Chapter - 24

Though Ikki sounded slightly different from usual, his strong words satisfied Stella. In fact, before Stella came back to the room, Nagi Arisuin had called out to her after his own match was over. Arisuin had conveyed to Stella a worry about whether Ikki was nervous over his first match, but this energetic attitude was probably fine. Stella understood Ikki's strength the most.

"So it's fine. You'll definitely beat that guy. You're already throwing down the spoon."

"No, no, throwing the spoon is the opposite of what I'm doing."

Stella's Japanese was fluent, but her knowledge of proverbs and manners was dubious, like in the talk about seppuku.

"Anyway, isn't it time for dinner? I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I've already watched the video plenty, so let's go."

"Japanese people eat curry with pork cutlet at times like this, right?"

"…Err, no, we don't really have that kind of custom. Noodles as usual are fine."

Two people left the dorm room for the dining hall together, and so the first day of matches ended like a normal Monday.

Part 4[]

「Sorry, Kurogane. I can't stay friends with you anymore.」

Ikki was startled awake by a terrible dream. His hands were tightened unintentionally, and his palms were sweaty.

Why did I have a dream from last year?

Apologetic words echoed in Ikki's mind. He wasn't sleepy anymore, so to cool his head a little, Ikki descended from his upper bunk and left the room, being careful not to rouse Stella as she breathed lightly.

It's a little early for running….

The air before dawn was chilly, but since it was the beginning of April, that chill was comfortable on a sweating body.

"Really, I wonder why I remembered after such a long time?"

Though nobody was around to answer, Ikki still let that question slip out.

「The board chairman seems suspicious of anyone friendly with that guy.」

How long ago did this rumor start? When did he become a solitary student who couldn't take combat classes, with the disingenuous excuse that "he lacks ability, so it's dangerous to let him practice"? He was given no choice, and even if few people knew the staff's attitude for sure, everyone suspected it.

「Associating with Ikki will get you in trouble.」

If such a rumor got spread around, then of course people would keep their distance.

"That reminds me, it was right over there."

Ikki looked through a dormitory corridor window down at the courtyard, a plaza with a lushly growing lawn. Back when everyone was coming to believe those rumors, when everyone except his roommate drew away from Ikki, an unusual person called out to Ikki during lunch. That person was Shizuya Kirihara, the top student of Ikki's class and a superstar who had appeared in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival despite being a first-year.

In truth, Ikki had already gotten a poor impression of Kirihara. Unlike the ordinary students who stayed away from Ikki and didn't pick fights, Kirihara—without condemning Ikki directly—would slander him with a purposefully loud voice in the classroom, spread unfavorable gossip about him to their classmates, and harass him in various other ways.

Why? Ikki didn't remember attracting Kirihara's enmity. They probably had no real grudge. With no one defending Ikki at the time, Kirihara had spread the idea that messing with Ikki is fine because Ikki was the type of unneeded person that can be found anywhere. Kirihara probably thought confronting Ikki was just a natural thing to do.

Ikki figured they had no reasonable business with each other, and it had indeed been a worthless conversation.

「How long are you gonna keep taking the teachers' scorn like this, when they won't recognize your real ability even if you suffer for the rest of your life? Now's the time to duel with me, right?」

If Ikki had a fair fight with Kirihara who appeared in the Sword-Art Festival, the teachers surely wouldn't be able to deny Ikki's ability, right? It was a proposal that should greatly appeal to him… but Ikki couldn't accept. Though they were in school, fighting without a teacher's permission would be punished. If Ikki was even a little bit tainted by scandal, the board chairman who was connected to the Kurogane household would expel him with glee. And that was Kirihara's goal. Back then, there had been signs of many teachers at the plaza, all of them cronies of the board chairman who always treated Ikki badly. Maybe they were behind Kirihara's actions. Understanding that, Ikki turned down the offer and started to leave. But then―

「Don't say that. I'm worried about you as a classmate.」

―Kirihara prepared to shoot with his Device, Oborotsuki, at Ikki's turned back. Ikki disregarded the challenge, and didn't summon his own weapon.

"I was really amazed at the time, huh…."

He was surprised that despite Kirihara's conduct, nobody reprimanded Kirihara at all, neither the students nearby nor the teachers who were waiting to see what happened. Back then, Ikki hadn't even realized his own position, didn't know how crushing his isolation was.

The teachers seemed to expect Ikki being deceived by Kirihara's provocation, because expulsion was surely the best outcome for the Kurogane house's request that Ikki not become a professional mage-knight. Ikki knew that of course, and he had taken many such attacks without ever summoning Intetsu. If he were to avoid them, someone might interpret his evasion as fighting intent, so he didn't even try to dodge.

Ikki allowed Kirihara's arrow to hit him, and blacked out… so evidence of his refusal to fight was captured by a school security camera, and he wasn't blamed for the affair. But Kirihara's punishment was only a stern warning and a forced apology. It was clear that the board chairman's party had exchanged a secret agreement with Kirihara beforehand.

"Thinking back over it, what a worthless year, huh?"

The harassment didn't stop after that one time, but gradually grew more malicious. There were many students who made Ikki's life miserable, and little by little the atmosphere they, the teachers, and Kirihara's group created piled up―before long, even the last person who had been Ikki's friend, the boy who was Ikki's roommate, turned away with a painful expression. Ikki hadn't voiced any anger, but clearly remembered the regret that had almost burst out. After that, they stopped speaking to each other. If the boy started a conversation, Ikki probably wouldn't have been able to ignore him. Since he didn't, Ikki ignored him diligently. The boy advanced in grade before long, so Ikki who was repeating the year didn't see him anymore, but―

"But I wonder why I had this dream after such a long time?"

It was already done and over with, and Ikki didn't care enough about it to be recalling it in his dreams. This must've been from talking with Kirihara after all.

Well, there's no need to ponder it, right?

It had nothing to do with the present. That board chairman was gone, and nobody was hindering Ikki. Only his own efforts decided the future now.

Suddenly, a warm light shined on the side of Ikki's face. Bright golden light blazed forth from the dormitory window and the townscape's silhouette beyond. Squinting at the light that announced the break of day, Ikki certainly felt it.

It was the beginning of the H-block matches. Today, everything of Ikki Kurogane would be tested.

Part 5[]

School continued as usual in the morning, and the selection battles were conducted from the afternoon until evening. Ikki's turn was at one-thirty. It was one of the early slots, a delicate time when lunch was still stuffed firmly in his stomach, and on that day he finished the gelatin provided by the school cafeteria. Along with Stella, Shizuku, and Arisuin, he was going to his match at the fourth training arena.

The time was already one o'clock. In the ring, the match before Ikki's was already being held. The people appearing needed to come early and wait on standby, but there were still twenty minutes left. Sitting in the audience seats for a while and viewing other people's fights together with friends was probably not a bad idea. Both Stella and Shizuku intended to do so. Not Ikki, though.

"I'm going to the waiting room a little bit early."

Stella blinked.

"Eh? You won't watch some matches here?"

"No, right now I want to concentrate on my own."

Ikki was already readying himself against Kirihara. He'd hate to disturb his mindset by watching someone else's match.

"Well, I'm off."

"Please triumph, Onii-sama. I have faith in you."

"Since you told me yesterday that you'll win, I won't forgive a poor showing."

"Be careful, okay?"

Returning a nod to each of those three different forms of encouragement, Ikki headed toward the waiting room.

Part 6[]

"Ikki Kurogane of Year One Class One? Your identity has been confirmed. Here's your student datapad."

The female receptionist in front of the waiting room completed the match formalities using her computer terminal.

"Since the first match is ending, I'll explain the rules for the selection battles. These battles use the same actual-combat format as the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival: one-on-one duels. There is no time limit. Surrender is allowed. Because it's actual combat, illusionary form is not used, so there is a possibility that the lives of participants will be endangered. Various staff personnel are present in the arena to forestall such incidents, and depending on the situation the referee may also stop the match, but nevertheless absolute safety is not guaranteed. Taking that risk into account, if you are determined to participate, press the 'Yes' button on the datapad's display. If not, please press the 'No' button. However, once you press 'No', you can no longer join the selection battle entry lottery, so please choose carefully."

Ikki pressed "Yes" without hesitation.

"Wahaha, a lad who makes a prompt decision, I see―♪"

A playful voice made Ikki turn around, and standing there behind him was a petite girl in a blossom-patterned white kimono and an eye-catching red haori. An innocent girl's features with a loose kimono that didn't match her height―this combination gave an awfully childish impression, but Ikki knew she wasn't a student.

"Nene Saikyou-san... am I right?"

"Ohh? You know my name?"

"Everyone in this school knows last year's Japanese Olympics representative and the KOK top league contender, the 'Yaksha Princess'."

"KOK" was the "King of Knights", a contest between Blazers in hand-to-hand combat. It was the most popular sport in the world, said to make three trillion yen in broadcast revenue in one year. All mage-knights knew of this person, who was both a star at that level and an active celebrity athlete called the strongest in the Asian-Pacific. Later on, she became a topic on many talk shows because she had quite an infamous private life. Well, that wasn't something he should mention to the person herself, but….

"But why is an active professional in a place like this?"

"Of course, I came to meet you, Ikki Kurogane...-kun."

"Me?"

"Yeah, yeah. Since Kuu-chan... ah, that's Shinguuji. I was wondering what kind of F-Rank person Kuu-chan would have her eyes on, and came here to see."

"Ohh… but I thought the academy is strictly barring entrance to outsiders."

"Not a problem. After Kuu-chan fired the useless teachers, she didn't have enough aides, so I came to help in my free time since we're of the same generation. I've received a legitimate teaching appointment."

"I see, is that how it is?"

Ikki instantly understood, because he also knew the former board chairman's teaching staff had been massively restructured at the time Kurono took her position. Saikyou nodded.

"After that, well, I wanted to take the opportunity to sample some delicious-looking young men… wait, maybe I shouldn't put it like that? Ignore what I just said."

"I-I didn't hear anything."

"Wahaha. I like tactful men, lad. I like gallant men too. A strong, prompt decision is very attractive. All matches before high school require illusionary form, so a lot of kids panic when their schools turn into splendid execution grounds, right?"

Actual combat was always accompanied by bloodshed. Even in KOK league battles, it wasn't rare to see arms and legs cut off and sent flying. Such injuries were recoverable via the use of iPS capsules, but the spectacle of severed limbs was still devastating. New students would naturally become scared by such images. Ikki shook his head, though.

"I've known about all that ever since I first decided to become a mage-knight."

"It's human nature to lose your nerve even if you know it. Still, your courage is worthy of the only one Kuu-chan has set her eyes on, huh? And looking closely, you have a wonderfully cute face. Isn't that right, lad?"

At that moment, the meter of distance between Ikki and Saikyou vanished.

"Eh―"

Ikki was surprised that someone had gotten so unexpectedly close. Saikyou had gracefully flattened herself against his chest, and was now turning her eyes up at him seductively.

"How about a special lesson tonight in my room―"

"You bitch, what are you doing to my student?"

A threatening voice came from over Saikyou's head. Its owner was a scowling woman in a suit, the board chairman Kurono Shinguuji.

"Whoa, what a surprise! Stop it, Kuu-chan, standing behind me so suddenly. I might've killed you before I realized who it was."

"Could you kill me if you tried? Leaving that aside, what are you doing here? You were supposed to provide commentary and supervision in the fourth training arena, right?"

"Ah, yeah, but the match was tiresome so I had some free time. I just came over a bit to inspect Kuu-chan's favorite, and maybe take the chance to pluck a flower."

"I-It's not like he's my favorite!"

Kurono seemed a little bit embarrassed as she struck the shorter Saikyou's whorl of hair with a thump, and Ikki averted his gaze from the unusual expression she made.

"Sorry, Kurogane. I've disturbed your concentration with a strange quarrel."

"N-No. I was a little bit surprised, but I'm fine."

"She's heading back right now, so don't worry about her nonsense. Hey, return to your station, you walking public indecency!"

"Yeah yeah, I get it, I get it, so don't pull on my clothes! I see your point already!"

Kurono pulled Saikyou away, her effort making a dragging sound across the floor. As Ikki watched them go, Kurono gave one last message over her shoulder.

"I said this some time ago, but don't go overboard, because tonight is a celebration party with everyone."

Her words implied that he would win.

"Wahaha. It can't be helped if plans have been made, right? Too bad, too bad. If that's how it is, show me an entertaining fight. Your match is one I'm watching over."

A slender index finger came out of Saikyou's long sleeve and pointed at Ikki. Saikyou floated a giggle and left together with Kurono, her single-toothed clogs clopping.

How serious was any of that…? What an unreadable person.

However, his body felt only her strength.

A moment ago, she leaned herself on me before I knew it.

Ikki had never felt that before, that uncomfortable experience of someone getting close without him being able to react. It was probably some kind of classical martial art, perhaps a variety of footwork from an ancient Japanese martial lineage. He didn't know exactly what kind of trick it was, but―

"…Uh, it's no good if I don't concentrate on the match in front of me right now."

Short footwork that uses eye-to-eye contact with an opponent to make distance hard to measure. It was an interesting technique, but there was probably no way to practice it at the moment, so he had to suppress his interest for now and continue preparing for his important match.

Focusing on his preparation, Ikki stepped into the waiting room. It had several lockers and benches, plus full-length mirrors affixed to the walls, and was otherwise a rather dreary space with nothing to see. However, inside the room was also a small door that released an odd pressure. Beyond that door, the stage of his formal debut battle was waiting.

I've arrived at last, huh?

Seven Stars Sword King. The road leading to the summit as a student knight. That beginning step. Coming here… lots of things had happened. Family, time, friends… he had lost many things. Nevertheless, he continued to walk forward without giving up, and arrived at this moment. Beyond this door, his fight with Kirihara awaited him. Had any of his pain and sacrifice been meaningful? Now was the time to have his answer, but―

*Ba-bump*

"Eh―"

His heart suddenly jumped.

W-What… is this?

His field of vision was shaking. Colors were blurring like paint in water, and he felt sick. Was something happening to his body? He didn't know. He didn't know, but his throat was terribly thirsty. Water. If he didn't drink some water―with that thought, Ikki opened the cap to a plastic bottle he brought in. However, his hand didn't move as he wished, and the bottle fell onto a bench. The cap rolled. Water spilled. His shoes got wet. If he didn't wipe it off. With what? With what? No, before that, his throat was―

「First-year Ikki Kurogane-kun. Second-year Shizuya Kirihara-kun. Your match is now starting, so please come to the entrance.」

The announcer dragged Ikki's awareness back to the surface of his turbulent thoughts. When he looked at the clock in confusion, the time was one-thirty. Even though he came early―

The heck, how many minutes was I standing here...

"Kuh…."

No way, was I that nervous…?

Settle down. Settle down. Ikki regained control of his heart, being mindful of himself. He had already seen through his opponent's trick in the video. He had analyzed the strength his enemy used for shooting, the angle of the shots, and the expected maneuvers afterward. He had already developed a way to break Kirihara's Noble Art, Area Invisible. He had trained his counter-strategy through many simulations.

It was fine to be nervous, and fine to win too. If he won, the hardships he had put up with so far would be vindicated, because they wouldn't be pointless―!

With that strongly in mind, Ikki subdued his jumping heartbeat and went to open the door to the ring.