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nWhile Tsukasa and Stella made their promise to each other, Ikki watched this scene with an envious gaze.

nLike him, Tsukasa also had F-rank magic, but there was so much difference between them.

nTsukasa was so dazzling that it almost blinded him.

nIkki had always been alone from what he remembered, and the only person that had been with him was his little sister and his great-grandfather, who told him not to give up. It might have started when no one even saw him as someone and just ignored him as if he didn’t even exist in this world. This was why he wanted to become a mage-knight to show everyone that he could become one even if his ability and magic were limited.

nIkki wanted everyone to see him!

nIkki knew that his path wouldn’t be easy, and it would be difficult. It would be a thorny path, and along the path, he would be bleeding, wounded, and he might even die, but he had decided to become a mage-knight, and he would do that no matter what people told them.

nStill, when it was alone, it was so lonely.

nIkki wasn’t sure what to say until Tsukasa asked, “Kurogane, you’re also going to the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, right?”

n“Eh?” Ikki was startled since it was his first time for someone to ask him that question.

n“What? You won’t participate in the selection of the participants of the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival?” Tsukasa asked.

n“No-No, I’ll join.” Ikki clenched his fists and said, “I have been waiting for this chance.” Last year, he wasn’t even given a chance to participate in the exam, so he needed to flunk out, but this time, it was different.

nWith Kurono as the director, Ikki had been given a chance to become a mage-knight, but to become one, he needed to do something, and that was to become strong enough, so he could win the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival.

nWhile Kurono didn’t tell him to become a champion, Ikki felt that he needed to become one since that way, he could be able to say proudly to his family that even he, who was known as the “Weakest One,” could become the strongest!

n“Hopefully, we’ll meet since I’m anticipating our fight,” Tsukasa said with a smile.

n“Me too.” Ikki nodded and said with a gentle smile, “I also want to fight you.”

nTsukasa was a swordsman and a powerful one.

nIkki was also a swordsman, and this was why he wanted to cross his blade against Tsukasa.

nThe aura between them started to change, and their figures became as sharp as a blade, but even so, Ikki could feel that he was slightly overwhelmed by Tsukasa’s aura.

nWhen Tsukasa and Ikki were in the middle of their confrontation, Stella looked at Ikki warily. She knew Tsukasa’s cham was dangerous to either male or female and felt that Tsukasa’s relationship with Ikki was too close, right?

nStella knew about Japanese culture, which was known as BL, and she definitely wouldn’t let that kind of thing happen to Tsukasa, so at this moment, she regarded Ikki as her enemy.

nTsukasa didn’t know what Stella was thinking about, but he only smiled before he erased his pressure and changed the topic of the conversation. “Now that you’ve mentioned it, you seem to be in a good mood today.” He was very observant and could see that Ikki’s mood was brisker than yesterday.

nIkki didn’t realize that he had a cold sweat on his back, but frankly, he knew that Tsukasa was strong.

nAfter the battle between Tsukasa and Stella, Ikki had been thinking of how to defeat them on his mind.

nFrankly, Ikki knew that it was hard, even if he used his secret technique, Ittou Shura.

nWhile his technique was powerful, the duration was so short.

nTsukasa had a strong movement technique that Ikki couldn’t understand until now.

nOn the other hand, Stella had a powerful magic power that was enough to engulf everything.

nIkki knew that if he wanted to win the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, he needed to defeat them.

nIt was hard, but Ikki wouldn’t give up.

nStill, when Tsukasa suddenly asked him this question, Ikki was surprised, but then he asked, “How did you know?”

n“Well, you know, you’re kind of happier than usual. What’s wrong? Did you get money to pay for the breathing mask?” Tsukasa asked curiously.

n“Ugh, sorry. No.” Ikki’s expression was awkward since he really didn’t have a penny on him.

n“So what’s the good news then?” Tsukasa asked.

n“It’s about my little sister.” Ikki showed a gentle smile and said, “I’ll meet my little sister soon. It has been four years since I met her, so I can’t help but get excited.” When he thought about his little sister, he felt so happy since she was the only one who didn’t ignore him in the Kurogane household.

nHowever, Stella frowned, thinking that it might be part of this country’s culture where the love between an older brother and a little sister was allowed. She might not understand this kind of love, but she wouldn’t have a prejudice against it.

nAlso, Stella was glad that Ikki didn’t feel that way towards Tsukasa, so she knew that it was good to ignore Ikki since her real opponent was Touka.

nTsukasa didn’t have a mind-reading ability, so he didn’t know what kind of weird thing Stella was thinking about, but he was quite interested in Ikki’s conversation related to his little sister. “Oh? Little sister?”

nStella’s eyes suddenly turned sharp.

n“Yes, her name is Shizuku Kurogane, and unlike me, she’s talented,” Ikki said in a deprecated way.

nIkki was admirable in every way. However, Tsukasa didn’t really like Ikki, who could make a joke such a depressing thing so easily.

nStill, Tsukasa also knew that not all people were born strong, and many people were weak but tried to become strong as Ikki did.

nTsukasa wanted to remind Ikki to change his mindset since if Ikki kept this mindset, Ikki wouldn’t be able to win any matches, but he only knew him for a day, so there was no need for him to entangle with this matter that much.

nInstead, it was better to change the topic of the conversation.

n“Is she your stepsister or a blood-related sister?” Tsukasa suddenly asked.

nIkki was dumbfounded and asked, “Why do you ask such a question?”

nTsukasa stood up and patted Ikki’s shoulder. “If she’s your stepsister, it’ll be safe for you to marry her, but if she’s related, even if I’m fine with it and I’ll come to congratulate you in your marriage, there’ll be many obstacles in the future.”

n“Wh-What are you talking about?!” Ikki blushed, and he just couldn’t give a proper response when Tsukasa suddenly said such an absurd thing.

n“Well, no matter what, I’ll support you. I’ll go back now,” Tsukasa said and left since he didn’t want the depressing aura to spread into him.

nIkki wanted to fix the misunderstanding, but his shoulder was patted again, and this time, it was from Stella, which surprised him. “Ver-Vermillion-san, what’s wrong?” He stuttered since their distance was so close!

n“I’ll support your love too,” Stella said with a bright smile as she gave a thumbs-up before she chased after Tsukasa. “Tsukasa, wait for me!”

n“……..”

nIkki wasn’t sure why, but he felt hurt somehow, and he knew that he needed to fix the misunderstanding as soon as possible!

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