Chapter 62: Tsundere
The guildmaster narrowed his eyes, watching the golden mana circulating through Elise’s body.
’It’s a temporary patch,’ he thought, noting the way the energy was already starting to fray at the edges of her pathways. ’It won’t last more than thirty minutes, but the precision required to even anchor it there is staggering.’
He leaned back against the railing, his gaze shifting from Elise to Hajin standing beside her. He had seen countless geniuses during his time as a guildmaster, but none of them had ever shown this type of fundamental understanding of mana.
’Where was he hiding this whole time?’ he wondered, his fingers tapping slowly against his arm.
’Someone with that level of control should have been scouted by a Great Family years ago. To find him here, dressed in rags and taking a basic Ranker exam, just doesn’t make any sense.’
Hajin ignored the guildmaster’s staring and walked over to Sable, who was still sitting on the floor a few feet away with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
"It’s your turn," he said, stopping right in front of her.
She didn’t move, her eyes fixed on a spot on the floor while her face stayed a deep, stubborn red. "No. I changed my mind."
He blinked, his head tilting slightly to the side. "You changed your mind about what?"
"About the synchronization," she snapped, finally looking up and glaring at him. "I have my own pride as an adventurer. I don’t need some stranger touching me just to pass a test that I should be able to handle on my own."
He didn’t look angry or even annoyed, just stared back at her with his iconic flat, unbothered expression.
"Are you okay with failing then?" he asked.
The question was so blunt and direct that it made her breath catch for a second. She hesitated, her gaze darting toward the massive core in the center of the room before she forced a sharp nod.
"Yes," she said, her voice sounding a little forced. "I’d rather fail with my dignity than pass because I let a lady player like you mess with my mana flow."
"Alright," he said, giving a small shrug. "Cool then."
He turned around without saying another word and started walking back toward Elise.
Sable froze, her eyes widening as she watched him actually walk away. She had expected him to argue, to try and convince her, or maybe even try to force the issue for the sake of the team.
"Wait!" she called out, her voice pitching up in surprise.
He stopped and looked back over his shoulder, his brow pulling together in confusion. "What?"
"Aren’t you going to... you know, force me or something?" she asked, her face getting even redder as she realized how stupid the question sounded. "I thought you were the type who wouldn’t take no for an answer."
He turned his whole body back around, looking at her like she had just started speaking a foreign language.
"Why would I force you?" he asked. "It’s your life and your exam. If you want to fail because of your pride, that’s your business. I’m not going to waste energy on someone who doesn’t want the help."
[ CringeSlayer91: LMAO ]
[ ShadowMage44: SHE FOLDED SO FAST ]
[ NewViewer_02: TSUNDERE DETECTED ]
[ CringeSlayer91: TSUNDERE TSUNDERE TSUNDERE ]
’Tsundere?’ he thought, his eyes narrowing as he watched the word repeat over and over in the comments. ’What the hell does that even mean? Is it some kind of girl from their world or something?’
He turned his attention back to Sable, who was still sitting there with her shoulders hunched up, looking like she wanted to disappear into the floor.
"If you’re not going to help," she muttered, her voice trembling just enough to be noticeable. "Then just go away. I can figure out the core resonance on my own. I’ve been training for this since I was a child, so I don’t need some lucky nobody carrying me through my own exam."
Hajin felt a sharp prickle of annoyance rising in his chest. He had just spent his own mana to help Elise, and now he was wasting time arguing with someone who was actively trying to fail.
’I should just leave her,’ he thought, his hand moving to rub the back of his neck. ’If she wants to be this stubborn, then she can deal with the consequences herself.’
[ ashley (Mod): Hajin, wait! Don’t leave her. ]
He paused, his eyes flicking toward the golden-tagged comment that suddenly appeared at the top of the stream window.
"What is it, Ashley?" he whispered, his voice too low for the others to hear. "She’s being completely unreasonable. Why should I keep trying?"
[ ashley (Mod): She’s a tsundere. It’s a term from our world for someone who acts hostile or cold on the outside to hide how vulnerable or embarrassed they really feel. ]
[ ashley (Mod): She’s not actually rejecting you. She’s just terrified and her pride is the only thing she has left to protect herself. If you walk away now, she’ll just break. ]
He blinked, looking from the screen back to Sable. She looked anything but vulnerable, her face still twisted into a defensive scowl, but he had learned to trust Ashley’s insights.
"So what am I supposed to do?" he asked quietly. "I’m not exactly an expert on feelings."
[ ashley (Mod): Just get close to her. Don’t be cold or detached like you usually are. Be genuine. Overlook the attitude and just show her that you’re actually there to help. She’ll fold the second she realizes you aren’t judging her. ]
He stared at the comment for a long moment, then looked at Sable again.
’High intelligent beings,’ he thought, a faint sense of awe washing over him. ’The people from Earth... they’ve actually studied human behavior so deeply they have specific words for people who act like this. I guess being stuck in a world without mana gives you a lot of time to think about how brains work.’
He let out a slow, quiet breath and walked back toward her, stopping only a foot away.
Instead of standing over her, he dropped down onto one knee so they were at the same level, his expression softening just a fraction.
"I’m not doing this to carry you, Sable," he said, his voice dropping into a low, steady tone. "And I don’t think you’re weak. I just know that the core is stronger than all of us combined. If we want to crack it, we have to do it together."
Her head snapped up, her eyes wide as she looked at him. The defensive scowl was still there, but it was flickering now, her lips parting as she tried to find a sharp retort that wouldn’t come.
"I..." she started, then stopped, her gaze dropping to his hand.
"I won’t judge you for needing help," he added, reaching out and placing his hand gently on her shoulder. "None of us are passing this alone."
The effect was instantaneous.
The tension seemed to drain out of her shoulders in a single, heavy rush, her face going from defensive red to a soft, embarrassed pink.
She didn’t swat his hand away or snap at him, instead, she lowered her head while her fingers gripped the fabric of her pants.
"Fine," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Just... just do what you have to do."
He sat down behind her, a wide, slightly idiotic smile spreading across his face as he realized Ashley’s advice had worked perfectly.
’Success,’ he thought, feeling a rare burst of genuine satisfaction. ’I really should listen to them more often when it comes to people. They might be weird, but they definitely know how to handle these tsundere types.’
He reached out and placed his palm against her lower back, the same way he had with Elise.
Allen watched from the sidelines, his eyes fixed on Hajin with a look of pure suspicion. He had seen the young man whispering to the empty air several times now, his lips moving as if he were talking to someone who wasn’t there.
’Who is he talking to?’ he wondered, his eyes narrowing while he looked for any signs of hidden magic. ’There are no mana signatures or traces of a message spell, but he’s definitely not just talking to himself either.’
He tightened his grip on the railing, the wood giving a low creak under the pressure of his hand.
’I might have let a very dangerous anomaly into this guild,’ he thought, his gaze never leaving the back of Hajin’s head.