Chapter - 9

By the time they left the pool, it was already sunset. The three were already feeling hungry, so they decided to have dinner in the city before returning to the dorms. Ikki asked the two girls if they wanted to eat anything special, but they didn't really have any preferences so he guided them to an appropriate family restaurant.

There, the three ordered what they wanted. Ikki ordered a large serving of wheat flour noodles, Ayase had a meal set, and as for Stella, she ordered four pieces of mix grill and three steaks.

"V-Vermillion-san has a very amazing appetite."

"…I've got no choice. If I don't eat at least this much, then my body won't move."

"Even though you eat so much… why do you have such a nice figure? For some reason, I'm not convinced."

Stella, who was aware that she ate unnaturally much, blushed a bit, embarrassed. But her hands didn't stop.

*Munch*Munch*

She chomped and crunched down her extra high calorie meal. Well, for someone with that much power, it would follow that she'd need a sufficient amount of fuel.

Seeing that, Ayase smiled.

"For some reason, Vermillion-san really doesn't look that much like a princess."

"*Munch*Munch*

Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"I don't mean anything bad you know? Just that, you're easy to talk to, and the way you have meals isn't much different than ours."

"Well I've received lessons in table manners, but this isn't the place for such things now, is it?"

Stella surveyed the crowded interior of the restaurant. The clanking sound of tableware, the sound of customers and employees coming in and out, the sound of a child crying, the crude voices and laughs of high school students, everything mixed in together. In a place like that, if she was the only one with elegant table manners, she'd be regarded as the strange one instead.

"You have to know how to behave depending on the time and place, that in itself is an art. Both manners, and swordsmanship."

"Ahaha, that hurts."

Ayase smiled cheerfully even though her inexperience was pointed out.

"Today was… no, today too was very productive. Ever since I've started training with Kurogane-kun, it's been one new discovery after another…. I'm still not experienced enough to learn my father's secret techniques, but I feel a lot closer to him now. I can't express how grateful I am to you."

"It's all because of Ayatsuji-san's hard work. Besides, I think you would've resolved the problem soon enough, and arrive at the secret. All I did was give you a little push, so you don't have to be so humble."

"No… what I've learned, for me, it's very helpful."

"Is that because you're appearing in the representative selection matches?"

"Yeah. I'm already a third year. This is my last chance at the Sword-Art Festival. That's why I want to win, no matter what. I have to enter the Festival, and I have to take back what's important to me. That why right now I need power."

…Hmm?

In the depths of Ayase's eyes, Ikki felt a deep feeling. It was anger… and not just normal anger, close to a killing intent, a strong hatred.

―What pushed her so much that she….

"Hahaha, lookie here! I thought you look'd familiar so I was wonderin', but if that ain't Ayase!"

Suddenly, from behind Ikki a crude voice called out Ayase's name.

"―!?"

For a moment, Ayase's eyes dyed with the color of surprise. Where she was looking, there stood a man about 180cm tall with smudged, dyed hair and sanpaku eyes hidden behind shades. Even though it was a non-smoking area, he was smoking a cigarette and wearing an unnecessarily flashy coat. From his bare chest, a tattoo of a laughing skull could be seen, and it was affecting on the surrounding customers too.

Seeing these traits, it was then that Ikki thought of a certain person. He was a member of the rowdy bunch Ikki saw when he entering the shop.

"I haven't seen you around lately so I was wondering what had happened to ya, but for us to meet here. Haha, there are things like that, huh."

"Hey Kuraudo, who're you talking to?"

"Let's go to the arcade."

"Huh! Hey now, it's Ayase-chan. Long time no see~"

"I was worried since you didn't come to play lately! Gyahaha."

"You've grown quite tall? Oh?"

About ten guys looking like outlaws came in and gathered at Ikki's table behind the skull dude. It seems like they were acquainted with Ayase, but Ayase didn't even look at them…. She just bit her lower lips hard as if possessed by something.

Seeing her like that, Ikki's decided his next move.

"I'm sorry but could you guys leave? My companion looks troubled."

"Huh!? The hell are you!?"

"The f*ck are you sayin'? I'll kill ya!"

Even though they were ganging up, Ikki just ignored them. Ikki knew there was only one guy here worth fighting. He looked towards the one with the skull tattoo named Kuraudo.

As he did, Kuraudo asked Ikki a strange question while looking back curiously.

"…You, You're a swordsman?"

"You can tell?"

"Hah, somewhat. You bastards have this peculiar aura and all."

As he said that, he picked up a bottle of beer and a glass from the table.

"Sorry 'bout that brother, for disturbing ya during a meal. I only came to talk since I saw a nostalgic face."

He poured the beer and held it in front of Ikki.

"I'll apologize, so take it."

"Ah, pardon me then."

He wanted to say it's not Kuraudo's beer, but it wouldn't be wise to aggravate the guy. Ikki reached to take the beer Kuraudo offered.

"Ikki!"

"Kurogane-kun!"

Skull-head bashed the beer against the back of Ikki's head.

The other customers immediately screamed. The bottle smashed and fragments flew off. It had been bashed against Ikki's head with so much strength that he bent and crashed against the table.

"HAHA! A swordsman shouldn't fuckin' let his guard down you idiot!"

"AHAHA, he did it!"

"As expected of Kuraudo-san, what a nasty son-of-a-bitch!"

"Just lie down and watch!"

At the skull tattoo's sudden cruelty, the guys around him crudely cheered.

"My thanks. Ya see, I love breaking you swordsmen bastards to pieces. Now let's do this. You have one, don't ya? A Device!"

The man took out a sparkling white bone-colored nodachi with a blade like a saw's. His Device.

That's right, the pointlessly flashy coat he was wearing was the uniform of Donrou Academy, a knight's academy of Tokyo just like Hagun. This man was a Blazer just like Ikki.

"This bastard! I hope you're prepared to be burnt to ashes!"

Seeing Ikki get hurt, incandescence started to blast out of Stella's blazing hair as she raged. She was going to take out Lævateinn but―

"Stop it, Stella."

She was stopped by Ikki. Ikki stood up, as if nothing happened.

"…There's no need to make a fuss. His hands just slipped a little."

He said to Stella with a smile while bleeding from his forehead.

"W-What are you saying!?"

"And I was only scratched and my got clothes wet. Nothing to fight about."

Ikki controlled Stella while saying that. If she took out her Device and started a fight, it wouldn't just end with a suspension. It'll definitely be expulsion. That's why Ikki stopped her. But….

"""BU-BUAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA―HAHAH—HAHAHA!!!"""

It seems the skull tattoo's company thought of it as a coward's retreat and started to insult him with their fingers pointed.

"Hey hey hey, seriously! He is still so frivolous even after suddenly having his head hit."

"Well I get Kuraudo-san's scary, but that's so spineless."

"Kyahaha, no more, I'm gonna burst, so lame~!"

"Haha! This is surprising. A coward even though he's a swordsman. Do ya even have balls?"

The skull dude showered Ikki with insults and laughed amusingly. But Ikki didn't reply and only showed a bored smile. Seeing that, Kuraudo spit.

"-!"

At that, the voltage of Stella's anger rose once more but Ikki pressed her down. Even with that, Ikki didn't snap, so the skull dude showed a bored face.

"Hah, this is boring. If I fight a chicken like you, it's already my loss. Come on you bastards, we're leaving."

Saying that, he went towards the exit.

"Bye bye, little coward."

"Isn't that nice? Kuraudo doesn't bully the weak."

"That's right, That's right. Isn't it nice that you're so weak? Ahahaha."

After they left, a man who looked like the shop manager ran towards Ikki. He bowed to Ikki while sweating like crazy.

"My apologies dear customer! Are you alright!? I'll call an ambulance…."

"Aaa, I'm okay I'm okay. Rather, do you guys have a first aid kit? I need to treat this so could you lend it?"

"Y-Yes. Please wait a moment!"

Asked by Ikki, the manager brought the first aid kit from the crew room hurriedly. The other workers were trying to calm the customers. For now, the situation was handled with the least fuss as expected. Ikki confirmed that while wiping off the spit.

"…Somehow, your face inflated twice as much, Stella."

Ikki told Stella, whose pouting side of the face looked like a puffed balloon.

"Of course I'll be mad! Being told off by that trash! And Ikki, you didn't dodge that beer bottle on purpose, right!? What's the big idea?"

"If I handled it poorly, he might've gotten even madder… and I can't possibly start a fight in a place like this, can I?"

"Well… that's that but… Ikki could have taken care of that trash without even using Intetsu right?"

"Now, I wonder about that."

"What do you mean?"

"The guy with the skull tattoo in the middle's quite strong. A hard opponent to fight empty handed."

"Well, of course that would be hard. He did rank among the best 8 in last year's Festival, after all♪."

Ikki and Stella were both dyed with shock when a boy with an almost impossibly bright voice suddenly butted into their conversation.

Why would they be so surprised? That was because the owner of the voice appeared on a table with scattered dishes without any presence or shadow, almost as if another film was suddenly inserted while watching a movie.

Dimly silver-colored hair and gold eyes without any sign of light. The boy talked to Ikki with a smile that seemed almost plastered to his face