Chapter 69: Dubious Deal

Words : 1458 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 69: Dubious Deal Xavier sighed as he accepted his fate. Even his little sister hadn’t gotten a piggyback ride, but I guess this one would. It was very uncharacteristic and risky. He was opening his entire back to this guy. But what was that compared to opening his sea of consciousness to him? There was no resistance. He was just going in and out as he pleased. In fact, it felt like the chipmunk was constantly being invited in. Though even a plasma gun to his head won’t get him to admit that—for safety reasons. No one needed to know that his sea of consciousness was like free parking for this guy—not his men and definitely not his parents. Xavier pushed the morbid thought somewhere far and concentrated on walking back to the dorm with a giant koala wrapped around his back. Meanwhile, the koala, who was actually not that big, thank you very much, wondered why the generator’s meridians had changed a bit. Luca felt more comfortable being around Xavier’s body now that he had much less corrupted energy. And although he was sad to let go of free money, he was still a Guide who felt compelled to guide properly, even at the risk of his own livelihood. Well, whatever ’properly’ actually meant for him. All his knowledge was theoretical and even limited to the aftercare of Guides like him. And now he was having a problem figuring out how to care for someone he had just guided. Frankly, he was afraid of looking it up by buying materials from the Trove after his terrible experience. What if he opened another trap like the Contractual Spirit bundle? Or worse, what if he ended up with those XXX materials again?! The last time he tried learning about the lives of the Guides, Luca almost sanitized his eyes. He could never understand why the other Guides hated him, but he had to acknowledge their feelings when he realized what guiding meant for most Esper-Guide pairs. The shows and advertisements always showed hand-holding and hugging. But apparently, they showed those because they were child-friendly! And Luca was in for a treat and mortification after learning about what was actually expected of him. From then on, he acknowledged that maybe he was ideally suited to pill-making—a good excuse to feel better about being incarcerated. But still, that won’t help with his current dilemma. The only item relevant to his problem was "Natural Recovery"! However, no one wrote about what to do when that was impossible. The problem was that they used to have abundant energy back in Tesseris and rarely faced conditions where the body’s energy reserves would dry up like this. Like what he assumed was happening with Xavier’s meridians. Even D-29 agreed that it might be similar to how he was initially with his dried-up pathways. Now, Luca had things that could help fix this. But how does he do it without calling too much attention to himself? He can’t exactly dunk him into the Spiritual lake, can he? Hmm. Luca’s eyes narrowed as he thought of ways to get enough energy into Xavier’s body. The fruits won’t exactly cut it. The guy might have to eat himself to an early grave, just trying to fill that shocking sea of consciousness. For some reason, Xavier felt like someone was plotting against him, and his back went a little rigid, but then he remembered that he had someone attached to him. The chipmunk was too light and could be carried like a backpack. He figured this guy needed to eat more, and Xavier couldn’t understand why he’d lack nutrients for someone of his stature. And all he could hope for was for this guy to survive the next test. Ordinarily, Xavier couldn’t care less about test results. But not for the next ones. He needed the qualifications to establish a Guild this year, as his Junior Academy Guild’s privileges wouldn’t extend to the Royal Military Academy. It wasn’t that he couldn’t join the existing ones, but because of the nature of their actual work, he could not just join a regular Academy Guild. So, he had been prudent in keeping the chipmunk alive before the test, only to find out that he’d gotten hurt like this! He was annoyed again and decided to teach him a lesson once he was done fixing that guy’s bruise. He still had that medicine anyway. And that was how Luca and Xavier found themselves tumbling onto the bed. Xavier tried using a special ointment on Luca, who was trying to reject it. What if that ointment was expensive? He still had a loan to pay?! And he could definitely solve this minor medical issue by using one of his pills. "You must be in your best condition for tomorrow, so the bruise must go." Luca was on the bed, with his top a little open for better access to his bruise. "I will be, I promise!" So you can save that ointment that was in a fancy bottle! Luca thought the rest to himself, and he was partially correct. While it won’t be comparable to his pills, what Xavier planned to use on him would generally cost a decent house. On the other hand, Xavier couldn’t understand what was wrong with this guy. Was he planning on sporting that look until tomorrow? Because he remembered the details about his medical pod issue, Xavier didn’t force the chipmunk into the infirmary since he wouldn’t be able to use the machine anyway. But without the machine and this ointment, how exactly would he be "fine"? "Stop being a martyr and get that fixed." He tried to control his facial expression to avoid spooking the skittish guy, but it proved difficult. "Xavier," Luca called his attention, afraid that his roommate would soon be angry. "What’s with tomorrow’s exam? Why do you seem so concerned about it?" Xavier looked at Luca under him. He was somewhat disheveled and a little flustered, unsure if he asked the correct thing. "Good that you asked. That test is part of a series of assessments for joining or forming a Guild." He explained. Luca’s eyes widened, almost sitting up and hitting Xavier’s chin if not for him dodging at the perfect moment. "?" What now? Did that interest him? Xavier wondered as Luca’s face started glowing again. For someone bruised this bad, he sure as hell had some spirit in him. The roles had been reversed, and now it was Luca’s turn to pester Xavier about tomorrow’s test. Realizing that he wouldn’t stop unless his questions were answered, Xavier just slumped onto Luca’s bed while discussing what the test was for other people. It was a regular test for everyone, especially those who weren’t interested in joining a Guild. But for those aiming to join one, this was how the Guilds would scout their talents, assuming they passed the Mercenary exam. But that was basically a given for those capable of being scouted. It was especially crucial for the first exam as this would mark their first impressions. "I thought you were already in a Guild?" Luca tilted his head, wondering why Xavier cared so much. "Was. That was before graduating. Now, I need the qualifications to establish my own Guild, and there is no way we can fail that tomorrow." "You want to make your own Guild? We can do that?!" Luca leaned in closer, but Xavier had to back away from this enthusiasm. "Of course, but the requirements are also greater, so we can’t just pass." "Do we have to rank?" Luca asked. "That or win. So allow me to treat that thing so we can go about winning tomorrow." "Wait a minute. If I let you treat me and help you win tomorrow, could you grant me a favor?" Xavier’s brows lifted at hearing that. What could he want if he were willing to go this far? "What do you want?" "I... I don’t know yet, but probably something simple." Well, I want to dunk you in a tub, was what Luca really had in mind, but Xavier would likely think he was nuts. "You don’t know what you want, and yet you’re asking?" "Of course, because it’s better to make deals before rather than after!" Xavier wondered where he was getting his confidence, but maybe ranking 4th could explain his motivation. He wasn’t exactly sure about this and didn’t like making deals that weren’t fleshed out, but the chipmunk’s clear eyes blinded him enough to ignore that. "Fine, but if that request goes beyond your contribution tomorrow, then consider this null." Luca nodded and hummed in delight, even allowing Xavier to treat him with the ointment.

Chapter 69: Dubious Deal

Comments (0)