"A psychologist?" Mikala paused, then smiled. "Maybe she's the one with a problem."
There was no mockery in her smile.
Qiao Sang looked puzzled. "She's the one with a problem?"
Mikala said calmly, "The more gifted a Beast Tamer is, the more smoothly things tend to go when resources aren't an issue. So when they suffer a major setback, even just once, they're likely to lose heart and start doubting themselves."
Penga Mei, who had been resting with her eyes closed, opened them and silently glanced at her Beast Tamer.
"Mo mo." Dragon King nodded in strong agreement.
Qiao Sang was startled. "She only lost one match. Has it really gotten that bad?"
Mikala said with a smile, "This wasn't just any match. The Master Challenge is an interstellar competition. You're also a student at the Imperial Beast Taming Academy, you're only eighteen, and you have just four Emperor-level Pet Beasts. Any one of those things would be enough to upset her if you beat her, let alone if you shut her out."
Hey, what's wrong with any of that? Qiao Sang grumbled inwardly. But then she thought about it: if she met a ten-year-old A-Class Professional Beastmaster at the Master Challenge, and that person had three Emperor-level Pet Beasts and shut her out, she and Ya Bao's group would probably doubt themselves for a while too.
Looking at it that way, Qiao Sang understood Xia Huo at once. She couldn't help saying, "I hope she gets back on her feet soon."
Mikala smiled. "Actually, facing a match like this before the Interstellar Cup might be good for her."
As she spoke, something occurred to her. She sighed, but there was pride in her voice. "I'd hoped you'd lose a few matches too, so you could learn from them. I