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.