Chapter 105: Sister Complex
Seeing Monica, whom he had just visited the Ghost Tower with earlier today, appear before his eyes again, Arthur also wore an expression of surprise.
Sometimes, this world truly is small; coincidences always arrive unexpectedly.
He looked at Monica, then pointed towards Raymond, and asked, "He's your brother?"
Monica placed her hands on her hips, "Yeah. I didn't expect you to be an apprentice here too! No wonder you went to pick a Honedge."
"Right, when did you become a disciple here? If it's been less than two years, within the dojo, you have to call me Senior Sister~"
Monica's personality was as lively as ever.
Arthur had only asked her one question, yet she had already rattled off a whole string of words.
However, combined with her youthful, sunny smiling face, it wasn't annoying.
"But you two have different surnames?" Arthur asked again.
Earlier, Raymond had introduced himself when he approached him during the Swords Dance class.
"That's because I'm the second child in the family, so I followed my mother's surname!"
"Speaking of which, when exactly did you join the dojo? Hurry up and call me Senior Sister!"
Monica, at this moment, smiled like a Q-version funny face emoji.
It seemed she had truly longed for the title "Senior Sister" for quite some time.
However, just then, Raymond quickly pulled her aside.
"Stop messing around. Arthur isn't an apprentice at our dojo yet."
"Eh? If he's not an apprentice, why was he here listening to the Grandmaster's class?"
As Monica spoke, she turned her gaze towards the Grandmaster in the center of the courtyard.
Unexpectedly, the Grandmaster also turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.
The earlier misunderstanding was truly somewhat awkward; even the Grandmaster didn't want to rehash it at this moment.
In order to quickly change the subject, and also because he genuinely felt incredulous, Raymond confirmed with Arthur once more.
"Your Honedge... you really just captured it today?"
Arthur calmly nodded, "Yes."
But Raymond really couldn't remain calm.
"But—but why doesn't it drain you? How exactly did you manage that?"
Arthur didn't keep it a secret either, explaining truthfully, "The talent of Ghost-type Pokémon to absorb life energy isn't unbeatable. As long as your willpower is sufficiently firm, don't be afraid, face them frankly, and win this contest of wills, they won't be able to harm you."
"Really?"
Raymond was so shocked at that moment that his eyebrows unconsciously shot up high.
This...
Although I understand every word, how come when put together, it feels so confusing?
It wasn't until the Grandmaster standing aside also spoke up, "I see. I have indeed heard someone mention this explanation before in the past. It's said that individuals with sufficiently strong willpower can guard their souls even when facing the most dangerous Ghosts and retreat unharmed."
"But I didn't expect that little friend, at such a young age, would already possess such tenacious conviction and will. Truly, the younger generation is formidable."
With the Grandmaster's endorsement, no matter how incredulous Raymond felt, he could only tentatively believe Arthur's explanation.
However, the gaze he directed towards Arthur still carried a trace of strangeness.
Regardless, after learning that the Honedge Arthur held in his hand had only been captured less than a day ago, his perception of Arthur could already never go back to what it was...
If one had to describe the feeling, it would probably be like—
This child is unexpectedly terrifying like this!
Arthur, however, just humbly nodded and said a phrase, "Sir, you praise me too highly."
He didn't intend to continue this topic.
Because he felt he really should be leaving.
By now, the students who had attended the class had mostly dispersed. In the backyard, only the siblings Raymond and Monica, and the lecturing dojo Grandmaster remained.
If he stayed longer, it might give the impression he was trying to extort something more, which would be awkwardly embarrassing.
But Monica, having just returned, was clearly filled with curiosity towards him.
"Eh? Are you leaving already? Are you really not planning to become a disciple here? The Grandmaster's dojo is very famous throughout the entire city!"
"Oh, right! You paid the Dodrio rental fee for me during the day. How about I treat you to a meal right now?"
Although Arthur knew her curiosity was mainly directed towards the Honedge in his hand, this enthusiasm still made him somewhat unable to handle it.
He had actually always been rather inept at dealing with this kind of positive attention from the opposite sex...
"That's... probably not necessary, right? You already guided me during the day."
"How can that be acceptable? I was just going that way anyway at the time. Doing that would be taking too much advantage of you; I'd feel bad about it."
Raymond looked at his sister, then looked at Arthur, his eyes gradually narrowing.
His brotherly intuition told him that if he continued to let this go on, there would definitely be problems!
Thus, after a round of back-and-forth polite refusals, it ended up becoming dinner for three people together.
Raymond treated.
His excuse was also impeccable: consider it as another apology to Arthur for the earlier misunderstanding at the dojo.
But Arthur intuitively felt that this guy most likely just purely didn't want to see his sister paying so much attention to him.
Heh, sister complex!
During the meal, the two casually asked Arthur about his reason for coming to Lavender Town.
Upon learning that he had actually come alone, without any guardian accompanying him the entire time, and furthermore, that he had headed straight for Honedge with a clear goal from the very beginning, their perception of him was refreshed yet again.
"Your guts are really huge!"
Monica sighed with emotion.
Raymond once again reinforced his impression of this 'terrifying kid'.
Surely sister cannot be allowed to become too interested in such a dangerous guy!
He couldn't help but internally affirm his own action of inviting himself along once more.
Sis, ah! Liking younger guys is inadvisable!
But immediately, Monica asked again, "Then why did you absolutely want a Honedge? This fighting style of yours, grasping the sword, is unusable in formal competitive matches, right?"
Her interest in Arthur clearly hadn't dissipated yet.
This young man, in her eyes, was truly too mysterious.
Moreover, he always radiated a mature aura completely inconsistent with his age.
He was clearly amazing enough to subdue a Honedge single-handedly upon first meeting, yet throughout the day, she had never heard Arthur boast about his own abilities.
He was low-key to a degree unlike most youths his age.
Throughout the entire journey, the only time this kid had expressed a stance was just before entering the Honedge section at the Ghost Tower, when he lightly wagged his finger and told her: I am certainly not at the 'enthusiast' level.
It was laughable that she, at the time, still thought he was just showing off.
Afterward, whenever Monica recalled her thoughts from that moment, she felt so embarrassed her toes curled tight.
Consequently, this also prompted her to want to explore Arthur's secrets even more.
A youth merely sixteen years old... why exactly did his body hold so many extraordinary aspects?
Regarding this, Arthur didn't deliberately hide anything either.
His itinerary wasn't something that needed to be kept hidden from the light.
"I wanted Honedge to ensure my own safety; it's temporarily unrelated to competitive matches. Because next, I plan to go west, to apply to be a volunteer ranger at the Viridian Forest Reserve."
The Viridian Forest Reserve is located on the western border line of the Kubfu Alliance. It's not just a forest but an entire mountain range connected to the rainforest at its foothills. It is currently the largest nature reserve area on the East Continent.
The eastern side of the reserve borders the Kubfu Alliance, while the other side borders many small alliances situated further inland on the East Continent.
And that place... was precisely where the Stitched Shadow Army's forces had infiltrated the deepest!
(End of Chapter)
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