Chapter 163: Red Zone 67 (3)

In the end, the two espers did not leave and accompanied the envoy traveling to the red zone. The inside of the armored truck was spacious enough, with only the four occupying the whole vehicle.

The others chose the other trucks instead. As for Renji, his destination was actually different, and he was only hitching a ride before leaving at a certain point of the trip.

His main mission was to protect Ayen, who was now with his two espers, and so he had time to do personal errands. As for the mission about the two guides, the two S-class espers were present, and so it was not that urgent.

“Are you suddenly jobless?” Lucian rolled his eyes at Arstem, who was sitting beside him. “Also, stop touching me,” He said that, but did not push away the hand holding his hand either.

Arstem was accustomed to Lucian’s attitude. His expression did not change at all.

“It can wait. I’ll escort you to safety first.”

In reality, Arstem was only savoring these few days with Lucian, as it would be quite a while before they met again once he entered the battlefield.

Lucian could sense that it was the case, and the reason he was more annoyed. He stared at their intertwined hands and bit his lips, not saying anything.

Their hand sizes differ; Arstem’s hands completely covered his. The rough and scarred hands proved just how the esper worked hard on the front lines.

Arstem noticed his expression and sighed.

“I’ll visit often,” Arstem whispered softly.

His intimidating nature was nowhere to be found as long as Lucian was present. Something that was often teased before, but not because it was ridiculous to look at, but because it was so surprising.

Arstem was known for his ruthless and strict leadership, and it was unimaginable that someone like him also had this soft and doting side.

Lucian pursed his lips, brows still furrowed.

Arstem reached out and smoothed the space between his brows. Lucian lifted his gaze and met the esper’s eyes again. He was still frowning, but the crease between his brows had somewhat loosened.

“Stop treating me like a kid.” Despite the words, Lucian’s words had softened, but he was still glaring at Artsem.

Arstem grinned at Lucian’s obvious change.

“When did I treat you as a kid?”

“Every time.” Lucian pursed his lips. “Do you want me to list them all?”

Lucian failed to notice that whenever he was with Arstem, he was truly acting like a mischievous kid. Or it was more accurate to say, he always let go of all his worries and knew that Arstem loved him so much to be mad at him with his unreasonable antics.

“Am I treating you like a kid?” Arstem arched a brow, chuckling at how absurd it was.

It was true that their age gap was quite significant, but he had never seen Lucian as a kid at all. Never.

If not…

Arstem leaned in and captured Lucian’s pursing lips, his other hand grabbing onto the back of Lucina’s head to deepen the kiss. Surprised, Lucian’s eyes widened.

Yet, his eyes slowly closed and responded to the kiss. Arstem opened his eyes slightly and saw Lucian’s reaction. The corners of his eyes curled, and he closed his eyes again to savor his beloved’s lips.

Only when Lucian was out of breath did Arstem let go of his lips, their foreheads pressed to each other as both of them tried to catch their breath.

Lucian’s cheeks flushed; this was the same for his earlobe and nape, which was also hot to the touch.

Arstem licked the saliva residue on his lips and chuckled, finding Lucian’s expression truly alluring.

“No way I’ll kiss a kid, Lucian,” Arstem whispered deeply. His hand at the back of Lucian’s head moved and slid down to his waist.

Before Lucian could react, Arstem had effortlessly scooped him from his seat to directly sit in his lap. Arstem’s huge arm securely wrapped around his waist.

Lucian’s face was so hot that he had already forgotten that they were not alone in this truck at all. He could only look and think about Arstem.

It was not like the two other people inside had the time to care about them either.

Arstem looked up at Lucian and pressed his cheek against the other’s chest, satisfied at the effect he had on the guide he treasured the most.

“If you still need proof. I’ll take you right here, Lucian. You know I don’t play when it comes to you. Tell me, am I still treating you like a kid?”

Lucian lowered his head and bit his lips. His other hand wrapped around Arstem’s neck. He looked down at the man with overwhelming love that he sometimes could not stand.

He sometimes could not believe it.

“Shameless old man,” he muttered, his cheeks reddening further as Arstem licked his clothed chest, right at the nipple. Lucian’s guiding energy then flowed into them and made them sigh in satisfaction.

The two remained in that position for a few more minutes.

As for the other side of the truck, it was fortunate that there was actually a partition between compartments, as they could not see what the other was doing.

If they wanted to glance between partitions, it was possible, but none had the intention of caring about others. Not to mention… Arstem was such a possessive esper.

Most espers actually. Clynne was no better.

However, if the other compartment was becoming spicier at each passing second, the situation in this compartment was a bit depressing.

Nolan was seated right at the window; he made sure that his full attention was outside and did not turn his head to the side. No matter what.

Even if he was sensing someone’s heated gaze on him, Nolan chose to ignore it. He could even have remained in this position the whole trip if he could.

Just across from him, Clynne propped his chin on his hand, staring at Nolan. Similarly, if Nolan did not move, then he had no plan to take his gaze off him either.

It was suddenly a contest. However, it was not about losing or winning either. Both knew that no matter the results, it was the same.

They were both on the losing side.

Their situation would not be settled with just one or two conversations. One had to compromise, even if Clynne wanted to be one who did, dropping the imprinting idea temporarily.

Nolan was firm in his decision to leave.

And Clynne would not let him go. So, it was back to square one once more.

The trip went smoothly for the most part. The convoy had three S-class espers; the monsters around were intelligent enough to distinguish mana density and knew not to cause trouble.

As for the lower-level monsters, the other espers in the convoy would deal with it themselves.

It was unrealistic for Nolan to remain in his position, as he needed to eat and refresh as well. Yey, they still did not have a good conversation.

As for Lucian, he appeared to be more laid back than usual. While he always appeared as one, there was still an obvious difference in his attitude.

Nolan had no time to dwell on it since he had his own issues. He and Lucian also had not talked much during the trip, with the other always locked up by his esper.

“He’s a doting fool,” Clynne suddenly spoke after a few days of silence. Nolan did not respond; Clynne was not expecting him to do so either. “I used to think about him like that before.”

Clynne’s lips hooked up slightly, almost looking like a mockery. It was not mocking Arstem but himself.

“The Commander General’s my role model. I was so disappointed when I heard the news that he was suddenly pursuing a guide.” Clynne began rambling, his eyes still fixated on Nolan, who continued to ignore him.

“I thought he was a fool. The Commander General I knew seems to change when he’s in front of this guide. I was so pissed and thought that the guide would shatter the reputation that he had accumulated for years.”

Clynne was there when Arstem Viktor was being doubted for his abilities, but he climbed and proved his worth countless times. He witnessed how Arstem worked so hard to finally reach the summit where he was now.

He was an S-class esper that deserved respect.

He was supposed to be superior among others and not… act like a doting fool over someone. And that someone always disregards him. Clynne looked down at Lucian once, and now his relationship with the Commander General would never return to how it used to be.

Clynne did not believe in guide pairing. Guides were vital to them and should always be for everyone. Imprinting would ruin it for all.

His mindset was flawed after all.

Now, he was in a fucked up situation solely related to the situation he always disdained.

Clynne found it absolutely absurd. Fate had done him a terrible joke.

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