Chapter 304: Intensive Training and the Ostracized Luke!
The selection matches had finally come to an end.
A week had passed since the battle between Luke and Touka.
Today, the six representatives who had emerged victorious after the long selection tournament would receive their official appointment.
"Next, students whose names are called, please come onto the stage."
Kurono's voice echoed through the gymnasium as she read out the representatives' names one by one.
"First-year, A-rank, Luke Ashburn."
"First-year, A-rank, Stella Vermillion."
"Third-year, B-rank, Toutokubara Kanata."
"Third-year, C-rank, Hagure Kikyo."
"First-year, D-rank, Arisuin Nagi… absent today due to temporary personal matters."
"First-year, F-rank, Kurogane Ikki."
A total of five people, excluding Arisuin, who was not present, stepped forward and received the medals from Kurono that represented their right to participate in the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
"With this, as the director of Hagun Academy, I formally recognize all of you as our representatives for the Seven Star Sword Art Festival!"
In the end, Luke, who had defeated Raikiri, Todo Touka, became the captain of the representative team without question.
With that, all the representatives for the Seven Star Sword Art Festival had been decided.
Hagun, Donrou, Kyomon, Rokuson, Bunkyoku, Rentei, and Bukyoku Academy, which had reached the finals for twenty consecutive years and had monopolized the title of Seven Star Sword King for the past five years.
All seven knight academies were now ready.
…
Meanwhile, at the same time Hagun Academy was holding its appointment ceremony…
Inside a certain room.
"Hehehe, Hagun's actors have finally gathered too."
"Still, even Lorelei and Raikiri failed to qualify. That list really is surprising."
The one speaking was Pierrot, who had once appeared in a Rebellion base.
What was slightly surprising was that his left hand, which had been destroyed by Touka's conducted lightning during the test in Okutama, now appeared completely unharmed.
Judging by his appearance, it was as if he had never been injured at all.
"There's nothing to be done about it. You could say those two had absolutely terrible luck with the matchups."
The owner of the voice answering him was not in the room.
Instead, the voice came from the student handbook in Pierrot's hand.
This student handbook was different from Hagun Academy's style. In fact, it was different from the handbooks used by all seven schools in the Far East.
"Well, luck is also part of strength."
"If they lose because of bad matchups, that only means those knights were nothing special… If it were Ouma, he would definitely say something like that, wouldn't he? Don't you think so?"
"…That has nothing to do with me."
"Ah, you're just as boring. Forget it. With the irregular factor known as the Falling Star Sword Emperor around, it's within expectations that Hagun's roster would change."
"In any case, your preparations are complete, right?"
"No problem. Lorelei failing to qualify was a little unexpected, but it won't interfere with the plan… I can make my move anytime."
"Hehehe, as expected of the finest assassin of this generation. The highest-scoring graduate in the history of the Killing House truly lives up to the name."
"Black Assassin… no, it seems I should call you Black Sonia now, shouldn't I? Comrade Arisuin."
"…"
On the other end of the student handbook being used like a phone, Arisuin looked completely different from the person Luke and the others usually saw.
His expression was extremely cold, like a delicate work of art. It did not look like the kind of expression a normal human being should have.
The dangerously sharp aura coming from his entire body was so extreme that even Shizuku, who had the best relationship with Arisuin, might have mistaken him for someone else.
"Silent again, are we… Fine. In any case, the preparations for the Eve Festival are now complete."
Pierrot's voice came from the strange student handbook in Arisuin's hand.
Gradually, laughter began to mix into his tone.
It was not a normal smile or a happy laugh, but a mocking sneer, as though he were ridiculing everything in the world.
Pierrot ignored Arisuin on the other end and became intoxicated with his own imagination, speaking to himself.
"The actors have all gathered~ That seems to be what everyone believes, doesn't it?"
"But they're wrong. After all, the 'protagonists' haven't even appeared yet!"
"The foolish audience still hasn't noticed the existence of the 'protagonists,' so let us tell them ourselves!"
"Let us leap from beneath the stage and beat those fools who think they're the main characters to a pulp."
"And then, we will announce it to the world…"
"The protagonists of this year's Seven Star Sword Art Festival will be us, Akatsuki!"
…
Late July arrived, and the season had entered summer.
Hagun Academy's first semester had ended along with the representative selection matches.
After that began the long-awaited summer vacation that almost every student had been looking forward to.
Faced with a long break, most students chose to leave the school and return home. Because of that, the entire school became much emptier.
The small number of students who remained were either planning to enjoy their vacation in the Tokyo area where Hagun Academy was located, or they wanted to use the school's facilities to further train themselves.
However, whether among the students who went home or the students who stayed behind, Luke was nowhere to be seen.
Not only him, Ikki, Stella, and the others had also disappeared.
The Seven Star Sword Art Festival would be held in mid-August.
And for the sake of this upcoming grand event, Luke and the others had set out for intensive training.
It was a total of ten days of focused training.
For this, Hagun Academy had even invited Mage-Knights currently active in the KOK professional league to serve as instructors.
For ordinary students, if they did not participate in this training camp, by the time the Seven Star Sword Art Festival began, a gap in strength would definitely appear between them and the other contestants.
However, somewhat unexpectedly, the location of this training camp was not Okutama, which had previously been agreed upon.
Aside from the fact that the "Giant Incident" still had not been resolved, the more important reason was the battlefield Luke and Edelweiss had left behind after their fight.
In the area that had been designated a forbidden zone, the traces left behind by their intense battle still had not disappeared.
To prevent people from accidentally wandering in and getting injured or killed, Director Kurono ultimately decided to change the training camp location.
She entrusted the matter to Kyomon Academy, allowing Hagun Academy's contestants to undergo joint training with Kyomon Academy's representatives.
Aside from the six representatives, those who had failed to qualify, such as Shizuku and Touka, could also participate as assistants.
It sounded very nice…
However, for Luke, this intensive training camp was a little boring.
"Ah… If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have come along."
Luke sat in a chair, drinking a beverage while watching the others train in utter boredom.
That's right.
Our protagonist, the Falling Star Sword Emperor, Luke Ashburn…
Had been ostracized!
…
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