Chapter 403: The Difference in Popularity!
"Yesterday's four-against-one match should've put her in the spotlight."
"I heard the peak viewership exceeded eighty percent. Even my match with Ouma wasn't that high, and I doubt even a KOK A-rank League final could reach those numbers."
"I suppose that's what you'd expect from a genuine princess…"
"Still, she should be happy. Why does she look like that?"
The Stella Luke was talking about was crouched in a corner with her body curled up. Faint sighs drifted from her direction, and a gloomy aura clearly surrounded her.
"Well, she's been like that since receiving the announcement this morning."
Arisuin shrugged and explained the reason.
"She probably feels that she caused trouble for everyone. She seems to think the rest period between your matches was reduced because she swept through Block B."
"You also know that Ikki's Ittou Shura is terrible for consecutive matches. Once he uses it, he needs deep rest afterward."
"This format clearly puts him at a disadvantage."
"Stella probably blames herself for making things harder for her friends because of her own recklessness."
Ikki, who overheard Arisuin, walked over and helplessly shook his head at Luke.
"I personally don't mind, and I already tried talking to Stella, but it didn't help much."
Ikki pointed toward the princess curled up in the corner, looking completely helpless.
"I'm not the only one fighting twice. A special decision like this was impossible to predict, so Stella really has no reason to blame herself."
Ikki had a point.
The venue rental, security, equipment, and overall arrangements had all been prepared long ago. They were not things that could be changed casually.
Rather than calling this sudden decision an exception, it would be more accurate to call it abnormal.
"Shizuku, Touka-senpai, Alice, and I don't think this is Stella's fault. You feel the same way, right, Luke?"
Ikki deliberately raised his voice, clearly hoping Stella would hear him from the corner.
If she knew no one blamed her, perhaps she would feel a little better.
Unfortunately, Luke mercilessly ruined Ikki's plan.
"Well, I certainly don't intend to blame Stella."
"But… if we're talking about what triggered this situation, then yes, it was Stella."
"Eh?!" ×3
Luke's words immediately shocked Ikki, Arisuin, and Shizuku.
As for why Touka was not among them…
One only needed to look at the lightning flashing across the arena. Touka was currently competing.
However, someone reacted even more intensely than the others.
Stella shot out of the corner and appeared before Luke in an instant.
A heavy aura continuously poured from her body as she asked him with a pale face,
"S-So it really is my fault?!"
"I did something wrong, didn't I… I-I really should be blamed… sigh…"
Watching the girl emerge only to immediately start sinking into despair, Luke hurriedly explained before she evolved into a dragon-shaped humidifier.
"Calm down first. I said you were the trigger, but I never said it was your fault."
"If you want to shut yourself away, at least wait until I finish explaining."
Luke tapped Stella's head, knocking her out of humidifier mode, then continued.
"In the end, this is about profit."
"The ones pushing for this are probably the sponsors behind the tournament."
"Stella, you understand how much influence you have, right?"
Stella obediently nodded, yet she still looked confused. Luke could not help feeling helpless.
As royalty, Stella should have been especially sensitive to such matters. Her reaction showed that she had rarely studied them.
Still, that could not be blamed on her.
Most of her energy went into training as a Blazer. Finding time for even the most basic royal education was already difficult.
Luke shook his head and looked at Ikki and the others, who appeared just as confused.
"Stella is unquestionably the most important competitor in this year's Seven Star Sword Art Festival."
Stella immediately objected.
"That can't be right. I know being an exchange student and an A-rank knight attracts attention."
"But in terms of importance, aren't you the same, Luke?"
"There's also Ikki's brother Ouma, and even Ikki himself draws plenty of attention because of his F-rank rating."
"I don't think I could be the single most important competitor…"
The confusion in Stella's voice only grew.
Unlike her, Ikki seemed to understand something and joined the conversation.
"You mean her identity, right?"
Luke nodded, acknowledging Ikki's answer.
However, identity alone was not enough to explain everything.
Perhaps because Stella often spent time with Luke and Ikki, neither of whom cared much about her status, she had gradually forgotten the weight carried by the title of princess.
Her strength was another reason.
Luke had always stood before her like an enormous mountain, and even Ikki had consistently remained ahead of Stella.
As a result, it was difficult for Stella to act imposing around either of them.
But that was only their personal relationship.
"The audience doesn't see things that way."
Luke smiled and took out his student handbook.
He opened the browser, found a website, and showed it to the others.
"This is something like an online popularity poll. Look at the comments beneath Stella's name."
Ikki, Stella, and the others curiously leaned closer.
They rarely paid attention to websites aimed at ordinary people because such sites offered little practical value.
Among them, Arisuin was probably the only one who had even heard of this website.
Luke opened Stella's profile. A long list of comments appeared beneath it, all written by voters after submitting their choices.
"Her Highness is so beautiful!"
"She has such a noble identity, a beautiful face, and an amazing figure. Wasn't she practically born at the peak?"
"The person above missed something. Her Highness Stella possesses the greatest mana quantity in the world. She's flawless in strength too!"
"I'm so jealous… By the way, Her Highness attends Hagun, right? I heard she's close to Falling Star Sword Emperor and Another One!"
"Birds of a feather flock together, I suppose. Outstanding people naturally attract each other."
"The idiot above completely missed the point. They were obviously asking whether Her Highness has a boyfriend!"
"Ha! A boyfriend? Do you seriously think that's possible?"
"Identity, appearance, and strength—forget Another One, even Falling Star Sword Emperor can't compare with Her Highness."
"Agreed. Her Highness is definitely the boss of Hagun!"
"Can I ask something? Isn't Luke-sama the leader of Hagun's delegation this year? Why is Crimson Princess supposedly the boss?"
…
Watching the comments gradually turn into an argument, Luke silently closed the website.
Everyone looked at one another, and the atmosphere suddenly became rather awkward.
…
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