Chapter 306: Arisuin's Choice!
"Unfortunately, I don't know who the specially invited coach is either."
"But the invitation was sent out on the second day, right after you defeated all the coaches. They should arrive by tomorrow at the latest."
"If we're lucky, maybe we'll even see them today."
"Oh? Then I'll look forward to it."
"…"
"…"
The moment that topic ended, Luke and Arisuin both fell silent at the same time.
A slightly heavy atmosphere gradually spread between them.
That unpleasant state lasted for a few seconds before Arisuin, whose face briefly showed struggle and hesitation, finally broke it.
"U-Um… Luke-san."
"Have you looked into the representatives from the other schools this year?"
"It's pretty interesting. Almost every school has a first-year representative this year."
"It seems only last year's champion school, Bukyoku, doesn't have any first-year representatives…"
"B-But… but I heard they also have a new contestant joining."
Luke quietly looked at Arisuin, who was speaking in broken, awkward sentences full of openings.
He knew why Arisuin was telling him this.
From the moment Arisuin opened his mouth, it was already the same as betraying Rebellion.
As for why he did not tell Luke the truth directly, it was probably because, deep in his heart, he still held a trace of fear toward Rebellion.
Luke understood that.
In fact, he even felt somewhat relieved.
In the world of Chivalry of a Failed Knight, there were only a few people Luke could talk to and barely call friends.
Although his relationship with Arisuin was not especially close, he still did not want to truly become enemies with someone he knew.
So Luke did not interrupt him.
He simply listened quietly.
"Kurogane Ouma… known as the Wind Sword Emperor. He's the only A-rank student knight from Japan."
"His strength is abnormal. Neither Stella nor even Ikki can defeat him… Luke-san, only you. Only you can beat him!"
"You have to be the one to face him. Otherwise…"
"No… It's n-nothing. I got a little worked up… Sorry."
Arisuin suddenly stopped halfway through his words.
Because he remembered who Rebellion had prepared to deal with the anomaly known as Luke.
The person Luke would have to face was none other than the one standing at the peak of this world. How could Arisuin add even more pressure on him?
That fight was already close to certain death. If Luke had to face a powerhouse on the level of the Wind Sword Emperor before that, wouldn't that mean he was definitely going to die?
Then again…
Could a battle against Twin-Wings really be called "close to certain death"?
Thinking about that, Arisuin could not help falling silent for a moment.
Immediately after, he changed the subject and spoke to Luke again in a half-joking tone.
"I heard Kurogane Ouma is a third-year student at Bukyoku Academy."
"It's just that he's never participated in any competitions before. In fact, he's basically never even appeared at school."
"If you count him, then there are three whole A-rank mage knights participating in this year's Seven Star Sword Art Festival."
"Compared to the festivals from the past few years, even calling this lineup 'luxurious' wouldn't be enough."
"Everyone is looking forward to the matches between you, Stella, and Ouma."
"After all, this is the first clash between A-rank student knights since World Clock fought Yaksha Princess."
"That alone is already extremely rare. And this year, there are three A-ranks. If we're lucky, we might even see more than one battle between A-rank student knights."
"This topic has already blown up online."
As his emotions gradually calmed down, Arisuin's tone also slowly returned to normal.
Just like usual, he sounded as though he were simply sharing information with Luke.
And in truth, this matter really was close to becoming a household topic.
Back then, the battle between Kurono and Nene had been extremely famous. Even now, it was still a common topic people talked about in their spare time.
Even more coincidentally, Kurono had studied at Hagun Academy back then, while Nene had studied at Bukyoku Academy.
Now, Luke and Stella were students of Hagun Academy, while Kurogane Ouma was a student of Bukyoku Academy.
"Hagun" VS "Bukyoku."
The reappearance of that legendary rivalry added even more color to the whole situation.
"You've already said that much, yet your heart is still hesitating?"
Only after waiting for Arisuin to finish speaking did Luke finally respond.
However, his answer was not what Arisuin had hoped to hear.
Arisuin's eyes widened slightly, and he stared at Luke in shock, unable to say anything for a long while.
After remaining silent in disbelief for some time, he finally came back to himself.
"So… you knew everything."
Luke's meaning had already been expressed clearly.
Although Arisuin did not know exactly how much Luke knew, his current thoughts had truly been seen through.
"In that case, there's no need for me to hide anything anymore. Actually…"
"You're underestimating Ikki and Stella too much."
Luke did not let Arisuin continue.
He directly interrupted him.
"I don't know this Wind Sword Emperor you're talking about, but from your tone, I can tell he should be a very powerful fighter."
"In your eyes, both Ikki and Stella are far below him."
"And yet, you believe he can't defeat me."
"I can roughly guess why you made that judgment. It's because of my battle record, right?"
"You think Ikki and Stella don't have the same 'qualification' I do, don't you?"
Arisuin understood what Luke meant by "qualification."
And just as Luke said, that was exactly what his judgment was based on.
Kurogane Ouma was strong.
Extremely strong.
Terrifyingly strong.
But in the end, he was still only at the level of a "strong person."
Luke was different.
Someone who could injure Edelweiss had already gone completely beyond the ordinary definition of a "strong person."
In other words, no matter how small the chance might be, Luke possessed the possibility of creating a "miracle."
As long as there was even a possibility, then there was room for hope.
However, at this stage, Stella and Ikki could not possibly defeat Ouma.
With the large amount of information provided by Rebellion, Arisuin could easily sort out a judgment process based on known relationships and combat records.
In his eyes, Stella, who could fight back and forth with Touka in mock battles, was basically on the same level as Touka, perhaps even slightly inferior.
Ikki was the same.
Even if he could defeat Stella or Touka, he would have to go all out to do it.
So the three of them were roughly on the same level, with only slight differences in strength.
By that comparison, it should originally have had nothing to do with Ouma.
However, a certain person standing between all of them ultimately led Arisuin to conclude that Ouma was far stronger than the others.
That person was last year's Seven Star Sword King, Moroboshi Yudai.
Kurogane Ouma possessed the terrifying strength to defeat Moroboshi Yudai with ease.
To the many Seven Star Sword Art Festival contestants who treated Moroboshi Yudai as their greatest enemy, Ouma's strength was beyond imagination.
In truth, Arisuin's judgment was not particularly wrong.
Based on the information he knew, the conclusion he had reached was extremely accurate.
In fact, at this point in the original story, whether it was Stella or Ikki, both of them were worlds apart from Ouma.
However, there was one thing he had miscalculated.
The influence brought by the anomaly known as Luke Ashburn.
The "anomaly" named Luke did not represent only his own strength.
…
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