-1277- Truth or Lie

The start of the selection battle was scheduled for the following week.

This week was the first week of school for the new students, and in the second week, the brutal selection battles would begin. Many people were likely to complain about this.

However, those who didn't want to participate could simply send a message to the committee to cancel their participation. The selection battles weren't held every day; some people had their battles on Monday of the following week, while others had theirs on Tuesday. As Oreki Yuuri had mentioned before, there was typically only one match every few days, so there was plenty of time to prepare.

Ikki's match against Kirihara Shizuya was scheduled for the next Tuesday, roughly a week away, or about seven days.

Normally, the selection committee would start sending messages over the weekend to notify the students preparing to participate in the selection battles. But for some reason, Ikki received the notification for his first match on the third day of school, indicating how rushed and hasty the committee's decision was, as if someone couldn't wait to finalize this match.

At least, Stella and Shizuku hadn't received their selection battle notifications yet, and Rozen had already sent a message declining to participate. As a result, only Ikki received an early notification.

Perhaps Ikki and Kirihara Shizuya were the first in the entire Hagun Academy to receive their selection battle notifications, while everyone else was still waiting.

In any case, the match between Ikki and Kirihara Shizuya had already been decided.

Even though Shizuku protested and wanted to argue with the director, it was useless.

"Since Kurogane has decided to participate in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival and is aiming for victory, he will inevitably face Kirihara Shizuya sooner or later unless Kirihara is defeated early on. Protesting won't change that."

Rozen laid out this harsh reality to Shizuku.

There was no evidence or indication of any behind-the-scenes manipulation regarding this match. Even if Shinguji Kurono wanted to handle it, it would be difficult.

Moreover, even if the Kurogane family had indeed bribed the selection committee members, they had only arranged for a challenging opponent for Ikki and had done nothing else. It was practically impossible to get the decision canceled based on that.

"Requesting the academy to cancel the match and replace it with an easier opponent just because the current one is tough would be embarrassing even for oneself."

Rozen's words left Shizuku speechless.

Mage-Knights weren't athletes; they needed to fight, serve their country, and the League of Mage-Knight Nations. Refusing to fight because the opponent was difficult would only damage Ikki's reputation.

Given this, Ikki had no choice but to comply.

"He must defeat Kirihara Shizuya to have any chance of realizing his dream."

Rozen presented this fact.

No one mentioned the matter again.

After that, Ikki left without saying a word, returning to his dorm room and shutting the door.

Shizuku quickly followed him and entered his room.

Rozen and Stella returned to their own rooms as well.

Thus, night fell in this manner.

...

"I'm done. The bathroom is free; you can use it."

Rozen, freshly out of the bath, with steam rising from his body and dressed quite lightly, a towel around his neck, spoke to Stella as he exited the bathroom.

"Oh, Mm...!"

Stella, sitting on the couch and lost in thought, snapped back to reality. She quickly stood up, grabbed her clothes, and prepared to enter the bathroom.

Rozen happened to glimpse something pink among Stella's clothes, seemingly some intimate garment unintentionally exposed.

(This is one of the unavoidable situations of cohabitation, isn't it?)

Rozen thought helplessly, discreetly averting his gaze.

Rozen had no peculiar preferences or interests. To avoid awkwardness and trouble, he knew exactly what to do.

Having lived with young, beautiful girls before, Rozen knew that any unusual behavior would immediately be detected by their sharp sixth sense, leading to embarrassment and anger, with all the blame falling on the boy, quite unfairly.

Rozen had encountered this situation many times before while living with Nagisa and others. Therefore, he knew very well that at times like these, it was best to discreetly hide any awareness of the situation.

However...

(...Stella seemed quite interested in my underwear last night.)

This thought flashed through Rozen's mind, and he quickly shook his head to dismiss such a ridiculous and dangerous idea.

Otherwise, if he pursued it, Rozen was certain he wouldn't be able to handle it.

(I'll just pretend I didn't notice anything.)

Rozen decided.

Unaware of the multitude of thoughts racing through Rozen's mind in that brief moment, Stella was about to walk into the bathroom when she suddenly stopped.

"Hey."

Stella asked out of nowhere.

"Do you think Kurogane can defeat that 'Hunter'?"

Stella's question caused Rozen, who was about to sit on the couch and watch some TV, to pause slightly.

"Why?" Rozen asked, puzzled. "Do you care that much?"

"Yes." Stella nodded without hesitation, seriously saying, "I used to think of Kurogane as just an ordinary student, believing that an F-rank knight like him wouldn't have anything worth noting. But today, I've seen enough to realize that his strength deserves my attention and respect."

To be able to fight to this extent with F-rank abilities, Stella felt both surprised and impressed.

"If possible, I'd like to fight a strong opponent like him. That's also why I came to this academy."

Stella openly expressed her true feelings.

"So, if Kurogane loses to someone like that, I'd find it very unfortunate."

But that wasn't the most important thing.

The most important thing was...

"Kurogane didn't seem right today. Because of that swordswoman named Altera, his spirits were already low, and now he's forced to fight an opponent who is such a bad match for him. When he left, he seemed like he had given up hope, which is really concerning."

For this reason, Stella couldn't help but turn to Rozen for help.

"Do you think Kurogane really can't win against someone like that?"

Stella asked.

Rozen finally turned his gaze to Stella.

"Do you want the truth or a lie?"

Rozen asked, just like he did back in the director's office.

However, Stella was different from Shinguji Kurono and Saikyo Nene.

"Of course the truth. Who would want to hear a lie?"

Stella expressed her displeasure.

Rozen shrugged.

"The truth is, it's not impossible for him to win."

Rozen sincerely said.

"However, that depends on Ikki's performance."

That was Rozen's perspective.