Chapter 300
Chapter 300
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 300
Chapter Title: Problematic Behavior
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The golden form of the lion slowly lost its shape.
Shaaaa...!
As the brilliant spiral of energy swirling from the spearhead intensified, the two could only show contrasting reactions.
This was true for Isabelle, who had manifested an aura that seemed to replicate an apostle's assault,
and for Cheon-seong, who had amplified his power by applying a sub-concept of the skill ‘pierce and twist a single point’. It was an unexpected situation for both.
The clash of their powers then interlocked as if by chance, gradually diminishing.
Their auras were canceling each other out and vanishing.
Even as it weakened, the aftermath of the golden aura Isabelle had unleashed was far from insignificant. It was powerful enough to completely dissipate the spiral energy contained within the spear.
Shhh...!
As only the lingering remnants of the blue spiral and the golden aura gently enveloped them, their eyes met.
"..."
"..."
In that strange moment of silent gazes, it was surprisingly Cheon-seong who spoke first.
"Sir Isabelle, in your eyes... was my power lacking?"
His inscrutable voice reached Isabelle clearly.
At his question, which asked for her impression of the power he'd displayed, Isabelle slowly shook her head.
"It was insufficient to completely counter the power I unleashed. However, it wasn't as lacking as I'd thought. It was a fine manifestation of power."
A curious answer. Though her words sounded somewhat contradictory, Cheon-seong smiled faintly as if he understood.
"I see. I was truly surprised. I never imagined you could control your power to that extent at the very moment our forces clashed."
"I was the one who was surprised by you. Was that spiral you imbued in your spear the power of a skill?"
As Isabelle returned a faint smile and replied, Cheon-seong carefully shook his head.
"The power just now wasn't quite the manifestation of a skill. To be precise, you could call it a sub-concept of what I felt was a skill before I awakened it."
As he explained in detail, Cheon-seong gazed intently into Isabelle's eyes.
They were both surprised, and the emotions they felt now, meeting each other's eyes up close, were somewhat different.
"The power of a sub-concept. That alone is quite astounding. To think you're already capable of such an application..."
Isabelle's surprise was particularly great.
She had wondered if Cheon-seong was forcing himself to receive her attack by manifesting a skill. But now that she had seen with her own eyes that he had manifested his power without overexerting himself, she even saw a kind of potential.
No, it felt as if she had finally confirmed Cheon-seong's true nature.
Why this man had garnered the interest of the royal family, and why he could show such overwhelming growth despite being a Common-grade.
The spiral power she had just encountered was that shocking.
"You praise me too much. In the end, I couldn't receive your aura with my own power alone. I was only able to thrust my spear because I trusted you, Sir Isabelle."
As Cheon-seong laughed awkwardly, Isabelle found herself asking.
"What do you mean, you trusted me?"
"Didn't you tell me beforehand that this was training for the dangers of the apostles? I engaged in the training with all my strength, excluding my skills, but I figured I wouldn't last the full hour, and that's indeed what happened. So, at the very end, I trusted you and thrust my spear."
His subsequent words were calm, his voice devoid of a single lie.
"..."
Listening while meeting his gaze, Isabelle let out an involuntary, dry laugh.
"You thought I would somehow reduce my power?"
"I didn't know the specifics, but I thought you must have something similar. I believed that you, Sir Isabelle, must have some method, which is why you would conduct such high-intensity training."
That's why I could thrust my spear.
Hearing his explanation, Isabelle didn't reply, her eyes instead scanning Cheon-seong from head to toe.
—His limit.
In her eyes, Cheon-seong had reached his absolute limit. His body, nearly devoid of mana, was clearly exhausted and powerless.
He looked so unsteady he could barely stand.
Yet, even though he must have been near his limit before their clash, he had casually displayed a power containing such a high-level concept.
And underlying it all was his claim that he'd attempted it because he trusted her.
"Hah..."
Lost in thought, Isabelle let out a deep sigh and spoke calmly.
"I understand now that you are different."
"...Pardon?"
"I'm saying that from now on, I will make sure not to view you with the same standards as others."
"Sir Isabelle, your words are a bit difficult to understand..."
Though Cheon-seong called out to her, clearly confused, Isabelle didn't answer. She slowly walked nearby and brought back the towel and water she had prepared.
"Here, take this. Let's rest for a moment before returning to the nurse's office."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
Cheon-seong, who had accepted the towel and water in a daze, blinked as he blankly wiped his forehead.
—I understand now that you are different.
...Her words felt as if they held a very complex meaning.
It was hard to think of it simply, as even Isabelle's gaze seemed ambiguous. But after a moment, Cheon-seong just nodded blankly and took a deep breath.
His body was screaming its limits, and his head was throbbing. Right now, he just wanted to rest without thinking.
Ssk.
Just as Cheon-seong sat down on the flat ground, not the restoring training area, and was blankly catching his breath,
Isabelle carefully sat down beside him.
She was holding her own water and towel. Cheon-seong gave her a vacant stare.
Seeing a beautiful woman sit next to him, it was a natural, almost instinctual reaction.
"..."
Meeting Cheon-seong's blank eyes, she suddenly spoke.
"And there's one more thing I'd like to ask you."
"Yes... Please, ask anything, Sir Isabelle."
He immediately regained focus in his eyes and replied. Isabelle carefully stroked her golden hair.
...Then, she let her eyes soften slightly and spoke.
"Do you always act like this?"
At the broad question, Cheon-seong blinked.
He had been half-consciously trying to rest, but she casually asked a question that would complicate his thoughts.
"I'm not sure what you mean, but how I acted today isn't much different from usual."
"I see..."
"Was there something problematic about my behavior?"
When Cheon-seong asked back blankly, Isabelle nodded with a peculiar expression.
"It's not that strange, but I found your way of speaking a little peculiar."
"Is my way of speaking strange?"
"It seems you're unaware. From my perspective, you are very direct and... lack a sense of distance, I should say. There are times when you are unusually familiar with the person you're speaking to."
Isabelle's calm explanation was something Cheon-seong was hearing for the first time.
-Direct.
-Acts familiar without hesitation.
Hearing her words, which seemed to point out a side of him he didn't know, Cheon-seong's eyes softened.
Then, he gave an awkward laugh and asked.
"If you felt any aversion or discomfort, Sir Isabelle, I will be more careful in the future."
"No, that's not it. I'm fine, but I felt it was behavior that could easily be misunderstood by others, so I thought I should point it out."
Even with her follow-up, Cheon-seong couldn't think of anything specific.
‘Even if it's easy to misunderstand...’
It didn't resonate with him.
He didn't think he had ever shown an attitude that would cause conflict or stir someone's emotions.
He believed he lived his life while maintaining a certain level of etiquette and tried to do so. He made sure never to come across as rude.
"...As I thought, you really don't know."
But seeing Cheon-seong's reaction, Isabelle asked as if confirming a suspicion, and Cheon-seong, still not understanding, nodded.
"I would appreciate it if you could explain a bit more, Sir Isabelle. I'm not sure what part I'm unaware of, or what could be misunderstood."
As he asked with extreme caution, Isabelle stared into his eyes and suddenly burst into laughter.
"That's a little unexpected."
When Cheon-seong just stared at her blankly, Isabelle spoke without hesitation.
"There are times when your actions seem to contain... feelings."
"...Pardon?"
"To put it more directly, it might be more accurate to say it feels like you're trying to seduce the other person."
Cheon-seong genuinely did not understand what she said next.
What Isabelle was saying now, and why she was saying it to him.
When his confusion was plainly visible in his eyes, Isabelle added, as if she had expected it.
"If you had said it with such an intention, I would have gotten angry or adopted a cold attitude. But since I know you have no such intention, I found it a little peculiar."
"W-Wait a moment, Sir Isabelle. I still don't understand what you're saying. Are you suggesting that I give off the impression that I'm seducing people?"
Cheon-seong repeated the words Isabelle had just uttered.
And watching him, Isabelle calmly nodded.
"Yes. I suppose it might differ from person to person, but I felt it vaguely during our conversation just now. For example, when you said you trusted me a moment ago."
"That... wasn't said with any ulterior motive. I only said that because I truly trusted you, Sir Isabelle."
As Cheon-seong, flustered, hurriedly added words of explanation, Isabelle paused and let her eyes soften.
...Then she stroked her golden hair once more and sighed.
"Hah. I'm really not sure how to explain it. To say things like that so casually... don't you think that's strange?"
Isabelle was saying that his manner of speaking, and even the way he was earnestly conveying his sincerity right now, was a problem.
But for Cheon-seong, it was even more incomprehensible.
"Are my words strange? I was just showing my sincerity... I didn't say it to treat you with pretense, Sir Isabelle."
Cheon-seong simply met Isabelle's gaze without a hint of deception, as if revealing his true heart, and poured out even more words.
"..."
And Isabelle found her lips hesitating before she pressed them shut.
She was sure she had explained the point clearly.
That it was behavior that could be seen as seduction.
She had brought it up to warn him, but the more they talked, the more confused she became.
And for good reason.
In Isabelle's eyes, Cheon-seong's behavior was extremely strange.
-I trust you.
-Because I genuinely feel that way.
-He's seeing me for who I am, without pretense...
In her eyes, every single one of those statements was strange.
It wasn't that the meaning was strange; she knew they were well-intentioned. But... they were too uninhibited. Conveying one's genuine feelings to someone was not as easy as it seemed.
Other people would hesitate before uttering such words, but this man was expressing himself too directly.
‘Just what...’
That's why Isabelle was also confused.
Imbuing words with feeling. And treating someone with sincerity wasn't a bad thing.
...But his actions were also peculiar, so it couldn't help but be strange.
Continuously meeting her eyes without looking away, smiling while saying he trusts her.
Or saying she's a good person.
Between a man and a woman, there was a need to be a little more reserved.
"You are... No. That's enough. Let's stop talking about this topic."
At the end of her thoughts, Isabelle's decision was simply not to say any more.
If she said anything more, it would just make her own feelings...
...even stranger.