Chivalry of a Failed Knight Vol. 1

Stella had never seen a man so intimately. She hadn’t gotten a good look at Ikki when he’d first walked in and started stripping, but looking closer and more carefully, she noticed that his body was incredibly well-defined. His muscles, toned from years of training, looked entirely different than a woman’s.

Do they feel different too?

Stella’s brain was frothing over the opportunity to explore the unknown. Her breathing became erratic, as if she was suffering from a fever. Unable to stop herself, she timidly poked his stomach. When she did, powerful sinews of muscular tissue pushed back at her from under his skin, which combined flexibility and suppleness with strength. She had never felt anything like it, but it helped her understand the enormous power hidden within him.

“Wow…”

His was a warrior’s body, forged not from haphazard action, but from strict dedication to both a purpose and a methodology. Stella thought of herself as a knight first and a woman second, so she knew just how difficult it was to train and maintain a body such as his.

She could no longer doubt what Kurono had said. Despite all the hardships he faced, Ikki never gave up on himself. His body was the greatest proof of that—a manifestation of his resolve. However, knowing that Kurono hadn’t overstated his will only made her more and more interested in learning about the man known as Ikki Kurogane.

The more she learned about him, the more her interest in him seemed to suffocate her. It was almost as if he were filling her up with some incomprehensible sensation that was tinged with vague warmth. Why she didn’t dislike the feeling was a mystery to her.

“Haah… Wh-What’s happening to me?”

As she traced her finger over his stomach, Stella’s question was little more than a breathless whisper.

“I was going to ask the same question. What are you doing, Miss Stella?” Ikki asked with a bewildered expression as she straddled him, touching his bare skin.

“Aaaaaaaahhh?!” Stella screamed and quickly jumped away from him.

“Whoa! Don’t stand up too fast!” Ikki’s warning went unheeded. She stood up with all the force she could muster, causing her to slam her head into the ceiling and fall from the top of the bunk bed. “M-Miss Stellaaa! Are you okay?! You really went into that headfirst, didn’t you?!”

“I-I-I’m fine! I just happened to fall on this tomato juice I left on the floor, and now it’s all over me!”

“You are definitely not fine! The only tomato juice I can see came from inside your head! Just stay still and let me treat you!”

◆◆◆

“That should do it,” Ikki said after treating Stella with a first aid kit he found in the room.

“You’re pretty good at this.”

“I’ve lived alone since middle school. I had to learn to do all of this myself.”

He really has been banished from his own home, Stella thought.

Ikki sighed inwardly, to which she responded with a strange statement.

“Ikki, the director told me about you.”

“What about me?”

“She told me how poorly your family and the school have treated you.”

“Tch. Is she just gonna tell the world about my delicate family matters…? Sorry about that. I’m sure it wasn’t a very fun story.”

“I don’t care about that; I just want you to tell me something.”

“What?”

“Why, despite the awful treatment you face, do you continue striving to be a knight?”

“Huh? Why do you want to know?”

“I-It’s not like I just want to know more about you, okay?! Don’t act so smug! I’m just interested in why a Blazer like you, who has no magical power or ability, wants to be a knight so badly when you’re obviously not meant to be one!”

He almost enjoyed hearing her disparage him again.

There wasn’t really any reason not to tell her. It was a bit embarrassing to talk about, but if she insisted, he didn’t particularly mind.

“A certain man is my role model,” he told her.

“Your role model? Are you talking about Samurai Ryouma?”

Ikki knew that name, the name of the man anyone in the Kurogane family would look up to, would come up sooner or later.

“Yeah. You got it. I’ve never had any talent, so my family treated me like I was nothing. Even if I didn’t do anything, a talentless kid like me was a problem for them because I was a stain on their record of stellar knights. They told the school I wasn’t immediate family and demanded they set a power restriction on lectures. And when my family met up every year, they always locked me in my room so I couldn’t join in.”

“You’re worthless, so you should remain worthless.”

Ikki’s fifth birthday was neatly summed up in his father’s last words to him. Ever since then, his father had never said a word to him. In fact, he may never have even looked in Ikki’s direction.

The patriarch’s decision had affected the rest of the family as well. Everyone had treated Ikki Kurogane like he never even existed. It was the worst pain he’d ever felt. He’d often wished that he hadn’t been born.

“But that’s when Ryouma Kurogane spoke to me.”

Ikki remembered that snowy day as if it was yesterday. It was New Year’s Day, and the Kurogane family had gathered to celebrate. As Ikki listened to their boisterous laughter from his bedroom, he realized that he couldn’t take living in his home anymore. He ran away, fleeing to the mountains, but there, he lost his way. As the gentle snow turned into a harsh blizzard, his eyes grew heavier and his body temperature fell.

Nobody came to save him. Of course they didn’t; who would search for a boy that didn’t exist? Even if Ikki froze to death, alone and without a soul knowing, his family wouldn’t mourn for him. To them, Ikki Kurogane wasn’t worth losing a bit of sleep over. His sister might be sad for a while, but nobody else. He despaired endlessly at that realization, crying not because he had no talent, but because he couldn’t believe in himself.

That was when it happened. Ryouma Kurogane, an old man with a large build and gray Kaiser mustache, appeared before him. He spoke to Ikki, who was still wiping his tears:

“Never forget this pain. This pain is proof that you still haven’t given up on yourself.

“Listen, kid. You may still be a child right now, but you’ll be an adult one day. Don’t be the kind of adult who prides himself on silly things like talent. Don’t be the kind of adult who just goes with the flow and takes only what he’s given. When it comes to mankind, as long as there’s a will, there’s a way. We weren’t gifted wings, but we still flew to the moon, dammit.” He smiled like a little boy as he said that, moving to brush the snow off of Ikki’s head.

“I was over the moon with joy,” Ikki said. “It was the first time in my life I felt I didn’t have to give up on myself. Even if I knew all along that he couldn’t make any guarantees about my future, it still made me feel so much better. His words alone saved my life.

“That’s when I decided: if I had to grow up, I wanted to be like him. If I ever found someone like me, I wouldn’t brush them off and tell them to give up like my parents did to me. Instead, I’d tell them that talent is only a tiny part of their character and that they should never give up. I would be a man that could carry on his message.

“But I can’t do that just yet. I have to be strong like him, or else my words will just sound like the complaints of a sore loser. So for now, I can’t give up. If I want to be as strong as Ryouma Kurogane, I’ll have to be the new Seven Stars King.”

“Hmm. Would you call that your dream, Ikki?” Stella asked.

“You must think it’s impossible for me.” He must have hit the bullseye, as her face clouded over in discomfort. She admired his dream, at least, but as for whether he could make it real… “You don’t have to say it, and you don’t have to look so sorry; I know my goal would normally be impossible. But Miss Stella, if you had a goal that you could never stand to give up on, would you give up on yourself just because others told you to?”

“Ah…” Stella’s ruby eyes suddenly opened wide, as if she had suddenly come to an understanding, but her apologetic expression changed to intense laughter.

“Heh. Ahaha! Yes, you’re right. You won’t give up no matter how badly you get burned, will you?” Ikki’s words reminded her that once upon a time, she was just like him. “That’s it, right? It must be. There’s no point in wondering if it’ll work out or not. If you do your best and you fail, that’s just how it was meant to be. People like us can’t bear to give up without ever really trying.”

“Yeah. No matter how talentless I am, no matter how many people try to talk me out of it, I can’t use that as an excuse to give up on myself. The two of us are sore losers anyway, right?”

“I doubt you’re more of a sore loser than I am!” Stella chuckled to herself again, hints of both amazement and joy in her laughter. Finally, Stella relaxed and raised both of her hands in defeat. “All right, fine. You win. I tried to think of you in terms of talented versus mediocre, but a scale like that is too basic for a guy like you. I was sure you couldn’t beat a sore loser like me, but you won fair and square, so congratulations, Ikki.”

It was refreshing for Ikki to hear her say that.

There was no more doubting what Kurono said. Stella had found someone stronger than her, someone whose soul was cut from the same cloth. That was more than enough reason for her to keep learning. If she learned from Ikki, surely she could become stronger than ever. From the bottom of her heart, she was glad to have met him. After all, she had crossed the ocean in search of a fated meeting such as theirs.

Her radiant expression assured Ikki that she finally understood him. His answer seemed to have satisfied her, so there was only one thing left to take care of.

“Sooo… Now that all that’s settled, let’s cut to the chase,” Ikki said.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. I won, remember?”

“Yes, of course. I may be a sore loser, but I’m not silly.”

“Cool. So you’re ready to be my servant, then?”

“Huh?” Stella suddenly looked dumbfounded, eyes wide in confusion.

“We made a bet, right? Whoever loses is the winner’s lifelong servant. No matter how embarrassing the order, they must obey.”

“…Huh?!”

Stella’s face flushed red, then quickly lost all its color. It seemed as though she had really forgotten, considering everything that happened.

“I won, yeah? Guess I should start bossing you around.”

“H-Heh. Hahaha, you mean that?! Th-That was just a figure of speech, a-a-and I just kinda said it because I was really mad…”

“Hmmmm, what should my first order be? You did say ‘anything’, right?”

“A-A-A-A-Anything?! N-No, o-o-obviously not anything. Not anything, okay?! I-It’s just not right!” In her panic, Stella hid in the corner of her bed, covering herself with her blanket.

So much for not being silly.

“Really, now? You’re going to go back on your word?”

“Aww…”

“If you’re gonna refuse no matter what I say, then I can’t force you to do anything. But gosh, does that mean the Vermillion royal family doesn’t honor their treaties?”

“Oh, uh…”

“That is just a darn shame.”

“H-Hold it!” Stella took the bait, as Ikki expected. She glared directly at him, her eyes red with tears. “Just who the hell do you think I am?! I-I-I’ll do it! Treat me like a servant, a dog, I don’t care! Make me do whatever you want! You can even make me do something perverted for all I care! Stupid creep! I hate you!”

“What are you getting mad at me for?! This is your fault!”

Maybe I was a little too heavy on the teasing.

Ikki had tried to scold her in a roundabout way for so bravely putting her life on the line, but maybe he had gone too far. He regretted his playfulness. It wasn’t like he wanted to make her serve him, anyway; all he really wanted was to share a room with her.

“Okay, Miss Stella. Here’s your order: I want you to be my roommate.”

“Uh…? Th-That’s all?”

“Yeah. When we were fighting, I got to thinking that we might get along pretty well after all. Besides, I want to get to know you better. Instead of an order, consider it a request.”

“Ah…” Stella’s brain evaporated in response to his words, as she realized they were thinking the same thing. “Y-Y-You’ve got some nerve… c-calling an unmarried princess beautiful, and… saying you want to get to know me… as if they’re normal things to say! You really do lack tact…”

She avoided looking at Ikki, as her face was burning red, but he didn’t mind.

“Oh. I guess you’re not into sharing a room with a guy. S-Sorry for being weird. Should we go see the director together, then? I’m sure she’d be flexible enough to give you your own room if we asked.”

“Wait!” Stella shouted, stopping him. “…n’t mind.”

“What was that?”

“C-Clean out your ears! I said I… I wouldn’t mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“F-First of all, it’s an order, right? I don’t want anyone thinking we Vermillions are liars. Th-That’s all there is to it, I swear! I totally don’t want to be friends with you or anything!”

Her eyes darted all over the place as she threw out excuses. There were a lot of twists and turns involved, but she eventually made it clear that she was willing to share the room with Ikki. He was glad to hear it, too.

“All right. Glad you’re on my side, Miss Stella.”

“Not like I have a choice. Hmph.” Stella reluctantly shook his hand, turning up her nose at him. Her hand was smaller and warmer than he’d imagined.

Once that territorial dispute was settled, a bell rang in the dorms. They were being notified that it was eight o’clock.

“Oh, wow. I must have slept a lot. Dang it,” Ikki cursed.

“What’s wrong with eight o’clock?” Stella didn’t understand why he was upset.

“The cafeteria here closes at eight. What am I gonna do about dinner?”

The grocery store closes at nine, so maybe I could get something there, Ikki thought, crossing his arms. But with how much my muscles ache after using Ittou Shura, I don’t really want to cook. I might cut my finger off or something.

“Th-Then I might as well make dinner,” Stella suggested, unusually chipper.

“Huh? Really?”

“W-Well, you are my master… of sorts, even if I detest that fact. And it’s a servant’s duty to cook for her master if his stomach is empty.”

“How about we just forget the whole master-servant thing ever happened?”

“N-No, we can’t! Royalty never breaks a promise once it’s been made! Stop complaining and let me serve you!”

She was one hell of an uppity servant, but to be honest, he was enticed by the idea of eating a girl’s cooking. Ikki was a growing boy, after all.

“All right, Miss Stella. Let’s go to the grocery store; I can at least help you carry stuff.”

“Rgh.”

Wait, why does she suddenly look so mad at me? Ikki didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.

“Cut that out,” Stella said.

“Cut what out?”

“Calling me ‘Miss Stella’. You’re my master, not to mention that you’re older than me. It’s weird to call me ‘Miss’ in this situation, so just stop saying it.”

“Eeeh, I’m not too sure about that. You are a real-life princess, after all.”

“Did you forget which one of us wanted to befriend that real-life princess?”

“Right…”

“It’s weird for friends to be so uptight when they talk.”

“Then isn’t it weird for friends to have a master-servant relationship?”

“Those are two completely different things.”

“Whaaaaaat?”

“Anyway!” Stella jabbed a finger toward his face. “Don’t expect a response from me unless you just call me ‘Stella’,” she demanded. She seemed both angry and a little embarrassed, but it was cute nonetheless.

Ikki was still uncomfortable speaking so casually to a princess, but he did say he wanted to get to know her, so there was no point in putting up walls between them.

“Heh. All right, Stella.”

When he thought about it, he realized that she was always making the decisions and controlling the conversation. She really was an uppity servant.

“Good. Let’s go, Ikki! I still don’t know much about Japan, so you’d better be on the top of your escort game!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

If not calling her “Miss” makes her happy, I don’t mind one bit, Ikki decided, smiling along as if spurred on by Stella’s smile.