[Chapter - 9: The Warriors' Slightly Boisterous Break Part 2]

The first to return to the place for meeting up was Ikki.

Since apart from him, the others were all girls(?), he knew it would probably take some time, after all.

Hence Ikki sat on a resting bench nearby, and read a literary work he bought from the book shop as he waited for the female group to return.

It was around five minutes after the promised time.

_Sorry. Did I make you wait?"

He heard Arisuin's voice.

Ikki closed his book and looked up.

"No, I didn't wait that..."

And...

'H-Huh?'

He stiffened from doubt.

Standing next to Arisuin was Sara.

She probably had been coordinated by Arisuin. That outfit was not a jersey, and of course not a topless apron. She was also wearing a brassiere properly. Rather, her brassiere was totally exposed.

Moreover, she was wearing a pair of denim hotpants remodeled from jeans, and her overall exposure had only increased.

"...U-Umm, Alice."

He questioned him with a glance that said 'What is the meaning of this?'

Arisuin sighed in response to Ikki's confusion.

"I understand what you are trying to say... I worked hard, you know? However..."

He explained.

How it became like that.

It wasn't anything complicated. There was a plain and simple reason.

After finishing her makeup, when they were choosing her outfit, she randomly tried on a pair of jeans designed towards summer female wear. Of all things, Sara suddenly collapsed. Then she said with a pale face...

「H-Heavy...」

"Simply put, it was weight overload. I also heard that because Stella-chan was scary, she was forcing herself to wear that jersey. But she eventually used up all her strength."

"Isn't that way too weak!?"

"I was also surprised..."

"...Because I have never carried things heavier than my brush."

"Sara-san, how have you actually managed to live until now..."

"However, I have put in effort within her weight allowance so that she doesn't look like an exhibitionist. You don't have to worry about that bouncing around when moving if she's wearing a bra."

Arisuin went behind Sara as he was speaking, then grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her towards Ikki.

He signaled him to see it for himself.

Well, certainly, he didn't take notice because of the sudden increase in the exposure rate, but Arisuin had put in a lot of effort into Sara's outfit.

Her upper half consisted of a show-off bra and long sleeve summer cardigan.

Her lower half consisted of hot pants and boots.

The front of her cardigan was not closed up, showing the appeal of her hourglass body line from her bust to her thin waist. The choice of her sleeves was a long type that covered up to the second joint of her fingers, her bed hair was left as it was, and the whole style had enhanced Sara's sexiness and downer atmosphere. It was as expected of Arisuin.

In addition to all that, her makeup was also perfect.

Her white skin gained elasticity with the use of toner and lotion, and her eyelashes were beautifully curled. The exquisitely used highlight and shadow shaped out Sara's facial features, and her previously dry lips had the freshness of a ripened fruit, radiating vividly.

There was no oversight, no excessiveness, everything was in just the right amount.

Honestly speaking... he thought that she was beautiful.

"...It's strange, after all?"

"Not at all. This is definitely better than before. You're really pretty, Sara-san."

"...I see."

Ikki relayed his impression directly to Sara.

Sara replied indifferently and averted her gaze, but... her averted gaze wavered slightly, her cheeks faintly dyed in the color of cherry blossoms.

It seemed like she was embarrassed.

That was the first time Sara behaved like a girl.

"As expected of Alice. Doesn't she look a lot better?"

The voice directed to Sara was Shizuku, who was just returning a while after their meeting time.

Shizuku was walking towards them with *karan koron* steps wearing geta, taking small steps so that her hem would not get messed up.

Then she leaned next to Ikki's side as if saying that it was her spot, and grabbed his sleeve with her small hand.

"Shizuku, did you buy these clothes?"

When Ikki asked her about the clothes that were different from a while ago, Shizuku nodded in delight.

"Yes. Since I still have not used the reward from the time we defeated those terrorists in the department store before, I bought this. How does it look, Onii-sama?"

"An iris pattern, huh? Looks good with the cool colors. It really suits you."

As Ikki answered Shizuku, he patted her silver hair with just enough strength so as to not mess up her hairstyle.

"Thank you very much for your compliment."

Shizuku gave her gratitude, feeling happy as she narrowed her eyes.

However, at the same time Ikki's hand stopped patting her, that expression... changed into an evil smile.

"But Onii-sama must be looking forward to Stella-san the most, right?"

"Eh, n-no... that's..."

"You don't have to make excuses. Wanting to see the cuteness of the person you love is an obvious thing."

As Shizuku said that, she turned towards the path she came from and called out.

"Now, Stella-san! It's time for the finale! With your charm and cuteness achieved thanks to that new outfit, beat the new contestant over here to a pulp!"

"Leave it to me!!!!"

The reply came from an empty space.

No, she just made herself invisible with Flame Veil.

Stella immediately released her Noble Art that had bent the light, and jumped out before Ikki. And then...

"I've become a cute bunny-chan and I'll jump into Ikki's heart pyon♪"

With bunny ears attached onto her hairband, and clad in fishnet tights, she hugged Ikki in her bunny girl appearance.

"""..."""

In an instant, everyone went dead silent.

Nevermind Ikki, even Arisuin and Sara, as well as the passersby had lost their words and expressions after seeing the rather bizarre look of Stella.

"Fufufu. Shizuku, look, Ikki seems unable to even utter a sound from my cuteness!"

Only she herself had not noticed.

Ikki put his hands on the shoulders of that overly positive Stella, and pushed her away.

Then... looked far away and spoke.

"For the time being, please change your clothes, Stella-san."

"Huh!? Your way of calling me seems somehow distant!? I didn't jump into your heart!?"

"Pffft."

"…!"

Mocking laughter came from next to Stella.

As Stella turned around, she saw that one girl mocking her with her eyes dyed in pleasure of sadism.

Seeing that figure, Stella's face immediately paled.

"...Shizuku, you, don't tell me... you deceived me!?"

"Saying that I deceived you, pffft, how disreputable. Please think for a bit. In the first place — I will never become your ally."

"Then, then 'because Ikki likes rabbits, the bunny girl outfit will get lots of points' was also...!"

"That kind of bonus exists only in Dragon Quest."

"…!!!!"

Realizing that she had been toyed with by that little devil, Stella's face boiled from shame and anger.

"Y-You! Ikki, you're mistaken! I was deceived by Shizuku."

"/"Un. I know. I know already, so please change your clothes, Vermillion-san."

"Noooo! The distance between our hearts is widening at an accelerating rate! It became somewhat like the time when we first met...! Guuu! Shizuku! You will get it from me later! Remember this...!"

Stella cried out in anger, and ran away with her hands hugging her own body.

She probably wanted to change back into her uniform.

Behind Stella's back...

"Pffffft. Aah, so funny."

Shizuku's shoulders shook as she laughed.

"Hey, Shizuku. Don't bully Stella too much."

"NO."

Ikki cautioned Shizuku as he couldn't bear to watch it anymore, while Shizuku rejected him without any hesitation.

Ikki was slightly surprised at her strong rejection, which was rare considering that she fundamentally abided him all the time.

"A-Are you so unwilling to the extent of a curtly rejection?"

"Yes. This is my special authority, I won't stop even if Onii-sama asks me to stop."

As Shizuku answered Ikki as such, she looked towards the place Stella ran off to again.

"...Pffft. Really, such a cute person."

The side profile of Shizuku as she muttered such... for some reason, stabbed at Ikki's heart a little.

'...Huh, why is it, this?'

He was confused by that incomprehensible feeling.

What did he feel when he saw her side profile just then?

Love? ...Or was it sorrow?

He couldn't understand. And then, while he was still unable to reach an answer...

"…Then Onii-sama, I will retreat before the cute bunny-chan becomes a red demon and returns. It's about time for me to make arrangements for the round three battle tonight."

Shizuku informed Ikki that she would be returning first.

...There was no reason to stop her.

Even more so if it was an arrangement for the night.

Currently, there was nothing else more important to them than that event.

Hence, Ikki pushed aside the pain in his heart out of his mind, and nodded.

"Got it. I will appease Stella."

"I leave it to you... Alice, I hope that you can help me, do you want to come together?"

"Yeah, it's alright. My work over here is done as well."

"Thank you. Now then, please excuse us, Onii-sama."

"Goodbye. Please return on time before the match begins, ok?"

Shizuku and Arisuin left the group together.

As they were leaving, Ikki looked at Shizuku's distant figure...

"I'm looking forward to fighting you in the semi-finals."

He said so with his cheering included.

Shizuku turned back once after hearing that, then after using her loudest voice to reply "YES!", she took the elevator with Arisuin and went off.

...And then, after a few minutes, Stella returned after changing back into her uniform.

"Huh? Where's Shizuku and Alice?"

The first person she looked for after returning was of course Shizuku, who was going to receive her vengeance.

However, Shizuku was probably no longer in the building. Ikki told her about that...

"She had to do some warm-ups for the round three battle, so she returned... fir...?"

First... he stiffened again.

Why?

He received another strong impact to his brain, even stronger than the bunny girl costume before.

The source of that impact was in the arms of the angry Stella.

What she hugged there was... an infant sleeping with eyes closed.

"I guess she ran away, huh... that brat!"

"S-Stella, that... infant is?"

"Did you give birth to him?"

"No way!"

...

It happened after Stella took off the bunny girl costume and changed into her uniform.

「Annoying bitch annoying bitch annoying bitch! Today, I will absolutely not forgive that woman! I'm going to use Ar○ Alpha and stick cat ears on her head when I return!」

With a half-crying face, Stella, who was enraged by Shizuku, was checking her attire before the mirror by the sink, in that moment…

Suddenly, an infant appeared without a sound in a space diagonally above her back that could be seen in the mirror.

「…!?」

She was so shocked that she held her breath.

However, there was no time for her to stiffen up.

That's because the infant that appeared from nowhere was falling due to gravity.

「Dangerrrrr!!!!」

"...And that's how it happened."

"You did a great thing."

After that, the three of them brought the infant to the lost child center in the department store, then sat down at the sofa inside the center and waited for the guardian of the infant to be found.

As for the infant... a boy probably not even one year old, was sleeping in Stella's arms at the moment.

Stella lowered her sight onto the infant and asked Ikki next to her.

"...This child is a Blazer, right?"

Ikki nodded.

"Probably. I think he probably has a teleport type ability similar to Jougasaki-san."

If not, there was no other way for him to suddenly appear out of thin air.

Normally speaking, Blazers' abilities were discovered after they had gained their egos, but amongst the possessors of strong abilities, during their infantile period when their egos were still blurry, there were occasions where a portion of their ability suddenly activated even though they didn't materialize their Device.

The infant who couldn't even stand on his own had no control over his abnormal power.

...That was of course very dangerous.

It could endanger his life, depending on where it happened.

In the case back then, if Stella hadn't caught the infant and if he had hit his head onto the hard ground as he fell, causing a heavy injury... in the worst case, he could have died.

"It's really great that Stella was there."

"That's true... I wonder if his parents can find him soon."

"I wonder about that. We don't know what was the extent of this child's ability when he awakened it."

If they were lucky, his parents might be in this department store.

However, depending on the situation, it was also possible that he flew over from a place far away.

Seeing that 「Makoto Nitta」 was written on his nameplate, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the infant was a Japanese, then in the worst case, they were probably in Japan.

'However, since we have already contacted the staff of the department store, let's leave him to them and only stay with the infant for as long as our time allows."

"That's true... Ah."

It was at that moment.

The infant in Stella's arms twisted his body and opened his eyes.

'Aa, bu...?"

And then his big and watery eyes saw Stella's face as she was carrying him…

"Bueeeeeeeeeeee…!!!"

He cried out loudly.

No, it was not only that, he wriggled his small body around, trying to escape from Stella's arms.

It was probably because he began to panic after not seeing his mother's figure.

"H-Hey! Don't flail around! It's dangerous!"

"Byaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"

"W-WWWWhat should I do!? What should I do, Ikki!?"

Despite being kicked in the face, Stella still hugged onto him to prevent him from falling down, and asked Ikki for help.

However, Ikki also didn't know how to approach an infant.

Although Ikki had Shizuku as his little sister, they were only one year apart.

For the time being, he tried out the classic 'peek-a-boo'...

"Byaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…!!!!"

"S-Somehow it got worse!?"

"H-How troubling."

The two of them looked at the infant, who had no intention to stop crying, worriedly.

As if breaking through between those two...

"Give him to me."

Sara took the infant from Stella's arms.

"Sara!? You have no stamina, so it's dangerous! What are you going to do if you drop him!?"

"Shut up. You are a bit too loud."

"Uu."

Stella tried to snatch the infant back in a hurry, but was restrained by Sara's never seen before strong gaze.

She sat down on the sofa, and as she stroked the back of the infant's head...

"It's alright. Your mama will return soon.'

She spoke in a calming tone.

Soon after...

"Au, au?"

"He stopped crying..."

Surprisingly, the infant that was rampaging a while ago had calmed down.

"You're amazing, Sara-san. Are you used to it?"

"Not really... It's just that I have observed various things during my trip around the world, so even without words, I can somehow understand what he wants, how he feels... This child is feeling insecure because his parents are not here. If at this time even we become unsettled, it will increase his insecurity. Therefore, we have to calm down. Even if he is a child, he is sensitive to an adult's emotions."

""S-Sorry.""

Being reprimanded with a criticizing gaze, Ikki and Stella lowered their heads in apology.

Children would also feel insecure and scared if the adults were in a bad mood.

Certainly, it was as she said, it would not be good if they were unsettled too.

Although she felt some frustration as a woman, as well as concern about Sara's arm strength, it would seem that leaving the infant to Sara was the best solution. Stella had decided so and pulled back her arm that was trying to snatch the infant back, then made preparation in case Sara were to drop the infant at some point.

And a while after calming down, the infant started rubbing against Sara's breasts.

"Uー pai! Pai!"

Stella spilled out a smile unconsciously at that lovely gesture.

"Ahaha. I also know what this means."

He probably wanted breast milk.

"But sorry, we can't produce milk yet."

"I will get some milk from the staff-in-charge here."

The considerate Ikki was about to stand up, at that moment.

Sara took a shocking action.

She pulled aside the show off bra Arisuin had chosen for her, and exposed one of her white breasts.

"Buh!?"

"Wai, Sara!? What are you…"

"Quiet."

Sara stared at Stella who was making a loud noise from the sudden shock, and scolded her.

"Ah, s-sorry... but...!"

"...Although I can't produce milk, I believe that doing this will give him a peace of mind."

Just like Sara said, the infant, who was sucking on Sara's nipple even though no breast milk would come out, showed a satisfied expression.

He was definitely not hungry.

What the infant was seeking was not food, but warmth.

Sara understood that, as she had the observant eyes of the world's number one artist.

And then, as Sara was imitating breast feeding to the infant...

"Ninna nanna ninna oh; questo bimbo a chi lo do～♪"

With a beautiful voice, she started singing.

Stella, being well versed in languages as an Imperial Princess, immediately understood that it was in

Italian.

An Italian lullaby.

"Se lo do al lupo bianco; me lo tiene tanto tanto."

A melody that was weaved with love.

The infant wasn't able to understand its meaning.

Even so, he definitely felt it.

The love, which surpassed borders, words, meanings, that were contained in the lullaby.

Most likely, that was what motherhood was all about.

"Ninna nanna nanna fate; il mio bimbo addormentate～♪"

In the meantime, the infant once again let out a small sleeping sound from between Sara's breasts.

The figure of Sara holding that little life form while singing a lullaby... Be it from Stella's eyes, or from Ikki's eyes, it was more beautiful than any appearance or expression until then.

After the infant fell asleep again, Sara left him to Ikki.

Her arms were probably reaching their limit.

"/"He's sleeping well."/"

Ikki was smiling at the tiny life sleeping peacefully in his arms.

"...Stella as well."

"Zzz. Zzz."

His smile turned bitter.

Stella was also lured by Sara's lullaby into the dream world.

She had perfect attack, defense, and speed, but it seemed that she was not prepared for abnormal status resistance.

On the other hand, after passing the infant to Ikki, Sara opened up her notebook on her knees, and started sketching the infant that was sleeping in Ikki's arms.

It was not like the godspeed drawing she used during her battles, rather it was done slowly and carefully.

On the neat white notebook.

With a single pencil, she was shaping a world with depth.

It was at the level where if one stretched out his hand towards it, it felt as if his finger would sink into the notebook and touch the infant's soft cheek.

To Ikki who had no knowledge about painting, Sara's technique seemed to be just like magic.

"...Hmm? What?"

She probably noticed Ikki's gaze peeping at her notebook.

Sara faced Ikki's gaze, and tilted her head as if asking 'what is it?'.

"Ah, sorry. Just that, I thought you are good at this."

Well, she was a world famous painter whose paintings were worth an astronomical figure of fourteen billion USD per piece, according to Stella.

It was obvious that she would be good at it, but he still could not help himself from voicing out his opinion.

Although Ikki had no knowledge about painting, he possessed excellent perceptive eyes that could precisely observe a person's movement.

Therefore, he understood.

Even with just one casual stroke, from her arm, fingers, and the pencil movements, he could tell that it was the result of an out-of-norm training, making that single stroke of hers one-of-a-kind.

It was the same as a genius swordsman's way of sword.

It was a territory that couldn't be reached without extraordinary love and passion, and the resolve to follow the path to the end no matter what.

"...You really love painting."

Honestly speaking, to Ikki, Sara was a troublesome person who was after him to be her nude model, to the point that he didn't even want to be near her, but he sincerely respected that strong will of hers.

However, to those words from Ikki, Sara...

"...Currently, I like it."

Replied with a meaningful response.

"Currently?"

Ikki showed his doubt at that meaningful response, and Sara peeked at Ikki's eyes for a moment...

And then... muttered bit by bit.

With a voice filled with hatred...

"In the past, I hated painting the most."

...

Sara Bloodlily.

The girl who was called that was living on the bed of a small Atelier during her childhood... in the mountains of the outskirt of Italy.

She was born with an illness that had weakened her bones, making her unable to even walk on her own.

Therefore, the scenery that could be seen from the bed of that Atelier was her world.

It was her father.

Her father was not a famous artist, and he just continued to draw on a huge canvas.

It was a religious painting of a Messiah burning down many devils with his holy light, saving the world from Armageddon.

He had been drawing that, throughout the years, regardless of any year…

Only the profile of his back had remained in Sara's memory.

She did not even have a single memory of him turning around.

Even if she called out to him, she did not receive any response.

Hence, she did not know her father's face.

She didn't even know if she had ever seen it before.

He had always, always, as if he was being possessed by the devil, been indulged in the painting before his eyes.

Therefore…

"...I hated it. The existence of painting that took my father away from me."

She wanted his attention.

She wanted his love.

Sara let out her feelings of the time when she was young.

Ikki asked her.

"Then, why did Sara-san... start painting herself?"

Even though she hated painting so much.

Sara answered Ikki's question.

The trigger was... her father's death.

On a certain day, her father fell onto the canvas and died.

According to the housekeeper who had brought her father to the hospital, the cause seemed to have been the worsening of his chronic disease.

What remained in the Atelier were just the lonely Sara and a huge incomplete oil painting.

After crying for about three days, when her tears dried up, Sara... stared at the painting which had killed her father with eyes burning with hatred.

That huge canvas which could just about fill the area of an entire wall in the room.

In the end, the center where the Messiah was supposed to be drawn was left blank, incomplete after her father's death.

And then, she made up her mind to destroy it.

It was obvious. She only felt hatred towards that painting.

Because of it, her father had never once turned around.

Sara exhausted all of her strength to inch closer from her bed to the front of the canvas after a whole day, and stood before it by leaning on a chair.

Then she grabbed a painting knife lying nearby and held it up.

In order to rip apart the painting with the knife.

However...

"I was not able to swing the knife down..."

What was the reason for that?

It was because in a place away from her bed, she noticed something she wasn't able to notice from her bed.

That was... a number of empty paint tubes that she could not even begin to count, littered on the floor.

The remains of tens of paint brushes with their bristles disheveled.

The palette with multiple layers of hardened paint, and then, the tattered blank on the canvas that was left behind after being painted and scraped off countless times.

...Its existence emitted heat that felt like the obsession of her father's passion.

The moment she felt that, the hatred in Sara's heart... was overcome by sadness.

The tears she thought had dried up flowed out uncontrollably again.

He had spent a great amount of time, even disregarding his own daughter, shaving away his own health, and painstakingly drew it, but in the end, he couldn't complete it.

Her father was unable to complete it.

Even after putting in that much thought and passion, her father did not receive the favor of the Goddess of Beauty, Muse.

How much regret would that cause her?

Thinking about her father's regret, she stopped crying.

She knew just how much effort he had put into that drawing from how much hatred she felt.

...Therefore, Sara resolved herself as her tears flowed.

She would complete the painting that her father was unable to complete before he died.

"Because I think that rather than shedding tears of sadness, or holding flower of mourning, doing this, only this, is an act of filiality towards my deceased father."

It was the only single bond that remained between her and her father.

...After that, her father's acquaintance, Kouzou Kazamatsuri, came to Sara saying that 「I was told that if anything were to happen to him, please take care of his daughter」 when her father was alive, took her in, and loaned a large sum of money to let a doctor in Rebellion, Grand Professor, who was one of the executives called Numbers, treat her illness.

Then, Sara had obtained a body that could move freely to some extent despite not being completely cured. She practised her painting skill in order to fulfil her father's regret, while looking for a model for the sake of filling up that blank, the brave Messiah who stood before all of the malice sprouting out.

A single girl, wandering around the world, meeting dangers that threatened her life many times, even so, she did not compromise.

She had spent ten years, more than half of her life.

If her technique or the model were half-baked, the passion, that could be called a grudge, contained in that painting would've consumed her completely.

"As I was doing that... before I knew it, I started to like painting... When I realized that his blood was flowing in me after all, I was slightly happy."

"...I see."

From Sara's confession, Ikki was convinced of one thing.

The abnormal obstinance she had towards him. It was the reason for that.

So that was why, even though Ikki's senses could not understand which part of him made her go to such extent, but if he was the model she had found after spending half of her life searching for it, it would not be easy to make her give up... However...

"...Why?"

"What?"

"Why are you doing that much? You don't even know your father's face, right?"

Ikki was convinced of the reason for Sara's obstinacy, but on the other hand, he could not understand it.

Why would she go to such an extent for her father, who had never once cared for her?

That was... probably a question that overlapped with his own situation.

However, to Ikki's question, Sara answered naturally without a shred of hesitation.

"Because I love him."

"Even though you can't remember his face? Even though you had never received his love?"

"It's true that I cannot remember my father's face. I don't have any memory of him turning his head back. I know that he isn't a praiseworthy father. But... I have never once hated my father. In that case, that's fine. It is fine with just that. If that feeling comes from within my heart — It doesn't matter if my love is one-sided."

Sara said.

It could be that her father was seriously neglecting her.

No, even if that was not the case, her father probably would not want his daughter to add anything onto his legacy.

However, she did not care about that.

Because they were father and daughter.

"My selfishness for loving him on my own, allowing me that much should be obvious, right?"

"..."

At that moment, Ikki found the answer to one of his own question.

That answer could also be used in the relationship between him and his father...

'...I ...see.'

Ikki had been... thinking that he had no other choice but to cut his ties with his father.

Their paths would never intersect no matter how far they walked.

That was...the only conclusion in the end.

'But… that's not true.'

No matter if his father wished to cut their ties.

No matter how much his father thought of alienating him.

Those were not problems he should be considering himself with.

Of course.

The other party was never once concerned about him.

Then, why must he be considerate of the other party?

'That's right... This is not someone else's, but my own feelings!'

It had nothing to do with what Itsuki thought.

If he did not hate his father himself─there was no need to unreasonably hate him.

That sounded fine. Just be on their own separate paths.

Be it him or his father, they were just a person with one heart.

Desperately travelling on their own lives, even if their paths wouldn't meet as a result...

...It wouldn't change the fact that they were blood-related father and son.

'I will be willful. This is my special privilege.'

That was Ikki Kurogane's answer to all the problems revolving around the Kurogane household.

The moment Ikki arrived at that answer, his heart, which had always... felt like it had a lead weighing down on it since his childhood, felt refreshed as the weight was lifted.

Finally, the honest feeling of wanting to be father and son with Itsuki, even if it was twisted... he had confirmed it.

He was so happy that he unconsciously smiled.

Taking a glance at Ikki's expression, Sara muttered in relief.

"That's a good face. If my model has a depressed face, I will be troubled."

Ikki did not notice those words.

Earlier in the morning, Sara had wanted to say something from seeing his appearance from meeting with Itsuki.

At that time, Sara probably saw the relationship between Ikki and Itsuki reflecting her and her father's.

Like what Ikki had done just then.

And, that was why she asked him 'Is that so?'.

It was because she knew.

That kind of complicated matter.

And then... she had just conveyed that.

Not for others, it was for her own sake.

"...I have settled one of my concerns due to Sara-san. Thank you."

"If you want to show your gratitude, become my model."

Ikki smiled bitterly at Sara's reply.

However, since he found out about her background, he could also understand the reason for her obstinance.

Putting it simply, all her motivation was concentrated onto that single point.

And then... if she had that kind of reason...

"I got it. It's fine."

"Eh?"

Ikki's response caused Sara to open her eyes wide.

She probably did not expect him to respond positively.

However, Ikki obviously would not accept it without any condition.

"However, I have one condition. You have to defeat me in the upcoming match."

"...Match."

"Yeah. The upcoming third match, If Sara-san can win, then I will be a model like you want. But if you lose, then you have to completely give up on making me your model... How about it?"

It was at the same instance Ikki finished his words.

Ikki felt all of the hairs on his body stand up and his whole body was shaking.

Before his eyes was... the figure of Sara, who was clearly different from how she acted until then, with a changed look in her eyes.

"...I understand."

In the depth of her eyes, a strong will that was blazing could be seen.

The pressure emitted from her seemed to be burning his bangs.

Ikki held his breath at that feeling.

...She was on a different level.

In the first place, Seven Star Sword-Art Festival was a ceremony of knights.

It was a battle for glory to people living in the way of warrior like Ikki and Stella, but Sara was different.

He understood it after hearing her story.

She had a rare talent, a high combat power, but she did not have anything to bet during that event.

In addition, she was definitely not passionate about the activities of Rebellion.

What she wished for was at most completing the legacy of her father.

Everything was just a process for the sake of that goal.

Hence, her motivation was low.

She also showed a glimpse of it in her battle against Kuraudo.

That was…

'Isn't it a waste?'

The passion Sara had towards arts was the same as what they as knights had for battles.

Their direction was different, but that heat and strength of will were─the same. No, perhaps even greater?

He could not understand.

That was why─he wanted to affirm it.

Hence, Ikki added one matter into the next fight.

The direction of her will... he wanted to redirect the maximum of that into the next battle.

With that promise, Sara would probably be serious.

She would probably come at Ikki with all her strength.

However, that was fine.

He would face that with his own passion, sharpening it.

Because that was what the Seven Star Sword-Art Festival was all about.

...

After that, the mother of the infant rushed over from the adjacent department store, and they returned the lost infant to his guardian safely.

Then the three of them ate a light meal, left the department store, and returned to the event venue.

The time was 4:30pm.

Two hours had already been shaved away before the moment of their decisive battle.