(translation)

Ikki awoke in brightness that spread over his eyelids like a blur, and he opened those eyelids without a fight. An unfamiliar ceiling floated in dim light before his eyes.

'I'm in the infirmary?

That was exactly right. Ikki had collapsed after the match, and his physical trauma was immediately treated with a capsule. He was then brought into the infirmary and put in a sickbed. Lifting his head, Ikki looked up through a window. The full moon showed him he had slept for many hours since then.

It was because I was so showy, I guess.

But there was already no pain in his body, so his wounds were completely healed. Despite being violently knocked about, injuries of that degree wouldn't stick if a capsule was used to treat him. Still, languidness from fatigue would remain.

"..*snore*."

"Hmm?"

To his surprise, Ikki heard a familiar noise somewhere in the dimness. What was that? He raised his still-sluggish body.

"Stella..."

She was dozing in a chair beside the bed. In his recollection just before losing consciousness completely, he had been loaded onto a stretcher, and there was the figure of a girl who had called out as he was being carried away.

..Was she with me the whole time after that?

Thinking about it, Ikki felt a sweet pressure squeezing his chest.

"Ah."

When he looked closely, he saw a bit of drool hanging from Stella's lips as she dozed. Even a princess was defenseless while sleeping it seemed, but this probably wasn't something she'd want people to see. Ikki felt around his pocket, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped off the hanging saliva while taking care not to disturb her. But―

"Nn..uu, ..fuaa."

Was she sleeping too lightly? Stella opened her eyes the moment the handkerchief touched her lips.

"Sorry. I guess I woke you up?"

"Ikki..?"

Stella was dull from sleep and moved vacantly, but slowly her sight focused on the handkerchief wet from her own saliva.?*Poof!*?Her face went bright red and she snatched the handkerchief from Ikki's hand.

"Did you see something?"

Ikki winced at the question ferociously stabbing toward him.

"I-I didn't see anything."

"You're lying."

"..Yes. Sorry."

"Ooh―!"

He answered obediently, and Stella's face became more and more eggplant-purple, her mouth rasping back and forth.

"You're the worst! To wake up at a time like this! It's too embarrassing!"

"..It's really hard to answer that sort of criticism."

"Shut up, idiot! I'll buy another handkerchief to return later!"

"Eh? You don't need to. Don't worry about it."

"I have to worry about it, you know!"

"Ah, okay. Please forgive me."

Ikki had to withdraw when Stella growled and bared her fangs, but just as the conversation stalled,?*rumble rumble*, a cute sound from Stella's stomach echoed in the silent infirmary.

"Nooooooo! What is this already!?"

"Stella, calm down. There might not be anyone else here, but this is still basically a hospital room."

"To be seen like this the moment you wake up, it would make you want to cry too! Everything is completely your fault! What is this, you!? Hearing me make hungry sounds like it's nothing! Idiot, idiot!"

Stella struck Ikki over and over with balled up fists. It hurt a little, but he couldn't complain to Stella who stayed at his side long enough to miss meals. Ikki bowed his head at Stella's reprimands.

"..I'm really sorry. I've only showed you uncool things, and made you worry."

"I haven't been worried at all! Those kinds of injuries are just like scratches after a nap in a capsule..!"

"But you were with me the whole time, right?"

Putting her gaze on the belly that some time ago raised a grumbling, Stella awkwardly turned her face away.

"It-It couldn't be helped, you know! Did you forget? I'm your slave, and it's natural for a servant to watch over her sick master. It's not something you'd thank me for!"

"No, I want to say it. If you hadn't been there today, it really would've been dangerous."

When he was almost about to yield, she shouted out that she loved someone so unskilled, and that was why Ikki didn't abandon his hopes while so many people were calling him worthless. Even in his bitterness, he recalled those words of love, and now Ikki had to convey something no matter what.

"Hey. Stella."

"I said I don't need gratitude―"

No. What he wanted to convey wasn't gratitude.

"Me too―I love you."

Facing the girl who said she loved the way he lived, Ikki spoke his honest feelings, and all expression fell from Stella's face at the sudden confession. Because it was too abrupt, she didn't understand at first, but understanding gradually filled her mind.

"Hyau..!"

Stella screamed, tumbled from the chair, and landed on her back.

"Wha, a-are you okay Stella!?"

"Id-, i-i-idiot! D-Do you know what you just said to me!?"

"Yeah, I know. I love you, Stella."

Whether or not Ikki had prepared himself beforehand, his words weren't bashful. But Stella, who wasn't expecting this kind of announcement, had her face blushing a red incomparable to the one not long ago, and was reduced to blubbering incoherence.

"L-Letting you say it, but, t-that!? My, that is, Ikki's way of life, his will, something like that, I said I love that, you know!? N-Not particularly you yourself, that.. as a m-m-man, whether I love you, I wasn't talking about that, you know!? The main point is that I'm the princess of another country, and the affections of a commoner, that kind of thing, i-it's impossible!"

Ikki nodded.

"Yeah, I know that too. I'm a rootless person who can't even return to his own family, and you have your own circumstances, position, and so on. The words from my mouth can't become anything more. But today, I can't keep them inside either."

This sweetness, hiding it was too hard.

"If I don't tell you this now, I won't be able to later, so.. I want you to know that meeting you made me truly happy. Of course, you don't have to answer."

He knew he'd be refused, but the bitterness from that was far better than not conveying his great gratitude, and that was why Ikki offered his feelings this way. But―

"..Sneaky."

He glanced at Stella who was puffing her cheeks.

"Sneaky?"

"..Only you being honest, it's sneaky."

Ikki didn't know what Stella meant. He simply had a hunch that Stella's ire was terribly piqued. As he thought, she was probably annoyed at hearing the confession of someone even lower than a commoner. She certainly looked peeved.

"Close your eyes for a bit."

She's going to hit me!?

"Uh, umm, sorry Stella. If I made you uncomfortable―"

"I said close your eyes!"

"G-Got it!"

There were times Stella's voice exerted a serious, compelling force. Maybe it was a skill belonging to royalty? Ikki closed his eyes while making a nervous sound, and after a short silence―

*smooch*

―he felt a tender, moist sensation on his cheek.

Eh..?

Ikki opened his eyes in shock, and the girl he saw had her own cheeks dyed in bright apple red.

"S-Stella.. just now..."

He didn't finish the question. Even as dull as he was, Ikki understood that Stella had kissed him. But because Ikki didn't expect Stella to do such a thing, he could only stare at her in dumbfounded silence. Stella's eyes grew wet at Ikki's reaction.

"D-Don't misunderstand. Just now, slave or master, princess or commoner.. it wasn't about any of that. I did it because I wanted to do it. I-I'll tell you right now, even if you gave me an order, I'd absolutely not do something like this..."

"..In other words, you're saying it's okay?"

Stella hid her damp eyes at that question, while her cheeks bloomed further red from embarrassment. A small bit, a really small bit―but she definitely nodded.

"..B-But, you know? That.. because I've never socialized with boys before, you might be really disillusioned."

"N-Not at all! Besides, I haven't done anything like socialize with girls either."

Ikki had never been in such a relationship before. His first kiss.. well, it had been stolen by his younger sister the other day, but his experience with the opposite gender was equally nonexistent, and he admitted it honestly.

"Then I'm Ikki's first sweetheart?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Is that so? ..Ehehe. Somehow, I'm glad..."

Stella narrowed her eyes in delight, and softened her cheeks. Ikki couldn't restrain himself upon seeing that.

"Sorry. Right now, you're a little too cute and I can't bear it."

"Eek!?"

Without waiting for Stella to finish her words, Ikki pulled her body towards himself, and held her tight.

"Thank you. I'm very happy."

"..Jeez. I'm only letting you be this pushy today, you know? If you're not gentle from now on, I'll bite you, okay?"

Sighing in astonishment, Stella also slowly put her hands around Ikki's back and accepted his embrace. Stella's body was warm, soft.. but he felt a strong flame burning within. That heat was wonderfully sweet.

And.. for that reason―

"Hey, Stella."

"..What is it?"

"Back then, you said that if you were with me you'd follow me wherever I go, right?"

"Yeah."

"Me too. If it's with you, I feel I can become strong enough to go anywhere."

So―

"So let's go together, the two of us, as high as knights can go."

And―

"And for the last match at that summit―I want to fight you."

Separating from Stella a little, Ikki declared this as he gazed into her eyes. Walking together, pushing each other forward, facing one another once more. At first, Stella's deep crimson pupils opened wide in astonishment, but a blaze gradually began to sway there, shining with strong fighting spirit.

"..I was hoping the same, you know. Because next time, I absolutely won't lose."

What Ikki desired, Stella also desired from the bottom of her heart. She loved him more than anyone else. She respected him more than anyone else. For these reasons, she wanted to fight this knight one more time. Like Ikki, she was someone who reached for the utmost heights. There was one summit, and she had no intention of yielding it. The two of them, in the middle of silence so strong it hurt the ears, vowed to the brightly glittering moon. From now on, they would probably have many fights with strong enemies they hadn't yet seen.

But to not lose to anyone―

And to meet their highest and most beloved rival at the battleground where the Seven Stars Sword King was crowned―

"It's a promise."