Oldest trick in the book.

By the time I got back to my dorm, Yue wasn't there. Her clothes were spread across the floor and a bag of holding was missing.

I let out a sigh.

Where did she go now?

She hadn't gone out of Brakebills. I knew that from the bugs I had woven into the wards of the university itself.

Then she must be somewhere in here.

Instantly, I connected to my surveillance network across Brakebills and found her within the second.

Of course.

I shouldn't even have needed the surveillance network for this.

Of course she was at the cottage.

I teleported to the cottage, and walked in, only to be stopped by Eliot.

"What did you do?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"Something I would like to know myself..." I shrugged.

"She was crying. You must have done something?"

"I helped her overcome one of her anxieties, or I tried at least. And then..." I getsured vaguely at the current situation.

Eliot sighed.

"We do not have time for a lover's spat today." Margo interjected, stuffing something into a garbage bag.

"Not in front of him!" Eliot warned.

"Oh he probably already knows." Margo rolled her eyes.

"Oh, the finals are tonight?"

"See?" Margo said, proven right with a chuckle.

Eliot sagged his shoulders and just gave up.

"Yes. They are tonight. Why don't you announce it over the PA."

"Alright, alright. Not gonna make a peep. My mouth's sealed. Now if you could-"

"Yeah. She's in the second room on the right upstairs."

"Be gentle. Don't break the bed." Margo teased.

I raised an eyebrow.

"What? No, I-"

"Oh don't even. Make up sex is like the best sex." Margo giggled.

"You've clearly underestimated 'I hate you but you're hot and I have a shame kink' sex." Eliot replied chuckling along.

"Sheesh. No. I'm not having any kind of sex with her. I just want to make her feel better."

"You know what can make her feel a lot better?"

"Don't say se-"

"Some mind blowing sex."

"There we go. I'm going. And you guys... I'll see you later?"

Margo pulled up her mask and cackled.

"Oh you certainly will our dear virgin sacrifice~"

"Ohoho, I can't wait to see Quentin's face when you bag him." I chuckled.

"Yea-Wait how do you know we were planning to freak Quentin?" Eliot asked.

"The virgin part kinda gave it away." I pointed out.

"Uhun?" Margo said, packing the mask into the garbage bag again.

"Maybe we need to work on our material."

"That's up to you. Don't waste your time though, stick with what you know." I waved them goodbye, climbing the stairs to her room.

"Yue?" I knocked on her door.

"Go away." She said, but I could feel her perk up in the room.

"Yue, come on. Don't be like this. Open the door."

"No. Leave me alone." I heard her sniffle and felt a pang of pain in my chest.

"At least tell me what's wrong. Let's talk this over-"

"You don't know what's wrong? Of course you don't. You.. you!" She began to cry again, choked sobs faintly audible from behind the door.

"Yue!" I called out.

"I hate you!" She cried.

What?

"Why?"

"Why?" She repeated, it had caught her off guard.

She stomped over to the door, but didn't open it.

She kicked the door with full force, shaking it and the doorframe itself with her vampiric strength.

If it wasn't for the enchantments on the building, I doubt the door would have survive that kick.

Something about a previous class of students having to trap an ogre in there or something, a story that Eliot had told me half drunk.

And that kick still shook it like a rattle.

It was one of the reasons I made sure she was the little spoon when we slept.

She was a hugger and I don't think I want to wake up one night with a spine that was cracked in two.

I'd regenerate sure, but it still hurts.

"You-I-i..." She couldn't finish her sentence before she began to sniffle again, hiccups interspersed within.

"Jushht go away, you idiot!" She said, her throat hoarse.

I sighed and sat down on the floor, leaning with my back on the door.

It's time for the tried and tested, trusted technique of mine that resolved most marital conflicts I had with Offee, which arguably were few and far, far between.

Being a stubborn cunt about being there for them.

Women love that shit.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you alone, okay? I'm staying her as long as necessary." I promised her.

There was silence for a moment, and then I felt her slump down to the floor on the other side of the door too.

Aha! So she isn't all mad yet.

Not to mention she didn't tell Eliot and Margo anything about why she was sad too, otherwise they would have asked me about it.

So she hasn't leaked my secrets yet either. That's a good sign.

Now if I can just figure out why she's mad, which by the way, she should not be!

I literally fulfilled your lifelong wish, why get mad at me for it?!

I just can't understand it.

If someone did that for me then.... I would wipe them and their reality out of existence.

Shit, is that why?

Did she want to achieve it on her own?

No, that sounds stupid. Why would she want that?

She's not like me. She's a different person.

She's a different person.

Huh?

Right. What was she like in the manga and novels?

Should I even go about this based on fiction when she's clearly not acting like it?

I mean in the novel she never got so mad at Hajime.

Even when he did some stupid shit to save a princess, she didn't get mad at him.

Even when he failed to save her from a god the first time, she didn't say she hated him.

In the novel she was literally the perfect adorable waifu who never complained and always loved Hajime.

Of course, no one is perfect and Yue here isn't fiction, or so I'd like to think at least.

I buried my suspicions of my own reality in my mind and thought of something else to do while we waited for the Trials, the final exam for this semester, to begin.

What to do... What to do.....

I need to distract her mind from whatever she's thinking right now, so....

Yeah. That will work. It worked on Agent Hansen and it will definitely work on Yue too.

I smiled.

"Hey, Yue... Did you know, Gorillas have a tiny penis?...."

Inside, I could hear Yue stop sniffling, sufficiently baffled by the facts.

"Yeah, and Giraffes have two foot tongue.

Imagine the blowjobs..... "

"Pfftt.... " Yue snorted with involuntary laughter and punched the door again.

Hehehehehheh.

It's working~

Let's go!

"And their babies ..."

I talked to Yue, if a bit one-sidedly through the next few hours until she finally stopped crying.

She still didn't open the door.

Sure, I could teleport in at any time but Yue didn't like it the last time I forced my way of doing things onto her, and look where that led us.

Not letting that happen again.

So I waited patiently outside the door, regaling her with weird facts and funny anecdotes till her mood improved.

She even stopped giving off those 'I hate you' psychic signals and began giving off her usual 'LOVE ME!' signals. Yes. Those were in all caps.

And then finally.

"Alright you two, you're the last ones in, come on." Margo came to get us, still dressed in the mask amd robe with a fake knife in her hands.

"It's time for the Trials."

_______________________

The regular chapter for the day!

Sorry it's a bit late.

200 powerstones chapter coming soon.

Thanks for reading and thanks a lot for all of your feedback.

Also, remember the gorilla fact?

This here was a callback to the heroes arc where mc used the same line on Agent Hansen.

That was a fun arc to write.

Next chapter, I'll explain why MC is doing this slow, painful act of being weak and not revealing his full power.

Till then....

See ya!