Chapter 113: The Missing Nene!
Time quickly arrived at the official first day of school.
After finishing that morning's training, Stella and Shiro came to the cafeteria entrance and waited for Ikki, who had gone back to the dorm to change clothes.
After that battle, Ikki had been badly injured. His internal organs had nearly been shattered by Shiro's strike. If Shiro had not reacted at the last moment and pulled back, Ikki would not have simply been sent flying. He would have been cut in two by that blow.
Fortunately, this world's medical technology was absurdly advanced. After Ikki was placed inside a device called a regeneration pod, he was already lively again within two days.
However, that incident seemed to have left some psychological trauma on both Ikki and Stella, who had watched from the side. Every time they trained, they felt like Shiro might really kill them, making them jumpy during morning practice these past few days.
Even so, the potential the two of them displayed was enough to surprise Shiro.
On the first day, Stella had been gasping after running eight kilometers. By the third day, she had actually run twenty kilometers and still asked to practice swordsmanship afterward. It seemed that battle with Ikki had indeed stimulated her.
Ikki was even more absurd.
After he was discharged, Shiro asked how he had managed to learn all of his techniques during their exchange. Ikki's answer was, "No one taught me sword techniques when I was little, so I could only secretly learn by watching. Over time, I developed this ability."
No wonder Kurono valued him so much.
This was already beyond what could be described with words like talent or effort.
Even Shiro took a bit of a blow after learning that. He was so irritated that for the past two days, he could only go to Nene and have her comfort his fragile little heart.
The troublesome part was that Stella was extremely curious about where he kept running off to at night. When she heard Shiro say he was "training his body," she almost wanted to follow him too.
Fortunately, he had a flash of inspiration and used the excuse that "people's physiques can't be generalized" to make Stella temporarily give up on the idea of going with him.
"Hey, look at that. She's [Crimson Princess], right? She really is as beautiful as the rumors say."
"Is the guy standing beside her the one who beat Crimson Princess right after enrolling? What exactly is his background?"
"Didn't you see the new information announced on the student handbook? That guy is now the top-ranked new student."
"Who are those two waiting for? Don't tell me they're really waiting for that [Worst One]. I think I saw them running together in the morning before."
A handsome boy and beautiful girl standing together was already enough to attract the attention of the surrounding students. More importantly, both of them were legendary A-Rank knights, existences almost beyond reach for student knights. For a time, every topic in the cafeteria revolved around the two of them.
"Isn't Ikki a little too slow today?"
Stella, already used to being talked about, ignored the surrounding students and complained while looking at the schedule hanging by the cafeteria entrance.
After spending these past few days together, Ikki seemed to feel strange about people constantly calling him Kurogane-san. And apparently, his younger sister would also be enrolling this year. To distinguish between the two of them, he told Shiro and Stella to just call him by his given name.
"Sorry, I'm late."
Speak of the devil.
Ikki soon appeared within their sight. Behind him followed a tall young man wearing gloves and with slightly curly purple hair.
"Who is this?"
Shiro and Stella looked at the person behind Ikki in confusion. Over the past two days, they had already learned that Ikki had almost no friends in this school, so why had someone they did not know suddenly appeared with him at the cafeteria?
"My name is Arisuin Nagi. I'm a girl who was unfortunately born into the wrong body. If you don't mind, everyone can just call me Alice~"
The man named Arisuin Nagi threw Ikki a wink and spoke in a sweet voice.
"Um... he's my new roommate. After you raised that suggestion to the director that day, Shiro, she seemed to think it made sense, so she tried her best to avoid having boys and girls live together at our school."
Ikki's expression was somewhat stiff, but he still forced out an awkward smile and explained.
His words were immediately followed by Alice's agreement.
"The director is just too much. I'm clearly a girl, but she insisted that my physical structure is male. Still, thanks to that, I met Ikki, so I suppose fortune and misfortune come together."
Alice's words made Shiro feel a chill.
After saying, "Sorry, let me borrow Ikki for a moment," Shiro reached out and dragged Ikki aside.
"Um... Ikki, you don't happen to have that kind of preference, do you? Don't worry, just say it boldly. Stella and I won't stop being your friends because of something like that..."
"Of course not!"
Even someone as good-natured as Ikki could not hold back after hearing his orientation being questioned and shouted out loud. Then, realizing Alice might have heard their conversation, he lowered his voice and muttered,
"Do you remember the younger sister I mentioned before? Alice's original roommate was supposed to be her. Later, the director considered that my sister might go make trouble at her office like Stella did, so she put Alice with me instead."
Ikki's younger sister was the treasured pearl of the Kurogane family. Her position in the Kurogane household was roughly the same as Stella's in the Vermillion Empire.
If such an important person ran to the office to complain every day, even Kurono would not be able to stand it. As for the only remaining person who could handle that sort of thing, Nene, no one knew why, but she had been impossible to find for the past two days.
And so, Kurono made the decision and threw Alice over to Ikki. According to her, this was a necessary sacrifice.
"Ah, Ikki, are you two done talking?"
Seeing Shiro and Ikki return, Alice happily linked arms with Ikki and walked into the cafeteria.
According to Alice, this was a way for close friends to express friendship.
At this moment, Stella deliberately fell two steps behind. She secretly reached out and tugged on Shiro's sleeve, making him stop too.
Just as Shiro was feeling puzzled, Stella leaned closer to his ear and whispered,
"You don't happen to be the type who likes boys too, right?"
This was what people called karmic retribution.
Just a moment ago, Shiro had been questioning Ikki's orientation, only for Stella to immediately grab him and interrogate him in return.
He knocked her on the head in exasperation.
"Why would you think that?"
"B-Because you have a girl in your dorm, but you still run out every night in the middle of the night to train."
"Don't worry. My orientation is absolutely normal. Nene can guarantee it."
"Hah? How is she supposed to guarantee that?"
At that moment, inside a dim room—
"Achoo! Ugh... I really can't take any more..."
Someone mumbled incomprehensible words in her sleep, swept the messy clothes on the bed to the floor, pulled a torn cloth over herself, and sank back into deep sleep.
…
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