem, though. Surviving was the most important, of course, but... If Lane ended up getting caught in the scheme, that would end up exposing his true rank and abilities to the Allens. Maybe not in their FULL extent, but it would at the very least let them know that Lane was much stronger than they thought.

And that could make things more complicated later, when he finally made his move against the Allens. Not to mention, even if they didn’t expose him immediately - which they probably wouldn’t, since they wouldn’t want to risk exposing their own schemes that led them to figure it out in the process - they would surely try to use this knowledge to their advantage later... And if-

"Lane?"

A concerned voice snapped Lane out of his thoughts. He turned his eyes away from the crowd, where his parents had disappeared, to Eloise and Samantha, who were staring at him with worry and unease. The conversation earlier might have seemed like a normal parent-child interaction, but for the sisters, who were familiar with how Lane usually was, it was obvious that there was something... odd about it, even if they couldn’t tell what exactly was wrong.

And being caring women that they were (GENUINELY caring, not just for show, like the Allens), they naturally wanted to check up on Lane. Especially when he was still staring blankly into the distance with a dark expression on his face.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah? Hahah, yeah," Lane forced out a laugh. "It’s just a scratch..."

It hadn’t even stung all that much, even as champagne had entered his wounds. Used to pain as Lane was, a minor, superficial injury like that was to him what a light scratch could be to someone else.

But,

"I’m not asking about the cut..." Eloise lowered her voice.

Of course she wasn’t. Lane’s hand was already fully healed. By and an A-rank Esper with fifteen or so years of experience, at that. When the wound wasn’t even serious in the first place...

Oh, well. Just because Lane knew exactly what Eloise was talking about, that wasn’t going to stop him from playing dumb.

"If not the cut, then what?" he tilted his head. Then, before anyone could say anything, he added, shaking his hand, "I’m going to the toilet, I need to wash it off."

Catherine might have healed him, but his hand was still sticky with blood and champagne. Her ability couldn’t just make it all disappear.

And good thing it didn’t. At least Lane had an excuse to leave the ballroom.

"Oh, alright. Do you want me to go with you, or...?"

"To the men’s toilets?" Lane quirked his brow with a smile playing on his lips. "No need, I’m fine."

Having said that, he made his way out, trying to walk at what seemed an appropriate pace for the situation, as he could still feel other people’s eyes on his back, observing him with curiosity.

He could have stayed and fed to Eloise and Samantha’s concern. He could have put a show, act as if he were afraid of his parents or something. It would have been nice if he could tarnish the Allens’ reputation, even just a tiny little bit. However...

Would things go the way he wanted them to? Would people take his side? To be honest, Lane wasn’t so sure. He might have been confident in his own abilities, but it wasn’t about that. Even if he put on the most convincing show, how people chose to interpret it was out of his control...

Especially since the Allens led the most powerful Guild and had no scandals on their account, while he was just an unknown son with pink hair and a questionable past. When it came to it, between his word and the Allens’, it wasn’t hard to guess which more people would believe. Perhaps some rumors would start, that Miles and Catherine are not all that great as parents or that they might have abandoned their son, but the Allens surely would be able to spin it in a way that put them in a better light. They had the power and resources to do so.

In the end, all things considered, Lane was the one who stood more to lose by making a scene.

That’s why he simply fled the scene, using his dirty hand as an excuse, and sneaked out of the ballroom - he might as well use this opportunity to just leave the event. He wasn’t enjoying himself there anyway, and it’s not like his presence would be missed, so...

He found himself a quiet corner to sit in, and wiped his hand with a wet tissue he took out of his spatial bag, before pulling out his phone. Now that it was pretty much confirmed that the Allens were planning something, it was even more important for Lane to be prepared. Taking advantage of having a moment to himself, he started scrolling through the Allen Guild’s organization plans once more, taking note of anything that could potentially be a clue...