The Princess's Provocation! Sudden Changes in the Selection Tournament!

The next day, dawn had barely broken, and the morning breeze carried a slight chill.

Kashu put on his brand-new uniform, then raised a hand and gave Ikki Kurogane, who was still sound asleep in the top bunk, a neither too light nor too heavy pat.

"Hey, Ikki. If you're late for the first class of the new term, you can look forward to repeating a grade!"

"Haah... give me a break. Why bring up something so terrifying first thing in the morning?"

With prominent dark circles beneath his eyes, Ikki Kurogane groggily sat up and reached out to roughly rake through his bedhead.

The two of them had fiercely debated the principles behind secret techniques until well past midnight, nearly causing him, who usually woke early for morning training, to oversleep.

In contrast, Kashu was still full of energy, without the slightest hint of fatigue.

Sure enough, people's constitutions couldn't be compared so broadly.

Ikki Kurogane then swiftly got out of bed and rushed into the bathroom. Washing up, changing clothes—his entire routine flowed smoothly, and he was ready within five minutes.

"I still have a few doubts about some details of Sun Breathing's Third Form."

Kashu took out his mobile terminal and waved it around. "Talk on the way, or we really will be late."

"Fuu~"

Fou shook out her pristine white fur, then lightly leaped onto Kashu's shoulder. She waved a tiny paw, signaling that it was time to go.

As the two men and one beast hurried down the dormitory building, they found a figure standing conspicuously at the entrance—Stella.

She stood with her arms crossed, seemingly waiting specifically for someone to arrive.

Ikki Kurogane spoke with a hint of teasing in his voice. "The A-rank Princess of Vermillion... she couldn't have come specifically to see you, could she?"

Kashu shrugged indifferently. "Who knows? Maybe she's still holding a grudge over me refusing her sparring request yesterday."

Ikki Kurogane let out a deliberately shocked gasp. "You did that kind of thing too?"

A vein twitched on Kashu's forehead. "Could you please make yourself clear? What do you mean, 'that kind of thing'? I haven't done anything that needs censoring."

Ikki Kurogane waggled his eyebrows. "Hard to say. You never really know what someone's like inside."

Kashu could not be bothered to keep trading barbs with him. He suddenly quickened his pace, intending to bypass Stella and head straight for the classroom.

However, the moment they left the dormitory building, Stella, who had been quietly waiting, also moved. Striding forward on her long legs, she followed behind the two of them at an unhurried pace.

Ikki Kurogane: (￢_￢) Glance.

Kashu: (°ー°)

Fou: (◊ω◊)

"Look, that's the famous Crimson Lotus Princess!"

"She isn't just a princess—she's also a genius Mage Knight seen only once in a century!"

"Tsk, tsk. What a winner in life. She started on easy mode."

"Hey, look at the one walking in front. Isn't that the legendary Radiant Dragon Holy Sword?"

"Silver hair, silver eyes. No mistake, it's him!"

"Another A-rank Knight? This year's freshmen are way too terrifying!"

"But why are those two favored by heaven hanging around with the 'Failed Knight'?"

"Who knows? Geniuses always do things that are impossible to understand."

Kashu and the others walked with their heads down through the corridor leading to the first-year classroom, while the hushed yet perfectly audible chatter of curious onlookers continuously drifted in from all around them.

Ikki Kurogane quietly moved closer to Kashu and asked in a lowered voice.

"Radiant Dragon Holy Sword?"

"Just a prank by some petty-minded chairman. Don't mind it."

Kashu did not even bother considering a second suspect before immediately reaching that conclusion.

Ignoring the probing gazes all the way, as well as Stella, who followed them like a ghost at their backs, Kashu and Ikki Kurogane entered the classroom side by side.

The students in the class had clearly already heard that two A-rank Knights would be joining them. They only cast cautious, curious glances their way, but no one dared approach them first.

Kashu found a seat by the window and sat down. Only then did he turn to look at Stella, who was still following closely behind him, a teasing smile curling his lips.

"Miss Vermillion, does your country happen to have a special custom of following strange men around?"

"Wha!?"

The beautiful eyes that had been burning with fighting spirit immediately flashed with embarrassment and anger. Stella clenched her silver teeth and glared fiercely at Kashu.

"Don't flatter yourself! I just wanted an opportunity to have a fair fight with the two of you!"

"The two of us?"

Kashu raised an eyebrow. His smile carried a hint of mischief as he turned toward Ikki Kurogane beside him.

"Ikki, it seems Miss Vermillion thinks quite highly of your strength too. How about a friendly mock match during lunch break?"

"Not a mock match!"

Before Ikki Kurogane could speak, Stella rejected the suggestion decisively.

She straightened her back, lifted her chin, and declared.

"I came to Hagun Academy to become stronger! The gains from real combat are far beyond anything a mock match can offer. I won't back down again!"

Stella's answer rang loud and clear. It was obvious that she was responding to Kashu's refusal yesterday.

Knowing the full story, Ikki Kurogane could only give Kashu a helpless look. He silently pulled a textbook from his desk and pretended to study it with complete concentration.

Hey! You know what?

This textbook really was textbook!

The other students had naturally heard Stella's gunpowder-laced declaration as well. But before they could begin whispering among themselves, the first-year homeroom teacher leisurely entered the classroom.

"Ahem~ Good morning, everyone. Congratulations on successfully enrolling. I'm your homeroom teacher, Oriki Yuri."

"Since this is my first time serving as a homeroom teacher, and I'm also a lively, super-energetic new teacher, please be sure to affectionately call me Yuri-chan ❤."

Despite making that energetic declaration, Oriki Yuri herself looked utterly listless.

The dark circles under her eyes were even heavier than Ikki Kurogane's, and her entire body radiated the worn-down air unique to a seriously ill patient.

Kashu and Stella both stared at Oriki Yuri on the podium with expressions that were difficult to describe, then practically spoke in unison.

"Where exactly do you look lively?"

"Ahahaha, Teacher Oriki really is a very nice person, although she..."

"Okay, I really can't keep making this up."

Ikki Kurogane gave up struggling, because even he felt that the disconnect between Oriki Yuri's words and actions and her actual state was simply overwhelming!

Oriki Yuri continued trying her best to liven up the atmosphere. She slowly wrote the five words [Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival] on the electronic blackboard and began explaining.

"Actually, what your teacher most wants to talk about right now is the representative selection tournament for the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival."

"You should all remember what the chairman said during the entrance ceremony, right? Yuri-chan is very sorry to inform everyone of something."

"The internal selection tournament originally scheduled to begin next week has officially been canceled. An explanation session will be held as soon as possible to announce the newly revised selection format."

"The internal selection tournament was canceled!?"

Upon hearing this news, Ikki Kurogane abruptly rose from his seat, his face full of disbelief.

Until now, he had always suffered unreasonable exclusion from the school's upper administration, making him unable to participate in representative tournaments that used innate ability values as their primary selection standard.

He had thought that, with Chairman Kurono Shinguuji's sweeping reforms this year, he would finally be able to carve out a path of his own through combat-based selection.

And now something like this had happened?

Oriki Yuri naturally understood Ikki Kurogane's situation as well. She raised a hand to signal for him to stay calm, then continued explaining to all the students below the podium.

"I know everyone is very concerned about the selection tournament, but due to various complicated issues, the chairman still needs some time to handle matters properly. Please be patient and wait."

Kashu remained seated as steady as a rock, as though everything happening around him had nothing to do with him.

He merely flipped through the first-year textbook at an unhurried pace and spoke to Ikki Kurogane beside him without even raising his head.

"Relax, Ikki. You'll definitely become an official representative."

Ikki Kurogane slowly sat back down, his expression complicated and his voice carrying a trace of barely noticeable gloom.

"Yeah. Thanks for the reassurance."

Stella, seated behind them, had a subtle flicker in her eyes. She looked as though she wanted to say something, stopped herself, then wanted to speak again.

She knew perfectly well what had caused the sudden change in the representative selection tournament. After all, she had watched the entire thing unfold, hadn't she?

Then Stella's gaze fell on Kashu, who was quietly turning pages as though everything was under his control, and she murmured very softly.

"What a scheming guy."

She narrowed her eyes slightly and thought to herself.

No matter how the selection tournament changed, she had to obtain a spot as an official representative!

After class, she would talk to this guy!

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