Chivalry of a Failed Knight Vol. 1

◆◆◆

“Ahaha. Nice to meet you, and thank you so much for inviting me along. I’m Shizuku’s roommate, Nagi Alisuin. I don’t like my first name, though, so please, feel free to call me Alice.”

He was tall and lean, and his clothes, monotone like Shizuku’s, were reminiscent of a glam band rock star’s. Removing his bowler hat, Alice bowed in greeting before offering a friendly smile and a handshake to both Stella and Ikki.

“U-Uh, nice to meet you.”

“It’s my pleasure…?”

They timidly shook his hand, unable to hide their shock.

“H-Hey, Ikki, do you know what’s going on here?” whispered Stella.

“Don’t ask me. I’m just as confused as you are.”

They had been so convinced that he was a woman, and despite being fairly slender, he was clearly a man. He was taller than Ikki, too; likely over six feet tall.

“But doesn’t he walk and talk like a lady? Is this some sort of weird joke? Do I laugh at this or not?”

“Like I said, don’t ask me!”

“Haha, look, Shizuku. They’re bewildered by my beauty,” Alisuin said, interrupting their private conversation.

“That’s one way to put it!” the pair rebutted.

“Uh, Miss Alice?”

“No need for the ‘Miss’. I can’t stand formalities.”

“Okay, Alice. Are you, um… a crossdresser?”

“No. I’m a maiden born in a man’s body.”

“Sounds like a crossdresser to me, Stella!” Ikki lowered his voice again.

“It’s not like I know the difference!” Stella replied, equally quiet.

“Are you still bewildered?” Shizuku asked the two of them, who were visibly shocked.

“A-Ahaha, yeah, I guess.” Ikki scratched his head awkwardly. “I know there are people like that out there, but I’ve never met any of them, so I don’t really know what to say. Sorry.”

“Heehee. I’m used to it, so don’t worry. Although Shizuku wasn’t as surprised as either of you were.”

“I don’t really notice gender,” Shizuku added.

Ikki had panicked because he’d thought Alisuin was a crossdresser, but she’d had no problem accepting him for who he was, and that moved Ikki to his core. She had a strong sense of tolerance toward other value systems.

Shizuku, you really have grown up. We could learn a thing or two from you, he decided.

“Man, woman, I don’t care. I hate all humans equally.”

Scratch that.

It would take more than glue to mend Shizuku’s broken heart.

“Alice may be a little different from your average person, but she wants to be treated like a woman, so that’s what I do. If possible, I would appreciate it if you two would try to do the same.”

Shizuku’s back-and-forth between acceptance and hatred ended with tolerance.

“I’ll do what I can,” Ikki responded.

“Heehee, thank you. But you don’t need to force yourself. I’d hate to make things awkward between us.” Alisuin gave them an out, just in case; she really was affable. “Anyway, it looks like everyone’s here, so let’s get to the theater.”

“Right. Just standing around is boring, anyway.”

“Big Brother, we have plenty of time to walk and talk. Let’s take our time getting there.”

After she looked at her watch and made that proposal, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, Shizuku grabbed Ikki’s arm and held it against her like she did when she was a child.

“Whoa,” Ikki gasped, taken by surprise.

He didn’t want to get too close to Shizuku, considering how she looked. He tried telling her to let go, as his renewed determination was already beginning to crack, but she wouldn’t give in.

“Teehee. It’s been so long since we’ve walked together like this, Big Brother.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. You’re… right.”

He couldn’t say anything to Shizuku, who was smiling as if lost in her memories. If she wanted to be close to him because she loved him as a brother, it would look bad if he didn’t return the favor. That would be playing right into her hands, of course.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” Stella, unable to just stand back and watch, jumped in to separate them.

“This is just normal brother-sister contact, is it not? We used to always walk together like this, right, Big Brother?”

“Um, well… Ahaha, I guess.”

“Th-Then I will, too!”

“I thought you might say that, so I came prepared. Here, I brought a collar so you can enjoy affection worthy of a servant.”

“Well, aren’t you thoughtful? How jealous can you be?!”

“Walking side-by-side with one’s master seems very inappropriate for a servant, don’t you think? Or are you trying to be as nasty as you can, unsatisfied with merely being rude to me? I suppose I’ve seen the worst the Vermillion royal family has to offer.”

“Ngh…!”

“Oh, on second thought, don’t worry. You can hold his hand if you’d like, Stella. Fortunately for us, he has two of them. That said, holding hands with someone of the opposite sex who isn’t even a family member? That carries a certain, special connotation. Don’t tell me you—?!”

“N-No, that’s not it! I’m just his servant because I lost to him; that’s all there is to us!” Stella, captive to her pride, could only refuse the truth.

“Then I don’t see any reason for you to hold his hand.”

Finished forcing Stella to dance for her, Shizuku dealt the finishing blow.

“Grr…”

“Shall we go, Big Brother?”

“S-Sure.”

“So, you’re ‘not into her anymore’, huh? Stupid, incestuous lecher.”

Ikki, accompanying Shizuku, heard Stella practically putting a curse on him from behind. Could he really make it through the day in one piece with those two around?

Thus, the day began with intense discomfort.

◆◆◆

Near Hagun Academy, there was a large-scale shopping mall chain that had been expanding throughout Japan. On its fourth floor was Cinema Land, the gang’s destination, but they didn’t head there immediately.

Per Shizuku’s schedule, they had some time before the movie began. Even if they decided to go early, the fourth floor only hosted the theater and shops that carried movie-related goods. Instead, on Alice’s recommendation, they decided to kill some time at the first-floor food court.

“Mm! This crêpe is delicious!” Stella couldn’t help but express her love for what she’d ordered.

“Crêpes are ridiculously expensive, so I had been avoiding them. But now I see why people like them.” Shizuku seemed to agree, taking small bites from her food.

“Right?” Alice added. “The crêpes here have such rich whipped cream, don’t they? The ice cream is just sad, though. If you want the good stuff, you’ll have to go to 13 Ice Creams on the third floor.”

“You know a lot about this place,” Stella commented, impressed.

“I’ve sampled everything here. Us women were born for sweets, after all.”

“Alice is all about candy and clothes, really.” Shizuku said. “Maybe you should ask her for some advice, Stella.”

“I don’t know of any shops that sell clothes fit for a princess, but I’m willing to introduce you to any and every sweets shop. Anything I can interest you in today?”

“Really?! Wow, how exciting! What other shops do you know about?”

“Well, there’s a coffee shop that serves tiramisu, a…”

Ikki decided to watch from the sidelines as the girls talked about sweets while already eating sweets. He didn’t have much to say when it came to girl talk, and since he wasn’t all that interested in sweets, he really had nothing to add to the conversation.

But wow, Alice already fits in like she’s been a part of the gang forever.

Earlier, Stella had been just as surprised as Ikki, but she didn’t seem to care about Alice’s gender anymore. She seemed to be a lot more comfortable with her than with male classmates, too. Maybe unexpected big sister-types were popular among girls. Alice was good-looking to begin with, though, so girls would probably flock to her either way.

Ikki continued to sip his coffee from the outskirts until he noticed there was some whipped cream on Shizuku’s face.

Jeez. It would be a shame if it ruined her makeup.

Seeing her with makeup on had him flustered, but the whipped cream on her face calmed him down somewhat. It reminded him yet again of the little girl he used to know. He was thankful for the convenient reminder. But she did get all dressed up for this, after all.

“Hey, Shizuku. Look over here.”

“Yes? What is it, Big Brother?” When she turned to face him, he reached over to her cheek and wiped the whipped cream from the edge of her lip.

“This was stuck on your face. Wouldn’t want to get anything on your pretty dress, right?” He then licked the whipped cream right off of his finger

“Aaah!” Shizuku’s entire face instantly went beet red, and in her panic, she hid behind Alice. That had always been a habit of hers: whenever she was embarrassed, she hid behind things.

“My, my. You sure can dish it out, but you can’t take it, can you, Shizuku?”

“Sh-Shut up, Alice! He just took me by surprise, that’s all!”

Shizuku’s excuse made Ikki smile. “It’s not even that embarrassing to get a bit of whipped cream stuck on your face,” he told her.

“You and I both know that’s not the issue,” Alice interjected. “You’re quite the trickster, though, ‘Big Brother’.”

“What do you mean?”

“Heehee. That’s not something I should be talking about.”

Ikki tilted his head in confusion as Alice evaded the question entirely.

“Ahem. Ahem.” Stella was audibly clearing her throat next to him.

“Stella? Are you sick—”

Turning to face her, he was greeted with whipped cream covering her entire face. She looked like some sort of Santa Claus-esque abomination.

“What’s wrong, Ikki? Something on my face?”

“How does that even happen without you noticing?!”

“I-If there is, you should help me out like you did with Shizuku, right?”

“I don’t think my finger will be enough for this one. I’ll go find some napkins, so just sit tight.”

“Ah! Wait!” Stella was helpless to watch as Ikki walked away.

“Excuse me, Stella, but are you perhaps a bit slow in the head?”

“It’s adorable how poorly executed that was,” Alice said, trying to console her. “I’m rooting for you!”

“Sh-Shut up! I didn’t have any ulterior motives! My hand just slipped, okay?! I’m serious!”

◆◆◆

Finished with their food, the gang continued to talk idly for a while.

“It’s almost time for the movie. Let’s head to the fourth floor,” Shizuku reminded them, and they stood up from their seats in the first-floor food court.

“By the way, what movie are we watching?” Stella finally asked Ikki after making it to the theater.

“I don’t know yet, actually.”

It was his cute little sister’s idea, after all. He’d hardly had the choice to refuse, so he’d simply accepted the offer without asking any questions.

“What are you really here for, then?”

“I should ask you that myself, Stella.”

“I’m just here to watch over you two; I’m fine with whatever. So, Shizuku, what movie are we watching today?”

“It’s just a normal love story,” she answered.

“Tagging along was definitely a good idea,” Stella muttered with a sigh.

“What’s it called?”

“I Loved My Sister, it’s rated R.”

“How is that a normal love story?!”

“It’s normal, pure love, as long as you ignore the incest part.”

“That’s not pure at all! In fact, it’s totally immoral! You really are audacious, aren’t you?! How can you even think it’s a good idea to take your real brother to a movie like this?! How are you supposed to look at each other after that?! You’re so appalling that even I’m having a hard time looking at you.”

“Strange that you can call me audacious when you told the whole class that you were his servant.”

“Sh-Shizuku, how about we just skip this one?” Ikki had a bit more sense than her; there was no way he could bear to watch a movie like that with his little sister.

“Aww, why? What’s wrong with it?”

“What isn’t wrong with it, really?” How was he supposed to see an R-rated incest movie with his own little sister? “A-Anyway, we’re not watching it! Let’s pick a different one!”

“Hmph. If you say so, Big Brother, then I have no choice. Which should we watch instead?”

Shizuku took out her student handbook and opened Cinema Land’s homepage, asking the three of them for their opinions.

“Ooh, how about Desert Princess Karna?” Stella suggested. “It’s an anime movie about a princess who’s abducted by a gang of bandits, but falls in love with the young, handsome leader! It’s so dramatic—”

“Denied.”

“Why?!”

“I’m not interested in seeing an ignorant slut open her legs for some common thug.”

“It’s way better than some perverted movie about a guy sexing up his own sister!”

“Good grief. We’ll never make a decision at this rate. Since girls seem to be the issue here, let’s go with a different R-rated movie: Men’s Paradise Lost.”

“Nobody asked for a movie like that!”

Stella and Shizuku both shot down Alice’s offer. Maybe they weren’t completely incompatible after all.

“How selfish,” she complained. “But if that’s the case, there’s only one other choice: an action movie.”

“Are there really only four movies showing here?” Stella asked.

“It’s a small theater, after all.”

“But both boys and girls can enjoy a good action movie, so that’s nice.” Ikki seemed to be on board. “What do you two think?”

“Hmph. I’m incredibly disappointed, but if that’s what you want, Big Brother…”

“I suppose an action movie wouldn’t be too bad.”

“That settles it, then,” came Alice’s verdict. “Conveniently, a showing is about to start for this one.”

“By the way, Alice, what’s the name of the action movie?”

“Gandhi: Emancipation from Rage,” she said, answering Ikki’s question.

“Whoa! That sounds interesting!” All three of them were excited.

The image posted on the website was all over the place. It showed the title of the movie and a bunch of half-naked macho men with clean-shaven heads holding heavy firearms, flames raging in the background. Its slogan read, “I said forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. That was a lie.” Absolutely terrifying.

Attracted by the exaggerated chaotic nature of the movie, everyone decided they were into it. They got on the escalator in the food court on the first floor, headed up to Cinema Land on the fourth. When they arrived on the third floor, Ikki suddenly spoke.

“Sorry, everyone. I gotta go to the bathroom, so could you buy my ticket for me?”

“Oh, I think I’ll join you.” Alice walked to Ikki’s side.

“We’ll get tickets for you, then,” Shizuku replied. “Make sure you pay us back later, please.”

“You’d better be back before it starts! You don’t have much time,” Stella reminded them.

“All right, I’ll try to hurry.”

“Shizuku! I want the seat next to Ikki!” Alice teased.

“We’ll have all three tickets when you get back, Big Brother,” she said coldly.

“Sorry, sorry! I was kidding! I swear!”

With that, Stella and Shizuku continued onward as Ikki and Alice headed to the third-floor men’s room.

“Heehee! I guess we’re finally alone, then?”

“I don’t see why you’re asking me.”

“Aww. Wasn’t that the whole point of coming to the bathroom?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Heehee. I know, I know, I was kidding. Thanks for playing along,” Alice said sarcastically.

“Sorry. I still don’t know you that well, so it’s hard to gauge how I should talk to you,” Ikki answered honestly.

“Just think of me as a normal girl.”

That’s probably not happening, he thought.

“You can relax,” she assured him. “I don’t put my hands on heteros.”

“‘H-Heteros’?”

“I have no sexual interest in you whatsoever.”

“O-Oh, all right. That works for me, thank you.”

“But I did want a chance to talk to you in private. Shizuku has told me a lot about you, so I wondered what kind of person you were.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Oh? Ooh! Now this is an unexpected development. Then how about we go see Men’s Paradise Lost together?!”

“That’s not what I meant! Shizuku’s just so shy around new people, you know? She doesn’t really open up easily, especially to men, so I was curious about what you were like.”

“But I’m a woman.”

“…”

“Don’t look at me like that. Is it a problem?”

“Not really, I guess.”

Seriously? Is this real?

Ikki pondered that question, but he didn’t know. He couldn’t understand the inner workings of a person he’d never met before. Deciding he shouldn’t pry into things he didn’t understand, he changed the subject.

“So, you said Shizuku told you about me. What exactly did she say?”

“That’s a secret between girls.” Alice put a long, slender finger to her lips and zipped them.

Maybe it would be rude to point out what’s between her legs, Ikki decided.

“But the Ikki she spoke of was so wonderful and strong,” Alice continued, “and from what I’ve seen, that describes you quite well. But that makes me even more curious about something; do you mind if I ask a question?”

“What is it?”

“Did your family really stop you from fighting for all of last year?”

“Y-Yeah. They had the school bar me from any and all fighting-related activities. Classes, mock battles, you name it.” Ikki was shocked that Shizuku had explained so much to her. His conflict with the rest of the Kurogane family didn’t seem like something to talk about with strangers, considering he was the shame of his family and all. At least, it wasn’t information that would be shared by Shizuku unless she trusted someone deeply. “But this year, I’m fine. The new director changed the policy for me.”

“That was pure luck though, right? If there wasn’t a new director, what would you have done?”

“Whatever I could, just like I did last year. When I decided to retake my first year, I didn’t even know there would be a new director.”

“Don’t you think that’s rather unproductive?”

“Not at all. You already know this, but knight schools have real, professional Mage-Knights as staff. They can more or less grasp just how strong the students are even without watching them battle, so I wanted to use that ability of theirs to prove I was strong enough for the Seven Stars Battle Festival despite the old director not letting me fight.

“If I could go there and become the Seven Stars King, which is the highest honor for a school, they’d have to change, right? I was willing to do anything I could to get there, no matter how many years it took.”

At the time, Ikki wasn’t worthy enough for the school to do anything but accept the Kurogane family’s demands. His only route forward, his motivation to keep fighting, was to prove his worthiness to the school. “But I’m really grateful to the new director. She opened up a new path for me, one that’s much less difficult to traverse.”

“Good. I’m happy for you.” Alice looked down at him with genuine compassion. “But Ikki, you’re too used to being hurt.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m speaking from my own experience here, so this doesn’t just apply to you, but your strength comes from perseverance, from how much you can endure. In other words, the amount of pain you can tolerate determines your strength. If your heart continues to take on load after load of pain without eventually letting it go, it’ll just break apart one day, and it’ll be awful when it does. So before that happens, your heart cries out in pain, in anger, in frustration. ‘I want someone to know my pain.’ ‘I want someone to understand me.’ Sometimes it’s a slow burn, others it’s an explosion of passion, but you, Ikki, don’t hear the cry of your heart anymore because it’s been long buried under the burden it carries.”

“I-I don’t think that’s right.”

Alice’s mournful speech had left Ikki confused. He didn’t understand a word she’d said. Of course, there were times when he felt bad because he was overburdened; he wasn’t the kind of person that didn’t understand his own feelings. Alice, however, merely shook her head.

“Nope, you’re not hearing me. At least, not right now. If you were, you wouldn’t be so calm. If you were, you wouldn’t be smiling like that.”

Sure, my life hasn’t been smooth sailing all the time, but still.

He figured she was probably just reading too much into it, so even though she said all that with such a grave tone, all he could offer in response was a bitter smile.

Well, I guess he won’t listen to me, Alice finally thought, and sighed quietly. After all, she was someone he had only just met. Why would her words hold any sway over him?

Even with that in mind, she wanted to voice her thoughts, to shake Ikki’s very understanding of himself. Not just because he was important to Shizuku, but also because she had taken a liking to him. Alice continued to smile encouragingly as she spoke.

“I hope you can one day meet someone who will hear the cries of your heart for you. I pray from the bottom of my heart for that day to come.” She kissed the silver rosary hanging from her neck, praying for Ikki’s fortune.

Ikki still didn’t understand the point of it. Was he supposed to thank her? All he could muster was continued confusion at her misdirected good will. For some reason, though, her words lingered in his mind, leaving a lasting effect. It was like some sort of epiphany.

“Ah!”

Alice’s expression suddenly stiffened. She wasn’t gloomy like before; fear and caution colored her eyes as she surveyed her surroundings.

“Alice?”

“Ikki, come over here.” She abruptly took his arm and started running.

“Huh? Wh-What?!”

“Just shut up and run!”

Not giving Ikki an option, she ran with him toward the bathroom. Did she have to go that badly? While Ikki considered the possibility, what sounded like an explosion mixed with the shattering of glass reached his ears, followed by the clamor of gunshots.

◆◆◆

Heavy footsteps accompanied two men, wearing black battle gear and gas masks, as they charged into the men’s bathroom.

“All that’s left is the shitter! I’ll check this one, so you can just sit tight.”

“Checkin’ every room is too damn slow.”

“H-Hey!”

Not heeding his partner’s attempts to stop him, the impatient man unleashed the contents of his M4 assault rifle’s magazine, enveloping every corner of the room in his sweeping fire. When the reverberating gunfire finally ended, the door to every stall was full of holes; if anyone had been in one, they would have been killed. Fortunately, however, no blood flowed from any of the ruined stalls.

“Yep, nobody here.”

“The hell’re you doin’?! We were told to take hostages!”

“I just felt like lettin’ off some steam. Who cares? I don’t see any blood, so that means it was empty anyway. Hah-hah!”

“Don’t be surprised if Bishou kills you, buddy.” They exited the bathroom, left with only a burning smell and the marks of destruction, chuckling evilly. Once they left, Ikki and Alice peeked out of a shadow on the wall as if they were moving through water.

“Whew. Looks like they’re gone.” Confirming that their foes were nowhere to be found, Alice stepped out of the water-like shadow. In her hand, she held a dark-gray dagger. “My Darkness Hermit has some pretty neat moves, right?”

“The power to control shadows, huh? Sure is convenient.”

“It’s a shame it doesn’t always work, though. If there aren’t any obstacles to create shadows, I can’t use it.”

Ikki had thought of that, too. He thought the power seemed befitting of an assassin who fought in the shadows rather than a Blazer who fought under the sun.

“Let’s just hope the school doesn’t find out you used your Device outside of school grounds,” he told her.

“The situation called for it, so too bad for them. Besides, they won’t know as long as you don’t tell them.”

“I’m no snitch, don’t worry.”

Alice extended her empty hand toward Ikki, who was still submerged in the water-like shadow. He took her hand and let her pull him out.

“Thanks. You really helped me out there.” Ikki thanked Alice, both for protecting him and for helping him up. Then, he gathered his mind and considered the situation anew. “Who were those guys?”

“The Rebellion.”

Ikki’s eyes opened wide at her immediate response. The Rebellion was the largest criminal organization in the world, a group who believed Blazers were the chosen, the new breed of man, while everyone else was part of a lesser breed. These elitists aimed for the destruction of modern society, in which Blazers protected the powerless, all in order to create a twisted paradise in which Blazers controlled the “lesser breed” as servants.

“It’s crazy that we have an internationally-recognized terrorist organization right at our doorstep. But how did you know they were the Rebellion?”

“Long ago, I got caught up in an attack just like this one. They were wearing the same gear. Forget about that, I’m worried about Shizuku and Stella.”

“Yeah, same. But before we search for them, there’s something I have to do.”

Ikki grabbed his student handbook and connected to the emergency line. The call connected quickly, displaying a familiar face on the screen. It was Kurono Shinguuji, the director of Hagun Academy.

“I already know the situation.”

Kurono’s first statement removed the need for an explanation. The attack must have been in progress outside the mall as well.

“Thanks for leading with that. Now then, I’d like permission for myself, Ikki Kurogane, as well as Stella Vermillion, Shizuku Kurogane, and Nagi Alisuin to use our Devices off school grounds.”

“Understood. You are hereby permitted to do so.”

“That takes care of the legal stuff, eh?” Alice joked.

“Director, could you explain the situation as you understand it?” Ikki requested.

“The Rebellion is the perpetrator,” she responded. “About twenty to thirty people are equipped with firearms, in pursuit of ransoms and the mall’s assets. It’s one of their regular fundraising runs.”

“How many casualties are there?”

“A few people have sustained light injuries due to the initial chaos. For now, there are zero critically injured or dead. According to information from the company monitoring the surveillance cameras, the Rebellion has taken fifty shoppers hostage in the food court.”

“That’s where we were just eating, correct?”

“Yeah. It was that open atrium area with the staircase.” Ikki answered Alice’s question in full detail.

“That should be in range of my Shadow Walk. We can teleport there in an instant.”

“In that case, let’s hide somewhere so we can get a feel for the situation. Stella and Shizuku should be among the hostages.” Ikki couldn’t imagine that the two of them would have run away while hostages’ lives were on the line. They had to have been stifling their magic and hiding among the crowd.

“I see your point,” Kurono replied, “but remember: our priority is keeping the public safe. Don’t push this too far.”

“All right,” Ikki said with a nod. “Ready when you are.”

“Leave it to me, hon.” Alice took his outstretched hand, and their shadows became watery once again, allowing them to sink straight into the floor. Ikki held his breath as he moved through the lightless makeshift waterway, dragged along by Alice. Allowing movement from shadow to shadow, Shadow Walk’s conduit could only be controlled by the wielder of Darkness Hermit. In other words, Alice was the sole master of that space.

“We’ve made it.”

After swimming through the darkness for a moment, the two emerged from Shadow Walk behind a third-floor pillar that cast its shadow near the atrium, giving them a full view of the food court and allowing them to easily take stock of the situation. As Kurono had mentioned, the hostages were being kept there, surrounded by ten men in black battle gear.

“Ikki, look,” Alice whispered. Their suspicion proved true; Shizuku stood amongst the hostages. “It doesn’t look like your little princess is there, though.”

“No, Stella’s there. She’s the one standing next to Shizuku, wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Everyone in the world has seen her face, so she’s in disguise.”

“Oh, right, she has been in the news, hasn’t she? Still, this doesn’t look good.”

“Yeah. The hostages are too close to the perps. If we storm the area right now, some of the hostages might die. And this isn’t all of the Rebellion fighters, either.”

“They must be moving in squads. Well, I suppose all we can do is wait for now.”

Even if all the squads reconvened, there wouldn't be enough soldiers to control all the hostages if they tried to make their escape. The Rebellion would be slow to react, and the chaos that ensued would be Ikki and Alice's chance to strike, so the pair decided to lie in wait. However, the situation quickly took an unexpected turn.

“Quit hurting my mommyyy!” Out of nowhere, an elementary-aged boy attacked one of the gun-toting Rebellion soldiers.

What the hell?! Ikki thought, though wasn’t in any position to do anything.

With a primal roar, the little boy flung his ice cream at the soldier. It left a white streak on the soldier’s pants, but otherwise dealt little damage. What it did do effectively, however, was enrage the enemy.

“You stupid braaaaat!” In his fury, the soldier kicked the boy, no taller than the man’s waist, square in the face.

“Augh!”

“Shinji!”

A woman in her late twenties—presumably his mother—let out a cry as she leaped from the ring of hostages. Her stomach was large compared to her tiny arms and legs; she must have been pregnant with the boy’s little brother or sister. Even so, her unwieldy body moved with incredible speed as she jumped between her son and the soldier.

“Outta the way, bitch, or you’ll get some too!”

“I’m so, so sorry! He’s just a boy! Please, forgive him!”

“Whaddya think you’re doin’, idiot?!”

“That little shit got ice cream all over my nice gear! I’m gonna kill him good!”

“You’re an adult, dumbass! Don’t flip a shit over some snotty kid! How many times do I gotta tell you that you ain’t supposed to hurt the hostages?! If you make Bishou mad, he will kill! And when he’s pissed, guess what? He ain’t just gonna kill you; he won’t stop till he kills the whole damn squad, including me!”

“Shut up! We got this many people, so who cares if we kill one or two?!” Ignoring his warnings, the enraged soldier pointed his rifle at the child.

“No! Please, don’t kill him!”

“Ain’t gonna work! One day, you pigs are gonna serve all of us honorary citizens in our new utopia, and we’re not gonna stand for it if you soil our clothes! He’s gonna have to atone with his life!” Mercilessly, unhesitatingly, he squeezed the trigger, followed milliseconds later by lead erupting from the barrel.

The pregnant woman draped herself over her child as if trying feebly to protect him from the coming attack, but it was pointless. The bullet would easily tear through her flesh, then bore into the child underneath her. Or so it should have, but it never even reached her. The bullet had been disintegrated by Stella’s flames.

◆◆◆

“I should go in alone,” Shizuku said, already planning how to free the hostages.

“But they’ll figure out who I am either way,” Stella retorted.

“That’s fine. They wouldn’t try to kill someone as valuable as you.”

“Then why don’t you stay in hiding, just in case I need backup?”

Giving Shizuku those orders, Stella jumped into the line of fire and destroyed the bullet. The sudden appearance of a new threat shook the Rebellion soldiers.

“A Blazer?!”

“Dammit!”

Reflexively, they all pointed their weapons at Stella and hurled lead at her.

“Empress’ Dress!” she yelled, erasing their very existence with her fiery raiments. Every last one of the bullets sublimated before it could reach her.

“Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh!”

The hostages weren’t as calm as she was, however; the intense gunfire had made them all panic. M4 assault rifles had small frames and short barrels, emphasizing mobility at the cost of accuracy. If they weren’t careful, some of the hostages could be hit. Stella had to act.

“CALM DOOOOOWN!”

Her command was louder than even the endless gunfire, with enough authority in her voice to stop even the men of the Rebellion in their tracks. In response to that command and the realization that a Blazer was present, the once-relentless soldiers trembled in place. “I’m not here to fight you thugs, so just calm down and listen to me.”

At least everyone stopped panicking, she thought with a sigh. In Japan, she may have just been an exchange student, but Stella was still a princess of the Vermillion Empire. She knew plenty of things about the Rebellion, the largest international crime syndicate in the world.

One such thing was how their units were organized. The general public believed that the Rebellion was a Blazer organization, but it actually consisted mostly of non-Blazer Followers who approved of the group’s proposed new world order. Blazers, much less plentiful than Followers, were referred to as Apostles. Standard Rebellion units consisted of one Apostle leading multiple Followers.

Given the circumstances, everyone present must have been a mere Follower. It was very likely that their Apostle was acting separately with his own squad.

A group this size should only have one Apostle, Stella thought. I didn’t want to make any bold moves until he showed up, but…

She’d lost the element of surprise, but the situation demanded it; there was no other choice. After rationally considering the problem, she glared sharply at the soldiers and declared, “As the representative of these hostages, I’ll be negotiating with your leader.”

“Wh-What’s this broad on about? What gives you the right?!”

The soldiers didn’t seem to know who she was. Stella finally removed the wide-brimmed hat she had “borrowed” amidst the chaos.

“My name is—”

“Oh me, oh my. Look who found her way into this mess.” Stella was interrupted before she could finish introducing herself. When she turned to look in the direction of the voice, she saw a tattooed man surrounded by ten fully-armed soldiers. His tattoos scrunched up as he grinned at her. “You’re the second princess of the Vermillion Empire! Heeheehee!”

“A black coat embroidered with gold… That’s what the Rebellion’s Apostles wear. I suppose you must be the leader of these idiots, then?”

“Heehee, smart girl. Yes, that’s right. My name is Bishou, and I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Princess.” The man introduced himself and bowed slightly in respect. He then looked at Stella, an aggression in his eyes that the other soldiers lacked. “Hey, what are you all pissing your pants for? Are you this bad at house-sitting?”

“Eep!” one of them squealed.

“I thought I told you idiots to just stand and wait. I thought I said not to touch the hostages.”

“W-We tried to stop him, sir! But Yakin don’t listen to no one but his momma!”

“Yakin, are you the cause of all this?”

“N-N-No, sir, that ain’t true!” he tried to defend himself. “Th-That brat got my pants dirty, so…”

“What?! That’s all it takes to get you— Nah.” Bishou appeared to be deep in thought for a moment, until, “Heeheehee.”

“B-Bishou?”

“Heh. That’s just awful, Yakin. I really feel for you.” His attitude changed abruptly as he put a hand on his underling’s shoulder. “But don’t worry, buddy. Your Apostle is here to protect all of his honorary citizen Followers.”

Bishou held a pistol at his side, pointing it at the child who was still covered by his mother.

“Wh-What are you doing?!” Stella cried.

“Should be obvious, Princess. I’m gonna make this kid realize what he did was wrong. That’s an important lesson, y’know?”

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t put your hands on the hostages?!”

“Not the well-behaved ones, sure, but this kid ain’t behaving. Well, can’t expect much else from some snot-nosed brat, right? Even if he’s a kid, a crime is a crime: the crime of hurting an honorary citizen. That one’s punishable by death, too. ‘Crime deserves punishment, for punishment brings atonement’. That’s my motto, see?”

Bishou’s finger tightened on the trigger.

“Haaaaaaah!”

Knowing that the man was going to pull the trigger no matter what she said, Stella didn’t hesitate for even a second. She promptly materialized Lævateinn and leaped toward Bishou to attack, but he just laughed silently.

Was this a trap?! she thought. Not that she cared; she wasn’t going to give him the chance to summon his own Device. He was armed with only a single M1911 Government pistol. He won’t be able to defend against Lævateinn with that puny thing!

Ready to slice his gun apart, Stella swung her weapon, but her attack was stopped by Bishou’s left index and middle fingers.

“What?!” She had no idea what was happening.

“Heeheehee, too bad. You’re as fast and strong as one would expect a rumored Rank A to be. That just makes how little you know about the world all the more disappointing.”

Stella couldn’t hide her shock at the display of inhuman strength. Her full-body attack had been stopped by two bare fingers. His arm should have been split straight down the middle, unable to stop the swing of her broadsword. Even if he could stop the blade, Dragon Breath’s aura should have burned his arm to a crisp. Despite all that, Bishou had stopped her sword as if it was nothing.

How?

Before she could find the answer, though, his right fist came crashing into her stomach.

“Gahaah…” The impact caused her knees to buckle. His strike had enough force behind it to rip through Empress’ Dress entirely, knocking all of Stella’s strength out of her.

How? Stella was barely hanging on to consciousness as she looked Bishou up and down. He didn’t seem like that strong of a Blazer at first glance.

“It’s… those rings…!”

She had found the mechanism behind his power: two rings, one on each middle finger, shining ominously. They appeared to be little more than decoration, but they were actually Bishou’s Device.

“My Device, Judgment Rings, is a two-for-one deal,” he boasted. “Its abilities are Crime and Punishment. The left-hand ring absorbs any threat to me as Crime, while the right-hand ring converts it to magic called Punishment, turning it back on the enemy. Heeheehee! The stronger my enemy is, the stronger I become!”

“Then that means I was hit with my own full-power attack.”

“You should learn not to jump at people like that when you don’t even know what their power is, Princess. Heehee!”

“You… made me do it.”

“Heehee, well, I am so sorry. I can’t be too picky about my strategy when I’m up against the Crimson Princess. But I am deeply impressed, Princess; instead of hiding and staying safe, someone as important as you risked your life to shield one little brat. You sure are something, aren’t you? A paragon of royalty! In reverence toward your courage, I have a proposal that’ll let you save that brat.”

“What is it?”

“It’s quite simple. Everyone knows the most basic way to atone for their mistakes: you do something bad, you apologize. That’s all. The only difference is that you’ll be apologizing in place of the brat.

“Strip yourself and kneel before me. Gahahahaha!”

◆◆◆

“Rgh…!”

Ikki’s blood pressure shot up when he heard the demand as he watched from above. The desire to cut Bishou down where he stood spurred him forward, but he forced himself to hold back. If he jumped in, it would create even more chaos. Hostages would be hurt. He had to avoid that at all costs.

“Heehee. I won’t force you to. It’s discourteous to order a princess around, and I just can’t do that. If you don’t wanna do it, just say no. When you do, I’ll simply go back to my original plan of making this brat take responsibility.”

What a disgusting man! Ikki bit his lip so hard he nearly drew blood as his rage continued to demand he act. Bishou knew she couldn’t let someone die, yet he was going to make her choose anyway, all just to embarrass her. Of course, Ikki already knew exactly how Stella would respond.

“Fine, then.” Stella stifled the frustration in her voice as she signaled her assent, dematerializing Lævateinn. “But you’re going to promise that you will, under no circumstances, harm the hostages.”

“Of course. Bishou always keeps his promises, so fear not. As long as we get our ransom and get off scot-free, that is.”

“All right, then it’s a deal,” Stella said, reminding him as she stood up that the exchange went both ways.

Her knees were ready to give way, likely because she was still reeling from his attack, but the way her hands shivered as she slowly stripped down was definitely due to her shame and frustration.

“Ahaha! Damn, a princess is stripping for us!”

“Brilliant idea, Bishou! That’s why you’re the boss!”

“Get naked, bitch! Hahaha!”

The disgrace of baring her naked body in front of these heathens painted Stella’s face red as she removed article after article of clothing. First came her cardigan, exposing her petite shoulders. Next, her skirt slid off, revealing her enchanting legs for the crowd to see. Then, she unbuttoned her blouse, the fabric trembling as it opened up to show her navel. After all that, the only thing covering her skin was her white lace underwear.