Mage Manual-Chapter 580 - 470: I Can’t Even Feel Your Body Temperature_2

"In the end, we’ll make it through tonight’s Void Realm Exploration, and if the Sword Maiden is still in a bad mood tomorrow night, we’ll just repeat this whole process."

"Uh... huh??"

Ash was confused, "How is this a solution? It doesn’t solve the Sword Maiden’s problem at all!"

"Anyway, my problem is solved, and if yours isn’t, that’s your problem." Diya swung her fist menacingly, "You just agreed to cooperate, and lying means swallowing a thousand needles... and the Sword Maiden is your operator, you need to take responsibility! Just don’t come and sit in the front row, or I’ll hit you!"

With that, the Witch slipped away, giving Ash no chance to back out.

Even though he’d been baited by the Witch, she was right; as the Sword Maiden’s issue arose, Ash was the one who was responsible. The Sword Maiden was his operator, not the Witch’s, and more importantly, Ash knew in his heart that he was the Source of Chaos behind the Sword Maiden’s personality change.

Although the Miracle "Sincerity" couldn’t reveal one’s innermost thoughts, from the changes in the Sword Maiden’s expressions, Ash could tell that she had guessed much of his internal turmoil.

He would never underestimate a woman’s intuition in this respect. When he had a crush on a classmate in middle school, his sharp-eyed mother noticed immediately and nipped it in the bud (especially since his grades had suffered as a result), not to mention the Sword Maiden’s intuition was recognized by "Aurora’s Mage’s Handbook" as her Personal Skill "Dark Insight".

Moreover, Ash knew he couldn’t hide it. Just as when faced with a confession from Hanna, his mind would flashback to the glimpse of color in the Sword Maiden’s eyes when she was frozen in the Static Domain, now facing the Sword Maiden, his tongue seemed to still linger on the memory of their intimacy from a few hours ago.

He could casually navigate between departments, skillfully shift blame in reports, and even convince project leaders with a sincere facade, but he could not apply these tactics to his love life. If he had even one-tenth the capability in romance as he did in work, he wouldn’t be spending his nights working overtime, watching movies alone.

What to do, what to do... To be honest, Ash himself was panicking, he’d never seen the Sword Maiden this angry, even when he had arranged the Sincerity Soul Summoning ritual for her, she wasn’t as intimidating as now.

Moreover, the Sword Maiden would never have normally given him the chance to be alone with the Witch, but just then, she left without looking back, her behavior of washing her hands of the matter made Ash worry she might explode at any moment.

The most abnormal thing was that the Sword Maiden acted as if she knew nothing, as if nothing had happened, fighting and adventuring as usual, explaining the Void Realm, and even...

...seemingly more polite and responsible than in the past.

After collecting the mercury materials at the resource point, Ash took a deep breath to ease the tension in his heart and carefully sat in the back row.

The Sword Maiden glanced at him, and Ash immediately felt as if a massive weight had lifted from his heart, ready to move to the front row at the risk of being beaten up by the Witch if the Sword Maiden showed displeasure. However, the Sword Maiden said nothing and just calmly looked ahead. Ash exhaled in relief and opened the Void Realm Map to continue the exploration of the garden area.

"Commander."

Not only Ash but even the Witch flinched. Ash quickly responded, "What’s the matter?"

"We’re still missing two maps, one of which is for the Oasis, and now the Oasis has allied with the Spider Tower. If we strike at the garden’s main city, the combined forces of the Oasis and Spider Tower are sure to show up. This is our chance." Sonia mused, "Compared to resources, aren’t the Oasis map and the Commander’s handbook more important?"

When it came to serious matters, Ash also explained earnestly, "We’re collecting maps to find the Seven-colored Tail, but it’s too unreliable to pin all our hopes on it. Moreover, we’re gathering resources to upgrade the car and its peripherals, so we can be surer and safer in navigating the battlefield during wars in the main city."

"So that’s how it is." Sonia suddenly understood, "If we still can’t find the Seven-colored Tail in the end, we can take advantage of the Soul Summoning Technique Spirit and the sports car to profit from the wars starting in the main city, so the sports car is more important after all. Speaking of which, although the Starfall Warrior suits me well, it doesn’t suit you guys... Witch, if you were to design it, what kind of soldier would you want?"

Once the conversation turned to this, Diya became energized, "First would be close combat to enhance damage—armor doesn’t need to be thick. As for the soldier’s special abilities, I need two kinds: one that allows me to recover armor by killing other units, and another that increases movement speed. My combat strategies differ greatly between one-on-one fights and melee battles. During melees, I usually use aquatic threads to pull enemies together and create chaos, so speed becomes very important..."

Ash, too, joined the discussion with great enthusiasm. Ever since he learned of the soldier system, he had fantasized about designing a soldier type that suited himself, just like you can’t help but design your own cards while playing a card game. Although the balance would definitely be atrocious, in reality, you don’t need to care about balance.

They arrived at the next resource point in high spirits, and Diya, still contemplating the fourth soldier type, got out of the car with reluctance. At that moment, Ash hesitated before saying, "Witch, why don’t you go inside and try to lure the monsters out?"

"No problem!"

After Diya entered the mine, Ash adjusted his mood and mustered the courage to sincerely apologize to the Sword Maiden, "Sword Maiden, I’m sorry."

On the way there, the atmosphere was lively, and the Sword Maiden was also talking and laughing. She didn’t avoid interacting with him, so Ash felt that perhaps she was no longer angry and took the opportunity to clear things up.

He had several plans ready in his mind, ready to react whether Sword Maiden was angry, dissatisfied, or even if she resorted to violence.

However, Sword Maiden’s response still took Ash by surprise.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Sonia asked with a smile.

Ash was taken aback, "Because you seemed unhappy, and in reality I—"

"Whatever happens to you in reality has nothing to do with me." Sonia looked towards the mine, speaking calmly, "I can’t see it, hear it, or intervene."

"Besides, it should be me apologizing to you. I was wrong to suddenly test you with a Miracle," her face filled with remorse, "If I put myself in your shoes, I would certainly feel upset and angry if someone tested me like that out of the blue. I’m really sorry."

Ash immediately said, "I don’t blame you."

"But I still feel very upset inside, just like how you felt when I tested you," Sonia met Ash’s gaze, "Only when you feel as upset as the other person can it be considered a proper apology."

"You don’t need to be so formal and restrained with me. After all, we’re just teammates in the Void Realm, companions on an adventure. We can’t control each other’s lives in reality; our only responsibility lies in the Void Realm." frёewebnoѵēl.com

"Beyond that, we have and can’t have any other relationship," Sonia reached out to touch Ash’s hand lightly, "See, I can’t even feel your body temperature."

"The Witch has come out, and it seems the intelligent creatures here are too clever to be lured out, so let’s end the small talk."

"Let’s move on, Commander."

Watching the Sword Maiden’s retreating figure, Ash stood silently for a while before catching up.

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