ut without end.

"It's like you saw him at a senior's lodge one time, and begged him for training thereafter."

"Mu. Hold on a second, Kuu-chan! I've never thought of that geezer as master even once!"

"What are you being shy about? Those clogs are probably also something copied from that person."

"Y-Y-You're wrong! I bought these from mail order to help ease my constipation!"

"Sandals for changing how you walk, huh..."

While patting Saikyou's long-sleeved kimono noisily, Kurono leaked out her honest opinion that "that person is as unfrank about her feelings as ever" about Saikyou who for some reason was becoming irritated, then once again turned her gaze toward Ikki.

"Well even so, if you can see the mechanism so clearly to that extent, it should be understandable to you. Trackless Step can't be broken by your little sister."

"Eh―!"

The declaration of those words, they were the truth of Shizuku's hopeless defeat. It was Stella and Arisuin who raised surprised voices upon hearing them.

But Ikki, though he had a bitter expression, didn't show surprise. Why? Because he had reached that conclusion a long time ago.

"..Really, Ikki? There's no way for her to break Trackless Step!?"

"No, there's a way to break Trackless Step with your own body. It's enough to just voluntarily shift your attention to the unconscious. However, that's easier said than done."

For example, imagine that there was a man thrusting a gun in front of one's eyes. And that man is obviously showing hostility, and pulling the trigger with his finger. In that kind of situation, just about anyone would have his eyes glued to the muzzle. It would be natural, because it was one's life being threatened. Under that kind of situation, would anyone take heed of the man's earring? Would anyone care who the earring's maker was? There was no way anyone would care. No one would consciously recognize inconsequential information, probably. However, in order to break this Trackless Step, one has to take his eyes from the muzzle and focus on the earring beneath that serious situation. That was the task of shifting one's attention onto the unconscious.

"Shizuku is right now exactly in an exchange for her life. In this situation where her opponent is intentionally slipping from her consciousness, it's training in its own way, and if she can't gain free control over/of her own body and consciousness, she won't be able to do it."

For example, if this was someone like Ikki or Stella, even that was probably possible. Because these two people, from the process of learning martial arts, had established almost complete control of their bodies. However, Shizuku was different. She was the best when it came to magic control, but as for controlling her physical body, she was a novice. Therefore, rather than thinking it was an oversight, she would try and concentrate. As a consequence, her field of vision would narrow, and the darkness of her unconscious would deepen. It would give birth to a perfect vicious circle.

"Honestly.. it's very severe for Shizuku, I think."

"That can't be..!"

Of course even Ikki didn't want to imagine Shizuku's defeat. But it was sad that Shizuku and Touka, these two B-Rank knights, had too much of a difference. Whatever additional effort Shizuku tried to start making, she simply couldn't ever make an effective attack on Touka.

And that was with her forte of long range. In a fight without the evenness that comes from distance, the match would become complicated. It would probably be impossible to have a victory in a situation where she's completely pinned down.. Without a doubt, she was being maneuvered into a fatal distance. And that was Raikiri's range.

"..Maybe, there's a possibility that Shizuku has a trump card she can use to deal with Raikiri in close range. But if not..."

To that, Ikki didn't say so daringly. However even if he didn't say it, Stella could understand the words that might follow.

It was mysterious. As far as Stella was concerned, Shizuku was a rival in love. A person who could be nothing more than an obstacle, but still―she understood Shizuku. That right now, what kind of feelings Shizuku had in this fight. How strong the thoughts that Shizuku was dealing with in her chest during this fight. Because she loved the same man, she understood how those feelings hurt.

Because of that―

"Shizuku―! Do your best―!"

It wasn't something she could put into a single word. Despite knowing that, Stella couldn't contain that shout.

Stella's loud and beautiful voice reverberated through the assembly hall that had lost its enthusiasm. Naturally, it also entered Shizuku's ears. This voice, from a rival in love she knew well, hit her earlobes giving a cry that sincerely wished for Shizuku's victory. To that cry, Shizuku clenched her fist hard enough to block the bleeding.

I'm not exactly happy about being cheered on by someone like you!

Raising her eyebrows, Shizuku pretended to be tough. Feeling it inside her heart, in order to ignore a terribly itchy difficultly-shaped emotion. If she accepted that, it would give a mood of having a permanent change to the relationship between that girl and herself.

But however much she ignored it, Stella's voice had certainly shifted a feeling in Shizuku's heart. That was the competitive spirit.

Stella-san will definitely go to the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival.

She was simply the one A-Rank knight in Hagun. Right now she was someone higher ranked than Shizuku, and Raikiri who Shizuku was confronting. She didn't think it would be likely that Stella would stumble during selections. Furthermore, Ikki who took a victory over that Stella would probably advance again, into the national stage. Shizuku understood her brother's strength more than anyone. For that reason, she had no doubts about this truth.

Therefore―she couldn't be the only one to lose here.

I'll also win, and advance. With Onii-sama, with everyone together, to the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival―!

The moment she became aware of that, the fighting spirit of Shizuku who had lost strength out of hopeless inferiority surged upward. While healing her wounded body, she held her head high and glared at the enemy before her eyes.

「Oh, contender Kurogane who has been one-sidedly defending hasn't given up the fight! She's given her body some healing, and has taken a stance to keep on going! Could it be she has found some way to win!?」

She hadn't found any such thing. But she had found determination.

..Touka's approach, she couldn't follow it. What kind of mechanism it was, Shizuku didn't understand it, but she realized enough that she already detested only that. In that case―she couldn't keep defending. More than the fact that she couldn't see her opponent's moves, the tactic of spraining the first step with long range was failing. Huddling up at a distance would only make the situation worse and worse. Therefore, reserving herself for survival would naturally only distract her offensive.

Her opponent was Raikiri. Hagun's highest knight who held an invincible single slash in close range. But if there was no other way to take the victory―

I'll capture it! That invincible close range!

Shizuku prepared herself that way, and put her strength into her grasp on?Yoishigure. But knowing nothing about that determination, Touka ruthlessly, mercilessly, again penetrated the thin space of Shizuku's consciousness with Trackless Step―

In that instant, Shizuku moved! She stabbed?Yoishigure?into the frozen ground, and yelled out.

"Byakuya Kekkai!!!"[2]

Together with the words of that incantation, the ice of the Frozen Field changed from solid to vapor in an instant, and became a smokescreen-like deep white mist that swallowed the entire field!

Shizuku had changed her way of thinking. If one couldn't see in this direction anyway, it'd be fine to make everything invisible. Therefore in the face of the Joules of heat, the Frozen Field that wasn't serving its function was already vaporized, dispersing as a thick fog that one couldn't even see a meter into.

In the middle of this magic mist, the only one who could move freely was its practitioner Shizuku. Without being able to see, this mist was the same as a part of Shizuku's body. What was there? Who was there? She could feel all of it. And that perception had undoubtedly captured the position of Touka who had been brought to a standstill and lacked a technique to establish the middle of the fog.

Shizuku immediately circled around Touka's back.

"Hisuijin."[3]

Acting with the voice, the water in the atmosphere gathered on?Yoishigure's edge, and soon took the form of a large Japanese sword. That was a blade of high-pressure circulating water current(s). That was to say, it had the strength of water that wears through stone drip by drip. If it was with a high-pressure current, water could change into a tool that can cut apart even metal like butter. In the first place, for the entire Earth, it could be said that water had sculpted its shape. There was nothing on its surface that hadn't been cut apart by water. Shizuku, with outstanding Magic Control, had compressed that power of Mother Nature into the shape of her blade―

Let's do it―!"

And broke into a run toward Touka. Was it a reckless suicidal attack? No, she had a conviction of victory in her heart. The overhead surprise attack from the beginning, she didn't understand the reason that had been seen through. However, using?Narukami?to try to deal with Hisuijin the same way as that time, it would be impossible. Why? However much one possessed a famous sword or cutting power, water was fluid.?Narukami, which had a solid form, could not stop such a blow. Hisuijin would pass through?Narukami?that came to block it, and cut down Touka's body.

Shizuku could see that vision. For that reason, she charged into Raikiri's distance with conviction held in her heart, and―

"Eh..."

In that moment, Shizuku saw it. Within the mist. With a pair of eyes trained on Shizuku who couldn't possibly be perceived, it was the sight of Touka's form that had taken a stance to quick-draw her sword. A visible flash of lightning violently moved at the black scabbard where?Narukami?had been restored.

She knew. Shizuku saw and remembered the image many times over. This technique that releases a blinding light. That was a trump card that cuts through all resistance in a single flash―!

"―Raikiri."

Spraying plasma, burning the world to white. An overwhelming heat released in an instant.

Shizuku, who initiated the clash, couldn't stop. She was swinging Hisuijin downward with her full strength. Raikiri who had released her power, with only that speed, erased that sword of circulating current in an instant.

As if everything up to now had been like that. Shizuku Kurogane's wish―had been cut down with one stroke.

The moment that Raikiri, who was clad in plasma, followed through, a blade that transcended the speed of sound blasted through the surrounding atmosphere. The same windstorm that burst open swept over Toudou, and blew apart Byakuya Kekkai's mist. That aftermath reached even the audience seats, and grated the cracked assembly hall. The force of the atmosphere was already to the point people couldn't even stay up.

But in the middle of it, Ikki didn't close his eyes even one time. Within the raging windstorm, staring down on the ring beneath his eyes―to the end, without averting his gaze, ..he saw Shizuku Kurogane's fallen form with his own eyes.

「A flash of lightning! A blade descended! At the same time, the referee has cross his arms! The match is over!!! Contender Kurogane has shown us a brave fight but even so the obstacle of last year's best four was insurmountable! The one who conquered the life-and-death struggle with a fellow B-Rank is our student council president, 'Raikiri' Touka Toudou!!!」

The live broadcaster announced the winner's name, and lowered the curtain on the match.

Putting up a good fight―certainly the offense and defense in the beginning far transcended the level of students. However, the natural contents of the match was probably Shizuku's complete defeat. Because however it happened, she was never going to be able to touch Touka.

But―even so...

"Hey, Ikki."

"I get it, Alice. I was watching properly."

Answering Arisuin's voice that way, Ikki stared at a speck in the ring. What he was staring at was the right hand of the fallen Shizuku.

That right hand was gripping Raikiri's leg.

Right, it was certainly a complete defeat. However―

"She was splendid. Shizuku."

It was probably Shizuku herself that felt more than anyone the difference between her power and that of another. Despite that, she didn't concede to the end, and continued to fight.

..She's gotten stronger, huh?

That small girl, who always followed him with tiny steps―around this time today, there was no instant of Ikki not feeling four years worth of progress. And―

Ikki stared at the back on which chestnut-colored hair waved and was leaving the ring.

..As I thought, she's strong.

At that time, Shizuku had definitely not made a reckless suicidal challenge. The Byakuya Kekkai that snatched away her opponent's field of vision. In the middle of the Noble Art that Shizuku possessed, the strongest cutting ability that she boasted of,?Hisuijin. She, by means of her entire strength, seriously carried out a strategy against Raikiri. She probably could see the vision of her own victory. But to seize it, she cut forth head-on. How much did she try her best, even thinking about the highest one effort, the existence that heads toward that distant higher hypothesis.

Ikki, who fought the "Sword Eater" Kuraudo Kurashiki, knew this. The extent that the people who resided at the top of the Seven Stars, not a single one of the people who resided at that domain was ordinary. They were superhumans who surpassed common measurements.

For that reason, Ikki thought―how much effort would it take to ascend to that summit?

Touka Toudou, Raikiri... It looks like I'll definitely cross swords with her, huh?

After the advent of the flash that burned away her field of vision, there was a deep darkness of despair. From that gloom, Shizuku slowly woke up. Raising heavy eyelids, she saw the blurry world come into focus. What jumped into her eyes was the white ceiling of a spotless medical office, and―

"You've woken up, haven't you Shizuku?"

―the face of the roommate she recognized.

"..Alice."

Shizuku slowly raised her body half-way from the bed. When she looked, she saw that it wasn't only Arisuin here. Behind him, the figures of her brother Ikki Kurogane and Stella Vermillion were here as well. From that sight―

Ah, I see.

Shizuku comprehended her own defeat.

"I lost, didn't I?"

At those words coughed and muttered, a heavy silence fell.

Don't worry about it, cheer up. The people who were part of this world of matches and fights knew how bleak those words would be. In this world, there were no such words to give for the defeated.

"..Shizuku, umm, you know?"

"I'm sorry."

The words that Stella tried to begin to say in the middle of the painful silence, Shizuku cut them to pieces.

"A little while.. just for a little while, won't you leave me alone? I'm worn out today."

Shizuku covered her face and begged everyone. Right now, she didn't want to hear anything, and didn't want to see anything. ..She just wanted to be alone.

"I understand. ..Let's go, Stella."

"..Yeah."

Ikki sympathized with Shizuku's feelings, and lead everyone out of the medical office immediately. She was grateful. The regret over her defeat that ran through her heart was already rising through her throat. Her body trembling miserably from bitterness, she didn't want her brother, Stella, or anyone to see it. Because Shizuku was a proud little girl.

That was what she asked for, but―

"..Why are you still here?"

For some reason, Arisuin had remained in the room with a gentle smile on his face.

"Well, I wonder why?"

"I must have said to leave me alone."

"Yep. I heard you."

"So―!"

In the instant she vented violent words, Arisuin embraced Shizuku.

Eh..."

"..Ali..ce?"

"You really fought hard, didn't you?"

Arisuin conveyed a calm tone close to the ears of Shizuku who had been surprised by the sudden embrace.

"Your brother, he was watching Shizuku all the way to the end. He said that you were splendid."

And while stroking her silver hair as if brushing it―

"And to me, Shizuku is neither someone who wants to protect nor someone who doesn't want to lose. Therefore.. you don't have to pretend to be tough, you know."

That was her limit. To the gentle words that had been announced, to the embrace wrapped around her, the sobs that were rising through her throat spilled out. After it spilled out once, more overflowed like a dam breaking.

Frustrating.

Frustrating. Frustrating.

Frustrating. Frustrating. Frustrating!

The wish that didn't come true. The dream she didn't reach. Those vestiges tormented Shizuku. The frustration that she couldn't put into words, Shizuku screamed them out as she clung to Arisuin's chest. She put in enough strength to cut with her nails, but Arisuin didn't loosen his embrace. Because the partner of this proud little girl who was spitting out her bitterness, he knew that he was the only one. Therefore Arisuin kept hugging her small body until Shizuku's sobbing ended.

"Shizuku seemed vexed."

Heading down the corridor from the medical office to the dormitory, Stella coughed.

"..It's understandable. The road to the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival has essentially been closed to her, probably."

Some time ago, Ikki had been informed by Oreki firsthand that these Selection Battles would advance only six names as representatives, and these slots would be filled by the undefeated. Since they would aim for the entire country, these fights would never permit a defeat.

"But Shizuku has nothing to be embarrassed about."

Ikki remembered Shizuku's right hand that seized Touka's ankle. The willpower that she showed at the end, it was indescribably magnificent.

"It's a rigid fight that doesn't allow even one loss, right?"

"Yeah. But.. it's not just someone else's problem."

Everyone fought under the same rules. Shizuku, Ikki, Stella―and everyone else. None of the people who aimed for the summit of the Seven Stars were allowed even one defeat. That was the rule laid out by the new board chairman, Kurono Shinguuji. A cliff that filtered out contenders for the sake of creating a Seven Stars Sword King from Hagun. Even breaking down and reuniting the stars of high-ranking companions, to select the strongest single person. Because at the end of the day, only one person can take the summit of the Seven Stars.

"It's already the finishing line of the Selection Battles. Even we have to focus our energies more than ever, right?"

"I won't lose, you know."

Ikki turned his gaze to Stella nearby, who made that clear declaration. And Stella also looked up at Ikki again. With pupils that held the blazing and sparkling flames of a strong fighting spirit.

"I will absolutely not lose. Because I'll fight and win against Ikki this time at the finals of the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival."

To that expression of strong will and affection, Ikki felt a happiness rising inside his chest. The promise they exchanged that night. He knew he wasn't the only one who looked forward to its fulfillment.

"..I think the same, after all. I definitely won't lose either."

"Hehe. Of course. I won't allow you to disappear in the middle?"

Stella cheerfully spread a sweet smile over her whole face at Ikki's reply. At that smiling face, Ikki's cheeks relaxed. Recently, this girl had become more and more unbearably lovely. The more he knew her, the closer he got to her, the more he loved this girl. Her flower-like fragrance, her slightly high temperature―all of it was lovely. And because he wanted to fall even more in love with that girl, he would maintain a higher motivation than what he had held up to now. He would push himself higher than where he was now. For the sake of making himself worthy of the strongest rival who was there beside him, of the girl who was his beloved sweetheart. His meeting with her, it was an irreplaceable fortune as far as Ikki was concerned.

"Well, so that we don't lose, shall we do some training?"

"That's fine. Speaking honestly, after watching Shizuku's match, my body has been throbbing."

"Haha. That's so like Stella. Then let's hurry and go."

Saying so, Ikki checked to see that nobody else was in the corridor, then took Stella's hand and entwined their fingers. When he did so, Stella also squeezed Ikki's hand in return. Since they had taken a step forward as sweethearts at the pool, little by little they had grown used to mutual skinship. Recently, when they went to places out of the public eye, one of them would spontaneously grasp the other's hand. Tightly entwining fingers, recognizing the partner's temperature and presence, Ikki and Stella both loved doing those things.

Well, of course their favorite kind of skinship was kissing. ..In that state, for the love between the two, the matter that had begun at that pool had certainly shortened the distance between the two sweethearts. That could certainly be called progress.

However―to tell the truth, Stella felt a touch unsatisfied with the current situation. Or maybe unsatisfied was not quite the right way to say it. She wanted to get closer and closer―to seek Ikki as a woman would. To shrink and shrink the distance between herself and Ikki, that desire was growing strong.

At night. In particular, when they exchanged kisses before sleeping. It was the worst at the moment their lips separated. Like yesterday, she gave a strange moaning sound when their lips separated that had surprised Ikki.

That was so embarrassing...

Having been surprised by a sweet sound she hadn't imagined she could make leaking from her own lips, she immediately leaped into bed and covered her head with her futon, but nonetheless there was a time before the fire that had lit inside her body went out.

Are my sexual desires so strong, I wonder..

Just remembering it had somehow made her very embarrassed. In the first place, she hadn't sought a place to get an answer. Because for Stella, there was her position as the second princess of the Vermillion Empire. However, at the same time Stella and Ikki were both mature adults beyond the age of fifteen. (That Blazers come of age at fifteen was a standard shared by all countries participating in the League of Mage-Knight Nations.) In other words, they were both.. adults who could consent to marriage. As adults who've come of age, they had the privilege to fall in love, of course.

What if, by some chance.. Ikki sought that...

If he looked her directly in the eyes, placed his hands on her shoulders, and sought that―if it was at this moment, what answer might she choose? Would she take the official stance of an imperial princess? Or instead her own personal feelings?

If it was Stella from a little while ago, she'd probably give some excuse or other and refuse Ikki. But right now, which would it be?

She asked herself, but no answer came.

But, if Ikki truly wanted and sought for her―

..I would―

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

"Fue!? Ah, it's nothing!"

"If it's nothing, your face wouldn't get that red, you know. I wonder if you might have a cold. Maybe a little fever."

With a worried expression, Ikki drew near her forehead to check her temperature. To that kindness, Stella raised her feelings in a scream.

D-D-Don't get near my face right now―!

"I-I-I'm really fine! Really! So you can't get so close―!"

She somehow forced Ikki back, while astounded by her own lack of chastity. To think that she was considering such misconduct inside the school building before the sun had even set―

Such a thing was bad.

Such a thing is prohibited before going to bed.

Meaning it was okay in bed? Stella ignored the retort sent from her own heart and calmed her feelings down.

Suddenly, it was at that time. From the corner in front of their eyes, with a?nuu?sound, a strange thing came into view.

Was it a human shadow? Thinking that, the two of them separated their hands in a panic. Like they expressed not long ago, Ikki had a social position, not to mention Stella. If they were to be sweethearts, the world would be considerably taken aback, and that interaction would become heavily pressured. Because of that, until the frantic period of students in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival ends, it was their current plan to leave the relationship between the two of them hidden.

However.. what appeared wasn't a person. It was a monster in the shape of a pure white crooked rectangle.

"Heave.. heave..!"

That monster, if one looked carefully, one could tell it was a bundle of papers stacked into a pillar. Somebody was carrying the pile of stacked paper with both hands. It was hard to tell who was doing it though, because the mountain of paper stretched so high it was concealing his or her face. But if one looked toward the legs, it seemed to be a female student.

"I-It looks kind of dangerous."

"It does, doesn't it? We should probably give her a hand."

Making up his mind, Ikki raised his voice at the female student.

"Umm, if you'd like, should I help you carry that?"

"Eh!?"

However, the female student was surprised by his abrupt voice, and her body stiffened. Because of that, her right foot caught the back of her left foot, and―

"Eeeeek!"

"Whoa!?"

And dropped the stack of paper on Ikki.

"Sheesh, what are you two doing..."

"Oh no no! I-I'm sorry! I didn't think that there were people in front of me!"

"No, I'm also sorry for startling you by calling out suddenly."

The three of them fell to their knees and together gathered the dispersed stack of papers. And then after collecting them to some extent, Ikki turned his attention back to the female student, and―

Before his eyes, there was a butt moving left and right.

"Bu!"

"Ohh, glasses.. where are my glasses?"

Perhaps at the time she fell down, her skirt had been flipped up. But the female student hadn't realized it herself, and while coughing, she was on all fours groping around the floor by hand. In doing so, she swayed and fluttered a somewhat large and voluptuous butt.

"Wha, hey you! Your skirt! Your skirt is flipped up!"

"Eh? Nooooooooo!!!"

At Stella's warning, the female student finally realized she was waving her uncovered butt in front of Ikki face, and hurriedly returned her skirt to its normal position.

"I-I'm so sorry! I've shown you such an unthinkably indecent thing..!"

"Err, no.. ahaha."

"Ikki, did you see it?"

"..If I said I didn't, would you believe me?"

"Do you think I would?"

"Guess I don't need to ask. ..Hmm?"

As he sighed, something came into Ikki's field of view. It was a pair of round glasses with extremely thick lenses.

Ah, was this what she was looking for a moment ago?

Guessing the reason the female student had been on all fours and shaking her butt, Ikki picked those glasses up and presented it to her.

"Hey, the thing you were looking for, isn't this it?"

"Ah, that's it! Thank you so much! I can't see anything without them..."

The female student turned toward Ikki, and gratefully accepted the glasses. And that was when Ikki and Stella saw the female student's face properly for the first time―

"Eh?"

"Wha!?"

―and froze in surprise with a single question.

"Y-You're―"

Why? Because this female student―this girl with her chestnut-colored hair in a braid was―

"Raikiri―Touka Toudou!?"

Undoubtedly, it was the one who defeated Shizuku with overwhelming power, the one who was Hagun's strongest knight.

"Eh? Ah, yes? That's right, but what about it?"

"Ah, President! Hey there―!"

"Good afternoon, Mishima-san."

"Student President! Congratulations on today's match!"

"Thank you for your support, Sayama-san."

"President Toudou, good afternoon! Thank you for helping me search for my purse that other time! I'm really sorry about having you accompany me the entire day."

"Please don't worry about it, Itagaki-san. Besides, finding it was thanks to Uta-kun, and I wasn't helpful at all... Ah, b-->>

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