(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Tucked away out of everyone’s sight

There were several people in line ahead of him, and Kellen wasn’t one to bud in line. So, he waited. And waited. As the receptionists stuttered and stumbled over their words, their gazes darted to where Kellen stood waiting his turn. What could have been a few minutes turned into several, and Kellen wondered if that was the plan. Make Kellen feel like he was wasting his time.

Eventually, he got to the front, and he smiled at the sweating, anxious receptionist who had to be a lower level Guide who had been eyeing him up the whole time. Their hands were shaking as they placed them onto the keyboard in front of them. Their eyes darted from the screen in front of their face, to Kellen’s, and back.

"W-What can I help you with?" They asked, and Kellen fought the chuckle wanting to escape. He had several ideas as to why the Guide was shaking, but couldn’t hazard a guess to which one it was. Shifting on his feet, Kellen leaned forward, leaning against the counter.

"Is your manager in?" He asked with a Guide smile, and watched as the receptionist swallowed.

"U-Uh, I think so. Let me give them a call." Fumbling with the phone, the receptionist raised it to their ear, shaking as they pressed a few buttons on the screen before them. Kellen just waited, glancing around the large space as he did so. He knew that this was going to be a hard one, especially since they had said no outright.

Finding a camera in the corner, Kellen smiled and gave it a wave. He was sure that the manager, another A Class Guide, was watching him from there. Especially after the receptionist typed in the panic code.

Kellen wasn’t an idiot, and he could see the reflection of the screen in the receptionist’s glasses. It was a good thing that all Guiding Centers had the same code. Uniformity could help in certain circumstances.

The receptionist hung up, looking even more nervous until the elevators to the left of them opened. Out stepped a woman dressed in normal clothes, with only a small pin over her heart that dictated that she was someone who worked here. She had long, blonde hair pulled back into a bun at the base of her neck, stylish, but classic jewelry on, and walked like a soldier.

Kellen could see he had found his escort.

"Guide Woods. The manager is currently in a meeting, but if you’ll follow me I’ll take you to one of our visitor rooms to wait in until they are available." Ah, so this was the angle they were going for. Kellen checked his phone with a chuckle. Well, he had some time to burn. Let’s see what they were about. Nodding, he turned towards his escort with a smile.

"How kind of you to offer me a place to wait outside of prying eyes. I wouldn’t have minded waiting in the lobby like the others." He offered, and watched as her mouth tensed. If they left him waiting in the main lobby it would be clear that they were ignoring him. If they took him to a separate room they could keep him for as long as they needed. They might even have a guard on the door if they really wanted to fuck with him.

But Kellen hoped it wasn’t that kind of a situation. He really did want to work with them. A small game of wasting time wasn’t a big deal to him in the grand scheme of things. Sure, he was tight on it, but it wasn’t as if they couldn’t work together in the future if this didn’t pan out. Kellen would just have to do more research for the next time.

"We couldn’t let such a high Class Guide wait alone. Did you not bring an escort?" She asked, and Kellen smiled.

"How flattering of you to say so, but I was barely a C Class Guide a month ago. And I should be able to take care of myself just fine." Kellen told her, and she nodded. Her jaw was tense, and her movements were sharp. She probably wasn’t used to doing this kind of job, and instead was used to kicking out unruly Espers who stepped out of line. Most Guiding Centers had a few Espers around for such a job. They were usually on loan from the D.E.C.

She, however, did not appear to be. Kellen had a feeling he would recognise most Espers from the D.E.C. in some capacity, but maybe he was being too generous with himself. There were, after all, way more Espers than there were Guides in the world. That and he had been away from the front lines for at least 6 months.

But, she was too well trained for his liking. His theory? She was from a different country and was probably the pair of one of the Guides working here. Her hostility towards him could only allow for so much guessing. An Esper wouldn’t normally care that much about another Guide, not the same way she was glaring at him whenever she got the chance.

"Well then, if you are agreeable, will you follow me, Guide Woods?" Kellen was sure he didn’t like her tone, but who was he to argue with her? He’d play this game for as long as he could muster before he needed to head over to the Peach Guild.

Chuckling to himself, he followed her towards the elevators, aware that most eyes were on them. He could feel the less the kind glares directed his way now that he had his back turned. What on earth had happened for them to hate him so much?

~

She didn’t say anything as she escorted him to the fourth floor and into a corner unit. It was clear that even though they had made some modifications, the guiding room layout was relatively the same. The only difference? Kellen had a feeling all rooms had a large, intimidating bed in them. It didn’t bother Kellen, he wasn’t a prude in that sense, and he in fact sat on the bed as soon as he entered. _{frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓}

That only seemed to make his escort frown as he sat, smiling, with his arms crossed.

"So? How long am I supposed to wait for?" He asked warmly, watching as now that she was only around him she didn’t control her contempt for him.