There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Chapter 112. Distraction

Betraying people’s hope to see more of their interaction, and taking a peek at the guide’s face, Bassena took Zein back to his dressing room for a quick lunch.

Thanks to that, Zein didn’t have to endure even more people staring at him. He got used to it already after spending a few months in Althrea, but that didn’t mean he liked it. Especially because he knew, based on people’s whispers, that they wanted to see his face, and it made him uncomfortable.

While he didn’t mind doing it to humor Bassena, Zein didn’t think he would want to go to a production studio anymore. Perhaps because they worked in media-related content, their stares were more inquisitive, and their curiosity was greater than average civilians.

They even paid attention to him more than to Bassena or Senia. Lex kindly told them how much the Princess glared in their direction during the break time when they were still at the set.

"So why exactly is she here?" Zein became even more confused then. He looked at the other three and recalled something from before. "Did you say it might be a distraction?"

Bassena, who was in the middle of peeling an orange, lifted his face and hummed at the ceiling. "Well...more like reverse psychology?"

"Don’t know what that means," Zein responded in a flat tone, and Bassena chuckled apologetically, putting the peeled orange in the guide’s hand.

"Let’s see...with all that news about Celestia wanting you, when they appeared here suddenly, it’s normal to think that they would try to poach you while at it, right?"

Zein put the orange in his mouth and shuddered at the slight sourness. "...so?"

"But if someone successfully approached you today, with Celestia’s good reputation, people might also think it’s too obvious. ’There’s no way Celestia would do that while all the attention is on them’ or something like that..."

"Hmm..." Zein tilted his head slightly, savoring the sweet and sour sensation in his mouth as well as Bassena’s conjecture. "So...even if something happens, people would think it’s someone else other than Celestia?"

The three espers nodded their head in unison, and Zein understood more now why Jock was never more than a meter away from him. They never left him alone here, either Jock or Lex was always around Zein when Bassena still had the shoot, and they only move away when Bassena was there.

"So...you think they might do something?"

"There’s a probability," Basena nodded, but paused for a bit and tapped his arm in contemplation. "But that girl most likely knows nothing about it, since she couldn’t act. She approached you purely because of curiosity, if we go by her personality."

"Well, her role is just to attract attention anyway, so it doesn’t matter," Lex said from the side, suddenly providing them with a mixed drink he made from who-knows-where.

"Ah...so that’s why you called it a distraction?" Zein nodded now, putting the last orange in his mouth. Inside, however, Zein thought it was too much of a conjecture.

Would Celestia truly dispatch someone to approach or maybe kidnap Zein just like that? He was just a guide--a brilliant one, but nothing worth fighting about. At least, Zein thought that.

Yeah, he thought that until Jock brought him inside the emergency stairs an hour later.

* * *

"It’s really happening?" Zein asked in disbelief when he ended up being pulled into the emergency exit on the way to the toilet.

He just wanted to go to the restroom, and Jock was acting like nothing special happened until now. But the man rarely changed his expression anyway, always with a slight smile and observing eyes. Even now, as they climbed the stairs, the man explained calmly.

"There’s a few waiting around the restroom on that floor. Doesn’t look dangerous though, probably just wants to corner you into talking. But you wouldn’t like that, would you, Sir?"

"Mm," Zein just nodded while following the esper.

"And it’ll also be bad for your reputation if you reject them flatly, so we’ll avoid them instead and use the one on another floor,"

Zein did not care about his reputation, but this wasn’t just about him. His reputation was now tied to Trinity, and with that, to those under the guild. He scolded Bassena once about that, so he couldn’t just act nonchalant about it.

Anyway, it was true that avoiding something annoying like that would be the best.

But Zein also found out that the campers around the lobby and the restroom weren’t the only people sent to approach him. While they were climbing the stairs, Jock was speaking with the rest of Zein’s invisible guards. From what he heard, it seemed like they were surveilling the building, as well as Celestia’s movement, and had been sending reports to Jock periodically.

"Divert their path somewhere else. Let’s avoid contact as much as possible," Jock said through his skill, which seemed to be a designated sound transmission or something like that, since the man had no communication device on him other than the commlink--which he didn’t use.

Zein had never felt more interested in his invisible guards than now. Who were they? What did they look like? What ability did they hold? All he knew about them was that they were under Mortix rather than Trinity--or more precisely, under Radia Mallarc.

Bassena said they wouldn’t show themselves to him unless Zein was in mortal danger and needed immediate assistance. He would never know how many people and devices these guards had dispatched so far, or what method they did to keep him safe. That was the whole point of them being invisible.

That being said, they didn’t guard him all the time, only when he was outside of Trinity’s compound--which was rare, to begin with. Jock told Zein that guarding him was a pretty easy and lackluster job.

Well...that was good, wasn’t it?

But it seemed like today, they couldn’t afford to be lackluster anymore. From the way Jock made his orders, to how often the reports came in from the other guards. Even until they reached an upper floor that seemed to be quite empty, Jock was still busy with his relay.

Wasn’t this quite serious?

It garnered a reaction from both the panelists and the TV crew. Didn’t seem scripted, Zein thought. Could it be that the question was something irregular that hadn’t been prepared before?

"The Princess suddenly provoke the topic about Trinity’s careless and dangerous concept," Lex, who suddenly appeared beside Zein, informed him. "It was probably to shove a narrative that Trinity only does it for the clout, and pressure us to reveal the concept planning."

Bassena smiled at that; his handsome face shifted into an innocent, surprised look as he replied with another question. "Isn’t it our duty to always seek improvement in our effort to keep the world safe? Increasing the efficiency of dungeon raids also contribute to that, don’t you think?"

"Using guides?" the Princess tilted her head, sounding blatantly dubious and mocking.

"Guides are also part of the sentinel community," Bassena replied immediately with a shrug, as if he already knew Senia would have that kind of thought. "They are awakened people, just like espers, only differ in how their abilities manifest,"

This time, Bassena wasn’t just glancing, but straight up staring at Zein. A confident smile played on his face as he continued. "It’s a wrong assumption to put them outside the system, when their role is an integral part of an improved dungeon raid."

Oh, how the cameramen itched to have a shoot in Zein’s direction. But Bassena had already told the producer that they couldn’t put the guide in any screen appearance, so they could only lament inwardly.

The Princess, meanwhile, didn’t want to stop. "But they--"

"We proved that guides can handle their duty inside the dungeon so far, as long as they are being trained in that regard," Bassena didn’t even wait for her words to come out fully, and shifted his gaze back to the MCs--eyes sharp and judgmental, as if questioning as to why questions that they didn’t agree on before kept appearing.

"Yes, it’s such a brilliant concept looking at the efficiency," one of the MCs followed wittingly, seemingly in agreement to end the topic already. "I would very much like it if Trinity could provide us with some data regarding the rate of improvement."

"As I said, we’ll provide everything in due time after the trial period is over,"

"Oh, I’m looking forward to it!" one of the panelists chimed in, only to be immediately shoved away by the Princess’s voice.

"But how do you even think of that? Involving guide in a raid?" she still sounded condescending, as if questioning Bassena’s sanity in establishing such a silly concept.

"Well...let’s say we have way more interest in them than you," Bassena smiled--deeply, sharply, like a snarl. It persisted for a second only, however, before he was back to the charming face. "I’m glad though," he was even laughing cheerfully. "I almost think you have any interest in my guide, but it seems I was wrong."

For the first time that day, Senia pressed her lips and refrained from making a reply--probably because she would curse on air otherwise.

As the rest of the show grew in a rather strange tension, Zein tapped on his mask while smirking.

Seek improvement, increase efficiency, guides inclusion...Zein chuckled at all the things Bassena spouted with a calm face. Although they might have some truth in them, the real reason for this new division’s establishment was totally different, wasn’t it?

In the end, it was all a preparation for winning the reclamation project bid in that annual meet.

Ah...what a way to distract the rest of the world from their real agenda.