There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Chapter 104. Soaring Wind

"It’s not kidnapping if we already planned it," Zein replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, don’t worry. I’m going to kidnap you for real someday," Bassena smiled deeply as he entered the office that seemed to become the 5-stars’ rest area these days. "This is just a trial run."

"Don’t get cheeky,"

That’s where you focused on? Abel raised his brow at Zein. What about the ’boyfriend’ thing? "You’re going somewhere?" he asked the taller guide.

"Rexon," the one who replied was the esper, who unhesitatingly walked toward the desk and looked over the printout with a smirk.

To be honest, Bassena wanted to have these pictures for himself. Of course, with his enhanced senses, he knew he was being photographed from afar a few times, but if someone like him was always concerned about people taking pictures of him, he wouldn’t have a career. But then, he wasn’t feeling wronged too.

It almost felt like a pity that he didn’t use this kind of trick from the start.

Look, he could even playfully call Zein his boyfriend and the man didn’t tell him off.

"The Capital?" Abel looked up with bewilderment, looking back and forth between Zein and Bassena. "In this situation?"

"Well, it’s not my fault that those people conjured up this stuff when I’m already making plans," Bassena shrugged, seating himself at the edge of the desk while eyeing the printout in front of Zein. He stared at the soft blue eyes in the picture and his smile deepened. "Besides, it’s not really detrimental to me."

Yeah--if anything, he was happy about it. There was nothing wrong with him falling in love and chasing a guide. It was good that people would know he wanted to claim Zein as his.

"Maybe the people who insist I have something going on with those celebrities will change their minds then," Bassena muttered, chuckling joyfully to himself, staring straight at the blue eyes as if telling Zein not to believe any rumors regarding that.

And maybe, people who wanted to have Zein for themselves would cease their intention too while at it. A win for him either way.

Looking at two people who looked at each other like they were conversing with their eyes got Abel to roll his eyes and shrug. "Eh, it’s not my business anyway," the Chief Guide said, leaning back in his chair before suddenly recalling something. "What about Celestia, though?"

Wasn’t there a rumor about Zein being scouted by Celestia not long ago? It became an open secret that Celestia wanted Zein, but now they’d go to the heart of Celestia’s territory?

"Well...it’s one of the reasons why we do this," Bassena replied, secretly taking the printout in front of Zein by gathering all the papers together.

Abel tilted his head slightly. Jumping straight to the enemy’s territory is the plan? "What do you mean?"

"Isn’t showing off in front of their face that Zein accompanying me will tell those people that he won’t be jumping ship? Telling them that we’re confident enough to take Zein to the Capital without fearing about poaching or whatever."

"What if he got approached again?"

"Then I’ll simply reject them," Zein finally opened his mouth after just listening to them for a while. "I only talked with Askan because I knew him before, anyway."

"And he always has guards with him nowadays," Bassena added with a smile, glancing at Alice who was standing silently there. "Right, Miss assistant?"

Again, the girl let out a deep smile, and bowed her head while replying simply. "Of course."

Abel raised his brow at yet another new piece of information. What guards? Where? Since when? The number of question marks in his mind increased.

But the guide decided to just forget about them and looked at Zein again. "So...what exactly are you going to do there?"

"How would I know? I’ve never been there," Zein shrugged his shoulder, in a very Zein-way about nonchalantly facing the unknown. He looked up at Bassena and tilted his head. "Didn’t you say something about watching your shoot?"

Bassena Vaski, Althrea’s commercial king, winked and flashed a charming smile as confirmation, and got a light slap on his arm because of that. "I told you not to do that in front of me."

Again, Abel almost sighed at the display in front of him. He couldn’t blame the members of the group chat to have a lot of assumptions and going wild with their imagination. How many times had they asked him about any juicy information?

"Actually, I was surprised that Zein even agreed to this," Abel chuckled as he watched the guide-esper pair, thinking about what kind of chaos the group chat would be if he was to record the things happening inside this office.

"He made a promise," Bassena answered with a prideful smile, as if he just made a rare accomplishment or something.

"You made me promise when I was drunk," Zein replied with narrowed eyes.

"What part of kidnapping did you not get?"

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Zein had changed his uniform with a coat, and he regretted not buttoning it earlier, because the wind made it fly about around him. He tried not to look at the propelling blades and just focused on the hand guiding him forward. He could only take a deep breath when he finally sat down; the seat and interior felt more comfortable than he thought.

Bassena fastened the seatbelt and gently put the headsets on for Zein, who just watched everything in slight excitement. Now that he didn’t have to see and feel the menacing propelling blades, he could finally start to enjoy the environment.

"If you’re fine with this one, I’ll take you for a flight sometimes," Bassena said while the pilot prepared to take off and Lex was climbing into the front seat. "Just the two of us."

Zein turned his head with genuine surprise, blue eyes widened and blinking. "You mean...you can fly this thing?"

Bassena answered with a smile that suddenly felt so attractive to Zein. "We’re going up," the esper said instead, while holding his hand slightly.

The guide shifted his gaze outside then, when he felt the jolt of sudden weightlessness, which reminded him of the time he fell down into the city ruin and Bassena caught him. He pressed his head to the seat, and was quite glad that he could feel Bassena’s warm hand on his.

Looking at the approaching blue sky, Zein suddenly remembered the time when he was a child who still dared to hope. Looking at the crows and other brave birds flying across the musty sky of the red-zone, he was envious of how they could go away easily from the rotten ground. He dreamed of turning into a bird and flying to the other side of the wall, escaping the hellish place.

Maybe then, he could escape that man and go somewhere. Maybe then, he could arrive at the place they called the sea. Maybe then, he could see the things people said to resemble his eyes.

He learned fast though, that dreaming about something impossible was a waste of time, and just objected to it as a child’s mere silly dream.

Birds were to be caught and eaten for a meal anyway.

In the red-zone, it was easier to not dream at all.

With his other hand, which wasn’t held by Bassena, Zein touched the window, watching the tall building and trees passing by below. Watching the river and moat with glistening water reflecting the sunlight.

Ah--Zein looked up at the blue sky that felt closer than usual. This wasn’t the red-zone. Here, he could dream about something and it would feel like it might be possible.

What would it feel like, he wondered, if he could really fly outside without this machine. What would it feel like to be surrounded by the sound of the wind and the flap of the wings?

The blue sky and the warmth on his hand strangely told him that it might be possible.