The Unknown Side
"L-Little Ai?"
The unexpectedly adorable name made everyone present blink in unison.
Especially Ikki and Todo Touka. They furrowed their brows as if they could not remember anyone connected to that name at all.
Only two people reacted excessively to the name.
"Little Ai...?"
Arisugawa Nagi looked utterly astonished, as if she had been frightened out of her wits.
"Cough...!"
Luo Zhen happened to be drinking water and almost choked.
But Luo Zhen's coughing attracted the attention of someone he should not have attracted.
"Huh?"
The one calling herself Little Ai, Edelweiss, turned her gaze toward Luo Zhen. Before he could look away, she suddenly let out a surprised sound, then frowned and fixed her eyes on him.
Under Edelweiss's intense scrutiny, Luo Zhen appeared calm on the surface, but cold sweat was already pouring down his back.
Fortunately, after what had just happened, quite a few people present had grown curious about Edelweiss.
Ikki, for example.
Todo Touka, too.
"Miss Little Ai, are you a Magic Knight as well?"
Todo Touka asked Edelweiss this question.
It seemed that Edelweiss's flawless bearing had eventually caught Todo Touka's attention.
Naturally, Ikki was interested as well.
"Could you be a retired competitor from the 'Alliance'?"
Ikki made this guess.
Ikki believed that Edelweiss was definitely no ordinary person. She was very likely an extremely famous Magic Knight who had even appeared in competitions held by the 'Alliance'.
However, judging from the fact that no one had been able to recall her identity immediately, she might not be an active competitor. Perhaps she was a retired competitor like Shinguji Kuroono.
There were quite a few female competitors like Shinguji Kuroono—powerful and outstanding, once ranked highly in the world after competing for the 'KOK' A-League, yet eventually retiring for reasons such