"Um? What's wrong with you guys?"
Seeing everyone suddenly quiet down, Rozen looked over in confusion, completely unaware of how casually shocking his words had been.
At least Ikki, Stella, and Shizuku fell silent one after another.
Then...
"""Th... The student council president...!?"""
The three exclaimed almost simultaneously.
"Why... why are you all so surprised?"
Rozen was taken aback by their reaction.
But this only fueled the dissatisfaction of the three.
"I mean, how could you casually meet someone like that without us noticing, and even claim there's a possibility of sparring with her?"
Stella complained with extreme displeasure.
"Is the opponent really that Raikiri?"
Shizuku also appeared surprised.
Even Ikki seemed both spirited and somewhat impressed as he spoke.
"The student council president, Todo Touka, nearly dominated the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival a year ago, and she's the strongest knight in Hagun Academy. Anyone in this school wants to spar with her; even outside the school, many admire her and seek to challenge Raikiri, her family heirloom sword, in order to gain fame or improve themselves."
Ikki explained, earning Shizuku's agreement with nods of her head.
The fact that even the Kurogane siblings acknowledged and admired Todo Touka's name indicated its weight.
Only Stella, the foreign princess, seemed somewhat puzzled and unfamiliar with the situation.
"By the way, I know Hagun Academy's student council president is strong, and it's always mentioned on the official website that her family heirloom sword is unmatched. But what exactly is this so-called family heirloom sword?"
Stella seemed to lack understanding on this point.
To which Rozen explained,
"The so-called family heirloom sword refers to Todo Touka, the student council president's Noble Art, and also the origin of her title—Raikiri."
Rozen continued,
"It's a kind of super electromagnetic unsheathing technique that utilizes lightning abilities. It generates a powerful magnetic field between the sword blade and the sheath, and then uses the secret of unsheathing to eject the blade with a speed and power akin to a different dimension."
"This strike is powerful enough to cut through lightning. Its speed rivals that of lightning itself."
"Todo Touka achieves her maximum Attack Power with this move, and her speed is also astonishingly unstoppable."
"Therefore, this move is truly a finishing technique; so far, no one has been able to rival it."
"Hence, this Noble Art is called 'Raikiri'."
"In official and unofficial matches to date, whenever Raikiri is used, Student Council President Todo Touka inevitably wins, without exception. Once she unsheathes Raikiri, she is guaranteed to strike down her opponent—a truly worthy family heirloom sword."
Rozen shared these details as if presenting precious information.
"Because this Noble Art is too powerful and distinctive, leaving a deep impression on others, people have used this Noble Art as the title for the student council president Todo Touka, demonstrating her formidable strength."
It was precisely because of this that Rozen paid special attention to Todo Touka.
With Rozen's current abilities, if he didn't possess some capability, he wouldn't have been able to gain his interest.
Although she was only a student council president, even from Rozen's point of view, the rest of her abilities were not yet considered, and this move, Raikiri, was indeed worth Rozen's eye-catching value, which made Rozen feel a little interested.
"Is... is that so?" Stella said in a puzzled manner. "But if the student council president is really that strong, why was she only in the top four in last year's Seven Stars Sword Art Festival?"
Isn't it?
If Raikiri is really known as undefeated, then Todo Touka has long been known as Seven Stars Sword King, competing with the Broken Army student, is indeed deeply
If Raikiri is truly regarded as unbeatable, then Todo Touka would have earned the title of "Seven Stars Sword King" long ago, securing victory for Hagun Academy. How could she have only reached the top four?
Does that mean there are exactly three people who can defeat Raikiri?
That's what Stella Vermillion thought.
However, that's not the case.
"Not quite, Stella."
It was Ikki who answered Stella's question.
Ikki shook his head in disagreement.
"Though Todo-senpai's Raikiri is said to be invincible and guarantees victory once drawn, it does have weaknesses. It requires proximity due to being a sword technique."
Ikki explained.
"Proximity refers to the distance at which our attack can make contact with the opponent."
To use a boxing analogy, it's the reach of a fighter's arms.
To use a swordsman analogy, it's the distance at which the blade can strike.
And Todo Touka is a swordsman, so Raikiri is a sword technique that can only hit within the range her sword can reach.
In other words, as long as one can maintain distance from Todo Touka and avoid entering her effective range, Raikiri cannot strike, rendering it ineffective.
That's where the problem lies.
"The current Seven Stars Sword King, Moroboshi Yuudai, is a spear user with a much greater effective range than a swordsman. In last year's Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, Moroboshi-senpai kept his distance from Todo-senpai, never entering Raikiri's attack range. By leveraging the spear's advantage in range over the sword, he pinned Todo-senpai down outside the reach of Raikiri's attacks, ultimately leading to her defeat."
Ikki spoke seriously.
"In other words, even the Seven Stars Sword King fears Todo-senpai's family heirloom sword. To this day, no one has managed to breach Todo-senpai's effective range. Her lightning-fast strikes that surpass even lightning itself would kill anyone who dares to enter. Therefore, most of Todo-senpai's losses can be attributed to opponents neutralizing Raikiri's effectiveness. Once Raikiri is drawn, victory is assured."
This is why Todo Touka only made it to the top four, because in the semifinals, she faced last year's Seven Stars Sword King, Moroboshi Yuudai, who effectively neutralized Raikiri.
Therefore...
"Todo-senpai is definitely on the level of the Seven Stars Sword King. Moroboshi-senpai himself claimed that one misstep could lead to his defeat. In last year's Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, Todo-senpai was his greatest threat."
Ikki disclosed these facts one by one.
"I see, that makes her really strong."
Stella Vermillion's expression finally began to turn serious, but then immediately filled with fighting spirit.
Isn't that a natural thing to happen?
"Perhaps, in terms of strength, Ikki and Stella have already surpassed Todo Touka. However, if Raikiri is unleashed, you both also have a great chance of being defeated."
Rozen stated this fact.