Who Isn't a Herrscher

He said in a hushed, slow tone.

"Because your chest isn't as comfortable as my sister's or Sister Kanata's."

"..."

The atmosphere between the two instantly fell silent.

Luo Mio didn't turn his head, merely glancing slightly towards Asagi Momiji.

He saw Asagi Momiji's cute, pale cherry lips slightly parted, her eyes staring blankly at Luo Mio.

Then her gaze shifted back, looking elsewhere.

Sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh, sigh...

What did I just say!

Luo Mio roared internally, complaining.

The moment Asagi Momiji spoke, Luo Mio had glanced at her.

Her beautiful and cute face, with a boyish bandage on the side. Her black hair was tied into a high ponytail.

A normal height for a girl, with a slender build.

It was just that her chest wasn't as large or full as Touka's, Stella's, or Kidewara Kanata's.

And it was precisely thinking of this that Luo Mio's mouth unconsciously blurted out his inner thoughts.

Just then, a voice echoed in Luo Mio's consciousness.

"Mio... I didn't expect you..." Fu Hua's clear, classical voice sounded.

Luo Mio: "...(?_?)"

"You don't need to say anything."

No, wait...

Before he could finish speaking, Fu Hua's voice disappeared.

Within the consciousness space, Fu Hua, dressed in crimson and pure white, looked down with her vermilion, radiant eyes.

Mediocre...

Then, a sorrowful sigh echoed within the consciousness space.

Luo Mio then awkwardly glanced at Asagi Momiji again.

She looked tearful and hollow, her gaze unfocused as she stared at Luo Mio.

Sensing the hurt his words had caused, Luo Mio turned to Asagi Momiji and said.

"It's okay, Sister Momiji, it's okay."

"You have to know, even so, you're one in a million, a beautiful girl with both strength and looks!"

"There are definitely many students at Buku Academy who admire you!"

"Let me tell you."

"Sexiness is no match for cuteness!"

Hearing Luo Mio's damage-control words.

The hollow look in Asagi Momiji's eyes slowly began to gleam.

Then she slowly spoke.

"Really?"

"Really, really..."

Seeing Asagi Momiji's expression gradually improve, Luo Mio finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Looks like I need to watch my mouth from now on.

After that, they finished their lunch. Luo Mio then made an excuse about going to watch Ikki's match and bid farewell to Asagi Momiji.

Luo Mio left the hotel and walked along the street provided by the committee, heading towards the competition venue where Ikki was.

In a shadowy corner of the street.

Within a space that flickered indistinctly in the shadows, an elegant figure appeared.

"Really, I feel like, Void, you're turning me into a criminal who peeks at others, step by step."

Edelweiss's elegant and moving voice spoke, speechlessly addressing Void, who was secretly observing Luo Mio in the space.

Then, Void's cute and pleasant voice said dismissively, "Anyway, you're already known as the world's most evil criminal, so it doesn't make much of a difference."

Edelweiss's beautiful brows twitched slightly.

"Where did you put my world's strongest swordsman?"

"Oh, it's all the same, all the same."

Void said to Edelweiss in a casual tone.

Edelweiss sighed helplessly upon hearing Void's perfunctory tone.

Then she looked at Luo Mio, who was walking away, and said, "How is it? Are there any problems?"

Void stared intently at Luo Mio through space, observing, "From the looks of it now, big brother hasn't been assimilated by the power."

Edelweiss asked curiously, "What if he was assimilated?"

Void said something astonishing in a speechless tone.

"If he were successfully assimilated by the power (Honkai), this civilization would be gone."

Edelweiss's silver-gray eyes looked at the space beside her in surprise, then turned towards Luo Mio, who had already walked far away.

Chapter 45: A Chilling Sensation Down My Spine~

"Ikki, you performed quite well in this match," Luo Mio said as he walked beside Ikki.

The match, scheduled for 4 PM today, pitted Ikki against a third-year student from Jumen Academy who had participated in the Seven Stars Sword Dance Festival last year. Today, Ikki had defeated his opponent with overwhelming strength.

"You're on a six-game winning streak now, aren't you?" Luo Mio counted on his fingers.

"Amazing! Every match was a complete stomp, 'Uncrowned Sword King (AontherOne)'," Luo Mio teased.

Ikki, hearing Luo Mio's teasing, shyly scratched his cheek with his index finger.

Luo Mio looked at Ikki, whose demeanor was completely different on and off the stage.

A shy, sunny boy off the stage, and a calm, sharp 'Uncrowned Sword King' on the stage.

"Ikki!"

Stella's pleasant voice rang out from behind Luo Mio and Ikki.

The two turned around and saw Stella waving, a brilliant smile on her face.

"Stella."

Ikki looked at his lover, and love involuntarily flowed into his eyes.

"Miohua, Ikki."

Behind Stella were two other female figures.

The two figures were Touka and Kidewara Kanata.

Touka wore her usual school uniform, her twin pigtails trailing behind her. A pair of large glasses sat on the young girl's pretty face, and her chestnut-gold eyes looked gently at Luo Mio and Ikki.

Kidewara Kanata was also in her unchanging attire, wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat. Beneath the hat was a delicate and beautiful face, and behind it, her vibrant, dazzling golden hair. Her sapphire-blue eyes gazed out from beneath the brim, and her white Western-style dress accentuated her beautiful, full figure, which seemed full of longing. She held a parasol in her hand.

"Sister Touka, Senior Kanata, good afternoon," Ikki politely greeted the two women.

"Good afternoon, Ikki-kun."

"Good day, Kurogane-kun."

Touka and Kidewara Kanata also greeted Ikki.

Luo Mio looked at Touka and asked curiously, "Sister, Sister Kanata, what are you two doing here?"

Touka smiled and said, "Kanata has a match this afternoon, so I accompanied her."

"Oh." Luo Mio asked again, "Who is the opponent?"

Upon hearing this, Touka's face showed a hint of embarrassment.

"Sister?"

Touka coughed, then glanced away, saying awkwardly, "Renren..."

"..."

Luo Mio looked at Touka in disbelief upon hearing this. "You mean... Senior Usamaru Renren?"

Touka nodded sheepishly.

"Hiss..."

Both Luo Mio and Ikki were so shocked they couldn't speak.

Although it was a free-for-all among the eight academies, there was still a certain chance of drawing fellow students from the same academy as opponents.

Luo Mio hadn't expected that, besides himself and Ikki, there would be students from Hagun Academy facing each other, and not just any students, but members of the student council.

"So, the result..." Luo Mio glanced at Kidewara Kanata, who stood beside Touka holding her parasol.

Kidewara Kanata noticed Luo Mio's gaze. Her elegant, composed face broke into a graceful smile directed at him.

Luo Mio: "..."

Well... the result was obvious.

As the foremost noble of the Far East, Kidewara, Kidewara Kanata had, in her student days, been "specially summoned" to the front lines of actual combat.

Her strength had clearly reached the pinnacle among student knights.

"What about Senior Usamaru now...?" Ikki asked Touka.

Kidewara Kanata smiled knowingly. "As for Renren, don't worry. She's probably with Saishiro Rai right now."

"Relax, Renren has only lost one match so far, she still has five chances," Touka added from the side.

"Alright then..."

Hearing both Touka and Kidewara Kanata say so, Luo Mio didn't press the matter further.

Beside Ikki, Stella's eyes burned with fighting spirit as she looked at Kidewara Kanata. "Sister Kanata, your strength is truly incredible!"

As a fighter through and through, Kidewara Kanata looked back at Stella.

"Stella, your strength is also very impressive!"

"I hope we'll have the chance to spar on the tournament grounds."

A fierce flame of fighting spirit ignited between the two.

"Um, should we head back to the hotel now?" Luo Mio said to the others.

The five of them then began walking in the direction of the hotel.