A Guilty Conscience

"Watch out--"

Do you know what an 'explosion' is?

"Illuminate semantics!"

With Sigelika's "Cute Star Flying Kick," the last holographic image of the Crownless Mech Abomination in the arena also disappeared.

After finishing all this, the girl was slightly out of breath and gave Lu Guan, who was watching from the sidelines, a bright smile.

Ciallo~(∠·ω< )⌒☆

"Senior, senior (｡>∀<｡), how did I do?"

Lu Guan clapped his hands and said, "Very good, Sigelika. I wasn't as good as you at your age!"

That's true. Fourteen-year-old Lu Guan, due to puberty, was designated as a key person to watch by Ming Court, who was afraid he might act impulsively, overburden himself, or do something serious. Forget fighting with the Tacet Discord, he could even eat at a roadside stall without paying...

Actually, he forgot to bring it, ran home to get the money, and only when he came back did he realize that someone had already paid for him. As for who it was, it's really hard to guess...

"I'm a little embarrassed by your praise (⸝⸝⸝>`ˊ<⸝⸝⸝)..." Sigelika lowered her head, her hands behind her back rubbing together as if trying to ease her nervousness.

She muttered to herself, "Actually, my results this time weren't as good as before... In the eyes of my seniors, I probably performed really badly, right?"

"Don't be nervous, Sigelika." Lu Guan stepped forward and patted the girl's bare shoulder. "Your strength is obvious to all. If you relax a little, you might perform even better."

"Relax... a little?"

"You're too focused on the results..." Lu Guan continued, "Try to forget this is a training session and focus on resolving the battle."

"Hmm... I'll try opening another group!"

This time, however, Lu Guan did not step aside. Instead, he stood next to Sigelika and patted her on the shoulder.

"Senior (⊙o⊙)?"

"You've been enhanced, get going!"

As Lu Guan uttered those words, Sigelika felt her entire body's Resonance Circuit become smoother than ever before, and many runes that were previously difficult to use began to operate freely.

As a result, the words she shouted during the battle became much more confident.

"I have deciphered the runes!"

With that, Sigelika punched a Fright Warrior that was lunging at her, sending it flying. The accompanying runic energy caused an explosion in mid-air, Zig Zag.

"Just one punch and it was all..." Sigelika looked down at her fist, the runic energy surging on it endlessly, a feeling of fullness she had never experienced before, yet it felt both familiar and strange.

Is this still the same weak and vulnerable person I used to be?

"Don't get distracted, Sigelika." Lu Guan's voice came from the side, pulling the girl's thoughts back to the battle.

A holographic image of Crownless Mech Abomination appeared before Sigelika, and after a brief delay, it spread its wings and lunged at the girl.

"Disappear!"

Sigelika herself hadn't expected that without even using her Resonance Skill, a simple straight punch imbued with Resonance Power would directly obliterate the Elite Class Tunnel Cluster creature.

She turned to look at Lu Guan in disbelief. "Senior's enhancement is amazing. I never thought that even I could achieve this level."

"Don't look at me like that..." Lu Guan shrugged, "I didn't actually activate my resonance ability at all just now, let alone enhance it for you..."

"How could this be?" Sigelika's mouth gaped open in disbelief.

Lu Guan explained, "It's because of confidence, Sigelika."

"I didn't infuse you with power; it's just that you're more relaxed than before, which allows you to discover things you hadn't noticed before during combat..."

"So that's how it is." Sigelika lowered her head in thought. "I always found it a bit difficult to fight these Tacet Discord..."

"But this time, with my senior standing behind me, I felt much more relaxed and dared to try some things I wouldn't normally attempt..."

Why did this happen...?

Lu Guan stroked Sigelika's head again. "Perhaps proper rest and relaxation are what you need most right now..."

"Hmm (๑⚈ ․̫ ⚈๑)⋆ I think this is only part of it." Sigelika squinted her eyes, enjoying Lu Guan's head pat like an orange cat, "More importantly, senior is standing right behind me!"

"Whenever I think about how even if I make a mistake, my seniors will be there to cover for me, all my nervousness disappears at once!"

Lu Guan's body trembled. He had a feeling that Sigelika's words were actually a way of trying to win him over.

"Senior... shall we go see some birds?" Sigelika suggested. "Just like I promised you, we'll relax for a while after training..."

"It's breeding season for Chirpuff, and you can see a lot of them at the academy," Sigelika explained. "I think watching them fly, preen, catch insects, and exchange gifts is a kind of relaxation."

"Also, I know a birdwatching paradise on the library rooftop. Would you like to go check it out with me?"

library.

"What's wrong, Dania? You look so sullen?" Nastassja, having finished tidying up the ancient books, brought Dania a cup of warm Lahai-Roi plant-based milk. "It's been a long time since I've seen you look like this..."

Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?

"No..." Dania shook her head, "I'm just feeling a little uneasy, like I've lost something, and there's an emptiness inside."

"How about we go for a walk together?" Nastassja suggested. "Perhaps it's because you've been staying in the academy for too long?"

"Hmm..." Dania pondered for a moment, then looked at the plant-based milk in the glass. "Alright, let's finish this plant-based milk and then set off!"

But when she picked up the warm plant-based milk, she suddenly remembered what had happened the night before, and her appetite vanished instantly.

"Let's just go..." Dania shook her head. "I feel like this stuff will give me heartburn... no... stomachburn... well, not really... anyway... let's just forget about it."

To Dania's surprise, almost immediately after they left, Lu Guan and Sigelika arrived at the library together.

"Why do you look so guilty?" Seeing Sigelika covering her face with her arm, Lu Guan couldn't help but find it amusing. "Are you hiding from Dania?"

"Of course not! ๐·°(৹˃ᗝ˂৹)°·๐," Sigelika stammered, "It's just... I was in a rush this morning and didn't have time to wash my face. I was afraid the other students would see me and laugh at me..."

"Ah... I see." Lu Guan chuckled and shook his head. Of course, he wouldn't expose Sigelika's little scheme.

Isn't it just because they're afraid of getting caught by the person in question?

Since she was afraid of getting caught, it's hard to imagine what Sigelika was thinking when she chose to bring him to the library, where Dania has a high spawn rate, to go birdwatching...

Seeking thrills... or... other ideas?

I never expected that even the seemingly honest-looking Dekopon could be impure!

In fact, Sigelika had completely forgotten this point, and by the time she realized that the person in question was likely in the library, it was too late...

"Thank goodness (-^^-)... Yaya isn't here." After arriving at the library rooftop, Sigelika, who had been feeling guilty, finally breathed a sigh of relief and took out her camera from her small handbag.

She stepped forward, locked her gaze on a whining Chirpuff perched on the railing, and pressed the shutter.

"Ugh! It's bird butts again!"

"Don't run away! Little one! Let me take a good picture!"

It must be said that Sigelika's photography skills are, in a sense, quite superb.

She easily captured an extremely clear image of a bird's rear end, an image that's usually very difficult to photograph...

"Squeak squeak squeak--" Lu Guan chuckled and reached out his hand towards the Chirpuff that was constantly dodging Sigelika's snapshots.

"Senior, what are you doing...? The Chirpuff won't understand you with that tone... You should... What!"

Sigelika stared blankly at the Chirpuff resting on Lu Guan's palm, feeling as if her worldview was about to collapse.

"People's constitutions are not the same... Sigelika." Lu Guan smiled slightly, reaching out to flick the beak of the Chirpuff in his palm. The little bird was not angry at Lu Guan's offensive behavior; instead, it squinted its eyes and enjoyed the human's caress.

"Why... why... (｡í _ ì｡)" Sigelika seemed to have exhausted all her strength, leaning back in a chair, looking at the man and bird with a lifeless expression.