There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)

Unlike the time they announced the establishment of new guide division, which was done vi a video conference, the announcement this time was made in person.

All of the guild members and management team were being called, no exception. Every hidden squad members were being pulled from their missions, and there was no paid leave being issued for this date, since the invitation had been sent out before the conference. It was the fullest Trinity compound had ever been, filling the biggest conference room of the second floor that was as big as the one the Association had.

It was the chance for the regular guild members and workers to chance upon the ’rare’ espers, like the squad members of [Anzus], who usually could only be seen once in a blue moon. In fact, some of them didn’t know those people existed of all, especially the one who still comparably new.

It was also the first time they saw the ’white’ and ’black’ divisions of the Guide Department sat together. Most were fascinated by how different those divisions looked from each other in just half a year. As if mirroring their leaders, the strike division’s guides looked sharper and had more edge, while the rest of the guides looked like their usual calm and relaxed self.

Or perhaps because the black-uniformed guides were just fresh out of their morning regime. Either way, it was fascinating.

Despite what he said in the plane, Zein still had a little bit of worry about the kids’ reaction. He gathered them yesterday to tell them about the project first, and how many of them would he bring there.

He had expecting some reservation, but it seemed like a couple of days were enough for these guides to already come to term with the whole idea. Conversely, it gave them even better understanding of why this division was established in the first place; why the training regime had been hard, and why Zein had never lessened them; why they had to go through challenging mental stimulation every week.

And then, there was something that Zein did not include in his calculation; his ’speech’. While Zein couldn’t care less about the things being said about him, his kids were following the articles closely, reading what the journalist sumarized from it, and then asking for confirmation from Dheera.

They were not stupid, and knowing Zein, they realized his emotion came from his own experience. They might not know what the guild’s objective in taking this difficult and deadly project, but they glimpsed on their Captain’s objective within his outburst.

So, when Zein gathered them to talk about the project, they listened to him keenly without making a fuss or protest. Of course, some of them didn’t want to go if they could, for various reason--such as being the only bread winner for their family. But when Zein told them he would take volunteers first--just as he did when the division was established--he easily got eight, including Dheera.

Zein needed more, but having eight volunteers was beyond his expectation, so he wouldn’t push it for now.