He sniffed the rich aroma. Ah, tonkotsu ramen!
After taking a sip of the broth, Luo Mio couldn't help letting out a low moan.
The broth was savory and rich...
So good...
"Ah... By the way, where's Shizuku?" Luo Mio asked after slurping up some ramen, looking behind Arisugawa.
Normally, Arisugawa always followed behind Shizuku, staying by her side as her devoted escort.
"You didn't know?"
"Huh?"
"Stella-chan has a match today."
"Ah, is that so?"
Arisugawa gave Luo Mio a puzzled look, then noticed the Student Handbook tossed onto the bed, already powered off. He seemed to realize something.
"Ah... I see. That must have been tough for you." Arisugawa smiled wryly. "Stella's match was announced last night, actually! It starts at twelve thirty this afternoon, at Arena Ten."
"Heh..." Ikki looked a little surprised.
After all, Stella and Shizuku could be said to be like fire and water.
As if noticing Ikki's surprise, Arisugawa said, "Don't let Shizuku's attitude fool you. Stella is still the only friend she acknowledges."
After hearing their conversation, Luo Mio checked the time. It was 12:11 p.m.
"Then..." Luo Mio turned on the match livestream on the television and selected Arena Ten.
"It starts at twelve thirty, right?"
Arisugawa nodded.
"Then we can wait a little longer... Slurp~"
"By the way, who is Stella's opponent?" Ikki asked Arisugawa.
"I think it's a third-year student from Guanlang Academy."
"Huh..."
Hearing that, Luo Mio's heart stirred. "Do you know their name?"
"I don't, actually." Arisugawa shook his head, then looked at Luo Mio curiously. "Why?"
Luo Mio slurped up some noodles and shrugged. "A third-year from Guanlang Academy... I just hope Stella isn't facing that 'Sword Eater,' Kurashiki Kurato!"
Arisugawa frowned. "Is that Sword Eater really that strong?"
"Well, he was one of the top eight contestants in last year's Seven Stars Sword Dance Festival!"
"Top eight... But Stella-chan is an A-Rank Knight. She shouldn't lose to a top-eight contestant, right?"
Luo Mio shook his head at Arisugawa's words.
"If he goes all out, he can even fight Morohoshi-senpai, the 'Seven Stars Sword King'!"
"!"
Beside them, Ikki held up his Student Handbook and said to Arisugawa, "Well, don't worry. According to the schedule, Sword Eater already finished his match this morning."
"Phew." Arisugawa sighed in relief.
After all, Kurashiki Kurato was strong enough to contend with Morohoshi Yudai!
"Ah!" Luo Mio looked at the screen. "The match is about to begin!"
After the commentator announced the end of the match,
"Stella really is strong," Ikki said as he watched Stella's departing figure after her victory.
Arisugawa nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she completely overwhelmed her opponent from the very beginning!"
Then he looked toward Luo Mio. "After all, just like Miohua, she's an A-Rank Knight. Both of you crushed your opponents in your opening matches!"
Luo Mio replied helplessly, "This A-Rank Knight is scared to even leave the hotel now!"
Arisugawa rose to his feet with a laugh. "All right, all right. I'll go pick up those two young ladies and bring them back to the hotel."
Luo Mio waved his hand. "Take care~"
At three in the afternoon, Luo Mio stood in the waiting room and looked at Touka. "Sis, are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Don't worry." Touka smiled, then covered her mouth and snickered at Luo Mio. "What surprised me was that Miohua would actually wear something like this outside."
Luo Mio's mouth twitched. "Stop talking about it, Sis!"
Luo Mio had let down her usually tied-up hair, allowing it to fall behind her back. She wore light makeup, a touch of eyeshadow at the corners of her eyes, faintly applied lipstick, seductive black pantyhose, and a Buku Academy girls' uniform borrowed from Asagi Momiji, whose face had been full of gossip.
That's right, women's clothing!
Reporters were lurking all around the hotel entrance, making Luo Mio too afraid to leave in her usual clothes. In the end, she had no choice but to follow Arisugawa's suggestion and change into women's clothing...
Luo Mio could still remember the delight in Shizuku's eyes, along with Asagi Momiji's relentless picture-taking!
Even Ikki, her close friend, had looked away with an expression that said he couldn't bear to watch.
Luo Mio had even heard Fu Hua snicker in the Consciousness Space for a moment...
System: Zero times and countless times...
"All right, all right, it's your turn to go on now!" Luo Mio said to Touka in embarrassment and irritation.
"Yes, yes, yes..."
At the hotel, inside a private dining room.
"Congratulations on winning your opening match, Touka-senpai!" Stella raised her drink in celebration.
"Thank you, Stella."
Arisugawa looked around at everyone. "Now Ikki is the only one who hasn't had his opening match yet, right?"
Everyone then looked at Ikki.
"Are you okay, Ikki?" Stella asked worriedly.
Ikki shook his head. "Don't worry. I'm fine."
Arisugawa smiled. "When tomorrow's match schedule is announced, it should be Ikki's turn."
Shizuku proudly raised her head. "If it's Brother, he'll definitely defeat his opponent!"
Touka smiled gently as well. "We've all seen Ikki-kun's strength. Do your best!"
Luo Mio nudged Ikki with her elbow and teased, "Don't lose your opening match! Everyone outside knows we're close friends now."
Hearing everyone's encouragement, Ikki smiled sheepishly.
Then everyone waited for the match schedule to be announced!
They looked toward the television screen in the room.
"Hagun Academy First-Year Student Kurogane Ikki VS Hagun Academy Second-Year Student Kirimura Seiya"
The next morning, Luo Mio woke up and found Ikki's bed empty, her thoughts returning to when the schedule had been announced the night before.
Arisugawa stared at the screen with a solemn expression. "I didn't expect it to be him."
Stella also looked disgustedly at her opponent's name. "So it's that disgusting guy."
Kirimura Seiya had lost his first match to Luo Mio, and his second match would be against Ikki.
Luo Mio stared silently at the screen.
No matter how the timeline changed, would Ikki still end up facing Kirimura Seiya...?
Then Luo Mio looked at Ikki and saw the complicated expression in his eyes as he stared at the screen.
While Luo Mio was getting washed up after getting out of bed, there was a knock at the door.
Looking through the peephole, she saw Shizuku and Arisugawa standing outside.
After entering the room and seeing only Luo Mio there, Shizuku asked, "Brother isn't here...?"
Leaning against the wardrobe, Luo Mio said to Shizuku, "He should be in the training room provided by the hotel with Stella right now."
To ensure that the participating students could remain in peak condition at all times, the committee had converted some hotel rooms into training rooms where students could simulate combat.
Arisugawa asked Luo Mio, "Do you think Ikki has a chance of winning this match?"
Luo Mio glanced at Arisugawa, then saw Shizuku staring straight at her as well.
She sighed. "Under the current circumstances, the odds of winning this match are fifty-fifty."
"Fifty-fifty... Half and half..."
"That's right."
Shizuku furrowed her cute brows in confusion. "But Brother is strong enough to defeat that idiot princess. Against Kirimura Seiya, his chances of winning should still be high, right?"
Luo Mio shook her head at Shizuku's question.
"That's true. Ikki's strength is already on par with Stella's."
"But that's only within the realm where blades and swords cross."
"If they fought purely within that realm, Ikki could already contend against competitors with national-level strength."
"However, Kirimura Seiya's Hunter's Forest completely counters Ikki's One Blade Asura in terms of compatibility."
After hearing this, Arisugawa thought it over. "Miohua is right. In terms of compatibility, Kirimura Seiya's Hunter's Forest does perfectly counter Ikki."
"Also, Ikki doesn't have wide-area Blade Dance Techniques like Stella and Shizuku, nor does he have something like Sis's Lightning Eye to detect other people's nerve signals."
"What's more, when Kirimura Seiya fought me, he was probably hiding another move."
"Then..." After hearing Luo Mio's analysis, Shizuku looked worried. "Doesn't that put Brother in an extremely dangerous position?"
Luo Mio walked over to Shizuku and flicked her forehead.
Smack!
"What was that for?" Shizuku covered her forehead and glared at Luo Mio.
"Are you underestimating your brother too much?"
"But..."
Faced with Shizuku's concern, Luo Mio said casually, "All right, all right. Stella and Ikki are alone together in the training room right now~, a man and a woman alone in the same room!"
"!"
"Excuse me!"
Shizuku immediately stood up and left the room.
After watching Shizuku leave in a hurry, Arisugawa shook his head with a smile, then looked at Luo Mio. "So, you sent Shizuku away. What did you want to tell me?"
Luo Mio's lips curled upward. "As expected of Alice. You noticed?"
Arisugawa shrugged.
Looking at the door Shizuku had just left through, Luo Mio said, "It's not actually difficult for Ikki to defeat Kirimura Seiya, as long as he can realize it."
"Oh?"
Luo Mio turned back to Arisugawa and slowly said, "'Blade Steel'—the only skill Ikki has that can counter Hunter's Forest."
"Huh?"
Before you continue