The Most Arbitrary Wizard

Chapter 43: Chapter 30: What a Turn-off

"Sean, you’re so mean!"

"This is mean?"

Sean pursed his lips. "I took your picture right in front of you. You took mine behind my back. Isn’t that worse?"

Yisha’s face flushed red. She said, "Well, I’m a fangirl. It’s perfectly normal to snap a picture of a handsome guy on the street. Are you a creep, too?"

Sean: "..."

’So you’re outing yourself, are you?’

’Too bad I’m not falling for it.’

"I’m definitely not a creep," Sean said firmly. "Because you’re not a beauty."

Yisha: "???"

’Why is he resorting to personal attacks?’

’I’m obviously super cute, okay? Everyone says so!’

’Damn it... Why didn’t Miss Flame Crow tell me this guy was so sharp-tongued before I accepted the mission?’

After just a brief exchange, Yisha understood she couldn’t win a war of words with Sean. Huffing, she decided to play dumb. "Think whatever you want. I’m just passing by, hmph!"

’I won’t fall for Sean’s trick, and I definitely won’t sell out Miss Flame Crow.’

’It’s true I don’t want my superior to find out I messed up on the job, but Sean doesn’t know who my superior is. What good is that photo to him?’

’Trying to bluff me? No way!’

’We’ll see who’s fooling who.’

"Actually, even if you don’t tell me, I can guess," Sean said. "Elvire, right?"

Yisha turned her face away. "Who? Never heard of her."

Sean just smiled and shook his head.

He didn’t know many Wizards. Other than Elvire, he couldn’t think of anyone who would send someone to protect him.

Yes, protect.

Sean hadn’t sensed the slightest hint of hostility from the petite girl. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have wasted so much time talking to her.

However, it probably wasn’t just for protection.

The reason was simple: Sean didn’t believe Elvire would actually care about him just because he was handsome.

After all, Elvire still held a rather resentful attitude towards his former self—Carl Black. Perhaps not outright hatred, but definitely dislike. And since his appearance hadn’t changed between his past and present selves, it was clear his little sister-in-law wasn’t someone who judged purely on looks.

’That’s good.’

Because he wasn’t either.

When it came to girls, Sean was more focused on what was on the inside.

The completely wholesome kind of inside.

He said to Yisha, "Seeing as you’ve probably been following me for a while, why don’t we just hang out together? Grab a coffee and take a break?"

"No," Yisha huffed. "If you want to hang out, do it by yourself. I already told you, I’m just a passerby, and not a beauty. Why are you asking me out? So cringe."

Sean: "..."

’Why does she make it sound like I was the one taking secret pictures?’

’Who’s the cringey one here?’

"I’m leaving. See you if fate allows," Yisha said, then made a run for it.

But she didn’t run far.

She was just putting on a show. The mission still had to be done.

The main problem was that her target had discovered her, and it would be incredibly awkward to keep hanging around him. Otherwise, she really would have liked to accept Sean’s offer for coffee, probe him for information, and see where he got the confidence to set a trap for the Witch Hunters.

She could still do that without the coffee, it would just be a little more tiring.

Yisha followed Sean from a distance. She had nothing else to do anyway, so she might as well see what he was up to at the mall today. Maybe she’d uncover a clue.

However, to Yisha’s great disappointment, it seemed Sean really was just there to buy clothes.

He wandered around the menswear sections on the third and fourth floors, finally picked out a suit, paid for it at the counter, and then left the mall. He found a restaurant with a shorter line on the pedestrian street and had a simple dinner.

After his meal, he elegantly wiped his mouth with a napkin. After leaving the restaurant, he went to a bookstore.

On the way, he encountered an elderly homeless man begging on the roadside and even tossed a few coins into the man’s battered top hat.

’This guy is pretty kind-hearted,’ Yisha thought. ’Miss Flame Crow would also give some spare change if she saw something like this.’

But she couldn’t understand what happened next.

She realized Sean hadn’t gone to the bookstore just to browse; he actually bought a few books.

Because she was quite far away, she couldn’t see the covers clearly, and it wasn’t like she could just go ask Sean...

But that was fine. A little thing like this wasn’t going to stop her.

After Sean left, Yisha quietly slipped into the bookstore and went to ask the cashier at the counter.

’Asking directly what books Sean bought wouldn’t work; they probably wouldn’t tell me and might even think I’m up to no good. But if I sweeten the deal, that’s a different story—’ freёwebnovel.com

"Hi, the books that handsome guy just bought looked pretty good. I’d like to get them too. Do you still have them in stock?" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"Of course, one moment. I’ll go get them for you."

"Okay, thank you, miss."

Yisha thanked her sweetly.

Clearly, she was very experienced in this sort of thing.

But soon, her sweet expression vanished.

Because the cashier brought her several math workbooks.

"These are the ones," the cashier said with a smile. "You two sure know how to pick. Out of all the workbooks, these are the bestsellers."

Seeing Yisha’s petite and adorable, childlike frame, she added, "Hope you get good grades on your test."

Yisha: "???"

"Are you sure it’s these ones?"

"I’m sure. I have the receipt right here, look."

Yisha: "..."

’Hold on, isn’t this guy a novelist?’

’What is he doing buying math workbooks?’

’And his book signing is right around the corner, where he’ll be facing Witch Hunters head-on! Shouldn’t he be seizing every moment to Meditate and increase his Magic Power? Instead, he’s slacking off doing math problems. Is he planning on stumping the Witch Hunters to death with a few exam questions?’

Don’t laugh, but Sean had actually considered it.

As his Magic Power and Tier increased, he was gradually unlocking more Truth Positions.

The Formula Circle he used to deflect bullets was just one of the most basic applications of this world’s physical formulas and laws.

Many people think Science is Science, and Mysticism is Mysticism—that they are two different things. But in reality, they are the same kind of knowledge. Or rather, Science and Mysticism complement each other.

Having broken through to Tier Two and gained a preliminary grasp of Forbidden Meditation, Sean could now use his Truth Technique to unleash even more unfathomable moves. For example, curving bullets—something that only existed in movies or in the Gun Combat Skill that required immense practice to master—Sean could achieve with a single function.

There were also ropes that could only be escaped by solving a problem, mazes that required knowledge of permutations and combinations to navigate, and attack trajectories that could only be predicted by understanding function graphs... and so on. It was safe to say that if the ambush in the Black Fruit Rainforest were to happen again, he could now ensure Vincent and the others each met a unique and different end.

Yisha knew none of this.

All she knew was that Sean was very confident, and as the person tasked with protecting him, she was in for a world of trouble.

「The morning of September 1st.」

Yisha, disguised as a special guest reporter, arrived near the mall early.

There were a lot of people... a *lot*. So many that Yisha was starting to regret taking this mission.

Because these people weren’t passersby; they were police officers.

The entire massive mall was practically surrounded by uniformed police, with more officers standing guard and patrolling the streets.

At first, Yisha tried to count how many enemies there were, but she gave up after counting less than half. There were simply too many to count.

It was as if Quill had mobilized every available police officer in all of Old Segal City. Yisha had never seen the Witch Hunters assemble such a massive force to deal with a Novice Wizard. That guy... was he really only Tier One?

...