(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 268

Chapter 268: Side story- 6 years ago Kellen and the Captain part 3

Shuffling his feet, Kellen ignored the grumbling of his stomach. He hadn’t eaten a few meals, but he knew his body could handle it. He usually foraged for things inside of gates instead of paying for food from the suppliers on the front lines. The food was usually dry, disgusting, and never satisfied him.

It was better to get something from the gates when he was sneaking in to research, since it helped him confirm what was safe and what was not. He’d found out the hard way a few times that you couldn’t eat everything raw, but it meant he had more experience for when he led other groups through gates.

His stomach rumbled again and he heard one of the Esper’s chuckle. Kellen refused to let his face heat. He wasn’t going to get embarrassed. It would not look good for him, especially since he already looked ragged compared to the other Field Guides here.

He felt his chances drop even further when the tent flap opened and the top Field Guide on the front lines stepped out. She had her little entourage with her, and she had a giant grin on her pretty face. When she caught sight of the other Field Guides waiting out front, her smile shifted.

Instead of being pure glee, it held a malicious edge to it. Kellen tightened his grip on the strap of his backpack. He doubted that the Espers saw it. They never saw the animosity between Guides, and sometimes tried to have Field Guides who literally would kill each other working on the same contract.

Kellen hoped that this new Guild wasn’t going to be like that.

She came to stand in the same area as him and the other Field Guides, but he could tell that their levels of excitement had also diminished. It was going to be hard to go up against her. She had the backing of several powerful Espers on the front lines, as well as a lot of money.

There were Field Guides who were like that sometimes. Those who swung their family name and wealth around. It made Kellen want to grind his teeth. He tried so hard to get out from under his family name and the expectations everyone had for him, yet there were others who just flaunted it so easily. So willingly.

Like they didn’t feel the way that others looked at them. Or the pressure that was pushing down on their shoulders. It actually looked like they thrived under it, and Kellen just couldn’t understand that kind of behaviour.

"Field Guide Morrison." The silver haired man called and Field Guide Morrison, who appeared to be a small woman trembling, gathered her things and shuffled forward towards the tent flaps. Kellen glanced at the remaining Field Guides, and sighed.

He was going to have some time to wait. He should go over his speech, just in case.

~

"Field Guide Woods." Kellen glanced up from the papers in his hand and stared at the silver haired man who called his name. He could feel the mood shift, and that’s why he hated being called by his last name. People always made assumptions. It wasn’t even like Woods wasn’t a common last name. It was super common.

People besides his parents could have it.

Picking up the backpack he’d placed on the ground, he felt the strap consider giving out and stopped, before sighing, bending down, and scooping up his bag from the bottom. He was not going to let it break off in front of all these people. It also wouldn’t instill confidence in him if he couldn’t even keep his bag together.

Kellen made his way grimly towards the tent, his mind focused as he thought about how he was going to impress the Espers inside. The Field Guides who had gone in before him, besides the top Field Guide here, had been sent on their merry way. Kellen only had one shot at this.

Glancing around the tent once his eyes had adjusted, Kellen found himself in what he assumed was going to be the mess tent once they had finished getting the area set up.

There were several tables pressed against the walls of the tent to allow for the focus to be drawn to the two long tables in the center of the tent, and the chair sitting by itself in the center of the room. There was also a white board there was well, pushed to the side, and Kellen felt a sense of relief fill him.

He could at least draw out his full plan without having to give over his papers.

Kellen was so busy looking over the area that he almost neglected the four bodies sitting in the chairs at the table.

When he finally looked at them, he nearly froze in his footsteps.

The first man was obviously a Guide. It was in his soft features, and the way he carried himself, even as he was sitting that gave him away. His brown hair was short, slightly wavy, and he had small, narrow glasses that didn’t quite suit his face. He was cute, even if he wore a slight scowl on his face. It was also the different coloured uniform that really told Kellen he wasn’t an Esper.

Next to him was a woman with long, wavy brown hair and big, brown eyes. She had a confident smirk on her face, and was chatting away excitedly to the Guide. She was wearing the Esper uniform, or what he was assuming was the Esper uniform, and it was clear that was where the displeasure the Guide was feeling was coming from.

That was the closest table, and not the one that nearly killed him.

The second table had another man and woman sitting at it as well. Both appeared to be Espers, but he recognised these two.

The woman was someone he hadn’t expected to see again. And from the way she gasped, and her blue eyes widened, she hadn’t expected to see him either.