When Kobayashi saw the girl's body, he showed neither disgust nor aversion—because shock overwhelmed every other emotion.
Tiger Peak Toumi's sudden, willful behavior, followed by her candid confession of a tragic past, sent waves of astonishment at him from different directions. For a moment, Kobayashi had no mental space left to form any further reactions.
After learning about Tiger Peak Toumi's harrowing experiences, He finally understood where her volatile, easily explosive temperament came from.
Thanks to the "protective coloration" of the ugly scars covering her body, as well as her critical role as a "mine-clearing specialist," Tiger Peak Toumi had been spared an even more horrific fate. Even so, the suffering endured by her other companions had left deep psychological scars that could not be erased.
"I don't even know whether I should call it lucky or unlucky. Thanks to these ugly scars, I didn't end up like the others… reduced to toys…" Tiger Peak Toumi said stiffly. "And if it weren't for this, I wouldn't have dared to show myself to you like this."
"No, no, no— even without scars, I wouldn't be aroused by a little girl's body," Kobayashi said hurriedly, shaking his head.
After confirming that Kobayashi wasn't lying, Tiger Peak Toumi instead felt an inexplicable surge of irritation. "Hmph. That's only because your body hasn't developed enough to react yet, right?"
With a sharp whoosh, before Kobayashi could even process what was happening, a burst of white feathers exploded into his peripheral vision—the pillow propped behind his back had suddenly blown apart.
When he turned his head, he saw a single golden strand of hair buried deep inside the pillow.
Tiger Peak Toumi's Esper ability—Level 4 Absolute Penetration.
Even a single strand of hair could become the sharpest blade in her hands!
"Hey, let's be reasonable—no personal attacks!" Kobayashi said with a wry smile as he erected a telekinetic barrier.
He truly saw her as a child, maintaining the composure of an adult on a psychological level. But as a man, even he couldn't help having his defenses breached by such a blunt provocation.
Not to mention that her attacks could quite literally break through his defenses on a physical level!
"Cough!" Tiger Peak Toumi seemed to realize that her words had gone too far—and off topic. She picked up the T-shirt she had tossed onto the hospital bed and put it back on. "I just wanted to tell you that Sakurai-sensei is really important to me. If anything happened to her, I really would go crazy."
"I understand.
Doctor Sakurai really is someone worthy of respect," Lin Wuming nodded repeatedly. "Now, please hurry up and get dressed."
The girl shook her head, then paused mid-motion. "I'm just explaining the situation. I'm not making excuses for myself. Kobayashi, I'm truly sorry about injuring you by accident last time."
Tiger Peak Toumi had come to apologize—to atone.
No one knew where she had learned it from, but she bowed deeply, then seemed to feel that wasn't enough and followed it up with a full dogeza.
"Nana-kun, I've come to see you!" Yomikawa Aiho's voice rang out from outside the door.
"Wait—!" Kobayashi sprang up from the hospital bed, urging Tiger Peak Toumi at the same time. "Alright, my lady, I really don't blame you! Please get up and put your clothes on already!"
Yomikawa Aiho was a bold, decisive woman. After calling out once at the door as a courtesy, she pushed it open without the slightest hesitation.
The first thing she saw was a blonde girl nearly bare from the waist up, kneeling on the floor, while Kobayashi—like in some kind of medical miracle—was standing on the bed…
"This is… what exactly is going on?" Yomikawa Aiho froze, instinctively wanting to back out.
—Did I open the door the wrong way? Are kids these days really this open? Shouldn't something like this be handled by the Discipline Committee?
"I'm apologizing," Tiger Peak Toumi said calmly.
She then stood up and quickly put on her clothes. She didn't want anyone else to see the dense scars covering her body.
After a lengthy explanation, Kobayashi finally breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down on the bed.
Of course, his standing up earlier wasn't any kind of medical miracle—he had simply used telekinesis to lift himself.
If things hadn't been cleared up, he had been fully prepared to flee in embarrassment.
Fortunately, Tiger Peak Toumi wasn't the type to enjoy pranks or jokes. Though her behavior was extreme and her worldview and personality somewhat abnormal, she was still willing to explain things properly.
Yomikawa Aiho had a similar temperament, so she listened carefully to Tiger Peak Toumi's explanation. The two of them inexplicably hit it off, and the misunderstanding was resolved.
Kobayashi let out a long breath. In situations like this, it was incredibly hard for a man to explain himself.
He had only transmigrated into this world for less than a week—he really didn't want to end up socially dead already.
—As expected, it's better to keep as much distance as possible from Tiger Peak Toumi.
After lying back down, Kobayashi continued peeling apples with telekinesis. Before he could even eat one himself, the two women present—one big, one small—had already divided them up.
Fortunately, Tiger Peak Toumi's gifts also included apples. Kobayashi's skill at peeling apples with telekinesis was steadily improving, so at least he didn't go hungry.
"Nana-kun, you're amazing!" Yomikawa Aiho applauded after finishing her fruit. "Among all the telekinetics I know, no one can use their ability as skillfully as you."
Kobayashi didn't think much of it. "If they were like me—arms and legs all broken, stuck in bed and unable to move—they'd be able to do this soon enough too."
He genuinely didn't think his ability was anything special. Looking beyond the Index world's framework, telekinesis could practically be considered synonymous with "superpowers"—the most common and oversaturated ability of all.
On top of that, he was only at Level 3. Neither high nor low. While he could be considered a "high-level esper" by Academy City standards, if he actually faced a Level 4 or Level 5, the outcome would be obvious.
His recent clash with Tiger Peak Toumi was the best proof—he simply couldn't beat a girl two years younger than himself.
If it were the original "Kobayashi Nana" or "007," they might have felt satisfied or even delighted with a Level 3 ability. But for Lin Wang, who was essentially a transmigrator, a mere Level 3 was far from enough.
If you were going to transmigrate, it should be Level 5 from the start, charging toward Level 6—Absolute Ability. Or else be a Level 0 like Kamijou Touma, wielding some power outside the esper system altogether, something far stronger.
A mass-produced Level 3 telekinetic could only be said to barely meet the passing line. For Lin Wang, its greatest value was allowing him to live off Academy City's scholarships.
And while Level 3 telekinesis wasn't impressive in combat, it was extremely convenient in everyday life—making it the most suitable ability for his "lying flat" strategy.
In the end, it wasn't that Lin Wang lacked ambition or didn't want to make a grand, earth-shaking mark in this new life. It was simply that his ability didn't allow it.
If he had possessed a Level 5 or even Level 6 absolute ability—or some other power of comparable strength—he wouldn't have chosen so early on to settle for a peaceful, laid-back life.
(End of Chapter)