-1387- Too cute

When Rozen and his group emerged from the chairman's office, it was already around dusk.

The fire that had engulfed the entire campus had been extinguished.

However, the damage to the campus still lingered like scars, engraved there.

Buildings stood half-destroyed or charred black.

The streets were crisscrossed with cracks and fragments.

The ground was riddled with holes.

The trees, lawns, and flowerbeds were all destroyed, either abandoned or directly damaged, with none of their former beauty visible.

Everyone looked at this scene, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted.

But now that Shinguji Kurono was back, with her abilities, she could restore a large area of facilities in an instant. Given a few days, she should be able to repair all the damaged parts of Hagun Academy, right?

Not just Hagun Academy, every knight academy had talents in this area. Otherwise, the widespread destruction caused by Blazers with large-scale attacks during battles would be too much for any country to handle using ordinary methods.

So, everyone quickly adjusted their mood.

Thus, compared to the current devastation of the campus, everyone was more concerned about the conversation they just had.

"Alice, are you really planning to forfeit?"

Ikki couldn't help but ask Arisuin Nagi beside him.

The others seemed to feel the same way, all looking at Arisuin Nagi, seemingly feeling sorry for him.

But Arisuin Nagi didn't feel sorry at all. Instead, he felt a sense of relief.

"Sorry, I've really decided." Arisuin Nagi smiled apologetically and said, "After all, I'm different from everyone else. I didn't have any strong desires or aspirations for the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. Being chosen as a representative was just luck. I can't compare to you all, so that kind of stage isn't suitable for someone like me."

That was the explanation Arisuin Nagi gave.

But...

"Alice, you've also trained very hard up to now. Don't you feel any regret about giving up the competition?"

Stella asked, seemingly unable to understand.

This made Alice smile bitterly.

"Well, the training was indeed hard. There were several times I thought I was done for. Now that I've finally made it through, it would be a shame not to compete."

These words were quite sincere from Arisuin Nagi.

"But you must have noticed, during the attack on Hagun Academy, I did nothing but hide in the shadows. I couldn't even help in the fight. I'm really useless."

Arisuin Nagi's helpless words left everyone speechless.

Thinking carefully, things were indeed as Arisuin Nagi said.

From the time they returned to Hagun Academy and fought against Akatsuki Academy, Arisuin Nagi had been hiding in the shadows, unable to act from beginning to end, only coming out after the battle ended.

"I originally wanted to find an opportunity to exploit the enemy's weaknesses, to strike when they showed an opening. I'm better at that than direct confrontation."

Arisuin Nagi sighed, genuinely feeling helpless.

"Unfortunately, from start to finish, I couldn't find any openings. The opponents weren't pushovers. Even during fierce battles, they could watch their surroundings. I couldn't find a single opening."

So, Arisuin Nagi had stayed hidden the entire time, simply because he had no chance to act.

"This made me realize that I'm really weak. I can't protect anything. Instead of that, I'd rather be a supporter and cheer for everyone, helping out when needed."

Arisuin Nagi spoke so freely.

"So, please don't persuade me. I've already decided."

Arisuin Nagi thus closed off their attempts to speak.

Hearing this, everyone knew that their persuasion would probably be useless.

Especially Shizuku, who had the closest relationship with Alice among those present, seemed indifferent.

"Since Alice has decided, let's respect his choice."

Shizuku said nonchalantly.

Considering her personality, she probably really didn't care.

Not that she didn't care about Alice, but she didn't care about the competition.

In other words, whether Alice chose to compete or not, Shizuku would support him, because it was his own decision and no one else's place to interfere.

"Since Arisuin has decided, let's not force him."

Todo Touka concluded like a peacemaker.

"Participating in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival should be a personal choice. Considering the danger and uniqueness of it, Arisuin's choice is the correct one. We just don't want to give up. Let's support Arisuin's decision."

With Todo Touka's words, everyone finally began to relax and nodded.

"Thank you, everyone. I'll cheer for you from the audience."

Arisuin Nagi smiled, his expression more genuine than usual, less perfunctory and superficial.

Everyone accepted Arisuin Nagi's decision.

Then...

"Actually, there's something else I want to ask about."

Saying this, Todo Touka turned her gaze to one person.

Seeing this, the others seemed to remember something and turned to look as well.

The person in question, staying at the back, was holding his head and blinking.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

Rozen had an expression of someone caught in an unexpected situation.

This made everyone feel like they wanted to burst out in retort.

In the end, they held back.

And the straightforward Shizuku spoke directly.

"Tell me, are you really Tenkai?"

Shizuku stared at Rozen, as if trying to find a flaw in his expression.

The others had similar reactions, all looking at Rozen with a mix of suspicion and uncertainty.

Seeing the young boy standing in front of them, wearing the same school uniform as them, around the same age, perhaps even the youngest among them, they felt a bit dazed.

Thinking that this boy was the world's strongest Blazer, anyone would have this reaction, right?

To this...

"If I say no now, will you believe me?"

Rozen smiled, making everyone smile bitterly.

Indeed.

Now, even if Rozen said he wasn't, they wouldn't believe it.

Because all signs pointed to Rozen being Tenkai.

Among those present, only Stella knew.

"Ah, I didn't expect it to be exposed so soon."

Stella could only sigh.

The others sighed for a different reason.

"No wonder Edel-san suddenly appeared before us and became our instructor."

Ikki looked at Edelweiss, who was standing closest to Rozen.

"Edel-san came because of Rozen, right?"

Ikki finally understood.

This made Edelweiss feel a bit unnatural.

No way around it.

Earlier, to probe Rozen's true identity, Edelweiss had revealed everything about herself and Rozen to everyone.

Now that they knew Rozen's identity and Edelweiss's purpose, how could they not make associations?

Edelweiss felt as if her private matters had been exposed, her face slightly flushed.

In this situation...

"I... I don't know."

Edelweiss turned her head, stammering and fidgeting.

But Edelweiss didn't realize...

(So cute...!)

(Too cute...!)

Seeing this side of Edelweiss, everyone felt overwhelmed by her unexpected cuteness.

Especially Rozen.

"You're too cute."

Rozen couldn't help but hug Edelweiss.

"Ah!"

Edelweiss let out a small scream.

And everyone else was struck dumb.

(She screamed...!)

The world's strongest swordswoman was too cute.

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