ASCC-Chapter 22 Ryoji: I’m a kind-hearted person

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"Dūn Dūn Dūn!"

It was early morning at the main entrance to the campus, and Ryoji had just finished his morning workout, gulping down sports drink.

Sweat dripped from his Adam's apple, the faint scent of it evaporating into the air, making even Kurogane Ikki, who was of the same gender, feel a little uncomfortable.

"Almost there, hang in there, Stella!"

He turned nervously to the slope in front of him, encouraging the princess who was close to her limit.

"Huah... Huah... 'cough'..."

Princess Stella continued to pant heavily, barely managing to reach the top of the slope where Kurogane Ikki stood, almost collapsing from exhaustion.

Stella had tied her fiery red hair into a long ponytail, her body clad in a matching crimson tracksuit that accentuated her stunning beauty and made her look more mature. 

The motion of her running made her chest bounce with each step, leaving Ryoji unsure where to look.

"Here, Stella, sports drink."

Kurogane Ikki offered his thermos to the princess, smiling just as kindly as he had when he had offered it to Ryoji three days ago.

"Thank you, Ikki."

Stella took it, panting, but when her eyes fell on the thermos, a faint blush spread across her face.

"Ikki's thermos... Just drank from it... indirect kiss..."

"Ah, sorry, Stella. You probably don't want to use my thermos, right?"

Kurogane Ikki blinked in confusion, his characteristic male lead "dense" ability kicking in. He smiled sheepishly.

"That's not it!"

Stella waved her hand vigorously, her face turning even redder.

"Actually... quite the opposite..."

Her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, so soft that the two men present, with their sharp hearing, couldn't quite make it out.

Kurogane Ikki looked puzzled. He hadn't understood Stella's feelings at all.

But that wasn't surprising - after all, they'd only known each other for three or four days. Even if he was a bit narcissistic, he didn't think that a princess would fall in love with him in such a short time.

But Ryoji didn't think so.

He had seen many girls look at him in a similar way - Stella's innocent and shy expression was something he could recognise with certainty.

This princess was captivated by Kurogane Ikki from the very first day they met.

According to Kurogane Ikki himself, the reason for this began with the internal reforms that Shinguuji Kurono had introduced to the school that year. 

Not only did she change the old selection system, which was based purely on level, to one based on practical assessments, but she also introduced the unprecedented system of co-ed dormitories.

Shinguuji Kurono believed that Blazers with similar abilities would develop a competitive spirit when living together, which would increase their desire to learn.

However, this created a problem.

Stella was an A-Rank Knight with the strongest magic power in the world - no new student at Hagun Academy in over sixty years could even come close to matching her strength.

Kurogane Ikki, on the other hand, was the weakest F-Rank Knight, with the lowest Magic Power in the entire Academy, so weak that no other Knight could even compare to him.

The two of them were far too mismatched to find a roommate with similar abilities.

Originally, Ryoji, whose Magic Power was also weak, could have been assigned to live with Kurogane Ikki, since they were both weak in the same way. But Toudou Touka had moved him into her room, so Kurogane Ikki couldn't stay with him.

So Shinguuji Kurono came up with the idea of putting the two most mismatched knights - Stella and Kurogane Ikki - together in the same room.

If you ask Ryoji, she was really brave to do that.

Stella was a princess, after all. Although the Vermillion Kingdom was a small Nordic nation with only a C-rank Blazer as its strongest warrior, and its influence in the League was minimal, she was still a princess. 

Putting her in a room with a man was bold enough to escalate into a diplomatic issue.

And to make matters worse, three days ago, Kurogane Ikki had accidentally entered the dormitory and seen Princess Stella, who had just moved in and was about to change.

Not surprisingly, the situation escalated and ended in a duel between the two.

After a chaotic encounter on the third training ground, Princess Stella finally lost to Kurogane Ikki and was quickly charmed by him, falling in love with him in no time.

Stella's blushing face and rapid heartbeat were clear signs that she was eager for an indirect kiss with Kurogane Ikki.

But Ryoji, being the kind-hearted person that he was, couldn't bear to see them showing off their affection... no, he couldn't bear to see Princess Stella struggling with her feelings.

"If you don't want an indirect kiss, you can just unscrew the filter."

Ryoji kindly suggested to Stella.

"Eh...!"

"Oh, right, you can do that too."

Kurogane Ikki realised quickly and scratched the back of his head with an apologetic expression.

But on the other side, Stella's face instantly froze and she cast a stiff glance at Ryoji.

When they first met, she thought Ryoji was one of those beautiful boys who looked like they came straight out of a painting. But as she got to know him better, she realised that this guy was just a jerk!

Not only did he always act like a third wheel, but he was also always making trouble... and yet his relationship with Ikki wasn't half bad!

With an expressionless face, she twisted off the filter and took a big gulp of the drink.

"Finally, the school year is starting today…"

As Stella sulked in silence, Kurogane Ikki's gaze had already shifted to the bulletin board by the front gate.

It clearly displayed bold letters saying, "0 days until the start of school," indicating that today was the exact day Hagun Academy officially began its new semester.

It had been three days since the three of them had trained together.

"You seem pretty excited, huh?"

Ryoji glanced at him, noticing the visible excitement on his face.

"Of course! This year is different from last year. This time, even I have a chance to participate in the practical training. I can't let the Director's opportunity slip by!"

Kurogane Ikki seemed to have thought of something, and for a brief moment, his face darkened. But he quickly returned to his optimistic demeanor, clearly full of anticipation.

"Also, my Little Sister will be coming today."

"Little Sister?"

Before Ryoji could respond, Stella leaned in with a suspicious look on her face.

"By the way, Ikki, your Little Sister isn't one of those weird characters who aren't actually related by blood, right?"

"Eh? No, we're real siblings— born of the same mother."

Kurogane Ikki looked confused.

"Good."

Princess Stella let out a relieved sigh.

She had watched many Japanese anime, where there were often "Little Sisters" with no blood relation, and each of them got involved with the male lead, developing various romantic entanglements.

Just hearing the words "Little Sister" had put her on guard, but since they were actual siblings, there was no problem.

"By the way, which class are you both in?"

Ryoji turned to them, asking.

"Year 1, Class 1."

"I'm repeating, so I'm also in Year 1, Class 1."

When Stella heard this, her face lit up with a smile.

"What a coincidence, I'm also in Year 1, Class 1."

However, as soon as Stella realized this, her face darkened.

(End of Chapter)