Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan - Volume 1

  Prologue: A Morning Encounter

  After finishing his daily run, Ikki Kurogane returned to his student dormitory room and found a beautiful half-naked girl inside.

  …Eh?

  Crimson hair that seemed to embody waves of blazing fire.

  Ruby pupils on a beautiful foreign face, opened wide in shock at the sudden intruder.

  Unblemished limbs as white as fresh snow, clad in black lace.

  Beautiful. Ikki couldn't think of another word to describe those features. Her beauty was like a painting of a goddess, evoking a solemness that left no room for wicked lust. She simply captured the eye.

  But… but why was such a girl in his room!?

  Maybe I came in the wrong one?

  He thought so, but it was room #405 of the first student dormitory. The two-and-a-half by three-and-a-half-meters-wide dwelling with a bunk bed was undoubtedly Ikki's, so the person making the mistake was most likely this girl, but―

  "Eeeee―"

  She leaked a small shriek from her cramped throat, and then he heard a deep breath being drawn.

  Uh oh. If a girl screamed in this situation, accusations would surely fall on the guy.

  "Please wait a minute! I understand what you want to say. It may have been an accident but I won't make excuses for what I clearly saw."

  Ikki didn't try to blame anyone for this disaster. He could imagine the bitterness of being seen naked by a stranger. This was a situation that as a man, he ought to fix! So he said―

  "That's why I'll take my clothes off too, and let's call it even."

  "NOOOOO!!! A BEEEAASSTTT!!!"

  And thus, a scream tore the morning silence and rose up to pierce the sky. That was the truth.

  Chapter 1: Prodigy Knight and Failed Knight

  Part 1

  Blazers.

  They were irregular people, found one-in-a-thousand, who could each materialize his or her soul as a weapon called a Device.

  In ages past, they were called magicians and witches. The strongest among them could shape the flow of time using abilities that science didn't explain, and even the weakest were extraordinary. Though they were human, they possessed a supernatural power that surpassed human limits, a power unattainable by the common man through training or technology.

  Nowadays, national militaries and even local police forces required Blazers. Yet great power brought responsibility befitting its status. One expression of such responsibility was the mage-knight system, the arrangement where Blazers must graduate from an internationally approved vocational school to receive license and social status as mage-knights―in other words, approval to use their abilities.

  Hagun Academy was one of seven mage-knight academies in Japan, a school said to span more than ten times the area of Tokyo Dome1. Here, young Blazers spent day after day diligently polishing their skills as student knights.

  And in Hagun Academy, Ikki Kurogane―accused of molestation and caught red-handed by dormitory guards―was brought to the board chairman's office. There, a beautiful woman in a suit was sitting on a sofa and smoking a cigarette. Kurono Shinguuji, the new chairman of Hagun, had finished hearing Ikki's explanation on the chain of events, and she replied in a tired voice.

  "I see, so you were trying to atone for the accident of seeing her half-naked by stripping yourself. Are you a moron?"

  "I thought it was an equitable, gentlemanly idea."

  "You were definitely some sort of gentleman."

  "No, I wasn't trying to be a lewd gentleman. …Well, now that I think about it, I guess I did suddenly go on a rampage."

  "Hah. In other words, after seeing her charmingly naked body, you lost control and took off your clothes without thinking?"

  "…It might be how things happened, but could you please not phrase it like that? Aren't you making me sound like a really dangerous guy?"

  "Even if you say so, Kurogane, try to imagine that scene after putting yourself in her shoes. In a dormitory with hardly any people because of spring break, you're suddenly interrupted by an unknown boy while changing clothes, and then he throws his clothes off too. How might you see him?"

  "Like a really dangerous guy…."

  After reexamining things from the girl's perspective like Kurono suggested, Ikki shivered.

  "…Haa. I certainly did something unforgivable on Stella-san's first day of studying abroad. I really hope she won't start hating Japan because of this."

  "What, you know about Vermillion?"

  "I was too startled to recognize the face when I ran into her, but I remembered just a while ago."

  Her name was Stella Vermillion, and she was a princess of the Vermillion Empire, a small European nation. It was big news in the media that she was studying abroad in Japan. 『A prodigy said to appear only once in a decade! Stella Vermillion-sama (15), the second imperial princess of the Vermillion Empire, enrolls at Hagun Academy after getting record marks!』 Ikki still recalled that article vividly.

  "A real princess, and on top of that she enrolled as a student. She's amazing, isn't she?"

  "She became number one by a wide margin too, far exceeding the average score for all the categories, and her aura capacity, a Blazer's most important trait, is about thirty times that of a regular incoming student. A monstrous A-Rank Blazer…. Compared to a certain F-Rank who's repeating a year because his attribute scores were too low, there sure is a difference. Don't you agree, 'Worst One'?"

  "Leave me alone."

  He protested Kurono's sarcasm with a frown, but didn't deny it. He couldn't deny it. After all, Ikki Kurogane only had one tenth the average aura capacity.

  "But it's become a real hassle. I invited the girl to Japan despite all the formalities involved in enrolling her here, and something like this happened on her first day. If the matter's not handled well, it could turn into an international incident. So even though you're not at fault, I'll still have you take responsibility. It might feel unreasonable, but take it like a man."

  "…I wonder why 'be a man' gets used only in this sort of situation."

  Ikki sighed, and at that moment―

  "Excuse me."

  The door of the chairman's room opened, and the person being discussed, Stella Vermillion, entered.

  Unlike before, she was properly dressed in a tasteful dark vest and skirt. The school uniform for Hagun Academy suited her quite well because it brought out the red of her fire-like hair. But what drew Ikki's eyes was her chest. That huge area, adorned by a ribbon, emitted a strong presence that instantly reminded Ikki of her half-naked figure… but his breath stopped after seeing the girl's expression. She had probably been crying. The skin under her eyes swelled with resentment.

  "Sorry."

  That was why an apology came from his mouth. Men shouldn't make women cry. Even if it wasn't his fault, the terror she felt in that moment had been real.

  "What happened was an unfortunate accident and I wasn't trying to peep on you. But I saw what I saw, so that's why I'll take responsibility as a man. Bake me or grill me, you can do whatever you like."

  "…How resolute. Is this what they call the spirit of a samurai?"

  "More like the spirit of a poor speaker."

  Ikki showed a rueful smile to Stella, who seemed to understand his remorse. She also softened her expression and returned a thin smile.

  "Haha…. Honestly, meeting a molester right after arriving in Japan made me start to think that this was the lowest kind of place. I might've turned this into a diplomatic uproar, but I've calmed down a bit thanks to you. Because you've shown me such strong spirit, it wouldn't do for me not to respond equanimously as a member of an imperial family."

  The hosti
lity from when she first entered the room disappeared. After seeing that favorable expression, Ikki also lightened his demeanor. He had thought an imperial princess would be moody and hard to please, but now she seemed like someone who'd accept a proper conversation.

  "Ikki, in deference to your gallantry―I'll forgive this matter if you perform harakiri."

  …But in reality, it was only true in his head.

  "No, please wait a minute! Isn't harakiri too harsh a punishment even for a major crime!?"

  "Well, wouldn't capital punishment be expected after assaulting a princess? Seriously, you should be tied to a log and stoned to death by all the nation's citizens. It's quite a privilege that I'm letting you off this way instead."

  "Stoning is better suited to making steak tartare than to punishment, isn't it?"

  "Just letting you die with honor is a great indulgence, a bloody sacrifice on my part."

  "I'm the one who ends up bleeding!"

  "Hahaha. Kurogane, you give such clever responses."

  "No, please stop laughing. As an educator you should keep the school from hosting an execution!"

  "Kurogane, we can purchase peace between Japan and the Vermillion Empire just by offering you up. Don't you think it's a very good deal?"

  "How can a deal be good if it costs human life!?"

  From Ikki's perspective, someone was getting ripped off here.

  "H-Hey, Stella-san, can't you think of another way to settle this?"

  "What are you so dissatisfied about? Isn't harakiri considered honorable for Japanese men?"

  "No, I was born in Heisei2! And I don't have any connections with samurai! And I crossed over to the hip-hop side long ago, yo!"

  "Ha, that persona sounds really fake."

  "If you don't feel like stopping this then please stay quiet!"

  Ikki cried out at Kurono's interruption, but Stella's expression darkened again at Ikki's resistance.

  "What's with you!? Didn't you just say that I could do whatever I wanted, whether it was to bake you or grill you!? If you're a man then stick to your word!"

  "N-No, that was just a quirky Japanese expression. I didn't know you were really planning on baking and grilling me!"

  "Kurogane, you're full of excuses and evasions, aren't you? Remind me, what was it you said about taking responsibility as a man?"

  Noisy chairman! His life was more important!

  "…I-In any case, just because I saw you in your underwear, you can't make me pay with my life!"

  "J-Just, you said!? I... I can't believe it! I can't believe it, you pervert! Is that what you said after despoiling the body of an unmarried princess!? Even my father has never seen it!"

  Flames of anger ignited in Stella's eyes at Ikki's careless words. No… it wasn't just her eyes burning. The air around Stella was starting to release scorching heat and light.

  Come to think of it, the newspaper wrote something about her ability―

  "Unforgivable! I'll personally turn a perverted, molesting, insolent commoner like you to cinders! Serve me, Lævateinn3!"

  An aurora shined forth to create a zone of heat in the chairman's room, and a long sword clad in flames appeared in Stella's hand. It was a Device made from a Blazer's soul.

  Holy Sword―

  Demon Bow―

  Cursed Tool―

  Blessed Tool―

  Passed down through legends with various forms and shapes, a Device was a magic staff. By using that tool as a medium, a Blazer could use her abilities, her Noble Arts.

  And the Crimson Princess's ability produced incandescent flames that burn any target to nothing―!

  "Prepare yourself, you degenerate! I'll erase you from this world without leaving a speck behind!"

  "A-Are you serious!?"

  "Excuses are useless―!"

  The sword of flame swung downwards. Facing that, Ikki also took a defensive stance.

  "Come forth, Intetsu4!"

  It was a Japanese long sword made of raven-black steel. The F-Rank Knight, Ikki Kurogane, used his Device Intetsu to block Stella's downward swing.

  But―

  "A flimsy defense!"

  "Hot!"

  "Of course it's hot! My Lævateinn, clad in the flames of my Noble Art Dragon Breath5, goes up to three thousand degrees centigrade! Even if you block, I can burn my enemies with the might of the dragon empress alone!"

  "What a ridiculous ability…!"

  Feeling vexed from being so close, Ikki used all his strength to put some distance between them. But―

  "Ha, hahaha…. stupid boy. There's no way I'd let you escape in a small room like this. I'll disintegrate you soon enough, and with that I'll erase the villain who ruined my purity before marriage!"

  "Wait, wait! Please calm down a little! You call it 'ruined', but I haven't actually done anything that scandalous, right!?"

  "Liar! Even though you were ravishing my bare body with i-i-indecent eyes!"

  "Certainly, I was staring, but that was… that was, erm… that wasn't because I was thinking lecherous things! It's just, how do I say this―I was mesmerized because you were so beautiful!"

  "Fueh!?"

  In an instant, Stella's boiling-mad face blushed far redder. Ikki thought that he had needlessly angered her more, and he started to sweat, but―

  "W-W-What are you s-saying, idiot! C-Calling an unmarried maiden b-beautiful. Th-This is exactly why commoners with no delicacy are so…!"

  Lævateinn suddenly lost its raging flames and dimmed to small flickering sparks. The girl who was filled with so much enmity just a moment ago now started to fidget, looking uncomfortable but also a little happy. When he examined her face, her brow that had been standing up now hung down powerlessly, and her eyes were moist from bewilderment. She seemed to be embarrassed.

  That's surprising. I thought someone as beautiful as Stella-san would be used to praise.

  Anyhow, Stella's fervor collapsing was a good opportunity. Taking the initiative, he tried to calm Stella down.

  "Setting that aside, this happened in the first place because you mistook your room and started changing clothes in mine, so please spare me from committing harakiri."

  But at Ikki's argument, Stella's face went grim once more.

  "What kind of irrational justification is that!? You were the one who entered my room of your own accord! I opened that room with the key I received properly from Madam Chairman, so it couldn't have been my mistake!"

  "…Eh?"

  Wait a minute. Now that he thought about it, Ikki had definitely locked his room before he went out. Even if Stella made a mistake, there was no way she could enter, but she had been inside. Why?

  Stella uttered the reason just now. Kurono had given her a key.

  "What's the meaning of this, Chairman?"

  "Ha, hahahaha…."

  "…Madam Chairman?"

  When both of them looked at her in unison, Kurono started laughing as if she couldn't hold it anymore―

  "Heh, no, sorry about that. This turned into something so interesting that I felt a little impish. Well, you don't have to ask, because it's exactly how it sounds. Hagun Academy's dormitories place two people per room. Kurogane should already know that. In other words, neither one of you mistook your rooms. Simply put… you two are roommates."

  ―and she said something incredible.

  "EEEEEEEEEHHH!?"

  Part 2

  "…What do you mean, Madam Chairman? M-Me, roommates with this pervert!?"

  "That's exactly what I mean, Stella Vermillion. Is there a problem?"

  "A huge one!"

  Ikki frowned.

  "I agree. Hagun Academy's dorms certainly do put two people in each room, but I've never heard of a boy and a girl sharing."

  "That's been true up through last year, before I became chair of the board of directors. Kurogane, didn't I already tell you about my policy?"

  "…To enforce a doctrine of pure merit, based completely on actual combat performance… w
asn't it?"

  "Right. Unlike the other six knight academies, Hagun produced no notable assets in the past year. We're on a losing streak even in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, which the seven schools sponsor each year to select the strongest student knight. I was called by the board to reorganize this place, and that room assignment is the first step. It's not about how many people or what their genders are. I'm putting fellow knights with similar strengths together in the same room. After all, when equal fighters draw near one another, competition naturally sparks between them. This room assignment is a scheme to invoke that competition intentionally."

  Kurono haughtily revealed her plans as if to say, "Isn't it great?" Ikki had an issue with that explanation, though.

  "Then isn't what you're doing even weirder? Among the incoming students, isn't Stella-san number one by a large margin? Why would she be in the same room as me, the worst student who's even repeating a year?"

  "Re-Repeating? You, you're repeating the same grade level?"

  "It's embarrassing, but my overall rank is F."

  "F…. Me and an F-Rank, calling us knights of similar strength! Wh-What do you mean by this!?"

  "Haha, well… how do I say this. You guys are a special case. Frankly speaking, there's nobody as excellent as Vermillion, and nobody as deficient as Kurogane. In other words, you're both leftover students with no suitable partner, so I could only pair the two of you. Do you understand now?"

  "Who could understand that!?"

  *Bam!* Stella struck the chairman's office table with one palm and continued to protest.

  "I-In the first place, it's absurd for boys and girls like us to share a room when we're the same age! What will you do if some mistake happened!?"

  "Oh, Vermillion thinks that when boys and girls of the same age live together, a mistake will happen? I'd love to hear about it~"

  "Th-That's… erm… uuu…."

  Sympathizing with Stella who was already teary-eyed from shame, Ikki also protested to Kurono.

  "Why are you playing like a drunken old man?"

  Kurono just smiled as if she was joking, but didn't change her mind.

  "At any rate, this decision has already been made. There are also boy-girl pairs besides you two, but you don't have to consider that to make your choice. Vermillion, I won't give you special treatment just because you're a princess. If you don't like this arrangement, all you have to do is drop out of school, you know?"