Chapter 297: Todo Touka Gives It Her All!
Kurono looked at Nene with a troubled expression.
The moment she saw the battlefield in Okutama with her own eyes, Kurono had already confirmed it. Those were definitely traces left behind by Twin-Wings.
In this world, only one person could achieve something like that through pure swordsmanship alone.
Twin-Wings' appearance was neither a huge matter nor a small one.
Kurono could not be sure whether the other party had merely passed by by chance or whether she had some hidden objective.
She had tried talking to Luke about it, but had gained nothing from him. That alone had been enough to give her a headache.
Although it could not really be called a secret, the representative selection matches were about to end, and the Seven Star Sword Art Festival was just around the corner. During such a sensitive period, Kurono did not want any strange rumors or public opinion spreading around.
This matter could simply be investigated in secret. The fewer people who knew, the better.
In fact, up until now, she had not told a single person.
It was not that she did not trust Nene. Rather, Nene's unpredictable personality made it impossible for Kurono to judge what she might do once she learned about Twin-Wings.
Since nothing had happened for the time being, Kurono had not planned to tell her.
Who would have thought Nene would actually notice something from Luke himself?
'Just what kind of change happened to Luke?'
Kurono frowned as she thought about it.
As the school director, Kurono naturally did not understand Luke as well as Nene, who trained with him almost every day.
While Kurono silently pondered, Nene kept staring hard at her.
Seeing her close friend being so persistent, Kurono finally sighed. She opened her mouth, preparing to tell her about what had happened in Okutama.
However, right at that moment, their conversation was interrupted by another voice.
"Oh my, I finally found you two. This school is so big, I couldn't make heads or tails of the way here."
Looking at the elderly man in a family-crested kimono walking toward them with a hunched back, both Nene and Kurono were startled at the same time.
"Oh my, aren't you…"
"Waaah! Why are you here, old man?!"
It was no wonder the two of them were surprised.
The old man walking over was none other than Nene and Touka's master, the God of War, Nangou Torajirou.
At the advanced age of ninety-two, he was the oldest Mage-Knight in the country.
"This old man naturally came to watch the match."
"But calling your master an old man… My disciple's tongue is still as sharp as ever."
"Hmm… though I suppose that is part of what makes you cute."
Nangou Torajirou teased Nene with a smile as he walked over and sat down.
"C-Cute?!"
Faced with praise from the master she respected from the bottom of her heart, Nene was shaken almost instantly.
However, her twisted personality clearly would not allow her to honestly accept that compliment, so in the very next moment, she snapped back at him.
"G-Gross! Don't say stuff like that, you stinky old man!"
Of course, as Nene's "close friend," Kurono had no intention of letting her get away with acting cute and brushing it off.
"Nene, you look adorable when you blush. Since you're happy your master praised you, how about being honest for once?"
"Who, who would be happy after being called cute by some dried-up old man?!"
"Oh my. In that case, if that boy named Luke were the one praising you, would you honestly feel happy?"
"Wha…?!?!"
Nene looked at Nangou Torajirou in shock as he wore a teasing smile.
"Wh-Wh-What does that brat have to do with anything?! Why are you bringing him up, old man?!"
"Hohoho. I do know about my disciple being seen completely naked by someone."
"My, to be honest, I was quite surprised when I heard about it. I had been worried you might never be able to get married, but now it seems there's no need to worry."
As Nene listened to Nangou Torajirou's words, her entire body froze in place.
Her face went from red to white, then from white to black, before finally turning red again.
Immediately afterward, she turned her head and roared loudly at Kurono.
"You damn Kurono! You betrayed me!"
However, no matter how fiercely Nene glared at her, she could not hide the embarrassment on her face.
'Nene has become really interesting lately.'
Kurono thought to herself as she watched Nene "go berserk."
The change in her "close friend" made Kurono want to bully her a little more.
After all, the old Nene had not been cute at all. She was a battle maniac, hot-tempered, loved causing trouble, would start fighting at the slightest disagreement, and was always stubborn with her words.
Now that she had become this entertaining, when else would Kurono tease her if not now?
Of course, Kurono would never tell Nene that.
Leaving Nene to shout from the side, "Don't ignore me!" Kurono turned to Nangou Torajirou and asked,
"Nangou-sensei, you suddenly came here today because of Luke and Todo's match, right?"
"Yes. After all, Touka is also my beloved disciple."
"And that boy named Luke was invited here by this old man, one way or another. I couldn't possibly miss a duel between the two of them."
…
"Thank you all for waiting!"
"And now! The final battle of the Seven Star Sword Art Festival representative selection matches is about to begin!"
The host's voice spread throughout the entire First Training Ground through the broadcast.
The appearance of that voice also signaled that the last match of the entire selection tournament was about to begin.
"Emerging from the red gate is our academy's pride and strongest knight, Raikiri!"
"Nineteen matches, nineteen victories, and every single one of those wins was achieved without taking so much as a scratch!"
"Today, she brings that overwhelming strength with her as she steps onto the decisive stage, aiming for the final Seven Star Sword Art Festival of her school career!"
"Third-year student, Raikiri, Todo Touka! Entering the field!"
Bzzzt—!
The instant Touka walked out of the gate, a terrifying aura wrapped in lightning swept across the entire First Training Ground.
She quietly walked toward the center of the arena, one step at a time.
With every step she took, her aura climbed higher.
By the time she reached the center of the field and stood still, the pressure that had risen to its limit made the spectators in the First Training Ground tremble.
Their hair stood on end.
Even though they were still a fair distance away from the stage, everyone felt their skin faintly tingling.
The corner of Touka's mouth lifted, revealing her joy.
Her surging emotions caused the air around her to carry a charge of lightning, with thin arcs of electricity flashing through the air from time to time.
The originally thunderous cheers came to an abrupt stop.
In their place came the heavy silence of people facing pressure.
Anyone who knew Touka, or who had been fortunate enough to watch last year's Seven Star Sword Art Festival, understood what this state meant.
She was completely serious.
Not as a contestant, and not for the right to become a representative.
Todo Touka had appeared here with the mindset of fighting a death match.
Those who knew her all understood that Touka was an incredibly kind girl.
However, only the very few who truly understood her knew that she also possessed a violent and ferocious side.
Having gone through countless life-and-death battles against criminals, the Blazer named Todo Touka was in a completely different state during matches and during true combat.
Normally, she would not easily let others see this side of her.
But facing Luke was different.
If she did not do this, if she did not give everything she had, if she did not surpass her limits, then she would have no chance of victory at all.
Her battle intent spread through the entire venue, accompanied by her aura and the crackling lightning.
At this moment, she, Todo Touka, gathered everything she had into this place.
…
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