It was a chilly morning in April. Two jersey-clad shadows had fallen over the expansive campus of Hagun Academy. One, standing at the front gate, was Ikki Kurogane, his shoulders heaving as he chugged a sports drink. The other was Stella Vermillion, who, despite her exhaustion, was dashing toward the gate where Ikki waited.

Every morning, Ikki ran twelve miles in order to stay in shape. Of course, because of his lack of magical talent, Ikki had been making up for it by training his physical abilities to an unbelievable extent. During his twelve-mile runs, he didn’t simply jog the whole way; he would sprint as much as he could, jogging when he needed to catch his breath, using those twelve miles as high-intensity training.

For the past three days, his roommate had taken part as well. On the first day, Stella had collapsed halfway through. On the second day, she’d vomited. He’d started running slower on the third day so she could keep up.

“I keep telling you not to worry about me!” she’d say with a look like she was ready to slash him whenever he slowed down, so he gave up and ran like normal for the rest of the third day. Stella had fallen pretty far behind, but at least she’d made it the whole way.

She really is something.

Ikki admired Stella for continuing to fight toward her goal despite her fatigue. Even with her incredible magical power, she didn’t neglect her physical training. It was clear that she wasn’t relying solely on her talent to get her through everything.

“Haah. Haah. I made it…” Stella said, completely exhausted.

“Good job,” Ikki congratulated her.

“I-I’m fine. This… is nothing…”

“Here, drink some of this.”

Stella talked big for someone who was drenched in sweat. Ikki had waited for her breathing to calm down before offering her some of his drink, but she just stared at his offering in bewilderment.

“B-But that would be like an indirect kiss,” she muttered.

“What’s the problem? Oh, sorry, Stella. You wouldn’t want to drink out of something a man’s lips have touched, huh?”

“I-I didn’t say that! It’s actually kinda the opposite.”

“‘The opposite’? How so?”

“I-I-It’s nothing, just shut up and hand it over!”

Stella’s cheeks were already deep red from all the running, but they reddened further as she gulped down the drink.

Wow. She went right for the part my lips touched, too.

Ikki felt bad that he didn’t get a chance to tell her, but regardless, he turned toward Hagun Academy’s front gate. A sign there indicated that the opening ceremony would begin soon.

“Finally time for the opening ceremony, huh?”

It made Ikki deeply emotional. A whole year had passed, giving him no chance for advancement, but things had changed. The new director, Kurono Shinguuji, was willing to give every student a chance. With the arrival of the chance he had been waiting for, Ikki was all the more emotional.

“You look really excited, Ikki,” Stella stated matter-of-factly.

“Do I? Probably because there’s someone I’m excited to meet.”

“It’s not a girl, is it?”

I don’t like how menacing that sounded, Ikki thought to himself.

“W-Well, yes, she is a girl, but—”

“Goodbye.”

“Wait, wait, stop! Put Lævateinn down for a minute and let me finish! She’s just my little sister!”

“Your sister? Come to think of it, you did mention you had a sister during our battle.”

“Yeah. I heard she enrolled this year. It’s been four whole years since I ran away, and I haven’t seen her since, so I’m excited to see her again. I can’t wait.”

She’d had silver pigtails and had always been running after Ikki wherever he went. Ikki’s father, brother, and other relatives had hated and ignored him because of his lack of talent, but that girl had never left him alone, even if she had been a crybaby who was always demanding attention. Shizuku Kurogane was Ikki’s only real family.

It’s been four years. I wonder how much she’s grown.

“Just to make sure…” Stella began uneasily. “There isn’t going to be some silly plot twist where you learn she’s not related to you by blood, right?”

“Nope. We’re normal, blood-related siblings, just like anyone else.”

“Good. Then I’ll allow it.”

“Allow” what? Ikki didn’t understand, but he had a policy of not probing too deeply into things he didn’t understand.

He went back to looking at the opening ceremony sign, wondering how the day would go. The time had come: Ikki was ready to fight for his spot in the Seven Stars Battle Festival!

◆◆◆

“Okaaay!☆ Congratulations on your enrollment, new students!♥” The teacher standing at the podium was all smiles as the students filled the room with the sounds of applause and party poppers. “I’m Yuuri Oreki, instructor for class 1-1. As this is my first year as a homeroom teacher, it would make me so, so, so happy if all of you would call me Ms. Yuuri!♪”

Things were opening very lightheartedly, especially considering all the fighting to come.

“I’m getting exhausted just looking at her,” Stella grumbled. As if by fate, she had been seated next to Ikki.

“Ahaha, yeah. But she’s a good teacher,” he assured her.

“Do you know her?”

“A little, yeah.”

“Since today’s the first day, there will be no lessons!” Ms. Oreki cooed. “But, buuut, I do have one important message about this year’s selection battles for the Seven Stars Battle Festival. Everyone, please open your handbooks!”

Ikki removed a palm-sized LCD terminal—his Hagun Academy student ID handbook—from his breast pocket. These handbooks served as identification, a virtual wallet, a cell phone, and an internet-capable device all in one.

“As the director said during the opening ceremony, Hagun Academy used to base its selections partly on ability. From now on, that’s a no-go! The new system is going to be all-inclusive! Six special students will be chosen based on their results in battle! Eww, violence! Gross!

“You should receive an email from the Selection Battle Committee with the schedule for your battles, so make sure to find your names and show up at the right time and place! Watch out, though! If you don’t show up, you lose!♥”

“Ms. Oreki?” Stella raised her hand.

“No, no! I won’t answer to anything but Yuuri☆”

“M-Ms. Yuuri?”

“Yes! What is your question, Stella?”

“How many battles will we be fighting?”

“I can’t share any details, but each person will fight more than ten battles. Once the battles begin, expect to fight one every three days!”

Ikki was relieved to hear that. His Noble Art, Ittou Shura, was a once-a-day deal; he couldn’t handle successive battles. It was a stroke of good luck for him, but other students weren’t as happy.

“Seriously?!”

“Laaame. I’ll never get to travel!”

“I don’t even want to fight in the Festival.”

The classroom devolved into grumbles.

Well, sucks to be them. Not everyone was as interested in the Festival as Ikki was.

The Seven Stars Battle Festival involved real battles, with Devices deployed in Material Form rather than Phantom Form. Battles could sometimes turn into actual struggles of life and death. Not everyone was willing to undergo such a high risk just to prove themselves. Most people would prefer to graduate without risking their lives, become Mage-Knights, and start earning the big bucks. They just wanted to take the easy way out.

“Is there a punishment for people who withdraw or lose?” one of those students asked.

“Nope, no punishments here!” Ms. Oreki responded. “It won’t affect your grades, either, but the winners get a little extra credit. Nobody will be forced to join in, so if any of you are all, ‘Man, I don’t wanna be in the Festival’, then all you have to do is reply to the email from the Selection Battle Committee and say you want don’t want to participate. If you do that, you’ll be automatically removed from the ballots. But…”

Ms. Oreki suddenly looked in Ikki’s direction and smiled gently.

“I know it’s inconvenient, but this is really a wonderful system in that it gives everyone a fair chance. Under it, anyone—even one of you sitting in this very room—could become the Seven Stars King! I’d appreciate it if you all participated and aimed for the top; it would be a vital experience for your futures.”

Ikki bowed his head toward her in gratitude. The two first met during his entrance exam. Ikki was, of course, the examinee, while Ms. Oreki was the proctor. It was because of her fair assessment that he was able to enter Hagun in the first place. Thinking back on that day a year ago reminded him of something.

Oh, that’s right. Ms. Oreki…

“Okay, everyone! Get your game faces on and fight hard this coming year! Cheer with me!

“Hip, hip, hoo-blegh!”

…occasionally vomits up blood, Ikki remembered a second too late.

“Ms. Yuuriiiii!” The class was in an uproar.

“Oh, it’s okay, guys. She’s fine.” Ikki held her in his arms and tried to quell the uproar amongst his classmates, who had just watched the tragedy unfold. “There’s nothing to worry about. Ms. Oreki is actually a really sickly woman.”

“That’s worth worrying about! Look how much blood she coughed up!”

“Gah, hagh. I’m fine, just like he said.” Ms. Oreki smiled weakly for her worried students. “I cough up a liter of blood every day. I’ve been like this ever since I was a little girl.”

“How is that ‘fine’?!”

“Ack! Gah. Well, I’m still alive after more than twenty years. In a way, I’m actually strong! Heh… Crazy, right?”

“You don’t have to act so strong when it comes to your tragic health. I’ll take you to the nurse’s office. You guys mind helping clean up the blood?”

“No problem. We’ll take care of it!”

With the peach-blonde-haired girl’s confirmation, Ikki lifted his teacher onto his shoulders and carried her off to the nurse’s office. On the way, he asked her about something that had been on his mind.

“Ms. Oreki, I was wondering why you’re so excited today. Are you just trying to celebrate the arrival of new students?”

“Ack! Gah! Yes… It’s such a wonderful day, so I just… wanted to be at my absolute best for everyone.”

Of course she did. Ikki had figured she would feel that way.

“It really does pain me to say this, Ms. Oreki…”

“What?”

“I think you just got on everyone’s nerves.”

“Aww…”

He felt bad for her, but she had to know the truth. She was dealing with high schoolers, not kindergarteners, after all.

◆◆◆

“They said Ms. Oreki is free to go home for the day,” Ikki announced to the class, ending the first day’s homeroom.

Maybe I should go look for Shizuku. I doubt they want to look at a repeat student like me for too long.

He had felt some discomforting glares from the students around him. They couldn’t do icebreakers since their teacher had collapsed, but everyone in the school probably knew he was a flunk. His classmates were probably unsure of how they should talk to him.

I might’ve been a little too bossy back there.

He felt bad for butting in as much as he did. Taking his classmates’ feelings into consideration, he rose from his seat to leave.

“Kurogane!”

“Whoa!”

A girl from his class suddenly hugged him.

“Huh?! J-Just what do you think you’re doing, Ikki?!” Stella was shocked.

“That’s what I wanted to ask! Wh-What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Oopsie! I was super excited to finally talk to you, but I got a little too into it and made myself look bad.” The peach-blonde girl with glasses, grinning apologetically, was the one who had promised to help clean up before. She backed away and introduced herself. “I’m Kagami Kusakabe, and I’m a biiiig fan of yours!”

“A fan? Uh, of mine?”

Naturally, Mage-Knights were like celebrities. That popularity extended to student knights as well, so the strongest students, like Stella, were great fodder for mass media coverage. The Seven Stars Battle Festival was streamed over the internet to viewers throughout the world as well. With all that publicity, it wasn’t uncommon for student knights with bright futures or those who had been in the Festival previously to find a few fans at the start of the year. Ikki, however, fit neither of those categories.

“I don’t remember doing anything people would be interested in. Are you sure you have the right guy?” He tilted his head, confused by what was happening.

“Don’t play dumb, Kurogane! Take a look at this.”

Kagami showed Ikki her handbook. He tried to respond that he wasn’t “playing dumb”, but when he saw the display, the words caught in his throat.

“That’s our duel, isn’t it?!” Stella peeked at the screen and raised her voice in shock.

“Wooow, neither of you knew? Do you even use the internet?” Kagami asked the pair.

“Uh, I don’t know much about electronics.”

“I don’t use the internet either. I don’t have a computer,” Ikki added.

“I guess that makes sense. Well, someone uploaded your fight right after it ended, and it went viral! Everyone else has seen it, right?”

A few classmates who had been listening in nodded in affirmation.

“Yeah, I saw that vid.”

“There are articles all over the net about it. I’d be surprised if there’s anybody who doesn’t know.”

“I saw it too. I wanted to ask you a few questions, but… it’s so intimidating to talk to upperclassmen. Haha…”

That must be the cause of their uncomfortable glances earlier, Ikki mused. “Oh, well don’t mind me. We’re all classmates here, so you’re free to talk to me as much as you want,” he stated.

“For real?!” The girls all responded in unison.

“Whoa!”

They suddenly leaned over his desk to get closer to him.

“Yay! Thank you so much, Kurogane!”

“I’ve wanted to talk to you so badly since that fight!”

“Me too! You were so cool!”

“Could you help me with my sword training, Kurogane? I wanna be as good as you!”

“Hey, butt out! Train me instead!”

“Wh-Whoa, slow down. You all can talk as much as you want, but maybe do it one at a time.”

Ikki was overwhelmed by all the girls looking his way, their eyes full of respect and warmth. That wasn’t a surprise, though; he wasn’t much of a womanizer. Any time he had to chase women was better spent training. That’s why he didn’t have the experience to deal with all these girls at once. Just being stared at was enough to get his heart pounding, but seeing their eyes all glimmering with the light of admiration made it even more awkward.

“Are you surprised by your sudden popularity?” Kagami asked. “Everyone is talking about you! And according to the data I gathered, you’re a real hit among the ladies!”

“Huh? Wh-Why?”

“It’s because you’re so strong! Prospective Mage-Knight women just looove strong men. And there’s an extra layer of mystery thanks to your title as Worst One. But the biggest reason is your face. All the girls are going wild over how adorable you are!”

“I-I beg to differ.”

“Even that nervous smile of yours awakens our motherly instinct!”

The girls around Kagami murmured in agreement.

“Adorable”? I know I don’t look all that manly, but it’s kind of emasculating for younger girls to call me that. Well, better to be loved than hated, Ikki decided. As he was pondering, Kagami latched onto his right arm.

“K-Kagami?”

“Sooo, Kurogane. I’ve got a question for someone popular like you.” Kagami looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, only inches away from his face. “You’re willing to do a favor for your underclassmen, aren’t you?”

“W-Well… I’m willing to help in any way I can, I guess?”

“Yaaay! Thank you so much! I’m trying to start a newspaper club, you see, and I want your face all over the cover of Hagun Academy’s historic first paper! Here’s the headline: ‘A New Threat Emerges! The Legendary Superstar Rookie Defeated!’”

Ikki could only imagine how Stella was feeling. Breaking into a cold sweat, he stole a glance at her face.

“Gee, how lovely. You are just sooo cool. Why don’t you give her an interview, Mr. Popular?” She was pouting. That was natural, though. Who would want their defeat publicized for all to see? At the very least, Ikki wasn’t about to give an interview after seeing Stella’s expression.

“I’m really sorry, but I’m not very good at this kind of thing.”

“That’s okay! I’ll take things nice and slow.” Kagami didn’t budge, instead clutching his arm even more tightly. With his arm sandwiched between her breasts, Ikki’s body went numb, making resistance futile.