Free Web NovelChapter 490: Pointless Efforts
The sky was still dark outside, nearly black, when Lane finally resurfaces, a good few hours before sunrise. Compared to the darkness in the depths of the lake, though, it felt almost too bright. Lane blinked a few times, waiting for his eyes to adjust, and took off the mask, taking a breath of fresh air.
It felt great to be out. After this night, Lane was quite fed up with water. He probably wasn’t going to take a dip for a while if he could help it, not even in the bathtub. It wasn’t so bad that he’d be left traumatized, but...
"Do you need any help?" one of the rescuers asked, noticing that Lane made no move to climb onto the pier.
"Ah, yes, if you could..." Lane nodded with a bashful smile. "I’m still feeling rather numb..."
"I understand." The man nodded, and quickly pulled himself up onto the pier, before reaching out and grabbing Lane by the arms, lifting him up from the water. Considering Lane’s injuries, it was understandable that his mobility could be compromised...
The monsters had special toxins in the stingers on their tentacles, which paralyzed their prey. As an A-rank Esper, Lane wouldn’t be completely immobilized by it, especially now that some time had passed and the effect lessened, but it could still leave him numb, sluggish, and clumsy.
...Of course, it actually didn’t have any effect on Lane, aside from a gentle tingling before he Plundered the monsters, but still. It wasn’t important how he really felt, but how he SHOULD be feeling, with his official rank and all. Keeping it in mind, Lane acted accordingly, so that Allens wouldn’t spot any suspicious points in the incident reports.
"Please wait for a moment," the rescuer said, placing Lane on the wooden platform. "The healer will be with you as soon as he can."
Lane’s brows shot up at his words.
There was a healer available on the scene? When the Allens were trying to get rid of Lane?
Then again, it made sense. There were two Espers with healing-type abilities stationed in the Eldenveil for the time of the tournament and all the following summit events that took place in the dungeon. Even if there had been an alarm triggered earlier, the team that had been sent to investigate it was unlikely to include both of them... That would have been a decision that would be hard to explain afterwards.
And it wasn’t like leaving one healer on stand-by would put the ’Lane elimination plan’ in jeopardy. By the time he would be sent to the scene, Lane was expected to be long dead, torn into pieces and devoured by the monsters.
Just like Brian was. Except for the ’torn and devoured’ part. Because Lane had attracted all of the monsters’ attention, his corpse remained intact.
Lane turned his eyes to the side, where the pale body of the Guide was lying on the wet boards. The reason why one of the rescuers had told Lane to wait was that the healer was currently busy attending to Brian. Not because he thought that Lane was less important or anything, but simply because Brian was in a far worse state. It was a logical decision to take care of him first.
However, at the same time, it was a pointless effort. Brian’s body was already stiff, which meant that the rigor mortis must have set in. Not even the best healer could save him.
And the healer on the scene, Justin Steward, was certainly not the best. While he was a B-ranker, his ability was not the most flexible, good primarily for things like wounds or fractures. He could repair damaged tissues, but when it came to things like resuscitating a person, he wasn’t much different from civilian medical personnel - he had to rely more on his knowledge and training rather than on his power. Even Lane’s mediocre healing ability would have been more useful...
Not that it could change anything. Even if Catherine were on the scene, and they all worked together, Brian couldn’t be saved.
"Esper Lane Allen, right?" All of a sudden, a voice spoke from above.
Lane blinked, snapped out of his thoughts, and lifted his eyes to look at the man standing next to him. It was Team Leader Patel, an A-ranker from the Allen Guild, and the person in charge of the night shift. He stood with his back straight, not even looking at Lane, but rather staring at the tablet in his hands.
"Yes," Lane nodded to confirm.
"Great. I would like to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?"
Lane lifted his brows once again, scoffing under his nose.
Seriously? Already interrogating him? It was understandable that Team Leader Patel wanted to hear his account of what had happened, but surely it wasn’t so urgent that he had to do it as soon as Lane was out of water? Before he had a chance to have his wounds treated, or get dressed... Lane was still sitting on the pier with nothing but his boxer briefs on, as the rescuers didn’t even give him a towel...
...Of course, Lane could have easily taken a towel out of his spatial bag, but he had been so preoccupied with observing the scene and analyzing the situation that he simply forgot. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Still, as ridiculous as he found the Team Leader’s attitude, he knew that the question wasn’t really a question. Team Leader Patel only asked ’is that okay?’ to sound polite, but in fact, he was going to interrogate Lane no matter what. And if Lane made it difficult, it would only reflect badly on him for being ’uncooperative.’ freёwebnoѵel.com
So, Lane let out a quiet sigh, and said, "Yes. That’s fine."
"Great." Team Leader Patel nodded, tapping something on the screen. "First of all, let me confirm. Guide Jensen came to the Emerald Mansion to ask for your assistance due to unusual Mana fluctuations. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
Guide Jensen was, of course, Brian.
"Then, before leaving the hotel, you informed Esper Ross and Guide Peters about the situation."
"That’s correct."
"You have arrived at the lake, and immediately entered the lake... Was it because you were rushing Guide Jensen, wanting to finish the task and quickly return to your room?"
Hearing Team Leader Patel’s question, or rather his STATEMENT, Lane’s eyes twitched ominously.
"...What?"
