Having heard Yasuo's unexpectedly say 'Yes' with a straightforward answer to the question: 'Do you like me?', the girl's face instantly blushed, turning as red as her hair. "You aren't supposed to say something like that?!" The girl said a little too loud, being flustered.
The girl's reaction made Yasuo snap out of his thoughts. Now thinking clearly it dawned upon him what he just said. "Aah! Wait! I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean to say that I like you like that, I was staring at you because I wanted to make a portal clearing group, and for that I had to observe the people from the top ten, you being one of them. So when I said I like you, I was referring to the fact that I would like to be in a portal clearing group with you because I think we are compatible. Wait! I don't mean compatible in a romantic way, but in a compositional way because you are a ranged awakened and I am sort of a close combat awakened, so -"
Yasuo was so flustered that he kept rambling on, which cleared up the misunderstanding and made the red haired girl calm down. Hearing Yasuo going on and on, she giggled before finally stopping Yasuo.
"So, you were staring at me because you want to be in a portal clearing group together with me?" The girl asked.
"Yes exactly!" Yasuo said excitedly as he had managed to clear up the misunderstanding.
After Yasuo had answered the girl, a good few seconds of silence fell as the girl looked at Yasuo like she was examining him. "Wait, aren't you Yasuo Mun." Asked the girl suddenly.
"…Yes." Yasuo said, not knowing why his name was important or how she even knew his name.
Hearing Yasuo confirm his name, unexpectedly made the girl's expression change in a positive way.
"Are you the same Yasuo Mun that was student number 1000? Are you really tenth in the ranking now?"
Yasuo felt kind of looked down upon and was hesitant to answer. "Yes, I was student number 1000 when I came here. Is something wrong with that?"
As the girl saw Yasuo's expression, she immediately responded. "I didn't mean it in a bad way! It is just that the students with high numbers when they came in are usually not that strong, so I was surprised to see that you were ranked number ten now. I meant that I am impressed by the results. Also, I asked because my mom asked me to befriend a person named Yasuo Mun, but when I heard the president of the academy say that Yasuo Mun was number 1000 during the welcoming speech I didn't understand why my mom told me to become friends with you. Oh, not like I don't want to be friends with a weaker person, but just that my mom normally has some sort of reason behind -"
As it looked like the girl was still flustered and wasn't going to stop talking, Yasuo stopped her. "I understand." He said while he chuckled.
For a full minute, there was an awkward silence between the two of them. But the girl broke the silence by saying: "Do you want to form a clearing party with me?"
Yasuo was left speechless as this was the last thing he expected to hear But it was the exact thing he wanted to hear, so he quickly replied: "Yes!"
They both started laughing, thinking about how awkward their first interaction had been, but the room soon started to fall silent again. With Yasuo trying to avoid an awkward silence, he decided to formally introduce himself so that they could begin their conversation on a clean slate.
"Hello, I am Yasuo Mun. I am sixteen years old and my awakened class allows me to use a dagger and magic. Nice to meet you." As he politely bowed to finish his introduction, the girl started introducing herself and Yasuo finally found out her name.
"Nice to meet you. I am Nari Lee. I am eighteen years old and my awakened class is related to archery. My mother is the guild leader from the Vulcan guild. -"
Having said her last sentence, Nari Lee saw Yasuo's eyes widen and it looked like he wanted to say something, but was being polite and not interrupting her. So Nari Lee quickly bowed, signalling that she finished her introduction.
Yasuo immediately began talking: "That is why you looked so familiar, you look exactly like miss Hana Lee! She was the one who admitted me to the academy. Maybe she told you to be friends with me because she was worried about me not fitting in." Yasuo said in a polite tone as he now knew the girl was older than him and that her mother was Hana Lee.
Nari Lee giggled, hearing how Yasuo was suddenly talking in a polite manner. "You can talk comfortably with me Yasuo, I am only two years older than you. And also, I don't think my mom told me to be friends with you because of that reason. The reason my mom wanted me to befriend you was probably because she trusts you and already knew that you were strong, and that it would benefit me to create strong and reliable friends while at the academy."
"Oh yes, that could be it. Miss Hana Lee does kind of know what I am capable of." Yasuo said, thinking that what Nari said sounded pretty logical.
An awkward silence began to form again while Yasuo was thinking, so Nari redirected the conversation. "Yasuo, why do you want to create a portal clearing group now? It wouldn't be of much help in the academy right?"
Hearing this topic, Yasuo's stray thoughts vanished as he started talking. "Oh right, we were talking about creating a portal clearing group. Yesterday I found out that the augmented reality program of the top ten students had a function that would allow you to fight in a group, so I really wanted to create a portal clearing group and learn about teamwork. Also, do you remember that the teacher from the introductory class mentioned that you could earn academy points through missions. Some of those missions include portal clearings, and I really wanted to go into E-rank portals as soon as possible."
"That does sound reasonable. But before I officially form a portal clearing group, you have to answer a few questions I have, okay?" Said Narie, who wanted to break down what Yasuo just said as he mentioned a lot of information at once. "And try to give short answers."
"Okay first question: You said you wanted to go into an E-rank portal as soon as possible. Why is that?" Nari asked.
"Because I have never gone into an E-rank portal before." Yasuo said, trying to answer as directly and shortly as possible.
Nari had a surprised look on her face, having thought that someone who was the number ten ranking student would have at least gone into a E-rank portal before as Nari went into portals a lot with her mother or with a professional group guiding her. "Hmm, okay. Second question: Why do you want to practice teamwork?"
"Because I have never fought alongside other people before." Said Yasuo with an earnest expression on his face.
Not having expected an answer like this, Nari quickly asked a follow up question. "Have you entered a portal before?"
"Yes." Yasuo said.
The more questions Nari asked, the less sense Yasuo started making. "Please elaborate." Nari asked, having regretted saying that Yasuo should answer as short and direct as possible. "And give as much information that could be helpful to me."
As Yasuo didn't exactly know what Nari wanted to know, he started explaining everything. "Let's start from the beginning." Yasuo said, and began explaining that he had awakened just three months ago at a portal outbreak in the city, and that it was also the moment he met Hana Lee for the first time. He told her that he hid the fact that he was an awakener from Hana Lee, and started to train on his own and sneaking into F-rank portals at night, alone.
As Nari Lee was listening to Yasuo attentively, she was shocked by one thing after another. She was amazed that Yasuo had already become so strong in three months, with him having earned the number ten spot in the student ranking, and she was shocked that Yasuo would be so reckless as to enter a portal alone.
Yasuo continued telling his story and eventually arrived at the final important thing. "When I solo entered an F-rank portal last week, like I usually do, it apparently underwent a mutation and the goblins in there were way stronger. Luckily I managed to clear it without getting injured at all, and when I left the portal a whole barricade was set up by the awakener association, with your mother also there. Even though I had a mask on and I used my anonymous awakener ID, your mother knew that is was me for some reason. She had a talk with me and asked me to go to the academy, and here we are."
As it was a lot of information to take in, Nari tried to process it. While Nari was quietly thinking, Yasuo patiently waited for her, and a good few minutes passed.
"Okay Yasuo, I will form a portal clearing group with you." Nari said.
As soon as Yasuo heard this, his complexion brightened and a smile formed on his face. "Th-"
"But on one condition!" Nari suddenly said with a serious expression on his face, cutting Yasuo off before he could say respond.
Yasuo looked confused after Nari said this, and his smile straightened out.
"While you told me your whole story earnestly, you didn't tell me anything about your awakened class, or how you fight. So before I officially join, you have to at least tell me that much." Nari Lee said with a smile on her face.
Yasuo had unconsciously hid everything related to his awakener class, because that was what he had always done. "Okay, I will show you!" Yasuo said excitedly as he had recruited his first member for his portal clearing group.
"But can I tell you about it somewhere else, where I can also show you it? I don't really feel comfortable telling you this in a lecture hall." Yasuo said, being a little hesitant as Nari would be the very first person to ever see his awakener class.
When Nari heard that Yasuo was open to show her his class, a smile formed on her face. "Okay! Let's go to my training room."