Free Web NovelChapter 493: I’ll Take It From Here
"...Association representatives from my team. I should at least have enough clearance to get in touch with them."
"Team Leader Lennox, like I’ve said, right now they are-"
"Damien!" Lane’s face instantly brightened at the sight of his boyfriend, who was standing near the Gate. Arguing with one of the Allen Guild members stationed outside to guard the entrance to the Eldenveil, it seemed.
As if on command, Damien turned around, completely ignoring the guard who was talking to him (trying to stop him from entering the Gate, most likely). Now that Lane was out, there was no need for him to argue anymore. He took a few steps towards the group...
And his expression quickly grew somber, his brows drawing in a deep frown, as his gaze fell on Lane’s body. To be precise, Lane’s T-shirt, which was clinging to his form, revealing his sculpted torso.
The problem? The T-shirt was white. Or rather, USED TO BE white. Now it was covered with multiple red patches, revealing at a glance that Lane was injured...
Damien’s steps quickened. Before he could approach Lane, though, his path was blocked. freewebnovel.cσ๓
"Team Leader Lennox," Team Leader Patel bowed his head in greeting. "May I ask what you are doing here?"
Damien wasn’t assigned to the Eldenveil. He hadn’t even been present during the tournament earlier. In fact, from what Lane could remember (and he was certain he remembered it well, since it concerned his boyfriend), he was supposed to be somewhere else completely. On standby in the hotel with the guests all day and night long, to be precise...
So what was he doing at the Gate to the Eldenveil, indeed? The Gate and the hotel were not even close!
Damien gave Team Leader Patel a long look. The man had clearly blocked his way, which was honestly quite rude, but he didn’t say anything about it. Technically speaking, while as one of the Association’s Team Leaders Damien had higher authority, Team Leader Patel had the right to question him, considering he was currently in charge of the Eldenveil’s security.
"I’ve heard that there was an accident and one of the Association’s members from my team was involved, so I’ve come to check up on him," he just explained.
Of course, Lane was more than just a team member, but in their current situation, using their work connection was more meaningful than referring to their relationship status. freeweɓnovel.cøm
Even Team Leader Patel must have thought so, because he nodded his head, albeit hesitantly. "Yes, we have encountered some issues," he admitted. "Although, I must ask... Where did Team Leader Lennox hear about it?" He threw a quick, annoyed glance at Lane.
As if Lane was responsible for it. Even though it was obvious he couldn’t have been, at least not directly. There was no connection in the dungeon, and from the moment Lane was asked to assist Brian until just now, Lane hadn’t been able to set a foot out of the Eldenveil, thus he had no way of contacting the outside world. It could have only been one of the Allen Guild members who had leaked the information (which was unlikely), or Arlo and Cora stepping out to inform Damien of the situation, just in case.
Sure enough, Damien soon confirmed Lane’s suspicions.
"One of my other team members informed me," he briefly explained, causing Team Leader Patel to throw Lane another glare. It was clear that he blamed Lane for this situation, even if he couldn’t express his frustration out loud.
If it weren’t for the fact that it had all been a ploy against Lane, there would have been nothing wrong with Lane’s superior being contacted, after all.
And Lane actually was innocent in this aspect. While he had asked Arlo and Cora to call for help if he hadn’t returned, that was only about notifying others assigned to the Eldenveil and sending a rescue team to the lake. He hadn’t even mentioned Damien, for several reasons: he didn’t think they would be able to leave the dungeon to call him and Damien wouldn’t be able to come anyway, but most importantly, he didn’t want to involve Damien in this mess. He had thought he could simply deal with it on his own...
...But now that he saw his boyfriend, he was truly glad that the man was here. Without him even realizing it, his tension slowly dissipated...
However.
"Is that so? In that case, it’s alright. There was no need for Team Leader Lennox to come here in person, though. We have everything under control. We are taking Esper Lane Allen to the Allen Guild’s hospital for treatment right now."
Damien’s frown slightly eased at the mention of treatment. Only to deepen even more as he realized that the Allen Guild’s hospital was probably not the safest place for Lane to be in, despite their state-of-the-art technology and treatment methods. After giving it a quick thought, he said,
"Thank you for taking care of my team member, but I’ll take it from here. Lane is a member of the Association, it is best to admit him to our affiliated hospital."
"That’s..." Team Leader Patel paused for a moment, glancing between Damien and Lane, as he considered something. Not whether to agree to Damien’s request, of course, but most likely how to politely convince Damien and cause trouble for Lane at the same time. "I’m afraid I must insist. Since it is likely due to our members’ negligence that Esper Allen ended up injured, it is our Guild’s responsibility to provide him with the best possible treatment. He was trapped in an underwater cage with S-rank monsters for an extended period of time, and the Guide accompanying him lost his life in the process, so it is essential that he receives proper care as soon as possible."
As expected, although he didn’t say much, Damien caught the bait.
"...A Guide died?"
"Yes, indeed," Team Leader Patel nodded, a corner of his mouth rising slightly in a hint of a smirk. "From what he had been able to figure out, Esper Allen and Guide Jensen dove into the lake with only one set of scuba diving equipment, and Esper Allen used it all by himself, leaving Guide Jensen to drown," he briefly explained.
Conveniently leaving out that the equipment was Lane’s to begin with, the limited air supply, and most importantly, the five high-ranking monsters swimming around...
