Chapter 20 - 19. Entangled Secret
During guiding, the guide and the esper were connected deeply with each other.
Just like how Zein could see Bassena's mana core, the esper could sense the fluctuating emotions inside the guide.
It affected the pure water washing away the chains inside of him. It was gentle before, the familiar feeling he had four years ago. But when the portable purification device was being brought up, the water started to become harsher—like a hose spraying strongly into a muddy field.
Bassena felt it instantly; agitation, impatient. The strong torrent of water also indicated something else; excitement.
And yet...why did he look sad, then?
Bassena watched as Zein frowned, staring keenly at the guide's downcast eyes. He didn't mind the fluctuating guiding, it still felt as good and refreshing, surprisingly. But he didn't like that look of pain that flashed on Zein's face for a few seconds.
"Zein..."
As if waking up from a stupor, the guide snapped his head up, eyes flicked into Bassena's keen gaze. He blinked once, twice, and then the water inside the esper turned gentle again.
"Ah, sorry," Zein muttered apologetically. It was obvious that he had never slipped up like this during guiding before.
Bassena wasn't the most emphatic person. No—people actually called him cold-blooded. But he had enough EQ to understand that Zein's reaction had something to do with his past. The guide's emotion fluctuated the most after the mention of having the terminal encompassing a city.
'It might...have something to do with the red-zone where he lived before,'