Chapter 21 - 20. The Black Pearl
Zein didn't like being photographed. Perhaps because he used to be a rogue, he avoided exposure like a plague. But there was nothing he could do if Han Shin said it was for the one who made these clothes.
It was that good.
So, he decided to just ignore the healer and looked at another piece of equipment inside his case.
It was a curious piece of equipment that had a cylindrical shape with a little engraving of an X on the surface instead of SA. So it seemed like the equipment was a product of Mortix. When Zein took it out to scrutinize it, the equipment looked like a collar instead. Or a choker? A neck protector? What was this?
Zein looked at it with narrowed eyes, examining it here and there. The color was also black, but rather than fabric or leather, it felt like it was made of metal instead. There was a section that looked like it could be refracted so that it could be worn on his neck, but Zein wasn't sure how to use it.
"Here, let me," Bassena reached out his hand, already standing in front of the guide.
With a frown, Zein gave the equipment to the esper. "What is this?"
"It's a mask," Bassena replied with a smile, enjoying the look of surprise on Zein's icy face.
"Wha—how?"
Instead of answering, the esper put his thumb on a rectangle pad at the side of the choker-like equipment, and about a third of it retracted. Zein stiffened for a bit as Bassena put the equipment on his neck, like a necklace—or collar—purely on reflex.
The blue eyes glanced up, peering at the subtle smile on the esper's face, and the twinkles in the amber eyes. His eyes were right in front of Bassena's neck, and Zein could see the sturdy muscle, the glistening bronze skin, smelling the scent of soap and musk, and his mind wandered back to their intertwined hands.