Chapter 39: Blonde Twin-tails and the Tsundere Truly Are a Classic Duo
After Dean Silver nodded, the inquiry soon came to an end.
Ishta quickly took down the record, then began packing up her materials to leave the inquiry room.
She wanted to get away from this place of trouble and bad memories as fast as possible—especially from that freshman who had repeatedly made her crash and nearly shattered her state of mind.
She swore silently to herself never to accept a psychological measurement request from such a mysterious weirdo again.
Although, according to her superiors, this newcomer named Rast was expected to join Starfall University as well, and might even become her classmate in the future.
But Starfall University was the largest higher education institution in the entire Granville Kingdom—one of the top few even on the entire continent.
With hundreds of transcendents enrolled, and more than ten thousand ordinary students who had yet to step into the higher sequences and become Night Travelers...
Starfall University was vast—so vast that once they parted ways this time, it was entirely possible they would never meet again.
Can’t afford to provoke him, but surely I can avoid him, right?
Just as this thought arose—
The next moment, Ishta sensed someone following behind her.
She instinctively turned her head. Immediately, her previously drooping twin-tails shot up like they had been triggered.
“Rast?”
“Hm?”
Behind her, the black-haired youth also paused slightly in surprise.
The earlier psychological inquiry had been conducted through a one-way mirror, so Rast had no idea what the woman questioning him looked like.
But upon hearing the vaguely familiar voice, he instantly recognized that the twin-tailed blonde girl before him had to be the psychological measurement officer named “Ishta Julian.”
Only—
“Rast, the psychological evaluation is already over.”
“There are so many people in the world—could you not follow me?”
Ishta folded her arms and stared at Rast with full alertness, her body wrapped in a beige trench coat, her ample chest threatening to spill from the opening.
For some reason, the moment their eyes met, Rast clearly saw the petite figure wrapped in the coat tremble slightly.
A flush of red crept from her ears down to her slender neck.
As if she had suddenly recalled something deeply embarrassing.
Whose silly girl is this?
There’s only one path leading out of the evaluation room—I’m not supposed to follow you, then who?
Even with Rast’s experience, he couldn’t help but feel a bit speechless.
And what was with that inexplicable blushing? Anyone watching would think he had done something utterly inappropriate to her.
Sure, due to his inherent skill 「Heart of Steel Forging」, when Ishta used a psychic blade technique to probe his mind, Rast instinctively retaliated.
But from his own perspective, all he did was manipulate his own mind to devour the strand of invading spirituality—was that really worth such a dramatic response?
Of course, what left Rast most silent was the presence in his mind—「The Fool’s Library.」
As Ishta spoke, he clearly saw the golden card 「『Hermit』 · Ishta」 in his mental library flicker.
Immediately after, the progress bar for 【Bond Level: 1】 rose ever so slightly.
Good grief, blonde twin-tails and tsundere really are an eternally classic combo.
At the same time, Rast also took a look at the details of the 『Hermit』 card.
【『Hermit』 · Ishta】
【Bond Level: 1】
【Sequence Abilities: 1. Hidden Path, 2. Listener…】
【Hermit · Hidden Path (Unlocked): First-tier ability of the Hermit sequence. Hermits seek solitude and introspection. When activated, it greatly diminishes the user’s presence, allowing them to move silently among crowds and reduces the chance of being noticed.
Upon activating 「Hidden Path」, depending on the mental strength and sequence tiers of both parties, this grants immunity or resistance to certain detection, scouting, and divination abilities.】
【Hermit · Listener (Locked): Will be unlocked once the bond with the target character reaches a certain level, granting access to the original text.】
……
【Night Blade: Eye of Secrets】
【Tier One · Spirit Vision (Locked): Consumes spiritual energy to open a spiritual eye on the user’s forehead, allowing them to observe the surrounding collective unconsciousness through the spirit world and view the target’s spiritual symbol. (Requires bond to reach a certain level to unlock original text)】
【Tier Two · Secret Peering (Locked): Peer into hearts and uncover the deepest secrets hidden within the target’s soul. The effectiveness depends on the gap in mental power and tier levels. (Requires bond to reach a certain level to unlock original text)】
……
“I’m asking you—didn’t your parents teach you that it’s rude to daydream when someone is talking to you?”
Ishta stared at the boy in front of her, trying her best to make her gaze as icy as possible.
In fact, she didn’t even need to act—just being herself was enough to chill anyone.
The infamous reputation of “Seer” Ishta had long spread throughout Starfall University.
Countless students who had carelessly participated in one of her evaluations ended up socially annihilated.
So even though Ishta had striking looks—sky-blue eyes, delicate features, and was the only daughter of Count Julian—almost all students kept their distance, fearful of drawing her attention.
In the “Most Desired Female Student to Date” rankings on the Starfall Daily, Ishta didn’t even place.
But then, she saw the boy who had been spacing out slightly turn and look at her.
The corridor window beside them was open, and morning sunlight streamed diagonally across the floor.
Rast stood there, bathed in that thin stream of golden light. His side profile wasn’t sharply defined but instead appeared rather gentle.
Upon hearing Ishta’s reprimand, a faint apologetic expression surfaced on his face.
“I’m sorry for troubling you, Miss Ishta.”
“But no, my parents never taught me any of that.”
Bathed in sunlight, Rast smiled faintly. “They died before I was old enough to remember anything.”
“I grew up an orphan in a remote frontier town. Social niceties and relationships were extremely simple there—after all, everyone was just uneducated country folk.”
“So, the noble etiquette Miss Ishta speaks of—I truly don’t know much about it… if I’ve offended you, I sincerely apologize.”
Ishta stared blankly at the boy who wore that apologetic smile.
What… what did I just say to him…?
Her face instantly turned pale, and a wave of guilt crashed over her.