Chapter 404: The Beginning of Causal Interference!
"See that, Boss Stella?"
"At least in popularity, you completely crush every other competitor. Even I can't compare with you."
Ignoring the increasingly strange comments near the bottom, Luke looked at the silent group and continued.
"Just like those comments said, Stella has beauty, status, and strength. Naturally, she attracts more attention."
"Your very presence guarantees viewership, and to the sponsors, viewership means profit."
"But now Stella, the center of that profit, has suddenly lost two matches. Under the original schedule, the princess wouldn't appear at all during today's or tomorrow's rounds."
"I don't need to explain the rest, do I?"
By this point, not only Ikki and Stella, but even Arisuin and Shizuku, who were not especially sensitive to business matters, understood the reason for the schedule change.
"So in the end… the organizers made this decision to minimize their losses."
Stella sighed helplessly.
However, her mood had clearly improved.
Since profit was involved, the organizers who sacrificed the competitors' rest time to reduce their losses also bore part of the responsibility. This was no longer something Stella could blame entirely on herself.
More importantly, Stella was the only person who believed she was responsible. Logically, none of this could truly be blamed on her.
Seeing that she still had not completely let it go, Luke added one final point.
"Since the schedule was shortened, the day originally reserved for the finals is now empty. The operating committee won't simply leave it unused."
"They'll most likely arrange exhibition matches, and with your status, Stella, you'll definitely be invited."
"If you still feel guilty, accept their invitation and give the audience a good performance. That'll be enough."
"I suppose that's all I can do…"
Stella still seemed slightly downhearted, but she had at least returned to normal.
With the topic settled, everyone turned their attention back to the match, watching Touka-senpai easily drive her opponent into a desperate situation…
Normally, that should have been what happened.
However…
"Onii-sama, what's wrong?"
Shizuku, whose attention had never left Ikki, was the first to notice something strange.
Seeing him frowning deeply in thought, she asked with obvious concern,
"Is something troubling you?"
Pulled from his thoughts, Ikki looked at Luke, then at Stella. He opened his mouth but hesitated to speak.
Yesterday, he had been present when White-Robed Knight Yakushi Kiriko withdrew.
Ikki was the one who deduced the true nature of Shinomiya Amane's Wish Fulfillment ability and explained it to Kiriko.
The scene from yesterday, Kiriko's expression when she withdrew, and Amane's ability kept circling through Ikki's mind.
Ikki could tell that Amane held a powerful obsession toward him.
He did not know why, but there was no doubt that Amane wanted to face him during the Seven Star Sword Art Festival.
If so, neither Ikki nor Amane could afford to lose. Only then would they have a chance of meeting after the semifinal draw.
But before that, Shinomiya Amane's next opponent was Luke!
Having reached this conclusion, Ikki stopped hesitating and spoke.
"Luke, I remember your next opponent is Shino—"
Ring, ring, ring—!
Before he could finish, a sudden phone call interrupted him.
Luke took out his student handbook, gave Ikki an apologetic gesture, and answered.
The coincidence made Ikki feel helpless, but it also strengthened the ominous feeling in his heart.
Still, Luke was on the phone, so Ikki could not rudely interrupt him.
After all, he only wanted to give Luke a warning. Even Ikki himself was unsure whether it was necessary.
Luke ended the call very quickly.
It was almost strangely brief. He seemed to exchange only two or three sentences before hanging up.
That gave Ikki a peculiar feeling, as though the call had existed solely to interrupt him.
Growing increasingly worried, Ikki stepped forward the instant Luke finished, intending to continue what he had been saying.
However, he was interrupted again.
This time, the person who stopped him was Luke himself.
Luke scratched his head and spoke first with an apologetic tone.
"Sorry, something came up and I need to leave."
"Director Kurono called and asked me to come over. I don't know what happened, but I probably won't be able to watch Shizuku's next match."
"She sounded pretty urgent, so I'll head there now."
"Ikki, whatever you wanted to say can wait until I return."
Without waiting for a reply, Luke turned and quickly left the audience seating.
Ikki watched his retreating back with an ugly expression, unable to deliver the warning already resting on his lips.
This time, it was not only Shizuku who noticed. Stella and Arisuin also saw that something was wrong with him.
"Ikki, what's wrong?"
"My, if you've run into trouble, I'd be happy to share the burden~"
"That's right, Onii-sama. Your expression has been strange for a while."
Ikki looked at the three people watching him with concern, suppressed the ominous feeling in his heart, and began explaining.
"Actually, something happened yesterday…"
...
Elsewhere, Luke wore a helpless expression as he quickly left the audience seating.
He had expected today to be troublesome, but he had not thought the problems would begin this early.
Touka's match was the first one today, while Luke's was second to last. There was still a long time before he needed to enter the arena.
He had assumed any interference would happen shortly before his match.
Now it seemed that a certain goddess had no intention of letting him rest.
Luke had naturally noticed Ikki's hesitation.
However, he already understood Shinomiya Amane's ability, so he did not waste time remaining there.
Judging from Kurono's voice on the phone, she truly seemed to have something urgent to discuss.
Still, Luke could not imagine what could make her so anxious that she hung up after only a few words without even explaining why she wanted him.
Luke sighed helplessly and walked toward the building occupied by the operating committee, where Kurono had told him to meet her.
However, the instant he passed through the crowd and entered a relatively empty road—
Boom—!
A medium-sized delivery truck smashed through the wall beside him and rammed directly into Luke!
…
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