With the clash of metal, the blades crossed, sending showers of red sparks flying—Ikki successfully blocked the attack!
"Heh~ I knew you could do it." Casually twirling Sword Flower, White Night continued to accelerate.
Ikki concentrated as hard as he could. He could vaguely sense the rhythm of the airflow, but extracting the information he needed from it... there was not enough time.
"Clang—!"
After several exchanges... with a crisp ring, Yin Iron was knocked high into the air, spinning as it embedded itself in the training ground.
"How does it feel, Ikki?"
"Whew~ A little hard to get used to."
Letting out a long breath, Ikki raised a hand and removed his blindfold. He looked somewhat exhausted. Maintaining such intense concentration consumed a great deal of energy.
But the effort was worth it. Though it had been difficult, Ikki could truly feel his improvement! He picked up Yin Iron. "Time is limited, White Night. Let's keep going."
"Not taking a little more rest?"
"No need. I can still hold on!"
He put the blindfold back on, and his vision once again sank into darkness. Ikki gripped his sword with both hands, his resolute will deeply moving.
"..."
White Night fell briefly silent, unable to stop himself from sighing inwardly. That's why you're the protagonist, Kurogane Ikki.
The corners of his lips rose slightly as White Night raised a hand to wipe his blade. "Ikki, consider this a test. I know many things, and when the time is right, I'll selectively tell you about them."
"???"
"Don't get distracted! At least for now, focus on your training!" White Night swung the back of his blade in a fierce slash, sending Ikki reeling.
As time passed...
"Clang~ clang clang—!"
Ikki gradually adapted to the darkness. Within his mind, he could vaguely outline the forms around him. They were only lines... but that was already enough!
Their blades crossed, sending sparks flying in bursts. It looked no different from their usual sparring sessions, did it? But remember—Ikki was still blindfolded.
"Looks like there won't be any problem with tomorrow's match."
"Clang—!"
Amid their sword dance, White Night still had strength to spare. Maliciously, he offered Ikki a suggestion. "Ikki, clang—! how about wearing that blindfold when you compete tomorrow?"
"Doesn't that guy's Hunter's Forest use some kind of invisibility camouflage? Just stop using your eyes altogether, clang—! and mock him mercilessly."
Ikki did not reply. Simply focusing on dealing with White Night had already consumed all his energy. He had no attention left to spare.
White Night did not mind. He had only suggested it because he thought it would be amusing.
"Alright, that's about enough."
Then his sword style shifted, becoming increasingly unpredictable. Ikki was still lacking his vision, and White Night seized the opportunity with an upward strike... Yin Iron flew from Ikki's hand once more.
White Night likewise put away Myriad Phenomena. "That's enough for today. You have a match tomorrow, so don't exhaust yourself. Go back and get some rest early~"
Ikki raised a hand to remove his blindfold, only to see White Night with one hand in his pocket, waving his right hand with his back turned as he walked away. "Aren't those people looking down on you?"
"Then use your performance to slap them hard across the face! Slap their faces swollen~"
"...Thanks for this, White Night."
The Expected Victory
The Seven Star Sword Martial Festival Representative Selection Tournament did not require contestants to use Fantasy Form, which undoubtedly discouraged many students from participating.
But people were still very interested in being spectators. The stands for today's selection tournament were once again packed.
"Finally, the fourth match is about to begin. Our commentator, umm..."
Where had the commentator gone? The Announcer froze for a moment, then continued without changing expression. "Our commentator is Nenene Saikyō!"
"Furthermore, both sides in this match are highly noteworthy. On one side, we have C-Rank Knight Kirihara Shiya, who participated in the Seven Star Sword Martial Festival last year as a first-year student!"
At this point, the Announcer deliberately sped up, skipping over the commentator's greeting.
As Kirihara Shiya entered the arena, cheers erupted from the stands. He was a scumbag, yet unexpectedly popular~
"And on the other side, despite being F-Rank, we have Kurogane Ikki, who defeated Famillion in a previous mock battle!" Another wave of cheers followed.
Kurogane Ikki entered with firm steps. In the stands, Stella had also arrived late.
"Miss Stella, why are you so late?"
"Ah, well... I had something to do." Stella's gaze wandered. She clearly was not very good at lying.
Rewinding time:
"Isn't Stella going to see Ikki?"
In the corridor, Bronya stood waiting with her arms folded. "This is still that guy's first time competing. No matter what, he must be nervous."
"Stella probably never considered it, did she? That someone like Ikki could also feel nervous."
Having said all she needed to say, Bronya brushed past Stella. "The match hasn't started yet. It's not too late to go now."
"Yo~ We meet again, Nenene."
On the other side, White Night stopped Nenene Saikyō as well. "This direction... are you going to find Ikki, Nenene? With your personality, are you planning to have some fun?"
"Oh my, isn't this Xiao Bai? What is it?" Ning Yin closed her folding fan and spoke in a childish voice.
"It's nothing, really~"
White Night took a few steps closer and leaned against the nearby wall. "I just think that at a time like this, you shouldn't be the one disturbing him. There must be someone more suitable."
"Someone more suitable?" Ning Yin thought for a moment, and the figures of Stella, Shizuku, and the others flashed through her mind.
In that case, going to disturb him would indeed be inappropriate, so Ning Yin changed her target.
Although White Night had seen through her last time, Ning Yin habitually used Drawn Foot again, pressing her entire body against White Night. "Speaking of which, I'm rather interested in Xiao Bai too~"
"Well? Are you interested in coming to my room tonight for a special lesson~?"
Umm...
White Night fell silent, unable to stop himself from recalling the fanfiction he had read. His gaze drifted toward the obi at Ning Yin's back.
Considering how familiar they were with each other, he ultimately gave up. He merely fiddled with the large red bow tied atop her head. "If Nenene wants to tease me, this alone won't be enough~"
"Mm! Does Xiao Bai want more?"
It was only a bow, so Ning Yin did not react much. Instead, she tightened her kimono and pretended to be shy as she teased him.
"You're a teacher, at least watch yourself a little."
"Oh my, what are you saying, Xiao Bai? I am..." Ning Yin seemed to want to say something else.
White Night knew exactly what she was like. Rather than continue playing along, he directly brought out his trump card. "But you're not really planning to do anything with me."
"Just now too, you looked very close, but in reality, only our arms touched."
"Ugh~ Xiao Bai, you're no fun!"
With that tone, small body, and childish appearance, she really did seem like an adorable little girl. But in the next moment, it became clear that it was all an illusion.
"Xiao Bai, so what you mean is... if I really planned to do something with you, you would accept?"
White Night remained unmoved.
"Let Bronya answer that."
Bronya slowly came around the corner of the corridor. "Although she's an expired loli, expiration has its advantages—after all, expired means legal."
"But that's impossible, isn't it? No one can replace the Chairman in Nenene's heart."
Before Ning Yin could say anything, White Night spoke first, defining the matter for her.
"..."
By coincidence, the Chairman had come looking for them as well. He had assumed that walking sexual harassment case was stirring up trouble again, but he never expected to hear such shocking remarks and did not know what to say for a moment.
"Alright, Chairman, the match is about to begin. Time to drag our commentator back to her post."
Neither White Night nor Bronya felt awkward. They acted as they normally would and walked past the two of them. "Oh, right, Nenene, please approve the private lesson request."
"Don't misunderstand. It's for the gravity course we mentioned last time," Bronya added calmly from the side.
Back at the arena:
"I didn't expect you to really show up."
At the center of the arena, the two combatants slowly approached each other. Kirihara Shiya struck first. "Then this time, it's fine if I beat you into a tattered rag, right? Failed Knight~"
"If you can do it, then give it a try." There was not the slightest hesitation in Ikki's gaze, only determination.
"What's with that look in your eyes..."
The moment he met Ikki's gaze, Kirihara became irritated. He summoned his spirit bow, Obscure Moon. "It's time to hunt, Obscure Moon! I'll help you see reality for what it is."
"Yin Iron."
Ikki remained composed as he calmly summoned Yin Iron and prepared for battle.
"...Tch~ Are you looking down on me?" Kirihara regarded Ikki as weak. With his personality, he could not accept being treated this way by someone weaker.
A vast forest appeared. The invisibility camouflage activated, and Kirihara Shiya's figure slowly faded as he blended into Hunter's Forest.
"It's appeared, Hunter's Forest!"
The Announcer shouted excitedly, stirring up cheers throughout the stands. In contrast...
"What an amazing Hunter's Forest."
"Yeah, it would be a pity not to use it for landscaping," Bronya added in agreement.
Their monotonous back-and-forth made Stella, Shizuku, and the others turn toward them. "Is that really okay?"
—It was clearly an incredibly powerful anti-person technique. How had it become landscaping in the two of their mouths?
"What's the problem?"
As he spoke, White Night tilted his head toward Bronya. Seeing her shake her head, he relaxed and continued, "That guy is just a scumbag. Ikki will be fine."
The Announcer was still diligently narrating. "Contestant Kirihara has already vanished from the field, so what will contestant Kurogane do?"
"It really is a troublesome ability..."
Standing amid the forest, Ikki calmly held Yin Iron and fully spread out his senses. "Had I not undergone special training, I probably would have found this difficult too."
But I'm different now... His wrist suddenly exerted force as Ikki swung his sword aside to block an arrow, following its trajectory to locate his opponent.
"Clang clang—!"
A barrage of arrows came flying in, only to be knocked down by his masterful swordsmanship. Ikki charged forward at high speed, Yin Iron drawing a flash of blade light through the air...
"Shing~"
Along with Sword Qi, a torn corner of a uniform was revealed, slowly drifting down from the air.
"That is... a fragment of a uniform! Could it be that contestant Kurogane has already pinpointed contestant Kirihara's location?"
The Announcer's passionate commentary remained dutiful as ever~ Then a childish voice sounded.
"Kirihara's Hunter's Forest cannot make his arrows transparent. Kurogane calculated Kirihara's location in reverse by following the direction the arrows came from."
"!!!"
"Nenene! When did you get here?" The Announcer had not noticed at all and could not help crying out.
What a mess, this counted as a broadcast accident! At this point, the Announcer could only cough a few times and force his way through it. "Ahem~ Thank you, Nenene, for your explanation."
"Could it be that Kurogane..."
Back in the arena, Kirihara Shiya appeared atop a tree branch. He spoke to Ikki in a rather composed tone. "Could it be that you truly intend to defeat me?"
Ikki held Yin Iron in silence. This time, he had confidence, so naturally he could not be bothered with a verbal dispute.
"...Tch~"
Before you continue