"The Crimson Princess!!!"
The entire arena was cheering for Stella.
"Hmph."
But there wasn't a trace of joy on her face. With a cold huff, she turned and left the arena without hesitation.
Ikki Kurogane also left, his head hanging in defeat.
The loss weighed on him. If he couldn't defeat Stella, how could he hope to compete in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival and achieve his goal of becoming the Seven Stars Sword King?
His current strength wasn't enough. To reach his goal, he needed to beco much stronger.
"Brother, sigh."
From the preparation area, Shizuku Kurogane sighed as she watched Ikki's defeat.
Though she regretted his loss, her thoughts were mostly elsewhere—on Rei Ao.
She clenched her fists and looked toward the observation deck.
"Rei Ao-kun, watch ! Watch my strength!"
Like Stella, she wanted to show her best self in front of the person she admired the most.
As for Stella herself, her sha and anger had overtaken her reason.
She had been trying to show her abilities to him, yet Rei Ao… Rei Ao had dared to do that during her match.
Fuming, she stord toward the special observation deck.
But she couldn't get in.
The door refused to budge no matter how hard she tried.
Thankfully, her rationality stopped her from blasting it open with flas.
Instead, she shouted, "I know you're in there! Open the door!"
"Creak!"
The door opened.
Before Stella could react, an unseen force shoved her inside, and the door closed behind her in an instant.
"What do you want, shouting like that?"
Rei Ao, holding Shizue by the legs, turned to face Stella with a calm expression.
Shizue covered her face, too embarrassed to et Stella's eyes.
"I…"
Stella froze as she took in the scene.
The mont she realized what was happening, her mind cleared, and she quickly turned away, her face burning red.
"You—you—what the hell are you doing?!"
Turning her back didn't help; Shizue's soft, stifled sounds still reached her ears, making her situation even more unbearable.
"What am I doing? Just multitasking—fighting while watching your match," Rei Ao replied nonchalantly.
To him, and to both Shizue and Kurono, everything felt perfectly enjoyable. Especially Kurono, who, though not directly involved, occasionally assisted in her own way.
"I… you…"
Stella didn't dare turn back, her mind a whirlwind of emotions.
Why had she stord in here so impulsively? Now it was beyond awkward.
"You didn't co here just to scold , did you?" Rei Ao said, still entirely unbothered.
"I've got rewards to claim from my trades. If there's nothing else, don't interrupt ."
He casually redirected his focus back to Shizue.
"Shizue, don't you think we've got a big, bright light bulb in here?"
"Ah… y-yes, maybe…" Shizue stamred, her voice trembling.
"Huh?!"
Stella's mind blanked.
A light bulb?
How had she suddenly beco the third wheel? Weren't they the ones acting shalessly?!
[Attention! The next contestants, Shizuku Kurogane versus Touka Toudou, please enter the arena!]
The announcent of the next duel echoed through the arena.
"Hm?"
Rei Ao paused.
Touka Toudou—this was a match worth watching.
Without missing a beat, he repositioned Shizue against the glass to continue his "multitasking."
Then, without turning around, he addressed Stella:
"You're not here just to be a light bulb, right? I've got a match to watch. Do as you like."
"You!!!"
Stella was livid. She couldn't stop anything that was happening, and Shizue's soft noises only made her feel like ants were crawling all over her skin. Even her legs felt weak.
"Ugh! Fine, I don't care about you anymore!"
She huffed in frustration before storming out of the room.
"But no matter what, you better watch my next match! I'll definitely win! Hmph!"
After shouting her final words, Stella fled, embarrassed beyond belief.
Stella wasn't the only one eager to show off her abilities.
Now stepping onto the arena was Shizuku Kurogane. She sent a ssage to the chat group:
Shizuku Kurogane: "@Rei Ao, Rei Ao-kun, please watch my performance."
Rei Ao: "Good luck."
When Rei Ao saw that Shizuku Kurogane's opponent was Toudou Touka, he knew that Shizuku had little chance of winning, but he still offered her encouragent.
Toudou Touka was a second-year student at Hagun Academy and held the title of the strongest student council president.
She had chestnut-colored hair styled into twin braids and wore glasses.
[Demon]: Toudou Touka
[Level]: 21
[Abilities]: ,"Raikiri", "Takemikazuchi", "Inherent Device: Narukami"
Though her strength as a pseudo-Blazer was only at B-rank by this world's standards, Toudou Touka's combat ability far surpassed that of Stella, whose strength relied heavily on her flas.
This earned her the title of Strongest Student Council President.
[Demon]: Shizuku Kurogane
[Level]: 17
[Abilities]: "Shouha Suiren", "Aoiro Rinne", "Inherent Device: Yoishigure"
Shizuku was also a B-rank pseudo-Blazer and was nicknad the Witch of the Deep Sea.
However, her overall power was significantly weaker than both Toudou Touka and Stella.
The battle unfolded exactly as Rei Ao expected.
Shizuku was completely overwheld by Toudou from beginning to end.
Despite giving it her all and providing a visually impressive performance for the audience, she ultimately couldn't overco her opponent.
"You've lost."
Toudou Touka's katana rested against Shizuku's neck, signaling her defeat.
[Congratulations to Toudou Touka for winning this match!]
Hearing the announcent, Toudou sheathed her blade and walked away without a word.
Shizuku stood motionless, her head lowered, her body trembling slightly.
She had declared her determination to show her best to Rei Ao, yet she had been utterly defeated.
"I must look so pathetic right now…"
Biting her lip, she couldn't summon the courage to look toward the special observation deck. Instead, she fled the arena in despair.
Watching from the deck, Kurono Shinguuji observed keenly.
"Rei Ao, Shizuku's feelings for you aren't ordinary."
Rei Ao nodded.
"Of course I know."
With his experience in dealing with the affections of many beautiful girls, there was no way Rei Ao couldn't see it.
Shizue, her face still flushed and her body trembling slightly, took a deep breath before speaking softly:
"What do you plan to do about her, Rei Ao-kun?"
"Let her calm down for now," Rei Ao replied without a hint of urgency.
"Besides, there's still a match to finish watching and my transaction with Kurono that hasn't been completed yet."
He smirked at Kurono.
"So, Kurono, what do you think counts as 'banging' you?"
Kurono's eyes sparkled, her expression bold as she replied without hesitation:
"Until the deepest abyss, with countless thrusts and more—I want it all."
Rei Ao chuckled.
"Then let's begin."
Chat Room:
Tohru: "Sothing about that woman seems off."
Sui: "You could remove 'seems'—she's absolutely off."
Aka: "Leone calls this 'self-serving indulgence.'"
Mai Sakurajima: "Sohow, that feels spot on."
Saeko Busujima: "I don't know. I think all of us act the sa when we're with Rei Ao. For example, Saya and Yuriko seem even hungrier."
"What?!"
Shizuka Marikawa's exclamation startled everyone.
Her wide, innocent eyes darted to the deeply blushing Saya, who was burying her face in Yuriko's arms.
Truly puzzled, Shizuka asked with a finger to her lips,
"Saeko, is it really that good?"
Rei Miyamoto: "…"
She couldn't bring herself to answer.
Yuriko Takagi felt equally embarrassed, unsure how to respond, especially with Alice shyly peeking out from behind Shizuka, clearly eavesdropping.
Saeko, ever bold, replied with a serene smile:
"I can't speak for others, but from my experience, being with soone you love is irresistible."
"Soone you love?"
Shizuka tilted her head in thought before blurting out:
"Then can I try too?"
"Huh?!"
Saya sat upright, staring at Shizuka in disbelief.
"You like Rei Ao?"
Shizuka pondered for a mont before answering.
"I think so. After all, Rei Ao-kun has saved multiple tis, and he's so strong and handso."
"But he's a perverted, selfish womanizer!" Saya protested, desperate to dissuade her.
Shizuka, though innocent, was also perceptive. Her gaze swept over everyone's faces before countering,
"But none of you seem to mind."
She then turned the question back to Saya.
"Do you dislike him?"
"Uh…"
Saya froze, unable to respond.
Yuriko chuckled and teased,
"The last ti we visited Aka's world, Saya complained that Rei Ao didn't spend enough ti with her."
"Mom!!!"
Saya's face turned scarlet as she protested in embarrassnt.
Rei, smiling gently, told Shizuka, "No matter what, Shizuka-sensei, the choice is yours. We won't say anything to sway you."
Saeko agreed.
"We're all the sa, after all."
~~~
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