Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan - Volume 2 Read online

  Seeing these traits, it was then that Ikki thought of a certain person. He was a member of the rowdy bunch Ikki saw when he entering the shop.

  "I haven't seen you around lately so I was wondering what had happened to ya, but for us to meet here. Haha, there are things like that, huh."

  "Hey Kuraudo, who're you talking to?"

  "Let's go to the arcade."

  "Huh! Hey now, it's Ayase-chan. Long time no see~"

  "I was worried since you didn't come to play lately! Gyahaha."

  "You've grown quite tall? Oh?"

  About ten guys looking like outlaws came in and gathered at Ikki's table behind the skull dude. It seems like they were acquainted with Ayase, but Ayase didn't even look at them…. She just bit her lower lips hard as if possessed by something.

  Seeing her like that, Ikki's decided his next move.

  "I'm sorry but could you guys leave? My companion looks troubled."

  "Huh!? The hell are you!?"

  "The f*ck are you sayin'? I'll kill ya!"

  Even though they were ganging up, Ikki just ignored them. Ikki knew there was only one guy here worth fighting. He looked towards the one with the skull tattoo named Kuraudo.

  As he did, Kuraudo asked Ikki a strange question while looking back curiously.

  "…You, You're a swordsman?"

  "You can tell?"

  "Hah, somewhat. You bastards have this peculiar aura and all."

  As he said that, he picked up a bottle of beer and a glass from the table.

  "Sorry ‘bout that brother, for disturbing ya during a meal. I only came to talk since I saw a nostalgic face."

  He poured the beer and held it in front of Ikki.

  "I'll apologize, so take it."

  "Ah, pardon me then."

  He wanted to say it's not Kuraudo's beer, but it wouldn't be wise to aggravate the guy. Ikki reached to take the beer Kuraudo offered.

  "Ikki!"

  "Kurogane-kun!"

  Skull-head bashed the beer against the back of Ikki's head.

  Part 7

  The other customers immediately screamed. The bottle smashed and fragments flew off. It had been bashed against Ikki's head with so much strength that he bent and crashed against the table.

  "HAHA! A swordsman shouldn't fuckin' let his guard down you idiot!"

  "AHAHA, he did it!"

  "As expected of Kuraudo-san, what a nasty son-of-a-bitch!"

  "Just lie down and watch!"

  At the skull tattoo's sudden cruelty, the guys around him crudely cheered.

  "My thanks. Ya see, I love breaking you swordsmen bastards to pieces. Now let's do this. You have one, don't ya? A Device!"

  The man took out a sparkling white bone-colored nodachi2 with a blade like a saw's. His Device.

  That's right, the pointlessly flashy coat he was wearing was the uniform of Donrou Academy, a knight's academy of Tokyo just like Hagun. This man was a Blazer just like Ikki.

  "This bastard! I hope you're prepared to be burnt to ashes!"

  Seeing Ikki get hurt, incandescence started to blast out of Stella's blazing hair as she raged. She was going to take out Lævateinn but―

  "Stop it, Stella."

  She was stopped by Ikki. Ikki stood up, as if nothing happened.

  "…There's no need to make a fuss. His hands just slipped a little."

  He said to Stella with a smile while bleeding from his forehead.

  "W-What are you saying!?"

  "And I was only scratched and my got clothes wet. Nothing to fight about."

  Ikki controlled Stella while saying that. If she took out her Device and started a fight, it wouldn't just end with a suspension. It'll definitely be expulsion. That's why Ikki stopped her. But….

  """BU-BUAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA―HAHAH—HAHAHA!!!"""

  It seems the skull tattoo's company thought of it as a coward's retreat and started to insult him with their fingers pointed.

  "Hey hey hey, seriously! He is still so frivolous even after suddenly having his head hit."

  "Well I get Kuraudo-san's scary, but that's so spineless."

  "Kyahaha, no more, I'm gonna burst, so lame~!"

  "Haha! This is surprising. A coward even though he's a swordsman. Do ya even have balls?"

  The skull dude showered Ikki with insults and laughed amusingly. But Ikki didn't reply and only showed a bored smile. Seeing that, Kuraudo spit.

  "-!"

  At that, the voltage of Stella's anger rose once more but Ikki pressed her down. Even with that, Ikki didn't snap, so the skull dude showed a bored face.

  "Hah, this is boring. If I fight a chicken like you, it's already my loss. Come on you bastards, we're leaving."

  Saying that, he went towards the exit.

  "Bye bye, little coward."

  "Isn't that nice? Kuraudo doesn't bully the weak."

  "That's right, That's right. Isn't it nice that you're so weak? Ahahaha."

  After they left, a man who looked like the shop manager ran towards Ikki. He bowed to Ikki while sweating like crazy.

  "My apologies dear customer! Are you alright!? I'll call an ambulance…."

  "Aaa, I'm okay I'm okay. Rather, do you guys have a first aid kit? I need to treat this so could you lend it?"

  "Y-Yes. Please wait a moment!"

  Asked by Ikki, the manager brought the first aid kit from the crew room hurriedly. The other workers were trying to calm the customers. For now, the situation was handled with the least fuss as expected. Ikki confirmed that while wiping off the spit.

  "…Somehow, your face inflated twice as much, Stella."

  Ikki told Stella, whose pouting side of the face looked like a puffed balloon.

  "Of course I'll be mad! Being told off by that trash! And Ikki, you didn't dodge that beer bottle on purpose, right!? What's the big idea?"

  "If I handled it poorly, he might've gotten even madder… and I can't possibly start a fight in a place like this, can I?"

  "Well… that's that but… Ikki could have taken care of that trash without even using Intetsu right?"

  "Now, I wonder about that."

  "What do you mean?"

  "The guy with the skull tattoo in the middle's quite strong. A hard opponent to fight empty handed."

  "Well, of course that would be hard. He did rank among the best 8 in last year's Festival, after all♪."

  Ikki and Stella were both dyed with shock when a boy with an almost impossibly bright voice suddenly butted into their conversation.

  Why would they be so surprised? That was because the owner of the voice appeared on a table with scattered dishes without any presence or shadow, almost as if another film was suddenly inserted while watching a movie.

  Dimly silver-colored hair and gold eyes without any sign of light. The boy talked to Ikki with a smile that seemed almost plastered to his face.

  "Ahaha ☆Iyaa~ What a calamity, what a disaster! To get mixed up with the infamous ace of Donrou Academy, the 'Sword Eater' Kurashiki Kuraudo, a killer hound who bites anyone he lays his eyes on…. But your decision was correct, Worst One."

  "Kusukusu… Eeh, absolutely. You were right."

  In the next moment, another person appeared, but this one had an aura that couldn't be more obvious. Even though it was inside the shop, she carried a parasol, and wore a hat with a huge rim. The tall woman's eyes couldn't be seen because of the large hat, but her chin line was visible and with the glistering blonde hair, her figure could be made out. She wore a pure white ball-line dress, like a noblewoman, that glimmered in their eyes.

  Even though she had a pure white figure, both Ikki and Stella felt a fleeting, incomparable feeling of disgust. What she wore was complete white, yet, her presence, for a moment, felt more like thick fresh blood.

  And why would that be? Ikki knew the answer. In her presence, there was a veil of dense blood fragrance that could not be hidden no matter how much perfume she wore. …There was no mistake, this person was the real deal.

  "If you guys retaliated, then right here, right now, we would have had no choice but to suppress you people."

  The white one with a presence of death and blood replied in an old Japanese lingo as if she were singing. That was too unpleasant to Stella who had already raised her guard. She asked Ikki with a small voice―

  "Ikki, who are these people? …What are they?"

  "The vice president of Hagun Academy's student council, Misogi Utakata-san, and the treasurer Toutokubara Kanata-san."

  "…Toutokubara! You are…?"

  It was a name Stella had heard through rumors many times.

  Toutokubara Kanata, otherwise known as 'Scharlach Frau'. She placed second in the inner school ranking and was a B rank knight. While being a student, she was summoned under special circumstances and was allowed to fight in real battles. She had a record of destroying many organizations and bases of the Rebellion army. She was indeed a superior student knight with real battle experience.

  "It seems like we don't need to introduce ourselves… but still, the way Kurogane-kun handled the situation was truly brilliant. Sword Eater is a person who attacks people from other schools unannounced, and goes around town smashing dojos. In any case, he becomes quite hard to handle if enraged. Thanks to you, we were saved from quite the trouble too. Once again, we thank you. It appears that we have been underestimating you too much."

  "It seems like it wasn't a fluke that Renren was defeated. This ability of yours that sees through a person's character in battle, just like Yaksha-hime said. We need to reaffirm our recognition of you."

  "Ahaha. Absolutely…. Well then, show me your wound please. I'll treat it."

  "No, you don't have to go through the trouble."

  "It's okay, it's okay♪. Just leave it to Sempai. Pain, pain
fly away~!"

  Saying that, Utakata touched Ikki's wound.

  "Okay, it's healed."

  The ripped skin and the internal bleeding was all healed within a moment.

  "Wha―!"

  Ikki was greatly surprised.

  Certainly, the wound was shallow. He didn't dodge it and there wasn't much damage, but it had still reached the marrow. It could be called a ‘violent' wound. Even Shizuku, who had A-Rank magic control, would take a bit of time to heal it.

  No, this couldn't be called ‘healing'. It was as if the wound itself disappeared. It definitely wasn't just healing magic.

  Misogi Utakata, nicknamed 'Fifty Fifty'. Just what was his ability? No doubt it wasn't anything normal but…

  "Ahaha, you don't have to observe me with that scary face. I didn't enter in the selection matches."

  "Ah, I apologize. Even though you healed me, I was being rude."

  "Ahaha. It's okay it's okay. That's what makes you a knight. Well then, we've finished our kouhai's treatment so we'll take our leave now. Let's go, Kanata."

  "Yes, Vice President."

  "You guys, too, keep your nightlife in check."

  And with that, Misogi Utakata and Toutokubara Kanta left.

  With their departure, Ikki sighed, feeling a surge of tiredness hitting him upon seeing the dusk from the window.

  …Twilight of Disaster… should be appropriate huh.

  They met one big shot after another today. However, he couldn't always be swept along by the aura of those who had already left. For Ikki, there was something he was more interested about.

  "…Hey, Ayatsuji-san."

  "!"

  She might had been aware that the conversation would move towards her. She averted her eyes with an unpleasant expression. But Ikki asked anyways.

  "What exactly is your relationship with those people."

  The other party knew her name. Ayase wasn't someone so famous as to appear on the media. That meant they knew each other personally. But from the looks of it, it wasn't a friendly relationship. That was obvious after seeing Ayase's gaze. So―

  "You don't need to answer if you don't have to. But… when they called out to you, Ayatsuji-san wasn't behaving normally. If you've gotten involved into some kind of trouble with those guys, then I can lend you my strength."

  As a friend, he was in the position to help her. Hearing Ikki say that, her expression softened a little and she tried to reply.

  "…That's…."

  At that moment, the student datapad rang out, notifying that a mail had been received. The noise came from both Ikki and Ayase's pocket at the same time. Ikki wondered who could have sent it. It was the Selection Battle Executive Committee.

  …He had a really bad feeling about it. His worst fears were confirmed after reading the message.

  "Contender Kurogane Ikki's selection match tenth opponent has been decided: third year class one contender Ayatsuji Ayase."

  …What timing.

  Without a doubt, the mail Ayase got was the same. Looking at her, one could see the blood drained from her face.

  "This is, a-ah, I'm sorry! My roommate, I-I got a mail from my roommate telling me to return immediately, Please excuse me for today!"

  Her face paled. What she said was a lie. It was the notification of the match, and that was what made it awkward.

  "…Yeah, then I'll see you tomorrow."

  Guessing that, Ikki didn't restrain Ayase. He was curious about the relation between Ayase and Kuraudo, but it wasn't something he needed to pry out of Ayase right now. This feeling of awkwardness didn't recede, and he could just simply ask later.

  "…Yeah… then tomorrow."

  Picking up her stuff from the table, Ayase hastily departed, as if she were running away from Ikki and Stella.

  "She looks awful. What happened?"

  Ikki showed the mail to Stella who didn't comprehend the situation.

  "…Well that sucks…."

  "This is probably that irony of fate thing. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to fight her."

  "Speaking of which, didn't Sempai mention she entered in order to take back something important to her?"

  "Yeah."

  "You won't lose on purpose, will you?"

  "Do I look like a guy who'd do that?"

  Stella looked at ease with that answer.

  "You don't. Sorry, that was a foolish question."

  That's right. Ikki would not do that. Even if the opponent was Stella, or Shizuku, or anyone for that matter, he would fight fair and square head on. That was a knight's honour. But in the end, he would have liked to avoid fighting with Ayase.

  …She said she'd see me tomorrow but, Ayatsuji-san probably will not show up for training for a while.

  His guess hit the bull's eye. From that day on, Ayase didn't appear before Ikki even once.

  Part 8

  "But still, that guy from today was a real masterpiece huh."

  "Haha, I guess that's the type you call a weak bug."

  "He's still so frivolous even after being humiliated so much, la~me."

  "That's not true, Misato. Not opposing Kuraudo-san is a wise thing to do, right?"

  "Kuahaha. Right, right. It's only natural to avoid fights you can't win."

  In a place that seemed like their base, a gang of young men were spouting tasteless words while smoking cigarettes. The topic? The shameful sight of the man they saw in the family restaurant.

  "…Haha, you guys think so?"

  At a short distance, Kuraudo was drinking alcohol while gazing at the moonlight that entered through a collapsed portion of the roof.

  "Yeah, of course. That bean sprout ain't got the guts to stand up to you Kuraudo, much less beat ya."

  "That's right. That chicken, he isn't even worth being your opponent. Even I can beat him with one hand tied behind my back."

  "Gyahaha."

  *Chatter**Chatter*

  What was so interesting? They resumed their laughter.

  "Haha."

  Seeing them like that, Kuraudo once again looked up at the moon.

  …Morons. You guys don't understand a thing.

  He remembered the gaze of Ikki looking straight at him. There were no traces of fear or nervousness there. There was only cold calmness like flowing water. How could he solve the situation with the minimum trouble was the only thing that Ikki had been thinking about. The fact that he received Kuraudo's attack was also part of that plan. He was a person who gave off that type of aura. There's no way he couldn't avoid a surprise attack of that level.

  "What a high-level bastard. You're telling me that provocation of that level won't make you budge huh… Hahaha."

  Well, that was alright. A man of his level would definitely make it to the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival.

  Smashing that bastard, I'll look forward to that moment.

  Kuraudo gulped down the alcohol in his glass, while his chest throbbed in anticipation of the resistance that would come from the kind of dangerous quarry he hadn't seen in a long time.

  Part 9

  It was the third day that Ayase hadn't joined them for practice. She didn't even appear before them despite it being the day before their match. At that fact, Stella let out a bored sigh.

  "In the end, she didn't come even once… Sempai."

  "Oh my. Isn't that a good thing for Stella-san? Weren't you jealous of Ayatsuji-sempai for occupying most of Onii-sama's free time?"

  "…Shut up. This is this and that is that. For her not to be here is lonely in its own way."

  "What a selfish person… but that may be one of your good points."

  "Did you say something?"

  "Your leg is fat."

  "NO IT'S NOT!"

  Ikki looked at the pair having their usual conversation while wondering whether they had a good or bad relationship. He had his student notebook in his hand.

  Arisuin's tall figure approached Ikki.

  "She hasn't been in contact at all?"

  "…Well."

  "Really?"

  Ikki raised his head and looked at Arisuin. Arisuin had his usual steady smile, but his eyes looked as if he was searching for something.

  "…Why do you doubt it?"

  "Isn't it just simply that I'm worried? I don't get a few things but Ayase-san was quite clear about her resolve to reach her goal. And for that reason she said she'd need to appear in the Festival. That's why it wouldn't be good for her to lose tomorrow's match against Ikki."