Chapter 406: You Keep Counting; I'll Keep Eating!
As time passed, the matches continued one after another.
First, Touka defeated her opponent and claimed the first victory of the day.
The second match in Block A was Kurogane Shizuku versus Asagi Momiji.
As last year's third-place finisher, Asagi was certainly strong. Unfortunately for her, Shizuku was even stronger.
Asagi might have been powerful, but she was still inferior to Touka.
If Touka had not withdrawn last year after the orphanage director fell ill, third place would never have gone to Asagi.
Shizuku had once fought Touka during Hagun's selection matches and suffered a crushing defeat.
Ever since then, she had trained with Touka as her goal, constantly hoping for another chance to face her.
Now, the perfect opportunity had appeared.
Touka and Shizuku were both competitors in Block A. Touka had already won and advanced to the quarterfinals.
If Shizuku won this match, she would undoubtedly face Touka in Block A's quarterfinal match.
Under these circumstances, Shizuku displayed unprecedented enthusiasm and overwhelmed Asagi in a one-sided battle.
This meant that the opening match of the third-round quarterfinals would be Todo Touka versus Kurogane Shizuku!
There were no Block B matches because Stella had already secured the block victory. After Shizuku's match ended, it was Ikki's turn.
His opponent was last year's runner-up, Eye of Heaven Jougasaki Byakuya.
Relying on his endless variety of sword techniques, Ikki also emerged victorious.
Another Block C battle followed afterward.
Once all four matches had ended, it was finally Luke's turn to enter the arena.
...
In the audience seating, Ikki, Stella, Shizuku, and Arisuin stared solemnly at the field.
Ikki had already explained Shinomiya Amane's ability to them.
"An ability capable of granting any wish… Honestly, even now, it still sounds too unbelievable."
"If that ability is real, how is anyone supposed to defeat him?"
The obvious worry in Stella's voice revealed her feelings.
She trusted that Ikki would never lie to her, but an ability like that was simply too terrifying.
"Come to think of it…"
Arisuin suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke.
"When Luke left earlier, he stared at his student handbook for a while. His expression looked rather serious… Could he have been thinking about this?"
"That's probably right."
Ikki's expression was equally grave.
"I personally witnessed Yakushi-senpai's withdrawal yesterday. She probably called Luke afterward and told him what happened."
"If I could analyze Amane's ability, there's no reason Luke couldn't."
"This schedule change already puts me at a disadvantage because of the consecutive matches."
"If it can also interfere with Luke's participation, that would eliminate two problems at once. Shinomiya Amane's ability might be even stronger than we imagined."
"After Luke left… he never came back?"
Facing Ikki's question, Arisuin silently shook his head.
The others had matches and had left the audience seating for various lengths of time, but Arisuin had remained there the entire time.
He could guarantee that Luke had not returned.
And that was not all.
"He hasn't contacted us either."
"I called him three times, but the line was busy every time. Not one call connected."
"C-Could Luke really fail to reach the match in time…"
Stella was beginning to waver.
Until now, she, Ikki, and the others had possessed absolute confidence in Luke.
His overwhelming strength had always seemed natural. Although chasing after him left everyone helpless, it had also created an unshakable trust in him.
It felt as though nothing could truly trouble Luke.
Yet now, they could not stop themselves from worrying.
No matter how powerful he was, his strength meant nothing if he could not participate in the match.
However, just as everyone became increasingly anxious, a voice came from nearby.
"Don't worry. Luke won't miss the match."
The person approaching was Touka, who had been absent until now.
"Touka-senpai? Come to think of it, we haven't seen you for a while."
"I went to find Luke."
Touka looked at their worried faces, adjusted her glasses, and gave them a reassuring smile.
"I saw him earlier, and I personally watched him enter the waiting room."
Touka's words instantly dispersed the gloom hanging over everyone.
As long as Luke had not withdrawn, they had nothing to worry about.
Touka sat beside Stella and joined the others in waiting for the match to begin.
However…
As time slowly passed, an ominous feeling once again settled over the group.
Shinomiya Amane stood on the field with a strange smile, while the referee frowned. Luke's continued absence made Ikki and the others anxious again.
Touka stared at Luke's gate in disbelief, looking as though she had seen a ghost.
She had personally watched Luke enter the waiting room. They had even exchanged a few words. How could something still have gone wrong?
At that moment, the referee's voice reached the entire audience through the microphone.
"Competitor Luke has not responded to the match signal."
"Under the rules of the Seven Star Sword Art Festival, a five-minute countdown will now appear on the main screen."
"If competitor Luke has still not appeared when the countdown reaches zero, I will declare Shinomiya Amane the winner by default!"
The moment this decision was announced, the audience seating erupted into chaos.
Nearly every spectator began discussing the situation in shock.
...
Where was Luke, the person at the center of this incident?
He was actually inside the competitors' waiting room.
Listening to the announcement, Luke curled his lips in annoyance and continued eating the ramen in his hands without concern.
That was right.
He was merely eating.
This single morning had already exhausted his patience.
Ever since Kurono called him away, Luke had not received a moment of peace.
One person after another asked him for help. Familiar or unfamiliar, it did not matter. His phone had barely stopped ringing all day.
While moving from place to place, he also encountered all kinds of unexpected incidents.
A car hit him, people ran into him, animals crashed into him, and even a boat nearly struck him.
He had also spotted a helicopter!
If Luke had not sensed it in advance and moved far away, he might even have been hit by an aircraft.
Beyond that, he witnessed fights, scams, thefts, and every other kind of trouble imaginable.
This single morning had been more eventful than an entire year.
Luke slurped his ramen and glanced toward the entrance passage.
Even without looking, he could imagine Shinomiya Amane's smug expression.
Luke would let him enjoy it for now.
He had to slap that face at the very last moment. Otherwise, how could he repay all the trouble he had endured this morning?
Completely unaware that everyone was worried about him, Luke leisurely spent more than four minutes eating his ramen.
…
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