Who Isn't a Herrscher

"Brother..." Luo Mio said, "Where is that little Kong's brother now?"

Kong fell silent, then slowly replied.

"By my ear..."

Luo Mio didn't catch the hidden meaning in Kong's words.

"By your side?"

"Mm."

"Um..." Kong's voice rose slightly as he asked, "C-can I talk to you again in the future?"

Upon hearing the little angel's slightly pleading words, Luo Mio smiled and said, "Of course."

Hearing Luo Mio's answer, the little angel's tone became excited, and he happily said, "Really?"

"Really."

"Hooray!"

The joy in the little angel's voice reached Luo Mio's ears.

It made Luo Mio, on the other end of the phone, also put on a doting smile.

I don't hate children, I just hate children who aren't as cute as little angels.

I admit it, I'm a sucker for looks and voices.

After all, how could a child with such a cute voice have bad intentions?

The two chatted for a few more minutes.

The door to Room 44 suddenly opened.

Ikki walked in, carrying the food he had bought.

He saw Luo Mio with a relaxed and happy expression, chatting on the Student Handbook.

Luo Mio also saw Ikki return and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, little Kong, I have to go eat now."

"Eh?! Is that so..." Kong heard Luo Mio's apologetic words and said with some regret, "Okay then."

"Mm."

Kong immediately added, "P-please do your best in future matches too."

"Mm, I will."

"Bye-bye, talk to you later, Kong."

"Mm, bye-bye."

Luo Mio then hung up the phone and looked at Ikki.

"You're back."

"Mm." Ikki lifted the bag in his hand.

Ikki sat down next to Luo Mio and watched him break open a disposable pair of chopsticks. He asked curiously, "Who were you chatting with earlier, Miohua? You looked quite happy, and you were speaking Chinese."

"You could tell?"

"Mm, I used to watch some Chinese martial arts for research on sword techniques."

"I see."

"So, the person you were talking to just now was Chinese?"

Hearing Ikki's confused question, Luo Mio put down his chopsticks, put his hands in his pockets, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

"An angel!"

"Eh?" Ikki looked a bit confused, then asked, "An angel?"

"That's right! I..."

"Met an angel!"

Ikki scratched his cheek with his index finger.

"The angel you're talking about is the one you were on the phone with just now?"

"Yeah! Let me tell you, Kong is a huge fan of mine!"

"A huge fan?"

"Let me tell you all about it."

After hanging up the phone, Kong stared blankly at the phone in his hand.

"What? Still not back to yourself?" Edelweiss said with a smile, seeing Kong lost in thought.

Hearing Edelweiss's teasing, Kong snapped back to reality. He shyly turned his head away and said proudly, "I was back long ago. I-I was just wondering why the phone didn't explode or something."

Edelweiss found Kong's tsundere tone and flimsy excuse amusing. "Okay, okay, okay."

Afterward, he looked at Kong and asked, "Are you happy?"

Upon hearing this, Kong looked at Edelweiss's gentle smile.

"Yes, very happy!" Kong replied. Then, the golden pupils of her exquisite and adorable face narrowed into slits, a slight blush on her cheeks, and the corners of her mouth turned up, revealing a brilliant smile.

Such a bright and radiant smile...

Edelweiss recalled that ever since she had known Kong, she had never smiled like this before.

"Then you'll have to train your abilities well from now on, otherwise, you'll end up crying like today, unable to control your powers."

Edelweiss teased.

Kong's face immediately flushed with embarrassment.

"I, I know that! And I didn't, I didn't cry!"

After all, her spatial abilities were innate, and she could manipulate space as she pleased.

Of course, except for some very minute operations.

"Ho ho, is that so?"

"Hmph! Edelweiss, you big dummy!" Kong stuck out her tongue at Edelweiss before summoning a void and stepping into it.

Edelweiss shook her head with amusement and then walked away.

After Edelweiss left, at the location of the telephone booth where they had been, a police officer arrived in a patrol car.

He looked at the broken public telephone.

The officer scratched his head.

"This new equipment was just replaced yesterday, how did it get broken?"

Chapter Thirty-Six: Peeping

"Ahhh."

The rich and delicious curry on the rice spoon, along with soft white rice, entered his mouth.

Luo Mio sat in the hotel restaurant, eating lunch. At the same table were Ikki, Touka, and the others.

Stella scooped up a mouthful of rice, chewed it in her mouth, and looked around.

"It seems like there are fewer people here than at the previous banquet."

"Isn't that obvious?" Shizuku elegantly picked up a bowl of soup and took a sip with enjoyment, saying faintly, "After all, most of the people still here have gone through four or five battles and won."

As Shizuku said, the students still remaining at the hotel were those who had participated in five or six matches and possessed considerable strength!

The students who had left were those who had lost two matches and were disqualified.

Touka scanned the surroundings, then looked at everyone and said, "The upcoming matches will likely become increasingly difficult to handle, so everyone, keep up the good work."

"Yeah!"

Stella's eyes were filled with fighting spirit. She then looked at Ikki and froze, asking, "Ikki? What's wrong? Your face looks strange."

Ikki chuckled awkwardly.

"What's wrong? Elder Brother?" Shizuku, hearing Stella's words, also looked at Ikki with a worried expression.

"Do you need me to check you?"

As a water mage, Shizuku could check on others' physical condition very well.

Ikki shook his head and said with a wry smile, "...It's just that lately, it feels like someone has been following me."

"What!"

"What!"

Stella and Shizuku instantly stood up and shouted at Ikki.

"Hey, you two, mind your image!"

Luo Mio scooped up a mouthful of rice and looked at Stella and Shizuku, who had stood up without any regard for their appearance, and swallowed the rice.

"Everyone nearby is looking."

Hearing Luo Mio's words, Stella and Shizuku finally reacted. Because of their shouting, the other students having lunch nearby had turned to look.

The two of them immediately blushed and sat back down in their chairs.

Then, they asked Ikki.

"Elder Brother, when did you first realize you were being followed?"

Ikki said, "It should have been about a week ago, after Miohua and Ouma finished their match, I started to sense it more or less."

"Eh?!"

The two exclaimed in surprise again, but this time they weren't too loud.

"F-following, like... like a pervert who follows someone around every day, then takes pictures and threatens them to do anything..."

"Hahaha, Stella, you're being a bit too dramatic," Shizuku said, waving her hand. However, the slight twitch of her lips betrayed her inner tension.

Upon hearing their conversation, Ikki explained, "I didn't sense any malice from their gaze, so I didn't pay attention. But it seems they haven't given up."

Luo Mio, listening to their talk, looked at Arisugawa and said, "Alice, you noticed it too, didn't you?"

Arisugawa nodded. Having once been a killer, he was highly sensitive to being watched.

"Yeah. But since you and Ikki didn't seem to be bothered by it, I didn't say anything."

Stella, hearing their exchange, exclaimed in surprise, "Miohua and Alice noticed it too?"

Luo Mio shrugged. "Well, when Ikki goes for training and matches, Alice and I always accompany him, so we both noticed it a while ago."

"I don't know who's been staring, but I'm guessing it's one of Ikki's fangirls."

"I think so too."

Arisugawa agreed with Luo Mio's assessment.

Luo Mio then looked at Touka, who had been quietly eating her lunch.

"Elder Sister probably noticed it too, right?"

"Eh!?"

Hearing Luo Mio's question, Touka looked up, smiled, and with faint golden lightning flickering in her eyes, she said, "Well, since the gaze has been fixed on us, it's hard not to notice."

"Huh? Even Touka-senpai noticed?" Stella said, looking a bit dumbfounded.

Shizuku understood after hearing Touka's words.

"So, Touka-neechan means the person who's been following and peeking at Elder Brother is in this restaurant right now, right?"

Touka smiled and nodded.

"Is that so?"