Chapter - 20
「Th-The match is ovvveeerrr! Reversal after reversal—there was no breathing room in this wild roller-coaster ride of a fourth match here in Block C! The one who has won this deathmatch is the Crownless Sword King, Ikki Kurogane—! The one who came to challenge the heretofore undone, a second consecutive title—the Seven Stars Sword King has actually been beaten in the first round! It's a huge upset!」
The instant the match was declared ended, the medical teams rushed in, bearing Moroboshi away on a stretcher. So exhausted he could not walk on his own two feet, he exited the stage to the thunderous applause of his fans and supporters.
「Was hard on ya! Did well—y' really did well!」
「Been supportin' ya since before y'retired… you were the best today!」
「The home crowd gives an ovation to their hero as he is stretchered out, unconscious. This man did not bow to an irrecoverable injury, and till today he has never bowed out in a single match—he continues to stand at the top, Yuudai Moroboshi! Even though we say he was defeated, the will that he showed us till the end brought no shame to the title given to the strongest student knight in Japan, the Seven Stars Sword King! What a magnificent man!」
And as for the winner, Ikki, who watched as Moroboshi was being wheeled out—
"Yes, I won't lose. Definitely."
Answering Moroboshi's parting words with strong feelings of his own, he descended from the ring.
「And now, the one who defeated the victor of last year's tournament and proudly enters the second round—the Crownless Sword King leaves the ring. The weakest magic and the strongest swordplay—this rating was not false, and all of us here can attest to that! This young man here is the real deal! He's not just some F-rank. He is surely a knight who possesses the power to fight for the summit of this gathering of powerhouses, the sixty-second Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival!」
「That was crazy awesome, bro!」
「Ikki-kun is the greatest!」
「Ride the wave to the top! You can do it!」
His exit was graced by a shower of applause. He felt a little embarrassed at this, but—
Thank you very much.
Thanking them thus in his heart, he headed back to the gate through which he had come in.
His footsteps were heavy, a combination of the fatigue from using Ittou Shura and the execution of movements he was unused to. But his back was unbent. He was proud of himself for having been able to defeat such a strong knight.
It had been a match full of uncertainties. He was so scared coming out of the holding room. But—he had won. He had snatched victory from that hellish first round match of the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival.
With this, there were four more left. Four more victories, and he would finally reach it. The place he had aimed for, the place he had looked up to till now.
The summit of the Seven Stars… is no longer far-off!
It was with this feeling in his heart that Ikki left the field.
And deeper through the gate—
*Clap clap*
A shadowy figure walked towards him, applauding.
"See? You won in the end."
The path from the holding room to the gate was not illuminated, and was utterly dark. Thus, there being some distance between him and this person, and he could not see the face.
But for Ikki, that was unnecessary. He only needed to hear that voice to know who it was. Yes, the person approaching the gate was—
"But I guess that was only natural. After all, the one who will defeat the Crownless Sword King is me."
—the girl with the blazing red hair and beautiful ruby-red eyes, the Crimson Princess, Stella Vermillion.
The one who greeted Ikki, who had defeated the the Seven Stars Sword King Yuudai Moroboshi and succeeded in advancing to the second round, at the gate to congratulate him was none other than his lover Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion, who had yet to be seen at the venue due to a delay on the Shinkansen.
Whoops and cheers went up as she came out of the gate.
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Finance Times
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Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan Volume 5 Epilogue
Epilogue: The Star takes the Stage[]
()
The one who greeted Ikki, who had defeated the the Seven Stars Sword King Yuudai Moroboshi and succeeded in advancing to the second round, at the gate to congratulate him was none other than his lover Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion, who had yet to be seen at the venue due to a delay on the Shinkansen.
Whoops and cheers went up as she came out of the gate.
「It's the Crimson Princess, Stella Vermillion! She's arrived!」
「Ooh, it really is her! It's the Crimson Princess in the flesh!」
「Her hair really is crimson! So pretty...」
「She's got a fine stature...I mean, would'ja look at dem long legs…!」
These did not pale at all in comparison to those that had accompanied Moroboshi's entrance.
Such attention was what should have been expected of an A-Rank Knight.
But the one happiest with her arrival was surely the young man named Ikki Kurogane.
"Wonderful, Stella...you made it."
More importantly, when she said 'clear them out'...
Did she mean she cleared them by hand?
...Hmm, maybe I shouldn't press for details.
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"That aside, you had a very tough opponent. I only caught the tail end of it, but that alone was more than enough for me to realize that."
"That's true…but I won. It's your turn now."
"Yes, I know," Stella replied immediately, her eyes lit with burning confidence.
The painfully dispirited figure she had cut by the unconscious Touka's bedside was nowhere to be found. Somehow, it seemed that the training with Saikyou had produced satisfactory results.
That's great.
Passing by Ikki, whose heart's load had been lifted, Stella faced the spectators.
"I'm sorry for being late! Stella Vermillion has arrived!"
「Representative Stella apologizes to the audience cheerily! So polite, I like her already!」
「Still, since she didn't get here on time, where will the postponed match be held?」
「The Organizing Committee is conferring on this very matter right now. It might be shifted to the last match or may follow soon after the end of the Block C matches, so I think, but...oh! We have been informed that the conference has ended. Ladies and gentlemen, as the Organizing Committee desires to directly relay its decision to us regarding the fourth match of Block B, please turn your attention to the screen.」
On Iida's cue, all in the stadium turned as one to face the screen.
A bald old man appeared on-screen.
「Ah, it's Kaieta.」
「Oh, really! It's the Thunder of Judgement, Yuuzou Kaieta!」
Those forty-something and over within the stands greeted the bald old man's appearance with enthusiasm. After all, the Thunder of Judgement was the hero of their era, the one who had triumphed in the King of Knights A-League.
And now, this hero was the Chairman of this year's Organizing Committee, representing them to announce the results of their meeting.
「Ehem, dear esteemed guests and participants, good afternoon. I am Yuuzou Kaieta, Chairman of the 62nd Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival Organizing Committee. Allow me to share the consensus of the Committee regarding the time at which the fourth match of Block B, which was postponed due to the late arrival of Representative Stella Vermillion, should be held. Our consensus is that the fourth match of Block B shall be held after this one.」
The result was as commentator Iida had anticipated. Since the Block C matches had now come to an end, the organizers had agreed as one that it would be convenient to hold the delayed match right afterward.
All that was left now was to get the agreement of the representatives themselves.
「Representative Stella, do you have any objections?」
"I'm fine with it," she replied immediately.
The reason why this had all happened had been because she was late. She would not object to their decision, regardless of what it was.
"Oh, there's definitely a problem over here."'
As opposed to Stella's bright voice, this voice cut through the noise by being cold to the point of being frigid. Sharply, it expressed its dissatisfaction at the decision made.
That voice of course belonged to but one person.
A young lady with ash-blonde hair leapt the ten metres from the spectator stands onto the Dome's astroturf soundlessly - Mikoto Tsuruya, the Icy Sneer.