How to Make a Tsundere Worry (1)

To keep the mood light, I started unpacking my stuff quickly. Actions speak louder than words if you want to get close to someone, after all. I dumped out my bag. Books. Clothes. Writing supplies. Some mystery rock. And—thud! The bag slipped from my hand and smashed right into my foot.

"...Ow."

That really hurt. My body pitched forward, and my shin slammed into the edge of the bed. What a day for my legs. My breath caught for a second. But strangely... the pain felt manageable. Miraculously, I was back on my feet like nothing happened.

"Whoa! I can tough it out!"

No one asked, but still. Maybe feeling sorry for me, Iris paused while flipping through her book. And for the first time, our eyes really met. Her gaze... it felt like she was analyzing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me.

"...You."

"Yeah?"

"...Your pain response is off."

Huh? Is it?

"I've got a high pain tolerance."

"...No."

She denied it flatly. A brief silence. Iris's eyes lingered on my leg for a moment.

"...A hit like that should've left you limping at least."

Whoa, scary observation skills.

"Guess I've got a sturdy build."

Iris didn't reply. She just closed her book.

"...Intriguing."

Uh-oh. That's a good thing, right? But she's staring at me with those scary eyes...

"I-I'm gonna crash early. Early bird catches the worm, or whatever."

"It's the opposite. And it's not even evening yet."

"Whatever. I'm sleeping straight through till morning."

And that was the end of my first day at the academy. Tomorrow was gonna be fun. Seria seemed like a riot, and if I played my cards right, Iris could make a great pawn. Time to plot out the scenario for tomorrow.

I opened my eyes. Ceiling. Unfamiliar room. Oh, right—the dorm. I lay there blankly for a second before bolting upright.

"Up bright and early!"

I felt weirdly refreshed. Even after all those tumbles yesterday, my body felt light. Nice. Like I'd grown stronger or something. In that great mood, I glanced at the bed next to mine. Iris's was neatly made—blanket angles perfect!

"...Iris?"

No answer. Just a book perfectly aligned on her desk. Wow, total model student vibe. I nodded to myself.

"She already left, huh."

A little disappointing. First roommate morning greeting event: failed. Oh well, nothing I can do. Tucking that regret away, I got ready for class. Done in ten minutes flat. Then it hit me. Nothing left to do.

...This is a problem.

I pondered for a bit. Hallway. Windows. Students passing by. And a face popped into my head. Silver hair. That prickly tone.

"...Seria!"

Perfect. Decision made. I bolted outside. My steps led me to... the girls' dorm entrance. I leaned against the wall, waiting. Kinda feels like a lover's meetup event. Not that it is.

A bit later, the door opened, and students started filing out. And—Seria appeared. She froze when she saw me.

"...What."

"Morning!"

"...Why are you here."

"Came to walk you."

Silence.

"...Why?"

"So we can go together."

"...Who said anything about together."

Even as she said it, her feet didn't stop. Passed with flying colors. We started walking side by side. Crisp morning air.

"Evaluation day today, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Nervous?"

"...Nope."

Brief silence.

"...You?"

"Sounds fun."

Seria gave me a weird look.

"...Don't people get nervous first?"

"I'm the excited-first type."

Seria let out a small sigh.

"...Can't understand you."

Even so, her stride shifted ever so slightly to match mine.

The training ground came into view. Students were already gathered, and in the center—a massive mana orb.

Oh. Smells like an ability measurement event.

"That."

Seria spoke up.

"Mana orb. Checks aptitude and potential."

Thanks for the explanation.

"Just touch it, right?"

"...Not just touch it."

She paused.

"...Sometimes weird results happen."

Weird results. Nice. Hope that happens to me. As I thought that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Leon-sensei started guiding us in a solemn voice.

"Before the practical basics evaluation, one thing first."

He pointed at the mana orb.

"You all know what this is. Measures your stats roughly. Confirm your aptitude with it, then face a matching mana beast."

Tailored tests to your level? Solid system.

"Let's begin."

With Leon-sensei's words, testing started. Students placed hands on the orb one by one. Red light. Blue light. Sometimes mixed colors. Gasps all around. As expected of Class A—flashy specs. No clue why they're problem child candidates.

Then Seria's turn. The orb glowed bright silver. Murmurs rose.

"Space aptitude... classic Blanche."

"Blanche family lives up to the hype..."

Everyone's impressed, so it must be amazing. But Seria returned nonchalantly.

"...Why stare like that."

"'Cause it's cool."

"...Shut up."

Her ears went a bit red. Then.

"...Arin Carte."

My turn. I shook out my hands and stepped up. Kinda tense for no reason.

"Just put it on?"

"Channel your mana."

Oh. That's tricky. Oh well, let's try. Hand on the orb. Cold! And—light exploded. Gold. Blindingly intense from within. The training ground went dead silent.

"...Gold?"

"...Unique ability reaction?"

Murmurs grew. Whoa, bigger deal than I thought? I tilted my head. Then my vision darkened. And blue text floated up. In the air. No—in my eyes.

"...Huh?"

Breath caught. This is just for me, right? The text faded slowly. Vision cleared.

"Remove your hand."

Leon-sensei's voice. I pulled away in a daze. Everyone staring. Seria too. Iris too. Especially Iris—her eyes totally different. Observing.

"...Unique ability holder."

Someone muttered. I looked at my palm. Nothing. But that was too vivid for a hallucination.

"...Fun."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠muttered without thinking. For some reason... I was a little excited. The training ground got weirdly quiet. It'd been rowdy seconds ago.

"...It was gold, right?"

"Unique reaction for sure."

"First time seeing that color..."

Whispers everywhere. I scratched my head, playing dumb. Can't break the clueless Arin Carte image I've built.

"What's a unique ability?"

No one answered right away. Rude. Like she read my mind, Seria approached first.

"...You."

Her face was different. Not annoyed—checking.

"Feel anything just now?"

"Uh... saw some text?"

"...Text?"

Oh. Shouldn't have said that? Then a low voice from the side.

"...Intriguing."

Iris. Arms crossed, staring straight at me.

"Unique ability holders are rare. But your reaction's too stable."

"Stable?"

"...Usually mana overload happens."

Oh. Am I awesome? Nice. Seria said nothing. Instead, she grabbed my hand briefly—then let go.

"...No issues."

"...You were worried?"

"...Just checking."

Her ear tips reddened. Then Leon-sensei's voice boomed.

"Good. Moving to practical basics evaluation."

Oh. Straight to combat. Love the academy's pace. Students went up one by one in order. Mana beasts summoned to match aptitudes. Fire attribute. Flying type. Beast type. Everyone handled theirs well. Problem children indeed.

"...Next. Arin Carte."

My turn at last. As I stepped up, the magic circle glowed. Wonder who my opponent is. So exciting. Honestly, I'm bad at fighting and my mana sucks, so probably the weakest low-tier beast. And what appeared— a massive stone golem.

Wait. Wrong difficulty?

"Hold on! I'm a total newbie!"

The golem moved. Ground shook. Whoa, it's huge. And fast. How does something that big move like that?

"Hyaaah!"

I dodged the massive fist—boom, the arena floor shattered. This isn't fair. I said I can't fight!

"Arin, dodge!"

I turned at the voice and saw Seria. Her face was dead serious—something I'd never seen. To reassure her, I winked and flashed a thumbs-up.

"No...! I said dodge!"

Looking back, the fist was already at my nose. Crap. I tried to dodge. But a beat too late.

Kwaaang— The fist slammed into my gut. Couldn't breathe. Body flew up, then rolled across the ground.

"...Kuhuk—!"

Blood rose. Mouth hot. Murmurs everywhere.

"Hey, shouldn't we stop it?!"

"That's lethal..."

Seria's voice again.

"Stop! End the test!"

But then. Blue text in my head.

Something inside me heated up. Hurts. Hurts so much. But strangely... power surged.

"...Ah."

This... I can use it. I staggered to my feet.

"Arin! Stop!"

Seria's voice. Sorry. It's just too fun right now. The golem raised its fist again. This time, I didn't dodge. Pain tore through me. But mana flooded my body in equal measure. And I swung—with everything.

Fist. All accumulated pain converted to mana, unleashed. Air ripped. Kwaaaaang— The golem's body shattered from the center. Stone chunks exploded outward. The training ground fell utterly silent.

"...She won?"

Someone muttered. Yeah, me too. But... my legs won't hold. Vision shaking. Ah... this hurts way more than I thought...

"I'm fine."

Before anyone asked.

"Totally o—"

Words cut off as my body collapsed.

I opened my eyes to a white ceiling. Good. Still alive.

"Hah...! You're awake...?"

Soft voice. Beside me, a blonde girl sat, healing magic glowing from her fingertips.

"Lia Elder."

Oh. Name from roll call.

"Teacher asked me...! Said since I have healing aptitude, help out..."

"...Nurse duty too?"

Lia smiled sheepishly.

"You were hurt bad."

Was it that bad? As I thought back, Lia hesitated, asking like it was important.

"Why... go that far...?"

"...Hm."

I pondered.

"Felt like I could win?"

Lia froze.

"...Looked like it hurt."

"It did."

It hurt a ton. But.

"Still worth it."

Lia's face grew complicated. Then the door burst open.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Arin!"

There stood Seria. With an expression I'd never seen before.