Morohoshi continued what he had been doing, quietly eating.
"Little Mio, the kind you like..."
Hearing that, Asagi Momiji recalled how Luo Mio had comforted her earlier that day, and her pretty face flushed slightly.
Touka noticed the blush on Asagi Momiji's cheeks and shot Luo Mio a dangerous look.
After hearing Shizuku's words, Luo Mio was utterly dumbfounded and stared at her in disbelief.
Damn it! Shizuku, how could you set me up like this?!
Shizuku clearly noticed Luo Mio's near-tearful expression and gave him an elegant, ladylike smile.
"Then, Little Mio... what kind of girls do you like?" Asagi Momiji softly asked Luo Mio.
The moment she said that, everyone at the table turned to look at Luo Mio.
"..."
Feeling everyone's gazes on him, Luo Mio swallowed.
In this situation, he did not dare say a word.
Touka and Kanata were staring at him with blazing eyes.
He definitely could not say anything carelessly.
Just then.
A burst of commotion came from the entrance of the cafeteria.
"Hey, it's 'Bad Luck' and the 'Puppeteer.'"
"Talk about bad luck, running into them here."
"Just looking at them makes me uncomfortable..."
"Yeah."
The students' quiet chatter buzzed around like flies by one's ears.
The noisy commotion also reached Luo Mio's corner.
Luo Mio and the others' attention was drawn over as they looked toward the entrance.
"Whew..." Seeing everyone's attention shift elsewhere, Luo Mio let out a breath before looking in that direction as well.
Two figures walked in through the cafeteria entrance.
One was a petite, cute boy in a uniform who looked just like a girl.
The other was a figure whose clothes, mask, and manner of walking were no different from those of a real clown.
Luo Mio's eyes narrowed slightly as he sharply scrutinized the two.
They were "Bad Luck," Shinomiya Amane, and the "Puppeteer," Hiraga Reisen, among Akatsuki Academy's representative students.
Arisugawa stared at the two with icy eyes.
"I never thought it would be them..."
"Yeah..." Ikki stared intently at the pair as well, though for some reason, his attention was focused entirely on Shinomiya Amane.
Touka and Stella also watched the two with cold gazes.
Asagi Momiji said, "I heard from Master that you and Little Mio had fought them before, Senior Sister."
"That's right..."
Shinomiya Amane and Hiraga Reisen looked around the cafeteria as if searching for someone.
Then they spotted Luo Mio and the others.
With an innocent smile, Shinomiya Amane waved at them.
Hiraga Reisen, meanwhile, kept staring deeply at them.
Beneath that clown mask, no one could tell what he was thinking, what he intended to do, or who exactly he was watching.
"!"
Luo Mio's eyes sharpened.
He... was looking... at me?
The two then looked away and turned their gazes elsewhere. As if they had failed to find whoever they were looking for, they left the cafeteria.
Luo Mio frowned, his eyes fixed on the now-closed cafeteria doors.
"His target should be you, Toudo."
At that moment, Jonoshiraki Byakuya stood beside Luo Mio, his phoenix eyes also fixed on the cafeteria entrance as he slowly spoke.
"Senior Jonoshiraki..." Luo Mio glanced at him, then recalled the way Hiraga Reisen had stared at him and said, "So you noticed it too."
"Just observation." Jonoshiraki Byakuya took off his glasses, pulled out a handkerchief, wiped them clean, and put them back on.
"You should be careful... of that 'clown'..."
"Although there have only been six matches, the opponents who fought him..."
Before Jonoshiraki Byakuya could finish, a large screen in the cafeteria flashed with blue light.
An electronic female voice rang out.
"Starting now, tomorrow's match information for the selected contestants will be announced. Please check whether your name appears on the screen. If it does, be prepared for tomorrow's match at all times. That is all."
Everyone turned their attention to the large screen.
"...!" Luo Mio's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the screen.
Touka frowned as well.
"I never thought it would be her."
Morohoshi Yudai was slightly startled when he saw it, then grinned.
"This battle is going to be interesting."
Shizuku's expression also grew solemn.
On the large screen, the first match of the first round was displayed...
"Hagun Academy, First Year—'Thousand Stars White Night' Toudo Touka VS Lianzhen Academy, Third Year—'White Knight' Yakushi Kiriko"
Training
After seeing the announced matchup, Luo Mio's heart grew heavy.
Touka looked at Luo Mio.
"Little Mio..."
"Yeah, I know, Sis." Luo Mio turned to glance at Touka before looking back at the screen and murmuring, "Yakushi Kiriko..."
The "White Knight," Yakushi Kiriko.
A third-year student at Lianzhen Academy. Though she was a Knight, she had always claimed to be a doctor in public.
Therefore, Yakushi Kiriko could be called the most skilled doctor in the Far East. Like Shizuku, she was a "Water Mage" Knight.
Even Shizuku had to admit that Yakushi Kiriko was the only "Water Mage" in the country stronger than her.
She had given up on participating in the Seven Stars Sword Dance Festival for the previous two years. Only in her third year had her teacher persuaded her to participate, and even then, she had done so reluctantly.
Though she always called herself a doctor, her potential as a Knight was extremely high. Since she had never participated in Knight activities, she had been rated as a B-Rank Blazer.
But once she got serious, her rating could stand alongside Stella, Ouma, and his own as an A-Rank Knight.
She was more than qualified to contend for the title of Seven Stars Sword King at the Seven Stars Sword Dance Festival.
Her strength could only be described as formidable.
Someone like that... as tomorrow's opponent...
This is troublesome...
"Hehe, I can't miss this match."
Morohoshi Yudai grinned at the screen.
Though Stella did not know who Yakushi Kiriko was, the solemn expressions on everyone else's faces told her just how powerful their opponent was.
"Whew." Luo Mio let out a breath and said to everyone, "Then I'll go make some preparations first."
Touka was about to say something, but stopped herself.
Her amber eyes watched Luo Mio.
"Good luck!"
Hearing that, Luo Mio curled his lips into a smile.
"Yeah!"
Luo Mio then bid everyone farewell, left the cafeteria alone, and entered one of the single-person training rooms provided by the hotel.
Luo Mio stood on the right side of the training room.
"Teacher, I'll be counting on you."
At Luo Mio's call.
Scarlet light flashed throughout the training room.
As the light faded, Fu Hua's crimson-and-white figure appeared alongside the red-and-white feathers of Feather of the Dust.
Her vermilion eyes glanced at Luo Mio. Without another word, raging flames ignited around her arms, and a pair of golden, red, and dark-red gauntlets appeared on them, pale blue jewels set into the backs of the gloves.
She immediately took the opening stance of Inch Force, facing Luo Mio as her clear, pleasant voice spoke calmly.
"Begin."
After seeing that Fu Hua was ready.
"Come forth, Eternal Twilight Wolves."
Bright silver flames emerged.
A new pair of Eternal Twilight Wolves, different from before, appeared over Luo Mio's arms.
The silver-purple patterns on the gauntlets shone with silver radiance, while the dark-purple butterfly-like armor pattern on the backs of his hands had become silver as well.
This was the evolved form of Eternal Twilight Wolves after his battle against Ouma.
Full Stars: ★★★★★
"Eternal Twilight Wolves" Level: 50.
His previous opponents had been too weak, so he had not revealed its evolved form in those earlier matches.
Luo Mio let out a breath.
Like Fu Hua, he assumed the opening stance of Inch Force.
"Whoosh—!"
Luo Mio charged first, his left hand forming a palm.
The second strike of Iron Strike: Falcon.
A sharp, lethal palm strike shot toward Fu Hua.
Fu Hua showed no panic in the face of the fierce incoming strike.
She raised her left arm, shifted slightly to the side, and knocked Luo Mio's Falcon strike aside with her elbow.
The third strike of Iron Strike: Falcon.
After knocking aside Luo Mio's left palm, Fu Hua raised her right hand and used the same technique Luo Mio had just used, swiftly striking toward him.
The second strike of Falcon.
Seeing Fu Hua's palm, Luo Mio reacted instantly. Borrowing the force of Fu Hua's third Falcon strike that had knocked aside his left hand, he twisted his body and raised his right arm, meeting Fu Hua's Falcon head-on with his elbow.
Palm against elbow—the same technique reflected the two's understanding and application of the move.
Before you continue