Author's Note) The School Belle At My House Part 2 (Haruhi)

“It’s my fault to begin with. I shouldn’t have asked you to use your magic here. But it was really beautiful.” Hirano replied with a smile as she stretched her arms up over her head. Her smile was truly beautiful. If I could, I would take out my notebook and jot down every small detail so I could give a more realistic image in my upcoming novel. I had no choice but to make a mental note.

My class arrived at the training grounds, where Sakamoto-sensei took up her position in front of us as we gathered around. “As you may know, today is supposed to be the day of your magic test, but due to some changes, the school has decided to have the pairs announced today work together until graduation. Normally, groupings do not happen until your second year. But because of the recent number of dungeons that have been appearing as of late, we fear that a new mass dungeon break will occur, and more hands will be needed to fight it off. As such, in order to shore up more support in time of need, you will all be obligated to ward off any monster stampedes. This is your duty and will protect your home and those who are still young. 

“This means first years will now be going into dungeons. For the next three days you will be spending as much time as you can with your partners and coming up with plans on how to fight alongside each other. Compatibility went into the thought process when choosing your partners.

“And before you all complain…” Sakamoto-sensei swept her deep purple eyes across all of us as she paused her words. “You have no choice but to work with the partners in front of you. You need to learn to get along with the people next to you. In the real world, you do not know who you will be fighting next to. You do not know what will happen. An enemy yesterday could be the person who saves your life the day after. Your partner might not be your best friend or lover, but this is just how real life works.

“So all objections and party member changes will not be heard, so forget about asking.” Sakamoto-sensei’s words rang through the air, causing many groans to echo following her final words. I knew many people would not like their pairings but what she had said made a lot of sense. The real world was not fair. I know this very well. I mean, I get told off almost every day in the comment sections of my novels. If the real world was fair, wouldn’t I get all kinds of awards for my writing?

“Now, your magic test will be to explore the beginners’ dungeon the academy has ownership of. You will have three days to prepare. Your readiness and ability to progress through the dungeon will all be at your discretion. You will be graded for all of this, so try your best to be as ready as possible. These are all things you studied in middle school, so I expect you to do fine. Also, a fair warning…. You will not be graded separately but together. So keep this in mind.

“And lastly... a special bonus will be applied if you can bring back a few monster cores, treasures, and more so if you clear the dungeon.” 

In other words, we were being tested on a few things. First was our ability to work with our partners. If even a single person lacked any ability to help the team, the overall score would drop. Second was our previous knowledge. Something anyone who was accepted into this school should have. Third, our combat ability, which I was a little worried about since I was still iffy with using my magic for combat. Even creating a small butterfly took a lot of courage. If it was not my muse asking me to show her my magic, I would never have done it.

Word magic can basically create and do anything. But a lot of it had to do with the meaning behind the word, so if I was not careful, I could really end up doing a lot of damage, which is why I do try to keep my emotions in check and never try to think about anything negative.

“Because of this test, you all have the next three days to spend time with your partners and get to know one another better. Try to learn each other’s habits. All other classes will be postponed until after the test. You are dismissed.” And with these words, we are brought back to the present…

Hirano was currently looking around my modestly decorated living room with great curiosity. I kind of wished she did not stare so much since it was really hard to calm my own nerves. I mean, what if she was judging every little thing in my house? Not that I had much, but it was really torture in a way. I had a small flat screen that I rarely used that sat on top of an old entertainment center that was much too big for it. My father made me take it in case I finally made friends and had people come over, but well…. His intentions might have been to help me but now I kind of felt embarrassed. 

Other than that was the couch Hirano was sitting on. A cactus plant that sat on top of a three-shelved bookcase full of light novels. And the vacuum cleaner I had forgotten to put away that was leaning against the far wall. The walls only had three things on them, and that was just pictures of my parents. Basically, the room was quite empty.

My family was not poor—not by any means. I mean, my parents were free spirits. They loved me a lot, but they seemed to love traveling more. Maybe being free of the ticking time bomb was also good for their health. In reality, even though I have been the way I am, my parents have never shunned me. Even when I was at my most dangerous, they did not send me away but stayed and tried to help me control my magic. But fear of my magic still always lingered within me, which made me who I am today.

And now, the gloomy girl who sits in the corner of the class had the school belle staring at her stuff. My nerves were basically shot.