Ch.8383. Ariel’s Personality

Ariel entered the practice room built separately within the dormitory, attended by Connor.

Even Doh Jonghyun would be surprised by how much she had for her exclusive use within the academy.

Today, she was contemplating Cho Sunghee’s proposal.

[“How about it, Ariel? While recruitment isn’t possible, would you like to train with our Magician Guild? This isn’t just training that money can buy. It’s special one-on-one instruction. It’s not available to ordinary people, but I’ll allow it for you.”]

“Special treatment is natural, but I don’t want to join anywhere yet.”

She grumbled beside Connor, who was both her butler and bodyguard.

“It’s because Miss Ariel is exceptional. The Magician Guild is world-famous. However…”

“However?”

“If you want to be the best, then the best in Korea is…”

Ariel furrowed her brow, knowing what was coming next.

“White Dragon Guild? I don’t like them. That bearded guy is annoying.”

“Dokgo Jun is an outstanding Jaeger. But he doesn’t particularly enjoy compromising with others.”

“That’s why I’ll refuse White Dragon from my side. If I had someone like him as my superior, I’d get so angry I’d frag him.”

Ariel turned her head away with an irritated expression.

However, considering Ariel’s future, it was quite an interesting statement.

“Then what about the Magician Guild? They’re eager.”

“That’s the thing. They’re neck and neck with the Cheonji Guild. Since they’re working hard to recruit me, it does catch my eye.”

This confident princess doesn’t tolerate situations where she’s not in control.

She needs to take the lead and be in the spotlight to feel satisfied.

But she absolutely refuses things she doesn’t like.

The White Dragon Guild was such a case.

“I’m not making a decision right now. Would I do something so wasteful?”

“It’s entirely your choice, miss.”

“Then I should brag to mama~”

Ariel quickly changed her expression to an innocent one that only a girl her age could make.

Connor smiled slightly as he watched her.

She was thorough in her duties and perfect in taking care of herself.

Even when training, she always followed the prescribed manual, constantly thinking, learning, and growing.

She was a genius born from the combination of talent and effort.

However, Ariel had been showing dissatisfied expressions more frequently lately.

“Connor, honestly, how do I compare to Seol Yuhwa?”

“I haven’t observed that young lady closely. Fundamentally, your styles are different.”

“You’re avoiding the question again. You’re saying I’m weaker, right?”

Ariel had figured out her longtime butler’s tendencies. If he’s avoiding answering, it means he doesn’t want to say something unpleasant to her?

“She’s gotten so full of herself thanks to the White Dragon Guild.”

“What about receiving proper help from the Magician Guild?”

“I can become strong on my own, can’t I? Even if not right away.”

Connor sighed at this stubborn girl’s words.

‘As expected, she needs to bend her stubbornness a little.’

Though Ariel was strong, she was only A-rank. Growing to be able to face A-rank monsters at her age was certainly impressive. However, she was still only at the upper-middle level compared to many Jaegers.

With the Magician Guild’s help, she could become stronger than Seol Yuhwa.

After all, Ariel’s combat abilities were inherently superior.

‘Miss is just too stubborn.’

But that pride of hers was holding her back. The Magician Guild was one of Korea’s top three guilds, and Cho Sunghee, famous for systematic education, would teach her well.

Watching the young lady’s tantrum, Connor brought up a different topic.

“By the way, miss. What happened with what you mentioned before?”

“What thing?”

“You said that student Doh Jonghyun was suspicious?”

Ariel sat up straight as if just remembering.

“Doh Jonghyun? Ah, he is suspicious. Very suspicious.”

“What specifically is suspicious about him?”

“…”

Strangely, Ariel wouldn’t speak about this matter.

‘She clearly cares about that boy.’

Given Ariel’s personality, her silence meant she was protecting Doh Jonghyun from potential harm.

“Well, you don’t have to tell me. But you seem quite concerned about him. You’ve talked about him several times and even trained with him.”

“Me?”

Ariel’s voice rang sharply like a piano key.

“What are you saying, Connor! Why would I care about Doh Jonghyun? He should be the one caring about me.”

“Would you like me to help investigate?”

“No! Honestly, I don’t understand why I should! Doh Jonghyun should be stalking me or showing interest in me, but I should be doing that? My pride won’t allow it.”

Ariel looked at Connor with an extremely aggrieved expression.

Yes, the reason she had been quiet about suspecting Doh Jonghyun was solely because of her pride.

“Me… caring about him. That’s absurd! Doh Jonghyun must be interested in me. He keeps glancing at me secretly.”

“I see.”

Connor sensed her bluster. In truth, this experienced butler should have stayed quiet.

Anyone with a bit of tact would just nod and say “yes, yes.”

But Connor was too perceptive. He understood that if he let this go, she would continue like this, and he genuinely wanted to help her.

“Has Doh Jonghyun ever made any proposals to you?”

This one sentence was meant to scratch at Ariel’s pride and end this tedious tantrum.

At that moment, all of Ariel’s movements froze.

“Doh Jonghyun to me?”

Thinking about it, Ariel had never been asked for anything by Doh Jonghyun.

There were many instances where she had asked him for things.

“This is ridiculous…?”

As soon as Ariel realized this, she jumped up.

“No way. Now that I think about it!”

Having realized this shocking fact, Ariel moved quickly.

She was about to rush straight to Doh Jonghyun.

“The elder asked me to deal with any clingy boys, but this will be an exception.”

Connor could only support Ariel with mixed feelings.

And a short while later, Ariel approached with a beaming smile.

“Did it go well?”

“Yes. He finally asked me on a date?”

“That’s wonderful. So the boy had feelings for you after all?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I’m so satisfied. It’s not that I was interested in him, but that he was interested in me.”

“Then when is the date? This old body will escort and help you well.”

As a butler, he would support a date.

Connor spoke with innocent thoughts, but unfortunately, Ariel was, as always, not quite normal.

“Date? Connor, what are you talking about? As if I would go on a date.”

“Wasn’t it a date invitation?”

“Yes. I rejected it. Ah, I’m so satisfied.”

Faced with Ariel’s answer that defied imagination, Connor became truly curious about what had happened.

*

After that incident, I predictably wasted my entire Saturday.

There was supposedly a special class for second-year students, but since I couldn’t attend anyway, it wasn’t my concern. I could move around on Sunday, but naturally, hunting needed to be paused.

From Monday to Wednesday, the simulation practice period increased by one day compared to last week.

Thursday onwards would be somewhat more relaxed.

I thought I needed to behave well to avoid making a bad impression… but as expected, life doesn’t go that smoothly.

[Monster Alert]

“No way! Three monster alerts in a month?”

This is the third one. I believe there were about three in the entire first semester, but now three in just one month of the second semester?

That’s really something.

But the moment I saw the content, I had to nod in understanding.

How could I have forgotten this?

-Time: Next Thursday, Seoul Sindorim L Department Store

-Mission: Capture the monster “Void Invader”

-Reward: 4 Monster Points, 1% Risk Reduction

I remember. The incident at Sindorim Department Store.

This monster was one of the most devastating ones in history, destroying all of Sindorim.

The peculiar thing is that it wasn’t the monster that destroyed it, but the Jaegers who wrecked Sindorim while trying to capture it.

And this is the first SS-rank monster I’ll face. Excluding those that became stronger through monsterization, this is a pure SS-rank monster.

It’s a tricky one that can freely move through space despite being human-sized.

Agile and with attacks that pass through the concept of “void,” it’s a cheating monster whose attacks work on us.

Look at the reward content. It’s in a league of its own.

This is one of the upcoming Void-origin monsters.

Its form is strangely fluid, with tentacles or an unpleasant slime made to look more human-like.

A powerful monster that doesn’t respond well to the usual “beat it down” strategy.

It’s one of the most troublesome monsters during the final war, along with the giant monsters.

This one flaunted its power by moving buildings in Sindorim to toy with Jaegers. This time, Cho Sunghee and Park Taesang stepped in to deal with it.

It took over a month to capture because it kept evading incredibly well.

There was no normal way to catch it, and its attacks passed through to damage other buildings.

They want us to catch this thing?

“But why in the city center?”

How this thing wreaks havoc is already well-documented.

It intelligently hides in various buildings, evades Jaegers’ attacks, kills people inside, and moves around.

Even the top three guilds didn’t know how to catch it at first.

If there’s a weakness, it’s that while its special ability is powerful, it’s physically weak.

Last time, Cho Sunghee appeared, and she’ll be here again.

I remember that Cho Sunghee, being a space-manipulating Jaeger, sealed this monster’s space, and Park Taesang blew it away with his horn.

It took a long time to pinpoint the coordinates to grab this space. Plus, this monster would disappear for days after fleeing, then launch surprise attacks.

So I need to manipulate space.

Two things come to mind:

[Special Extermination Bomb], [Cutting]

It’s either a dinosaur or an adult insect, but unlike before, it won’t be easy to win. Physical attacks don’t work on it.

In the midst of making thorough preparations, I suddenly got a call from Ariel.

“What? Why are you calling me?”

“That’s up to me.”

Ariel answers immediately.

“No, you’re too self-centered.”

“I’ve always been that way.”

Hahaha. As we’re talking, something feels off. I was talking to myself while looking at my smartwatch, but Ariel’s voice is coming from outside?

I jumped up and opened the door to find Ariel smiling at me.

“What’s going on?”

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

She points at herself and keeps smiling. To Ariel?

After a moment of silence, I could see Ariel’s brow furrowing.

“What? Think about it! I’ve taken care of you a lot, haven’t I?”

“You have?”

“I’ve helped you many times.”

“Wasn’t it the opposite? Just once, you helped with the dropout issue. And even then, you arbitrarily assigned a tutor…”

“Anyway, I’ve treated you well. Doh Jonghyun, why aren’t you reciprocating?”

So she wants me to be grateful? The nerve!

“I am grateful?”

“Thank you.”

I gave a perfunctory answer to avoid the hassle. I wanted to end it there, but Ariel’s brow moved again.

“That’s it? Doh Jonghyun, I remember taking you to various places.”

“What, now you want me to do the same?”

It’s really out of the blue, but I generally understand what she means.

This proud Ariel has helped me in various ways and taken me places, so now she wants me to do the same for her.

“Fine, fine. But until Wednesday, I have simulation tests, so I’ll finish late. Late afternoon might work.”

Friday won’t work either. I need to transform into an adult form on Thursday, so I can’t move around.

Therefore, the only options are to meet late after finishing Monday through Wednesday, or to take her to the incident site on Thursday.

Or is there one more?

“How’s your weekend schedule?”

“What are you saying! I’ll be meeting our respected parents, so it’s not possible.”

“Then Monday?”

“I need to focus during the simulation. It’s three consecutive days. I’ll be doing additional training after it ends each day.”

She’s being quite picky.

“Then how about Thursday? That should be fine, right?”

“That’s a good date.”

“Great. So we’ll set it for Thursday? We can meet at 5 PM.”

Ariel nods with a smile in her eyes. Is she that happy about it?

“Doh Jonghyun, as expected. You’re full of desire for a date. Eagerly setting a date and all.”

“Oh, really?”

This shameless girl’s voice made me just want to rest.

“So then I’ll…”

“So I’ll reject you.”

“????????????????????????????”

What did she just say? I don’t understand, but Ariel turns around with a self-satisfied expression.

“I’ll cherish the sentiment. Goodbye~”

“Hey! Weren’t you the one who wanted to go? But now you’re rejecting at the last minute?”

“That’s right. Whatever it is, you’re the one asking. I can reject it.”

My mind went blank. What? She pesters me to go somewhere, and when I propose it, she rejects it?

“No! Hey! What is this? Why are you walking away so triumphantly! Hey!”

In the midst of this incomprehensible absurdity, Ariel was about to disappear. As she turned the corner, she just looked back over her shoulder.

“Still, thank you. Do…Doh Jonghyun.”

At this moment, her expression wasn’t her usual teasing one… probably.

But could she at least get my name right? This absurd incident seemed to be over for now.

However, next Thursday, I found myself in a truly awkward situation.

“…Can’t you two make up?”

Ariel and Seol Yuhwa were glaring at each other in Sindorim.