There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 678: Side Story 3. Stellar Blossom - 13

Canceling all of his afternoon plans, Radia opened a portal straight to the Trinity branch in the middle of the lake. Waiting there was Lex, who immediately drove them to Ishtera Hill.

While being bonded to an esper made Zein lose the Saint-candidate title, he was still welcomed in the Temple of Freyja and Mago. The Goddess themselves connected the Guardian Tree with the Temple, so Zein--and only Zein--could use it to travel to both temples easily.

He called Radia on his way back, and they decided to meet at the cliff house. Bassena was already there too, waiting for Radia and Joon in their patio with the twins.

Despite feeling impatient and restless, Radia made time to greet their excited godchildren--especially because Joon seemed unusually happy about meeting them. The man was probably glad to move around instead of cooped up in the mansion and Althrea.

"It’s cool here even in the summer," Han Joon took a deep breath and savored the sea breeze.

"It’s because this place is closer to the Northern Alliance," Bassena said. "The downside is the winter."

"Yeah, it’s freezing," Zein chuckled. "Kar loves it."

"That’s why you don’t mind my temperature, huh?" Han Joon chuckled, pinching the toddler’s cheek.

Kar let out a rare giggling sound while leaning back against his uncle’s chest, and the smile on Han Joon’s face made Radia think it was worth the travel here--even though they didn’t move much.

Joon said he didn’t need to go anywhere, but...Radia made a note to still look for a nice place where they could spend time together in a new environment. An island? A nice cabin in a mountain?

"Talking about temperature..."

Radia stopped his wandering thought the moment Zein started to speak and turned toward the guide. "Did you find something?"

Seeing the summoner’s eager expression, Zein raised his hand in warning. "Don’t get your hopes up--I didn’t exactly find any solution."

"But you still found something," Radia replied. Otherwise, Zein wouldn’t make the call. He was the type to make sure he had something worth to say before opening his mouth.

"It’s not necessarily good news," the blue eyes glanced at Han Joon--no, they looked at the twins. Bassena tacitly peeled his sons away from their godfathers and, after coaxing them nicely, sent them to play inside with Ayya and the other nannies.

The fun time was over.

Amidst the cool breeze and the beautiful scenery of the sparkling blue sea, a tense atmosphere was shrouding the patio. When Bassena returned to the table with more cool drinks, Zein raised his musing face.

"There’s bad news and not necessarily good news," Zein said. Unlike other people who gave the listeners a chance to choose, however, Zein moved on right away. "I will tell you the bad news first."

Han Joon would have laughed if it wasn’t for his darling’s serious face.

"The core can not be repaired."

The guide uttered it dryly, as a fact, which Han Joon was thankful for. He was tired of people acting as if he was going to die tomorrow because it gradually affected him. He even acted childishly earlier.

But he understood now why Zein did not call Han Shin over, or why they seemed to be moving over secretly. The guide probably knew Shin would be devastated. On the other hand, unlike his brother, Joon and Radia had already accepted the possibility of his complete retirement.

Still, Radia asked just to cover all bases. "Do you know why?" freeweɓnovel.cøm

Zein turned to Radia and threw a question instead. "Have you talked to the Eastern Sun? Her problem was with her core, right?"

"Yes. I was looking for a similar artifact right now," Radia replied with a bitter smile, swallowing his sigh. He was so busy looking for it that he made his husband feel neglected.

"You can stop--at least not one with the same effect," Zein said. "What happened to the Eastern Sun was a damaged core. What Joon has is a flawed one."

"Flawed..." Han Joon muttered. "The butterfly wings."

Zein nodded. "When I guided you in the past, I realized that there were a lot of scars on your core--that is where the cold energy seeping out from. I didn’t know it was already there from the start," Zein chewed the inside of his mouth as he recalled what he saw. The scars were covered by the wound that came afterward, so he didn’t know it was flawed from the start. "At any rate, she said it can’t be healed or repaired."

Han Joon nodded. "I understand."

"But you were also heading in the right direction," Zein continued. "The option is either breaking the core or isolating it."

"I see..."

"But--" Radia frowned, recalling their conversation. "Wouldn’t breaking the core cause the cold energy to spread even more?"

"That’s why we have to look for an artifact that can devour the cold energy the moment you break the core," Zein said. "On the other hand, if you just want to isolate the core, we can ask the new Saintess’ help."

Radia widened his eyes. "Really?!"

Again, Zein raised his hand. "I said don’t get too excited because it’s not a cure," Zein said. "What I wanted to propose is for the new Saintess to seal the cracks, but--" the blue eyes looked at them sternly, as if to say they shouldn’t get their hopes up. "Essentially, it’s only sealing a leaking pot with a celotape--a temporary measure. You have to do it frequently, and because she’s not as good as me, she won’t be able to do it too often--doesn’t matter if you throw money at them."

Radia smiled bitterly; Zein was truly getting better at reading him.

"So, we have two options," Bassena places two chocolate cubes in the middle of the table. "One is something we can do now, with the risk of relapse. And one is a permanent solution, including the bad effects."

Han Joon grabbed one of the chocolates and unwrapped it. "Not being an esper is not really a bad effect."

"And there’s no rule stated we only have to pick one," Radia took the other cube, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger.

Bassena nodded. "Right--sealing it for now while we’re looking for the artifact."

"Something that could swallow cold energy, huh?"

The table was quiet for a while as each of them fell into deep contemplation and impromptu search. Only the sound of Radia typing order in his commlink could be heard--definitely telling his troops to look for information.

Bassena shook his head to clear his mind and turned toward his husband. "We can look for the artifact later--shouldn’t we make an appointment with the new Saintess first?"

"Right," Radia nodded and swiped his commlink again. "It’ll be faster if I borrow Grandma’s name--"

"No need," Zein shook his head and stood up. "My name holds more power than hers."

Radia arched his brow at the arrogant-sounding statement that uttered with not an ounce of arrogance. It was just a fact--a fact that Radia forgot. Zein too, was a patriarch. He was a guide with the same status as Saint and Saintess in the sentinel community.

Looking at the man who had become used to his power and authority, Radia unconsciously let out a proud smile.

* * *

It was truly fascinating for Radia and Han Joon as they followed Zein to the Temple of Mago. Wasting no time, they went right away after the Temple confirmed the appointment.

It was also the first time they used the portal in the Guardian Tree--although they had their vision blurred by one of the guardians. Those Setnath offshoots really didn’t compromise with anyone but Zein, not even Bassena--except for the ones looking like kids.

Thanks to that, no one but the Deep Sanctuary management and the new Saintess knew about their visit. Actually, it had been four years since the new Saintess was appointed, but since she was still young and very obedient to Zein, she looked no different from those rookie guides who worshiped Zein like a god.

The head elder, Agatha, exchanged meaningful conversation with Zein regarding the progress of change around the Temple, and it sounded so serious that ever Radia felt like he should never butt in.

But then again, they were practically at Zein’s mercy this time, so they just quietly followed along.

The new Saintess, Hesperia, seemed to treat Zein as her mentor. They could see the guide’s book on the coffee table, worn out from reading despite the protective cover. She listened keenly as Zein explained what she had to do to Han Joon’s system, and looked astonished to know that she could actually do something like that--something besides guiding.

Radia could understand why Zein was feeling so frustrated before, because...how could a rogue guide like him know more than these people showered with facilities? But then again, a lion who grew up in the jungle was always more resourceful than a lion raised in a zoo.

That didn’t matter, however, as long as the Saintess could follow Zein’s instruction well. Zein did say Hesperia had a talent and was a hard worker--unlike her predecessor--but he still warned Joon about how uncomfortable it could be.

To which Han Joon only replied with a scoff. "Could it be more uncomfortable than the condition I’m in?"

Zein curled his lips. "It’s another kind of sensation," he said. "Well, let’s just see how you cope."

More curious than anxious, Han Joon did find the process--which was more invasive than a guiding--to be a little bit clumsy. If he had to liken it to something, it was like someone made a tattoo on his skin but kept pausing while the tool was on. Nothing painful or nauseating, however, and Han Joon started to think that Zein was exaggerating.

That was, until he found himself kept twitching his fingers after the treatment was done. "Uhh..."

Zein smirked. "It’s itchy, isn’t it?"

"Yeah..."

Han Joom grimaced, before laughing in a mix of helplessness and amusement. Just like Zein said, it was uncomfortable. The mana, which usually circulated all over an esper’s body, was trapped along with the cold energy, so he felt like he wasn’t wearing clothes. No--like he wasn’t wearing underwear.

But that uncomfortable sensation vanished when Radia grasped his cheeks and stared at him with widened eyes. For the next minute, Han Joon could only blink when his darling started to touch him all over--his neck, arms, hands, even lifting his shirt and touching his chest, prompting the Saintess and priestess to cover their eyes in embarrassment.

"Darling?"

"Warm..." Radia blinked, holding Joon’s cheek again. For the second time that day, the crimson eyes were shedding tears. "You’re warm..."

Oh...

It worked.