Chivalry of a Hollow Cryo Dragon Devil Knight

by Gaevontracey24

Ayato Kurozakuro Sparda will enter the world of Devils and learn more about himself as Rias Gremory's Pawn & Stella Vermillion Gremory Phenex's Queen , along with his mysterious family past which allows him to wield a legendary demonic sword... and he's the next Red Dragon Emperor. Harem with Stella,Rias and Mio being the main girls.

20. Chapter 20

"" - Speech

'' - Thought

{} - Sparda

[] - Ddraig

…

"Hold on." As they turned to leave, Sona got up from her desk and addressed them. "There's actually another reason I called you all over here, it's a matter involving Ayato."

What matter are you talking about?" Rias asked, also in the dark.

Sona picked up an envelope that was on her desk and handed it over to the reincarnated Devil in question. "My Sister gave this to me to give to you, it's a letter assigned to you from Sirzechs-sama."

"From Onii-sama?" Rias' eyes widened.

Well, there is only one way to find out."

Ayato decided as he opened the envelope and took out the letter as he read what was written on it. When he did he became shocked as the others looked as well and also couldn't hide their astonishment.

~Dear Sir Ayato Kurogane — Pawn Of Rias Gremory & Queen of Stella Vermillion Gremory Phenex~

~Due To Your Recent And Commendable Accomplishments And Growing Strength Among Your Peers. You Have Been Considered Eligible To Receive A Recommendation To Take The Mid-Class Devil Promotion Exam This Recommendation Was Brought Forth By The Devil King Lucifer And Seconded By Several Other High-Class Devil And Thus Was Accepted Arrive At The Examination Hall On The Appointed Day And Time To Take Part~

~From The Exam Commission Of The Underworld~

"Sona… This… This is—?"

Sona gave her a look of understanding. "I know, I had the same reaction."

"Ayato-kun's being promoted to a Mid-Class Devil?" Kiba found his voice.

"Guys, calm down already." He told them in a hushed tone. "This is just a recommendation, I still have to actually take the exam to get the promotion, remember?" He reminded them. "Save your praise and celebrations for after I pass."

…

"You're talking about becoming a High-Class Devil after you just finished the Mid-Class Devil Exam?" Kiba pointed out. "Speaking of which, what were the results of the exam?"

"I can answer that."

Before they became aware of it, a good-looking black-haired man with a blonde front scruff was sitting comfortably on a seat behind the President's desk. —It was Azazel. Most of the club members were taken aback by his sudden appearance.

"W-Where did you come in from?" Rias asked that to sensei while blinking in surprise.

"What do you mean where? He just walked in from the front door and sat down while you were talking." Ayato informed her, being one of the few who wasn't surprised.

"…I didn't even feel your presence."

Kiba voiced his feelings honestly. Koneko did the same but didn't seem bothered.

"…I did."

"Ah-ha, Senjutsu users are in a different category I see. As for the rest of you, it seems you're still lacking in your training if you didn't notice me just entering normally. More importantly, you're returning to the Underworld, right? Then, I'll go too. I'm your teacher, after all."

Azazel took out a notepad from his pocket and read it out loud as he opened it.

"The schedule for the Underworld is…First, a visit to Rias' parents except The representatives for the Seven Stars like Ayato, and the introduction of the servant Devils to the current head of the family. After that, there's the annual meeting of New Young Devils. And then there's your training over there. I'm mainly going along with you for your training. While you're all at the Gremory house, I'll be meeting with Sirzechs. Geez, so troublesome."

Azazel sighed as Ayato was the only one who seemed confused about something.

While they were all hyped, Azazel then took out a certificate. "Back to what I initially said. The result for the Mid-Class promotion test was released just before. In place of Sirzechs who is busy, I will announce the results."

For some reason, a lot of the people in the room started to feel nervous even though Ayato himself hardly seemed fazed. Since none of them were present for or have even seen the Exam for that matter, none of them knew what to expect or if it was something Shirou would be able to accomplish, they wanted to have confidence in his ability, but testing was another matter entirely. Azazel didn't care about how they were feeling and just gave me the result.

"You passed. Congratulations. It's the birth of a Mid-class Devil Sekiryuutei."

...

Shizuku Kurogane reminisced about her days as a child. No matter what she did, be it hit other children, stealing their toys, or even breaking the toys she stole, she was always forgiven. Why was that? It was because, even when she was young, her talent as a Blazer was clear.

"I'm sorry, Shizuku. You too! Say you're sorry!"

"Sorry."

The child Shizuku had bullied, a relative of hers, was forced to apologize after his mother whacked him on the head. It was a quivering, forced apology filled with repressed anger, but Shizuku merely glared at them with the same disgusted look she always wore. Children who distorted justice in the face of power, adults who ignored wrongdoing in the face of power—everyone around her was exactly the same: worthless.

They bowed down to the strong, expressing completely artificial gratitude and good will. It was a filthy sight.

That was the reason Shizuku came to hate the human race, even becoming fed up with her own self for being one of those worthless creatures.

As she did, she took out her frustration on those weaker than her; it made her feel just a tiny bit better when she heard the cries of the beings she hated. But there was a boy—just one boy—who wouldn't allow her to do that.

Slap! That boy, Ayato Kurogane,would smack her in the face when she made other children cry.

"You can't bully the weak," he would tell her. At the time, Shizuku hadn't realized what had happened to her.

Her parents had scolded her before, but they had never laid a hand on her, so despite not knowing why, her cheek swelled and grew hot as tears flowed from her eyes.

"Apologize right now, young man!" the adults, red with rage, would scream at Ayato when they saw Shizuku crying.

When he refused, they hit him, but Ayato never bowed his head. He had no reason to

Shizuku had never met someone like him before, because nobody else had the guts to tell her when she was wrong.

Though she cried from the shock of being slapped, she was actually happy. She didn't want to be spoiled; she wanted someone strict, who honestly respected her as a fellow human being.

She had always hoped to meet someone like him. It was then that she decided to follow his example, so that one day she might grow up to be different from the worthless adults she knew. I had no idea back then. She didn't know the hardship of her brother's world, or the solitude he was forced to bear

"First-year student Shizuku Kurogane, your battle is about to begin. Please make your way to the arena." Shizuku slowly opened her eyes as she listened to the announcement. A dark passage lay before her, leading directly to the entrance of the arena.

Without hesitation, she walked forward, continuing to reminisce. Only after he ran away did I realize how much pain my brother was in.

As if he had never existed, nobody in the Kurogane family had bothered to search for him. That was when Shizuku had come to realize what her brother hid behind his gentle smile. She loathed the entire Kurogane family for how they had driven him away, and through her loathing, she came to a decision: If nobody else in the world would love Ayato, then she was willing to offer him all the love being deprived of him.

Accomplishing that was impossible the way she was, however. Constantly relying on him and following him around wasn't the answer. Shizuku couldn't save her brother if she couldn't support him as an equal; she would end up leaving him in solitude once more. She had no choice but to become stronger.

One day, Ayato would stand out from the rest of the world. Shizuku understood that, because she knew his strength better than anyone else. Still, she worked tirelessly, desperately, in hopes of becoming someone who could stand as his equal.

Eventually, she became strong enough to become a Rank B Blazer, but it wasn't enough. If Ayato was aiming to take the Seven Stars, then Shizuku wasn't quite ready to walk alongside him.

"Okay, everyone! Let's meet the fighters for today's twelfth match! From the blue gate, we have the little sister of Ayato Kurogane, the most popular knight this year! She's second-best among the first-years, trailing just behind the Crimson Princess & Cryo Gale Sword Emperor!

"With fifteen matches fought, she has a perfect fifteen-win record! She'll trounce you even if your ability has an advantage against hers! Will she once again be able to use her outstanding magic control to drag her opponent into the depths?! It's Shizuku Kurogane, the legendary Lorelei!"

Shizuku exited the dim hallway and was immediately met with cheers echoing throughout the arena, but even the deafening cheers seemed so far away, for Shizuku was focused solely on the person standing before her.

"And from the red gate, we have the highest-ranking student knight in Hagun, bearing the title of student council president! In only her second year, she advanced all the way to the semifinals at the Seven Stars Battle Festival before losing to the soon-to-be Seven Stars King, Bukyoku Academy's Moroboshi. This year, however, she has once again taken the stage in the all-out war for the summit, with her invincible trump card honed more than ever!

"Speed that can't be avoided, sharpness that can't be blocked! Will her golden flash once again cut down her foe in the blink of an eye?! It's Hagun's most powerful and most beloved lightning-wielder,The Older sister of Ren Toudou Touka Toudou —the Raikiri herself!"

Touka Toudou. Separated by about fifty feet, Shizuku fixed her eyes on her foe, whose hazel hair swayed as she moved. In doing so, she became certain. I see. She's in a completely different league.

Just standing near Toudou, the very air began to sting. The hair on Shizuku's body trembled, and she began to sweat as she was pierced by her opponent's dagger-like gaze.

Toudou's very nature was fundamentally different from that of everyone Shizuku had defeated in her previous selection battles. She was an incredibly powerful foe, one far surpassing Shizuku herself, which was exactly why Shizuku's blood began to boil with fighting spirit. She had been waiting for such an opportunity since she entered Hagun. A fight that would test the strength of her love.

Finally, A semifinalist from the Seven Stars seems like a worthy enough opponent for me. She was ready to prove just how strongly she loved her brother. Her feelings, her love, everything would be put to the test. This fight will be the true test of my limits!

"And now, today's twelfth match begins!"

As if in response to Shizuku's mounting passion, the buzzer rang, announcing the start of their battle.

Lorelei versus Raikiri. Both were among the strongest Rank B knights in the school, but the battle between the two behemoths was off to an unexpected start.

"Wh-What's this, I wonder! Neither of them is advancing!" The silver shortsword, Yoishigure. The katana, Narukami, is waiting in its glossy black sheath.

With their respective Devices in hand, the two fighters kept their distance as they each traced a semicircle around the arena.

An entire minute had passed since the start of their duel, but their blades hadn't crossed even once.

Meanwhile, the air in the venue was thick with tension.

Over a hundred spectators were gathered for the battle between the two masters of war, all watching with bated breath.

"Neither of them wants to initiate," the flame-haired girl next to Ayato, Stella Vermillion, muttered with a stiff voice. "They're just glaring at each other from a distance, sizing up their opponent's actions,"

Nagi Alisuin—Alice—said in response. "Two Rank B knights with power worthy of challenging the Seven Stars Battle Festival. Both Shizuku and the student council president have ways of attacking from across the ring. They're both keeping their foe in killing range—the first to act thoughtlessly is sure to lose."

"That's one reason, but in this match, Shizuku doesn't want to make the first move," Ayato added. "Toudou uses the strongest close-range weapon out there: the katana.

"Is that related to the trump card they were talking about a minute ago, Ayato?" Stella asked.

"Yeah. That's no exaggeration, either. It's so powerful and so breathtaking that it became Toudou's nickname as well. I'm talking about her Noble Art, the super-electromagnetic quickdraw, Raikiri." Narukami, hung at her waist, and its sheath made use of electricity to create a magnetic field, ejecting the sword; the otherworldly speed and power with which she unsheathed her sword could rend even a bolt of lightning. It wasn't a blow that the human body could withstand. It was certain to defeat any foe.

"So far, she's won every official battle she's used Raikiri in, no exceptions. Once Raikiri is summoned, it's curtains for her opponent. It's the very epitome of a trump card."

"Oh, but she was only a semifinalist, right? Doesn't that mean that whoever beat her was able to get around Raikiri?"

"Not quite." Ayato shook his head. "The Seven Stars King, Moroboshi, is a lancer. I saw the video of their battle, and he stayed outside of Raikiri's range from start to finish. That means even the Seven Stars King is afraid of her Noble Art. There isn't a single person who's defeated her at close range.

Anyone who gets near her is destroyed by her faster-than-lightning strike. Shizuku is wellaware of that, of course."

"That's why she isn't moving, then?" "Right. She'll be on the defensive for the entirety of the battle. Shizuku's specialty is long-range magic, so there's no reason for her to intentionally step into a disadvantageous fight." So Shizuku waited, time frozen, for the moment her opponent began her attack. "But if Toudou so much as flinches, the battle will explode into action."

The very moment Ayato finished his sentence, Touka went on the attack.

With a sudden burst of energy, Touka bent her knees and leaned forward. She drove off the ground, shifting to top speed in an instant.

Less than twenty yards stood between them, a distance she could close in the blink of an eye, but Lorelei wouldn't stand and watch while she did. Responding to Touka's actions, Shizuku made her move as well. She was ready, because she had been waiting for the moment Touka would dash forward.

"Freeze the earth, Toudo Heigen!" The ground below her feet froze. The spreading ice reached the walls even faster than Touka could move, turning the arena into an ice rink. If someone dashed on an ice rink, they would, of course, slip, making it their only option to slow down.

Driving Touka into such a situation was Shizuku's ploy, and once accomplished, she immediately leapt into the next step of her plan: Noble Art: Suiroudan

When launched, the cannonball of water that emerged from Yoishigure's tip would wrap around the foe's head and make them unable to breathe. Firing three shots, common sense dictated that it would be impossible to dodge all of them on a field of ice.

Her foe was on another level, however; she was a being that had nearly reached the pinnacle of the Seven Stars.

Somehow, Touka navigated the ice rink without slowing down.

She had realized right away what Shizuku wanted her to do, so instead of stopping, she instead let herself accelerate further by sliding. Weaving through the gaps between shots, she gracefully evaded Suiroudan.

She then used the ice to her advantage to spin like a top and unsheathe her sword, aiming for the still-distant Shizuku as she sent a magic slash of lightning in the shape of a crescent moon gunning for her neck.

Touka had seen through Shizuku's strategy, evading her fire and launching an immediate long-range counterattack. She had been visualizing her every move since the very moment she saw Toudo Heigen.

Shizuku had never experienced someone who could see through her so quickly and precisely, but she had assumed it would happen and planned for it.

A moment before Touka's lightning sliced through her neck, a hundred-foot tall wall of water shot up from between her and the attack, separating them.

It was Shouha Suiren, another of her Noble than a defensive wall of iron, neither projectiles nor electricity could pass through it. Of course, Shizuku didn't expect Raikiri to go along with her plans so easily— she was among the four strongest student knights in Japan, after all.

Touka was sure to attempt a long-range counterattack after being targeted by Suiroudan, so Shizuku had prepared the defensive wall in advance.

The lightning struck the wall of water, vaporizing the point of impact, but it wasn't able to break through. Shizuku had successfully repelled Touka's attack, but that thought lasted only a mere moment.

"Ah!" When Touka saw that her attack didn't hit its mark, she wasted no time in unleashing two, three, ten more bolts of lightning. She was like a machine gun, firing wildly at her target. The foresight she'd displayed before was gone; she was attacking with brute force alone.

That didn't mean it was a thoughtless action, however. Touka was well aware of the advantage she held over Shizuku: the speed at which she could use her techniques.

To prevent her water from conducting electricity, Shizuku had to take care to remove every single impurity from every single molecule of water, making it perfectly, completely pure. It was extremely delicate and precise work.

In contrast, Touka's strikes required no careful management whatsoever; she only had to enchant them with lightning. It was only natural that their speeds would differ.

Touka had realized her advantage with only one attack, and that her continuous, lightning-fast assault would put Shizuku in the most difficult possible situation. Her analysis was correct. Against the endless bombardment, Shizuku was forced to maintain her barrier. She had to focus entirely on using Shouha Suiren to protect herself from the volley of attacks.

Even so, Touka's powerful attacks with her superheated lightning blade were slowly but surely vaporizing the barrier, grinding down Shizuku's shield. After dozens of strikes, the machine gun-like lightning destroyed the last of her protection. Touka swung Narukami once more, ready to deal the finishing blow, but something wasn't right.

"Huh…?!" Her movements stopped just as she went to swing. Why? The reason lay at her feet. Something had taken hold of her legs: a watery arm that had sprouted from the frozen floor. It froze as soon as it grabbed her, pinning her where she stood, and a shadow simultaneously appeared over her head.

By the time Touka had torn her line of sight away from Shizuku and looked up at the sky, it was too late. What she saw was a massive pillar of ice, falling at a terrifying speed from within any human's worst blind spot.

It seemed close enough that she could touch it with her nose. Everything was happening just as Shizuku had imagined it would. If Touka wanted to fight using the speed of her foresight, then Shizuku would fight with depth of hers. Touka had been led to believe that her speed gave her an advantage, that Shizuku was only able to hide in her shell and fight a defensive battle until she'd lost.

All the while, Shizuku's magic had crept along the floor, creating an arm to restrain Touka. In addition, the steam resulting from Touka's attacks was used to create the pillar of ice that would soon crush her. Three complex uses of magic, all at once. A normal Blazer couldn't perform such a feat, but Shizuku could.

She had Rank A magic control—the highest level among all of humanity, even surpassing Stella Vermillion. The falling mass of ice split the entire ring in two, the resulting crack extending even to the audience's seats.

That was just how powerful the blow was. A gravestone of ice sat at the center of the destruction; Touka couldn't have possibly been standing after that. It was clear to all who the victor was.

Or so it should have been, but Shizuku could still feel the tension in the air, no less painful than before. As if confirming her fears, the mass of ice began to split in half, like a blooming flower. In the midst of it, Raikiri stood uninjured.

Both attacked, both defended. The area was left half-destroyed by their battle, but not a single strike landed. They were evenly matched. The duel between Rank B knights had returned to its starting point: a staring match.

"A-Amaziiiiing! Such high-level offense and defense! I was put in charge of the play-by-play, but I couldn't even get a word in!"

The commentator shouted as if she had only just remembered that she was supposed to speak. Her voice seemed to lift the breathless audience's tension all at once, with shocked yells coming from all directions.

"Wh-What's with these two?! Are they really human?!"

"Man, the student council pres is crazy!"

"We already know that! She was a semifinalist! How the hell is that first-year standing up to her, though?!"

"Defend, counterattack, bluff, secret weapon—all in a matter of seconds! How many moves does she have?!"

"But the president was ready to handle all of it!"

"They're both monsters. This is what a Rank B battle looks like!"

"The crowd is going wild over their fight, and it's no wonder! Strength, skill, and tactics alike are being displayed at levels much higher than any normal student could achieve! These two are the real deal! I wouldn't be surprised if either one of them became the Seven Stars King!

"All this fighting, and yet zero damage has been done! There's not even a single scratch on either of them! You know what they say: 'Diamonds can only be cut by other diamonds'! Who will the goddess of victory favor today, folks?!"

"Shizuku's doing great!"

"I knew she was strong, but this is surprising, even for me!" Like the hosts, Stella and Alice were in awe of Shizuku's fighting. Her opponent was the strongest knight in all of Hagun, a girl who was in the semifinals of last year's Seven Stars Battle Festival.

Shizuku keeping pace with Touka proved that she was strong enough to fight on even footing with the beings at the very top of Seven Stars.

"If she keeps this up, she might be able to win!" Stella cheered, full of excitement. Though they often snapped at each other, Stella didn't hate Shizuku.

In fact, their love for the same man led to a sort of mutual understanding, and for that, from the bottom of her heart, Stella was truly happy.

Shizuku was doing more than enough to win, despite her foe having the elemental advantage. The outcome of their match was unclear; there was a great possibility for a major upset.

However, beside the two whose hearts swelled with anticipation, Ayato Kurogane alone watched the arena with apprehension. Are they really evenly matched?

"They really are well-matched, eh, Kanata?" "It seems so, Vice President." Two members of Touka Toudou's student council—Utakata Misogi and Kanata Toutokubara—observed the fight from just above the red gate, opposite Ayato's Seat above the blue gate.

"These first-years are amazing. They're so strong it's hard to put into words. If they decide to be delinquents, we're the ones who'll have to stop them, y'know?"

"Heehee. Your cries seem more joyful than anything. This means we can graduate without worry." With a voice as elegant as a bird's song, Kanata smiled and once again looked out from beneath her wide-brimmed hat at the first-year who fought on even footing with Touka.

"It's truly a surprise, though. Who would have expected her to be able to compete with our princess like this?"

"Right? I can't see a single advantage or disadvantage on either side. It's not just Kurogane and Stella; these first-years really are incredible." Utakata acknowledged their ability with a cool, composed smile. "At least, this one is when it comes to long range."

That was the reason Ayato looked so concerned. There was one truth to be gleaned from their initial trading of blows: Touka would absolutely dominate Shizuku in close-range combat.

There would be no way to defeat her if it came to that. In other words, Shizuku Kurogane's chance at victory lay solely in staying far away—keeping pace wasn't good enough.

If she wanted to win, Shizuku needed to get a leg up on Touka offensively. She knew that, but she couldn't land a single damaging blow.

Their exchange may have ended in a draw, but in the grand scheme of things, it was clear who had really come out on top in the first skirmish in the battle between Lorelei and Raikiri.

"Even worse, Touka isn't fighting seriously yet." For a Rank B knight, Shizuku was a first-class water mage with Rank A magic control. One would be hard-pressed to find a talent like her even at the Seven Stars.

She was a rare opportunity. Instead of unleashing an all-out attack, Touka instead chose to do as Shizuku wished and remain at long range. She wanted to learn what a top-tier water mage's attacks felt like.

"Touka must be happy to be able to fight her before the Festival."

"Indeed. She'll likely end this study session soon, though. Today's matches are far behind schedule, and as we know, the president isn't fond of delays."

As Kanata had predicted, there was a change in the arena. At Touka's feet, the skating rink created by Toudo Heigen was beginning to spew steam—she was heating the ground with the immense electrical power within her, using it to neutralize Shizuku's Noble Art. Then, she lifted Narukami and pointed it at Shizuku.

The light reflecting off the tip of Touka's sword carried a powerful killing intent that Shizuku couldn't ignore. Her expression stiffened as that bloodlust pierced her heart, though the almighty pressure she felt was only part of the reason.

I don't understand. Glaring at Touka from afar, Shizuku was frozen with apprehension. Her foe's last move in their previous exchange assailed her with doubt. How was she able to respond to my surprise attack? Can she see something I can't?

Lorelei's magic control far outclassed Raikiri. It was even a full level above the Rank A Blazers Stella's & Ayato's. She was right to have confidence in her camouflage; it was inconceivable that her opponent could have been aware of the trick she was going to pull.

Even stranger, it had come from Touka's worst blind spot: directly overhead. Though many people could react to hints from behind them, it was a fundamental flaw of the human species that they could never do so to hints from above. Touka, however, had reacted as if it were completely normal, splitting the gravestone of ice in twain.

It was then, while Shizuku toiled over the mystery of her foe's abilities, that she suddenly saw Touka standing right in front of her, disturbing the air as she swung Narukami.

"Gah?!"

Her eyes grew wide with shock—it took everything she had to avoid screaming. Who could blame her? A fraction of a second ago, her opponent was dozens of yards away, but she had gotten close enough that Shizuku could reach out her arm and touch her. Of course, not before Touka's sword would slice into her.

"Ngh!"

She did not freeze up, however. Without a thought as to how she would catch herself when she fell, Shizuku threw herself backward, barely evading Touka's horizontal slash. Her body spun in midair, and when she touched her left hand to the ground, she detonated a high-pressure blast of water from her palm, launching herself far away from Touka.

Dodging the attack and putting distance between them was a calculated decision, but Shizuku had been forced to rack her brain to come up with such a daring move and execute it with composure. It left her in a half-panicked state

I don't get it!

She couldn't comprehend what had happened. Touka hadn't left her sight for even a moment, yet somehow, with no sound or sign of movement, she had instantly closed the several-dozen-yard gap between them.

"Ooh! Careful there, Kurogane! That was quite the narrow escape! She was reacting to Toudou's attacks with ease earlier, so what's the deal now?! She almost looked like she was daydreaming!"

Did I lose focus? No, there's no way. Shizuku knitted her eyebrows dubiously. It shouldn't have been possible for her to lose focus in battle, but the announcer's words were proof that it appeared that way to others. Had she failed to keep Raikiri's attack in sight even though she'd had no trouble doing so before?

No matter what the case, Touka's last attack was problematic for Shizuku. She had to stay focused, lest she miss her assailant again, so she reminded herself to stay sharp, focusing her consciousness on her eyes. The next moment, however, she once again saw Narukami rapidly approaching.

"Bwahhh?!"

Given no time to dodge, Shizuku was helpless as her clothes were shredded by the attack.

"Whoooa, get a load of that! Shizuku Kurogane has taken a direct hit from Toudou's sword! And a deep one, at that! Could this be a fatal wound?!"

However, just as everyone began to think the match had been decided, Shizuku's body turned pale, then liquified and spilled onto the ground. The real Shizuku was already standing a great distance behind Touka.

"Wh-What's this?! A water clone?! Kurogane has beautifully evaded Raikiri's —Wait, what's this?!" The announcer's voice froze when she saw the stream of crimson running down Shizuku's arm.

"Blood is dripping from her left arm! She didn't evade it completely, after all! Kurogane has finally been hit! The great Raikiri, Touka Toudou, draws first blood!"

"Rgh…!" Shizuku groaned, holding the slash wound on her left arm.

It's like she's teleporting. What sort of trick is she using? She had no idea what Toudou was doing to mask her movements, but the stream of crimson running down her arm made one thing perfectly clear:

I can't follow her movements! That was the beginning of the end. It became obvious to everyone that theirs was no longer an even match.

The scales had finally tipped in Touka's favor; Shizuku was fighting a purely defensive battle, only able to run away. The approaching Raikiri was faster, though, and Shizuku's decreasing reaction speed was a major burden. She became more and more exhausted, eventually reaching the point where a stiff breeze would be nearly enough to topple her.

"What's going on here? At first, Lorelei and Raikiri seemed evenly matched, but now it seems to be taking everything Lorelei's got just to run away. How did she fall so far behind?!"

The play-by-play announcer was bewildered. She didn't know that Shizuku was unable to see Touka's movements, so there was no way for her to understand why the battle had become so one-sided. Even so, everyone present at the training field knew exactly who would emerge victorious.

"She should really just surrender."

"I guess the president was just too much for a first-year."

"And here I thought she had a chance at first."

"Huh? Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah. This battle's over. I mean, not like we didn't know the president was crazy strong, right?"

The venue had calmed significantly, missing all of the enthusiasm present at the start of the match. Really, no matter how incredible she was, Shizuku was just a first-year. How could the best knight in all of Hagun fall to someone like her? Everyone there was disappointed in themselves for having even begun to get excited over something so unlikely.

Among them, Stella spoke to Ayato, nearly groaning in dismay.

"Hey, Ayato? What happened to Shizuku?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look at her. Her reactions have obviously dulled."

"That's right, Stella. The president isn't moving any differently, but it's like Shizuku can't even see her."

Alice had noticed the problem with Shizuku's actions as well. Naturally, Ayato had too, but he could see a little bit more than the rest of them.

"I think you're right about that."

"Oh?"

"Shizuku really can't see her.

"I have Learned this technique before during my training with The Demon Princess when I was younger."

"Ahaha! Nice one, little Ayato. I'm surprised you Remember." When Ayato turned toward the voice that had descended on him from behind, he saw a girl in a beautiful kimono and a handsome woman in a suit, both making their way down the stairs of the bowl-shaped arena.

"Hey there. Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Master, Aunt Kurono. Why are you two here?"

"What? It's not like we need anything. We just saw you here, so we wanted to say hi." The director, Kurono Shinguuji, answered Alice's question. They merely came to watch a selection battle between two Rank B knights for fun, and called out to Ayato and the girls because of their fascinating conversation.

"Wait, are you saying Ayato was right, Ms. Nene?"

"Yep," Ms. Saikyou nodded in reply to Stella.

"That's Void Step, an ancient technique combining breathing and footwork. If I had to describe it…"

"…Huh?" Without warning, Saikyou seemingly teleported nearly twenty feet, stopping close enough to breathe on Stella. She then grabbed Stella's ample breasts and held them up, massaging them.

"Eep?!"

"Like that, see? Damn, you've got big honkers. Soft, too."

"Aaahhhhh! Wh-Wh-Wh-What do you think you're doing?!"

"I figured mine would get bigger if I felt yours up."

"If you want them to get bigger, feel up your own!"

"Look at my chest, stupid! What am I supposed to feel here?!"

"Why are you the one getting mad? You groped me!"

"I suppose you can already see through the trick behind Void Step because Nene taught you it, Nephew?" Kurono asked, ignoring the two bickering girls, to which he nodded. "Yes. I still remember how to use it."

"Hey, Ayato?" Stella began. "What is the Void Step, exactly?"

"Well, let's see. Basically, since we humans are living things, we can't perceive every single thing that enters our eyes and ears like machines can. The brain registers things and can recall them, but the consciousness doesn't identify them. And that's a good thing—if your brain was forced to take note of and analyze every single piece of sensory information it received, it would quickly overheat. Instead, the human brain tosses the lowest-priority information into the voids in one's consciousness, making things easier by not recognizing this information at all.

Void Step uses a special, highly specific pattern of breathing and footwork to allow a person to slip into these voids. As a result, Shizuku can see Toudou, but she doesn't know that she can. Her brain and eyes definitely still perceive her enemy, but her consciousness is discarding that perception as unimportant information. That is, until she comes close enough to pose a major threat to Shizuku's life."

"Exactly right. You Were trained well By Nene," Kurono said, impressed.

Ayato's answer had perfectly exposed the previously incomprehensible mechanism behind the technique that was plaguing Shizuku. It was the tiny periphery of unconsciousness that existed within the senses. By shifting one's breathing and self by a half-step, Touka had slipped through Shizuku's consciousness, preventing her mind from locking on. That was the method behind Void Step, an ancient style of stealth walking.

"I've seen this before, after all." Touka's Void Step was also much less refined than Ms. Saikyou, allowing Ayato to see through it more easily.

"But I'm surprised a student could master the Demon Princess' technique like me." "Well, there's an easy explanation for that one," Kurono told him. "Nene and Toudou both studied under the same knight—the very knight who specialized in Void Step."

"Really? Who was it?"

"Torajirou Nangou.

Nangou? You mean the God of War?!" The shock on Ayato's face was completely transparent.

The God of War, Torajirou Nangou, was a lifelong rival to Ryouma Kurogane and a senior knight who remained active even past the age of ninety.

He was undisputedly a living legend.

"As I recall, you saw him at a senior citizens' home and begged him to teach you."

"Jeez, slow down, Kuu!" Ms. Saikyou piped up. "I've never thought of that old timer as my teacher!"

"Why are you so embarrassed? I bet you only wear those clogs to imitate him & Ayato Here who you have a crush on."

"Then Nene Trained Ayato for me as a Favor & She trained him without any mercy."

"Everyone Around the Area was Staring at Ayato the Student of the Demon Princess Herself & Crush of Nene Saikyo. "

"N-N-N-No, I do not! I bought these because I saw an ad saying they'd cure constipation!"

"Acupressure sandals…?" As Ms. Saikyou's long, hanging sleeves fluttered around with her waving arms, Kurono rebuked her temper tantrum, mentioning that

"You're never honest when it comes to him". Then, she turned to look at Ayato again.

"Well, anyway, if you know that much about how Void Step works, then I'm sure you also know that your sister can't do anything to stop it."

"What?!"

Stella and Alice raised their voices in disbelief at her matter-of-fact declaration of Shizuku's defeat.

Though Ayato's expression was grim, he wasn't surprised; he had already arrived at the same conclusion.

"Is that true, Ayato?! There's no way to defeat Void Step?!"

"No, there is a way to defeat the technique itself.

You have to intentionally focus your mind on your unconscious senses—on the voids in your consciousness.

The problem is that it's much easier said than done.

"For example, imagine there's a man pointing a gun at you from straight ahead, his finger on the trigger.

He obviously wants to kill you.

Your focus would naturally be drawn directly toward the barrel, because that's what has control over the last seconds of your life, right?

"Under those circumstances, would you turn your attention to the man's earring?

Would you think about who manufactured that earring? Of course you wouldn't, because unnecessary information is completely ignored by your conscious mind.

In order to defeat Void Step, however, you must turn your attention from the gun to the earring in that life-or-death situation.

That is the act of focusing on your unconscious senses.

"Shizuku may as well be in a life-or-death situation like that right now. Intentionally removing her focus from her enemy would require specific training; she would need to be able to freely control both her body and senses at once. Honestly, she's in a really tough spot.

If she were Ayato or Stella, she might have been able to. The two of them had established full control of their bodies as a result of their learning martial arts.

Shizuku was different, though. She was the best of the best when it came to controlling magic, but an amateur at controlling her body. The moment she began to think that she was just overlooking Touka and tried to concentrate more on her, her field of vision narrowed, making the voids in her consciousness even larger. It created a vicious, endless cycle.

"I don't believe it!" Stella cried.

Ayato didn't want to imagine his sister's defeat either, but as things stood, the chasm between the two Rank B knights was too large. The fact that Shizuku hadn't damaged Touka even once stood as a testament to that fact. Even their battle at long range, where she excelled, had ended in a draw, and an even battle at long range was equal to defeat in the long run.

With her pinned down and the scales so far against her favor, it was hard to believe that she could win. Touka would close the distance between them once and for all, entering the close-range domain of Raikiri.

"If Shizuku has some trump card to fight Raikiri off at close range, she might have a chance. But if not…"

Ayato didn't bother to say what would happen if that were the case, though Stella already knew what was to follow.

"Mmh."

It was strange. To her, Shizuku was a rival for Ayato's affections; she shouldn't have been anything but a hindrance. Even so, Stella knew what Shizuku was experiencing as she fought, the strength of the emotions that supported her as she faced the challenge before her. The fact that they loved the same man made that feeling all the more potent.

"Shizukuuu! You can do iiit!"

A few small words wouldn't be enough to turn the fight around, but Stella couldn't bear to not shout those words.

Shizuku clearly heard Stella's loud, beautiful voice as it echoed through the bored venue. It was the voice of her rival in love, honestly wishing for her victory, and hearing it made Shizuku clench her fists so hard the blood stopped flowing through them.

I don't want your support! she claimed within her mind, feigning annoyance with an angry look while attempting to ignore the crawly, indescribable emotion deep within her heart.

If she were to acknowledge it, she believed it would change her relationship with Stella forever. However, no matter how much she tried to disregard it, Stella's voice fanned the flames of her competitiveness.

Stella is sure to make it to the Seven Stars. I have to win and advance. I have to move onward to the Seven Stars, with my brother and my friends!

Stella was the only Rank A knight in all of Hagun aside from her brother Ayato, standing taller than even the monster that currently opposed Shizuku. She wouldn't stumble over the small stepping stone that was the selection battles.

Ayato, the man who had defeated Stella, would surely make it to the top of the nation. Shizuku understood her brother's strength better than anyone else, so she harbored no doubts about that fact.

She couldn't allow herself to be the only one to lose. Her strength had been drained by the realization of her hopeless inferiority, but her fighting spirit raged stronger than ever. Casting healing magic on her own wounds, she stood up straight and glared directly at her enemy.

"What's this? Kurogane still hasn't given up on this one-sided battle! She's healing her wounds, standing ready to fight on! Has she found her chance at victory?!"

What Shizuku had found was not her chance at victory, but rather her determination. She couldn't perceive Touka's approach, nor could she understand the trick behind it. All she knew was that she was tired of it.

Defending had become pointless. If she couldn't see Touka's moves, her original strategy of pinning her down and fighting a long-range battle was out of the question; trying to run away would make the situation progressively worse.

The only path left to her was to go on the offensive. Her opponent was Raikiri, the greatest knight in all of Hagun. She was undefeated at close range, but it was the only way for Shizuku to win, so she steeled her resolve and strengthened her grip on Yoishigure.

I'll be the first to defeat her undefeated close-range attack!

Clueless as to what Shizuku was planning, Touka once again mercilessly stepped into the voids in Shizuku's consciousness, when suddenly, Shizuku moved.

"Byakuya Kekkai!" she shouted, stabbing Yoishigure into the frozen earth.

When the words left her lips, the ice created by Toudo Heigen instantly turned into a thick, white mist that filled the arena.

Shizuku had changed her perspective on the battle. If she couldn't see Touka, then why let Touka see her? Considering that Toudo Heigen was already useless against the enemy's joule heating, Shizuku chose to sublimate the layer of ice, reducing visibility in the arena to a mere three feet

The only one who could move freely in the magic mist was Shizuku herself. Though she couldn't see, the mist was like a part of Shizuku's body—she could feel everything and everyone that touched it. She located her enemy, who was standing still, at a loss for what to do, and immediately circled behind her.

"Hisuijin."

.In response to Shizuku's voice, all the water vapor in the air surrounding her moved, focusing at Yoishigure's tip to create a massive blade of highly pressurized, rotating water.

Water constantly dripping over a long period of time would erode massive boulders, and would cut through metal when made into a high-pressure current. One could even go so far as to say that Earth itself was carved by water into a sculpture. Nothing in the world cannot be cut by water, and Shizuku was using her outstanding magic control to condense the world-shaping power of Mother Nature into her blade.

Now, the true battle begins!

She dashed toward Touka, but it wasn't a reckless attack, for she was deeply assured of her victory. She still didn't know how Touka had seen her attack from above coming, but even if she saw Hisuijin and tried to react using Narukami, she would be unable to stop it.

No matter how sharp or well-crafted one's blade was, it made no difference. A solid couldn't stop liquid from flowing around it. Hisuijin would easily bypass Narukami and cut Touka down.

Shizuku already knew exactly how this would go, so she stepped in range of Raikiri with confidence in her heart. The moment she did, something caught her attention.

"Huh?"

Touka stood in the fog, her eyes fixed directly on Shizuku despite the low visibility. She was poised and ready to draw Narukami, visible lightning running through its pitch-black sheath.

Shizuku knew what came next, for she had seen the blinding light unleashed by Touka's attack in videos countless times. It was her legendary trump card that crushed all foes before it with a single stroke.

"Raikiri!"

Plasma surged, instantly turning the world white with overwhelming heat, but having already set out for her final attack, Shizuku couldn't stop. She used all of her strength to swing Hisuijin, but the blade of water was blown away with Raikiri's speed alone.

Shizuku Kurogane's wish, along with everything else she had put into the battle, was cut down with a single sword stroke.

The moment the plasma-coated blade was unsheathed, it's faster-than-sound slash detonated the air all around it. The raging wind it created, with Touka at the center, blew away the mist of Byakuya Kekkai. The aftermath reached all the way to the audience stands, making the split arena creak. It was so ferocious that one could hardly remain standing in the wind.

In the midst of those roaring winds, Ayato kept his eyes open, looking down into the arena. He saw everything, never averting his eyes until he was met with the sight of Shizuku Kurogane falling to the ground.

"A flash of lightning, and she's dooooown! The referee has crossed his arms, signaling the end of the match! Kurogane fought tooth and nail, but the semifinalist proved too great a wall for her to surmount! The winner of this Rank B deathmatch is the student council president, Touka 'Raikiri' Toudou!"

The host announced the victor, lowering the curtain on their battle. An intense, no-holds-barred fight. The beginning of the battle revealed just how much both of them surpassed normal students, but in the end, Shizuku lost hopelessly; she was never able to land so much as a single hit on her opponent.

"Hey, Ayato?"

"I know, Alice. I saw it." After his reply, Ayato stared at one point in the arena. It was the fallen Shizuku's right hand, her fingers wrapped around Raikiri's ankle. Indeed, it was a complete loss for her.

"Great job out there, Shizuku."

Shizuku was likely the one who most clearly realized the chasm of strength between the two, but she kept on fighting and fighting, refusing to yield.

You've gotten so much stronger.

Long ago, she was just a little girl who chased after Ayato wherever he went. Ayato had become more aware of the passage of the last Eight years than he'd ever been.

"…"

Ayato watched the victor flip her chestnut-colored hair as she walked out of the arena with a Savage smile showing his fangs.

She's too strong

Shizuku's last attack was far from reckless. Having used Byakuya Kekkai to rob the enemy of her sight, she had her most powerful Noble Art, Hisuijin, in hand.

She had leaped into battle against Raikiri with all of her most potent tools and visualized a clear path to victory, but it was all cut down by a simple, headon attack.

Raikiri was able to counteract the strongest of fighters and the most well thought-out of plans, far exceeding anyone's expectations. Ayato knew from his battle with Kuraudo Kurashiki, the Sword Eater, that the top of the Seven Stars was full of people like those two. Not a single member of that domain was normal; they were superhumans who had long surpassed normal measurements.

It made Ayato think of how rewarding it would feel to reach that summit. I'd like to cross swords with you sometime, Raikiri.

What followed the blinding, burning flash of light was benighted emptiness. Shizuku slowly regained her consciousness, dragging herself from the darkness.

She lifted her heavy eyelids, focusing her blurry vision. The first thing she saw was a bland, white, unsoiled infirmary ceiling, followed by the familiar face of her roommate.

"Finally came to, huh, Shizuku?"

"Alice?"

Shizuku slowly lifted her upper body off of the bed. When she looked around, she noticed that other people were present as well. Ayato Kurogane—her brother —and Stella Vermillion were standing behind Alice. Upon seeing them all, Shizuku realized that she had failed.

Oh. I get it.

"Guess I lost," she muttered, ushering in a depressed silence

Don't worry about it. Be happy.

People who put themselves squarely in the competitive world knew how grim those words truly were. There were no words for losers in this world.

"Hey, Shizuku? Um…"

"I'm sorry." Stella tried to end the painfully awkward silence, but Shizuku coldly interrupted her. "I'd like to be alone for a while, if you don't mind. I'm still tired from the match."

Shizuku hid her face and asked everyone to leave. She didn't want to see anyone or hear anything. All she wanted was to be alone.

"Sure. Let's go, Stella."

"…Okay."

Ayato quickly understood her intentions and left with everyone in tow. She appreciated that, for the pain of defeat had already caught in her throat. Shizuku was a prideful girl; she didn't want Ayato or Stella to see her as she quivered with regret and sadness

"Why are you still here?" For some reason, Alice had stayed behind, a serene grin on her face. "Why? Well, who knows?" "I just said I wanted to be alone."

"Yes, I'm not deaf."

"Then just—!" Before she could finish her retort, Alice drew her into a hug.

"Alice?" "You were amazing out there. Your brother's eyes were glued to you from start to finish. He said you did a great job." Alice whispered as she gently ran her hand through the still-shocked Shizuku's hair.

"Shizuku, I'm not someone you have to put on a mask around. You don't have to keep acting so tough.

" Ah… That was her limit. Alice's gentle words and protective embrace were enough to coax the first sob out of her throat, and once the first one had broken through the dam, the rest came flooding out.

Damn it. Damn it, damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it!

A broken wish. A failed dream. It all still tormented her. Shizuku screamed in place of the pain that she wouldn't put into words, clinging to Alice's chest so tightly that her nails dug in.

Alice didn't pull away, though; she knew she was the only one to whom Shizuku could express her pain, so she stayed with Shizuku, holding her tiny body until the sobs finally stopped.

"Shizuku looked really upset." Stella spoke to Ayato as the two of them walked back to their dorm.

"Are you surprised? This probably destroyed her chances of getting to the Seven Stars." Ayato had asked Ms. Oreki about it before the match. At the rate the selection battles were going, all six representatives would be people with flawless records. The national stage wouldn't permit a loser.

"But still, Shizuku has nothing to be ashamed of."

Ayato remembered Shizuku's right hand, holding Touka's leg. The willpower she had displayed at the very end of their battle was especially spectacular.

"You can't lose even once? That's a lot of pressure."

"Yeah. And we're not exempt from that either, you know.

Everyone—Shizuku, Ayato, Stella, and all the other students—was fighting under the same rules. No one aiming for the top of the Seven Stars would allow a single loss.

That was the rule laid out by the new director, Ayato's Aunt Kurono Shinguuji, in an attempt to proverbially pan for the new Seven Stars King.

They would find the strongest knight, even if it meant the school's best had to crush one another. After all, only one person could stand at the top of Seven Stars.

"The selection battles are almost over," Ayato continued.

"We'd better brace ourselves for what's to come."

"I won't lose, of course." He turned to look at Stella, who oh-so confidently declared her victory. She looked back up at him in return, her eyes burning with fighting spirit.

"I will not fail. You and I are going to fight in the finals of the Seven Stars Battle Festival, and this time, I'll win." Ayato felt immense joy welling up from within him. He wasn't the only one waiting eagerly for their chance to come.

"Me too, Stella. I won't fail either."

"Heehee, of course not. You know you'll catch hell from me if you drop out halfway through " Stella responded to his determination by flashing him a beaming smile. He couldn't help but grin too; she was more charming than ever.

The more Ayato knew about her and the closer they became, the more he fell in love with her. The scent of flowers around her, her high body temperature—it was all charming in its own way. In his desire to be loved even more by Stella, he was more motivated than ever to work harder than ever.

He could push himself to greater heights in order to become a man fitting of his greatest rival and girlfriend. Having met her was his greatest stroke of fortune.

"If we're planning on winning, then we'd better go train, right?" "Sure! I've been itching for a battle after watching Shizuku's."

"Hah! That's so like you, Stella. Let's get to it, then." Once Ayato confirmed that they were alone in the hallway, he wrapped his fingers around Stella's hand.

She squeezed his hand tightly in return. Ever since they had taken the next step at the pool, the couple had become a bit more used to that sort of physical contact.

They'd gotten so accustomed to it that whenever they were alone together, their hands would naturally seek each other out.

Ayato and Stella both loved the act of interlocking their fingers, allowing them to feel the other's presence and heat, but their favorite act was, of course, kissing.

The event at the pool was proof that they had gotten much closer to acting like a real couple.

It was a clear step forward, but in truth, Stella felt a smidge dissatisfied with the state of their relationship. Perhaps it wasn't dissatisfaction, though. Perhaps it was the desire to be even closer.

She wanted Ayato to want her as a woman like Rias, and the closer the two became, the greater her desire.

That was especially true when they exchanged kisses before sleeping; parting lips was more difficult than anything else in the world.

Stella had even moaned in disappointment and desire when their kiss had ended the day prior, startling Ayato. That was way too embarrassing.

Disgusted by the cloying sound that had escaped her lips, she jumped straight into bed and buried herself under the covers. It had taken some time for the flame in her to dissipate.

Am I a nympho or something? Just remembering it was painful. Besides, she was the second imperial princess of the Vermillion Empire. Even if he did want her, she wouldn't be ready to respond to his desires.

At the same time, however, both she and Ayato were adults according to the standards set forth by the International Mage-Knight Federation, as they were above fifteen years of age.

They were both real, marriageable adults, and as adults, they had the right to love as they pleased. If only Ayato wanted me…

If he could look her straight in the eye, put his hands on her shoulders, and say he honestly wanted her, what would Stella do? Would she choose her position as a princess, or would she choose her own feelings?

Not long ago, Stella would have found some excuse to reject him, but she was no longer certain what she would say. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't find a sure answer. If Ayato really, truly wanted her that badly…

I think…

"What's wrong, Stella? Your face is super red."

"Huh?! O-Oh, um, it's nothing! I'm fine!"

"Your face doesn't get that red when nothing's wrong. Did you catch a cold? Here, let me check your temperature."

Ayato brought his forehead to hers with a worried expression, ready to check for a fever.

D-D-Don't come near my face right now! Stella screams internally in response to his kindness.

"R-Really, I'm fine! I swear! Please, don't come any closer!"

Stella successfully drove Ayato back with her response, but she was somewhat appalled with herself. How brazen could she be, imagining such things while walking through the school while it was still light out?

It was simply wrong.

That's strictly forbidden until bedtime.

Stella finally calmed herself, ignoring the voice in her head telling her that being in bed didn't make it any better, when something strange appeared from around the corner in front of them. Thinking it may have been a person's shadow, the couple quickly untangled their hands.

Ayato and Stella had to remember their social standing. If the world knew of their relationship, it would be shocked at best, making their lives much more hectic. Until the busyness of school and the Seven Stars cleared up, they decided that hiding their relationship was the best choice.

What appeared was not human, however. It was a pale-white, misshapen rectangle monster.

"Hup… Hah…!"

Upon closer inspection, the monster was actually a giant stack of papers that somebody was carrying with both hands. Neither Ayato nor Stella had any idea who it was, for the mountain of paper was so high that it covered their face, but looking down at their feet, the two could tell that it was a female student.

"Wow, that's unsafe."

"Right. We should probably help her," Ayato decided, and called out to the girl.

"Excuse me. Would you like some help carrying all that?"

"Huh?! Eee Aaaaargh!" The girl was so surprised to suddenly be addressed that she stiffened up, leading to her right foot entangling with her left and her accidentally throwing the entire stack of papers at Ayato.

"Whoa!"

"Jeez, what are you two even doing?"

"Oh no! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't think anyone else was here!"

"No, it's my fault for scaring you like that. I'm sorry."

The three of them got on their knees and began collecting the scattered papers. Once a fair amount of them had been collected, Ayato once again turned his attention to the girl and was greeted by her butt, swaying as she moved.

"Bah!"

"Ah, my glasses. Where are my glasses?"

Her skirt must have ridden up when she fell, but she seemed to not have noticed; she simply muttered to herself as she groped around with her hands on all fours. Every time she moved, her plump rear end moved with her.

"Hey, girl! Your skirt! Your skirt's pulled up!"

"Huh? Oh nooooo!" Thanks to Stella's warning, she finally realized that she had pretty much shoved her butt into Ayato's face and rushed to right her skirt.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that disgusting sight!"

"You're fine… Ahaha."

"Were you looking, Ayato?"

"Would you believe me if I said I wasn't?"

"Do you think I would?"

"I don't. Hm?"

As Ayato sighed, something appeared in his peripheral vision. It was a pair of round glasses with very thick lenses. Oh, is this what she was looking for? Correctly guessing the reason she was shaking her booty while on her hands and knees, Ayato picked up the glasses and offered them to the girl.

"Hey, isn't this what you're looking for?"

"Yes! That's it! Thank you so much! Let me tell you, I can't see without my glasses!" The female student turned around to face Ayato and thanked him as she accepted the glasses. That was when Ayato and Stella finally got a good look at her face

. "Huh?"

"Wha—?!" They froze in terror.

"Hey, aren't you…" The girl, with her chestnut hair styled into two French braids, was the very person who had just overwhelmed his sister,Shizuku with her might, the strongest student in all of Hagun Academy.

"Raikiri? Touka Toudou?!"

"Um, yes? Why do you ask?"

"Oh, there you are, Pres! Heya!"

"Hello, Mishima."

"Congratulations on your victory today, President!"

"Thank you for cheering me on, Sayama."

"Hi, President Toudou! Thanks again for helping me find my wallet! I'm really sorry it ended up taking all day."

"Pay it no mind, Itagaki. Besides, we only found it thanks to Uta; I honestly didn't help much at all. Oh, but please, do take extra care to keep track of it."

Every few steps she took, Touka was greeted by students, both boys and girls alike. She responded to each of them politely and by name. Ayato and Stella watched the spectacle from a few steps behind, holding the papers that Touka had been carrying before.

"People really love her, huh?"

"I'm just doing what any student council president should do," Touka said in response to Stella's honest thoughts, smiling as if she were somewhat embarrassed.

"Anyway, thank you both. You didn't just pick those up for me, you even helped me carry them."

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. That was way too much for one person, anyway."

"Ahaha… I got lazy and wanted to make it in one trip. That's what I get for skimping, right?" Touka stuck her tongue out in a playful yet bashful manner, an action uncharacteristically cute for the person who had just crushed Shizuku with her fiendish strength.

"I'm surprised, though. I've seen Stella's face in the news so many times, but you're the legendary Ayato Kurogane who won the Junior League & the U-12 World Tournament? We've met at a rather awkward time."

That awkwardness was presumably because of what had happened with Shizuku, but Ayato shook his head in response.

"A battle's a battle. Shizuku gave it all she had and fought a good fight. Likewise, you took up the gauntlet and fought in good faith. To me, that's all that matters. In fact, I'm grateful that you fought so earnestly. I have no complaints whatsoever."

That was Ayato's honest opinion, completely devoid of falsehood.

I agree with that, but there is one thing that bothers me." Building off of what Ikki was saying, Stella stared at Touka with a dangerous look in her eyes. There was something she absolutely had to ask. "Touka, from what I've seen so far, you're pretty much blind without your glasses, right? But you weren't wearing glasses during your fight. Why is that? You were holding back, weren't you?"

"N-Nuh-uh! That ain't true!"

"Uh…?"

"What? Oh, u-um, no, that's not true." Touka must have been so shaken by Stella's observation that she spoke in a strange way. She blushed as she rushed to correct herself, but it was far too late. Regardless, she cleared her throat and returned to her usual cadence.

"Actually, it's the exact opposite. I expected Shizuku to be a very difficult foe to deal with, so I couldn't go into battle with my glasses on—I intentionally made my vision worse to boost the accuracy of my perception. If I didn't, someone like her would have been tough going."

"'Perception'? What does perception have to do with this?"

"When I deprive myself of vision, I become able to sense the impulses in others' bodies. That's just one application of my abilities as a user of electricity.

"Humans are essentially living precision instruments. Their actions are controlled purely by impulses sent from the brain, so the ability to sense those impulses is incredibly useful; it means knowing a person's next actions. Signals sent to the muscles that control their eyes tell where their vision is directed, hormones secreted by the pituitary gland reveal their mental state—all of that and more can be understood from reading them.

"The information you glean from impulses are your foe's true intentions, and they're impossible to fake. What is their mental state? What is the next action they plan to take? Limiting my vision gives me access to even more information than usual, so if I take off my glasses, it's beyond simple to read and understand what my opponent is going to do. That means traps and ambushes don't work on me."

"I see. That's how you dodged Shizuku's ambush, then?"

Touka nodded in affirmation.

"That's one of my Noble Arts: Reverse Sight.

I suppose it's not too unlike the Cold One's Perfect Vision, though yours is the result of insight while mine is just a bit of cunning.

Anyway, rest assured that I wasn't going easy on her by any means."

"Hmm… I see," Stella replied.

"Sorry I doubted you."

"Pay it no mind. Heehee."

"I was just thinking about how thoughtful you are toward your friends."

Stella's cheeks turned so red that they were on fire.

"What?! Sh-She and I are not friends!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

"I disagree. You two get along really well."

"You too, Ayato?! God, who even cares?!"

She huffed and turned away from Ayato, rushing ahead alone.

Does she know where the student council room is?

She didn't have any idea; she was probably waiting for them just behind that corner. Instead of following her, though, Ayato turned to face Touka. "By the way, are you sure about that?"

"About what?"

"You just told us everything about your ability. We don't have that many selection battles left, but there's still a chance one of us might be pitted against you."

"It doesn't matter to me. I won't lose just because you know how Reverse Sight works."

"Ngh!"

As if he'd been struck by lightning, a shudder ran from Ayato's head to his toes. Behind Touka's mature, tranquil smile, he saw a dangerous twinkle deep in her eye, like light reflecting from the tip of a blade.

It was unmistakable proof that she was the Raikiri, with absolute confidence in her own abilities and the thirst for battle with ever-stronger opponents. She was cut from the same cloth as Ayato and Stella, her eyes burning with confidence and ambition

…Haha. Looking at her, Ayato thought that they might just become great friends. It made him wish more than ever that he would get the chance to fight her one day.

After five minutes of walking, Ayato and the gang arrived in front of the student council room.

"Whew, finally. It's such a long walk to the council room."

"Thank you both. You're free to come in and enjoy some tea, if you'd like. Toutokubara just brought us some lovely tea leaves yesterday."

"I'd be glad to. How about you, Stella?"

"Sure. I'm parched."

"Please, come on in. Hnghyu!"

Touka opened the door to the council room and stepped forward to guide the two inside, when her toe caught on something heavy, causing her to fall forward dramatically. She fell more or less face-first, leaving her rear pointing directly toward Ayato and Stella and her underwear fully exposed. Touka's skirt was doing a poor job today, indeed.

"Y'know, Ayato, we could put advertisements on her underwear and make a killing."

"That's an interesting idea."

"Oww… What's it this time?" Once again mixing up her words in surprise at the sudden trap, Touka stood up and looked at the council room again, going pale as she did so.

"Wh-What the heeeeell?!"

In the council room, everything was scattered about: every book from every shelf, every item from every drawer. Amidst the chaos, Touka's fellow council members were lined up together

Secretary Ikazuchi Saijou was taking minutes with his surprisingly neat penmanship, while treasurer Kanata Toutokubara was bringing him tea. In contrast to the two members doing their jobs with due diligence, vice president Utakata Misogi was transfixed on a video game and general affairs manager Renren Tomaru was watching the screen with great interest. She wore only an athletic undershirt and panties, training with a chest expander in her immodest attire.

"Oh? Hey, Pres is back! Hellooo!"

"Ahaha You're so clumsy, Touka. Falling over again?"

Renren and Utakata greeted Touka when they noticed her, but she merely knitted her eyebrows tightly at the two of them before yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Ughhh! Tomaru! How many times I gotta tell ya to put them dumbbells back after ya use 'em?! They're right dangerous! And Uta, put ya manga back on the shelf when you're done having' a read of it! Ya always leave it lying around! I was gone for a single day; how'd ya manage to make such a pigsty o' the place?!"

"Hmph! What makes you think we messed the place up, Pres? You could be making a false accusation here!"

"Tomaru is the only one who does strength training in the council room, and you two are always the ones leaving manga around!" Touka cried, having collected herself just enough to speak normally again.

"Aw, I just wanted to binge-read some Samurai Z, Dragon Orb, and Dunk Shot. It's always such a pain to keep going to the shelf, so I took 'em all out. Then I got all nostalgic for my childhood, so I had to turn the room upside-down looking for my SMES before I could finally dig the thing up. Oh, but don't worry! Ikazuchi and Kanata did all the work while you were gone."

"Your smugness over making other people do all the work is making me mad! Honestly, you're always—"

"President, I apologize for interrupting you while you're worked up, but you have visitors."

"Huh?!"

Touka, having forgotten herself in rage upon seeing the sad state of the room, pivoted to face the doorway.

Ayato with his hands in his pockets and Stella stood just outside the hoarders' home, watching the pitiful performance before them with forced grins.

"Whoa! H-Hang on, Touka! I haven't saved my game since yesterday! W-Wait, no— Wahhhhh! My Zola's Flippers!"

"I keep telling you, limit your gaming time to an hour a day!

I swear, I will take my eyes off of you for one day!

And Tomaru, look at how you're dressed!

There's a boy right next to you! At least put on a skirt or something!"

"You're the one who broke the AC, Pres. It's hot in here!"

"Yep. Whenever you touch any appliance, you go and short it out."

"I-I am extremely sorry for that, yes, but that doesn't give you the right to laze around in your underwear!

Where's your discipline?!

This isn't a good look for us, the role models for students all around the school!"

"But you're always napping in your underwear back in our dorm."

"Ahaha You've always needed someone to keep you on your toes, Touka. Otherwise you start getting lazier and lazier."

"M-M-My private life ain't got nothing to do with it! J-Just tidy up, for crying' out loud! Anything you leave sittin' out, I'm tossing' out!"

"Whoa! Okay, okay!"

"Hurry, hurry!"

The council room boomed and shook, as if the members inside were moving homes.

"It's like Touka is their mother."

"The student council certainly has its share of troubles."

Listening to the hustle and bustle from the hallway, Ayato and Stella suddenly had the urge to be nicer to Touka.

She had chased them out before they could even put the papers down, but they could hardly blame her.

The two of them waited several minutes, until finally, the student council room's door opened and a haggard Touka poked her head out.

"Haah, haah… S-Sorry for the wait. Please, come in."

"S-Sure. Thanks."

Ayato followed Stella into the room, wondering if accepting Touka's invitation to tea had been a mistake, but he was shocked; the inside was nearly spotless, as if they had swapped it out with an entirely different room.

The books were all neatly in their shelves, and the floor was so well-polished that he could see his reflection in it.

The cleanliness and the subtle, refined antique style of the furniture made the room seem much like a chamber in a Western castle.

It was admirable how they had cleaned up so much in only a few minutes—at least, until Ayato's all-seeing eyes gravitated toward the truth.

Huh. That closet over there looks like it's about to burst. In front of the door, Saijou stood firm, like a guardian statue. I'll just pretend I didn't see it.

He chose not to disturb the lid of Pandora's box, letting himself and Stella be guided to a sofa in the center of the room.

Once the two had taken their seats around the same table as the members of the student council, Renren grinned affably from the other side of the table.

"Been quite a while, eh, Kurogane? You've just been winning constantly since you beat me."

"Yeah, I'm really giving it my 30% of my full power out there."

Following up on their exchange, Kanata offered Stella a tender smile and a greeting.

Her eyes, peeking out from under the brim of her hat for the first time, were blue.

"It's been some time since we met at that restaurant, hasn't it, Stella?"

"Yes. I didn't think I'd ever end up in this room, though."

"Toutokubara, could you bring these two some tea, please?" Touka requested.

"Of course."

"Hey, Kanata! One more for me!"

"Kanata! I want some cupcakes!"

Utakata and Renren put in orders of their own as well.

"You two will go without dessert today."

"Wh-Whaaat?!"

"That's just mean, Touka! Why are we even here if we don't get dessert?!"

"Because you're members of the student council!"

Touka had raised her voice to a yell. Truly, her life seemed to be a long chain of rapid-fire retorts. Suddenly, while struggling to keep the closet shut—rather, while he stood idly in front of the closet, Saijou's usually-stern face broke out in delight as he spoke to Touka, who was nearly hyperventilating from overwork.

"I must say, President, you work fast. You've already found someone to help us with the matter from before, and the perfect pair, at that. They won't be lacking in fighting ability, to be sure."

"Fighting ability"?

"Help"?

Ayato and Stella tilted their heads, confused by his ominous words—Touka hadn't mentioned anything like that.

"Come again?"

When they shot questioning glances at her, they could almost see the question mark floating over her puzzled face. Meanwhile, Saijou was obviously bewildered by her reaction.

"Hm? What, have I got it wrong? We don't usually get visitors, so I figured that was it."

"Did you really forget, Touka? Come on, the director herself asked us for this."

"Kurono asked us… Aaahhhhh!" Touka screamed, her face pale-white.

"My, my. You honestly forgot, didn't you? I was convinced that was why you had brought these two along."

"Oh… Well, yes, I did forget. I was so focused on my battle with Shizuku that I forgot."

"So? What's all this about?" Stella asked from beside Ayato, interrogating the crestfallen Touka, but the answer was instead provided by Kanata as she poured tea for everyone.

"Recently, Your Aunt Director Shinguuji requested a favor from the student council. Our school's Seven Stars representatives are usually sent to a training camp in Okutama, but it seems some dubious individual has appeared there."

"That's not good."

"Right. The student council was asked to travel there and confirm things were safe, as all of the teachers are too busy with the selection battles. However, the area around the campground is full of tall mountains and thick forests, so we're simply lacking in numbers."

"I see. So you were looking for help from outside the council." The instructors weren't the only ones whose schedules were full because of the selection battles.

"By the way, what is this 'dubious individual' like? Do we know anything about them?"

"Yes, well…" Kanata hesitated before answering. "It seems to be a giant, standing well over fifteen feet tall."

"What?!"

"A giant?!"

"Yes, a giant. And I don't mean the sports team."

"I know."

"I'm not talking about titans, either, so stay your attacks."

"I said I know. But I'm surprised by what you know, Toutokubara."

"H-Hey, are giants really real?!"

Stella took the opportunity to jump into the absurd conversation, leaning forward with excitement. Her scarlet eyes gleamed like an overenthusiastic child's.

"That really got you chomping at the bit, didn't it, Stella?"

"It's giants we're talking about here! They're so mysterious, like cryptids!"

"No way! You like that kind of stuff too, Stella?!" Renren hailed her newfound comrade.

"I love it! In fact, I learned Japanese from Japanese documentaries about Bigfoot!

That was her introduction to Japanese culture?! Ayato shuddered but Renren seemed as though she'd found a kindred spirit.

"Ooh! Now you're speaking' my language!"

"Well—"

"Vice President," Kanata said, quickly interrupting Utakata, "I believe that's enough."

"Hey, Ayato! Touka needs us, so we should help her out! I wanna see a giant!"

Stella took Ayato by the shoulders and shook him. He honestly didn't have much interest in giants, but he was benefitting from the new selection battle system that had made things so busy for the student council, so he was more than willing to assist them and happily agreed to the request.

"If you need our help, we'd be glad to join you as fellow students."

"Y-You mean it?!" Their ready assent had given Touka new life. She was no longer holding her head in her hands.

"We can't turn a blind eye to the training camp being ruined, anyway. If you'd be willing to have us—"

"We'd love to have you! Thank you so much! You're such a huge help!" Touka graciously accepted, extending her gratitude with an outstretched hand.

"Don't worry, it's my pleasure!" Stella replied, intercepting her with an enthusiastic handshake.

"Huh? Oh, um, sure. Thank you."

Thus, Ayato and Stella would be joining the student council on their journey to Okutama the following weekend.

….

Among the skyscrapers lining the streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo, the Japanese Branch of the International Mage-Knight Federation stood thirty stories tall. In the top-floor office, Itsuki Kurogane, Japan's branch manager, creased his brow while taking a phone call.

"Really? So Shizuku lost?" His sigh echoed loudly throughout the office, unlit despite it being nighttime. "Her opponent was Raikiri, so she seemingly had little chance from the start."

"Was it Mr. Nangou's favorite disciple?"

"Yes. Shizuku had bad luck there. If only this selection battle hadn't happened, she would have easily been among the selected."

"Silliness" indeed. Itsuki nodded silently in agreement with the man on the phone's assessment. Fighting real battles to select a representative? In his eyes, Kurono Shinguuji's method was the most abominable thing in the world.

"And what of Ayato?"

"The Cold One remains undefeated. Clearly, the students of Hagun are good-for-nothing if a Rank A failure of a generation can make it as far as he has & Steadily control more of his powers."

"Do you think he'll be selected?"

"Pity though it may be, that failure has already defeated the Crimson Princess and the third-best student, Runner's High. If Hagun raises students this worthless, and if he doesn't run into Raikiri or Blutrote Dame… he may appear on the national stage."

"A-Absolutely, sir! I agree!"

"Is there nothing you can do about it?"

"Perhaps we could have the director revoke his certification as a student knight?"

"If that were possible, I'd have done it a long time ago. The right to manage Mage-Knight and student knight certifications falls to the white-beards at the main office; even if our branch could submit a revocation request, it would fail without a clear basis to give it cogency. At any rate, we need to take some sort of measure before the Seven Stars Battle Festival.

For the past year, they had used The Hunter to try to egg him into a fight, but Ayato had steadfastly refused to take the bait. Even when The Hunter pushed him near death, he never so much as evaded the attacks because he knew it could be seen as fighting back. All Itsuki was able to do was force him to repeat a year.

Before he could have Ayato expelled and his student knight certification rescinded, Itsuki first had to have him banned from the Federation. Unfortunately, that was no more than a wild fantasy, as Itsuki didn't have the authority to do so. To accomplish such a task, he needed some basis to persuade the people who did have that authority.

"I have an ingenious plan to deal with this Ayato Hosomaki aka Kurogane," a man's droll voice echoed through the dark room.

Itsuki turned his eyes languidly toward the entrance, where he found an obese, middle-aged man, his face resembling that of Ebisu, the god of fishermen. He remembered that face—it belonged to Mamoru Akaza, a member of one of the Kurogane branch families.

"Akaza?"

"It's been a while, family head. Mhmhm!"

"So, what's this ingenious plan?" Itsuki asked, abruptly hanging up on his phone call. His interest lay solely in Akaza's claim.

Seeing this, Akaza plastered a dubious smile onto his face and cleared his throat.

"Ahem! Well, you see, I've heard some information through the grapevine. If all goes well, I believe I may be able to assuage your fears."

The following Sunday, Ayato Kurogane, Stella Vermillion, and the rest of the student council rode in Saijou's van on their way to Hagun Academy's campground in Okutama's mountains. They were off to find out the identity of the legendary giant—to solve the mystery at Okutama—but the site of the campground was large and treacherous, littered with mountains and deep forests.

It was no simple task for people to scour the entire area without equipment, even if they were Blazers. That meant, of course, that the team needed to recharge their batteries by filling their stomachs, so Saijou and Kanata were left to deal with administration duties while the rest of the members were to make curry.

With the division of labor complete, those on curry duty began carrying the campground's cookware and Touka's groceries to their campsite. They were given permission to use the campground's canteen, but since they had come all the way to the mountains, they ended up making camping curry.

"Ahhh!" Stella took a deep breath while placing knives, a cutting board, and other items in the kitchen made from brick. "The air here is so clear, cool, and refreshing."

"Without any asphalt, the air is much cooler," Ayato explained. "There's way too much concrete all over Japan. It's so hot and sultry, I can't Absorb it. "

"Well, most of the country is subtropical, after all." Stella's homeland, the Vermillion Empire, lay in Northern Europe. The temperature was much lower than Japan, with drier air to match.

Frankly, Stella's first experience with the Japanese heat was overpowering, and Ayato had even heard her groaning at night as of late. It was understandable, though; Japanese heat had been known to kill.

"Hey, Stella! Let's play some badminton!"

One step ahead of Stella, Renren had already finished hauling her cookware and called out to her, racket in hand.

"Sure!" she replied, gladly accepting Renren's challenge.

"Watch out, though, 'cause I'm good."

"That so?! Well, I've got the best footwork you'll ever see! Bring it on!"

"Ah, Stella…" Ayato tried to stop her, but she had already run off. "Jeez, weren't we just talking about doing the cooking?"

Touka smiled gently at the sighing Ayato as she put down her grocery bags.

"Don't worry about it. Curry doesn't need that much manpower, anyway. We can make them clean up after."

"Fair enough. Oh, by the way, how much were the groceries? I can pay for our share.

"Hehehe, there's no need to worry about that. You agreed to help us, so call the meals our treat. In fact, if you don't let us take care of it, I'll feel guilty."

Touka shrugged her shoulders, slightly annoyed, though Ayato would have felt the same way were he in her shoes. Any more humility would just make her feel bad at this point.

"Mm-hmm. I can't wait for you to try it."

"At least let me help a little, though."

"All right. Kurogane, I'll entrust you with peeling the potatoes and carrots."

"Okay."

"Uta, could you prepare the rice?"

"If you're making your famous curry, do you want the usual rice?"

"Yes, please. I've got California rice here as well. Thank you."

"Hehe, this is gonna be so good." Utakata and Touka seemed to be communicating with just their eyes. Ayato, watching from the side, had no idea what was going on, but he understood the profound depth of the two cooks' friendship nonetheless.

It had been eight years since Ayato ran away from home & was kidnapped by the Old Satan Faction. In that much time living alone, him having mastered a fair number of domestic skills was to be expected; he performed the job he was given with incredible skill. First, he peeled the potatoes, soaking them in water in order to keep them from falling apart while they were cooked. While they soaked, he peeled the carrots and cut them into bite-size pieces, taking them to Touka when he was finished. He suddenly stopped on his way over, however, when a sound caused his ears to prick up.

What he was hearing was Touka, who had donned an apron, humming the theme song of a popular children's anime in which the pastry-headed main character let hungry people eat parts of its head. All the while, she skillfully chopped meat and onions.

Ayato was transfixed on her youthful yet motherly appearance. She had a sort of consummate sense of beauty, almost like a painting.

"Hm? Something wrong?"

"Oh, no. Sorry." Startled by Touka noticing him, Ayato quickly brought himself back to reality.

What was that about? It's like I was being drawn in by her.

When he'd watched Raikiri as she took down Shizuku with her overwhelming strength, he hadn't seen anything like that in her. Though fairly curious about it, he pushed the matter into the back of his mind and handed her the ingredients.

"Here are the potatoes and carrots. I also went ahead and soaked the potatoes."

"Thank you. My, they're so neatly peeled. Having the veggies cut a little bigger is nice too."

"Since we're eating outside and the sky is so clear, I figured country-style curry might be good."

"You get a gold star, Kurogane. Guess your aptitude for blades doesn't end with just the sword, huh?"

"Haha, I just lived alone for a long time. So, is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, thank you. I can do the rest with a single pot, so you're free to take a break." Two would certainly be a crowd with only one pot, so he accepted her offer and excused himself from the outdoor kitchen.

"Hehehe. What's wrong, bud? Distracted by Touka's big booty?" Utakata, cooking rice with the camp's cookware, pressed Ayato about why he had been standing there staring at Touka.

"N-No, of course not!" Ayato denied the claim profusely. It did look big, round, and soft, so of course he was a little interested as a man, but that wasn't the reason.

"I mean it. It's just… I don't really get it myself, but seeing Toudou preparing a meal really caught my eye. It's almost like there was something I just had to see."

"Hmm…" Utakata seemed deeply interested in Ayato's answer. "Something you 'had to see', huh? You're definitely not any normal guy if you caught on that quickly."

"What do you mean?"

"You felt like there was something you had to see about the way she was, and you were right. That's kind of like Touka's core—it's the source of her strength."

"It is?"

"Yep. I've known her forever like you know Saji & Daisuke & Ichika Forever , so I would know ."

"Forever"…

Ayato could tell from the way they'd made eye contact earlier that there was a long history between Utakata and Touka, so he decided to mention it outright.

"You two have known each other for that long?"

"Huh? Well, yeah. Both of us came from the same orphanage."

"You did?"

"The Wakaba House is one result of the Toutokubara Foundation's social work.

It takes in orphaned children and fosters them.

Kanata often visited the Wakaba House while Touka and I were there, so we've known her since back then too.

The three of us hung out together so much."

"I had no idea." Ayato was clueless about how to react given the way Utakata was talking about it like it was nothing.

He had assumed they were childhood friends, but not that they had come from the same institution.

He couldn't decide whether he should delve deeper into such a delicate subject or leave Utakata alone.

The source of Toudou's strength.

Regardless of which option was better, Utakata's claim attracted his interest.

He wanted to know what kind of woman Touka Toudou was, so he boldly continued that line of questioning.

"If you don't mind, would you tell me more about the 'source of her strength'?" Utakata stayed silent for a moment, then posed a question.

"When you hear the word 'orphanage', what comes to mind?"

"It's a place where children live after they've lost their relatives, right?"

"In not so many words, sure, but there are a lot of ways kids lose their relatives. Some lose their parents to accidents or fires, some are abandoned… Those are bad, but there's even worse out there. Some kids are taken away by the government because their parents almost killed them. Stuff like that."

"Their parents did?!"

"Yeah. There were a lot of kids with tough backgrounds at our orphanage, which made things really bad. Everyone there shared common circumstances, yet they would tease and bully each other a lot. It was so painful. But among all that, Touka was always trying to make all of us happy even though she was an orphan too. In place of the owner, she'd read books to the little kids and make dinner for us. The owner was a really nice person, but wasn't that great at cooking. Everyone loved it when Touka took over, haha."

"She seems like a good caretaker."

"She's always been that way, sticking her nose in other people's business. Like with the guy who was almost killed by his parents. He was so violent and uncontrollable, so broken beyond repair, so willing to hurt her over and over again, but she never abandoned him. Thanks to her, he could become human again, feeling real human feelings. To this day, he's still grateful to her. He still loves her." Utakata lowered his eyes as he spoke of the past.

At some point, his story had begun to seem autobiographical.

Perhaps he was that very child who had nearly died at the hands of his own parents.

After a brief pause, he continued:

"So one day, he asked her, 'Why are you so strong?' It just got to him so much

—they were both orphaned children, so how could she be so loving toward others? She replied, 'My parents loved me so much.

It may have been a short time compared to normal families, but we had our share of smiles and love; their memory keeps me going even now that I've lost them.

Now, I want other children to be able to smile as well. I want everyone to have happy memories that keep them going too, just like I have of my parents. The love that my parents taught me to give is a precious thing.'

"True to her word, Touka still visits the Wakaba House, bringing smiles and courage for all the kids. She had shown us orphans firsthand that we could still grow up to be amazing people, and she continues to do so as the Raikiri, one of the strongest student knights in Japan."

With so much revealed to him, Ayato was finally able to grasp the source of Touka's strength. It was benevolence, giving her the ability to wield unrivaled power for the benefit of others. Touka Toudou naturally held goodwill toward others.

When Ayato had caught a glimpse of a fragment of Touka's good-natured spirit as she cooked for others, it naturally caught his attention. Her naturally good heart, the core of her strength, was vital information that he couldn't afford to overlook.

"Ayato, you're strong. Stronger than I imagined, to be honest. I wouldn't stand a chance against you, and even Kanata would have a lot of beating you, but even you can defeat Touka if you get a little stronger.

Her strength is special; she knows just what it would mean and how many people she would disappoint if she lost. So she won't bend, and she definitely won't break. The two of you simply carry different weights."

Utakata thought of a perverted proposal for Ayato to listen to.

I Know that You Ayato love looking at Women's racks too if You Won Against Touka in a Your Selection Match,You get to have sex with Kanta. If You lose, You got to have sex with Touka for a week.

"You got a Deal, Dude" Ayato

I know I'm nothing like that. Ayato had gotten to where he was believing only in his own self-worth. He'd never relied on Nene, only pushing onward to become his ideal self.

The weight that Utakata spoke of didn't guide Ayato's' sword. The hopes of others didn't ride on it.

That fact manifested as something like a Violet, formless haze that coiled around Ayato's heart.

"Can your sword, so free of weight, defeat her?" it asked him.

The curry they ate for lunch was made with garlic rice instead of white.

The dish, Ayato learned, had been concocted by Utakata, Touka, and Kanata through trial and error in their orphanage days, back when they needed to make a cheap meal that everyone would enjoy.

The curry roux that Touka brought in plastic containers was mixed with the taste of savory beef tendon, and when combined with the fragrant garlic rice, it made for a delicious meal.

It was the most enjoyable curry Ayato had ever eaten—he devoured it so greedily that he accidentally overrated it.

Stella, however, didn't bother much with it despite usually eating four times as much as the average person. Perhaps she just wasn't a big fan of it.

After waiting a while for their food to digest, Touka split everyone into groups for the coming treks.

Walking in the mountains alone was extremely dangerous even for Blazers, so Touka and Utakata were one group, Saijou and Renren another, and Ayato and Stella a third, while Kanata remained at the campsite that served as their home base in case of emergency.

The groups then split off and began the hunt.

Their objective: finding and securing the giant.

Ayato and Stella made way for the western side of the forested mountains.

Unlike normal mountain trails traveled by hikers, the area they were in was a facility for Blazer training.

As such, the paths were left unbeaten for training purposes, allowing them to become overgrown with trees and grass.

Adding to that, they were walking uphill as the area was at an incline, making it all the more treacherous.

No, if it were merely treacherous, it would pose little challenge for Ayato and Stella, who regularly honed their bodies.

"Ugh, again?" With his left hand, Ayato seized a shadow that had sprung out of the bushes—a pit viper with its fangs bared, marking the third time that had happened.

Even ignoring the difficulty of walking, the ambushes were annoying. Still, he merely tossed it away with a flick of his wrist and turned his attention to Stella.

"Looks like there are a lot of venomous snakes out here. They won't kill you, but you should still be careful."

"…Okay."

There was little excitement in Stella's voice. In fact, she was visibly dispirited.

If she'd still had her vigor from earlier, she would have taken the lead and pushed her way through the foliage, but instead, she trudged slowly behind Ayato with slumped shoulders and hunched back.

"What's wrong? Did losing at badminton get you down that much?"

Her earlier match with Renren had ended in defeat. Stella had misjudged the strength of her smash, leading to her own undoing by hitting the birdie out of the court.

"No, I don't care about that…"

She denied what he thought to be the source of her sulkiness, but her response was clearly noncommittal, almost as if she herself didn't know why she felt so down.

Seriously, I wonder what's wrong.

Ayato cocked his head in confusion at his girlfriend's unusual state, unable to grasp just how profound the change was.

Maybe she's not used to walking these mountain trails.

"Stay close to me," he told her. "We don't want to get separated."

Ayato held the foliage apart to let Stella through, but that was a mistake.

The change in Stella's mood was not something to be ignored.

I don't think I like how the sky looks. Rain, maybe?

After about two hours of walking along the rarely-trod path, Ayato stared up through the overgrown trees.

He had heard that mountain weather could change at a moment's notice, but the clear sky's dazzling blue being so quickly replaced with a dull gray was extreme to say the least.

It seemed liable to start raining at any second, and the air was chilly at their increased altitude.

"Hm?" When Ayato resumed looking forward, he immediately noticed something strange: fallen trees.

Not just one or two, either, but area's topsoil had been turned up, exposing the subsoil beneath.

It was as if some giant creature had crawled up out of the earth, uprooting and displacing the trees, deforesting the nearly twenty-foot diameter gouge.

Nearby, he could see what seemed like almost half-yard footprints dug into the muddy soil.

"What in the world?!" Instead of a monster, the footprints had a striking resemblance to those of a human.

No human could possibly grow to that size, of course, so they couldn't have been made by one; they must have been the rumored giant's.

"Hey, Stella? Do you think…"

"Haah, haah…" Ayato called out to Stella to confirm his bizarre finding, but noticed that she was leaning against a tree, almost hyperventilating.

"Stella? Are you tired— Stella?! Why are you sweating so much?!" He had thought she was leaning on it because she was tired, but that was wrong.

When he saw her, he noticed that despite the cool air temperature, her face was bright red and an incredible amount of sweat had collected on her forehead.

It was strange no matter how he looked at it.

"I-I'm not sure… It's getting really hard to move my body. And I'm so dizzy and nauseous…

Hey, Ayato, I need to ask you something." Stella languidly lifted her reddened face and looked at Ayato.

The severity in her eyes showed a spark of resolution;

it was plain to see that her question was of utmost importance.

What was she going to ask? Ayato swallowed and pressed her to speak.

"What is it?" So weak she was about to fall to her knees, she asked him:

"Can you get pregnant from kissing?"

"…No, Stella." Ayato didn't want to imagine that he was some sort of creature that could impregnate girls through mere lip contact.

"I think you're probably sick."

"You mean lovesick…?" "No, you've probably just got a cold. You look like you've got a fever."

"O-Oh, I see. So this is the 'cold' everyone talks about."

"Stella, have you never actually caught a cold?"

"Never. This is why… other kids had to stay home from school, right? I was so jealous of them back then, but now…" Stella grinned bitterly.

It was the first time her own body had ever resisted her so much, so she had only just come to understand how bad her condition was.

Japan's hot, humid climate must have reduced her immunity to disease.

"Anyway, we aren't going to make much progress like this. Let's head back."

"H-Hang on… We just found a clue."

"You can barely move though, right? The clue can wait."

"No, I'm fine. See… H-Huh?"

"Stella!" When she attempted to pull herself away from the tree that supported her, Stella began to sway, nearly collapsing.

Fortunately, Ayato moved quickly, supporting her just before she fell.

In doing so, he realized that she was abnormally hot—hot enough to feel through her clothes.

This is worse than I thought.

Because Stella didn't notice that she was sick, she had pushed herself beyond her limit, making her condition even worse.

They had to get off the mountain immediately, so Ayato, resolving to do just that, picked up his girlfriend princess style.

"I'm taking you back, whether you want me to or not."

"O-Oh…"

Stella looked a little discontent, but she didn't resist once it was clear that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Of course, she didn't have enough energy to resist anyway, no matter how she felt.

Thus, she merely surrendered herself to Ayato, breathing heavily all the while.

I need to get her off this mountain and to a doctor.

Ayato's legs were strong enough to run down a mountain while carrying another person without too much difficulty. It wouldn't take too long to reach the base.

Or so he thought, but it wouldn't be so easy. A few small raindrops began to fall from the lead-colored sky before giving way to torrential rainfall.

It was one of the so-called "guerrilla squalls" that had become increasingly common as a result of Japan's subtropical climate.

"Ugh, this is really bad timing!"

Ayato didn't mind getting wet, but it was a problem for Stella.

If she got a cold, her immunity would fall even more; she would be lucky to get off with just a cold.

If anything happened to exacerbate her cold even further, it could turn into pneumonia, an outcome they had to avoid at all costs to prevent her selection battles from being affected.

That's it! There was a cabin for emergency refuge on the way up here! Ayato changed course the moment he recalled it.

Deciding that they would first sit out the rain, he gave up on getting off the mountain.

There was some distance between them and the cabin, so the pair was soaked when they finally arrived.

In order to dry their wet clothes, Ayato started a fire in the cabin's hearth using some firewood that had been kept inside.

He then used his student handbook's phone function to call Kanata, who was still waiting at the campsite.

"Stella collapsed?!"

"Yeah. I took her to a nearby cabin to wait for the rain to stop."

"My, my. How is she doing?"

"My guess is it's a bad cold, but I can't say for sure without talking to a doctor."

"Very well. I'll send help immediately."

"Thank you. As for the giant, we found footprints that seem to fit the description, along with traces of something huge rising up from the earth. The giant may be underground."

"Underground…? It's rather hard to believe that something so large could live underground, but very well.

We will take over the investigation of what you've found.

You two should remain in the cabin and rest until help arrives.

It will probably take about two hours.

It's gotten quite cold outside, so don't forget to dry your wet bodies."

"Of course. Thanks again."

Ayato hung up the phone and threw the last of their firewood into the hearth. The room had already gotten much warmer.

"All right, now we can dry our clothes." Ayato removed his soaked clothing until he was wearing only his pants, laying it out in front of the hearth.

Then he spoke to Stella, who was leaning against the wall and taking deep, pained breaths.

"You should strip too, Stella. It's a little embarrassing, I guess, but it's better than letting your cold get worse."

"…Okay." Stella and Ayato may have been dating, but they were only close enough to be comfortable kissing.

She would no doubt be reluctant to bare her skin so early in their relationship, but she didn't grumble over it.

She peeled off her soaked uniform jacket and moved her hands to her skirt, knowing full well that there was no room for her to be stubborn.

It was critical that she didn't allow her condition to worsen even more.

"Ah."

"Stella!" When she did, she collapsed. It was the first time in her life that she had been in such poor condition.

Because she had so carelessly worsened her cold, the resulting loss of strength was enough to leave her powerless to even strip.

Ayato, who caught her before she hit the ground, knew that.

He could still feel her body temperature through her clothes, and it was even higher than it had been earlier.

Her condition was getting worse, and he didn't want to force her to do anything more, so he made a bold proposal.

"Stella, um, why don't you let me do it for you." Her ruby eyes bulged when she heard the suggestion.

Embarrassing as it was for her to expose herself, for Ayato to do it was entirely out of the question.

Even so, Stella nodded ever so slightly and replied quickly.

"Yeah… Please." She surrendered herself to Ayato, as she knew that he was forcing down his own embarrassment solely for the sake of her health.

Keep it together, Ayato.

Knowing that Stella was putting aside her worries in accepting his proposal, Ayato again monopolized himself fiercely.

It was out of the question for him to make light of the situation and embarrass her more; he was the only one who could help her.

Ayato got right to work, moving clinically and promptly to remove Stella's clothes in order to avoid embarrassing her.

He couldn't think any sexy thoughts.

Okay.

Once Ayato had sufficiently cautioned himself, he reached his hands toward Stella's clothes. First were her stockings, which clung to her skin.

They would probably have the worst effect on her given that they adhered so tightly to her body, so he unclipped the garter belt connected to them.

Then, one at a time, he stuck his finger under her stockings, pulling them down slowly.

Her snow-white legs were revealed as her black stockings peeled off.

Well Developed from constant long-term exertion, their length emphasized just how slender and supple they were.

Though Ayato tried to calm himself, he couldn't help but gulp down saliva.

That his very hands were what bared her legs only served to make things worse.

He was all but forced to notice how alluring they were.

The moment Ayato finally separated the wet stockings from Stella's beautiful pedicured toenails, he felt a powerful shock run down his body.

He had become painfully aware of the naïveté of his plan.

I can't keep doing this without going insane.

Being as robotic as necessary wouldn't have been a problem if it were any other girl, but it was the girl he loved most in the world, and he was stripping off her clothes one article at a time.

Very few actions were quite as sensual, and every time more of Stella's skin was exposed, her sweet scent would tickle his nose.

Just removing her stockings had Ayato's heart beating so hard he thought it would tear through his chest.

Would he be able to survive taking her shirt off?

But… Ayato took a quick glance at Stella's face, which was red enough that it seemed ready to catch fire.

The wetness of her eyes was clearly because of more than just her illness.

I have to be reliable for her right now.

"Stella, you can take it easy. It'll be okay," Ayato assured her with a smile, hoping to assuage her shyness even just a bit.

"O-Okay…"

It came as no surprise that she remained stiff despite her affirmative response.

Given how embarrassed he was, Ayato could only imagine how bad it must have been for her; taking it easy would be impossible.

The only thing he could do for her was to get it over with quickly.

With that resolve, he moved his hands to the buttons on her shirt and undid them from top to bottom, taking care not to linger for too long.

The shirt had absorbed a lot of rainwater; it clung to Stella's round, bountiful breasts so that their shape was clearly discernible.

He had to make sure he lifted the buttons before undoing them, but he carefully, gently did so in order to avoid touching her as he undid her top.

Once he had undone the bottommost button, Ayato moved his hands to her shirt collar and pulled it open.

The wet shirt resisted, but it eventually slipped over Stella's shoulders, removing the veil that concealed her bare skin.

Her throat moved seductively as she breathed.

Her large breasts were crammed tightly into a lace brassiere.

Her porcelain-colored upper body, toned yet not lacking in feminine softness, that quivered slightly with every breath.

The entirety of Stella's form, slick and shiny from the rain and sweat, was fully revealed.

That arousing sparkle seemed to short-circuit Ayato's brain.

His throat was drier than a desert, and he was assailed with the desire to kiss her soft, sweet smelling skin.

He wanted to run his tongue along it, to occasionally nibble at it, and to wet his throat with her moisture, but he kept his restraint to the last.

What am I thinking? Stella is in pain!

He demanded himself to push down the urges rising up from within in an attempt to maintain self-control.

If he couldn't do that, his emotions would burst out of him.

"Hey, Ayato…? I want you to… take off my bra."

Stella, now in only her underwear, said something scandalous.

"…Huh?! Uh, wh-what was that?"

"It hurts so much to breathe… I just need you to unhook it."

With every labored breath, her chest heaved greatly.

He realized that the bra restraining her chest was probably doing more harm than good, especially considering how large her breasts were.

Should I…? Ayato was honestly unsure. Stella was in pain, though, which meant saying no wasn't an option.

He was the one who had offered to do it, and she was the one who had placed her trust in him.

"O-Oh, um, yeah. Okay. Got it." Feigning calm, Ayato nodded. S

tella's bra was the front closure kind, but it also had straps, so just unhooking it wouldn't be enough to make it fall off completely.

This is fine. I won't see anything. I'll be fine. I'll be just fine.

Ayato repeated that mentally as if trying to persuade himself, then extended his index finger to the front hook and undid it.

The moment he did, Stella's breasts bounced as they seemingly burst out of the bra, finally freed from their confines.

"Ah…!"

That was tempting enough to deal a fatal blow to the last of Ayato's battered restraint.

He had seen it coming, however, and had already taken measures against it.

The instant he unhooked the bra, Ayato bit his tongue as hard as he could in a way that ensured that Stella wouldn't notice.

The sudden pain erased all of Ayato's impure thoughts and reconnected the thread of restraint that had snapped before.

What am I even fighting against? Having made it through the predicament, Ayato felt miserable.

He believed himself to be pretentious, fretting over a woman's bare body and trying to hide it.

If he only had more experience with girls, he could have kept some amount of composure.

Whatever. It's too late to complain about it.

One way or another, he had successfully carried out his manly duty.

He had coolly maintained his self-control, undressing Stella without letting his inward panic show on his face.

Surely, he had minimized the awkwardness Stella had to face.

"H-Here, get under this towel. It's cold at this altitude." Ayato draped a towel he'd found in the cabin over Stella's shoulders.

Then, with a faint voice, Stella thanked Ayato for his help. "Sorry for making you do all this, Ayato."

"It's not your fault you caught a cold. Especially since this is your first summer in Japan."

"Yeah, but… you seem like… you're in pain."

"Huh? I do?"Ayato was flustered. He thought he hadn't shown any emotion, but Stella wasn't looking at his face.

With an expression that was somewhere between surprise or bewilderment, she was looking much lower, around his waist area.

I have a terrible feeling about this…

"I mean… it's really, really big right now." Following her line of sight, Ayato looked down toward his hips and saw that a certain part of his body had missed the memo about staying calm.

"…Oh." Ayato was full of vigor in a way that he didn't want to be.

There wasn't any way for him to fool Stella, and even more embarrassingly, he was that excited while wearing a completely blank expression.

He wanted to die.

"AAhaha… S-So, there's this thing with men, where, like, even if you're not thinking those thoughts, part of your body disagrees, and, uh, I'd really appreciate it if you could be lenient with me here."

Too ashamed to even look at Stella, Ayato averted his eyes and started mumbling excuses.

In response, however, a smile spread gently across her sweaty face.

"Uh-uh… Don't apologize… It is… really embarrassing, yeah, but… like I said at the pool before, I wouldn't mind if it was with you… Actually, I'm really happy that I get you so excited." Ah… Dizzy beyond belief, Ayato was about ready to fall on his face.

Perhaps due to the fever, Stella looked different from usual.

Her drooped shoulders and wet eyes seemed so meek and fragile;

Ayato couldn't handle her saying such cute things to him.

He wanted to yank her into a hug and kiss her.

"Hey, Ayato?" Stella began, turning her eyes upward to peek at him. "Do you… wanna do it?"

"…Huh?" He didn't understand the earth-shattering question she had just asked.

After a mere moment of pure confusion, he realized just how deadly that question was and screamed in shock.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?! H-Hey, Stella, you do know what you just said, right?!"

"Yeah… I do."

"Ngh!"

Ayato was reflected in her ruby eyes, clouded somewhat by the fever yet harboring an undeniable seriousness.

She wasn't just blurting out whatever came to mind because she was sick; Stella was asking that question sincerely, and Ayato knew it.

Gulp. What was he supposed to say, though? Should he tell the truth? There was only one honest answer to that question:

"Yes, of course." He felt that way in many different situations. Whenever they kissed, held hands, hugged…

Ayato had felt that inner urge countless times before. It was natural and unavoidable; he was a boy, and she was a girl.

Them wanting one another as members of the opposite sex was the obvious outcome.

Still, putting that into words was a different story.

Humanity as a species confirms intent through speech, after all. Consent between two parties becomes a shared decision.

If Ayato replied honestly and Stella agreed to it…

It wouldn't end with just our words after that! He didn't have the confidence to bring it to that end.

Even if he was able to follow through, when they returned to their dorm and Stella recovered, he would be uncontrollable.

That couldn't be made to pass; the sequence of events was wrong.

"Sorry, I can't answer that right now," he said, staring right back into Stella's serious, ruby eyes.

"Stella, I love you, and I wish I could tell the entire world.

I'd tell anyone—Shizuku, Alice,& Aunt Kurono, Haruka & My Parents, strangers… even your parents, because I think this is the purest, most wonderful emotion I've ever felt.

But… if our relationship turned into that right now, I'd feel guilty facing your parents. I wouldn't be able to be proud about it."

Ayato and Stella were both adults; they had little to no reason to be afraid of what others thought.

Even so, Ayato believed that there was a right way to handle such important things. Stella was a treasure to her parents, who had raised her with care. To lay a hand on her without so much as greeting them would be unreasonable.

"I'm sorry," he said, apologizing again for his failure to answer her question.

"My thoughts may be a bit too outdated and stuffy, but this is one point I can't budge on, even if you think I'm a wuss because of it." He wasn't especially overjoyed by the current situation surrounding their relationship.

Ideally, they would be able to make it public immediately, because then he could proudly tell anyone and everyone about his love for her. Sadly, that wasn't possible; if they went public, it would be a scandal.

It didn't matter that Stella wanted to be in the relationship, that alone would lower her standing as a public figure. With the impending Seven Stars Battle Festival, they had to avoid that outcome; in Ayato's opinion, it was all the more important to keep a clear line between them in public. "I don't think you're a wuss." Stella intertwined her fingers with Ayato's and a smile appeared on her face, red with fever.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I got all weird with you when you were just thinking about me." She returned his apology with a red-hot blush that wasn't because of the sickness. "I love you, and I wish I could tell the entire world."

I didn't know he loved me that much. Stella had never realized just how much Ayato was thinking and doing for her sake.

She thought only of the boy in front of her, but he was keeping an eye on those supporting her from behind as well while continuously working to make their relationship even better as they moved forward.

It moved Stella profoundly, as it was proof that he cherished their relationship and wanted to handle it with care. But what am I doing?

Ayato is so pure, and then there's me. Just taking off her clothes had gotten her so excited that she forgot her principles—a theme that seemed to be more common than ever before.

The thought of how immoral she had acted made Stella even more ashamed of her thoughtlessness.

"Maybe the fever is making me a little crazy. I'll take a little nap." Successfully blaming it on the cold, Stella wrapped herself in the towel and laid down.

"Sure. I'll watch the fire." Ayato didn't bother to keep up the conversation. After being made to say as much as he did, why would he say any more? He probably thought he'd insulted her, too. Those anxieties tormented Stella, making her want to tear herself apart. But… I wish he would've said yes.

Though she was happy that Ayato was so serious about their relationship, and though her mind was turning into mush from the fever, Stella couldn't get her mind off Ikki's vague response. Reading into the context of the situation, she could easily guess the answer he hadn't been able to give her.

She didn't just want to imagine it, however; she couldn't help but want to hear his voice as his lips formed the words. Believing he would say it one day, she began to wonder if rushing it would be a mistake. She couldn't decide, but she did become painfully aware of one thing: I must be some kind of pervert.

It wasn't long after their delicate talk that Stella started snoring from within her towel, but that only lasted about thirty minutes. When she opened her eyes again, her condition had stabilized considerably; the waterfall of sweat had ceased, and it was easier for her to breathe. Her cheeks remained rosy red, but that alone wasn't enough to develop into pneumonia. Ayato was sitting next to her, relieved to see that she looked better, so she sat up.

If she's this much better, maybe it's okay to talk now

He would have preferred that she continued resting until help arrived, but whether Stella simply hated being still or the embarrassment from their previous talk had resurfaced, she began talking endlessly about pointless things like what was going on at school.

Ayato enjoyed listening to her, of course, but there was a question he wanted to ask Stella. After confirming that she was energetic enough to carry on conversation, he changed the subject.

"Hey, Stella."

"Yeah?"

"What are your parents like?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, we're dating. We'll want to be open about it someday, yeah? I can't just go my whole life without at least meeting them, so before I do, I'd like to know what they're like."

There was no way Ayato could get around meeting Stella's parents. In fact, it was an action he felt he had to aim directly for. He wanted to meet them before the Seven Stars was over, and hoped to avoid facing them with a complete lack of information. All he really needed to know was what kind of people they were, so the least he could do was ask.

"Uh, y-yeah, right. That's what being open about it would mean, huh…? Eugh." Stella went pale at the thought. It was such an unsubtle refusal that the word "no" might as well have been tattooed across her forehead. "Ayato, uh, just a thought: What if we hide it until right before we get married?"

"No, I'm pretty sure that's not going to work. Going completely public can wait that long, sure, but at the very minimum, I have to meet your parents."

"Don't worry, Daddy'll be okay if his little girl tells him, 'Oopsie, I forgot'."

"That doesn't sound like an 'oopsie'. You might give him a heart attack if you're not careful."

Thinking from her father's perspective,Ayato was sure that getting his daughter's wedding invitation alongside the morning paper would end poorly. Just spitting his coffee everywhere would be the absolute best outcome.

"Aww, but—"

"Do you want to avoid letting me meet your parents that badly?"

"Ugh…" Forced into the heart of the issue, Stella could only groan and nod. "My mom is normal, honest. But my dad is kinda eccentric, and he adores me. If he heard that the two of us were dating…"

"He might be against it?"

"No, I don't think he would."

"Then we should be fine—"

"It's not about whether he approves or not; he'd probably make sure you disappear the moment you set foot in the Vermillion Empire."

That didn't sound fine at all.

"Hey, he's an emperor, right? A real, actual emperor? Let's not joke around here…"

"It's not a joke."

Ayato felt an awful headache coming on, but not because he'd been infected with Stella's cold. Probably.

If he wanted their love to be proper, meeting her parents was something that absolutely had to be done—no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It was the one thing Ayato couldn't escape doing. No matter who his foe, his only option was to face them head-on, so Ayato did his best to view Emperor Vermillion in a positive light.

"W-Well, that's probably just because he loves you, right? He sounds like a nice dad."

"He just doesn't know how to cut the cord. When I told him I wanted to study abroad, he cried and begged me not to."

"I mean, anyone would be against it if you told them you were going abroad to find people stronger than you."

"True. The only way I got out of there was because Mom pulled some strings and got him thrown in prison."

"'Pulled some strings'?! What strings do you have to pull to imprison the emperor?!

Stella, you said your mom is normal, but this doesn't sound normal at all!"

"Ooh, I know! If we just have Mom do that again…"

"No! Absolutely not! I'll just meet him normally!"

"Huh? You know you'll die, right?"

"How can you say that it's inevitable?!" Ayato recoiled slightly at how seriously she answered him, but if that was what it took to be with Stella, he was ready for it.

"I'm glad you're worried about me, and it seems like it'll be tough from what you've said, but this is the one thing I can't run away from. I want to meet your father and do what I can to make him accept me. As a man, it's something I have to do." Ayato's voice was filled with great resolve—resolve that could not be made to waver. Knowing as much, Stella sighed.

"Okay, fine. We can go see him in Vermillion." Her face broke into a smile as she lay her head on Ayato's shoulder. "Maybe I wouldn't mind introducing him to my amazing boyfriend."

"Thank you, Stella." Ayato stroked Stella's crimson hair as she rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, eyes closed blissfully.

Her bliss was short-lived, however; her face quickly clouded over, as if she'd suddenly remembered something important.

"Oh, Ayato? One more thing," she began solemnly. "Do I have to meet your parents & older Sister too?"

She seemed uncomfortable with the prospect. That was to be expected; she knew Ayato's relationship with his family—barring Shizuku,Kurono,Haruka & His Parents—was rocky at best.

The question disturbed Ayato's smile as well. He didn't know whether it was necessary for her to meet them, or even if he was considered a member of the family anymore. He had disobeyed their orders and Kidnapped from Home.

Does my Stepfather still consider me his Stepson? Ayato pondered, remembering the look on his Stepfather's face.

"Good question," he replied after thinking at length. "I think it's an important thing to do, so how about we go visit the Kuroganes & Kuchikis after the Seven Stars?"

If nothing else, Ayato thought of his Stepfather as family. He never once thought that he had been treated like a son, but Masatsugu & Itsuki were still the two fathers he had. He hoped that one day they would come to understand each other, so he carried on believing that they were still family

"Okay, sure," Stella nodded. She had some misgivings about Ikki's suggestion. Kurono, Shizuku, and even Ikki himself had told her so much about the mistreatment he faced from his family.

"You're worthless with your uncontrolled talent, so you should remain worthless with your uncontrolled Talent ." Was that something a Stepfather could say to his own flesh and blood? To not only abandon your child, but to actively crush his opportunities?

Stella, who had been loved by her parents for her entire life, could say with certainty that their relationship was messed up.

It simply wasn't something a parent would do, hence she was apprehensive. He still thinks of them as family. Ayato's assessment of his situation was very naïve, perhaps enough that it would come to hurt him more deeply than ever.

Stella couldn't just tell him outright that his father no longer thought of him as his child, though. What sort of monster could say something so atrocious? Her only option was to believe that Ayato's family wouldn't betray his expectations.

Silence fell between the two of them for a moment, but they both looked up when they noticed that the ground was shaking.

"Hm? What's happening? An earthquake?" It seemed different than an earthquake. The motion they felt was less of a quaking and more of a swaying.

It wasn't just a one-time thing, either; it was happening in set intervals, almost as if something massive was striking the ground repeatedly.

"Do you think this is the giant's footsteps?" The sight they'd seen about half an hour earlier came to mind. Gouged-out earth, trees scattered about, and giant footprints. It wouldn't have been surprising for something with feet that big to create such tremors as it walked.

The sight they'd seen about half an hour earlier came to mind. Gouged-out earth, trees scattered about, and giant footprints. It wouldn't have been surprising for something with feet that big to create such tremors as it walked.

Ayato wasn't the type to believe in things like the Headless Horseman or the Loch Ness Monster, but he and Stella had found a clear footprint before. He believed it was the most likely explanation, so he stood up.

"I'll take a look," he said. "That's why we came here today, anyway."

"I'm coming too!" Stella cried as she attempted to stand and follow him.

"Nope." Ayato pushed her forehead away with his pointer finger, using enough force to make her fall on her backside.

"Wh-Why not?! I wanna see the giant too!"

"If it does turn out to be a giant, and if it's violent, I may have to fight it. You ought to stay here and rest since you're sick."

"Aww." Stella puffed out her cheeks like a spoiled child, but Ayato's stern look forced her to reluctantly obey.

He then headed to the entrance of the cabin, leaving her behind, and put his ear against the thin wooden door, where he listened carefully, surveying the situation outside.

Thud. Thud.

The sounds were close. The vibrations at his feet revealed that the epicenter was very close by.

"Come to me, Ryuuzetsu."

Weaving together those magic words, Ayato materialized his long sword, black as a raven.

Then, he took a deep breath to calm himself before hurling himself toward the door, leaping out of the cabin.

When he got outside, he found only an uninhabited forest and harsh rainfall.

It was the exact same as it had been when he'd carried Stella over.

What's going on here?

The sounds and vibrations were definitely real, but the massive being that created them was absent.

When he thought about it, he realized that the sounds and vibrations had ceased the moment he'd opened the door.

"What on earth happened?" Bewildered, Ayato turned back toward the cabin. "Huh?"

There, he saw a rock giant, standing over fifteen feet tall, in front of the door. On his way out of the cabin, he had actually walked between its legs.

Ayato stood and stared blankly, stunned at the unbelievable sight, but it was nothing compared to the horror of what happened next.

The giant had decided, of all things, to swing its massive arm down onto the roof of the cabin—the very cabin that Stella lay sick within.

"S-Stellaaa!" It took no time at all for the cabin to be crushed to bits under the monster's phenomenal strength.

"Rgh…!" "Ah?! Wh-What?! What's happening?!" Stella screamed from within Ayato's arms. They were a hair's breadth away from disaster.

In the milliseconds before the cabin was destroyed, Ayato had activated Sonido. "Rgh…!"

"Ah?! Wh-What?! What's happening?!" Stella screamed from within Ayato's arms. They were a hair's breadth away from disaster. In the milliseconds before the cabin was destroyed, Ayato had used his immense speed to save Stella from being crushed.

"Stella, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. But what the heck…?"

"Take a look." Ayato glanced at the rock giant.

"There really is a giant here."

"Huh…?" Stella followed his line of sight to find the source of all the destruction.

"What?! That looks nothing like I imagined it would!"

"Focus on the actual problem!" Stella was right, though. Instead of the large human they'd envisioned, the giant was a humanoid monster constructed of rocks that had been piled together. Its appearance made one question if it even was a living creature. Whether it was alive or not, one thing was clear: the rock giant definitely had the intention of harming Ayato and Stella. In fact, it was already following up on its first attack, again swinging a massive arm in their direction.

"Ngh!" Ayato leaped to the side, avoiding the attack with Stella in tow. Behind him, the earth shattered under the immense force. Not even a Blazer would have been able to withstand an attack like that. The only option they had left was to take down the monster before that became an issue, so Ayato set Stella down and confronted the giant, Ryuuzetsu in hand.

"Are you sure you want to fight that thing? I'm not sure your sword will work too well."

I am Generation remember i can handle this

At this Moment Ayato starts to generate his Cryo Lightning in his Ryuuzetsu & hand, He slams his cryo electrified hand & sword into the ground and fires off a channel of cryo electricity at all of the giants.

"A Noble Art! Stella, our enemy is a Blazer! Keep your eyes peeled!"

"Ayato, behind you!"

Responding to Stella's cry, Ayato shocked at a rockman that was charging in to punch him.

There was a loud clang!, and the reverberation of his blade against hard rock shook his arm.

All he had accomplished was making a large fissure within the rock & the ground.

Stella!" Witnessing the horror from a gap between rockmen, Ayato screamed her name, but screaming would do nothing.

He couldn't break through the crowd fast enough. With Stella so enfeebled, being attacked would put her in immense danger—

"Hyaaah!" Before he could finish his thought, Stella had, with one swing of Lævateinn, shattered all five of the rockmen who had leaped at her.

She hadn't just dealt with the danger encroaching on her, though; she had blown away the rockmen surrounding Ayato with the force of her attack, smashing and destroying them with ease as she ran to his side.

"Oh? That's not the sick girl I remember."

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised too. Guess I don't know the limits of my own strength." Ayato wondered if she should say something like that about herself, but in his shock, he just nodded.

"I can already move more freely now that I've rested a bit. I'll fight with you; I have a much better chance against monsters like these than you do with Your Generation powers." It was true; Stella's superhuman strength meant she could smash the rocks with brute force rather than having to cut through them. But no matter how strong she was, she was sick. Ayato didn't want her to overwork herself, but he would make little to no progress fighting alone. If he had to choose—

"Now, now. You shouldn't push yourself when you're sick, Stella " An out-of-place, frivolous voice rang through the battlefield. Just as suddenly, the source of that voice appeared before them.

"Vice President Misogi!"

"Hey, kids. I'm here to help!"

"You got here fast," Ayato replied. "I was told it would take another half hour."

"Ahaha! Well, you know me—I like to do the impossible. No big deal " Utakata winked at them.

"Grooaaar!" Behind him, as if haphazardly attacking anything that moved, the monster bellowed and swung its rock fist down at his head.

Thanks to Ten'i Muhou, its stiff fist had only struck a glancing blow on Ayato earlier, but a direct hit would shatter a human's comparatively soft skull with ease.

"Misogi, behind you!" Despite Ayato's warning of the impending danger, Utakata stayed where he was and grinned, not moving even a muscle to evade the attack. The rock fist connected, lopping the head right off Utakata's shoulders.

"Wha—?!"

"Eek!" Ayato and Stella watched in horror. With that much power behind the blow, Utakata's head exploded like a tomato. His tiny body was then thrown into the mud, unmoving.

"Gotcha! Fell for it, didn't you?" The boy who had died mere seconds before was piggyback-riding the rockman that had killed him, laughing as if nothing had happened.

"Aha! Sorry, I've always wanted to say that."

"…Huh? Wh-Whaaat?!" Stella was so dumbfounded that she couldn't help but yell. Ayato was silent, but stupefied nonetheless.

He was sure he had just seen Utakata's head pulverized before him, with blood and bits of bone flying through the air.

The grotesque sight was still fresh in his memory; it had definitely happened, but reality told her otherwise. The completely unrealistic result could only have been caused by one thing.

"It's a Noble Art. One related to interfering with cause and effect, at that."

"Correct!" Utakata nodded and congratulated Ayato.

Many lineages of Blazer abilities existed;

Ayato's Cryo Dragon Breath Manipulated Nature & Stella's Dragon Breath Also manipulated nature, and Ayase Ayatsuji's Mark of the Wind manipulated concepts.

The rarest form of Blazer abilities also happened to be the strongest: manipulation of cause and effect.

His statement made Ayato recall a certain event.

Back when they had first met at the restaurant, Fifty-Fifty had healed Ayato's injury with a mere touch.

At the time, Ayato had no idea what power lay within that skill.

I was never injured at all. He overwrote that event entirely.

So this is the power known as the strongest of all Noble Art forms? He shuddered at the thought.

Ayato had seen plenty of abilities, but Fifty-Fifty's was the most aberrant of all. He couldn't even begin to imagine how he would defeat such a Noble Art.

For the moment, though, he was thankful for Utakata's irregular power.

With him on their side, finding their way out of the ambush would be a cinch.

Ayato and Stella both expected as such, but…

"That should make this an easy victory! Help us out, Misogi. We can take these things down all at once!"

"Nope, that's not happening." Utakata quickly shot down Stella's request.

"Huh? Wh-Why not?!" "

Thing is, my Black Box can only control events that potentially exist.

Even a one percent chance is a one hundred percent chance if I do it, but for events that can't exist, such as someone of my strength winning this, it has no effect.

So while one is equal to a hundred, zero is still zero.

You two may have been breaking those rocks like it was just another day on the job, but people of ordinary strength like me can't perform those crazy battle manga feats.

Especially not a cute, weak little boy like me!"

"So that's your ability's weakness?"

"Yep. If I could do whatever I wanted, you'd see me in the selection battles, but Black Box is limited to events that are possible in the first place. To put it bluntly, if I can't win on my own, then I can't squat."

For someone as frail as Utakata, the range of possibilities was greatly decreased. Knowing that, Utakata chose not to enter the Seven Stars selection battles.

"Then why are you even here?!" Stella addressed the elephant in the room. Bringing in someone who couldn't fight would just make things more difficult.

"To save you, duh." Utakata shot her a smile that hid a deeper meaning and hopped down from the rockman's back.

"But like I said, fighting isn't my specialty. I'm just here to navigate her with a one hundred percent success rate —no more, no less. Your turn, Touka."

He looked up the mountainside, toward a gentle slope. At the edge of the forest, a small area had been cleared out to make room for a cabin.

"Okay! Thank you for guiding me here, Uta." The glasses-wearing girl with chestnut hair stood there, her sword shining golden with static electricity.

"Toudou…"

"Things got a little hairy there, but I'm glad you're both safe." Touka looked toward Ayato and Stella with damp eyes and sighed with relief. She then tightened her face once more and leaned forward, preparing to charge the monsters that had been set upon the pair. "You two can relax. I'll take it from here."

"Wait, Touka!" Stella cried, trying to stop her from being reckless. "Swords don't work on them! You can't fight incomprehensible things like them alone! I'll help—

"I'm fine," Touka replied before Stella could finish her sentence. "I know their weakness."

"What?!"

"Using magic to sic inorganic material on others is one of the favored methods of puppet masters," Touka explained. "And there's an ironclad rule when it comes to that fighting style: When controlling multiple dolls at once, you don't control them all directly; you set up one of them as a hub to control the others. The greatest benefit of this fighting style is that it hides the Blazer, allowing them to fight safely. Finding the source is the greatest measure to defeat them, which is why they try to minimize the amount of threads leading back to them, but if you think about it the other way around, it means destroying the hub will leave them unable to control their dolls."

Such magic couldn't be used in an arena, which offered no hiding spots—in other words, a student knight would be unfamiliar with the style. Even so, despite their status as student knights, Touka and Kanata had been called on to carry out special missions before, giving them real experience with fighting terrorists. They had full knowledge of styles Ayato and Stella had never seen before.

"Found it. Shippu Jinrai." Touka, using her knowledge and observational skills, instantly picked out the one creature from within the writhing mass of rockmen that connected them all. Activating a Noble Art that boosted her abilities to their limits by stimulating her muscles with electricity, she disappeared in a flash—Or perhaps she didn't disappear, instead leaping directly through enemy lines, aiming straight for the hub.

She moved with lightning speed, faster than the rockmen could even begin to react. While they all stood stock-still like the dolls they were…

"Raikiri!"

…it all ended in a single flash of light. Touka's plasma blade, unleashed at light speed, sliced the hub in two. Every rockman in the area was enveloped in and destroyed by the ensuing blast, powerful enough that one might be convinced that it could blow away even the rain clouds above. When it dissipated, not a single enemy remained standing.

There were no signs of the rockmen reforming. Their invisible foe had given up once his hub was destroyed.

"Wow…" A single word of admiration leaked out of Stella's mouth. "Finding the enemy's weak point with a single glance is amazing, but even more than that, Touka, you've struck an incredible balance between ability and swordplay."

"Absolutely,"

Ayato agreed. He was sure that the balance Raikiri had found was the reason for her strength. Touka had a vast array of applications for her ability. Lightning had high attack power, but it wasn't useful for attacks alone. She could also use it to power herself up physically, bolstering her strength, or cognitively, bolstering her observational skills.

That was where her swordplay came in; with extremely honed abilities and swordplay at her disposal, she could combine the two and make them even stronger.

She was naturally better than Ayato, who focused only on Both swordplay & Power, but by his judgment, her power was greater than even Stella's.

"Honestly, this has been enlightening."

Stella too saw power in Touka that didn't exist within herself, and made a rare yet admirable declaration. Still, she frowned, and Ayato knew why. It was because They had realized that the Crimson Princess & The Cryo Gale Sword Emperor was no match for the Raikiri. Rank A and Rank B. Based on their classifications, there was no mistaking that Stella & Ayato had greater potential. In a year's time, They would probably leave Raikiri in the dust. However, if the two of them were to fight the way they were, Touka was ten times more likely to emerge victorious. Stella's frown was because she knew that was the case.

"Stella?" Touka ran over and called to her.

"I-I heard you collapsed with a fever. Are you okay?" Touka's concern as she dashed toward Stella made her seem like an entirely different person from the one who had just crushed all of those rockmen. She was even paler than Stella, showing just how worried she was.

"Oh, ah, um… I'm much better after taking a short break." Stella tried to calm her with a smile, but Touka pressed her forehead against Stella's and very quickly saw through her lie.

"You're on fire! You say you're fine, but you're clearly not! And look how wet you are! What if you make your cold even worse?!"

"I couldn't help it. The cabin was destroyed when we got attacked." Stella pointed at the cabin's sad remains, to which Touka gave it a worried glance. "Uta, are there any other emergency refuge cabins nearby?" she asked. "Nope. But I think I remember there was a cave a bit north of here."

"Then let's take shelter there for now. We don't want Stella out in the rain, and we have to treat Ayato, too," Touka said, lifting Stella into her arms.

"We're going, Stella."

"Whoa! H-Hey, you don't have to carry me! It's too weird!"

"I don't care. You're sick, so give up and relax." Like a mother admonishing her child, Touka shut Stella right up with a gentle yet forceful command. She then carried her in the direction of the cave

. "Touka lost both of her parents to illness," Utakata muttered just loud enough for Ayato to hear.

"Ever since then, she's always been such a nag about staying in good shape. When she's like that, you might as well just obey her; she'll give you a spanking if you don't."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience, Vice President."

"She's a prodigy in more ways than one. You do not want a spanking from her, what with the way she can snap that wrist." He was definitely speaking from experience. Just like the events back in the council room implied, they've had a long mother-and-unruly-children relationship.

"So, are you good to walk on your own? You can lean on my shoulder if you need to," Utakata offered, keeping in mind Ayato's exhaustion after using Cryo Chidori Stream.

"No, thank you," Ayato replied, shaking his head.

"I can at least walk."

"Good. Let's go." So the party, reunited at last, made their way to the cave that would shelter them from the rain.

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